The Billionaire's Island Romance (The Romero Brothers, Book 3.5) (3 page)

Arianna had donated a generous gift from
her family business, the Duponte Resorts. They hadn’t really gotten close until
much later. She was so genuine.
A breath of fresh air.
So different from all the other women he’d met over the years. She was young
and ambitious like Christian and she didn’t mess around. She was serious-minded
and kind-hearted. She loved her family and that meant a lot to him. He was a
family person. They’d dated almost a year before he finally went
ring-shopping
with his cousin, Carl, to hunt for the best
ring for his darling sweetheart.

“What are you hiding, Arianna?”

“Nothing that concerns you.”

“I think it does. Anything about you
concerns me and you know that.”

“Christian, I told you, I…we shouldn’t see
each other again.”

“Are you seeing someone?”

“No.”

“Do you really want me out of your life,
Arianna? Look at me!” His dark eyes burned into hers.

She couldn’t look into his eyes.

“Christian. Please, don’t make this harder
for me.”

Christian got up and walked over to the
balcony to watch the turquoise blue waves swoosh and hit the coast below him.
The air was warm and gusty and palm trees swayed to the rhythm of the island
summer breeze. Jamaica was one of the most beautiful places he’d frequented. He
enjoyed visiting to relax, any time he could get away from his work. Heck, he
worked twenty-four hours around the clock in his commercial real estate
business. Thanks to his uncle Toni, most of the Romeros were invested in
businesses and owned assets around the world. Christian had even teased Ari once
about buying her out and turning the Duponte Hotel into a sweet merger.

“Don’t you think you owe me an explanation?
I think you owe it to us, Arianna.”

“Christian, you’re right.” Arianna got up
and moved closer to him. “This is very hard for me.”

“What are you afraid of?”

“Being hurt.”

“Hurt? By whom?”

“You.”

“Me? Are you kidding? Why would you think
that?”

“Because I didn’t want you to…know about
my…my family.”

Christian held his head back and chuckled.
“You’ve got to be kidding me, right? What do I look like to you, Arianna? So
what if your mother is a recluse. What does that have to do with us?”

Her eyes opened wide.

“Yeah, that’s right. I know all about your
mother’s…illness. I know that my
step-mother
got a
bit…nosy and prying at dinner that night but she really didn’t mean it,
Arianna. We want to welcome you into our family.”

“Christian, it wasn’t just that. It’s the
way people talk about…
.people
like my mom.” Arianna
looked away then back into his eyes. “Christian, you come from a well-off
family. Everybody has opinions. I…just don’t think I would fit in.” Her eyes
were filled with tears.

“Hey,” he said softly, tilting her chin up
with his finger to face him. “I love you, Arianna. And do you know what love
means?”

She gazed into his eyes.

“Love means in spite of, Arianna,” he
continued. “Nobody’s perfect. No one’s family is without flaws. And if they try
to pretend so, they’re lying. We love people
in spite
of their weaknesses. What I have for you is so freaking
strong you wouldn’t believe it. And if my family didn’t accept you, that would
be fine with me. Nothing in this world could tear me away from you, girl. I’d
abdicate my position in the family if I had to.”

Arianna grinned.

Ha!
That got her laughing
.

“You’re not a king, Christian. You can’t
abdicate.”

“You’re
my
queen. I can do whatever the hell I please!” He grinned, looking into her eyes.
His smiled faded when he could still see raw pain flashing in her pretty brown
eyes.

“What else are you hiding from me, Arianna?
What else is bothering you?”

She pulled away from him and hugged
herself. “Christian. Oh, God! Christian, there’s so much more that you don’t
know about my family and me. So much more,” she said, her voice trailing off.

“Like what, Arianna? Why won’t you open up
to me?”

“I want you, Christian.” She turned to him.
“Oh, God, Christian. I wish I could tell you everything but I don’t think you’d
understand. And I couldn’t bear it if you didn’t respect me anymore.”

Christian rubbed his stubble. He was
confused as hell. “Why don’t you try me, Arianna? I’m sick and tired of you
making assumptions about what I will and will not accept about you. Heck, I
don’t even care if you turned out to be a freaking alien or something. Do you
have any idea what you do to me? Over the past month, I could do nothing else
but think about you. Every time you left a sign for me online, I wanted to
reach for the phone but I just couldn’t because I didn’t want to deal with the
pain of you telling me we shouldn’t see each other again. It really messed with
my head. Why do you keep doing this to us? To yourself?”

It was true that Christian was a put-together,
well-adjusted man. He often didn’t give a rat’s ass what others thought of him.
He was ambitious, confident and did his thing. Being named the youngest real
estate mogul to take over one of Mayberry Hill’s famous landmarks had earned
him many enemies and jealous rivals. He just stuck to his guns and got on with
it. Like a true Romero, their skins were smooth and thick as leather. Nothing
could penetrate. They never backed down from any pressure—whether in the
boardroom or the business world, but Arianna, she really brought him down a
notch. Never had he been so wrapped up in another person as he was with Arianna
Duponte.

The woman did things to him—to his
mind, to his heart, to his very soul that he could not quite understand. All he
knew was that she completed him. He would be lost without her. His life
wouldn’t mean the same without her in it. Strangely enough, he knew that.
 
But oftentimes, one didn’t always get
that special chance to meet his or her other half—his soul mate, so when
one did, the opportunity must not be taken for granted. And now, he was going
to do every blessed thing in his power to win back Arianna’s love.

Hell, even looking at her now in her pretty
summer dress that accentuated her natural curves and her shapely tanned legs
caused a rush of heat to surge through his loins. He was getting rock hard just
absorbing her beauty with his eyes. Did this woman even know how naturally
beautiful and breathtaking she was?

“Because, Christian, I’ve been hurt before.
Badly. And right now, things are just too great a burden to deal with. You
wouldn’t-”

“Don’t tell me I wouldn’t understand,
Arianna.”

“Okay. I don’t want to bear the burden of
hurting you. I’m not what you think I am, Christian.”

“Now what the hell is that supposed to
mean?” Christian rubbed his head. “Don’t freaking tell me you were born a man.”

“No! Oh, God! No. Nothing like that!”
Arianna burst out laughing. “Good God, Christian.” She reached over and hugged
him around his waist and a surge of her magic touched him, again. Why was it so
difficult for two people who clearly loved each other to be together? Why the
hell did outside factors have to be in the way? “You always come up with the right
words to lighten any situation. I’ve missed you.”

“How much?” he probed, leaning closer to
her. Her scent. Oh, that sexy, girly fragrance wafted to his nostrils and
caused a sweet reaction inside him. Her dark brown hair cascaded down her back.
Her pretty feminine face warmed his heart.

He desperately wanted to taste her
sweetness again. All he could think about on the flight to Jamaica was how much
he couldn’t wait to be with her again.
To touch her again.
To feel and enjoy her magic again.
That special
connection they had with each other was incredible.
That
undeniable surge of electrical attraction.
They had the right chemistry.
There were no two ways about it. He was meant for her and she was meant for
him. He knew that, and deep down inside, he felt she knew it too. He could tell
by the way she gaped at him when she saw him at the door to Blue’s suite. They
still had it. There was no denying true love.

Christian lowered his head to hers and
tenderly kissed her lips.

The kiss was oh, so sweet! Christian
captured Arianna’s lips with his and she tingled from her head right down to
her toes peeking out of her sandals. Oh, his magical, loving touch. Arianna never
felt it with any other human being before. When she fell in love with Christian
over a year ago, she didn’t know what had struck her. She couldn’t think
straight for days. She couldn’t focus on anything but his handsome face, his
sweet caress, and his aura. She’d never been so captivated, so enthralled by a
gorgeous man like Christian before. The memorable times they’d shared over the
past year were treasured moments. They had so much in common. That’s why it had
pained her, ripped her to shreds emotionally when she knew the time had come
for it to end. The façade. The fabricated lie she was living had to take its
place.

But, oh, Christian.
How could she keep away from the one man who rocked her world and
showed her how to appreciate the woman she was, or pretended to be?

Her breasts swelled sensually underneath
her dress as he continued to brush his lips against hers so tenderly. Her
nipples reacted and peaked at the feel of his hand on her back as he leaned her
against the balcony tantalizing her lips.

“Oh, God, Arianna. I’ve missed you so
much,” he moaned into her neck as his lips trailed down her soft skin.

“Oh,” Arianna groaned with pleasure. She
always enjoyed the erotic, soft touch of his tongue inside her mouth, teasing
and playing with her tongue. Their lips were entwined in a sweet tango of lust.
She wrapped her arms around his neck as he held her firmly against the high
balcony sucking on her lips then moving his tongue inside her mouth. She could
feel his hard erection pressing against her. Oh, how she missed his eager touch.
What had she been thinking? How could she live without this man? Christian
really knew how to please her. He’d studied her body and knew what she loved
and desired. He’d discovered her G-spot and knew how to please her to oblivion.
He knew how to kiss. Apparently, not all men did, but he must be an expert.
Intermittently, he would kiss her softly, then passionately, thrusting his wet,
soft tongue inside her, swirling and teasing in all the right places, while his
smooth hands caressed the sensitive parts of her body.

Christian could sure kiss the living breath
out of her. Breathless, Arianna arched her neck as he pressed his sweet lips to
her throat. “Oh, that feels so good,” she moaned, smiling with pleasure. Her
body was light now. Her cares suddenly drifted away with the ocean tide.

Christian’s soft lips nibbled her neck.
“You like that, don’t you, baby?” he groaned.

“Hmm-mmm.” Her eyes were closed as she
fully enjoyed the silky feel of his skin. Her nipples were straining against
the fabric of her dress. Her inner thighs moistened with heated anticipation.
She wanted Christian now. She needed him. Desired him. Craved him. She’d been
starved for his affection for far too long, and now, she finally had her chance
with him again.

Christian lifted up her dress and slid his
hand up her skin, caressing her. Oh, how she loved the way he pleasured her,
massaging her first, but she wanted him inside her. Her heartbeat climbed and
escalated.

“Oh, God, Ari. You have no idea how much I
love you. You’re so beautiful.” His voice was hoarse now, his breathing heavy.
She delighted in his delicious scent of cologne. It drove her senses wild. She
relished in his hard firm flesh as she slid her hands over his smooth muscles
on his arms. She moved her hands down his chest and felt his taut nipples
underneath his shirt. Oh, his body was firm and gorgeous. His hand moved up her
thigh and slid beneath her lace panties. Arianna was already soaked and ready
for him. By the feel of his hand and the grin that entered his lips, she could
tell he knew it too.

“I want you so badly, girl.”

“Oh, Christian. Please, take me now. I need
you,” she begged, breathless.

At the most inopportune moment, a loud
knock rattled the door.

Christian cursed under his breath.

Arianna broke from his embrace, her heart flipped
hard and fast. She was dazed, caught off guard by the interruption.

Oh, God! What was she doing? She was at
work after all. She was supposed to be overseeing things at the hotel.

Was it a member of her staff? Was there an
emergency? She was expecting a delivery of special props for the Romero’s
themed wedding this morning.

“Who is it?” Arianna called, brushing her
hair back with her hands. She straightened her dress and repositioned her
panties. Her heart was still beating erratically. She could feel it in her
throat. Christian leaned back on the balcony rail while she went to the door, flushed
and out of breath. Desire still burned in his eyes as he watched her walk away.
She caught his eyes undressing her sexily while she walked off. She grinned,
then
drew in a deep breath to straighten up her expression.
The last thing she wanted was for her staff to feel as if she was messing
around in her own office. She just wanted to be professional.