Latin Lovers: Italian Playboys: Bought for the Marriage Bed / The Italian GP's Bride / The Italian's Defiant Mistress

‘Marc … I—’

‘I know what you are up to.’ He launched himself out of the pool and turned around to glare down at her. ‘You will not rest until you have me begging. That is what you want, isn’t it, Nina? Your final triumph in the face of Andre’s rejection would be to have his older brother on his knees, offering you anything you want in exchange for your body. That is why you did not ask for payment, isn’t it? To make me think you were not after money when in fact you are after so much more.’

‘But I’m not after—’

‘Get out of my sight,’ he barked at her. ‘Take your lies and your deceptive little games out of my damn sight!’

Nina got out of the pool with quiet dignity, her sense of pride refusing to allow him to intimidate her with his fury. She could tell he was angrier with himself than with her. Angry that he wanted her in spite of all he’d said to the contrary. But she felt sure this wasn’t just about the money, it was about pride—his pride.

‘You can’t order me about like that,’ she said, standing in front of him. ‘I won’t allow you to.’

Something moved behind his eyes as he stepped towards her again. ‘You will not allow me to?’ he asked with a curl of his lip.

‘No,’ she said, holding his gaze. ‘I won’t allow you to speak to me in such a way.’

He drew himself up to his full height, his mouth tightening as he looked down at her. ‘Tell me, Nina, how are you going to stop me?’

She moistened her lips, her stomach giving a tiny quiver at the fiery intensity of his gaze. ‘I’ll think of something.’

He threw his head back and laughed.

Nina pursed her lips and frowned at him. ‘You have appalling manners. I suppose it comes from having so much money. You think you can get people to do what you want by writing a cheque or issuing autocratic demands.’

‘Well, well, well,’ he drawled. ‘Look at the pretty little pot telling off the kettle for being black.’

‘You know what your trouble is, Marc?’ she said, incensed by his attitude. ‘You don’t like yourself. You keep blaming me for your brother’s death but I get this distinct impression that you actually blame yourself. I might be a convenient scapegoat but I will not have you browbeat me to appease your own sense of inadequacy.’

It became instantly obvious to Nina that she’d hit him on a particularly raw nerve. She saw it in the sudden flare of anger in his black eyes and in the tight clench of his hands as he held them by his sides as if he didn’t trust himself not to use them against her.

He didn’t speak for a long time but his silence was more menacing than any blistering statement could be, she thought as she stood before him defiantly.

‘Tell me something, Nina.’ He tipped up her chin with one long determined finger. ‘Tell me why you fell in love with my brother.’

She froze at his words, her eyes flaring in panic, her heart ramming against her ribcage as she did her best to hold his hard penetrating look.

‘You did love him, did you not?’ he asked when she didn’t answer.

Nina lowered her gaze to concentrate on the beads of moisture still clinging to the strong column of his neck. She couldn’t bring herself to tell him yet another lie.

‘No,’ she said softly. ‘I didn’t love him.’

Marc’s dark eyes narrowed dangerously as her gaze came back to his. ‘You callous bitch. You callous little money-hungry bitch.’

She closed her eyes to block out his fury. ‘Look at me!’ He grasped her arms roughly and gave her a little shake.

Her eyes sprang open in alarm, her stomach twisting with despair at the hatred shining in his.

‘You destroyed his life!’ His fingers bit into her arms. ‘You hunted him down and destroyed him for what? For what?’ he repeated bitterly.

‘Marc, I need to tell you—’ she began.

‘I do not want to hear anything you have to say,’ he snapped, cutting her off.

‘Marc, please.’ Her eyes misted over and her tone became pleading. ‘You don’t understand—’

‘I understand all right. I understand that you were not happy that Andre left you stranded without money. That is why you twisted the knife by threatening to have Georgia adopted, was it not?’ He gave her a disgusted look. ‘You never had any intention of giving her up. You were just playing a game to get as much money as you could.’

‘I have never wanted money from—’

‘Do not lie to me!’ he shouted. ‘You have played this for all you are worth. Well, I will tell you something, Nina.’ He lowered his voice but it was no less threatening. ‘You can have your money. All of it. I will double your allowance as of tomorrow.’

She blinked up at him in confusion. ‘But—’

‘I have changed my mind about our marriage,’ he said. ‘I’ve decided we will no longer adhere to the rules I set down.’

‘You can’t mean that!’

He smiled a chilling smile. ‘Why so worried, cara? You slept with my brother without loving him. Sleeping with me will not be beyond your capabilities, I’m sure.’

‘I don’t want to sleep with you!’ She wrenched herself out of his hold and stood glaring at him, rubbing her arms where his fingers had been.

‘I think we could more or less say I have paid dearly for the privilege,’ he pointed out ruthlessly.

‘I am not for sale,’ she said. ‘I don’t care how much money you throw at my feet. I will not be bought.’

‘You have been bought, Nina,’ he said. ‘You have already pocketed one instalment.’

‘I don’t want your money, Marc,’ she insisted. ‘I never wanted it.’

She could tell from his expression that he didn’t believe her. His mouth was tight with cynicism and his eyes diamond-hard as they tethered hers.

‘If you did not want it then why is it no longer in your account?’ he asked.

Nina’s eyes flared in anger. ‘You checked?’

He gave a single nod, his expression still unyielding.

‘You had no right to do that!’ Nina could feel the panic beating like an out of time drum in her chest. If Marc was watching her so closely it wouldn’t take him long to find out the truth. She’d only transferred the money less than an hour or two ago. What if he orchestrated a paper trail of her account to see where the money had been deposited?

‘You keep saying you do not want money but what is it you do want, Nina?’ Marc said, breaking the humming silence.

She couldn’t answer. How could she tell him what she really wanted? She wanted him. She wanted him to make her feel alive as a woman. She wanted him to make her feel desirable, irresistible and precious. She wanted to feel him in the throes of uncontrollable passion for her, not for who she was pretending to be, but for her—Nina.

She held her breath as his hands ran down her arms to encircle her wrists.

‘Is this what you really want, Nina?’ he asked, tugging her up against him. ‘Is this what you crave more than money, the thing that I too crave until I cannot think straight for my need of you?’

She moistened her lips with her tongue, her heart doing a fluttery dance in her chest when she saw the way his eyes glittered with purpose.