by Heidi Rice
But instead of the emotional manipulations I expected to hear, instead of the muffled tears maybe because I had deflowered her with so little care or attention, I felt her fingers touch my arm. Tentative and halting.
I lifted my forearm to find her leaning over me, her face a picture of flushed arousal. Still. What was up with that? She couldn’t possibly still desire me.
‘Is everything okay, Dante?’ she asked and I could hear the concern in her voice.
I huffed out a laugh that sounded strained and forced, but I could see her concern for me was genuine.
What on earth was going on? She was looking at me as if I were the injured party, instead of the other way around.
‘Everything’s terrific,’ I said, still waiting for the other shoe to drop, or rather the axe to fall on my head, but instead of railing at me or demanding to know what my intentions were now, the sweet, unbearably sexy smile that I had only seen once before curved her lips.
I tried to quash the answering smile that wanted to curve my lips in response but there was no help for it. She wasn’t going to mention her virginity, or the ruthless way I had plunged into her or the fact that I hadn’t stopped when I should have done, or apologised even, like the heartless bastard I was. She wasn’t even going to mention my loss of control and the fact I had carried on making love to her.
Could she actually be that guileless? That sweet? That innocent? Because it seemed that she was, and I couldn’t seem to decide what I felt about that.
On the one hand it was going to let me off this hook very nicely indeed—because if she wasn’t about to draw attention to her virginity, I certainly was not... But it also made her seem even more vulnerable than she had before—when I’d walked in on her being beaten by Carsoni’s goon. But now the man hurting her and treating her without the proper care was me.
‘You enjoyed it?’ she said, but I could hear the question.
I rolled back towards her and stroked the side of her face with my thumb; the grinding feeling of inadequacy and shame and futile temper I hadn’t wanted to acknowledge released in my chest.
‘Bella, couldn’t you tell?’ I said.
The blush, which I had found so fascinating when I’d first met her, lit up her cheeks again. But now I knew exactly where that blush originated, from an openness and honesty far greater than I had already realised, it didn’t just fascinate me, it captivated me. And although I knew I shouldn’t, I had the strangest feeling of satisfaction that, for whatever reason, she had chosen me to be her first.
Maybe it wasn’t that significant for her, that was why she hadn’t mentioned it. And why she clearly didn’t want me to mention it either—which was fine by me. But that didn’t stop me from knowing. And wondering why on earth she would have chosen me. I hoped to hell it wasn’t some foolish notion that I would give her more but it seemed so far as if my deeply cynical reaction to her virginity had been an overreaction, to say the least.
With that in mind, I needed to be casual now. Not to make a big deal of any of this. I forced myself to relax and smile back at her, even though the tightening in my chest felt far too significant.
‘I... Yes, of course I could tell,’ she said, feigning an experience I knew she didn’t have. Why her little pretence should suddenly seem appealing instead of threatening or suspicious I had no idea but I decided to go with it.
‘I should...’ She thrust her thumb over her shoulder, pointing towards the shower at the bottom of the cliff steps. ‘I should go and shower...’ She smiled. ‘I have an important meeting with my boss in an hour and a half.’
She grabbed a towel from the pile by the lounger and wrapped it around that luscious body. I grabbed one too, to cover myself, because I could feel myself getting hard again and I didn’t want to scare her off.
Although she didn’t seem scared. Which I decided was good. Once wasn’t going to be enough for either one of us, but we needed to establish some parameters for this...hook-up. Because that’s all this could ever be. She seemed to already realise that, which was also good, I supposed. And while I knew her attempts to appear blasé and urbane about what we’d done were really just an act, I didn’t have a problem with that either. But not to the point that I was going to allow her to rush off now—or pretend that nothing had happened when I saw her again at the team briefing at eleven.
I had never slept with an employee before and certainly not one of my engagement team. But I didn’t see why it should be a problem. We were all adults. Consenting adults. And everyone knew I didn’t play favourites in a business situation. Every single person on my team had earned their place there. And Edie more than most. Her work so far had been exemplary. She was observant, erudite and incredibly sharp and that was before you even factored in her exceptional analytical abilities and her creative use of data to rationalise and assess the investment potential of each of the candidates we were considering. Not only had she worked hard over the last week and a half, she had impressed every member of the team and earned her place. And I knew how much that meant to her, after our conversation over dinner four nights ago. After the abuse she had clearly suffered because of her mother’s behaviour, Edie had wrongly believed she had a lot to prove.
Considering that abuse, I would hazard a guess that was why she didn’t want anyone knowing that we were an item. Because the professionalism she had done so much to achieve might be compromised.
Unfortunately though, keeping our liaison a secret wasn’t going to work for me.
So when she went to leave, I grasped her wrist. ‘Not so fast, Edie.’
She sat down on the lounger, her hands twisting on the towel she had wrapped around that delectable body.
‘At the meeting today, and during the rest of this week,’ I said, ‘the guests and the team are going to know we have been intimate.’
She blinked, the blush exploding on her cheeks again. ‘How?’
I had to resist the urge to laugh at the gaucheness of the question. Did she have any idea how she looked right now—like a woman who had been well and truly...? I cut off the crude word before I could even think it. She wasn’t a whore, like my mother had been, like her own mother had been. In fact she was exactly the opposite. She didn’t deserve to be thought of in that way. But that didn’t mean I was going to avoid stating the obvious. If she wanted to pretend she was experienced, I was entitled to treat her as if she were.
‘Because I plan to sleep with you again. And I’m not about to keep it a secret. In fact,’ I added, thinking of the practicalities, because from the look of stunned disbelief on her face she was clearly incapable of doing so. ‘I would like to have your belongings moved into my suite of rooms. It seems pointless us staying at opposite ends of the estate. Logistically speaking. There’s going to be little enough downtime given the roster of events Evan has planned for the remainder of the week. If we’re going to make the most of the time we have available it makes sense for us to stay in the same place. And my suite is a great deal bigger than yours.’
‘But...’ she actually sputtered, her blush now radioactive, which I found ridiculously charming. It shouldn’t matter to me, but it felt oddly exhilarating knowing I was the first man, the only man, she had ever been in a relationship with. ‘Won’t that compromise my position with the team?’ she said, confirming my suspicions about her insecurities.
‘Absolutely not. What you do in your spare time... What we both do in our spare time, for that matter... With each other. Is no one else’s business. Believe me, you have more than proved yourself with every member of the team, including me, and no one is going to question that.’ A flush of pleasure lit her eyes at the praise and the strange clenching in my chest increased. I forced it down. It wasn’t as if I was complimenting her for any other reason than she had earned it. ‘Plus, I’ve seen how some of the male guests have been sniffing around you,’ I added, because now we had slept together
it didn’t seem inappropriate to admit to the jealousy that had gripped me every time one of the bastards even glanced at her. ‘I don’t like it. As long as they know you’re now with me, they’ll back off, which will save me the trouble of having to punch anyone. Which could get awkward, let’s face it, if they turn out to be one of the people we choose as an investor,’ I finished, only half joking.
‘You would punch one of the guests?’ She sounded both horrified and astonished. But the flush of colour told a slightly different story—which I suspected she was wholly unaware of—that having a man prepared to fight for her was a novel, but not entirely unwelcome, experience. I thought of the father who had refused to acknowledge her and couldn’t help the sudden desire to punch him too.
‘If a man got too familiar with you, yes, I’d punch him in a minute,’ I confirmed as I tucked a tendril of hair behind her ear. I let my thumb glide down the side of her neck, to caress the pulse which hammered her collarbone. I could see the beginnings of beard burn where I had devoured the soft flesh earlier. I would have to be more careful with her, I noted; her skin was so delicate. ‘I don’t share,’ I added, which was true. I insisted all relationships I had were mutually exclusive, no matter how short. But the strange surge of possessiveness at the thought of any other man touching her, or even looking at her, was something entirely new.
I dismissed the thought. It was only because she was so young and so inexperienced, and she was also in my employ, that I felt protective towards her. It would fade, along with my hunger for her. But, until it did, I didn’t see a problem with indulging myself. And her.
‘So how do you feel about having your belongings moved into my suite?’ I asked.
She hesitated, tugging that lush bottom lip with her teeth as she considered my request, and for a split second my pulse rate sped up—at the insane thought that she might refuse me. Of course she would not; she had enjoyed the sex as much as I had after that initial discomfort, I was sure about that now. And anyway, if she refused I was more than capable of persuading her. But weirdly, despite all my qualifications, my pulse remained elevated and erratic until she stopped biting her lip and nodded.
‘Okay,’ she said, the eager smile and the flicker of excitement in her eyes captivating me as much as that damn blush. ‘If you insist,’ she said.
‘I do,’ I murmured, unable to prevent an equally eager smile—at the thought of all the pleasure we would have after hours. I gave her a friendly pat on the butt. ‘Now, you’d better go shower,’ I said. ‘Or you’ll be late for work, and I know what a hard taskmaster your boss is.’
She laughed, the sound so light and sweet and carefree, my pulse rate spiked again, for an entirely different reason. But as she stood, with the towel still wrapped tightly around her lush curves, she looked down at me, her smile turning sultry and sexy and remarkably bold for a young woman who had only just been initiated into the joys of sex. An odd sense of pride gripped me at yet more evidence that my Edie was an exceptionally fast learner.
‘Are you sure you don’t want to join me?’ she said, flicking her gaze provocatively towards the open shower used to rinse off the sea salt.
Blood surged into my groin at the image of her wet and dripping, those lush curves covered in soap suds as my hands teased her nipples and explored her warm flesh.
Whoa, ragazzo.
I shifted on the lounger, but kept the towel pressed firmly over my growing erection to hide my reaction to her bold suggestion.
As much as I would love to take her up on her offer, I knew she had to be sore and I didn’t want to risk hurting her by taking things too far. Too soon.
While her flesh might be willing, mine was far too weak. Or, rather, not nearly weak enough.
‘I think I will stay here and enjoy the view instead,’ I said, with as casual a tone as I could muster, knowing it was going to be torture. ‘You have exhausted me, bella,’ I lied, but I was glad I had when she laughed with obvious pleasure, like the fledging man-eater she was. ‘And we don’t want to both be late for work.’
She nodded, again revealing that artless smile.
I watched her walk to the shower, unable to detach my gaze as she dropped the towel and put on a display worthy of a seasoned courtesan as she washed her beautiful body—a display which was all the more arousing for being entirely unconscious.
I waved to her as she left the beach, having slipped into one of the towelling robes left for the guests. I finally managed to drag my gaze off her as she disappeared up the beach steps. I would need to get my reaction to her under ruthless control before our morning team briefing, I realised, or all the promises I’d made to maintain our professional relationship in the professional spaces we shared would be shot to hell.
I gathered the triangles of blue fabric I had ripped off her earlier, intending to dispose of them for her and order her another bikini—because I was already anticipating the sight of those lush curves so temptingly confined again. But as I climbed off the lounger I noticed the spots of blood she had also left behind. Along with her innocence.
Not that I had needed any confirmation of her virginity after our encounter, but the sight had my heartbeat stuttering. And, although I knew it was a little disingenuous, I couldn’t help making a silent vow as I stared at the evidence of her trust in me.
No woman had ever given me such a gift. And, while I hadn’t asked for it, and did not intend to acknowledge it, I felt a strange sense of responsibility towards her because of it.
This liaison wouldn’t last. I would soon grow bored and restless, as I always did, and she would eventually discover I was a dangerous man to become too attached to. Luckily Edie was a smart, intuitive woman, however inexperienced, and she would soon figure out the truth about me, if she hadn’t already.
But as I stood under the shower myself and took my erection in hand to give myself some necessary relief, I made Edie one promise. Whatever happened, I would endeavour to make this liaison as fun and pleasurable for her as it was for me.
Given my appetite for her—and the intensity of our sexual chemistry—I was liable to make a lot of demands in the next days as we enjoyed each other. But I would be careful to gauge her reaction and make sure that I never asked too much. I would take nothing for granted and I would also attempt to smooth out at least a few of my rough edges. And, most importantly of all, I would let her down gently when this liaison reached its inevitable conclusion. Because, however bold and brave and intelligent Edie was, she was still entirely new to this—and she certainly hadn’t picked the most tender, or refined, or gentle of men to initiate her.
And, if nothing else, I didn’t want her to ever regret that.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
I STOOD ON the balcony of Dante’s suite, watching the guests mingle below me in the torchlit gardens in their designer ball gowns and tuxedos—like exotic peacocks displaying their wealth and status in the summer night. Cordon bleu canapés and vintage champagne were being served on sterling silver platters, and I could hear the strains of the orchestra in the ballroom below me playing the opening bars of a Viennese waltz for those people elegant enough, or merry enough, to brave the dance floor.
The night was perfect, and a little surreal, and I was a part of it. An essential part of it.
Nerves and excitement tangled in the pit of my stomach, going some way to alleviate the bubble of regret that had been lodged in my throat all day.
I’d had such an amazing time in the last five days, ever since Dante and I had started sleeping together. The sex had been... Well, nothing short of a revelation. I’d never felt more alive or present, more hungry and yet sated all at the same time. Dante had kept to his word, and been absolutely incredible—making me feel both cherished and desired, while also keeping a clear separation between my work responsibilities and the things we did after hours. Despite agreeing to allow our affair to become public knowledge, I had
been unbearably nervous that first day. Surely the other team members would resent my involvement with Dante, would judge me for it. And in some ways I’d been prepared for it, had even understood it.
But no such problems had arisen. If anything, most of the team had found it amusing and kind of sweet. Collette had even whispered to me that first day, while she was supervising having my belongings moved to Dante’s quarters, ‘You are good for him. He has been much less of a taskmaster this week than usual.’
I knew she was joking. Dante wasn’t a taskmaster at all; he was focused, yes, and he had high expectations which he expected to be met by every one of his employees. But he was also fair and very good at communicating those expectations, so there was no confusion.
But still, I had basked in Collette’s approval and laughed with Jenny Caldwell, the middle-aged woman who ran his accounts department, when she had winked at me after Dante had grabbed my hand and dragged me out of the office when last night’s final briefing had finished.
Of course, the attitude of the staff had had a lot to do with how Dante had handled the whole situation. Not only had he been forthright and pragmatic about our ‘arrangement’, but he’d also made a point of showing me no favouritism within the team. He’d been equally frank with the guests—making a point of treating me with respect in front of them, but also making no bones about claiming me as his during the leisure time we had together, when he never missed an opportunity to touch me or caress me.
And he simply hadn’t given me a chance to be ashamed of how much I enjoyed his attentiveness.
There had only been one small moment of unpleasantness, with a woman called Elise Durand, the CEO of a large French hospitality firm, who had approached me yesterday. In the few interactions I had had with the woman at the poker table, my assessment of her business acumen and her approach to risk had been favourable and I knew she was one of the front runners for investor status. It was quite possible Dante and his two top financiers were offering her a stake in the new expansion right now. A chill ran up my spine as I recalled what she had said to me the night before, as I was rushing through the gardens, already anticipating the rendezvous at our private cove which I had arranged with Dante for a late-night swim.