Pregnancy of Revenge

He had known about her relationship with Summerville. She had told him over one of their infrequent lunches in Nice two years ago. At that time she had still been working and living in an apartment Jake had bought for her, and although Jake had never heard of the man, he had not queried her choice, because she had so obviously been happy, and confident it was only a matter of time before they married.

But now, remembering how appalled he had been when Anna had turned up at his home in Genoa five months ago, he bitterly regretted not investigating Summerville as soon as he’d heard the name.

Looking a shadow of her former self, Anna had cried on his shoulder and told him the whole sorry story of the affair. How she had given up her job and had been living with the man for over a year, but Robert had sent her away three months before he’d died, all because of his daughter.

He had explained she was his only child and had been spoilt by her mother. She was a bit insecure and very possessive of him, and flatly refused to meet Anna. He didn’t want to upset his daughter, so Anna had to leave while she was in residence. But he had assured Anna it would only be for a few weeks. In other words, to quote Anna, ‘Robert’s daughter was a selfish little spoilt brat.’ Anna had not even heard of his death in time to attend the funeral. For himself, after hearing the tale, if the man had not been dead already, Jake would have quite happily killed him.

Anna’s tragic death a few weeks after their last meeting had gutted him, and it didn’t help that the man who in Jake’s mind was indirectly responsible was already six feet under and out of his reach. As for Anna’s parents, they were crippled with grief.

Jake had spent the past three months simply being there for his foster-parents, his work for once taking second place.

This was his first trip abroad since her death, and catching sight of that catalogue in Reception had ignited his fury all over again. But at least he now knew the painting was safely on its way to his home in Italy. He was still angry he had been unable to prevent its showing, but, as he intended to destroy the painting, with a bit of luck Anna’s parents need never know it had ever existed. It was the least he could do for them.

Jake considered himself a modern, sophisticated man of the world. He enjoyed women and was rarely without a lover. Over the years he had had several affairs, and at least two of the women, as models, had been displayed naked on countless magazine covers. It hadn’t bothered him at all. Yet he saw nothing paradoxical in his reaction to the public exposure of Anna.

But what he did see after meeting the lovely Charlotte was a way to get revenge on the family that had brought about her death…and thoroughly enjoy doing so.

Spinning on his heel, he headed for the bathroom, and a cold shower. His last for some time, he reckoned, a predatory smile curving his firm mouth.

Charlie took one last look at her reflection in the mirrored door of the wardrobe. Slim-fitting grey trousers traced her long legs, and with them she had teamed a soft pink cashmere sweater. A heavy chain belt that fastened with a large clasp was slung low around her hips. A grey hide purse and matching loafers completed her outfit. Comfortably casual, she told herself, but in reality she hadn’t much choice: the only dress she had with her was the one she’d worn last night and the rest of her holiday clothes consisted of trousers and casual tops. She tweaked a stray tendril of hair behind her ear, and wondered again if she should pin it up. As it was it fell in loose curls to her shoulders. No, you look good, girl, she decided with a broad grin.

Last night, tossing and turning in bed, unable to sleep for thinking about Jake, replaying in her mind his every kiss and touch, her body aching for him, she had reached a momentous decision. Given the chance, she was going to pursue her relationship with Jake. He had said they could at least be friends, but innate honesty forced her to admit that she wanted much more from him. She had only known him for a few hours but he had tilted her world. She had no experience of love, but this intense physical desire for Jake, this flood of feeling that consumed all her senses, had to be love or something very like it.

In her work with International Rapid Rescue she had witnessed death and destruction on a huge scale. If the job had taught her anything, it was that life was precious but could be snuffed out in an instant by an act of nature. She was a twenty-six-year-old virgin, probably because all her life she had been a tomboy and the few men she knew considered her more of a buddy than a woman. She was not totally inexperienced—she had kissed men, but had thought the experience vastly overrated. But all that had changed last night when she had met Jake.

This holiday, the first she had taken in years, was supposed to be a complete change, a chance to rethink her hectic lifestyle. She was her own woman; she could do whatever she wanted, and what she wanted was Jake. She knew deep down on some elemental level that Jake could be her soul mate.

The voice of the doorman boomed over the intercom telling her a Mr d’Amato had arrived and should he send him up? She dashed to answer it. ‘No need, I’ll be right down.’

Her legs were shaking as she rode the lift to the ground floor and when the doors opened Charlie drew in a deep, calming breath, stepped out, and froze to the spot, her blue eyes fixed on the spectacular male animal leaning against the reception desk.

In a business suit Jake had looked stunning, but today he took her breath away. He was wearing black jeans that lovingly clung to long legs and taut, masculine thighs. A black button-down shirt, left open at the neck, revealed the strong column of his throat, and a black leather jacket fitting casually across broad shoulders completed the picture.

Telling her foolish heart to stop bounding, she wondered what it was about Italian men that enabled them to wear clothes with such casual elegance. She could not tear her fascinated gaze away. She saw his proud head lift as though scenting the air like some great jungle beast suddenly aware of his prey, and, straightening up, he turned towards her.

‘Charlotta-a…at last.’ He lingered over her name like a caress, his hooded dark eyes sweeping over her in blatant masculine appraisal as in a few lithe strides he covered the space between them. ‘You look exquisite.’ Before she could draw breath, a large male hand curved around her hips, another up her back to tangle in the loose fall of her hair.

The swift, exquisitely gentle brush of Jake’s lips against her own turned her legs to jelly, and when he teased her lips apart, the arousing sweep of his tongue in the moist interior of her mouth suddenly filled her body with a molten heat.

Charlie had thought the kisses they had shared in the car last night mind-blowing. But now, held in intimate contact with every hard inch of his big powerful frame, she was shocked by the force of his obvious arousal and secretly thrilled she could do that to him. Weak at the knees with wanting, she pressed unconsciously closer into his taut strength, and felt his great chest heave.

‘I promised you lunch,’ Jake rasped against her mouth and lifted his head.

Charlie stared up. ‘What?’ she murmured, flicking the tip of her tongue along her bottom lip, an invitation in her sapphire gaze she didn’t realise was there.

‘Lunch.’ Jake stepped back, his hands resting on her shoulders to keep her steady. ‘Before we really give the doorman something to talk about.’

Realising where she was and that she was staring at him far too hungrily, she dipped her head, a tide of red scorching her cheeks. ‘Yes, of course,’ she mumbled.

‘A lady who can still blush. I like it,’ Jake drawled, keeping an arm around her shoulder as he walked her out of the building.

‘No car?’ Charlie queried as his arm fell from her shoulders and he took her hand in his and began strolling along the pavement.

Jake looked at her, amused indulgence in his gaze. ‘Your wish is my command,’ he said smoothly. ‘You wanted to do the tourist bit, and visit the museum. Most tourists pound the pavement. No?’ He shrugged his elegant shoulders. ‘Plus I want to share everything with you, starting with a bottle of wine with lunch.’

He looked so attractive, and so unlike any tourist she had ever seen, Charlie burst out laughing. ‘I might have known you would have an ulterior motive. It’s not me but the wine that motivates you.’

‘You wouldn’t believe my motives if I told you,’ Jake responded dryly and spun her into his arms to kiss her with an urgency that left her dazed and breathless—so dazed she did not see the cynicism in his dark eyes. And for Charlie the kiss set the pattern for the rest of the day.

Jake kept his word and they shared a bottle of wine over lunch at the restaurant in the central courtyard of the British Museum. After lingering over coffee and cognac they eventually got around to touring the various exhibits.

It was seven in the evening when they walked back to his hotel.

The warmth of his arm felt so right around her waist, and when he stopped and asked, ‘What’s it to be, Charlotte? Dinner with me here or do you want to walk on to your apartment?’ they both knew what he was really asking. The whole day had been leading to this point.

Charlie raised her face to him and saw her own need reflected in the gleaming depths of his dark eyes. The force of emotion flooding through her kept her speechless for a moment.

‘We can call it a day,’ Jake heard himself say in a sudden surprising attack of conscience. Amazingly, he had enjoyed Charlotte’s company. In different circumstances he knew he would have dated her anyway—and he would still have been determined to get her into his bed.

He reached out and ran a long finger over her smooth cheek, and down her throat, his finger resting on the rapidly pounding pulse in her neck. She wanted him, he knew it, but she was still hesitating. Real or acting he did not know, but he knew enough about women to realise they all craved permanency in a relationship. Obviously Charlotte was no different. She was here on holiday and seemed determined to follow the tourist trail—and his quick brain had the answer.

He smiled, an intimate curl of his firm lips. ‘Whatever you decide. I am staying in London for a couple of weeks on business.’ He slowly raked her body with his gaze, registering the burgeoning peaks of her breasts beneath her sweater before he let his eyes meet hers. ‘And after the great time we have had today…’ He paused, his hand softly caressing her throat. ‘Work permitting, I would love to explore the tourist trail with you, Charlotte.’

The only trail he was really interested in exploring was every curve of her delectable body, every hill and hidden valley, until he sated himself in her. But he wasn’t crazy enough to tell her so. Though if he did not have her soon, he very well might, and that really worried him.

In the early hours of the morning Charlie had decided to pursue her relationship with Jake and see where it led, and all day she had fallen deeper and deeper under his spell. Now, with the impact of Jake’s deep eyes burning down into hers, and his huskily voiced desire to see her again echoing in her head, she knew it was the moment of truth. He had told her last night he would never marry, so either she had to accept what he was offering, an affair for a couple of weeks, or walk away. With blinding clarity she realised she did not have a choice. She could no longer deny her basic sexual instinct, an instinct she had only just discovered she possessed, an instinct she knew deep down inside she would only ever feel with Jake.

Charlie drew in a slow steadying breath. ‘I’ve done enough walking for one day.’

‘Me too.’ Reaching for her hand once more, he linked his long fingers through hers and led her into the hotel.

On one level Charlie couldn’t believe what she was doing as Jake ushered her into the lift and the metal doors closed on them. But on another purely sensual level the feelings were so immense she could not deny them, however much she tried. She stole a surreptitious glance at him through the thick veil of her lashes. He was so ruggedly attractive, so overtly masculine, simply looking at him made her heart beat faster. It wasn’t just his looks, though; she had seen men with more classically beautiful features. It was some unfathomable intense connection she could hardly believe was real. But every atom in her body was telling her it was.

‘This is it,’ Jake said, dropping her hand and splaying his palm across the small of her back, his powerful body tense as he urged her out of the lift to a door directly opposite. A quick flash of the card key and she was in his suite. He fought the instinct to simply sweep her off her feet and into the bedroom. Instead he shrugged off his jacket as he headed for the bar.

‘What would you like to drink?’ he asked, turning back to look at her, and stiffened. Damn it, but she was gorgeous, and the way she filled that pink sweater had been causing him agony all day.

Standing where he had left her Charlie glanced around the elegant room. It was as luxurious as she had expected. But Jake’s behaviour was not what she had imagined. She had thought he would sweep her into his arms, and make mad, passionate love to her. How naive was that? she castigated herself. Jake was a sophisticated man of the world, a man of discernment; of course he would never behave so crassly, she thought. But she was wrong again.

‘I’ll—’ She was going to ask for a glass of juice, but she never got the chance.

‘To hell with a drink,’ he growled and in a couple of lithe strides he reached her and hauled her hard against his chest. His expert mouth swooped down to capture hers, a soft moan escaped her, and, taking full advantage, his tongue slipped between her parted lips with devastating effect.

Charlie did not know what hit her. Before his kisses had excited her, but had ended abruptly and left her aching for more. This time Jake showed no such restraint. His tongue swirled around hers, igniting a passion that was red hot. His arms were tight around her, pressing her against his aroused body, telling her without words how much he wanted her. Her slender hands lifted to his broad chest, a finger catching on his shirt button.

She felt his smile as he murmured against her lips, ‘Go ahead, take it off for me.’ His dark eyes gleamed down into hers, an invitation explicit in the black depths.

Feverish colour flooded Charlie’s face, and she was stunned to realise he actually thought she was experienced enough to undress him without a qualm. Her body burned and her finger flexed against his chest. Dared she? Yes—this was what she wanted. She freed one button, and her stomach somersaulted as her fingers scraped the hot skin beneath.