Temptation's Song

She had hated to have to contact him, but she didn’t know anyone else in Milan. After this, he would probably inform her that he no longer wanted her in his opera. Hell, he probably wouldn’t even want her in his city.

Frowning, she sat up straighter on her chair and held her head up high. Why was she being pessimistic? She hadn’t done anything wrong. That drunken cop had put his filthy hands on her and if she hadn’t defended herself he might have done much more.

But how would she prove her innocence?

“Elle?”

Elle looked up into Dominic’s face. He smiled. She grimaced. “Signor Corelli, I’m innocent, I swear.”

“I know you are,” he said comfortingly.

He gestured to an officer standing nearby, who stepped forward and unlocked Elle’s handcuffs.

Elle looked on in amazement. Was that all it had taken, for Dominic Corelli to show up and vouch for her? If so, this was a crazy country. What about her rights as a human being? What about being innocent until proven guilty?

She stared up at him as she got to her feet. “What’s going on? Did they catch that officer in a lie?”

A short, middle-aged man in a dark gray suit came up behind Dominic and tapped him on the shoulder. Dominic turned around.

“You can take Signorina Jones home,” said the man. “The off-duty officer who accused her of striking him admitted that he had too much to drink tonight and may have behaved inappropriately toward Signorina Jones when he met her on the street.”

“Thank you,” Dominic said, shaking the gentleman’s hand. “I apologize for waking you, Felix, but Signorina Jones needed someone who knows his way around the legal system.”

“That’s why your family has me on retainer,” the lawyer said pleasantly. He smiled at Elle. “I’m so sorry you had to go through that very uncomfortable experience, Signorina.”

“Thank you,” Elle said in a low voice. She was so relieved that she felt tears fill her eyes. She didn’t allow them to fall, though.

“You can pick up your belongings on the way out and all evidence of this incident will be struck from the record. Except, of course, your statement about the condition the officer was in when he accosted you. That will remain on his record. He is being severely disciplined for his behavior.”

Elle felt some satisfaction upon hearing this news, and even though she wanted to press charges and see him punished to the full extent of the law, she wanted to get out of there even more.

“Thank you so much,” she said again to the lawyer.

Felix left and Dominic offered Elle his arm. She took it, grateful for his support. He led her over to the evidence room, where she retrieved her purse, made sure everything was in it and they left the police station arm in arm.

Outside, Elle breathed in the night air and looked up at the black sky. The city sparkled around them. Traffic, lighter at night but still somewhat heavy, made a racket as late-night pedestrians strolled leisurely down the streets.

“Are you all right?” Dominic asked quietly.

Elle met his eyes and smiled wanly. “Not really. But I will be after a good night’s sleep. I can’t let that guy freak me out. I’ve got an opera to star in, if you still want me, and nothing and no one is going to get in the way of that.”

Dominic laughed softly as he led her to his car. “Of course I still want you. Do you think I would get on the wrong side of a woman with your punching power? I saw that cop’s face. It’s already turning purple!”

Elle laughed. “He had it coming.”

Dominic knew those were just brave words. Elle was still upset. He felt her body shake with nerves as he helped her into the car.

Once inside Elle tried to relax against the leather seat. Dominic started the car and pulled into traffic. “Where are you staying?”

She told him. He was glad she was staying at a nice hotel with twenty-four-hour security. He would feel better about leaving her alone tonight. At least, that’s what he told himself as he drove the few blocks to the hotel. By the time he had parked in their lot, he had made up his mind that he wasn’t going to leave her alone tonight under any circumstances, and he didn’t care how much she protested.

They sat in the car a few moments after he’d turned off the engine. He turned to her. “Look, Elle, you’ve had a shock to the system, and I don’t think you should stay by yourself tonight.”

She started to protest but he stopped her. “If you won’t let me in the room, I’ll sleep outside your door. But I’m not leaving you alone tonight.”

They gazed into each other’s eyes. Elle could tell he was determined. “There are two bedrooms in the suite. You can have one of them,” she said, her voice soft.

Dominic breathed a sigh of relief. There was something so vulnerable about Elle. His first instinct was to protect her. Surely he could smother his powerful attraction to her for one night?

Eyes still boring into hers, he said, “Thank you for not fighting me on this.”

“I would fight you if I thought you were wrong,” Elle assured him. “But the fact is, I just put my friends on the train earlier this evening. I would welcome someone to talk to tonight.”

He gave her a grateful smile, which sent her stomach into somersaults. “Then I’m your man.”

They got out of the car and went into the hotel.

Chapter 4

“The Met must pay you well,” Dominic remarked upon entering the suite. “This is very nice.”

Elle locked the door behind them. “I can’t afford this. My friend Belana’s father, who’s a very successful businessman, paid for our trip.”

The suite, decorated in modern Italian, had a color scheme of earth tones. The thick carpeting muted their footsteps as they crossed the room. Elle gestured to the pale golden sofa in the living room of the suite. “Have a seat.”

Looking back at him over her shoulder, she added, “I’m going to change. These shoes are killing me. There’s a bathrobe behind the bathroom door in the spare bedroom, if you’d like to get out of your clothes, too.”

Dominic knew this was an innocent suggestion. She just wanted him to be comfortable, but the thought of getting undressed while he was alone with her in a hotel room made him imagine other reasons why she’d ask him to get out of his clothes.

Watching her leave the room, her full, shapely hips moving enticingly beneath the white sheath she had on, he felt his groin tighten. He managed a strangled, “I’m fine, thank you. But you feel free to do whatever it is you do to prepare for bed.”

“All right, then. If you say so,” she said lightly as she disappeared around the corner, into the hallway.

In her absence, Dominic removed his jacket, loosened his tie, unbuttoned his long-sleeved shirt at the wrists and rolled the cuffs up to his elbows. That was as comfortable as he intended to get tonight.

In her bedroom, Elle hurried to the closet, removed her dress and hung it on a hanger, kicked off her sandals, bent down, picked them up, returned them to their shoe box and placed the box on the closet shelf. Even with Dominic Corelli waiting for her in the next room, she was, admittedly, anal-retentive and couldn’t just toss her clothing in the closet.

She went into the adjacent bathroom, ran a brush through her long, curly hair and tied it back with a blue ribbon, washed the makeup off her face and flossed and brushed her teeth. When she stripped to put on her pajamas, Violetta’s card fell to the floor. She picked it up. She would keep it as a memento.

Barefooted, she went back into the living room.

Dominic looked up and burst into laughter. “You look like a little girl!”

He had expected her to change into something feminine and soft. He had been hoping for it. Just because he intended not to touch her didn’t mean he couldn’t get his fill of admiring her.

Elle folded her legs under her as she sat down. Amusement lit up her dark brown eyes. “I’m glad you find my pajamas so funny. That’s just the reaction from the opposite sex I was hoping for when I bought them. That, or an irresistible urge to revert to childhood and sit in front of the TV with a big bowl of popcorn and watch cartoons.”

His laughter under control, Dominic regarded her with a warm smile. She was an unusual woman, sitting in front of him with her legs tucked beneath her. Her face scrubbed clean of makeup and in pajamas. Either she was the most unsophisticated woman he had ever met, or she was confident about her sexuality.