Postcards From Rio: Master of Her Innocence / To Play with Fire / A Taste of Desire

‘The helipad has direct access to Diego’s private penthouse apartment,’ Juliana said. ‘He owns the whole skyscraper and the Cazorra Corporation’s offices are on the lower floors.’ She opened a door and ushered Clare into an enormous suite. ‘This is where you will be staying. You have a personal maid, Vitoria, who will look after you, and I will return just before twelve to take you to Diego.’

Clare felt decidedly out of place in her crumpled clothes as she explored the elegant sitting room, huge bedroom and en suite bathroom with a sunken bath the size of a small swimming pool. The decor of muted shades of blue and cream, and dove-grey velvet carpets, was sophisticated but impersonal. She found it hard to imagine Diego living in the penthouse when he had admitted that he loved the wildness of the rainforest.

From the bathroom she heard the sound of the bath filling and headed towards it. The maid, Vitoria, was readying an enticing bubble bath.

‘Mr Cazorra said you would like to take a bath,’ Vitoria explained as she added fragrant oil to the water and the room became infused with the scent of an English rose garden. The thought of sinking into the fragrant foaming water was too irresistible for Clare to argue and, after she had bathed, she made use of the luxurious body lotion provided and used a hairdryer to tame her auburn curls into glossy waves.

Returning to the bedroom, she found that the maid had laid out a peacock-blue silk dress by a famous European designer. There were shoes to match the dress and exquisite underwear, all in Clare’s size, but when she searched the room she could not find her rucksack containing the few items of clothing she had brought to Brazil.

The maid’s excellent grasp of English suddenly seemed to desert her when she was asked about the rucksack. ‘I do not know where is your bag, but you no need it, because Mr Cazorra has supplied clothes for you to wear during your visit.’ Vitoria opened the wardrobe to reveal dozens of outfits, mostly in bright colours that Clare would not have had the confidence to choose for herself, preferring to stick to a safe palette of navy and taupe.

Unless she was prepared to meet Diego wearing a towel, she had no choice but to put on the dress, Clare realised. When she looked in the mirror she was forced to concede that the designer was a genius who had turned a piece of fabric into a garment that was both elegant and sexy in the way it flattered her hourglass figure. The three-inch stiletto-heeled shoes made her appear taller and slimmer, but she firmly reminded herself that she was only borrowing the clothes until she saw Diego and she would insist that her rucksack was returned to her.

He had gone to great lengths to arrange for her to remain in Brazil rather than fly back to England with Becky. The question uppermost in her mind was why. He had been angry that she’d fooled him into believing she was a nun, and understandably furious that she had told the pilot to take off from Torrente without him.

She felt guilty about her behaviour and uncomfortable at the prospect of seeing him again, especially when she remembered them making love in the cave. Colour flooded her cheeks as she recalled her wanton response to him. The time they had spent together in the rainforest seemed like a dream and she had discarded her inhibitions along with her virginity. But now she was back to reality, back to being ordinary Clare Marchant, and she wondered what Diego wanted from her.

His PA could not hide her surprise when she saw Clare’s transformed appearance. As she followed Juliana along a corridor to Diego’s office, Clare was conscious of the sensual slide of the silk underwear and dress against her skin. Was it because she was no longer a virgin that her senses seemed heightened and she was intensely aware of her femininity?

Juliana opened a door and ushered her into a large modern office. Clare had a vague impression of chrome and black glass furnishings and a stunning view of the ocean, but her attention was riveted by the man standing next to the window, who was familiar and yet almost unrecognisable.

From across the room Clare saw the predatory gleam in Diego’s silver-grey eyes that reminded her of the unnerving stare of a wolf stalking its prey. But every other aspect of his appearance was different from the rough, tough gold prospector she’d met in the rainforest.

His jeans and T-shirt had been replaced with a superbly tailored charcoal-grey suit teamed with a crisp white shirt and grey tie. Although his hair was still below collar length and covered his ears, it had been tamed into a sleeker style, and the blond stubble on his jaw was now trimmed close to his skin so that he looked groomed but dangerously sexy.

He waited until his PA had closed the door and watched Clare take a deep breath and walk across the room towards him before he spoke.

‘The first time I saw you at the convent I knew there was something not quite right about innocent Sister Clare. I’ve got it now. It’s the sexy wiggle of your hips when you walk.’ His voice hardened. ‘I should have listened to my instincts that said you were not a nun. But you are a liar, like most women.’

She flushed but refused to drop her gaze. ‘That’s a very sweeping generalisation, and in my case it’s not true. I am usually honest, but I was persuaded by the Mother Superior to dress like a nun because I hoped the kidnappers would be more willing to release my sister. I didn’t expect a...situation to develop between us.’

Clare ignored Diego’s snort of derision and sat down on the chair he indicated. She felt as if she was being interviewed when he settled himself in his executive leather chair and surveyed her across his desk.

‘I have explained why I couldn’t be honest about my identity, but you lied too. You let me think you were a gold prospector.’

‘It wasn’t a lie. I am a gold prospector and I search for gold deposits in the Amazon basin. When I get the opportunity, I still join a team of miners and go into the Old Betsy mine to look for diamonds. For the rest of the time I am here running the Cazorra Corporation. But I get restless after I’ve been in the city for too long.’

Beneath his designer suit and his veneer of wealth and sophistication was the Diego she had first met, who felt more at home in the rainforest, and who had made love to her and kept her safe in his arms throughout the night. Clare forced her mind away from the evocative memories.

‘Why have you brought me here? Why did you tell my sister I will be working for you, and why have you provided me with a wardrobe of designer clothes? I don’t know what game you are playing, Diego.’ Frustration edged into her voice when his familiar, faintly cynical smile gave no clue to his thoughts. ‘I want to go home.’

‘You seem to have forgotten something.’ Beneath his sardonic drawl Clare heard anger in his voice, and she felt a ripple of unease when she noted that his grey eyes were as hard as steel. ‘You seem to have forgotten that I secured your release from Rigo by giving him the Estrela Rosa diamond. In effect, I bought you for one million dollars.’

‘Of course I hadn’t forgotten.’ She bit her lip, thinking of the huge debt. ‘As soon as I get home I will make it my priority to work out how I can repay you.’

‘It will take you years to earn a million dollars,’ he said bluntly. ‘I was thinking of a more personal method by which you could repay your debt. By agreeing to be my mistress,’ he elucidated when she looked at him blankly.

Clare felt a sharp pain beneath her breastbone, as if she had been stabbed through the heart. She was shocked by how hurt she felt. She knew that the night they had spent together in the cave had meant nothing to Diego, and she told herself it meant nothing to her. Anger came to her rescue and made her blink back the stupid tears that she would have rather died than let him see.

‘Let me get this straight. You’re suggesting that I could pay off my debt by having sex with you? How would that work exactly? Should I draw up a spreadsheet, and every time you have me will mean that I can tick off another few thousand dollars? How much is the going rate for sex?’ Her lip curled with disgust. ‘Is blackmail the only way you can get a woman? You really must be desperate.’

Diego’s eyes narrowed. ‘Careful of your sharp tongue, querida, and you can drop the act of outraged virgin. You gave your virginity to me while you were fooling me that you were a nun. Deus—’ he slammed his hand down on the desk, making Clare jump ‘—have you any idea how guilty I felt for leading you astray from what I believed was the chaste life you had chosen?’

She flushed. ‘I’m sorry that I lied to you.’

He leaned back in his chair and studied her in silence for several minutes. ‘Sex with you was good, I’ll grant you, but not so good that you can repay me the value of my diamond by lying on your back a few times,’ he said coldly. ‘I want more than your body, anjinho. I also want your brain—’ he gave her a mocking smile ‘—specifically, your expertise as a PR consultant.’

Despite hating him at that moment, Clare was curious. ‘What do you mean?’

‘I’ve looked up reports about A-Star PR, and I’m impressed by the agency and by your leadership. You have run several high-profile PR campaigns for businesses in the UK and I am interested in what you might be able to provide for me. You may have heard of the jewellery company Delgado Diamonds?’

She nodded. ‘The London store in Mayfair is always busy, and I believe it was recently granted a Royal warrant.’

‘My business partner Cruz Delgado established the business a few years ago when he opened the first store in Paris. Cruz has a family now and wants to cut back on work commitments. He will continue to be CEO of Delgado Diamonds in Europe and I have bought the franchise to open Delgado-Cazorra Diamonds stores in the whole of South America. The first DC Diamonds shop will be launched here in Rio. But there is a problem.’

Diego ran a hand through his hair and saw Clare’s eyes dart to his mutilated ear that he had unwittingly exposed. He quickly lowered his hand and his jaw hardened. ‘The PR agency I originally hired to plan an advertising strategy has failed to come up with any inspirational ideas, and now the opening of the store is fast approaching but hardly anyone knows about the launch. It’s partly my fault for taking my eye off the ball, but I’ve been distracted...’ He trailed off. ‘This is an opportunity for a PR expert, possibly you, to impress me by organising an aggressive marketing campaign with the aim of making every household in Brazil aware of DC Diamonds.’

‘When is the flagship store due to open?’

‘Three weeks from now.’

‘Three weeks! The kind of multi-strategy campaign you want would take a few months to organise.’

He shrugged. ‘If you don’t think you can do it, I’m sure I will have no trouble finding a PR agency that will seize the opportunity to represent a globally successful company, which the Cazorra Corporation is.’

‘I didn’t say that I can’t do it,’ Clare said quickly. ‘It will be a challenge, but it’s not impossible.’

‘After looking at your portfolio I am confident of your ability to promote DC Diamonds. In the expectation that you would accept the commission I ordered new clothes for you that are more suitable for your role than a pair of shorts, or a habit and veil,’ he added drily.

Diego watched rosy colour flare on Clare’s cheekbones and pictured her face flushed with sexual arousal when she had lain beneath him in the cave and he had nudged her thighs apart so that he could make love to her. The ache in his gut, which had started when she had walked into his office looking as sexy as sin in a dress that clung to every delectable dip and curve of her body, intensified to a sharp tug of desire.

There was no reason for her to refuse what was, in his opinion, an extremely fair offer that would allow her to repay her debt. Her hesitation fuelled his impatience to conclude their discussion so that he could do what he had wanted to do since she had walked into his office—namely, make love to her on the nearest flat surface, which happened to be his desk.

‘Can I assume that you want A-Star PR to be given the commission to run an advertising campaign to promote DC Diamonds?’

‘Of course I do. As you pointed out, every PR agency would seize the chance to work for the Cazorra Corporation.’ Clare looked at Diego and hated the way her heart flipped as she watched his mouth curve into a sexy smile. ‘But I assume that you will only give me the contract if I agree to all your terms and work for you in the bedroom as well as the boardroom?’

‘It’s a fair deal.’

She stood up and drew herself to her full height, grateful that her high heels gave her a few much-needed extra inches as she struggled to hide her disappointment. It would have been a huge boost to her career and to the reputation of the A-Star agency if she’d secured a commission with the Cazorra Corporation. Her father would have been proud of her, and she would have shown Mark Penry she couldn’t care less that he’d cheated the day after he had told her he was in love with her.

With a sudden flash of insight Clare realised she did not need to prove she was worthy of her father’s love. Nor did it matter that she didn’t share her sister’s stunning supermodel looks. The trip into the rainforest had shown her she was capable of more than she’d believed, and nothing, not even the career opportunity Diego had dangled in front of her, was worth sacrificing her self-respect for.

Head held high, she marched across the office and yanked open the door before swinging round to face him. ‘You know what you can do with your job offer. I won’t take either of the positions, but I will find a way to repay you the value of the Rose Star diamond, even if I have to scrub floors and clean toilets to earn extra money. You did not buy me, Diego, because I was not and never will be for sale.’

It was an impressive exit line, she commended herself as she walked out and slammed the door behind her. Unfortunately, she had to spoil it moments later and go back into the room. ‘You have my passport and I would like you to return it.’

Even wearing three-inch heels, Clare had to tilt her head to look at Diego’s face. She had not expected him to be standing by the door when she opened it and almost collided with him. He was unsettlingly close and her senses quivered as she inhaled an evocative scent of sandalwood cologne mixed with a sensual musk of maleness that was uniquely him.