Page 140 of A Diamond Deal
‘The Rossis are ancient. Your grandparents respected and revered. This matters.’
‘I just don’t understand,’ she said, eyes growing hooded as the way his finger was moving became almost hypnotic. He was casting a spell and she was falling under it.
‘Yet you agreed to marry me.’
‘You’re paying me a lot,’ she pointed out.
His eyes roamed her face. ‘It’s worth it.’
‘But—’ She bit down on her lip as memories of the women in the bathroom haunted her. ‘You’re the man everyone wants.’
He laughed at that, but it was a deep-throated, cynical laugh. ‘Is that so?’
‘I have it on good authority.’
‘Whose authority would that be?’
She suddenly regretted that she’d started this conversation.
‘Contessina?’
She shook her head a little. ‘I met your assistant today. She showed me how everything works in your penthouse. How to get security and a driver, that kind of thing. She’s also organising an Italian tutor for me. I decided I should learn how to speak the language, you know, if I’m going to be living here.’ She was babbling. An effect of his intimate touch, his proximity, and the fact she felt weirdly embarrassed about what she’d overheard the night before, and wished she hadn’t brought it up.
His eyes narrowed. ‘I’m aware of that, but I find it hard to believe she would discuss my personal life.’
Amelia closed her eyes. He was like a dog with a bone. A very sexy, desirable dog. Beast. Something. ‘She didn’t.’
He moved then, using his other hand to take one of the petite cream buns, looking at it for a moment before lifting it towards her lips. She glanced up at him, then back at the confectionery as he pressed it to her mouth. ‘Taste it,’ he murmured.
Heat sparked in her chest but she did as he said, opening her mouth for a bite. It was so sweet, light, fluffy and delicious. She moaned her appreciation. His eyes held hers approvingly.
‘Who have you been talking to?’
‘No one,’ she said. ‘I just…overheard some women.’
His eyes scanned her face thoughtfully and then he leaned closer. ‘Last night, during dinner.’
She dropped her gaze, nodding once.
‘And what did they say?’
She lifted one shoulder. ‘That you could have anyone you wanted, basically.’
‘I see.’
He reached for the cream bun once more, hovering it against her lips. This time, she bit without being prompted. But as her mouth closed over it, his finger slipped downwards, between her legs, easily navigating the fabric of her minidress and connecting with the lace of her briefs. She gasped, the sensation of the delicious dessert combined with the sheer sensuality of his touch making her see stars already.
‘In bed, perhaps. But not the calibre of bride I needed for this to work. And not in the timeline required.’
He’d said something like that in London. That he needed this to be quick, and he needed someone he could essentially bribe into fitting the role.
‘But surely one of those women—’ She broke off as his finger easily pushed past her briefs and then pressed inside her, making her cry out. He smothered the noise with a swift, hard kiss.
‘Massimiliano, someone will see. Take a photo…’
‘No, they won’t. No one can see you here,cara. No one can see past me. Relax.’
But she wasn’t relaxed. Every shift of his finger stirred her to a point of intense awareness and need, so beneath the floor-length tablecloth, her fingers gripped his thigh hard, as if that could help her keep a grip on her sanity.
