The Italian’s convenient deal!
Sebastiano Castiglione has a problem. His lifestyle of decadent hedonism has convinced his grandfather to retain control of the family dynasty. To take what’s owed him, Bastian must prove he’s a changed man. The sight of his stunning intern sparks an idea—and the flames of a burning desire!
Innocent Poppy Connolly will not become another Castiglione acquisition—but she cannot refuse Bastian’s offer of three chances to change her family’s life. Her response to his smoldering physicality is shocking, and it won’t be long before the molten heat of Bastian’s gaze melts away all her resistance...
Sebastiano drew her even closer, releasing the lapels of his jacket to slide his hands into the wisps of hair either side of her face. She stopped laughing instantly, her eyes suddenly wide as saucers. Her hair felt like silk against his fingers, her skin even softer. His eyes drifted from her mouth to the tiny pulse-point flickering at the base of her throat, a sense of victory he couldn’t explain coursing through him.
‘Kind of funny, you think?’
‘Sebastiano...?’ Her voice was soft and her hands came up to grip his thick wrists. ‘What are you doing?’
‘I’m going to give you a lesson in what I would do if this relationship was real.’
Only it’s one hundred per cent fake, he reminded himself—right before he bent to her and covered her mouth with his.
Her petal-soft lips parted on a gasp of surprise, her body stiffening beneath the onslaught. Sebastiano gathered her closer, feeling her rigidity give way to a trembling need as old as time.
He groaned, pressing his lips harder over hers, seeking access to the warm recesses of her mouth. ‘Open for me, Poppy,’ he growled. ‘Kiss me as I’ve imagined you doing this past week. Let me taste you, bella. Let me—’
Another groan escaped his lips as she did as he requested, willingly parting her mouth for him, a tiny whimper escaping her lips as his tongue swept inside.
With two university degrees and a variety of false career starts under her belt, MICHELLE CONDER decided to satisfy her lifelong desire to write and finally found her dream job. She currently lives in Melbourne, Australia, with one super-indulgent husband, three self-indulgent but exquisite children, a menagerie of over-indulged pets, and the intention of doing some form of exercise daily. She loves to hear from her readers at michelleconder.com.
Books by Michelle Conder
Mills & Boon Modern Romance
Defying the Billionaire’s Command
Hidden in the Sheikh’s Harem
The Most Expensive Lie of All
Duty at What Cost?
Living the Charade
His Last Chance at Redemption
One Night With Consequences
Prince Nadir’s Secret Heir
Scandal in the Spotlight
Girl Behind the Scandalous Reputation
Visit the Author Profile page at millsandboon.co.uk for more titles.
The Italian’s Virgin Acquisition
Michelle Conder
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Thank you to Laura, my beautiful editor,
who deserves amazing things to happen in her life.
Contents
Cover
Back Cover Text
Introduction
About the Author
Title Page
Dedication
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Extract
Copyright
CHAPTER ONE
SEBASTIANO CHECKED HIS Rolex as he strode into SJC Towers, his London office building, completely oblivious to the wintry rain landing like icy pellets on his face. From the moment he’d woken up he’d known it was going to be an interesting day. Interesting as in the Chinese curse ‘interesting’—not ‘it’s going to be great’ interesting. Not that he held much with curses or proverbs.
But he wasn’t going to let noisy workmen, an unexpected early-morning visit from his now ex-mistress or a flat tyre derail him. He had been waiting for over two years for this day and finally his crusty old grandfather was going to give up on his stubbornness and hand over the reins of the family dynasty. And not before time!
Bert, his weekend security chief, gave him a nod as he approached the reception desk, not at all perplexed to see his boss arriving for work on a Sunday morning.
‘Catch the game yesterday, boss?’ Bert asked with a flashing grin.
‘Don’t gloat,’ Sebastiano advised. ‘It’s a very unattractive quality.’
Bert’s grin widened. ‘Yes sir!’
Their friendly rivalry was a source of great amusement to Sebastiano. Too often those around him hid behind a mask of eager deference to get on his good side all because he had been born into a life of wealth and privilege. It was irritating to say the least.
He caught a glimpse of the newspaper Bert had spread out on the desk showing a picture of Sebastiano leaving a posh, and utterly boring, cocktail party the night before. Evidently his now ex-mistress had seen the same photos on the Internet which was why she had decided to ambush him outside his Park Lane home after his early-morning run, wanting to know why he hadn’t invited her to attend with him.
In hindsight, ‘because it didn’t occur to me’ hadn’t been his best answer. Things had rapidly deteriorated after that, ending when she’d issued him with an ultimatum: either move their relationship forward or end it. Not that he could blame her for being frustrated. He’d pursued her a month ago with the ruthless determination that had seen him rise to the top of the Forbes 500 list by the age of thirty-one and he’d yet to sleep with her more than once.
Which wasn’t like him. He normally had a very healthy libido but he’d been off stride lately. Probably only this damned situation with his grandfather. Not to mention the twenty-hour days he had been putting in at the office to finalise a deal that would see him take over as industry leader in the hotel construction market.
Of course, he’d apologised to the world-renowned ballerina, but she hadn’t been impressed, blowing him a kiss over one elegant shoulder and purring that it was his loss as she had gracefully exited his life. Thinking about it now, he might suggest she give break-up lessons to some of his past involvements. She’d make a small fortune teaching basic relationship-exiting etiquette to others, particularly to the Spanish model who had thrown her hair brush at him when he’d suggested they part ways some months back.
‘Better luck next time, eh, boss?’ Bert chortled, feigning contrition. Sebastiano grunted. He knew Bert was referring to yesterday’s football match, in which his team had annihilated Sebastiano’s, but equally he could have applied the sentiment to his stalled sex life.
‘Your team wins again,’ Sebastiano said as he headed for the bank of elevators. ‘I’ll dock your wages by half.’
‘Yes sir!’ Bert’s grin widened as he checked the security monitors on his desk.
Stepping into the lift, Sebastiano stabbed the button for his floor and hoped that his adroit EA had found time to collate the reports he wanted to present to his grandfather this morning as part of his winning pitch. Ordinarily he’d never ask Paula to come in on a Sunday, but his grandfather had landed this visit on him at the last minute and he hadn’t wanted to leave anything to chance.
Not that his business acumen was the reas
on behind his grandfather’s reticence to hand him control of the company. No, what he wanted was to see Sebastiano settled down with a lovely donna who would one day become the mother of his multiple bambini. His grandfather wanted him to have something other than work to sustain him. Something called work-life balance. A modern-day catch cry if ever Sebastiano had heard one, and one he suspected his grandfather had acquired from his cherished wife. Whatever Nonna wanted, Nonna got.
‘How can I expect you to take on another demanding role when you already have so little time to relax?’ his grandfather had said over the phone a month ago. ‘Your grandmother and I just want to see you happy, Bastian. You know how we worry. I can’t die if I don’t know you will be taken care of.’
‘You know I can take care of myself,’ Sebastiano had growled. ‘And you’re not dying. At least, not right now.’
But his grandparents were old-world Italian. If there wasn’t a good woman cooking in his kitchen and warming his bed at night, they considered him to be living a lonely, substandard existence. And apparently having a housekeeper providing those hot meals, and as many women as a man could want offering to warm his bed, wasn’t what they were talking about.
More’s the pity.
Because for Sebastiano being busy was his work-life balance. He thrived on it. There wasn’t a day went by he didn’t wake up wanting to conquer some new business opportunity or some new corporate challenge. Love? Marriage? Both required a level of intimacy he didn’t have it in him to give.
Being a little removed from those around him had served him well over the years and he couldn’t see a reason to change that. And if some nights he had a lonely, late-night aperitif by himself, overlooking the glittering lights of whichever city he happened to be in at the time...well, so be it.
Right now he was in the prime of his life, and as he had just bought Britain’s largest steel and concrete supply company there was no better time to take over as head of Castiglione Europa. The two businesses dovetailed so beautifully that Sebastiano had already asked his marketing and sales team to work up a plan to move into the hotel refurbishment industry across Eastern Europe.
He just had to convince his hard-headed nonno to retire and see out his twilight years with the wife he adored in the family’s Amalfi coast villa. Then, and only then, could Sebastiano make up for the hardship he had caused his family fifteen years ago.
Deep in thought, he flicked on the lights to the executive floor and heard a text come through on his phone. Switching on the coffee machine on his way to his office, he opened the text and pulled up short.
He read it twice. Apparently Paula was in Accident and Emergency with her husband who had a suspected broken ankle. The report he required was still on her computer. His frown turned into a scowl. With his grandfather due any minute, he didn’t need this kind of delay.
Texting back that he hoped her husband was okay, he retrieved her laptop from her desk and carried it into his office. Glancing at the screen festooned with multi-coloured icons that made his eyes cross, he couldn’t find any folder that looked like it held the report he needed.
Great. That was just great.
* * *
Poppy checked the Mickey Mouse watch on her wrist and groaned. She had to get out of here. Her brother Simon would be waiting and he always became agitated when she was late. On top of that Maryann, her wonderful neighbour who had been more of a mother to both of them than anyone else they had ever known, had just been diagnosed with MS. It was a cruel blow for a woman who was beautiful both inside and out and Poppy wanted to do something nice for her today.
Trying not to dwell on the awful news, Poppy tightened her haphazard ponytail and skimmed over the legal brief she wanted to present to her boss tomorrow morning. She only had one week left of her internship at SJC International and she wanted to make sure she sparkled. Who knew, once her law degree was finished she might even be offered a job here if she impressed the powers that be enough. The ultimate power being her boss’s boss, Sebastiano Castiglione. She hadn’t had anything to do with him directly, but she had seen him stalking through the halls, his long stride indicating a man who was always on a mission, his wide shoulders denoting that likely he would succeed at that mission.
Catching herself daydreaming about his dark bad-boy good looks, and reminding herself that he had a bad-boy reputation to match, she stacked the files she had been using back in the cabinet and switched off the computer. Not being a morning person, she would have liked to work from home this morning, but the laptop she used for university was a thousand years old and wouldn’t run the program she needed to use. On top of which intern privileges didn’t extend to downloading company files on her private device, even if she was doing company business.
Stretching the kinks out of her neck, she was about to leave when she noticed the legal book she had borrowed from Paula a week earlier. Tomorrow was going to be a hectic day so it made sense to return it on her way out today.
Ordinarily she wouldn’t have access to the big boss’s hallowed ground, but since her boss had lent her his access pass she did. Still, she hesitated for a second. She didn’t want to get Mr Adams into trouble by doing something she shouldn’t, but she also didn’t want to risk the chance she would return the book late and look sloppy. One of the best ways to stand out as an intern was to be as efficient as possible and Poppy took her job very seriously. And, since no one else was around this morning, who would know?
Making her mind up, she grabbed the book and headed for the lift. After having been raised in the foster care system since she was twelve, and having to take care of a brother ten years younger who had been born deaf, she knew the only way out of her current poverty-riddled existence was to focus on bettering herself. She’d been given a second chance when Maryann had found them both huddled up to a heater at Paddington Station eight years ago and she intended to use every second of that chance to make sure that they both had a future to look forward to.
Swiping the access card and pressing the button for the executive floor, she waited patiently for the lift to open out onto the stylish elegance that denoted that one had truly arrived in the world. Crossing the softly carpeted floor into Mr Castiglione’s outer office, Poppy paused to take in the sweeping views of London she so rarely got to see. Despite the pale grey sky the city looked picture-perfect with its seamless blend of new-and old-world architecture. It was as if nothing could touch a person from way up here, but Poppy knew that, once you got down to ground level, things could not only touch you; they could destroy you if you let them.
Caught up as she was by dark, unwanted memories, she jumped when a deep male voice cursed loudly, shattering the stillness.
Heart thumping, Poppy turned to find who it was, but no one was about. Then another curse coloured the air and she realised it was coming from inside her boss’s office.
Always too curious for her own good, she stepped forward on light feet and paused at the open doorway to Mr Castiglione’s internal space. She sucked in a sharp breath as she saw the man himself standing, legs braced wide, in front of the plate glass windows.
She’d recognise him anywhere, of course. Powerful. Untamed. Stunningly good-looking. He raked a hand through his hair, mussing it into untidy black waves. He was tall for an Italian, and muscular, as if he worked out every day and then some. Since he was reputed to work about twenty hours a day, Poppy didn’t know where he found the time, but she was glad he did. He was eye-candy extraordinaire. Or ‘sex on a stick’, as Maryann was wont to say.
As if he sensed her silent perusal, he shot round from studying the phone in his hand, his brilliant green eyes piercing her straight to her core. For a moment Poppy forgot to breathe. Then he spoke, his aggravated gaze sweeping over her and lighting tiny spot fires of sensation in its wake.
‘Who the hell are you?’
‘I’m an intern.’ Poppy cleared the frog from her throat. ‘Poppy. Poppy Connolly. I work for you.’
His
frown deepened as he looked her up and down again. ‘Since when have jeans and a sweater been considered appropriate office attire?’
Poppy flushed at the dressing down. ‘It’s a Sunday,’ she explained, forcing herself not to tuck thick strands of her untidy brown hair behind her ear. ‘And I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be in.’ Which wasn’t really much of an explanation when he stood before her in a snowy-white dress shirt, red tie and dark trousers that did little to hide his powerful thighs.
‘Yes, it is a Sunday. So why are you here?’
‘I have a week left and I wanted to finish up a presentation for Mr Adams. He said it would be fine if I came in.’
One dark eyebrow rose. ‘Taking dedication a bit far, isn’t it?’
‘Not if you want to get ahead,’ she said simply. ‘And I’d love to work here when I graduate. Being flexible and committed are just two of the things interns can do to stand out.’
Sure that he was about to toss her out of his office, maybe via one of those plate glass windows, she was surprised when instead he asked, ‘What are the others?’
‘Be punctual, treat the position like a job and dress for success.’ She ticked off each item on her fingers.
His gaze fell to her ancient skinny jeans and Poppy tried not to cringe. When she had first started at SJC five weeks ago she had imagined one day meeting this man, who was reported to be some sort of corporate god, but in her imaginings it hadn’t quite gone like this.
‘Broke that one, I see,’ he said sardonically.
Poppy felt heat creep into her cheeks and realised that her heart was beating at double its normal rate. Probably ‘finding your boss attractive’ wasn’t on that special intern’s list either, and she tried to crank up the wheels of her sluggish brain to think of a way to salvage the rapidly deteriorating situation.
When the phone rang on his desk it broke the taught silence between them and also threw Poppy a welcome lifeline.
‘Let me get that,’ she said in her most businesslike manner.
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