Seducing His Enemy's Daughter: Christmas at the Castello (bonus novella)

by Annie West

  ‘A teenager.’ Beneath her touch his hand tightened. Energy vibrated through him. ‘But I tracked him down when the police didn’t have enough evidence to convict him. I made him pay.’

  ‘That’s why you went to prison? You found the man responsible for your mother’s death?’

  Donato nodded. ‘There was a problem with the scientific evidence and the only witness was another prostitute. The lawyers made mincemeat of her evidence and he walked free.’

  Ella struggled to absorb it all. She’d thought Donato might have tried to protect someone in that fight. Now she realised it hadn’t been protection but vengeance that motivated him.

  Or guilt because he hadn’t been able to save his mother?

  Ella exhaled. She thought she’d had a tough childhood!

  ‘Heard enough of my disreputable past yet?’

  ‘Did you find him again after you left prison?’

  Donato shook his head. ‘I learned a lot behind bars. Including that I didn’t want to serve a life sentence for murder. Anyway, when I got out I heard he’d died in a car crash.’

  Relief made Ella dizzy. ‘Prison changed your life.’

  ‘Definitely. I realised education was the key to turning myself around. That plus hard work and a willingness to take risks.’

  ‘It’s amazing what you’ve achieved.’ Yet her mind wasn’t on his commercial success. It was still boggling at his past.

  ‘I was lucky. I was mentored when I left the justice system, part of a young-offenders programme. One mentor led to another and some opportunities opened up for me. I learned a lot and dedicated myself to taking charge of my life, getting some control.’

  He made it sound easy. Ella could only guess at the struggle it must have been with a criminal record. ‘You must have dreamed big.’

  ‘Always.’ His other hand covered hers. ‘Have you heard enough?’ Despite his light tone, there was no mistaking the strain on his features.

  ‘Thank you for telling me. I...’ Ella shook her head. She felt overwhelmed, not only by what he’d revealed but by the fact he trusted her with such intimate details. ‘I won’t tell anyone.’

  ‘You think I’m worried about that?’ He looked big and bold and forbidding, as if the world could spit in his eye and he’d take it in his stride. Now she understood a little of what made him that way. ‘Besides—’ his voice lowered to something like a caress ‘—I know you, Ella. You’ve got too much integrity to gossip about my private life.’

  Integrity?

  Ella looked into those serious eyes and wondered. Was it integrity to keep her father’s true character from Donato? Shouldn’t she at least warn him that Reg Sanderson was as slimy as any sewer rat, and totally untrustworthy?

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  ELLA’S DELIGHTED CHUCKLE took Donato by surprise.

  ‘What are you laughing at?’ Women didn’t find him amusing in bed. Yet his mouth curved at the sound. Her delight was infectious.

  An hour ago, telling Ella about his mother’s death, he hadn’t imagined laughing again so soon.

  He’d laughed more these last two months than he had in years.

  She traced her index finger over his chest, trawling down to circle his nipple. He sucked in his breath as desire shafted through him, tightening his groin and his muscles as he leaned over her.

  ‘The fact we actually made it to your bed and we’re naked. Usually we don’t get this far the first time. Or if we do, we’re still half dressed.’ Ella’s silver-blue eyes danced and Donato was as intrigued as ever by their beauty.

  There wasn’t one thing about Ella he didn’t find intriguing. From her lush mouth to her delicious body and her tendency to cover it rather than flaunt it in revealing clothes. Then there were her smart tongue, her quick wit and her love of her career. The more he heard about her work, the more he realised it was part of her, caring for others. She took pride in what she did, yet was curiously defensive about it.

  ‘I thought you’d appreciate the comfort of a mattress.’ His smile widened as he lifted his hand to her breast, mirroring her movement against his body, watching her expression as he tweaked her nipple.

  He loved the way she responded so honestly, giving freely even as she demanded everything from him.

  Donato pushed her thighs further apart and sank between them.

  ‘Don’t get too used to the bed, cariño. I intend to take you in every room of this house, and there are parts of the garden we haven’t explored.’

  He took her nipple in his mouth and she arched high, gasping. She tasted of apricots, warm from the summer sun, and her skin’s light floral scent was a heady draught for his senses.

  Beneath him Ella shifted needily. ‘I like the fact you’re so...thorough.’

  ‘Always, cariño.’

  Except he’d never needed a woman as much and as often as he did Ella. He’d never known such unflagging desire.

  He’d always been a discriminating lover—not surprising, given his mother’s experiences. But this felt different to any previous sexual relationship. Nothing matched the pleasure he found with Ella. Whenever she gave herself to him it was so good.

  Better than good.

  The best he’d ever known.

  That must explain why he took such inordinate care and time now. Why he concentrated as much energy and focus on pleasuring her as he did on finalising any of his multi-million-dollar deals. He wanted to fill Ella’s senses till there was only him. He wanted her screaming his name as she flew apart beneath him, around him. He wanted her abandoned and sated.

  Restless fingers burrowed through his hair. ‘Kiss me, Donato. Please.’

  He relinquished her breast with one final lingering lick and was rewarded with a sigh of delight. He lifted himself higher, looked down into her flushed face and stalled, his heart thumping.

  Her eyes had lost that glimmer of humour. Even the desire he was accustomed to seeing had been eclipsed. Instead that diamond-bright glitter looked awash, glazed with tears, and her expression...he couldn’t name it. It was more than arousal. More than sexual excitement. It was tender and sad and hopeful and a million things he couldn’t name.

  Because he’d never seen them in any woman’s eyes before.

  Except there was something there that reminded him of his mother when he’d been tiny and she’d cradled his skinny frame close, telling him everything would be all right, despite her bruises and his empty belly.

  Emotion scoured him. His chest heaved and tightened.

  How had sex morphed into this? Donato reared back, bracing himself on his arms above Ella.

  She grabbed his shoulders, her legs lifting to wrap around his waist, stopping him when he would have moved further away.

  He could have broken her hold, except, he realised, part of him wanted to stay. The part that was mesmerised by the tenderness in her expression.

  Donato told himself it was the unfamiliarity of it. The novelty.

  ‘Kiss me, Donato.’

  ‘You’re feeling sorry for me.’ He couldn’t believe it. Every instinct had warned against revealing so much of his past. But he hadn’t expected this.

  Everything rebelled at her pity. He’d looked after himself, and his mother, since he was a kid. He’d almost killed a man with his bare hands, before he learned to curb the anger inside. He’d survived prison, not unscathed, but stronger and in some ways more dangerous than before. He had the life he wanted, the power he desired. He bought and sold enterprises with ease. He was about to enjoy the biggest, most satisfying coup of his life.

  ‘I don’t want your sympathy.’ The words emerged through gritted teeth. ‘I refuse to accept it.’

  Ella shook her head and shut her eyes. When she opened them again her expression was guarded and there was a wry twist to her
lips.

  ‘I’m sorry for the little boy you once were.’ She lifted one hand to his face, her palm warm against his locked jaw. ‘Sorry too for the lost teenager, trying to get back to his mother.’

  ‘I was never lost. I knew exactly where I was.’ Though, he admitted silently, he’d lost his way when grief and anger had erupted. When the keening sense of loss had been too much to bear.

  Ella’s hand shifted to stroke his scar. It wasn’t the first time she’d touched it. But this time she did it with such deliberation his breath sucked in.

  ‘Don’t worry, Donato. I know you don’t need my sympathy now. You’re big and bold and formidable. You’re dangerous in ways most men wouldn’t dare to be, and most women dream of.’ Her lips tilted in a tiny secret smile that made something flip and twist in his belly.

  Her hand dropped and Donato swallowed hard rather than ask her to touch him again. The sensation of her light caress on his cheek lingered, as if she’d marked him.

  ‘Good.’ He nodded briskly. ‘Just so you understand, I don’t need pity. My needs are far simpler.’ He lifted his hand to her breast again, his touch demanding, almost rough.

  Inevitably, satisfyingly, Ella arched into his touch, her eyes alive with the same blaze of hunger consuming him.

  Donato plundered her lips, taking her mouth in a kiss that held nothing tentative or gentle. It was a marauder’s kiss. The kiss of a man taking what he wanted. A kiss that was hungry and not at all tender. A kiss to banish pity.

  Yet, if he’d meant to frighten her into drawing away, he couldn’t have been more mistaken. Ella matched him all the way, nipping at his bottom lip, grabbing at his hair, clinging with hands and hips and her lovely long legs wrapped tight around him.

  His heart thundered as with one single thrust he entered her, anchoring her to the bed so she couldn’t move unless he permitted it.

  Triumph rose. He had her on his terms and it felt like heaven.

  Except something had changed. Something about the way she accepted his weight, his hunger, his avoidance of anything like tenderness.

  Or was it something in him that had changed?

  Donato didn’t know. But suddenly he was tearing his mouth away, lifting his head to stare down at her. He catalogued her swollen lips and the reddened marks where his unshaven chin had scraped her soft flesh. Shame hit. He’d been too rough.

  Her chin lifted, daring him to read any sentiment in her expression. In that moment Donato understood that, despite what he’d implied, it wasn’t just sex he wanted from Ella.

  ‘Is there a problem?’ Her eyebrows arched as if she were challenging him as she had that first night, instead of lying beneath him, her velvety warmth making it almost impossible to think.

  ‘No problem at all, mi preciosa niña.’

  He’d work out exactly what it was he wanted from Ella, given time. He’d find a way to deal with this sense of needing yet more. Didn’t he conquer every challenge?

  If he’d been thinking straight he’d have realised weeks ago that with Ella he wanted more than simple carnal satisfaction. He wanted her company, her mind, her humour and her infuriatingly independent attitude. And yes, even her tenderness.

  ‘Donato?’ She frowned and concern flickered across her face. She sank her teeth into her bottom lip as if to stop herself asking more.

  Guilt smote. Was he really so insecure he couldn’t cope with a little sympathy from a beautiful woman? From his lover? He’d behaved like a vulnerable kid, not the self-assured man he was.

  ‘Tell me what you want, cariño.’ He palmed her cheek, dragging his thumb over her reddened lips and planting a tiny kiss there. Instantly she kissed him back, the sweet caress of her mouth on his filling him with relief.

  Had he really worried she wouldn’t respond after his rough treatment?

  No, he realised in a moment of blinding clarity, he’d feared she’d stop caring.

  Donato’s heart crashed against his ribs but he held himself still, forcing air through cramped lungs.

  ‘You, Donato. That’s what I want.’ Ella kissed him again, then lay back waiting.

  ‘That I can provide.’ His voice was a rumble, gruff like distant thunder as he moved within her. Using iron willpower he kept his movements measured. He watched her face flush and her eyes shine as she moved with him, sinuous, sleek and mind-blowingly sexy.

  Her sweet-nectar scent was rich in his nostrils. Her ripe body was everything he could desire. But even better was the expression in her eyes. Though she veiled it with a half-lidded look, he read tenderness there. Caring. And his heart swelled.

  He cradled her face as he quickened his movements, feeling her ripple of arousal encompass him. She clasped her hands behind his neck, anchoring him. Her breath came in little quivering sighs, shorter and deeper the faster he moved.

  ‘Like that?’ He held her gaze, loving the way hers suddenly widened as he found that sweet spot and she convulsed around him, drawing him tight and hard.

  As he watched, the blue-grey of her eyes morphed almost to pure silver, a burst of brightness that stole his breath. His name was a tender groan from those beautiful lips as she bucked high, her hands clutching as if scared he’d let her go.

  Heat and light and wonder filled him as she drew him to the brink of ecstasy. He wanted her as he’d wanted no other woman. And he revelled in being wanted by her.

  Then thought spiralled away, a fraying thread undone by white-hot pleasure as he fell into that silvery starburst and joined her in oblivion.

  The sky had grown dark, the air sultry in anticipation of an evening thunderstorm, when they finally stirred. Ella was sprawled over him, her lips at his throat, her breasts against his chest. He wallowed in the skin to skin contact, the warm weight of her.

  Desire stirred and with it something new.

  He’d been wary of sharing his history because keeping his mouth shut was ingrained. His mother had spoken Spanish to him because it was her native language, but also to keep him apart from the people she mixed with. He hadn’t been fluent in English till he went to school. They’d been a team, a pair against the world. Since losing her Donato had devoted his life to improving himself, building success upon success. That took dedication, single-mindedness and the ability not to be distracted by beautiful women.

  Ella was the first to hear his story and he’d expected shock and disgust.

  Yet she’d dumbfounded him. Instead of outrage he’d found understanding. Instead of disgust there’d been sympathy and support, and tears in her eyes as she’d held him. He’d felt her emotions rise—not excitement but tenderness and concern. Greedily he’d wanted to snatch it all for himself. Not because the past still pained him, but because he felt...different because of Ella’s concern.

  ‘We need to talk.’ Her husky words surprised him. Usually the last thing Ella wanted in his bed was to talk.

  Did she want to rehash his past? Delve into the nitty-gritty detail? Instantly his lassitude disintegrated.

  ‘What do you want to talk about?’

  Ella planted her hands on his chest and raised her head, looking down at him. Her hair was a froth of dark honey silk and her lips were the colour of crushed strawberries. She looked like a woman who’d been thoroughly bedded.

  Donato’s arms tightened as possessiveness sideswiped him. He didn’t want any other man seeing her like this. Ever.

  She smiled, that teasing tilt of the lips that he felt in the hollow place at the base of his belly.

  ‘No need to be so wary. I wasn’t going to pry.’

  Was he that obvious? Donato frowned.

  ‘Okay then. What is it?’

  The smile slipped off her face and she looked away. ‘My father.’

  Now this was a first. Ella talking about her family, and especially her father, without pro
mpting?

  ‘You want to know how the business plans are proceeding?’ That would be another first. As far as he could tell, Ella wasn’t interested in her father’s business. Originally he’d put that down to a sense of entitlement, thinking she lived off his money but didn’t bother about how he got it. Now he knew the pair led separate lives.

  ‘No. I wanted to tell you...’ Her brow furrowed.

  ‘Yes? Something about your father?’

  She drew in a shuddering breath that rubbed her breasts against his chest. Her face swung back and he saw the unhappy cast of her mouth, the tension in every feature.

  ‘I can’t give you any insights into his business. I know nothing about it, and I’m sure your investigators have been thorough tracking down his commercial interests.’

  ‘They have.’

  ‘I know you far outclass him in wealth and, I assume, business capability. But there’s one thing you don’t know. Something you need to know.’

  ‘What is it, Ella?’

  She met his eyes. Her own blazed. ‘If there’s a loophole he’ll take it. If there’s a way he can feather his nest at your expense he’ll do it. Whatever the deal is on paper, whatever you’ve agreed, don’t trust him.’

  Donato stared up into her taut features, the twisting line of her mouth, as if she’d swallowed something foul, and began to understand.

  ‘It’s all right, Ella. I take precautions. He won’t get the better of me. The contract will see to that.’

  ‘You don’t understand. I’m not talking about him jockeying for the best deal on paper.’ Her gaze slid away. ‘I’m talking about him breaking the rules, even the law. Don’t trust him an inch. He uses people to get what he wants.’

  Donato read her pain, felt the tension in her and wanted to smash Reg Sanderson’s face.

  ‘Ella?’ He kept his voice soft as he brushed her shining hair back. ‘What’s he done to you?’