by Noelle Adams
The letter was addressed to Nia Sylk. Nia still had no idea how Eddie had tracked her down, especially when she’d been so careful to cover her tracks over the years. She’d simply ignored the letter, hoping he would think the intended party never received it, but when a second letter arrived with a picture of Aaron walking home from school that very day, and a promise that he would be hurt—first, if she didn’t produce the money within three months, Nia knew she was in real trouble.
There was no way she could come up with a million dollars—ever—much less in three months. In her desperation, her thoughts went to one man—Massimo Andretti. He had caused this problem. It was only fair that he fix it. She’d thought of writing to him, but recalling her father’s numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact him, six years ago, she’d decided it was a waste of time.
Luckily for her, the delivery of the second letter coincided with the breakup of Massimo’s six-month engagement to an English heiress. Nia wasn’t surprised when it fell apart. Massimo was an Andretti, and five months into the engagement, rumors of an affair began flying. Then just two weeks ago, the bride-to-be cancelled the wedding. Nia didn’t blame the woman—it wasn’t like she needed his money. Andretti men were known to carry on affairs during their marriages. Massimo was already proving he was hewn from the same philandering piece of granite.
He hopped beds as frequently as he hopped the globe, which was pretty often, seeing he owned companies on every continent. His five-month engagement to the heiress was the longest relationship he’d ever maintained. He never denied the charges of infidelity, and he didn’t even seem shaken up over the breakup. As far as the world knew, he hadn’t yet zeroed in on his next catch. But with Massimo, one never knew.
The thought of associating herself with such an unscrupulous man sent pangs of disgust and fear surging through Nia. But she had no choice. Her father owed Eddie. Massimo owed her. His broken promises had destroyed her family. That debt was not hers. It was Massimo’s. And it was time he paid it.
Pushing back the clouds of fear, Nia rubbed her palms along her arms and curled her fingers into the soft material of her cashmere sweater. Her new wardrobe and travel expenses had cost several thousand dollars, not to mention the high interest on her credit cards, but she couldn’t approach Massimo looking like an underpaid schoolteacher. He was a man who appreciated classy women. She’d never seen a shabby-looking interest on his arm.
A rush of uncertainly fluttered in her belly. What if Massimo didn’t take her bait? What if he decided she wasn’t worth the trouble? She knew Eddie would keep his promise to hurt Aaron if she failed?
The day after she’d gotten the second letter, Nia had packed Aaron up and sent him to the Caribbean to stay with her friend who’d moved back there. She didn’t want Eddie getting any ideas that he could kidnap and hold Aaron as collateral until she paid the debt. Besides, she couldn’t leave him in New York by himself, and she couldn’t bring him to Granite Falls on her clandestine mission. She’d merely told him that it was imperative that he left the country. He wasn’t happy about the disruption in his senior year, but he had no choice. She’d been tempted to follow him across the ocean and forget about Massimo Andretti.
But Eddie had found them once. He could find them again. This time, there would be no warning. He would just kill them.
Nia’s heart began to race as Massimo started to slide his mittens back on. He was getting ready to go back out. Maybe she should let him go before her plan blew up in her face. Massimo Andretti could turn out to be far more dangerous than Eddie if he discovered she was about to swindle him.
No. She shook her head. There was no room for doubt and fears. Massimo was the only way to keep her and Aaron safe and alive. She just had to convince this Andretti rake that she was his next willing victim.
Girding herself with resolve, Nia slid the metal strap of her knockoff Kate Spade purse over her shoulder and glided from the bench. Her legs felt like worn-out elastic as she covered the short distance to Massimo’s side. “Beautiful day for skiing, isn’t it?” she said, smiling up at him.
He slowly turned his head. His thick long lashes lifted and his deep-blue gaze patrolled her face. “Then why aren’t you out on the trails enjoying the fresh snow and exhilarating air?”
Nia breathed through the sensual tremor that rocked her body. She never knew being this close to a man could be so unnerving. She forced her confused emotions into order and placidly said, “I enjoy watching other people.”
His wide mouth pulled into a slight smile and his gaze moved slowly down the length of her, then back up again. “Is this the way you get your kicks, watching other people?”
“It depends on what I’m watching them do,” she responded, holding his hard gaze even as the provocative question and his deep voice made her insides quiver.
Massimo surveyed the young woman with a wealth of straight dark hair tumbling past her rounded shoulder to the soft curve of her back. He’d felt an instant attraction toward her from the moment he walked into the cabin and spotted her sitting in the corner. If it weren’t for the sticky matter of his marriage of convenience in less than a week, he would have joined her at the booth and be charming his way between her shapely thighs already.
He groaned inwardly as his eyes feasted on the slender brown-skinned kitten gazing up at him through almond-shaped chocolate eyes. She was wearing black leather boots, a red cashmere sweater that accentuated her jutting breast, and body-hugging jeans that seductively emphasized her narrow waist, just-right hips, and a firm round derriere that would fit nicely in his palms. She clearly hadn’t come to the mountain to ski.
He forced his gaze back to her pear-shaped face and full rosy lips, structuring a mouth so wide, visions of her kissing specific erogenous parts of his body sent a licentious need coursing through him. She was sinfully sexy in an unsettling innocent way. He hadn’t been with a woman in weeks, and just looking at her was pushing him close to the edge of his restraint.
As he continued to gaze into her eyes, a disturbing familiarity washed over Massimo. He’d seen those eyes before—wide and radiant, with an orange, reddish rim around the pupils and a combination of gold and lighter brown shades within the irises. She was definitely not a one-night fling—even in his most inebriated state, he would have remembered enjoying such an exotic creature. So, where had he seen those eyes before? “Do I know you? Have we met before?” he asked, pulling his mittens from his hands and pushing them into his pockets.
She dropped her gaze and shook her head. “No, but I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, Mr. Andretti. What woman doesn’t?” She chuckled softly and tucked a handful of hair behind her ears with slender red-tipped fingers.
That mundane gesture and the way her lips unfolded like a rose glistering with morning due caused a deep burning in the lowest regions of Massimo’s belly. “I’m flattered, Miss—”
“Sylk. Nia Sylk.”
As Massimo took the delicate hand she extended, he quivered at the thought of all that dark, fine, silk wrapped around him. “A very apropos name. Silk happens to be my favorite fabric. So soft and smooth and slick to the touch,” he murmured, slowly caressing the back of her hand with his fingers.
“This Sylk is spelled with a Y,” she said, pulling away from his grasp.
“Just as a rose by any other name is still a rose, silk is silk, no matter how you spell it.”
Noting the flash of embarrassment that shrouded her face, Massimo knew he was right about her innocence. No sexually experienced woman would blush like that at such a mild overtone. Enough with the games, he thought with a hint of irritation. No need to toy with the prey since he couldn’t gobble her up once he caught her. “To what do I owe the honor of your beautiful acquaintance, Miss Sylk?”
Nia’s skin prickled with warm sensations that had nothing to do with the heat from the fire, but from his touch, his voice, and his overwhelming proximity. His aura filled the room. No wonder women willingly succumbed to
him. The man was potent. Lethal. He knew his debilitating effect on the opposite sex, and he took great satisfaction in exercising it.
She looked anxiously around the cabin. The two teenage boys she’d seen trying on boots earlier had left and the woman behind the rental counter was still engrossed in her sweater-knitting project. The place was deserted, not the kind of ski-lodge that attracted many people. Luckily for her, it was the right time and place to cast her bait into the lake. Imposing an iron control on her nerves, Nia said in a low, steady voice, “I want to be your lover.”
The blue in his eyes deepened. “You’re definitely not shy, Miss Sylk. A properly raised woman would wait for a man to pursue her.”
“Being properly raised doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go after what you want.”
“Bold and beautiful. An intriguing amalgamation.” His eyes flinched like lightning across a lake. “And what makes you think I would want you, Miss Sylk? Women who go around offering themselves to strange wealthy men don’t interest me. I choose to chase the women I desire, not the other way around. You’re taking all the fun out of the game,” he added with a mockingly downward turn of his mouth.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Nia spoke up.
“And I’m supposed to believe you because—”
“I’m a virgin.”
Massimo held his breath. He’d had one virgin in his lifetime, and the experience had been so horrible, he’d sworn off them, and kept that vow all these years. But as he gazed into the seductive eyes of Miss Nia Sylk, the very thought of deflowering her, exploring the untouched landscape of her enticing little body made his sex throb. He was much more experienced now, and he was sure the encounter would be pleasurable for both of them.
But he was getting married in five days. Four days shy of his thirty-fourth birthday.
Massimo folded his arms and stroked his lower lip with the pad of his left thumb as he felt the familiar ache in his groin. If she dared glance down, she’d have an eyeful of the huge bulge at his crotch. He didn’t care. He was never one to hide his desire for a woman. He wasn’t into playing games. Games were for the inexperienced, the uncertain, and the cunning. And something told him this innocent little kitten had a cunning game all plotted out with a trap at the end of her ball of yarn, just for him.
What was that saying? “Keep your friends close and your enemies closer”. Well, she wasn’t an enemy, yet, but she just might become one when she found herself tangled up in her own ball of yarn. He’d be a fool to walk away without knowing why she’d sought him out in the first place.
Nia could be a Trojan horse his bastard half-brother, Galen, was trying to plant in his camp to upset his plans to be married before his thirty-fourth birthday, at which point he would lose his inheritance to Galen. Damn his father for putting him in this situation! The old geezer couldn’t control Massimo from his desk, so he figured he’d do it from his grave. And now here was Galen, trying to drive the last nail into his coffin.
How much was Galen paying Nia? Massimo wondered. He knew one thing: it wasn’t enough, because when he was done with Miss Nia Sylk, she was going to wish she’d never crossed him.
“So, you’re a virgin, Miss Sylk. What’s the big deal?” he finally responded to her declaration of purity.
What’s the big deal? Nia balked at his cavalier response. He probably had more than his fair share of virgins. “I thought virgins were every man’s fantasy, Mr. Andretti. I’ve heard that the pleasure of a virginal conquest for a man is equivalent to breaking in a wild horse. Merely a matter of triumph.”
His thick eyebrows arched. “And where specifically did you hear that?”
I have no idea, Nia thought of the lame analogy. Seriously. Momentarily speechless, Nia could do nothing but stare at him. His apparent enjoyment of her inability to deliver a witty response grated on her already sensitive nerves. You’re doing this for Aaron. You have to play along. There’s no room for failure. She took a deliberate step backward, hoping to disguise her desperation. “Since you’re not interested, I’ll just—”
“How old are you, Miss Sylk?”
“Old enough to know what I want. I want you—a real man, to teach me the pleasures of womanhood, Mr. Andretti.”
“Let me see some ID.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Since I don’t know you, I can’t very well answer that question fairly. Your hesitation suggests you may have something to hide. Perhaps your name isn’t even Nia Sylk.” He turned and headed toward the door.
Crap. She couldn’t let him leave now she’d gotten his attention. Nia pulled her wallet from her purse, yanked out her driver’s license, and rushed after him. “Here.” She shoved it into his hands.
He studied the thin plastic. “So you’re twenty-four, and from Brooklyn.” He handed it back.
“Satisfied?”
“I’m not that easily satisfied, Miss Sylk.”
The cynical twist of his lips and his suggestive gaze ignited fires inside her Nia had never experienced before. She didn’t know exactly what she was supposed to feel when a man like Massimo Andretti looked at her that way. Since her father’s death, she’d been too busy working to support herself and Aaron, and stay under the radar of the law. She never had time for boyfriends.
She’d been looking forward to having a life, to finally indulge in all the things girls her age had been enjoying since they were teenagers—things she’d had to set aside while she was raising her little brother. She had a lot of catching up to do with partying with her girlfriends, with dating, with falling in love and losing her virginity to the man of her choice. She’d been looking forward to learning, growing, and discovering herself—who she really was.
Instead, here she was, playing a dangerous game with an unprincipled man who could hurt her, destroy her innocence before she had time to embrace it. But if she didn’t play along with Massimo, Aaron could get hurt. “So are you going to take me up on my offer?” she asked, her heart beating wildly in her chest.
“What do you want in return for your… virginity?”
Nia shrugged. “I’m not harboring any silly romantic notions, nor am I expecting a permanent commitment, if that’s what you think. I just want to fulfill a fantasy.”
“You traveled all the way from Brooklyn to offer me your virginity with no ulterior motives. And when I’ve had my fill, you’ll go back to Brooklyn with no hard feelings.”
“Well, that and two million dollars.”
Massimo whistled softly. “Is that what a virginity costs these days?”
“Since I haven’t sold one before, I wouldn’t know,” she stated haughtily. “Anyway, I’d like the money in cash, if you don’t mind,” she added with a dignified jut of her chin.
“Sure. Keep it clean and simple. No paper trails.”
Under his withering gaze, Nia felt like an expensive piece of marble being assessed for his private gallery. Perhaps this wasn’t such a very good idea, she thought as the silence grew and thickened. The unreadable, changing expressions in his eyes worried her. What if he was contemplating turning her in for solicitation? The cards were stacked against her. She was a desperate schoolteacher drowning in debt. No one would believe her if she tried to deny the accusations.
On the other hand, Massimo was one of the wealthiest, most handsome, eligible bachelors on the planet. He didn’t have to pay for sex. Everybody would believe his version of the…
“Deal.”
Nia shook her head and blinked. Did he just say…
“Andiamo.” He waved his hand in the air as if he’d just signed a contract on the purchase of a new car and continued on his way to the door.
“Wait!” Panic edged Nia’s voice.
He stopped in mid-stride and turned, his head tipped to one side. “Changing your mind, Miss Sylk? You’re not quite ready to experience the pleasures of womanhood, after all?”
“There are conditions to my proposal.”
“Now y
ou tell me. Well, let’s hear them.”
Nia’s fist tightened around the cold metal of her purse strap. “I get half the money now and the other half after the— um—” She cleared her throat. “The deed is completed.”
“Fair. Anything else?”
“I need time to get to know you better before I— before you— before we— consummate the agreement.”
“Ahh!” He slapped his palm against his forehead in a clearly mocking manner. “You doubt my performance. Well, I assure you, Miss Sylk, no woman has ever left my bed unsatisfied. I can get my hands on some references if you’d like. I’m certain many of my former lovers would be happy to share their experiences with you. I’ve heard some of them even compare notes—positions, duration, locale. The kinds of things women boast about when they try to outshine each other. Perhaps one day you’ll feel obliged to contribute to the blogs.”
Nia gasped. If she didn’t know it before, she knew now that she was making a pact with the most dangerous man on earth. Yes, they were just words, but they nevertheless sent heat rippling under her skin at the thought of rubbing skin and swapping bodily fluids with Massimo Andretti, and then blab about it. But that’s not the reason she was here. “Well, all the same, I just can’t jump into bed with you, Mr. Andretti. A woman’s first time should be special. She should feel comfortable and safe with her partner. I mean, we aren’t even on a first name basis, yet.”
“How much time, Nia?”
“One month.” That should give her enough time to settle her debt with Eddie, make arrangements for a new life with Aaron somewhere out of the country, and escape from Granite Falls with her virginity still intact, and a million of Massimo’s dollars in tow—enough to make a decent life for her and Aaron. It wouldn’t make up for all the suffering of their past, but it would bring her comfort to know she’d outwitted the notorious Massimo Andretti.