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The Temporary Mrs Marchetti
MELANIE MILBURNE
The rules of engagementWhen Cristiano Marchetti proposes to former mistress Alice Piper, the deal has an expiry date. He has six months to fulfil the conditions of his grandmothers will. But the hotelier has another agendaexacting revenge on Alice for daring to walk away seven years before!Alice needs the financial security her enemy is providing but soon their every clash is a shockingly tempting encounter. Yet as she uncovers the man beneath the hard-hearted exterior, the future Mrs Marchetti wonders if she could break the rules of their engagementand walk down the aisle as more than Cristianos temporary bride!
The rules of engagement...
When Cristiano Marchetti proposes to former mistress Alice Piper, the deal has an expiry date. He has six months to fulfil the conditions of his grandmothers will. But the hotelier has another agendaexacting revenge on Alice for daring to walk away seven years before!
Alice needs the financial security her enemy is providing, but soon their every clash is a shockingly tempting encounter. Yet as she uncovers the man beneath the hard-hearted exterior, the future Mrs. Marchetti wonders if she could break the rules of their engagement...and walk down the aisle as more than Cristianos temporary bride!
Alice brought her gaze back up to Cristianos glittering one. Youre surely not going to go through with thisare you?
A smile that wasnt quite a smile courted the edges of his mouth. But of course. It is what Nonna wanted. Who am I to disregard her last wishes?
Alice frowned so hard she might have frightened off twenty ampoules of Botox. What happens if I dont agree?
To me? He gave a careless shrug. Nothingother than losing a few shares in the company, which will pass to a relative if I dont comply with the terms of the will.
Alice wondered how important those shares were to him. Was his easy-come-easy-go shrug disguising deeper, far more urgent motivations? Enough to marry someone he now hated?
She sent her tongue out over lips so dry it felt as if she was licking talcum powder. Sowhy would you want to marry someone who clearly doesnt want to marry you?
His dark-as-night gaze gleamed, making the floor of Alices belly shudder.
You know why.
Alice arched one of her brows, trying to ignore the pulsing heat his words evoked deep in her feminine core. Revenge, Cristiano? I thought you were a civilised man.
MELANIE MILBURNE read her first Mills & Boon at the age of seventeen, in between studying for her final exams. After completing a Masters Degree in Education she decided to write a novel, and thus her career as a romance author was born. Melanie is an ambassador for the Australian Childhood Foundation and a keen dog lover and trainer. She enjoys long walks in the Tasmanian bush. In 2015 Melanie won the HOLT Medalliona prestigious award honouring outstanding literary talent.
Books by Melanie Milburne
Mills & Boon Modern Romance
Unwrapping His Convenient Fiance
His Mistress for a Week
At No Mans Command
His Final Bargain
Uncovering the Silveri Secret
The Ravensdale Scandals
Ravensdales Defiant Captive
Awakening the Ravensdale Heiress
Engaged to Her Ravensdale Enemy
The Most Scandalous Ravensdale
The Playboys of Argentina
The Valquez Bride
The Valquez Seduction
Those Scandalous Caffarellis
Never Say No to a Caffarelli
Never Underestimate a Caffarelli
Never Gamble with a Caffarelli
Visit the Author Profile page
at millsandboon.co.uk (http://millsandboon.co.uk) for more titles.
The Temporary Mrs Marchetti
Melanie Milburne
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Sarah Lewer.
Thanks for the inspiration for this novel and thanks also for being such a wonderful beauty therapist and gorgeous person.
XXXX
Contents
Cover (#u8ba4427c-a2b8-5434-8e27-5549b73c7159)
Back Cover Text (#u072274e5-e0e5-5778-b499-93c312b06ea2)
Introduction (#u33e063a8-3c8c-508e-b364-25cf34654877)
About the Author (#ud0e8ad53-08f5-5f7a-b2c8-111a28ebcd72)
Title Page (#u47fb3325-bee4-57cc-b808-8ff2e1e966a9)
Dedication (#u5029e4be-661c-512a-a18b-e7afd610959d)
CHAPTER ONE (#u7c93b01e-4ffb-5292-8532-2d05d798c2f2)
CHAPTER TWO (#ub0c80da8-5be1-5d82-bbb4-da8c23bf0613)
CHAPTER THREE (#u99bde696-c077-5d46-bbae-e8cc933266ef)
CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u86924764-7575-576f-a856-bf4c9216a9c9)
THE FIRST THING Alice noticed when she came to work that morning was the letter on her desk. Something about the officious-looking envelope with its gold embossed insignia made her skin shrink against her skeleton. Letters from lawyers always made her feel a little uneasy. But then she looked closer at the name of the firm. Why would a firm of Italian lawyers be contacting her?
She picked the letter up and her breath came to a juddering halt when she saw it was postmarked Milan.
Cristiano Marchetti lived in Milan.
Alices fingers shook as if she had some sort of movement disorder. Surely he hadnt...died? A sharp pain sliced through her, her breath coming in short, erratic bursts, making not just her fingers tremble but her whole body.
Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.
How had she missed that in the press? Surely there would have been an announcement for someone with Cristianos public profile? They reported every other thing he did. The glamorous women he dated. The fading hotels he bought and rebuilt into stunning boutique accommodation all over the Mediterranean. The charity events he attended. The parties. The nightclubs. Cristiano couldnt change his shirt or shoes or socks without someone reporting it in the press.
Alice peeled open the envelope, her eyes scanning the brief cover letter, but she couldnt make any sense of it...or maybe that was because her brain was scrambled with a host of unbidden memories. Memories she had locked away for the last seven years. Memories she refused to acknowledgeeven in a weak momentbecause that was the pathway to regret and that was one journey she was determined never to travel. Her legs were so unsteady she reached blindly for her chair and sat down, holding the document in front of her blurry gaze.
But wait...
It wasnt Cristiano who had died. It was his grandmother, Volante Marchetti, the woman who, along with his late grandfather Enzo, had raised him since he was orphaned at the age of eleven when his parents and older brother had been killed in an accident.
Alice frowned and cast her gaze over the thick document that had come with the cover letter that named her as a beneficiary of the old womans will. But why had his grandmother mentioned her in her will? Why on earth would the old lady do that? Alice had only met Cristianos grandmother a handful of times. Volante Marchetti had been a feisty old bird with black raisins for eyes and a sharp intellect and an even sharper sense of humour. She had instantly warmed to the old lady, thinking at the time of how lucky Cristiano was to have a grandmother so spritely and fun, and had often thought of her since.
Maybe his grandmother had left her a trinket or twoa keepsake to mark their brief friendship. A piece of jewellery or one of the small watercolour paintings Alice remembered admiring at the old ladys villa in Stresa. She began to read through the legalese with her heart doing funny little skips. So many words... Why did lawyers have to sound as if theyd swallowed a dictionary?
Someone here to see you, Alice, Meghan, her junior beauty therapist, said from the door.
Alice glanced at the time on her computer screen next to her appointment diary and frowned. But my first client isnt until ten. Clara Overton cancelled her facial. One of her kids is sick.
Meghan waggled her eyebrows meaningfully and, lowering her voice to a stage whisper, said, Its a man.
Alice had several male clients who came to her for waxing and other treatments but something told her the man waiting to see her wasnt one of them. She could feel it in her body. In her bones. In her blood. In her heartbeat. The awareness of imminent danger making a prickling sensation pass all over her flesh, as if her nerves were radar picking up a faint but unmistakable signal. A signal she had forced herself to forget. To wipe from her memory in case it caused her to regret the decision she had made back then. She pushed back her chair and stood but then decided it was better to remain seated. She didnt trust her legs. Not if she was going to come face to face with Cristiano Marchetti after all this time. Tell him Ill be ten minutes.
You can tell me yourself.
Alice looked up to see Cristiano framed in the door, his chocolate-brown eyes as hard as two black bolts. All she could think of was how different it was seeing him in the flesh instead of a photograph in a gossip magazine or newspaper. Shockingly different. Heart-stoppingly different. Im-not-sure-I-can-handle-this different.
For a moment she couldnt locate her voice. With him standing there, with his towering frame and commanding air, her office seemed to shrink to the size of a tissue box. Shoulders so broad he looked as if hed been bench-pressing bulldozerstwo at a time. An abdomen so hard and toned you could tap dance on it wearing stilettos and not leave a dent. Jet-black hair, thick and currently brushed back from his forehead in loose finger-groomed waves.
Hello, Cristiano, what brings you to Alices Wonderland of Beauty? An eyebrow-shape? Back and leg wax? Personality makeover?
Alice knew it was crazy of her to goad him but she did it anyway. It was her defence mechanism. Sarcasm instead of emotion. Better to be cutting and mocking than to show how much his brooding presence disturbed her. It more than disturbed her. It unbalanced her. Her neatly controlled world felt as if it had been picked up and rattled like a maraca held by a maniac. The walls of her office were closing in on her. The floor was shifting beneath her feet like a sailboat pitching in a wild squall. The air was pulsing with crackling electricity that made her aware of every inch of her skin and every hit-and-miss beat of her heart.
His bottomless eyes roved her face as if he was looking for something he had lost and never thought to find again. His brow was etched in a deep frown that gave him a much more intimidating air than the way he had looked at her in the past. Back then he had looked at her with tenderness, with gentleness. With love.
A love she had thrown back in his face.
Did you put her up to it? he asked with a searing look that made the backs of her knees fizz as if sand were being trickled through her veins.
Alice placed her hands on the tops of her thighs below her desk so he wouldnt see their traitorous shaking. I presume youre referring to your grandmother?
Something flashed in his gaze. Bitterness. Anger. Something else she wasnt ready to acknowledge, but she felt it all the same. It breathed scorching hot fire all over her body, stirring up memories. Erotic memories that made the blood in her veins pick up speed. Have you been in contact with her over the last seven years? he asked in that same terse dont-mess-with-me tone.
No. Why would I? Alice gave him a pointed look. I rejected your proposal, remember?
His jaw tensed so hard she could see the white tips of his clenched muscles showing through his olive tan. Then why has she mentioned you in her will?
So he hadnt known about the terms of his grandmothers will until recently? Had the old lady not told him of her plans? Interesting. No idea, Alice said. I only met her a couple of times when we were...back then. Ive had zero contact since.
He glanced at the will lying in front of her on her desk. Have you read it?
Alice gave him another speaking look. I was getting to that when you rudely barged into my office.
His eyes nailed hers. Hard eyes. Eyes that could melt a months supply of salon wax with a single glare. Let me summarise it for you. You stand to inherit a half share of my grandmothers villa in Stresa in Italy if you agree to be my wife and live with me for a minimum of six months. You will also receive a lump sum on the announcement of our engagement, which is to last no longer than one month.
Shock hit Alice like a blow to the chest. His...wife?
She fumbled for the document, the sound of the pages rustling overly loud in the silence.
Engaged to him for a month? Married for six?
She cast her gaze over the words again, her breath coming in such short spark bursts it felt as if she were having an asthma attack. Her heart was beating so heavily it felt as if someone were punching it from behind. She hadnt seen any mention of marriage in her quick appraisal earlier. Shed barely had time to read any of it before he had gatecrashed into her day. Why hadnt she put on her make-up before work? Why hadnt she worn her brand-new uniform instead of this one with the eyebrow-tint stain on the right breast? Why hadnt she done her own eyebrows, for Gods sake?
But there it was in black and white.
Alice was to co-inherit Volante Marchettis summer retreat on the shores of Lake Maggiore if, and only if, she married and stayed married to Cristiano for six months. Six months? Six seconds would be too long. And there was the other clause. They must be engaged for no more than a month before the wedding. What sort of weird time frame was that? It shamed her that Cristiano saw the pages of the document shaking before she put it back down on the desk. But at least he couldnt see the tumult going on inside her stomach.
His wife?
Live with him?
She had been to his grandmothers villa one memorable weekend with Cristiano. Memorable because it was the first time hed told her he loved her. Apart from her mother, no one had ever said that to her before. She hadnt said the words back because she hadnt trusted her feelings. But then, she had always been a step behind him in their relationship. Shed thought they were having a fling while she was on a brief working holiday in Europe. Hed decided it was a relationship. Shed thought it was temporary because shed planned to go back to England and set up her own beauty spa, but he had wanted it to be permanent.
Permanent as in marriage and kids.
For as long as she could remember Alice had been against marriageor at least for herself. After witnessing her mother go through three of them with exactly the same result: misery, subjugation, humiliation and financial ruin. She had told Cristiano a little about her background, not much, but more than she had told anyone, which made her all the more annoyed he had still gone ahead and asked her to marry him. In a crowded public place to boot, which had added a whole other layer of pressure she resented him for.
His arrogance made her furiously angry. Had he really thought she would fall upon him with a grateful squeal of Yes! just because he was super-rich and said he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her? How long would that love have lasted? Theyd had a passionate if a little volatile relationship. How could she be sure his desire/love for her wouldnt burn out as fast as it had been ignited?
If he had truly loved her he would have accepted her no as final and settled for a less formal arrangement. People lived together for years and years without needing the formality of marriage. Why be so damn nineteen-fifties about it? A marriage certificate didnt make a relationship any more secure. In fact, it could do the very opposite, forcing women into a subservient role once kids came along from which they could never escape.
But Cristiano at heart was a traditionalist. For all of his modern male sophistication, deep down he wanted a wife and family to come home to while he built his empire. So he had given her an ultimatum. Tried to control her. Tried to manipulate her into doing what he wanted.
Marriage or nothing.
Alice had called his bluff and ended their relationship then and there, and flown back to England, never expecting to hear from him again. Well, maybe that wasnt quite true. She had expected to hear from him with a big apology and lets try again but it hadnt happened. Showed how much hed loved her. Not enough to fight for her. Not enough to compromise.
Not that she had offered to compromise, but still.
Alice brought her gaze back up to his glittering one. Youre surely not going to go through with this...are you?
A smile that wasnt quite a smile courted with the edges of his mouth. But of course. It is what Nonna wanted. Who am I to disregard her last wishes?
Alice frowned so hard she could have frightened off fifty units of Botox. What happens if I dont agree?
To me? He gave a careless shrug. Nothing other than a few shares in the company which will pass to a relative if I dont comply with the terms of the will.
Alice wondered how important those shares were to him. Was his easy-come, easy-go shrug disguising deeper, far more urgent motivations? Enough to marry someone he now hated? What about the villa? It was his grandmothers home, the place where he had spent much of his childhood being raised by his grandparents. Wouldnt he want to contest such an outrageous will? Surely he wouldnt want to share it with anyone, much less her? Why would he agree to such unusual conditions? She sent her tongue out over lips so dry it felt as if she were licking talcum powder. So...why would you want to marry someone who clearly doesnt want to marry you?
His dark as night gaze gleamed, making the floor of Alices belly shudder. You know why.
Alice arched one of her brows, trying to ignore the pulsing heat his words evoked deep in her feminine core. Revenge, Cristiano? I thought you were a civilised man.
I am prepared to be reasonable.
Alice affected a laugh. That was not a word she readily associated with him. He saw the world in black and white. He didnt know the meaning of the word compromise. What he wanted he got and woe betide anyone who got in his way. Not that she could talk. Compromise wasnt her favourite word in the dictionary, either. Reasonable in what way?
He held her look with one she couldnt read. The marriage wont be consummated.
Not...? Alice hoped she wasnt showing any sign of the numb shock she was feeling. Not just shock. Hurt. Humiliation. Their affair had been so wildly passionate. She had never had a lover before or since who made her feel the things he had made her feel. She had all but given up dating because of it. His touch was indelibly branded on her body. No one elses touch made her flesh singthe opposite, in fact. Her flesh crawled when someone else touched her. The last time she slept with a date, well over a year ago, she came home and showered for an hour.
You speak as if this...this preposterous marriage is a fait accompli, she said. I said it seven years ago and Ill say it again now. I am not going to marry you.
Six months is not a long time. At the end of it you get joint ownership of a luxury villa to do with as you please. You can sell your half or keep it. The choice is yours.
The choice wasnt hers. How could it be? She was being forced into a marriage with a man who no longer loved herif he ever had. What he had wanted to do back then was control her. It was what he wanted to do now. What better way to punish her for having the gall to say no to him than to chain her to him in a loveless union?
Alice wouldnt do it. No. No. No.
She wouldnt subject herself to the humiliation of being his trophy wife while he continued to sleep with whomever he liked. He knew...he knew how much shed hated seeing her mother cheated on by each of her husbands. It had been one of the things that had impressed her about him. He believed in monogamyor so hed said.
But what about your business plan?
Alice had somehow become the go-to girl for wedding make-up. The girl who had sworn against marriage was preparing brides all over London for theirs. Go figure. Her appointment diary was booked out for months ahead for the wedding season. It was becoming the biggest source of her income, especially high-profile weddings. She had plans to buy another salona larger place so she could extend her business because her Chelsea salon was getting too small to handle the burgeoning wedding market.
It had been a dream of hers for months. Years, actually. The only thing holding her back was the thought of taking on a load of property debt. Debt was something that terrified her. The mere thought of it kept her awake at night. She remembered too well how it had felt as a child to have not enough money for food, for clothes, for electricity when her mother had been between relationships.
She knew she could always rent another property like this one in Chelsea, but that left her at the mercy of landlords, something she had seen too many times during her childhood. Rents could be put up and buildings suddenly sold. The business she had worked so hard to establish would be jeopardised if she didnt own the property herself.
You could sell the villa after six months and be debt-free for the rest of your life.
Alice allowed the thought a little traction. The business she had sacrificed so much for was her baby, her mission, her purpose in life. Seeing it grow and develop over the last few years had been enormously satisfying. She had built it up from just a handful of clients to now one of the busiest salons in the area. She had celebrities and minor royalty on her books. People came to her because of the standards of excellence she maintained. To achieve her dream of setting up a luxury wedding spa would finally prove she had made it.
Failing wasnt an option.
Not after using her career as the excuse for not wanting to marry Cristiano. The career she put before everything else. Relationships. Holidays. Fun. Even friendships. All of it had been sacrificed for work.
But she couldnt marry Cristiano to solve that problem for it would throw her in the middle of an even bigger one.
Alice rose from her chair with her spine steeled with resolve. Ive made my choice. Now, if youve finished catching up on old times, I have a business to run.
His eyes continued to tether hers as if he were waiting for her cool composure to crack. Are you involved with someone? Is that why youre saying no?
Was he still so arrogant? Yes. Arrogance was hardwired into his DNA. A man in his privileged position had no concept of why a woman wouldnt want to thrust her hand out for him to put a ring on it. He had it all: the money, the looks, the luxury lifestyle, the fast cars and exotic holiday destinations. Alice wished she had a lover to fling in his face. She considered inventing one but knew it wouldnt take him long to call her out on her lie. He wouldnt have to hunt around too far to find her social life was practically non-existent. Her work was her social life.
I know you find it hard to believe youre irresistible because of your wealth and other...erm...assets, but I am not going to prostitute myself for the sake of an inheritance I neither asked for nor need.
His expression gave nothing away. I meant what I said, Alice. It will be a marriage in name only.
No one said her name quite the way he did. His Italian accent gave it a completely different emphasis. Aleece. The sound of it was like an erotic caress. It made the base of her spine shiver as if he had touched her with a brush of his warm male hand. Thinking of his hands made her want to look at them.
Dont. Dont. Dont.
But in spite of her rational brains pleas, she looked. Those broad-spanned hands had travelled over every inch of her flesh. Those long tanned fingers had coaxed her into her first proper orgasm. They had discovered all of her erogenous zones, tortured them with such intense pleasure it had shaken her to the core of her being. She could feel the echo of it even now, as if just being in the same room as him, breathing the same air as him, made her body recognise him as her only pleasure giver.
Alice dragged her gaze upwards and collided with his. He knew. Damn it, he knew how much sensual power he had over her. She could see it in the knowing glint in his pitch-black eyes. She felt it when he sent his gaze over her body as if he too were remembering what it had felt like to hold her in his arms as she splintered into a thousand pieces of shivering, quivering ecstasy.
He lifted a hand to his jacket pocket and took out a business card and placed it on the desk next to the copy of his grandmothers will. My contact details should you change your mind. Ill be in London for the next week while I sort out some business affairs.
Alice wilfully ignored the card. Im not going to change my mind, Cristiano.
Im not. Im not. Im not.
A cynical smile lifted one side of his mouth. Well see.
Well see?
What did he mean, Well see? Alice didnt get the chance to ask him for he turned and left her office, leaving her with the lingering fragrance of his aftershave, the lemon and lime with a base note of leather that made her nostrils tingle...not to mention the rest of her body.
Meghan was bug-eyed when she came back. Oh, my God! You didnt tell me you knew Cristiano Marchetti. I didnt recognise him at first. Hes much more gorgeous in the flesh than he is in photographs in the press. I nearly fainted when he walked past me just then and smiled at me. What did he want? Is he going to come here for treatments? Please let me do him. Can I do him? Please, please, please?
Alice wasnt going to explain her past relationship with her employee even if Meghan was turning out to be one of the best shed ever had. And as for Meghan doing him, if anyone was going to do him it was going to be her. She would like nothing better than to get a pot of hot wax and strip that supercilious smile off his too-handsome face. Hes not a client. I met him a few years ago. He just dropped in to say hi.
Met him as in met him and dated him?
Alice didnt respond other than to purse her mouth. Meghan blushed and bit her lower lip. Sorry. I shouldnt have asked that. I know you insist on absolute confidentiality with celebrity clients. Its just hes so handsome and you never seem to date anyone and I wondered if it was because
Can you get my treatment room ready for my next client? Alice said. I have some urgent paperwork to see to.
Alice blew out a breath once Meghan scuttled away. For seven years she had told herself shed made the right decision. She had chosen her career over commitment. Freedom over having a family. She had stood firm on her decision, not once wavering on it. Now, within her grasp was a way to finally achieve the success and financial security she had thus far only dreamt about.
Six months of marriage.
In name only.
She glanced at his business card. It seemed to taunt her with its presence.
Do it. Do it. Do it.
Alice snatched it up and tore it into as many pieces as she could and tossed them in the bin. It was kind of weird how they floated down just like a handful of confetti.
She hoped to God it wasnt an omen.
* * *
Cristiano would have had a stiff drink if hed been a drinking man, but the death of his parents and his older brother to a drunk driver when he was eleven made him wary of using alcohol other than in strict moderation. Seeing Alice Piper again was like having his guts slashed wide open. And stomped on. The mere sight of her reopened the wound of his bitterness until he wondered how he had stood there without showing it.
Hed felt it, though. God in heaven, how hed felt it. The blood rush. The pulse race. The adrenalin surge. The kick and punch of lust.
He had stood there and drunk in her features like a dehydrated man standing in front of a long cool glass of water. Her indifferent poise, her cornflower-blue gaze that could freeze mercury, the way she looked down her aristocratic nose at him as if he had crept in from a primeval swamp with his knuckles dragging. Her body was as lissom and gorgeous as everperhaps even more so. Her unusual silver-blonde hair with her naturally dark eyebrows and the creamy, ageless perfection of her skin gave her a striking appearance that never failed to snatch his breath.
Her rejection of him stung and burned and churned even after all this time. He had thought what theyd had was for ever. A once in a lifetime love. Their passionate affair had been unlike anything hed experienced before. Hed wanted to build a future with her. A family. Hed believed it to be like the love his parents had had for each other. Like the love his grandparents had before his grandfather died. The death of his grandfather a couple of months before he met Alice had made him acutely aware of how important family was. It had been all he had thought abouthaving a family to replace the one he had lost so young. Hed felt ready. More than ready. Hed been twenty-seven and well established in the hotel business he had inherited from his parents. He was ready for the next phase of his life.
But Alice hadnt loved him. She had never said the words but hed fooled himself into thinking shed been showing it instead. How gullible he had been. How stupid to be so naively romantic when all shed wanted was a quick fling with a foreigner to boast about with her friends.
What had his nonna been thinking? She had only met Alice a couple of times. Why bequeath her a share in a property worth millions and with such odd conditions attached? Six months of marriage? What sort of nonsense was this?
He hoped to God it wasnt some sneaky matchmaking ploy from the grave. His grandmother knew he had changed his mind about settling down. He had laughed off the suggestion every time she asked him when he was going to provide her with a great-grandchild. Nonna had expressed her disapproval of his playboy lifestyle on numerous occasions but he had always dismissed her concerns because no one was going to tell him how to run his life.
No one.
His grandmother had been disappointed when his relationship with Alice broke down. Terribly disappointed. But he had refused to talk about it. Hed had enough trouble managing his own disappointment without having to handle his grandmothers. Over the years she had stopped mentioning Alices name knowing it would get zero response from him. Why then had she done this? Forced him back into Alices life when it was the last thing he wanted?
The way the will was written meant if he didnt convince Alice to marry him then he would lose valuable shares in the family company to a cousin he had no time for. He wasnt going to hand over those shares only to have his cousin Rocco sell them to another party when he ran a little low on cash after playing the tables in a casino. Cristiano would rather marry his worst enemy before seeing that day dawn. He blamed himself for not telling his grandmother of Roccos disturbing spending habits of late. But he hadnt wanted to burden her in the last months of her terminal illness.
Now it was too late.
The will had been written and now he had to convince Alice Piper to marry him.
Not that Alice was an enemy in the true sense of the word. She was a mistake he had made. A failure he wasnt particularly fond of being reminded about. He had wiped her from his memory. Every time a thought of her would enter his mind he would ruthlessly erase it like someone cleaning a whiteboard. He had lived his life since as if she had never been a part of it. As if he had never had such amazing sex with her it had made his body tingle for hours afterwards. As if he had never kissed that sensually supple mouth. As if he had never felt that mouth around him while she blew the top of his head off.
Cristiano wasnt going to let Alice think he was anything but delighted with the way his grandmother had orchestrated things. It suited him to let Alice think he was eager to put that ring on her finger and tie her to him for six months. Besides, maybe avoidance wasnt the way to handle the lingering sting of her rejection. Maybe some immersion therapy would finally end his torment.
Alice might have given him that haughty look and said no as if it were her last word on it, but this time he wasnt taking no for an answer.
CHAPTER TWO (#u86924764-7575-576f-a856-bf4c9216a9c9)
ALICE NEITHER HEARD nor saw anything of Cristiano for the next couple of days. She had been expecting him to show up at work again, knowing him to be implacably determined when he set his mind to something. She had received a call from the lawyer handling the execution of the will, who explained some of the finer points. There was a time limit on accepting the terms. If she didnt marry Cristiano by the end of a month-long engagement the villa would be sold outside the Marchetti family. Alice wondered what Cristiano would think about thathis childhood home sold to strangers. Was that why he was pushing for this marriage? Or was it purely revenge?
On the third day without sight or sound of Cristiano, Alice got a call from her salon buildings landlord, Ray Gormley. I know this will come as a bit of a surprise, Alice, but Ive sold the building, he said. The new owner is taking possession immediately. You have a few months left on your current three-year lease so it shouldnt disrupt
Sold? Alice gasped. I didnt even realise you had it on the market.
I didnt, but I got an offer Id be a fool to refuse, he said. Im consolidating some of my interests. This guys bought the building next door as well. Says hes going to make them both into a luxury hotel.
Suspicion made every hair on the back of Alices neck stand up and fizz at the roots. A...a hotel?
Yes, Ray said. You ever heard of Cristiano Marchetti? He has boutique hotels all over Europe.
Alices jaw was so tight she felt the tension in her neck as if someone had a noose around itwhich they did. Damn it.
So...let me get this straight... Marchetti approached you completely out of the blue?
Yes, Ray said. Hes been looking for suitable property in London. The UK is the only place he doesnt have a hotel. This is stage one of his British expansion.
Alice was still trying to get her heart out of her mouth and back in her chest where it belonged. Cristiano was her new landlord? What did he plan to do? Hike up her rent so she had no choice but to marry him? She had three months left on her three-year lease. It had always worried her having such a short-term lease, which was one of the reasons she wanted to buy her own property. But Ray had always assured her he wasnt selling any time soon. His wife and three daughters were clients of hers. She had thoughtstupidly thoughtshe was safe.
But what would happen once Cristiano took possession?
Alice ended the call and started pacing her office so hard she thought shed go right through the floorboards to the subway below. This was absolutely outrageous. Cristiano was going to such devious lengths to bend her to his will. She wished now she hadnt torn up his card. Not that she had forgotten his numberno matter how hard she tried to erase it, for some reason, it remained fixed in her brain. But he might well have changed it. After all, she had changed hers.
She sat back at her desk and dialled his number. She listened to it ringing and ringing, her courage just about deserting her when finally it was answered by a husky female voice. Hello?
Alices stomach dropped. Erm... Im not sure if I have the right number
Are you looking for Cristiano? the young woman said.
Erm...yes, but if hes busy I can
Hes right here beside me, the woman said. Who will I say is calling?
Right here beside her doing what?
Alice clenched her teeth so hard she could have bitten through a pair of tweezers. It was the middle of the day, for pitys sake. Why wasnt he at work instead of in bed with some gorgeous nymphet?
Its Alice Piper.
She heard the sound of the phone being handed over and couldnt stop an image forming of him lying amongst the rumpled bed linen of a hotel with a naked womans body draped over his. Ive been expecting you to call, Cristiano said. Changed your mind yet?
Alice gripped her phone so hard she thought her knuckles were going to burst through her skin. No, I have not.
Thats a pity. There was a note of casual amusement in his tone. I didnt want to have to play dirty but needs must.
Alices spine tightened as if someone were turning a wrench on each and every vertebra. I know what youre trying to do but
Come to my hotel and well discuss this over a drink.
Alice wasnt going anywhere near his hotel. A hotel room was way too intimate. If she and Cristiano were alone together with a bed nearby, who knew what might happen? It wasnt him she didnt trust. It was her. Her body remembered him like a language she thought shed long forgotten. Even now it was responding to the deep gravelly cadence of his voice, making her senses reel as if she had ingested some sort of mind-altering drug. Id rather meet somewhere less...
Dangerous?
The silky tone of his voice loosened the bolts on her vertebrae.
Alice pressed her lips together, trying to garner her defences. He wasnt the same man as seven years ago. He had changed. He was harder. More ruthless. More calculating and brutally tactical. She was going to have to be careful dealing with him. He wasnt in love with her now. He hated her. He wanted revenge. Im not scared of you, Cristiano.
Perhaps not, but youre scared of how I make you feel. Its always been that way between us, has it not?
I felt lust for you back then. Nothing else.
You still feel it, dont you, cara mia? His voice was a teasing feather stroking over the nerve-sensitive base of her spine.
Youre mistaken, she said, injecting her voice with icy hauteur. I feel nothing for you but contempt.
Thats a strong word for someone who once shared their body with me.
You know something? I didnt break your heart, Alice said. I bruised your ego. Thats what all this is about, isnt it? You hadnt had a woman say no to you before. You werent in love with me. If you were you would have accepted and respected my decision not to get married.
That is an argument for another time, he said with a thread of steel entering his tone. I want to see you tonight to discuss the rent on your salon going forward.
Alice stiffened. It was all right for him with the millions hed inherited when his parents were killed. She didnt have any rich relatives to hand her an empire or to give her a financial leg up when things turned ugly. Everything she had worked for had been out of her own blood, sweat and tearsand occasional tantrum. If he turned the financial screws on her now, everything shed worked for could be compromised. OrGod forbideven lost. Sometimes I wonder how you speak so fluently with all those silver spoons hanging out of your mouth.
A pulsing silence passed.
Alice wondered if this was going to turn into one of their massive arguments. With hindsight she could see a large part of their relationship had been a power struggle. They had constantly bickered over things without anything being resolved other than in bed. Neither of them had wanted to compromise or back down from a stance. Making love had diffused the battle temporarily, but it hadnt solved the underlying issue.
He had wanted control of her and she wouldnt give it.
Cristiano released a long breath. I would give each and every one of those silver spoons back if I could have my parents and brother back for a day, let alone for the last twenty-three years.
Alice suddenly felt ashamed of herself. He couldnt help his background any more than she could help hers. It was a cheap shot, similar to the ones shed tossed at him in the past. Their verbal sparring had been a sort of foreplay. The battle of two strong wills, combined with a fierce lust for each other, had created some combustible arguments on occasion. Too many occasions. When had they ever sat down and had a discussion without one or both of them flying off in a temper? Had either of them actually listened to what the other said? Or were they too busy trying to think of a cutting comeback? Im sorry. That was...unfair of me.
I have to go. Natalia is waiting for me.
A dagger went to Alices belly. Shed forgotten all about his gorgeous little bed buddy lying right beside him while he spoke to her on the phone. Jealousy rose in her like a beast that had been woken too abruptly. Giant paws of jealousy clawing at her insides, making her feel strangely hollow. Why was she feeling like this? She had no right to feel this way. She had ended their affair. Shed been the one to walk away, not him. She didnt have any rights over him now. He was a free agent to sleep with whomever he pleased. There should be no reason why the thought of him talking to her on the phone while a woman was in bed beside him should...hurt her so much.
Im sorry to force you to talk business in the middle of pleasure, she said. Maybe next time turn your phone to silent so you dont get interrupted during one of your marathon sex sessions.
There was another little silence.
Alice wished she hadnt spoken with such crisp venom. Every word she had spoken sounded as if it were painted bright green. What was wrong with her? It was crazy to give him ammunition he could use against her. If he thought for a picosecond she was jealous he would exploit it every opportunity he could.
Ill pick you up for dinner at seven, Cristiano said as if she hadnt spoken. Whats your address?
Im not having dinner with
You will have dinner with me or Ill cancel your lease as of now.
Alices heart banged against her breastbone. You cant do that!
Cant I?
She swallowed a rush of panic. She had to get control of her tongue. It wouldnt help her cause to challenge him all the time. It would only make him all the harder to manage. She could handle dinner. Sure she could. It would be a test for her. It would be proof she could spend an hour or two in his company without wanting to tear his clothes off his hot body.
Yikes. Do not even think about that body.
It was probably still naked and sweaty from bed-wrecking sex. Wont Natalia mind you taking out another woman for dinner?
No.
Alice was frustrated by his one-word answer so went digging for more. She must have a very laid-back attitude to relationships to allow you to entertain other women while shes involved with you.
Natalia knows her place.
Are you going to marry her?
Shes already married.
Shock rendered Alice speechless for a moment. What had happened to Cristianos conservative old-fashioned values? The Cristiano of the past would never have slept with a married woman. Hed had no time for men and women who betrayed their marital vows. Hed spoken at length about the commitment his parents had made and how he admired and respected them for staying true to it until their untimely deaths. Until death do us part had been something he had believed in to the letter.
What had changed him?
You changed him.
The thought was an uncomfortable weight in the pit of her stomach. Had she been the one to destroy his faith in relationships? But she hadnt been ready to settle down back then. Rejecting a proposal wasnt a crime, was it? Surely shed had the right to decide whether she wanted to be married or not. It wasnt the Dark Ages, for Gods sake. But the thought continued to niggle at her. Had she turned him into a casual-living playboy who had no time for commitment? These days he used women to suit his needs. He was in and out of relationships faster than a racing driver changed gears. Was he really no longer a man who longed for a wife and family of his own? And why should that make her feel so...so sad? Well then, Id better get off the phone so you can get back to your grubby little affair, hadnt I?
Ill see you tonight, he said and before she could think of a comeback, or tell him she wasnt going, he ended the call.
* * *
Alice dressed for dinner as if she were dressing for combat. Each layer of clothing was like putting on a suit of armour. The armour of sophistication she had been so sadly lacking seven years ago.
She sometimes wondered what Cristiano had seen in her back then. She had been twenty-one years old and newly qualified as a beauty therapist. It had been her first trip abroad without friends accompanying her. She had been on a shoestring budget while she backpacked around Europe but shed only got as far as Italy when shed met him in a crowded street in Milan when a sharp catch on her backpack had become caught on his clothing, as shed brushed past.
Theyd stood in the middle of the street, comically locked together by their clothes. Hed made a comment about it bringing a whole new meaning to hooking up with someone and shed laughed. Once he had untangled himself hed insisted on buying her a coffee.
One coffee had turned into two coffees and then dinner. Instead of going back to the backpackers centre shed found herself accepting his offer of accommodation for the night or two shed planned to spend in his home city. At no time had she felt any pressure to sleep with him. She was not unaware of his interest in her and she hadnt been all that good at hiding hers in him. But his respectful handling of her had impressed her. Not many healthy and virile young men of twenty-seven, as he was at that time, would have asked a woman back to his place and not expected something in return.
In the end it had been Alice who made the first move. She still remembered their first kiss. Sometimes when she closed her eyes she could still feel those firm lips moving with such urgency against hers, making every cell in her body vibrate. One kiss hadnt been enough. Next minute she was tearing his clothes off him and all but throwing herself at him.
Her mind drifted... The drugging kisses. The phenomenal foreplay. The earth-rocking sex. The mind-bending orgasms. The electric tingling of her flesh for hours afterwards.
How had she gone so long without it?
Alice sighed and picked up her lipstick. She had never found anyone else who made her feel desire quite like that, as if she would literally die if she didnt have him. Which meant she would have to be super careful around him now. She didnt want to betray herself, to give him any hint she hadnt managed to move on with her life. Of course she had moved on with her life. She was a successful businesswoman with money in the bank...most of it borrowed, but still.
What else did she need?
The doorbell sounded and she put her lipstick in her purse and picked up her evening wrap and went to the door. Even though she was in four-inch heels Cristiano towered over her. Youre late, she said. I thought you said seven. Its half-past.
He gave a shrug of one broad shoulder as if punctuality and common politeness were no longer of any interest to him. I knew youd wait for me.
The way he said it made it sound as if she had spent the last seven years doing exactly that. She raised her chin and sent him a look that would have soured long-life milk. How did you find out where I lived?
Your very helpful previous landlord.
The slight emphasis on the word previous made Alices nerves jangle.
She wound her wrap around her shoulders, wishing she could wind it around Cristianos neck instead. Where are we going to dinner?
Arent you going to show me around your house first?
Alice pinched her lips together. My home is hardly on a league with yours.
He glanced around her foyer with an appraising eye. Nice. How long have you lived here?
Two years.
Alone?
Alice forced herself to hold that piercing gaze even though it made every atom in her body protest. At the moment.
He gave a slight nod as if her answer satisfied him on some level. Big place for a single girl. How many bedrooms?
Four.
His ink-black brows lifted in an arc. Are you renting?
Alice threw him a black look. Why? Are you thinking of buying it too, and jacking up the rent? Sorry to spoil your fun but I own it. Or at least the bank does.
His mouth curved at one corner in a half-smile that should not have caused her heart to stumble. You could pay this mortgage off and have money to spare if you agree to the terms of my grandmothers will. You could expand your business as well.
Alices brows snapped together in a frown. How did he know she wanted to expand her business? Who on earth had he been talking to? He had an unnerving ability to gain information about her. And read her mind. Not to mention her body.
Oh, dear God, why wasnt her body ignoring him? Damn it.
Her body was a traitor. It remembered him too well. It only had to be within touching distance and it went haywire. It was as if the last seven years hadnt happened. All her nerves were screaming out for his touch like starstruck teenage fans at a boy-band concert. My business plans are absolutely no concern of yours. Nor indeed are my private ones.
His eyes moved over her body in an assessing sweep that made her insides coil with lust. She knew that look. The look that said, I want you and I know you want me. And I can prove it.
It must get a bit lonely at times, living in this big old house by yourself, s??
Im not one bit lonely.
He released a small puff of air that had cynicism riding on its backdraft. Sure youre not. He was suddenly standing closer than shed realised. Had she been so mesmerised by his gaze she hadnt detected him closing the distance between them? He reached out and picked up a tendril of her hair and wound it around the length of his index finger. It was too late to step back.
Why the hell hadnt she stepped back?
Every nerve root on her scalp was tingling from the tether of his touch.
Have you missed me, cara? His voice was a deep, seductive burr of sound that sucker-punched her self-control.
Alice had to swallow three times to locate her voice. Three times! As it was she only just stopped herself from giving a betraying whimper. If you dont let go of me this instant Ill file my nails on your cheek. Got it?
His mouth curved in an indolent smile and he wound her hair a little tighter. Id much rather youd rake them down my back.
His incendiary words sent a shockwave of lust through her body. She swore she could feel the echo of where he had been in the pastthe thickened length of him driving into her until they both lost control. Her blood simmered in her veins, rushing through her system as if it were on fire.
Get control. Get control. Get control.
The words were sounding an alarm in her brain but her body was blatantly ignoring it. Her body swayed towards his...or maybe his moved closer. His muscle-packed thighs brushed hers, reminding her of all the times they had trapped hers beneath their sensual power and superior strength. Sex with Cristiano had always had an element of danger to it. The dark unknowable power of it. The uncontrollable force of it had thrilled and frightened her in equal measure. Her body felt things with him it had never felt before or since. Not even close. She was spoilt now for anyone else.
Another good reason to hate him.
Alice pushed back against his chest even though it tugged cruelly on her hair. In your dreams, buddy.
Cristianos gaze had a mocking glint to it. I could have you in a heartbeat and you damn well know it.
Ah, but you dont want me, remember? Alice said with an arch look. A marriage in name only, wasnt it?
A whip-quick flicker of tension moved across his mouth. He stepped back and held open the door. Well lose the booking if we dont make a move. I had to pull strings to secure it.
Youre good at that, arent you, Cristiano? Pulling strings to get people to do what you want? Alice gave him a sugar-sweet smile on her way past him in the doorway. What a pity you cant get me to toe the line.
He captured her forearm in the steel bracelet of his long, strong fingers, tugging her around so his gaze clashed with hers. His eyes were onyx-dark and brooding with indomitable purpose. I havent finished with you yet. But once I am, I swear to God youll be on your knees begging me to marry you.
Alice flashed him a look of pure defiance and wrenched out of his hold, rubbing her arm as if it had been scorched. Which it had. Why, oh, why was it so damn exciting sparring with him? She hadnt felt like this in years. Alive. Switched on after a long time on pause. Running at breathtaking speed instead of idling. It was nothing short of exhilarating. You think you can bully me into doing what you want? Try it and see what happens.
His eyes dipped to her mouth, setting off a feverish chain of reaction in her body. Only he could do that. Make her hot for him by looking at her. Youd be a fool to throw away this chance to build your asset base, he said. Dont let emotion get in the way of a good business deal.
Who are you to lecture me about emotion? Alice said. Youre the one who was in love with me, not me with you, and now youre punishing me because Im about the only person on this planet who has the backbone to stand up to you and
I wasnt in love with you.
The words stung like a hail of rubber bullets. Alice blinked. Swallowed. Blinked again. Not in love with her? Not even a little bit? Why that should bother her she didnt want to examine too closely. Right, well then, thats good to know. At least I did you a favour then in rejecting your proposal. We wouldve been divorced by now otherwise and think how much that wouldve cost you.
He opened the passenger door for her, jerking his head towards the vacant seat like a police officer taking in a suspect for interrogation. Get in.
Alice straightened her shoulders, throwing him a glare that could have stripped ten years of graffiti off a council estate wall. Ask nicely.
A muscle flicked in his jaw and his eyes smouldered like black coals. You know what will happen if you push me too far. His tone was silk wrapped around a will of steel.
Alice did know and it was perverse of her to keep doing it. But she couldnt seem to help herself. It was an urge she couldnt control. She wanted to push him. She wanted to bait him. To break him. To reduce him to his most primal. A spurt of excitement lit like a wick inside her, sending a radiant heat coursing through her body. Her breasts tingled as if they were preparing themselves for the possessive cup of his hands. Her thighs trembled with the memory of his intimate invasion, her blood stirring into a frenzied whirlpool that made her aware of every feminine muscle contracting and releasing in her groin.
Oh, how she had missed this!
No one made her feel so...so energised. So vital. So...aroused.
She kept her gaze locked on his. The air was so charged with static she could hear it like a fizzing roar in her ears. What are you going to do, Cristiano? Lug me over your shoulder and carry me off like the caveman you really are underneath that smart Armani suit?
Another ripple of tension passed over his rigidly set mouth, his eyes blazing as they tussled with hers. His hand left the top of his car door and snared one of hers before she could do anything to counter itif she had wanted to, that wasruthlessly tugging her towards him so there was barely a breath of air between their bodies. Alice could feel the slight protrusion of his belt buckle digging her in the stomach, a shockingly erotic reminder of the latent male power stirring just below it.
Been a long time between drinks, has it, cara? he asked in that dangerously smooth tone.
Alice huffed out a laugh but it didnt come out quite as convincing as she would have liked. It sounded breathless. Uncertain. Out of its depth. You dont get to hear about my love-life. Its none of your business.
His fingers subtly tightened around her wrist, his touch a band of fire that sent lightning-fast currents of hot electricity straight to her core. It will become my business once were married next month.
Next month? Eek!
Alice elevated her chin, sending him a look of undiluted disdain. You seem to have a big problem understanding the concept of the word no. Im. Not. Marrying. You.
His top lip lifted in a sardonic curl. You want me so bad I can smell it.
Alice disguised a quick swallow. She could smell it too. The musk and salt of arousal coming off both of them like a black magic potion. A swirling wicked spell. Its dangerous tentacles were wrapping around her body, coiling like a serpent, strangling her resolve until it was gasping for air.
Only he could do this to her. Make her so wild with need she forgot everything but the greedy hunger in her body clamouring for satiation.
His thighs were flush against hers, the swell of his erection so powerfully maleso blatantly, unashamedly maleit made every feminine cell in her body roll over and beg. Somehowmiraculouslyshe managed to conjure up a mocking smile. That ego of yours is so big it deserves its own postcode. Or its own government.
A spark of amusement lit his gaze and his fingers around her wrist loosened slightly, his thumb stroking in a fainant movement over the hummingbird leap of her pulse. Did you miss what we had together?
Alice schooled her features into a mask of cool indifference. Not a bit.
His probing gaze kept hers captive. So why havent you had a serious relationship since?
How on Gods sweet earth did he know that?
Alice arched a brow. None that you know about. Unlike you, I dont live my life followed by paparazzi documenting every time I sneeze.
When was your last relationship?
She flicked her eyelids upwards. Oh, for Gods sake, what is this? Twenty questions?
His gaze didnt waver. A long time, then.
Alice pursed her lips and then released them with a rush of air. Are we having dinner or are we going to stand here and swap dating histories? I can get you a list of name and numbers if youd like? I could even do a printout of some of their messages and emails if that gives you a hard-on.
Cristiano put his hand back on top of the rim of the car door. That wont be necessary.
Alice brushed past him to get in the car, shooting him a glare through the windscreen when he strode in front of the car to take his place behind the wheel. He started the engine with a powerful roar and entered the traffic with a quick glance over his shoulder, the G-force sending her back against the butter-soft leather seat.
Why did his driving always remind her of sex?
The thunderous growl of his engine, the thrusting of the gears, the press on the brakes and the push down on the throttle made her think of all the times he had taken her to bedor other placesand driven them both to paradise.
Alices gaze went to his hands holding the steering wheel with such indolent confidence, the long, tanned fingers with their dusting of dark hair doing all sorts of strange things to her insides. What was it about those hands that made her squirm with need? How was she to get through an evening with him? Sitting across the table with him at a restaurant, for Gods sake?
How the hell had he got her to agree to dinner?
That was one of the scariest things about Cristiano Marchetti. He had an unnerving ability to get her to do things she had no intention of doing.
But...
That tricky little but kept gnawing at the wainscoting of her mind. But what if she did agree to it? Six months was nothing. It would flash past. And at the end of it she would be set up financially. For life. She could build her wedding spa with money to spare. She could buy the best equipment, lavishly decorate the place without the limitations of a budget. She could take a holidaysomething she hadnt done in years.
Alice chewed it over... He was expecting her to say no. But wait a minute... What if he didnt want her to say yes? What if he was only making all this fuss to make her think he was keen to get that ring on her finger?
She smiled a secret smile. She would string him along for a while longer and then she would call his bluff and expose his true motivations.
Married for six months to her mortal enemy?
Game on.
CHAPTER THREE (#u86924764-7575-576f-a856-bf4c9216a9c9)
CRISTIANO OPENED AND closed the fingers of his right hand where they were gripping the steering wheel. He could still feel the hot tingle of Alices skin against his fingertips. His lust for her was pounding like a jungle drum deep in his body. He ached with it. Burned with it. Vibrated with it. No one but her could reduce him to this. To stir in him such primitive, out of control longings. Longings he had never felt for anyone else. Longings that made a mockery of the sex hed had before her and since.
Not that he hadnt had great sex over the years. He had. Many times. Hed made a point of itusing every sexual encounter to drive home the point to himself he could live without her.
It was just that in comparison to what hed shared with Alice...well, it wasnt in the same league. Her body, her touch, her wildcat-on-heat response to him triggered something in him. Something indefinable. Something that made his flesh shudder in reaction when she came near. Something that, even now, with her sitting less than a half a metre away, he could feel moving through his body like the aftershocks of an earthquake.
He had to get her out of his system.
He had to.
He could no longer tolerate the rush of adrenalin every time he saw a silver-blonde head in the crowd and the savage drop of his gut afterwards when he realised it wasnt her. He had to prove to himself he was over her.
Was this why his nonna had set her will up this way? To help him move past the five-foot-six blonde roadblock in his life? To force him to confront the failure he would give anything to forget?
Cristiano had made a promise to himself not to sleep with Alice. Look, but dont touch. But how long was that going to last? He was barely keeping his hands off her now. All he had to do was reach over and stroke his hand down the slim flank of her thigh peeping out from above the knee-high hem of her little black dress.
His fingers twitched against the steering wheel. His groin growled when she crossed one long leg over the other, her racehorse-slim ankle moving up and down as if she were feeling the same restless agitation he was feeling.
Of course she was.
Cristiano allowed himself an internal smile. His ego had nothing to do with it. He could see the struggle she was having controlling her desire for him. He had felt it from the moment hed stepped into her office and seen her sitting like a starchy schoolmistress behind that desk. Shed used the desk as a barrier. She hadnt trusted herself to get too close to him. She knew her body would betray her as his was doing to him. It was the way they were together. Match and tinder. Spark and flame. Trigger and explosion.
It was only a matter of time before he had her where he wanted her. Begging him. Clawing at him with those little wildcat claws. Gasping his name between panting breaths as he showed her what shed been missing. What hed been missing. Dear God, how hed missed it! Missed her. The feistiness of her. The razor-sharp wit of her tongue. The flashpoint temper and the come-and-get-me teasing that had made him feel as if he were living on the edge of a vertiginous cliff.
The way her body felt around him when he drove in to the hilt.
Getting her to marry him was his goal, not sleeping with her...although if what he had seen from her so far was any indication, sleeping with her might happen sooner rather than later. A little financial blackmail was not his usual modus operandi, but he had to get her married to him otherwise his shares would be lost.
Not to mention the villa.
He couldnt lose that. It was the place where his father had grown up. It was where Cristiano had spent numerous happy family holidays before his parents and brothers death. It was his home for the rest of his childhood and adolescence, the place where overnight he had grown from boy to man. Losing the villa would be like losing even more of his family than he had lost already.
Why had his grandmother done such an outrageous thing as to force him to share it with Alice?
He didnt need a conscience right now. Six months would pass before he knew it. He would insist on Alice living with him because he wasnt going to let the press get wind of there being anything amiss with his marriage. No way was Alice Piper going to make a laughing stock out of him in the daily tabloids. He would enjoy making her act the role of devoted wife. It would be amusing to see her push against the boundaries he laid down.
So, well have a nice dinner and discuss this situation we find ourselves in, Cristiano said after a time.
Discuss? Alices voice held a generous note of scorn. You dont discuss. You command.
He sent her a smiling glance. And as my wife you will obey.
Even from the other side of the car he could feel the heat coming off her livid blue glare. They have rewritten the marriage ceremony since the nineteen-fifties, you know. Women no longer have to obey their husbands. Not that youre going to be my hus
.
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MELANIE MILBURNE
The rules of engagementWhen Cristiano Marchetti proposes to former mistress Alice Piper, the deal has an expiry date. He has six months to fulfil the conditions of his grandmothers will. But the hotelier has another agendaexacting revenge on Alice for daring to walk away seven years before!Alice needs the financial security her enemy is providing but soon their every clash is a shockingly tempting encounter. Yet as she uncovers the man beneath the hard-hearted exterior, the future Mrs Marchetti wonders if she could break the rules of their engagementand walk down the aisle as more than Cristianos temporary bride!
The rules of engagement...
When Cristiano Marchetti proposes to former mistress Alice Piper, the deal has an expiry date. He has six months to fulfil the conditions of his grandmothers will. But the hotelier has another agendaexacting revenge on Alice for daring to walk away seven years before!
Alice needs the financial security her enemy is providing, but soon their every clash is a shockingly tempting encounter. Yet as she uncovers the man beneath the hard-hearted exterior, the future Mrs. Marchetti wonders if she could break the rules of their engagement...and walk down the aisle as more than Cristianos temporary bride!
Alice brought her gaze back up to Cristianos glittering one. Youre surely not going to go through with thisare you?
A smile that wasnt quite a smile courted the edges of his mouth. But of course. It is what Nonna wanted. Who am I to disregard her last wishes?
Alice frowned so hard she might have frightened off twenty ampoules of Botox. What happens if I dont agree?
To me? He gave a careless shrug. Nothingother than losing a few shares in the company, which will pass to a relative if I dont comply with the terms of the will.
Alice wondered how important those shares were to him. Was his easy-come-easy-go shrug disguising deeper, far more urgent motivations? Enough to marry someone he now hated?
She sent her tongue out over lips so dry it felt as if she was licking talcum powder. Sowhy would you want to marry someone who clearly doesnt want to marry you?
His dark-as-night gaze gleamed, making the floor of Alices belly shudder.
You know why.
Alice arched one of her brows, trying to ignore the pulsing heat his words evoked deep in her feminine core. Revenge, Cristiano? I thought you were a civilised man.
MELANIE MILBURNE read her first Mills & Boon at the age of seventeen, in between studying for her final exams. After completing a Masters Degree in Education she decided to write a novel, and thus her career as a romance author was born. Melanie is an ambassador for the Australian Childhood Foundation and a keen dog lover and trainer. She enjoys long walks in the Tasmanian bush. In 2015 Melanie won the HOLT Medalliona prestigious award honouring outstanding literary talent.
Books by Melanie Milburne
Mills & Boon Modern Romance
Unwrapping His Convenient Fiance
His Mistress for a Week
At No Mans Command
His Final Bargain
Uncovering the Silveri Secret
The Ravensdale Scandals
Ravensdales Defiant Captive
Awakening the Ravensdale Heiress
Engaged to Her Ravensdale Enemy
The Most Scandalous Ravensdale
The Playboys of Argentina
The Valquez Bride
The Valquez Seduction
Those Scandalous Caffarellis
Never Say No to a Caffarelli
Never Underestimate a Caffarelli
Never Gamble with a Caffarelli
Visit the Author Profile page
at millsandboon.co.uk (http://millsandboon.co.uk) for more titles.
The Temporary Mrs Marchetti
Melanie Milburne
www.millsandboon.co.uk (http://www.millsandboon.co.uk)
To Sarah Lewer.
Thanks for the inspiration for this novel and thanks also for being such a wonderful beauty therapist and gorgeous person.
XXXX
Contents
Cover (#u8ba4427c-a2b8-5434-8e27-5549b73c7159)
Back Cover Text (#u072274e5-e0e5-5778-b499-93c312b06ea2)
Introduction (#u33e063a8-3c8c-508e-b364-25cf34654877)
About the Author (#ud0e8ad53-08f5-5f7a-b2c8-111a28ebcd72)
Title Page (#u47fb3325-bee4-57cc-b808-8ff2e1e966a9)
Dedication (#u5029e4be-661c-512a-a18b-e7afd610959d)
CHAPTER ONE (#u7c93b01e-4ffb-5292-8532-2d05d798c2f2)
CHAPTER TWO (#ub0c80da8-5be1-5d82-bbb4-da8c23bf0613)
CHAPTER THREE (#u99bde696-c077-5d46-bbae-e8cc933266ef)
CHAPTER FOUR (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER FIVE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SIX (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER SEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER EIGHT (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER NINE (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ELEVEN (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER TWELVE (#litres_trial_promo)
Extract (#litres_trial_promo)
Copyright (#litres_trial_promo)
CHAPTER ONE (#u86924764-7575-576f-a856-bf4c9216a9c9)
THE FIRST THING Alice noticed when she came to work that morning was the letter on her desk. Something about the officious-looking envelope with its gold embossed insignia made her skin shrink against her skeleton. Letters from lawyers always made her feel a little uneasy. But then she looked closer at the name of the firm. Why would a firm of Italian lawyers be contacting her?
She picked the letter up and her breath came to a juddering halt when she saw it was postmarked Milan.
Cristiano Marchetti lived in Milan.
Alices fingers shook as if she had some sort of movement disorder. Surely he hadnt...died? A sharp pain sliced through her, her breath coming in short, erratic bursts, making not just her fingers tremble but her whole body.
Oh, no. Oh, no. Oh, no.
How had she missed that in the press? Surely there would have been an announcement for someone with Cristianos public profile? They reported every other thing he did. The glamorous women he dated. The fading hotels he bought and rebuilt into stunning boutique accommodation all over the Mediterranean. The charity events he attended. The parties. The nightclubs. Cristiano couldnt change his shirt or shoes or socks without someone reporting it in the press.
Alice peeled open the envelope, her eyes scanning the brief cover letter, but she couldnt make any sense of it...or maybe that was because her brain was scrambled with a host of unbidden memories. Memories she had locked away for the last seven years. Memories she refused to acknowledgeeven in a weak momentbecause that was the pathway to regret and that was one journey she was determined never to travel. Her legs were so unsteady she reached blindly for her chair and sat down, holding the document in front of her blurry gaze.
But wait...
It wasnt Cristiano who had died. It was his grandmother, Volante Marchetti, the woman who, along with his late grandfather Enzo, had raised him since he was orphaned at the age of eleven when his parents and older brother had been killed in an accident.
Alice frowned and cast her gaze over the thick document that had come with the cover letter that named her as a beneficiary of the old womans will. But why had his grandmother mentioned her in her will? Why on earth would the old lady do that? Alice had only met Cristianos grandmother a handful of times. Volante Marchetti had been a feisty old bird with black raisins for eyes and a sharp intellect and an even sharper sense of humour. She had instantly warmed to the old lady, thinking at the time of how lucky Cristiano was to have a grandmother so spritely and fun, and had often thought of her since.
Maybe his grandmother had left her a trinket or twoa keepsake to mark their brief friendship. A piece of jewellery or one of the small watercolour paintings Alice remembered admiring at the old ladys villa in Stresa. She began to read through the legalese with her heart doing funny little skips. So many words... Why did lawyers have to sound as if theyd swallowed a dictionary?
Someone here to see you, Alice, Meghan, her junior beauty therapist, said from the door.
Alice glanced at the time on her computer screen next to her appointment diary and frowned. But my first client isnt until ten. Clara Overton cancelled her facial. One of her kids is sick.
Meghan waggled her eyebrows meaningfully and, lowering her voice to a stage whisper, said, Its a man.
Alice had several male clients who came to her for waxing and other treatments but something told her the man waiting to see her wasnt one of them. She could feel it in her body. In her bones. In her blood. In her heartbeat. The awareness of imminent danger making a prickling sensation pass all over her flesh, as if her nerves were radar picking up a faint but unmistakable signal. A signal she had forced herself to forget. To wipe from her memory in case it caused her to regret the decision she had made back then. She pushed back her chair and stood but then decided it was better to remain seated. She didnt trust her legs. Not if she was going to come face to face with Cristiano Marchetti after all this time. Tell him Ill be ten minutes.
You can tell me yourself.
Alice looked up to see Cristiano framed in the door, his chocolate-brown eyes as hard as two black bolts. All she could think of was how different it was seeing him in the flesh instead of a photograph in a gossip magazine or newspaper. Shockingly different. Heart-stoppingly different. Im-not-sure-I-can-handle-this different.
For a moment she couldnt locate her voice. With him standing there, with his towering frame and commanding air, her office seemed to shrink to the size of a tissue box. Shoulders so broad he looked as if hed been bench-pressing bulldozerstwo at a time. An abdomen so hard and toned you could tap dance on it wearing stilettos and not leave a dent. Jet-black hair, thick and currently brushed back from his forehead in loose finger-groomed waves.
Hello, Cristiano, what brings you to Alices Wonderland of Beauty? An eyebrow-shape? Back and leg wax? Personality makeover?
Alice knew it was crazy of her to goad him but she did it anyway. It was her defence mechanism. Sarcasm instead of emotion. Better to be cutting and mocking than to show how much his brooding presence disturbed her. It more than disturbed her. It unbalanced her. Her neatly controlled world felt as if it had been picked up and rattled like a maraca held by a maniac. The walls of her office were closing in on her. The floor was shifting beneath her feet like a sailboat pitching in a wild squall. The air was pulsing with crackling electricity that made her aware of every inch of her skin and every hit-and-miss beat of her heart.
His bottomless eyes roved her face as if he was looking for something he had lost and never thought to find again. His brow was etched in a deep frown that gave him a much more intimidating air than the way he had looked at her in the past. Back then he had looked at her with tenderness, with gentleness. With love.
A love she had thrown back in his face.
Did you put her up to it? he asked with a searing look that made the backs of her knees fizz as if sand were being trickled through her veins.
Alice placed her hands on the tops of her thighs below her desk so he wouldnt see their traitorous shaking. I presume youre referring to your grandmother?
Something flashed in his gaze. Bitterness. Anger. Something else she wasnt ready to acknowledge, but she felt it all the same. It breathed scorching hot fire all over her body, stirring up memories. Erotic memories that made the blood in her veins pick up speed. Have you been in contact with her over the last seven years? he asked in that same terse dont-mess-with-me tone.
No. Why would I? Alice gave him a pointed look. I rejected your proposal, remember?
His jaw tensed so hard she could see the white tips of his clenched muscles showing through his olive tan. Then why has she mentioned you in her will?
So he hadnt known about the terms of his grandmothers will until recently? Had the old lady not told him of her plans? Interesting. No idea, Alice said. I only met her a couple of times when we were...back then. Ive had zero contact since.
He glanced at the will lying in front of her on her desk. Have you read it?
Alice gave him another speaking look. I was getting to that when you rudely barged into my office.
His eyes nailed hers. Hard eyes. Eyes that could melt a months supply of salon wax with a single glare. Let me summarise it for you. You stand to inherit a half share of my grandmothers villa in Stresa in Italy if you agree to be my wife and live with me for a minimum of six months. You will also receive a lump sum on the announcement of our engagement, which is to last no longer than one month.
Shock hit Alice like a blow to the chest. His...wife?
She fumbled for the document, the sound of the pages rustling overly loud in the silence.
Engaged to him for a month? Married for six?
She cast her gaze over the words again, her breath coming in such short spark bursts it felt as if she were having an asthma attack. Her heart was beating so heavily it felt as if someone were punching it from behind. She hadnt seen any mention of marriage in her quick appraisal earlier. Shed barely had time to read any of it before he had gatecrashed into her day. Why hadnt she put on her make-up before work? Why hadnt she worn her brand-new uniform instead of this one with the eyebrow-tint stain on the right breast? Why hadnt she done her own eyebrows, for Gods sake?
But there it was in black and white.
Alice was to co-inherit Volante Marchettis summer retreat on the shores of Lake Maggiore if, and only if, she married and stayed married to Cristiano for six months. Six months? Six seconds would be too long. And there was the other clause. They must be engaged for no more than a month before the wedding. What sort of weird time frame was that? It shamed her that Cristiano saw the pages of the document shaking before she put it back down on the desk. But at least he couldnt see the tumult going on inside her stomach.
His wife?
Live with him?
She had been to his grandmothers villa one memorable weekend with Cristiano. Memorable because it was the first time hed told her he loved her. Apart from her mother, no one had ever said that to her before. She hadnt said the words back because she hadnt trusted her feelings. But then, she had always been a step behind him in their relationship. Shed thought they were having a fling while she was on a brief working holiday in Europe. Hed decided it was a relationship. Shed thought it was temporary because shed planned to go back to England and set up her own beauty spa, but he had wanted it to be permanent.
Permanent as in marriage and kids.
For as long as she could remember Alice had been against marriageor at least for herself. After witnessing her mother go through three of them with exactly the same result: misery, subjugation, humiliation and financial ruin. She had told Cristiano a little about her background, not much, but more than she had told anyone, which made her all the more annoyed he had still gone ahead and asked her to marry him. In a crowded public place to boot, which had added a whole other layer of pressure she resented him for.
His arrogance made her furiously angry. Had he really thought she would fall upon him with a grateful squeal of Yes! just because he was super-rich and said he loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her? How long would that love have lasted? Theyd had a passionate if a little volatile relationship. How could she be sure his desire/love for her wouldnt burn out as fast as it had been ignited?
If he had truly loved her he would have accepted her no as final and settled for a less formal arrangement. People lived together for years and years without needing the formality of marriage. Why be so damn nineteen-fifties about it? A marriage certificate didnt make a relationship any more secure. In fact, it could do the very opposite, forcing women into a subservient role once kids came along from which they could never escape.
But Cristiano at heart was a traditionalist. For all of his modern male sophistication, deep down he wanted a wife and family to come home to while he built his empire. So he had given her an ultimatum. Tried to control her. Tried to manipulate her into doing what he wanted.
Marriage or nothing.
Alice had called his bluff and ended their relationship then and there, and flown back to England, never expecting to hear from him again. Well, maybe that wasnt quite true. She had expected to hear from him with a big apology and lets try again but it hadnt happened. Showed how much hed loved her. Not enough to fight for her. Not enough to compromise.
Not that she had offered to compromise, but still.
Alice brought her gaze back up to his glittering one. Youre surely not going to go through with this...are you?
A smile that wasnt quite a smile courted with the edges of his mouth. But of course. It is what Nonna wanted. Who am I to disregard her last wishes?
Alice frowned so hard she could have frightened off fifty units of Botox. What happens if I dont agree?
To me? He gave a careless shrug. Nothing other than a few shares in the company which will pass to a relative if I dont comply with the terms of the will.
Alice wondered how important those shares were to him. Was his easy-come, easy-go shrug disguising deeper, far more urgent motivations? Enough to marry someone he now hated? What about the villa? It was his grandmothers home, the place where he had spent much of his childhood being raised by his grandparents. Wouldnt he want to contest such an outrageous will? Surely he wouldnt want to share it with anyone, much less her? Why would he agree to such unusual conditions? She sent her tongue out over lips so dry it felt as if she were licking talcum powder. So...why would you want to marry someone who clearly doesnt want to marry you?
His dark as night gaze gleamed, making the floor of Alices belly shudder. You know why.
Alice arched one of her brows, trying to ignore the pulsing heat his words evoked deep in her feminine core. Revenge, Cristiano? I thought you were a civilised man.
I am prepared to be reasonable.
Alice affected a laugh. That was not a word she readily associated with him. He saw the world in black and white. He didnt know the meaning of the word compromise. What he wanted he got and woe betide anyone who got in his way. Not that she could talk. Compromise wasnt her favourite word in the dictionary, either. Reasonable in what way?
He held her look with one she couldnt read. The marriage wont be consummated.
Not...? Alice hoped she wasnt showing any sign of the numb shock she was feeling. Not just shock. Hurt. Humiliation. Their affair had been so wildly passionate. She had never had a lover before or since who made her feel the things he had made her feel. She had all but given up dating because of it. His touch was indelibly branded on her body. No one elses touch made her flesh singthe opposite, in fact. Her flesh crawled when someone else touched her. The last time she slept with a date, well over a year ago, she came home and showered for an hour.
You speak as if this...this preposterous marriage is a fait accompli, she said. I said it seven years ago and Ill say it again now. I am not going to marry you.
Six months is not a long time. At the end of it you get joint ownership of a luxury villa to do with as you please. You can sell your half or keep it. The choice is yours.
The choice wasnt hers. How could it be? She was being forced into a marriage with a man who no longer loved herif he ever had. What he had wanted to do back then was control her. It was what he wanted to do now. What better way to punish her for having the gall to say no to him than to chain her to him in a loveless union?
Alice wouldnt do it. No. No. No.
She wouldnt subject herself to the humiliation of being his trophy wife while he continued to sleep with whomever he liked. He knew...he knew how much shed hated seeing her mother cheated on by each of her husbands. It had been one of the things that had impressed her about him. He believed in monogamyor so hed said.
But what about your business plan?
Alice had somehow become the go-to girl for wedding make-up. The girl who had sworn against marriage was preparing brides all over London for theirs. Go figure. Her appointment diary was booked out for months ahead for the wedding season. It was becoming the biggest source of her income, especially high-profile weddings. She had plans to buy another salona larger place so she could extend her business because her Chelsea salon was getting too small to handle the burgeoning wedding market.
It had been a dream of hers for months. Years, actually. The only thing holding her back was the thought of taking on a load of property debt. Debt was something that terrified her. The mere thought of it kept her awake at night. She remembered too well how it had felt as a child to have not enough money for food, for clothes, for electricity when her mother had been between relationships.
She knew she could always rent another property like this one in Chelsea, but that left her at the mercy of landlords, something she had seen too many times during her childhood. Rents could be put up and buildings suddenly sold. The business she had worked so hard to establish would be jeopardised if she didnt own the property herself.
You could sell the villa after six months and be debt-free for the rest of your life.
Alice allowed the thought a little traction. The business she had sacrificed so much for was her baby, her mission, her purpose in life. Seeing it grow and develop over the last few years had been enormously satisfying. She had built it up from just a handful of clients to now one of the busiest salons in the area. She had celebrities and minor royalty on her books. People came to her because of the standards of excellence she maintained. To achieve her dream of setting up a luxury wedding spa would finally prove she had made it.
Failing wasnt an option.
Not after using her career as the excuse for not wanting to marry Cristiano. The career she put before everything else. Relationships. Holidays. Fun. Even friendships. All of it had been sacrificed for work.
But she couldnt marry Cristiano to solve that problem for it would throw her in the middle of an even bigger one.
Alice rose from her chair with her spine steeled with resolve. Ive made my choice. Now, if youve finished catching up on old times, I have a business to run.
His eyes continued to tether hers as if he were waiting for her cool composure to crack. Are you involved with someone? Is that why youre saying no?
Was he still so arrogant? Yes. Arrogance was hardwired into his DNA. A man in his privileged position had no concept of why a woman wouldnt want to thrust her hand out for him to put a ring on it. He had it all: the money, the looks, the luxury lifestyle, the fast cars and exotic holiday destinations. Alice wished she had a lover to fling in his face. She considered inventing one but knew it wouldnt take him long to call her out on her lie. He wouldnt have to hunt around too far to find her social life was practically non-existent. Her work was her social life.
I know you find it hard to believe youre irresistible because of your wealth and other...erm...assets, but I am not going to prostitute myself for the sake of an inheritance I neither asked for nor need.
His expression gave nothing away. I meant what I said, Alice. It will be a marriage in name only.
No one said her name quite the way he did. His Italian accent gave it a completely different emphasis. Aleece. The sound of it was like an erotic caress. It made the base of her spine shiver as if he had touched her with a brush of his warm male hand. Thinking of his hands made her want to look at them.
Dont. Dont. Dont.
But in spite of her rational brains pleas, she looked. Those broad-spanned hands had travelled over every inch of her flesh. Those long tanned fingers had coaxed her into her first proper orgasm. They had discovered all of her erogenous zones, tortured them with such intense pleasure it had shaken her to the core of her being. She could feel the echo of it even now, as if just being in the same room as him, breathing the same air as him, made her body recognise him as her only pleasure giver.
Alice dragged her gaze upwards and collided with his. He knew. Damn it, he knew how much sensual power he had over her. She could see it in the knowing glint in his pitch-black eyes. She felt it when he sent his gaze over her body as if he too were remembering what it had felt like to hold her in his arms as she splintered into a thousand pieces of shivering, quivering ecstasy.
He lifted a hand to his jacket pocket and took out a business card and placed it on the desk next to the copy of his grandmothers will. My contact details should you change your mind. Ill be in London for the next week while I sort out some business affairs.
Alice wilfully ignored the card. Im not going to change my mind, Cristiano.
Im not. Im not. Im not.
A cynical smile lifted one side of his mouth. Well see.
Well see?
What did he mean, Well see? Alice didnt get the chance to ask him for he turned and left her office, leaving her with the lingering fragrance of his aftershave, the lemon and lime with a base note of leather that made her nostrils tingle...not to mention the rest of her body.
Meghan was bug-eyed when she came back. Oh, my God! You didnt tell me you knew Cristiano Marchetti. I didnt recognise him at first. Hes much more gorgeous in the flesh than he is in photographs in the press. I nearly fainted when he walked past me just then and smiled at me. What did he want? Is he going to come here for treatments? Please let me do him. Can I do him? Please, please, please?
Alice wasnt going to explain her past relationship with her employee even if Meghan was turning out to be one of the best shed ever had. And as for Meghan doing him, if anyone was going to do him it was going to be her. She would like nothing better than to get a pot of hot wax and strip that supercilious smile off his too-handsome face. Hes not a client. I met him a few years ago. He just dropped in to say hi.
Met him as in met him and dated him?
Alice didnt respond other than to purse her mouth. Meghan blushed and bit her lower lip. Sorry. I shouldnt have asked that. I know you insist on absolute confidentiality with celebrity clients. Its just hes so handsome and you never seem to date anyone and I wondered if it was because
Can you get my treatment room ready for my next client? Alice said. I have some urgent paperwork to see to.
Alice blew out a breath once Meghan scuttled away. For seven years she had told herself shed made the right decision. She had chosen her career over commitment. Freedom over having a family. She had stood firm on her decision, not once wavering on it. Now, within her grasp was a way to finally achieve the success and financial security she had thus far only dreamt about.
Six months of marriage.
In name only.
She glanced at his business card. It seemed to taunt her with its presence.
Do it. Do it. Do it.
Alice snatched it up and tore it into as many pieces as she could and tossed them in the bin. It was kind of weird how they floated down just like a handful of confetti.
She hoped to God it wasnt an omen.
* * *
Cristiano would have had a stiff drink if hed been a drinking man, but the death of his parents and his older brother to a drunk driver when he was eleven made him wary of using alcohol other than in strict moderation. Seeing Alice Piper again was like having his guts slashed wide open. And stomped on. The mere sight of her reopened the wound of his bitterness until he wondered how he had stood there without showing it.
Hed felt it, though. God in heaven, how hed felt it. The blood rush. The pulse race. The adrenalin surge. The kick and punch of lust.
He had stood there and drunk in her features like a dehydrated man standing in front of a long cool glass of water. Her indifferent poise, her cornflower-blue gaze that could freeze mercury, the way she looked down her aristocratic nose at him as if he had crept in from a primeval swamp with his knuckles dragging. Her body was as lissom and gorgeous as everperhaps even more so. Her unusual silver-blonde hair with her naturally dark eyebrows and the creamy, ageless perfection of her skin gave her a striking appearance that never failed to snatch his breath.
Her rejection of him stung and burned and churned even after all this time. He had thought what theyd had was for ever. A once in a lifetime love. Their passionate affair had been unlike anything hed experienced before. Hed wanted to build a future with her. A family. Hed believed it to be like the love his parents had had for each other. Like the love his grandparents had before his grandfather died. The death of his grandfather a couple of months before he met Alice had made him acutely aware of how important family was. It had been all he had thought abouthaving a family to replace the one he had lost so young. Hed felt ready. More than ready. Hed been twenty-seven and well established in the hotel business he had inherited from his parents. He was ready for the next phase of his life.
But Alice hadnt loved him. She had never said the words but hed fooled himself into thinking shed been showing it instead. How gullible he had been. How stupid to be so naively romantic when all shed wanted was a quick fling with a foreigner to boast about with her friends.
What had his nonna been thinking? She had only met Alice a couple of times. Why bequeath her a share in a property worth millions and with such odd conditions attached? Six months of marriage? What sort of nonsense was this?
He hoped to God it wasnt some sneaky matchmaking ploy from the grave. His grandmother knew he had changed his mind about settling down. He had laughed off the suggestion every time she asked him when he was going to provide her with a great-grandchild. Nonna had expressed her disapproval of his playboy lifestyle on numerous occasions but he had always dismissed her concerns because no one was going to tell him how to run his life.
No one.
His grandmother had been disappointed when his relationship with Alice broke down. Terribly disappointed. But he had refused to talk about it. Hed had enough trouble managing his own disappointment without having to handle his grandmothers. Over the years she had stopped mentioning Alices name knowing it would get zero response from him. Why then had she done this? Forced him back into Alices life when it was the last thing he wanted?
The way the will was written meant if he didnt convince Alice to marry him then he would lose valuable shares in the family company to a cousin he had no time for. He wasnt going to hand over those shares only to have his cousin Rocco sell them to another party when he ran a little low on cash after playing the tables in a casino. Cristiano would rather marry his worst enemy before seeing that day dawn. He blamed himself for not telling his grandmother of Roccos disturbing spending habits of late. But he hadnt wanted to burden her in the last months of her terminal illness.
Now it was too late.
The will had been written and now he had to convince Alice Piper to marry him.
Not that Alice was an enemy in the true sense of the word. She was a mistake he had made. A failure he wasnt particularly fond of being reminded about. He had wiped her from his memory. Every time a thought of her would enter his mind he would ruthlessly erase it like someone cleaning a whiteboard. He had lived his life since as if she had never been a part of it. As if he had never had such amazing sex with her it had made his body tingle for hours afterwards. As if he had never kissed that sensually supple mouth. As if he had never felt that mouth around him while she blew the top of his head off.
Cristiano wasnt going to let Alice think he was anything but delighted with the way his grandmother had orchestrated things. It suited him to let Alice think he was eager to put that ring on her finger and tie her to him for six months. Besides, maybe avoidance wasnt the way to handle the lingering sting of her rejection. Maybe some immersion therapy would finally end his torment.
Alice might have given him that haughty look and said no as if it were her last word on it, but this time he wasnt taking no for an answer.
CHAPTER TWO (#u86924764-7575-576f-a856-bf4c9216a9c9)
ALICE NEITHER HEARD nor saw anything of Cristiano for the next couple of days. She had been expecting him to show up at work again, knowing him to be implacably determined when he set his mind to something. She had received a call from the lawyer handling the execution of the will, who explained some of the finer points. There was a time limit on accepting the terms. If she didnt marry Cristiano by the end of a month-long engagement the villa would be sold outside the Marchetti family. Alice wondered what Cristiano would think about thathis childhood home sold to strangers. Was that why he was pushing for this marriage? Or was it purely revenge?
On the third day without sight or sound of Cristiano, Alice got a call from her salon buildings landlord, Ray Gormley. I know this will come as a bit of a surprise, Alice, but Ive sold the building, he said. The new owner is taking possession immediately. You have a few months left on your current three-year lease so it shouldnt disrupt
Sold? Alice gasped. I didnt even realise you had it on the market.
I didnt, but I got an offer Id be a fool to refuse, he said. Im consolidating some of my interests. This guys bought the building next door as well. Says hes going to make them both into a luxury hotel.
Suspicion made every hair on the back of Alices neck stand up and fizz at the roots. A...a hotel?
Yes, Ray said. You ever heard of Cristiano Marchetti? He has boutique hotels all over Europe.
Alices jaw was so tight she felt the tension in her neck as if someone had a noose around itwhich they did. Damn it.
So...let me get this straight... Marchetti approached you completely out of the blue?
Yes, Ray said. Hes been looking for suitable property in London. The UK is the only place he doesnt have a hotel. This is stage one of his British expansion.
Alice was still trying to get her heart out of her mouth and back in her chest where it belonged. Cristiano was her new landlord? What did he plan to do? Hike up her rent so she had no choice but to marry him? She had three months left on her three-year lease. It had always worried her having such a short-term lease, which was one of the reasons she wanted to buy her own property. But Ray had always assured her he wasnt selling any time soon. His wife and three daughters were clients of hers. She had thoughtstupidly thoughtshe was safe.
But what would happen once Cristiano took possession?
Alice ended the call and started pacing her office so hard she thought shed go right through the floorboards to the subway below. This was absolutely outrageous. Cristiano was going to such devious lengths to bend her to his will. She wished now she hadnt torn up his card. Not that she had forgotten his numberno matter how hard she tried to erase it, for some reason, it remained fixed in her brain. But he might well have changed it. After all, she had changed hers.
She sat back at her desk and dialled his number. She listened to it ringing and ringing, her courage just about deserting her when finally it was answered by a husky female voice. Hello?
Alices stomach dropped. Erm... Im not sure if I have the right number
Are you looking for Cristiano? the young woman said.
Erm...yes, but if hes busy I can
Hes right here beside me, the woman said. Who will I say is calling?
Right here beside her doing what?
Alice clenched her teeth so hard she could have bitten through a pair of tweezers. It was the middle of the day, for pitys sake. Why wasnt he at work instead of in bed with some gorgeous nymphet?
Its Alice Piper.
She heard the sound of the phone being handed over and couldnt stop an image forming of him lying amongst the rumpled bed linen of a hotel with a naked womans body draped over his. Ive been expecting you to call, Cristiano said. Changed your mind yet?
Alice gripped her phone so hard she thought her knuckles were going to burst through her skin. No, I have not.
Thats a pity. There was a note of casual amusement in his tone. I didnt want to have to play dirty but needs must.
Alices spine tightened as if someone were turning a wrench on each and every vertebra. I know what youre trying to do but
Come to my hotel and well discuss this over a drink.
Alice wasnt going anywhere near his hotel. A hotel room was way too intimate. If she and Cristiano were alone together with a bed nearby, who knew what might happen? It wasnt him she didnt trust. It was her. Her body remembered him like a language she thought shed long forgotten. Even now it was responding to the deep gravelly cadence of his voice, making her senses reel as if she had ingested some sort of mind-altering drug. Id rather meet somewhere less...
Dangerous?
The silky tone of his voice loosened the bolts on her vertebrae.
Alice pressed her lips together, trying to garner her defences. He wasnt the same man as seven years ago. He had changed. He was harder. More ruthless. More calculating and brutally tactical. She was going to have to be careful dealing with him. He wasnt in love with her now. He hated her. He wanted revenge. Im not scared of you, Cristiano.
Perhaps not, but youre scared of how I make you feel. Its always been that way between us, has it not?
I felt lust for you back then. Nothing else.
You still feel it, dont you, cara mia? His voice was a teasing feather stroking over the nerve-sensitive base of her spine.
Youre mistaken, she said, injecting her voice with icy hauteur. I feel nothing for you but contempt.
Thats a strong word for someone who once shared their body with me.
You know something? I didnt break your heart, Alice said. I bruised your ego. Thats what all this is about, isnt it? You hadnt had a woman say no to you before. You werent in love with me. If you were you would have accepted and respected my decision not to get married.
That is an argument for another time, he said with a thread of steel entering his tone. I want to see you tonight to discuss the rent on your salon going forward.
Alice stiffened. It was all right for him with the millions hed inherited when his parents were killed. She didnt have any rich relatives to hand her an empire or to give her a financial leg up when things turned ugly. Everything she had worked for had been out of her own blood, sweat and tearsand occasional tantrum. If he turned the financial screws on her now, everything shed worked for could be compromised. OrGod forbideven lost. Sometimes I wonder how you speak so fluently with all those silver spoons hanging out of your mouth.
A pulsing silence passed.
Alice wondered if this was going to turn into one of their massive arguments. With hindsight she could see a large part of their relationship had been a power struggle. They had constantly bickered over things without anything being resolved other than in bed. Neither of them had wanted to compromise or back down from a stance. Making love had diffused the battle temporarily, but it hadnt solved the underlying issue.
He had wanted control of her and she wouldnt give it.
Cristiano released a long breath. I would give each and every one of those silver spoons back if I could have my parents and brother back for a day, let alone for the last twenty-three years.
Alice suddenly felt ashamed of herself. He couldnt help his background any more than she could help hers. It was a cheap shot, similar to the ones shed tossed at him in the past. Their verbal sparring had been a sort of foreplay. The battle of two strong wills, combined with a fierce lust for each other, had created some combustible arguments on occasion. Too many occasions. When had they ever sat down and had a discussion without one or both of them flying off in a temper? Had either of them actually listened to what the other said? Or were they too busy trying to think of a cutting comeback? Im sorry. That was...unfair of me.
I have to go. Natalia is waiting for me.
A dagger went to Alices belly. Shed forgotten all about his gorgeous little bed buddy lying right beside him while he spoke to her on the phone. Jealousy rose in her like a beast that had been woken too abruptly. Giant paws of jealousy clawing at her insides, making her feel strangely hollow. Why was she feeling like this? She had no right to feel this way. She had ended their affair. Shed been the one to walk away, not him. She didnt have any rights over him now. He was a free agent to sleep with whomever he pleased. There should be no reason why the thought of him talking to her on the phone while a woman was in bed beside him should...hurt her so much.
Im sorry to force you to talk business in the middle of pleasure, she said. Maybe next time turn your phone to silent so you dont get interrupted during one of your marathon sex sessions.
There was another little silence.
Alice wished she hadnt spoken with such crisp venom. Every word she had spoken sounded as if it were painted bright green. What was wrong with her? It was crazy to give him ammunition he could use against her. If he thought for a picosecond she was jealous he would exploit it every opportunity he could.
Ill pick you up for dinner at seven, Cristiano said as if she hadnt spoken. Whats your address?
Im not having dinner with
You will have dinner with me or Ill cancel your lease as of now.
Alices heart banged against her breastbone. You cant do that!
Cant I?
She swallowed a rush of panic. She had to get control of her tongue. It wouldnt help her cause to challenge him all the time. It would only make him all the harder to manage. She could handle dinner. Sure she could. It would be a test for her. It would be proof she could spend an hour or two in his company without wanting to tear his clothes off his hot body.
Yikes. Do not even think about that body.
It was probably still naked and sweaty from bed-wrecking sex. Wont Natalia mind you taking out another woman for dinner?
No.
Alice was frustrated by his one-word answer so went digging for more. She must have a very laid-back attitude to relationships to allow you to entertain other women while shes involved with you.
Natalia knows her place.
Are you going to marry her?
Shes already married.
Shock rendered Alice speechless for a moment. What had happened to Cristianos conservative old-fashioned values? The Cristiano of the past would never have slept with a married woman. Hed had no time for men and women who betrayed their marital vows. Hed spoken at length about the commitment his parents had made and how he admired and respected them for staying true to it until their untimely deaths. Until death do us part had been something he had believed in to the letter.
What had changed him?
You changed him.
The thought was an uncomfortable weight in the pit of her stomach. Had she been the one to destroy his faith in relationships? But she hadnt been ready to settle down back then. Rejecting a proposal wasnt a crime, was it? Surely shed had the right to decide whether she wanted to be married or not. It wasnt the Dark Ages, for Gods sake. But the thought continued to niggle at her. Had she turned him into a casual-living playboy who had no time for commitment? These days he used women to suit his needs. He was in and out of relationships faster than a racing driver changed gears. Was he really no longer a man who longed for a wife and family of his own? And why should that make her feel so...so sad? Well then, Id better get off the phone so you can get back to your grubby little affair, hadnt I?
Ill see you tonight, he said and before she could think of a comeback, or tell him she wasnt going, he ended the call.
* * *
Alice dressed for dinner as if she were dressing for combat. Each layer of clothing was like putting on a suit of armour. The armour of sophistication she had been so sadly lacking seven years ago.
She sometimes wondered what Cristiano had seen in her back then. She had been twenty-one years old and newly qualified as a beauty therapist. It had been her first trip abroad without friends accompanying her. She had been on a shoestring budget while she backpacked around Europe but shed only got as far as Italy when shed met him in a crowded street in Milan when a sharp catch on her backpack had become caught on his clothing, as shed brushed past.
Theyd stood in the middle of the street, comically locked together by their clothes. Hed made a comment about it bringing a whole new meaning to hooking up with someone and shed laughed. Once he had untangled himself hed insisted on buying her a coffee.
One coffee had turned into two coffees and then dinner. Instead of going back to the backpackers centre shed found herself accepting his offer of accommodation for the night or two shed planned to spend in his home city. At no time had she felt any pressure to sleep with him. She was not unaware of his interest in her and she hadnt been all that good at hiding hers in him. But his respectful handling of her had impressed her. Not many healthy and virile young men of twenty-seven, as he was at that time, would have asked a woman back to his place and not expected something in return.
In the end it had been Alice who made the first move. She still remembered their first kiss. Sometimes when she closed her eyes she could still feel those firm lips moving with such urgency against hers, making every cell in her body vibrate. One kiss hadnt been enough. Next minute she was tearing his clothes off him and all but throwing herself at him.
Her mind drifted... The drugging kisses. The phenomenal foreplay. The earth-rocking sex. The mind-bending orgasms. The electric tingling of her flesh for hours afterwards.
How had she gone so long without it?
Alice sighed and picked up her lipstick. She had never found anyone else who made her feel desire quite like that, as if she would literally die if she didnt have him. Which meant she would have to be super careful around him now. She didnt want to betray herself, to give him any hint she hadnt managed to move on with her life. Of course she had moved on with her life. She was a successful businesswoman with money in the bank...most of it borrowed, but still.
What else did she need?
The doorbell sounded and she put her lipstick in her purse and picked up her evening wrap and went to the door. Even though she was in four-inch heels Cristiano towered over her. Youre late, she said. I thought you said seven. Its half-past.
He gave a shrug of one broad shoulder as if punctuality and common politeness were no longer of any interest to him. I knew youd wait for me.
The way he said it made it sound as if she had spent the last seven years doing exactly that. She raised her chin and sent him a look that would have soured long-life milk. How did you find out where I lived?
Your very helpful previous landlord.
The slight emphasis on the word previous made Alices nerves jangle.
She wound her wrap around her shoulders, wishing she could wind it around Cristianos neck instead. Where are we going to dinner?
Arent you going to show me around your house first?
Alice pinched her lips together. My home is hardly on a league with yours.
He glanced around her foyer with an appraising eye. Nice. How long have you lived here?
Two years.
Alone?
Alice forced herself to hold that piercing gaze even though it made every atom in her body protest. At the moment.
He gave a slight nod as if her answer satisfied him on some level. Big place for a single girl. How many bedrooms?
Four.
His ink-black brows lifted in an arc. Are you renting?
Alice threw him a black look. Why? Are you thinking of buying it too, and jacking up the rent? Sorry to spoil your fun but I own it. Or at least the bank does.
His mouth curved at one corner in a half-smile that should not have caused her heart to stumble. You could pay this mortgage off and have money to spare if you agree to the terms of my grandmothers will. You could expand your business as well.
Alices brows snapped together in a frown. How did he know she wanted to expand her business? Who on earth had he been talking to? He had an unnerving ability to gain information about her. And read her mind. Not to mention her body.
Oh, dear God, why wasnt her body ignoring him? Damn it.
Her body was a traitor. It remembered him too well. It only had to be within touching distance and it went haywire. It was as if the last seven years hadnt happened. All her nerves were screaming out for his touch like starstruck teenage fans at a boy-band concert. My business plans are absolutely no concern of yours. Nor indeed are my private ones.
His eyes moved over her body in an assessing sweep that made her insides coil with lust. She knew that look. The look that said, I want you and I know you want me. And I can prove it.
It must get a bit lonely at times, living in this big old house by yourself, s??
Im not one bit lonely.
He released a small puff of air that had cynicism riding on its backdraft. Sure youre not. He was suddenly standing closer than shed realised. Had she been so mesmerised by his gaze she hadnt detected him closing the distance between them? He reached out and picked up a tendril of her hair and wound it around the length of his index finger. It was too late to step back.
Why the hell hadnt she stepped back?
Every nerve root on her scalp was tingling from the tether of his touch.
Have you missed me, cara? His voice was a deep, seductive burr of sound that sucker-punched her self-control.
Alice had to swallow three times to locate her voice. Three times! As it was she only just stopped herself from giving a betraying whimper. If you dont let go of me this instant Ill file my nails on your cheek. Got it?
His mouth curved in an indolent smile and he wound her hair a little tighter. Id much rather youd rake them down my back.
His incendiary words sent a shockwave of lust through her body. She swore she could feel the echo of where he had been in the pastthe thickened length of him driving into her until they both lost control. Her blood simmered in her veins, rushing through her system as if it were on fire.
Get control. Get control. Get control.
The words were sounding an alarm in her brain but her body was blatantly ignoring it. Her body swayed towards his...or maybe his moved closer. His muscle-packed thighs brushed hers, reminding her of all the times they had trapped hers beneath their sensual power and superior strength. Sex with Cristiano had always had an element of danger to it. The dark unknowable power of it. The uncontrollable force of it had thrilled and frightened her in equal measure. Her body felt things with him it had never felt before or since. Not even close. She was spoilt now for anyone else.
Another good reason to hate him.
Alice pushed back against his chest even though it tugged cruelly on her hair. In your dreams, buddy.
Cristianos gaze had a mocking glint to it. I could have you in a heartbeat and you damn well know it.
Ah, but you dont want me, remember? Alice said with an arch look. A marriage in name only, wasnt it?
A whip-quick flicker of tension moved across his mouth. He stepped back and held open the door. Well lose the booking if we dont make a move. I had to pull strings to secure it.
Youre good at that, arent you, Cristiano? Pulling strings to get people to do what you want? Alice gave him a sugar-sweet smile on her way past him in the doorway. What a pity you cant get me to toe the line.
He captured her forearm in the steel bracelet of his long, strong fingers, tugging her around so his gaze clashed with hers. His eyes were onyx-dark and brooding with indomitable purpose. I havent finished with you yet. But once I am, I swear to God youll be on your knees begging me to marry you.
Alice flashed him a look of pure defiance and wrenched out of his hold, rubbing her arm as if it had been scorched. Which it had. Why, oh, why was it so damn exciting sparring with him? She hadnt felt like this in years. Alive. Switched on after a long time on pause. Running at breathtaking speed instead of idling. It was nothing short of exhilarating. You think you can bully me into doing what you want? Try it and see what happens.
His eyes dipped to her mouth, setting off a feverish chain of reaction in her body. Only he could do that. Make her hot for him by looking at her. Youd be a fool to throw away this chance to build your asset base, he said. Dont let emotion get in the way of a good business deal.
Who are you to lecture me about emotion? Alice said. Youre the one who was in love with me, not me with you, and now youre punishing me because Im about the only person on this planet who has the backbone to stand up to you and
I wasnt in love with you.
The words stung like a hail of rubber bullets. Alice blinked. Swallowed. Blinked again. Not in love with her? Not even a little bit? Why that should bother her she didnt want to examine too closely. Right, well then, thats good to know. At least I did you a favour then in rejecting your proposal. We wouldve been divorced by now otherwise and think how much that wouldve cost you.
He opened the passenger door for her, jerking his head towards the vacant seat like a police officer taking in a suspect for interrogation. Get in.
Alice straightened her shoulders, throwing him a glare that could have stripped ten years of graffiti off a council estate wall. Ask nicely.
A muscle flicked in his jaw and his eyes smouldered like black coals. You know what will happen if you push me too far. His tone was silk wrapped around a will of steel.
Alice did know and it was perverse of her to keep doing it. But she couldnt seem to help herself. It was an urge she couldnt control. She wanted to push him. She wanted to bait him. To break him. To reduce him to his most primal. A spurt of excitement lit like a wick inside her, sending a radiant heat coursing through her body. Her breasts tingled as if they were preparing themselves for the possessive cup of his hands. Her thighs trembled with the memory of his intimate invasion, her blood stirring into a frenzied whirlpool that made her aware of every feminine muscle contracting and releasing in her groin.
Oh, how she had missed this!
No one made her feel so...so energised. So vital. So...aroused.
She kept her gaze locked on his. The air was so charged with static she could hear it like a fizzing roar in her ears. What are you going to do, Cristiano? Lug me over your shoulder and carry me off like the caveman you really are underneath that smart Armani suit?
Another ripple of tension passed over his rigidly set mouth, his eyes blazing as they tussled with hers. His hand left the top of his car door and snared one of hers before she could do anything to counter itif she had wanted to, that wasruthlessly tugging her towards him so there was barely a breath of air between their bodies. Alice could feel the slight protrusion of his belt buckle digging her in the stomach, a shockingly erotic reminder of the latent male power stirring just below it.
Been a long time between drinks, has it, cara? he asked in that dangerously smooth tone.
Alice huffed out a laugh but it didnt come out quite as convincing as she would have liked. It sounded breathless. Uncertain. Out of its depth. You dont get to hear about my love-life. Its none of your business.
His fingers subtly tightened around her wrist, his touch a band of fire that sent lightning-fast currents of hot electricity straight to her core. It will become my business once were married next month.
Next month? Eek!
Alice elevated her chin, sending him a look of undiluted disdain. You seem to have a big problem understanding the concept of the word no. Im. Not. Marrying. You.
His top lip lifted in a sardonic curl. You want me so bad I can smell it.
Alice disguised a quick swallow. She could smell it too. The musk and salt of arousal coming off both of them like a black magic potion. A swirling wicked spell. Its dangerous tentacles were wrapping around her body, coiling like a serpent, strangling her resolve until it was gasping for air.
Only he could do this to her. Make her so wild with need she forgot everything but the greedy hunger in her body clamouring for satiation.
His thighs were flush against hers, the swell of his erection so powerfully maleso blatantly, unashamedly maleit made every feminine cell in her body roll over and beg. Somehowmiraculouslyshe managed to conjure up a mocking smile. That ego of yours is so big it deserves its own postcode. Or its own government.
A spark of amusement lit his gaze and his fingers around her wrist loosened slightly, his thumb stroking in a fainant movement over the hummingbird leap of her pulse. Did you miss what we had together?
Alice schooled her features into a mask of cool indifference. Not a bit.
His probing gaze kept hers captive. So why havent you had a serious relationship since?
How on Gods sweet earth did he know that?
Alice arched a brow. None that you know about. Unlike you, I dont live my life followed by paparazzi documenting every time I sneeze.
When was your last relationship?
She flicked her eyelids upwards. Oh, for Gods sake, what is this? Twenty questions?
His gaze didnt waver. A long time, then.
Alice pursed her lips and then released them with a rush of air. Are we having dinner or are we going to stand here and swap dating histories? I can get you a list of name and numbers if youd like? I could even do a printout of some of their messages and emails if that gives you a hard-on.
Cristiano put his hand back on top of the rim of the car door. That wont be necessary.
Alice brushed past him to get in the car, shooting him a glare through the windscreen when he strode in front of the car to take his place behind the wheel. He started the engine with a powerful roar and entered the traffic with a quick glance over his shoulder, the G-force sending her back against the butter-soft leather seat.
Why did his driving always remind her of sex?
The thunderous growl of his engine, the thrusting of the gears, the press on the brakes and the push down on the throttle made her think of all the times he had taken her to bedor other placesand driven them both to paradise.
Alices gaze went to his hands holding the steering wheel with such indolent confidence, the long, tanned fingers with their dusting of dark hair doing all sorts of strange things to her insides. What was it about those hands that made her squirm with need? How was she to get through an evening with him? Sitting across the table with him at a restaurant, for Gods sake?
How the hell had he got her to agree to dinner?
That was one of the scariest things about Cristiano Marchetti. He had an unnerving ability to get her to do things she had no intention of doing.
But...
That tricky little but kept gnawing at the wainscoting of her mind. But what if she did agree to it? Six months was nothing. It would flash past. And at the end of it she would be set up financially. For life. She could build her wedding spa with money to spare. She could buy the best equipment, lavishly decorate the place without the limitations of a budget. She could take a holidaysomething she hadnt done in years.
Alice chewed it over... He was expecting her to say no. But wait a minute... What if he didnt want her to say yes? What if he was only making all this fuss to make her think he was keen to get that ring on her finger?
She smiled a secret smile. She would string him along for a while longer and then she would call his bluff and expose his true motivations.
Married for six months to her mortal enemy?
Game on.
CHAPTER THREE (#u86924764-7575-576f-a856-bf4c9216a9c9)
CRISTIANO OPENED AND closed the fingers of his right hand where they were gripping the steering wheel. He could still feel the hot tingle of Alices skin against his fingertips. His lust for her was pounding like a jungle drum deep in his body. He ached with it. Burned with it. Vibrated with it. No one but her could reduce him to this. To stir in him such primitive, out of control longings. Longings he had never felt for anyone else. Longings that made a mockery of the sex hed had before her and since.
Not that he hadnt had great sex over the years. He had. Many times. Hed made a point of itusing every sexual encounter to drive home the point to himself he could live without her.
It was just that in comparison to what hed shared with Alice...well, it wasnt in the same league. Her body, her touch, her wildcat-on-heat response to him triggered something in him. Something indefinable. Something that made his flesh shudder in reaction when she came near. Something that, even now, with her sitting less than a half a metre away, he could feel moving through his body like the aftershocks of an earthquake.
He had to get her out of his system.
He had to.
He could no longer tolerate the rush of adrenalin every time he saw a silver-blonde head in the crowd and the savage drop of his gut afterwards when he realised it wasnt her. He had to prove to himself he was over her.
Was this why his nonna had set her will up this way? To help him move past the five-foot-six blonde roadblock in his life? To force him to confront the failure he would give anything to forget?
Cristiano had made a promise to himself not to sleep with Alice. Look, but dont touch. But how long was that going to last? He was barely keeping his hands off her now. All he had to do was reach over and stroke his hand down the slim flank of her thigh peeping out from above the knee-high hem of her little black dress.
His fingers twitched against the steering wheel. His groin growled when she crossed one long leg over the other, her racehorse-slim ankle moving up and down as if she were feeling the same restless agitation he was feeling.
Of course she was.
Cristiano allowed himself an internal smile. His ego had nothing to do with it. He could see the struggle she was having controlling her desire for him. He had felt it from the moment hed stepped into her office and seen her sitting like a starchy schoolmistress behind that desk. Shed used the desk as a barrier. She hadnt trusted herself to get too close to him. She knew her body would betray her as his was doing to him. It was the way they were together. Match and tinder. Spark and flame. Trigger and explosion.
It was only a matter of time before he had her where he wanted her. Begging him. Clawing at him with those little wildcat claws. Gasping his name between panting breaths as he showed her what shed been missing. What hed been missing. Dear God, how hed missed it! Missed her. The feistiness of her. The razor-sharp wit of her tongue. The flashpoint temper and the come-and-get-me teasing that had made him feel as if he were living on the edge of a vertiginous cliff.
The way her body felt around him when he drove in to the hilt.
Getting her to marry him was his goal, not sleeping with her...although if what he had seen from her so far was any indication, sleeping with her might happen sooner rather than later. A little financial blackmail was not his usual modus operandi, but he had to get her married to him otherwise his shares would be lost.
Not to mention the villa.
He couldnt lose that. It was the place where his father had grown up. It was where Cristiano had spent numerous happy family holidays before his parents and brothers death. It was his home for the rest of his childhood and adolescence, the place where overnight he had grown from boy to man. Losing the villa would be like losing even more of his family than he had lost already.
Why had his grandmother done such an outrageous thing as to force him to share it with Alice?
He didnt need a conscience right now. Six months would pass before he knew it. He would insist on Alice living with him because he wasnt going to let the press get wind of there being anything amiss with his marriage. No way was Alice Piper going to make a laughing stock out of him in the daily tabloids. He would enjoy making her act the role of devoted wife. It would be amusing to see her push against the boundaries he laid down.
So, well have a nice dinner and discuss this situation we find ourselves in, Cristiano said after a time.
Discuss? Alices voice held a generous note of scorn. You dont discuss. You command.
He sent her a smiling glance. And as my wife you will obey.
Even from the other side of the car he could feel the heat coming off her livid blue glare. They have rewritten the marriage ceremony since the nineteen-fifties, you know. Women no longer have to obey their husbands. Not that youre going to be my hus
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