The Gold Collection: Surrender To The Tycoon: At Dante's Service / His Unknown Heir / The Frenchman's Marriage Demand

The Frenchman shrugged as he pulled a business card from his pocket. ‘The new restaurant will not be ready to open for a few months, so you do not need to make an immediate decision. Think about it and, if you are interested, phone me and we will discuss it further.’

‘Yes … yes, I will.’

‘Bon.’ Gaspard smiled. ‘And now perhaps I can persuade you to dance with me?’

Later, Dante fought his way through the crowd on his way to the bar, wondering where Rebekah had disappeared to. He had glimpsed her periodically during the evening, dancing with Gaspard Clavier and then with a couple of other men. Now, as he scanned the ballroom, he caught sight of her partnering a handsome young actor from one of the popular TV soaps. The guy was a notorious womaniser and, from the way he was laughing and flirting with Rebekah, it seemed that he had decided to make her his next conquest.

But perhaps Rebekah had decided to seduce the pretty-boy actor? Dante’s mouth tightened. He had been concerned at the beginning of the party that she might feel shy when she did not know any of the other guests. But he need not have worried. It was not only her appearance that was transformed tonight. His quiet, reserved chef had turned into a confident and self-assured woman who was attracting the attention of every red-blooded male in the room.

He must have been mad to have brought her out in that dress, he thought grimly, as he changed course and headed towards the dance floor. He should have followed his first instinct and taken her to bed.

Rebekah was having the time of her life. Gaspard Clavier’s praise of her cooking skills had given her self-confidence a huge boost, and she was seriously considering his job offer. If she moved to the Caribbean, surely she would forget about Dante.

Although he had not been impressed with her dress, she had discovered that plenty of other men were and she’d had no shortage of dance partners. Mind you, her current partner was like an octopus, she thought, as she firmly moved the hand that was sliding up to her breasts back to her waist.

‘Come on, baby, let’s get out of here.’ Jonny Vance, who apparently was a famous actor, although Rebekah did not recognize him, stopped dancing and tugged her against him. ‘My car’s parked outside.’

‘No!’ she muttered, trying to pull away from him. ‘Will you please let go of me?’

‘I’d do as the lady says if I were you,’ a familiar voice said dangerously. Before Rebekah realised what was happening, she was jerked away from Jonny and clamped against a broad, rock-solid chest.

Her heart lurched as Dante’s arm imprisoned her and she was so surprised by his sudden appearance that her feet stumbled as he spun her round in time with the music. ‘Thanks for rescuing me,’ she said shakily. ‘He was getting a bit over-friendly.’

‘What did you expect?’ Dante gave her a derisive look and Rebekah saw that he was furious. ‘You were flirting with him and leading him on. Of course he thought he’d got it made with you.’

‘I was not leading him on.’ Outraged by the accusation, she glared at him, stumbled again and would have tripped on her long skirt if it hadn’t been for the fact that her body was practically welded to Dante’s. ‘I was just dancing with him and being friendly.’

Dante laughed. ‘Do you really have no idea of the effect you were having on him and on every man here tonight?’

Rebekah was fighting the temptation to sink against Dante and enjoy the heady delight of being in his arms. She had often imagined him holding her close like this, but the reality of feeling his thighs pressed hard against her soft flesh evoked a molten heat in her pelvis.

‘What do you mean?’ she muttered, discovering as she lifted her head to meet his gaze that his mouth was mere inches from hers. She wished he would kiss her. She ached to feel his warm, sensual lips on hers. Unconsciously, her tongue darted out to moisten her lower lip.

‘I mean that Vance, and probably every other male in this room, has been fantasising about removing your dress to reveal your delectable voluptuous, naked body,’ he said harshly.

She gaped at him. ‘Of course no one has been thinking that. You make me sound like a … a siren who men find irresistible—but that’s just ridiculous.’

‘Why is it?’ Dante’s voice deepened, no longer coldly angry, but rough with a sensuality that sent a quiver through Rebekah. ‘I find you utterly irresistible, mia bella.’

Clearly he was having a joke at her expense, she thought bitterly. ‘Of course you do,’ she said sarcastically. ‘That’s why you barely spared me a glance before we left the house. If you had really thought me irresistible you would have …’

‘Been lost for words,’ he said softly. ‘I was completely blown away when you walked into the sitting room. You look so beautiful in your dress. I had no idea that you concealed such delightful curves beneath the shapeless clothes you usually wear. And your hair—’ he lifted a hand from her waist and threaded it through the rippling waves that streamed down her back ‘—it feels like silk.’

Dante could not control the hunger that clawed in his gut. His arousal strained uncomfortably against his trouser zip, necessitating him to shift his position. He heard Rebekah draw a sharp breath when his hardened shaft nudged her thigh.

‘Don’t do that!’ she gasped, shocked by the realisation that he wasn’t joking and unbelievably he really did seem to find her attractive.

‘There’s not a lot I can do to prevent it,’ he said sardonically. ‘Sexual desire sometimes manifests itself at the most inconvenient moments.’

‘But … you don’t desire me.’

‘I think the evidence is pretty conclusive, don’t you, cara?’ He looked down at her, his eyes glittering when he saw her confused expression. ‘Why shouldn’t I desire you? You are an incredibly desirable woman.’

Dear heaven, was Dante flirting with her? Rebekah swallowed and tried to control the frantic excitement that spiralled through her.

‘You shouldn’t say things like that,’ she muttered. ‘I work for you, and it’s not appropriate for you to make suggestive remarks.’

His husky laugh made the tiny hairs on her body stand on end and beneath her ribs she could feel the heavy thud of her heart.

‘Are you trying to tell me you don’t desire me, Rebekah?’

Her head spun. The situation felt unreal—being held in Dante’s arms, their bodies pressed intimately close as they danced and his eyes gleaming with sensual heat that sent a tremor through her.

Somehow she clung on to her sanity. ‘Of course I don’t,’ she said stiffly.

‘Be honest with me.’ He bent his head close to hers so that his words whispered in her ear. ‘I’ve seen the hungry little looks you give me.’

Mortification scalded her and she felt her cheeks burn. She cringed at the knowledge that he had recognized she was attracted to him. She had felt confident that she had hidden her feelings for him. But he had known, and maybe he had been amused that his frumpy cook had fallen for him.

She did not know what to say and, to her utter relief, the music track came to an end.

‘Excuse me,’ she said jerkily as she pulled out of Dante’s arms and almost ran across the ballroom in a bid to escape him. A waiter stopped to offer her a drink from the tray he was carrying. She took another glass of fruit punch before she stepped through the French windows that had been left ajar and walked across the terrace to rest her elbows on the stone balustrade. The night air felt cool on her hot face but her heart was still beating painfully hard. When she allowed her mind to rerun her conversation with Dante she wanted to die of embarrassment.

She could not continue to work for him now. It would be too awkward. It was bad enough that she had spent the past two months mooning over him like a lovesick teenager, but the realisation that he had known about her infatuation was so humiliating. First thing tomorrow she would hand him her resignation, she decided. And then she would phone Gaspard Clavier and discuss the possibility of working at his new restaurant in St Lucia.

Her mind was whirling as she took a long sip of her drink. Behind her, she heard the sound of footsteps striding across the terrace, and she stiffened.

‘I’d go easy on the punch, if I were you. I overheard a waiter telling a guest that one of the ingredients is limoncello,’ Dante murmured.

That explained why her head had started to spin when she’d come outside into the fresh air, Rebekah thought ruefully. The Italian lemon liqueur had a high alcoholic content, but she hadn’t noticed it mixed into the fruit punch.

‘Well, as this is my fourth glass, I’m probably tipsy and you can have a good laugh when I make a fool of myself.’

The moonlight threw his chiselled features into sharp relief and accentuated the sensual curve of his mouth. Rebekah hated herself for the physical pang of longing that made her tremble. She tore her gaze from him. ‘Although, actually, I don’t need alcohol to make me act stupidly,’ she said miserably.

Dante frowned when he saw the faint quiver of her lower lip. ‘What’s the matter?’ he demanded, catching hold of her shoulder to prevent her from walking away from him. ‘Are you angry because I admitted I find you attractive?’

It was not what Rebekah had expected him to say. She had been certain he would taunt her about her awareness of him.

‘I’m concerned it will make it difficult for me to carry on working for you,’ she mumbled.

‘I’m not a savage brute at the mercy of my hormones,’ he said drily. ‘I’m capable of controlling my libido.’ He lifted his hand and brushed her hair back from her cheek, his eyes narrowing speculatively on her flushed face. ‘Although it would help if you stopped looking at me like you’re doing at the moment.’

Was it the sudden sensual roughness of his tone that brought Rebekah’s skin out in goose-bumps or the hard glitter in his eyes that caused the ache inside her to intensify until it consumed her?

She bit her lip. ‘How am I looking at you?’ she whispered, and did not recognize the husky voice as her own.

‘Like you want me to kiss you.’ Dante gave a low laugh when she did not deny it. He stared into her incredible violet eyes, watched them darken as her pupils dilated and read the invitation she could not hide. But he also glimpsed a faint wariness that made him hesitate.