Dante's Blackmailed Bride (3 page)

He didn’t require any further encouragement. He drove home with a single powerful thrust. Her cry of astonished delight was everything he could have asked for and then some. She moved with him, finding the rhythm with impressive speed, riding the ferocity of the storm with him. He slid his hands beneath her, cupped her bottom and angled her in order to give her the most pleasure.

The storm intensified, howling through him with each stroke. Rational thought fled before a single inescapable imperative. Take the woman. Make her his. Put an indelible stamp on her, one that would bind them together from now through all eternity. She belonged to him now, just as he belonged to her. There was no changing that fact. No going back.

The storm reached its zenith, tearing at him, threatening to rip him apart. Even in the midst of the insanity, even at his most frantic, he remained focused on Francesca. Her needs. Her desires. She anchored him, even as she drove him onward, giving and gifting and surrendering. Her unique feminine perfume, the scent of passion, filled his nostrils. He could feel her approaching climax and sealed her mouth with his. She arched upward as it hit, and he drank in her cry of ecstasy as though it were the sweetest of wines.

It was his turn after that, his release unlike any he’d ever experienced before. She’d done that to him. For him. With him. She’d marked him in some ineradicable fashion. Given him something uniquely hers to give, something he’d never known with any other woman.

“Oh, my,” she murmured long afterward, the breath still hitching from her lungs. “That was…unexpected.”

“Very.” As unexpected as it was unforgettable.

Struggling to catch his own breath, he gathered her up and rolled with her to take the weight from her and transfer it to him. She curled close with feline grace, entangling their limbs into an inescapable knot, part feminine silk, part masculine sinew. Full, round curves cushioned hard angles. With the sweet, gusty sigh of a woman well-satisfied, sleep claimed her.

He lay awake for a long time, holding her close. Their joining should have fulfilled him, satiated whatever fever fired his blood and drove him to make this woman his. It hadn’t. Not by a long shot. It should be over now, the flame diminished to a mere flicker. It wasn’t. It continued to roar like wildfire driven before a gale. Instead of ending things, their lovemaking had rooted the bond between them, weaving the fabric of their connection into a tight, inseparable warp and weft.

Whether she knew it yet or not, this night had made her his.

Francesca stirred beneath the benevolent rays of the early morning sunshine.

Lord, she felt incredible. Warm. Relaxed. Happy. She didn’t know what had caused such an amazing sensation, but considering how fleeting such feelings could be, she didn’t want to move in case it went away.

A heavy masculine hand skated down the length of her spine to cup her bottom, giving it a loving pat. “Mmm. Nice.”

What the hell? Francesca’s eyes flew open and she stared in horror at the gorgeous male relaxing inches from her nose. Sunlight slid across the bed and openly caressed a man whose bone structure managed to combine both a masculine hardness and a mouth-watering allure. Thick, ebony hair framed high, sweeping cheekbones and an aristocratic nose. He smiled drowsily, his wide sensuous lips stirring images of all the places that mouth had been. Memory crashed down on her, overwhelming in its intensity.

What had she done? A better question might have been…what
hadn’t
she done? In the brief time they’d spent together, they’d made love in every conceivable fashion. Of course, she’d enjoyed every minute. Sev had proven an outstanding lover. But the romantic illusion cast by the glittering evening had faded beneath the harsh reality of morning light. She’d had a job to do last night at Le Premier, and instead she’d—

Francesca bolted upright in bed in a flat-out panic.
Her job!
Oh, damn. Damn, damn, damn. What had she done? How could she have been so foolish? The Fontaines were going to kill her when she arrived at the office. She scrubbed the heels of her hands across her face.

This was not good. What in the world would she say to them? How could she possibly explain what she’d chosen to do instead of representing Timeless Heirlooms at last night’s showing? She needed to get home immediately and call them. But first, she needed to return the jewelry she’d worn last night before Tina went into total meltdown. Assuming she hadn’t already.

Francesca thrust a tangle of curls from her face and looked desperately around for a clock, hyperventilating when she read the glowing digits that warned she had precisely half an hour to get to Timeless Heirlooms and explain herself to the Fontaines.

“Where are you going?” Sev asked in a sleep-roughened voice. He snagged her around the waist and tipped her back into his embrace. “I have the perfect way to start our morning.” A slow smile built across his face. “Funny thing. It involves staying right here.”

She wriggled against him. “No. Please let go. You don’t understand.”

“Mmm.” He reacted to her movements in a way she’d have delighted in only hours before. “That feels good.”

“I have to get to work.”

His hold tightened, locking them together from abdomen to thigh. Heat exploded, and even knowing she may have destroyed her career thanks to one night of stupidity, desire awoke with a renewed ferocity that left her stunned. How was this possible? She squeezed her eyes shut. Why, oh why, did this temptation have to hit last night of all nights? And why hadn’t their time together satisfied the unrelenting hunger that accompanied it?

Well, she knew one thing for certain. If she hesitated even one more second, she wouldn’t get out of this bed anytime soon. Taking a deep breath, she planted both hands against his chest—Lord help her, what a chest—and shoved. To her surprise, she succeeded in freeing herself. One minute she lay cocooned in warmth and the next she stood beside the bed, naked, cold and vaguely self-conscious. Sev lifted onto an elbow and studied her through narrowed, watchful eyes. Tension rippled through him, and a hint of something dangerous and predatory lurked in his expression.

“I have to get to work,” she explained. “Assuming, after last night, I still have a job. I made a huge mistake leaving with you.”

His tension increased ever so slightly, and he continued to remind her of a watchful panther debating whether or not to take down his prey. “Which was your mistake? Leaving with me…or leaving with a couple mil worth of the Fontaines’ jewelry? I suspect both the Fontaines, as well as your agency, won’t be too pleased. If you’d like, I can place a couple of calls and get you off the hook.”

Francesca frowned in confusion. “What agency?” she asked, before waving that aside. “Oh, never mind. More to the point, where’s the jewelry?”

Sev gestured toward the diamond-and-amethyst pieces glittering on the bedside table. “Relax. Everything’s safe and sound, and more importantly, undamaged.”

“Thank God.”

She scooped up the set with exquisite care. Since she didn’t have the jewelry cases on her, she could only think of one safe place to put them, and swiftly fastened the pieces to her neck, wrist and ears. It wasn’t until she finished that she sensed Sev’s gaze on her. His hungry look deepened and made her acutely aware that she stood before him wearing nothing but the designs she’d created. Tension filled the room, heating the air between them.

Her job!
How could she have forgotten…again? The thought propelled her to action. She caught a glimpse of lilac panties peeking from beneath the pleated edge of the dust ruffle and snatched them up before exiting the bedroom. To her dismay Sev followed right behind, wearing even less than she.

The instant they hit the living room, Sev’s cell phone emitted a faint buzz from the direction of the coffee table. This time he picked it up and answered it. “What?” His gaze flickered in her direction. “Say that name again? You’re certain?”

She spared him a swift glance, concerned by the sudden grimness lining his face. “What? What’s wrong?”

He closed his phone with a snap and came after her. “Who are you?” he demanded.

She stepped into her panties and looked around for her dress. “I already told you. Francesca Sommers.” She spotted her dress heaped in a silken pool a few feet shy of the couch. A vague memory of Sev’s tossing it toward the cushioned back came to her. Clearly, he’d missed.

Before she could snatch it up, Sev caught her arm and spun her to face him. “You’re not a model. You’re Timeless Heirlooms’ new designer.”

His statement sounded more like an accusation. She carefully disengaged her arm from his grasp and bent to pick up her dress. It was ridiculous to feel self-conscious after the night they’d spent together. But something about the way Sev stared at her caused her to hold the gown tight against her breasts. “I never claimed to be a model. You must have jumped to that conclusion.” She frowned. “What difference does it make, anyway?”

“Did the Fontaines put you up to this? Is that why you followed me onto the balcony last night?” The questions came at her, fast and sharp.

She stared at him in utter bewilderment, combined with a bubble of irritation. “I have no idea what you’re talking about. All I know is that if I don’t report in to work within the next twenty minutes, I won’t have a job. Now, do you mind? I’d like to—”

He cut her off with a sweep of his hand. “I’m talking about a TH employee falling into bed with one of the owners of Dantes five minutes after meeting. I’m talking about you using the oldest trick in the book to gain inside information for the Fontaines.”

She jerked backward as though slapped. “Dantes? You work for Dantes?”

“Sweetheart, I
own
Dantes.”

The connection hit and hit hard. Her dress slipped from between fingers that had gone abruptly boneless. “You’re a Dante?”

“Severo Dante. CEO and chairman of the board of Dantes.”

“Oh, God.” She was
so
fired. “I thought you were a buyer.” She managed to add two and two, despite working with only half a brain. “You were at the showing last night to scope out the competition, weren’t you?”

He looked around. Finding his trousers between the living room and the bedroom, he snatched them up and yanked them on. The man who stood before her now bore little resemblance to the one who’d made such passionate love to her only hours before. With the exception of the unbuttoned trousers riding low on his hips, he wore nothing but an endless expanse of bare flesh.

Desire still hummed between them, calling to her with even more strength and power than the night before. And she might have answered that call, too, if he hadn’t used that one word, that single, appalling word—
Dantes
—that had her itching to run in the opposite direction as fast as her wobbly legs would take her.

She wriggled back into the dress she’d chosen with such care for her first showing. She didn’t bother trying to hand-press the wrinkles. Nothing would salvage this mess other than a trip to the dry cleaner’s. But at least now she could face him on an even footing, or at least on a somewhat even footing.

She planted her hands on her hips. “Okay, let’s have this out. You think I came on to you last night so I could find out your plans in regard to TH?” she demanded. At his nod, she glared at him. “How about the possibility of your coming on to me so you could get the inside scoop on TH’s plans? After all, you’re trying to buy out the Fontaines, aren’t you?”

He studied her for a long silent moment. “It would seem we have a problem.”

“Oh, no, we don’t.” She found her shoes kicked under the wet bar and shoved her feet into the spiked heels. At the same time, she thrust her fingers through her hair in an attempt to restore order to utter disaster. “It’s very simple from here on out. We avoid each other at all costs and we don’t mention last night to anyone.
Anyone,
” she stressed. “If I’d known who you were last night, I’d never have taken off with you.”

“Liar.”

She closed her eyes, forcing herself to admit the painful truth. “Fine. That’s a lie. But I wouldn’t have gone with you because you’re Severo Dante. It would have been despite that fact.” She opened her eyes and fought to keep her gaze level and not betray the profound effect he had on her. “I owe the Fontaines more than I can possibly repay. Betraying them with their chief competitor isn’t the sort of repayment I had in mind. So, from now on, we’re through. Got it?”

He came for her again, closing the distance so that no more than a whisper of space separated them. It would have been so easy to push aside that cushion of air and take another delicious tumble into insanity. Just the mere thought had her body reacting, softening and loosening in anticipation. He was a Dante, she struggled to remind herself. She hadn’t realized that fact before, and therefore couldn’t blame herself for what happened the previous night. But now that she did know, she had a duty to keep her distance.

He brushed aside a lock of her hair. Just that slight a touch and she came totally unraveled. “It would seem we have a problem,” he repeated.

No question about that. “I’ve been consorting with the enemy.” Still consorted. Still wanted to consort.

He shook his head. “It’s a hell of a lot more complicated than that. Whatever this thing is between us—it isn’t over.” He traced his hand along the curve of her cheek, leaving behind a streak of fire. “It’s only just begun.”

“S
evero left Le Premier, stopping at his apartment only long enough to change, before continuing to Sausalito to confront his grandfather about the events of the previous night. He had questions, questions only his grandfather could answer.

“Primo?” he called, as he stepped through their front door.

Silence greeted him, which meant Nonna was out and he should continue on toward the gated garden behind his grandparents’ hillside home if he wanted to find the object of his search. Sev headed for the kitchen at the rear of the house and stepped from the cool dusky interior into a sunlit explosion of scent and color.

Sure enough, he found Primo hard at work on a bed of native Californian wildflowers. Thick gray hair escaped from beneath the brim of a canvas bucket hat and surrounded a noble, craggy face. At Sev’s approach, Primo rocked back onto his heels, grunting in pain from the arthritis that had begun to plague him in recent years.

Fierce golden eyes, identical to Sev’s own, fixed on him. “Do me a favor.” He spoke in his native tongue, his Italian seasoned with the unique flavoring of his Tuscan birthplace. “Grab one of those bags of mulch and bring it over here. My ancient bones will be forever grateful.”

Sev did as ordered. Stooping, he split the bag with a pair of gardening shears and set to work beside his grandfather. Memories from his childhood hovered, other days that mirrored this one, days filled with the scent of cool, salt-laden air combined with rich loamy earth. Long, industrious moments passed before Sev spoke.

“I’m in the mood for a story, Primo.”

His grandfather’s thick brows lifted in surprise. “You have a particular one in mind?”

Sev spread a generous layer of mulch around a bed that combined the striking colors of golden poppies, baby blue eyes and beach strawberries. “As a matter of fact, I do.” He paused in his endeavors. “Tell me what happened when you met Nonna.”

“Ah.” An odd smile played across the older man’s face. “Are you asking out of simple academic interest, or is there a more personal reason behind your sudden interest?”

“Tell me.”

Primo released a gruff laugh at the barked demand. “So. It is personal. You have finally felt the burn, have you,
nipote?
”

Sev wiped his brow before fixing his grandfather with an uncompromising stare. “I want to know what the hell happened to me and how to make it stop.”

“What happened is Dantes’ Inferno,” Primo answered simply. “Some call it a family curse. I have always considered it a family blessing.”

The name teased at a far-off memory. No, not a memory. More of a childhood story, carrying a grain of truth amid the more fantastical elements. “Explain.”

Primo released his breath in a deep sigh. “Come. The story sits better with a beer in one hand and a cigar in the other.”

Brushing plant detritus from his slacks, he stood and led the way into the kitchen. Cool and rustic, huge flagstones decorated the kitchen floor while rough-hewn redwood beams stretched across the twelve-foot plaster ceiling. A large table, perfect for a substantially sized family, took up one end of the room, while a full compliment of the latest appliances filled the other. After washing up, the two men helped themselves to bottles of homemade honey beer and took a seat at the table. Primo produced a pair of cigars. Once they were clipped and lit, he leaned back in his chair and eyed his grandson.

“I did try and warn you,” he began.

“You didn’t issue a warning. You told us a fairy tale when we were impressionable children. Why would we put credence in something so implausible?”

“It was real. You just chose not to believe. Not to remember.”

The quiet words held an unmistakable conviction, one that threw Sev. “So now I’m supposed to accept that you and Nonna took one look at each other and it was love at first sight? A love inspired by this…this Inferno?”

His grandfather shook his head. “Not even close. I took one look at your grandmother and it was lust at first sight.” He studied the burning tip of his cigar and his voice dropped to a husky whisper. “And then I touched her. That is when The Inferno happened. That is when the bond formed—a bond that has lasted our entire lives. Whether you are willing to believe it or not, it is a bond our family has experienced for as long as there have been Dantes.”

“Lightning bolts. Love at first sight. Instant attraction.” Sev shrugged. “All names for the same spice. How is our story any different from thousands of others? What makes it ‘The Inferno’ versus the simple chemistry most lovers experience?”

Primo took his time responding. When he did, he came at his answer from a tangent. “Your grandmother belonged to another man. Did you know that?” Bittersweet memories stirred in his distinctive eyes. “She was engaged to him.”

Aw, hell. “Not good.”

“Now that is an understatement if ever I heard one,” Primo said dryly. “You need to understand that all those years ago an engagement was as much a commitment as marriage vows, at least in our little village. So, we fled the country and came here.”

“Have you ever regretted it?” Sev asked gently.

Primo’s expression turned fierce, emphasizing the contours of his strong Roman nose and squared jawline. “Never. My only regret is the pain I caused this other man.” His mouth compressed and he lifted his beer for a long drink. “He was
mio amico.
No, not just my friend. My
best
friend. But once The Inferno strikes…” He shrugged. “There is nothing that can stop it. Nothing that can come between those who have known the burn. Nothing to douse the insanity but to make that woman yours. She is your soul mate. Your other half. To deny it will bring you nothing but grief, as your father discovered to his misfortune.”

Sev wanted to refute his grandfather’s words, to dismiss them as an aging man’s fantasy. But he hesitated, reluctant to say anything now that Primo had mentioned Sev’s father. And one other fact held him silent. Everything Primo said precisely matched his reactions last night, which created a serious dilemma for him. He had plans for Francesca, plans other than taking her to bed. To restore Dantes to its former glory, he had no choice but to steal her away from the Fontaines.

“When you first saw Nonna—before you touched—what was it like?”

Primo hesitated as he considered and dug bony fingers into his right hand, massaging the palm. Over the years Sev had witnessed the habitual gesture more times than he could count, long ago assuming it resulted from arthritis or some other physical complaint. Now he knew better. Worse, he’d caught himself imitating it over the past few hours. Even now he could barely suppress the urge.

“I had been away at university and returned for the engagement party. The minute I set eyes on Nonna, it was as though we were connected. As though a ribbon of desire joined us. The closer we came, the stronger it grew. When we touched, the ribbon became stronger than a steel cable, binding us together so we could no longer distinguish my heartbeat from hers. We have beat as one ever since.”

The story affected Sev more than he cared to admit, probably because it rang with such simple sincerity. True or not, Primo clearly believed every word. Not that the origins of his grandparents’ romance helped with his current predicament. Okay, so he’d felt that connection, the shock and burn when they’d touched, that ribbon of lust, as he preferred to consider it. But ribbons could be cut.

“How do I get rid of it?” he demanded.

Primo drank down the last of his beer before setting the empty bottle on the table with enough power that the glass rang in protest. “You do not,” he stated unequivocally. “Why would you want to?”

“Because she’s the wrong woman for me. There are…complications.”

Primo released a full-bodied laugh. “More complicated than her belonging to your best friend?” He swept his hand through the air, the gesture leaving behind a smoky contrail. “It is impossible to cut the connection. The Inferno has no respect for time or place or complication. It knows. It chooses. And it has done so for as long as there have been Dantes. You either accept the gift and revel in the blessing it offers, or you walk away and suffer the consequences.”

Sev stilled. “What consequences?”

“You ignore The Inferno at your own peril,
nipote.
” He leaned forward, each word stone-hard. “If you turn your back on it, you will never know true happiness. Look at what happened to your father.”

“You think The Inferno killed him?” Sev demanded on a challenging note. “Are you that superstitious?”

Primo’s expression softened. “No, it didn’t kill Dominic. But because he chose with his head instead of his heart, because he married your mother instead of the woman chosen for him by The Inferno, he never found true happiness. And Dantes suffered as a result.” He stabbed his cigar in Sev’s direction. “I am warning you, Severo Dante. If you follow in your father’s footsteps you, too, will know only the curse, never the blessing.”

Tina Fontaine threw herself into a chair near where Francesca sat at her drawing board, while Kurt filled the doorway leading into the small office. One look at their expressions warned Francesca that her previous night’s indiscretion had left her career teetering on a knife’s edge.

“You owe my dear husband a huge thank-you for stopping me from calling the police last night,” came Tina’s opening volley.

Francesca stared in horror. “The police?”

Tina leaned forward, not bothering to disguise her fury. “It was your big night. And you disappeared with a bloody fortune in gems around your neck without bothering to tell anyone where you’d gone. What did you expect me to do?”

“I’m sorry. Truly. I have no idea what came over me.”

The ring of truth in Francesca’s comment gave Tina pause. “Where the hell did you go?”

“I think I can guess,” Kurt inserted. “Holed up somewhere clutching a wastebasket, were you?”

Francesca stared at him, utterly miserable. She didn’t have any choice. She couldn’t lie. She had to admit the truth and take whatever punishment they chose to dole out, even if it meant the end of her career at TH. “Not exactly. I—”

From behind Tina’s back, Kurt gave a warning shake of his head. “But you were suffering from a severe case of nerves, I assume?” Before Francesca could reply, he continued, “It’s the one excuse Tina can sympathize with, can’t you, darling? It happened to her on the night of her first show, too.”

Tina gave an irritable shrug. “Yes, fine. It happened to me when we opened our first jewelry store in Mendocino. Too many nerves, too much champagne and too little intestinal fortitude.” She shot Francesca an annoyed look. “Is that what happened?”

Francesca hesitated, before nodding despite nearly overwhelming guilt. “I’m so sorry. The crowd got to me and I decided to leave early.” She kept her gaze fixed on Tina, but caught Kurt’s small look of approval. “I promise it won’t happen again.”

“I suggest it doesn’t. Next time I’ll fire you.” Tina continued to stare with uncomfortable intensity. “How in the world did you evade security? I need to know so in the future our designers and models can’t pull a similar stunt.”

Francesca kept her gaze fixed on her drawing table. “There’s an exit off the balcony,” she whispered. “One of the guests escorted me.”

“Go on.”

Francesca swallowed. “As for the jewelry…I can’t tell you how sorry I am that I worried you. I swear I kept it safe.” Or rather Sev had. She’d been too far gone by that time to give a single thought to what damage their lovemaking might do to the delicate pieces.

“That’s the only thing that saved your job,” Tina said sternly. “If anything had happened to the jewelry, you’d be cooling your heels in jail.”

Tina’s assistant appeared before she could say anything further and leaned into the room around Kurt. “Call for you,” she informed her boss. “It’s Juliet Bloom’s rep.”

Tina came off the chair as though catapulted and flew toward the door. She paused at the last instant. “Fair warning, Francesca.” She threw the admonition over her shoulder. “The rep wasn’t happy when I couldn’t produce you last night. If she’s calling to blow off our deal because you were incapable of doing your job, you’re gone.”

Francesca fought to draw breath, seeing her career vanish before her eyes thanks to one night of utter foolishness. “I understand.”

“And there’s a call for you on line three, Francesca,” the assistant added, with a hint of sympathy.

“Excuse me for a minute,” she murmured to Kurt. She picked up the phone, not in the least surprised to hear Severo Dante’s voice respond to her greeting. “How may I help you?” she asked in as businesslike a tone as she could manage.

“Huh.” He paused as though giving it serious thought. “I’m not quite sure how to answer that. Most of the possibilities that come to mind would be interesting variations on last night’s theme.”

She didn’t dare respond to the comment. She’d risked quite enough already, thanks to Sev. “I’m really busy right now. Could I get back to you in regard to that?”

“In regard to that, you can get back to me anytime you want. But I’m calling for a different reason, altogether. I want you to meet me for lunch at Fruits de Mer at one.”

She spared Kurt a brief, uncomfortable glance. “That’s not remotely possible.”

“In hot water, are you?”

“Yes.”

“Then let’s make it tomorrow.”

“I’m sorry, that’s quite impossible.”

“Make it possible or I’ll come by the office and let you explain my presence to the Fontaines. Or better yet,
I’ll
explain everything to them. Personally.”

Oh, God. If he did that, she’d be fired for sure. Painfully aware of her father listening in, she chose her words with care. “You are such a…gentleman.”

He chuckled. “You’re not alone, are you?” At her pointed silence, he added, “I’m serious. We need to talk. Will you come tomorrow?”

“It would seem I have no other choice. Now, I really have to go.” She ended the conversation by returning the receiver to its cradle. “I’m sorry about that, Kurt.”

He regarded her far too acutely. “I assume that was your young man from last night?” He held up a hand before she could reply. “I caught a glimpse of you and your mysterious friend leaving together, which is why I didn’t worry about your disappearance as much as Tina. I remember some of the antics she and I got up to when we were first dating. I do, however, recommend in the future that you don’t mix business with pleasure.”