He savagely pushed that guilt aside. She was the one who’d sold her body, bargained with her virginity, just to get a bracelet. He would never have asked that of her, never have taken it, had he known. She was as driven to achieve her goal as he was. But what exactly was that goal? Why was the bracelet that important?
He’d been seeking revenge for his parents, for his lost childhood. She should have just been an instrument to gain access to the man who’d offered his father that dubious deal, but instead he’d hurt her in the worst possible way, forced her to do something she’d never have done if it hadn’t been the only way.
‘Bianca,’ he began, but she swiftly cut him off.
‘Don’t, Liev.’
‘Don’t what?’ Guilt cut through him as he saw the pain and mistrust in her eyes. It hurt that he’d done that to her. It hurt because she’d unlocked something deep within him he’d thought crushed by the hand life had dealt him, something he wanted, although he’d never thought he would.
He couldn’t comprehend it. He cared for Bianca, in a way he thought he’d never care for another person again. But Bianca, like Dario, had only ever been a means to an end. They didn’t have any kind of future together.
‘Don’t say you are sorry. Not when using me so spectacularly was always part of the plan.’ The pain in her voice was so clear, so sharp, it almost cut him.
He wanted to tell her that making love to her had never been part of his plan. He hadn’t intended to kiss her—other than publicly for the sake of their fake engagement. But he could see it in her eyes, in the dark accusation within their depths. She thought he’d used her in the worst possible way, just to advance his name. How could he ever tell her it was so much more?
‘I am sorry, Bianca, because I care for you.’ The effort of keeping his voice firm and steady made it sound unnaturally harsh.
She looked suspiciously at him. ‘That’s a lie. If you cared you wouldn’t have left it all week to come and tell me. You’d have told me before we left my grandfather’s home, before we left your island villa. You would never have let me believe I’d become nothing more than just another notch on your bedpost.’
‘You could never be that.’ He took hold of her arms and looked into her face, wanting to kiss away the pain. This was killing him as much as it was her. ‘I didn’t come and see you because I couldn’t face acknowledging what had happened between us. That night should not have happened. Not like that.’
That much was true. He’d put everything aside, forgotten everything, just to be with her, just to explore the passion and desire which had simmered since that day at the auction. He’d wanted her in a way he’d wanted no other woman, beguiled by her innocence, driven by desire.
Their recent time together had shown him who he could have been and who she really was. It had made him yearn for things he’d thought off-limits to an undeserving man such as him, and whatever it was, it had to end. Right here. Right now.
He couldn’t allow it to deter him from his graveside promise. He would avenge his parents, even if it meant turning his back on the only woman to have ever made him feel emotion.
‘I came to give you this.’ He held out the box which contained the bracelet, watched as her dark eyes glanced down at it, then back at him. He could see she wanted to take it and run. He put it back inside his jacket pocket, the agony of knowing it was all she wanted too painful.
‘Does that mean our engagement is over?’ She turned and walked on, leaving him no option but to fall into step beside her again.
He should say yes, but something held him back. She might have achieved an exclusive which had portrayed the ultimate love story to the world, opening the doors to society he’d led her to believe he’d wanted opening, but there was still one more thing he had to know.
‘The deal will be completed once I hand over the bracelet, but before I do...’ He paused and she glanced up at him.
‘What, Liev?’ The resigned tiredness in her voice tugged at his heart, finally awakened by that one night they’d put aside everything and truly loved one another. Or so he’d thought.
She walked to a bench and sat down, crossing her legs and twisting round to face him slightly. Her beautiful dark eyes urged him to talk even though she didn’t say a word, and he would never forget how they’d looked as he’d made her his—only his. But he couldn’t let such thoughts sway him; he couldn’t fall for her charms and innocence, not when they were used against him as a weapon, one more powerful than anything he’d ever battled with before.
‘I want to know exactly why the bracelet is so important.’
* * *
Bianca’s heart went into free fall as she looked at Liev standing before her—alone. People milled around him but he was still very much alone. She wanted to go to him and tell him the bracelet had ceased to have any importance the moment he’d kissed her on the beach. That as he’d taken her to his bed and claimed her as his, binding her to him for ever, it had paled into total insignificance. No amount of glittering jewels was more important than love, and somehow she knew her grandfather would share that thought.
What would Liev say if she admitted that? Would he laugh at her? Would he believe her if she declared her love for him? If his reaction to her virginity was anything to go by, he would never believe a word she said again.
‘It’s complicated.’ She focused her attention on the fountain as it stood majestically rising into the blue summer sky. Even the lily in the angel’s hand, representing purity, mocked her for what he thought she’d done, giving her virginity for the bracelet. Would he ever believe her if she told him it wasn’t true?
He came and sat next to her, and whilst she was rigidly perched on the edge of it, he leant back and stretched his arm out along the back of the bench. ‘I’m listening.’
She closed her eyes and knew she would have to tell him everything if she stood any chance of him ever believing that she loved him. She’d come this far, fallen for the worst man possible, but after years of waiting, could she really turn her back on her love for him?
‘As you know, my grandfather is ill—terminally ill.’ She paused. Saying it aloud made it seem more real. Until now it had just been a fact in her head. ‘Once, he’d owned that bracelet. I have no idea if he bought it for a lover or if it is a family heirloom, but when he arrived in New York in 1942, he had nothing to live off but a few pieces of jewellery. They must have meant something to him because he has asked for them, wanting to see them one last time.’
She moved slightly on the bench and turned to face Liev. He looked relaxed and not at all affected by her words, but the hand which rested on his thigh was clenched into a tight fist.
‘And you bartered yourself, your virginity, for that?’ The shock in his voice brought heated colour to her cheeks. Did he have to make it sound so bad, so cold and calculated?
She dropped her gaze and looked at her hands. Shamefully she would have to admit he was right, although it hadn’t been like that at all. That night nothing else had mattered, only the man she’d loved, the man she’d waited for.
Unfortunately, he hadn’t seen it that way. If she told him the truth, that she’d given him her virginity because she loved him, he would no doubt push her further away. He didn’t let emotions rule that cold heart of his. She was fighting a lost cause. As far as he was concerned, she’d bartered with her body for a piece of jewellery. So what did that make her in his eyes? As callous and unfeeling as him?
She drew in a ragged breath and locked her heart away, smothered her emotions and looked directly into his eyes. ‘I did and now I want what you promised me.’
* * *
Liev pulled the old box back out of his pocket and held it as he looked at her. His first impressions of Bianca had been right. She’d fooled him, tricked him. Made him believe he was special, that maybe if things had been different they could have had a future. She had been as callous and calculating as he’d been. No, worse. She’d brought emotions into their d
eal.
‘I hope this makes your grandfather very happy, Bianca—and that it was worth it for you.’
She took the box from him, her fingers brushing against his, sending a fizz of electric awareness instantly through him. Inwardly he cursed. It didn’t matter what she’d done, that she’d played on his past and exploited her innocence, leading him to do the one thing that he should never have done—take her virginity. None of that mattered. He still wanted her. And worse—what he felt for her went deeper, but he couldn’t acknowledge that now.
‘It was. One day, Liev, you, too, will do absolutely anything for love.’ Her dark eyes were so hard, so fiercely full of contempt for him, that for a moment he was agonisingly jealous of her grandfather, for having all her love. There wasn’t anything left. Not even the smallest space in her heart.
Once again he leapt to the defence of his emotions, the way he felt about her, desperate not to show the tiniest bit of compassion for her.
‘Then we are both even.’
‘Even?’
‘Do you really imagine all I wanted was acceptance into New York society?’ The wound she’d opened that night in his bed gaped wider and all he wanted was for her to hurt too.
She looked at him as if suddenly seeing a new person, disbelief and shock all over her pretty face.
‘No, Bianca, I wanted to avenge the needless deaths of my parents and the destruction of my father’s company—by ICE. Now, thanks to you, I have everything I need to bring your brother’s company to its knees.’
He saw the moment realisation dawned, saw how she remembered telling him all he needed to know about Dario’s launch while she was distracted by thoughts of her grandfather at the family home. She knew she’d told him everything.
‘You truly are despicable.’ She slid away from him on the bench, the bracelet box clutched ever tighter in her hands. ‘You disgust me.’
‘Maybe we are not so different after all, Bianca.’ He moved towards her, seeing the anger glitter in her eyes. ‘You wanted the bracelet for your grandfather and I want to bring down ICE. I want to avenge my father and put right the wrongs of the past, and, like you, I will do anything to achieve that.’
‘No.’ She shook her head in denial, a frown furrowing her brow. ‘No. You’ve got it all wrong.’
‘My father’s company was destroyed, taken apart piece by piece by ICE, which ultimately destroyed him. My mother went to an early grave and my father soon followed, leaving me on the streets and very much alone. Have you any idea what it is like to be a twelve-year-old boy stealing stale bread just to exist? Have you any idea what it’s like to be thrown in prison or to want revenge so badly you are driven by it day after day?’
She shook her head, her neat brows pulled together in such a way that he almost believed she could really feel all he was telling her. Was that sympathy or pity in her eyes? ‘No, Liev, you are wrong.’
‘I don’t think I’ve got anything wrong, Bianca.’ He could barely keep the snarl from his voice. His heart hammered so loudly with the injustice and anticipation of being so close to his lifelong ambition.
‘Dario isn’t responsible. You can’t use that against him.’ The pleading of her voice wasn’t going to affect him; it wasn’t going to sway him from his plans. He wouldn’t allow her to distract him again.
‘Granted, he didn’t own ICE. He made a big show of putting right the company’s past wrongs when he took over, but that was all lies, Bianca. A cover-up to inflate the share prices. He’s no better than the man who did own ICE—and now they will pay.’
Liev stood, icy cold flowing through him despite the August sunshine. There was nothing more for him here. He was done with Bianca, done with emotions.
‘Don’t do this, Liev. Don’t destroy my brother. For me, please reconsider.’ She reached for him, but he moved back. If she touched him, sent that spark of desire through him, he wouldn’t be able to remain strong.
‘It’s too late for that.’ He clenched his teeth hard together. Did she have to play that card? Did she have to nudge his conscience and dig at his heart? He’d never come close to loving a woman, not until he’d met Bianca Di Sione.
‘Please, Liev.’
Fool, he inwardly berated himself. ‘You mean nothing to me. Dario is nothing, and if I don’t do this for my father, then I, too, am nothing.’
Silently she stood up, her eyes locking with his, and he watched as she pulled the ring, his engagement ring, from her finger and held it out to him. He took it, feeling the warmth of her skin lingering on the gold band. No, he wouldn’t be distracted.
‘Go to Dario.’ Her words were full of fury and disgust. Full of hatred for him. He could sense it with every bone in his body. ‘Tell him what you know and find out what really happened.’
‘Believe me, Bianca, I have every intention of doing exactly that.’ He glared at her, matching her anger and denying he had any other emotion towards her.
‘Go. Bring down his company, get your damn revenge. I don’t care, Liev. Just leave me out of it.’ She stepped back as if he was the devil himself, uncaring of the attention she was attracting from passers-by.
He walked calmly to her, every step making it more final. They were over before they’d even begun. ‘I will and I intend to be every bit as calculating as you were.’
‘I hate you.’ Her voice had lowered and her eyes were narrow with hardness. ‘And to think that I... Oh, just go. I never want to see you again—ever.’
He didn’t wait to hear any more. Instead he turned and strode back through the park. She hated him and never wanted to see him again. She’d got what she wanted and now it was time to get what he wanted. The past two months had been about revenge, not the woman who had slipped beneath his defences, and the only way to remind himself of that was to exact that revenge.
CHAPTER TWELVE
FOR THE REST of the weekend, Bianca had tortured herself, worrying over Dario and what Liev intended to do. She’d expected to hear from Dario, but nothing other than the usual emails regarding the launch. Finally she’d broken under the pressure and had called him, explaining she’d given away all the necessary information to ruin him.
She’d explained about the bracelet and how Liev had bid against her in order to use it as blackmail. She had been so shocked when Dario had told her he, too, had just been given a task of locating a Lost Mistress that she confessed absolutely everything, even telling her brother she’d fallen in love with the man who was planning his downfall.
That man’s silence had screamed at her all week, fraying her nerves. What was he up to? In just one hour ICE was about to launch its latest product, the one she’d stupidly told Liev all about, and all she could think of now was his warning that he wanted to bring ICE down and Dario with it.
He’d used her. Blackmailed her. But still she remembered his kisses. The night they’d made love. What was the matter with her?
The conference room was filling up fast. The press had already taken up their positions as Bianca slipped in the door at the side of the room to give everything one final check. Dario joined her, filled with excitement.
‘You’ve done a great job, Bianca.’ Her brother’s voice was full of praise. Praise she didn’t deserve.
‘That’s not true and you know it.’
‘We all make mistakes. Don’t worry—I’ve got your back on this one. It’s all sorted.’
She turned to look at her brother. ‘What do you mean?’
He placed his hands on her shoulders, forcing her to look up at him, and then smiled. ‘It’s sorted. Stop stressing and concentrate on your job.’
‘But...’ Before she could say any more, Dario had left. The room was filling more rapidly now and she watched everyone. Then her world stopped turning. Her heart stopped beating and she wasn’t sure she could even breathe.
Liev.
She closed her eyes in resignation of all that was surely about to happen. Liev Dragunov wanted revenge and he was here to get exactly th
at. Her first instinct was to warn Dario, but he was busy with final preparations.
She had no choice. She had to confront Liev—now—before he publicly created a scene.
Trying to gather her shattered nerves, she strode over to him. Instantly the air became full of tension and the way he dominated everything around him unnerved her further. The dark suit he wore hugged his body and that image she’d stored away, of him standing in the sea, sunlight defining every muscle, filled her mind. What was the matter with her? The expression on his face was unreadable as she looked directly into his eyes.
‘We need to talk, but not here.’ Bianca walked away, hoping Liev would follow. She glanced back to see that he was, and that inscrutable expression didn’t give her any hope that he’d changed his mind about revenge.
She went through the side doors, into the quietness of the corridor, and headed to the office she and Dario were using. Anywhere was better than having this conversation in public. Once inside the room, she stood behind the desk and turned to face him as he came in and shut the door.
His icy grey eyes met hers. ‘I’ve seen Dario.’
Straight for the jugular, then. No niceties. But what had she expected—or more to the point, what had she hoped for?
‘And?’ She wasn’t going to be drawn into giving anything else away. Not again.
He crossed the room and came to stand in front of her, only the polished surface of her desk between them. She could see the slate grey of his eyes glittering with anger. The firm set of his lips was so severe she wondered how she could ever have been seduced by his kiss. Because you wanted him. Because you loved him. The answers rushed at her and she stood a little taller in defence against what he was going to say.
‘You were right.’ His accent was harsher than she’d ever heard it, as if admitting such a thing was too difficult. The relief which rushed through her was immense, but it was soon hotly followed by panic.
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