Baby Mine (7 page)

“
Mia bella bambina
,”
he whispered.

A shudder passed over Jada, and
she gasped when he pinched the button open on her pants and pushed a
hand down inside them. She caught his wrist just before he thrust her
panties to the side, but he refused to be stopped. Two fingers
brushed her clit, and she almost howled in ecstasy. Renzo slid lower
until he met with her moist opening. He seemed to test entry, and
when he found her already wet, he slid his digits deep.

“
Renzo, you shouldn’t
do that,” she said in a raspy tone.

He wrapped an arm across her
chest to hold her in place and worked his fingers in and out of her
pussy. She whimpered, trying with all her might to maintain control,
not to fall into the sensual pleasure he gave her. The task proved
impossible. She humped his hand, and each time he pushed in, the heel
of his palm brushed her clit. Her orgasm approached fast, and before
long she didn’t care about anything other than reaching that
wonderful peak.

“
Like that,
cara
?”
Renzo’s hot breath heated her ear.

“
Oh, yes. Yes!”

He picked up speed, and Jada
arched her hips into his thrusts again and again. She held on to his
arm, willing him not to stop, while she shut her eyes and moaned. Her
inner muscles contracted, and she cried out as she came.

Renzo pulled his fingers free and
raised her in his arms. He set her on his desk atop the papers he’d
been looking through and worked her pants down over her hips. Not
allowing her to free her legs from the clothing, he wrestled his own
pants open with one hand and thrust his hard cock into her pussy.
Because of the restriction, she couldn’t spread her legs wide
enough, but the result was an amazingly tight squeeze for his
erection inside her. She dug her nails into his arms and took every
deep stroke. Moaning and squirming, she begged for more, but Renzo
slowed.

“
Look at me, Jada,”
he commanded.

She stared up into his eyes and
didn’t look away as he continued to pump between her legs.
“Renzo.”

“
Pull your blouse up. Let
me see those luscious breasts. I want to watch them bounce while I
fuck you.”

She did as he instructed and
arched her back to give him just what he wanted. Her swollen breasts
bounced with each of his thrusts, and his grunts soon filled the
office. When he pushed in deep and held himself there, warmth spread
over Jada’s insides. Renzo pulled back just enough to get his
thumb between them, and he rubbed her clit until she came a second
time.

After they cleaned themselves up,
Jada headed toward the door again.

“
The tasting is at four,”
he informed her before she could leave. “Please be ready by
three. I will be at my company office until that time.”

Jada sighed. “I’ll be
ready.”

Chapter
Six

To Jada’s surprise, the
wine-tasting event was held at Renzo’s family vineyard in a
massive structure built just for preserving bottles of wine. Barrels
were stacked floor to ceiling in every direction. When the doors
opened for guests, she stood to the side and watched Renzo in his
element, greeting people, shaking hands. Even a news crew showed for
the event. While she pondered the importance of the tasting, Zita
wandered over to her.

“
You look confused,”
the younger woman commented.

Jada smiled. “I guess I am.
Is this really such a big deal?”

“
It’s a new wine
Renzo developed. Everybody wants to be in the know about the Mariani
family. Not just because of the wine.”

Jada dragged her gaze from Renzo,
who had been joined by Nicoletta. She had to admit the bitch looked
good at his side, like a natural. “What do you mean?”

“
Our wine is high end, but
we don’t just make that alone. We make beer and other spirits.
Our company is one of the top five in the world.”

Jada stared. “You’re
kidding.”

She shook her head. “It’s
mostly due to Renzo’s market sense. He’s brilliant.
That’s also why there’s security. He and every one of my
family members are worth a fortune.” She pointed out various
men in suits who seemed to have no interest in sampling the new
product. Each was built like a linebacker, and now that she realized
they were security, she guessed they came packing. Thinking back,
Jada tried to recall if Renzo always had someone with him, but she
didn’t think she’d spotted anyone like the men here
today. The thought of someone always watching unsettled her.

“
Do you have a personal
bodyguard?” she asked Zita.

“
Everywhere I go.”

That she spoke the words so
matter-of-factly told Jada the woman was used to it, but from their
last conversation, it sometimes made Zita feel stifled. Jada didn’t
blame her, and then she began to consider her own baby. What would
happen if people found out Renzo was the baby’s father? Was
that why he insisted on being involved in the child’s life,
because he didn’t want anyone trying to use his son or daughter
to get money out of him later? She shivered and, not for the first
time, questioned her stupidity of getting pregnant by this man.

A server came around with glasses
of wine on a tray. Zita nabbed one, and Jada reached for another
without thinking. The heat from Renzo’s glare brought her back
to her senses, when her gaze strayed toward him. She placed the glass
back on the tray.

“
Um, do you have any grape
juice or water?” she asked the server, and he smiled and
nodded. Within moments he’d returned with a glass of grape
juice, and she thanked him.

“
You’re pregnant,”
Zita murmured as if she didn’t know it.

“
It was unintentional. We—”
Jada had no idea why she thought to explain herself. She didn’t
care what Renzo’s family thought of her.

Amusement danced in Zita’s
gaze as she downed the last of her wine. She shrugged and turned to
stroll in the direction where the server had disappeared. Jada
considered Zita’s amusement at the way she stumbled over an
explanation. From what everyone kept telling her, women arrived by
the truckloads on a regular basis trying to claim he got them
pregnant. Their passion had lit up Venice, but she wondered if she
was just another lover for him, while she had fallen hard for the
man.

For the next hour or so, the wine
flowed. Jada had overheard someone explaining that once a container
had been opened, the wine had to be drunk within a certain amount of
time. Air would change the flavor, so all the barrels in the
storehouse were kept sealed. No one seemed to complain about drinking
as much as they wanted, and Jada wished she could have sampled it.
Maybe before she left, she’d request a bottle to take with her
for after she gave birth. Renzo probably wouldn’t mind the
gift.

“
Why are you over here
alone?”

She looked up from her glass and
met Renzo’s reproving gaze. Her heart did a somersault. “You’re
working, and I didn’t want to get in the way.”

He gestured with the glass he
held. “As you can see, all of my family is here, and they’re
mingling among the guests and friends that have come to support us.
You will be a permanent part of my family, so I want you among them,
at my side.”

Her juice went down wrong, and
she coughed while Renzo thumped her on the back. The concern on his
face almost made her tear up. “Sorry about that. I don’t
know what you mean. I’m having your baby. That doesn’t
mean—”

“
Come on.” He took
her hand in his and placed it on his arm while he led her around the
room. They chatted with a few people, but Jada missed every one of
the introductions because her ears rang with the words he’d
spoken to her. She tried every which way to interpret what he said
without the conclusion that Renzo expected they would be involved
with each other from now on, but she failed. The moment they got time
alone, she would demand he make it clear what he wanted from her.
She’d already determined that she was going home the day after
tomorrow.

Jada excused herself to go to the
restroom and was glad the building housed one. She stood at the sink
and wished she could splash water on her face to cool her skin, but
that might ruin her makeup, so she didn’t try. Behind her, the
door opened, and Nicoletta strolled in. Jada stifled a grunt of
annoyance.

“
Oh, I didn’t know
you were in here.” The dramatic hand to the chest made Jada
roll her eyes.

“
Of course not, or you
wouldn’t have come in.”

Nicoletta seemed to force a
smile. “How are you enjoying the tasting?”

“
Fine.” Jada didn’t
want to encourage conversation. She nabbed a paper towel to dry her
hands, but Nicoletta blocked her way. “Did you want something?”

“
You know this is how it
always is with Renzo. Tastings, meetings, people around him all day,
every day. And he is away on business more often than he’s at
home. It never stops.
He
never slows down—for anyone.”

Jada shifted her weight onto one
leg and folded her arms under her breasts. “Is this some kind
of warning against getting involved with him, because I have to admit
you’re boring the hell out of me.”

Red tinged the woman’s
hairline, straight up from her neck. “I’m saying I’m
used to this kind of lifestyle, but maybe you aren’t.”

“
This
is the way you’re trying to get rid of me?”

Nicoletta licked her lips. “I
heard you’re pregnant and Renzo thinks it’s his.”

“
Don’t even go
there.”

The bitch went on. “Do you
want your baby to love a man who will never be there for him? Who
will probably send him off to a private boarding school by the time
he turns ten? A school in Europe, mind you.”

Jada froze.

The triumph in Nicoletta’s
eyes said she knew she’d struck a nerve.

“
You know what? Don’t
worry about what’s between me and Renzo. You’re just mad
because he doesn’t want you. Nobody will decide what happens
with my baby, including Renzo. Now step aside before you get more
than your feelings hurt up in here.”

Disbelief colored Nicoletta’s
expression, but she dropped back a step so Jada could get past.
Fuming, Jada marched from the restroom in search of Renzo. To her
relief, the event seemed to be ending, and people drifted toward the
exit. Her lover stood in the midst of a small group of men, each
trying to talk over the other in their loud conversation. None
appeared to be angry, and she put it down to just the way they were.

Jada headed toward the exit. She
would catch up to Renzo later. Maybe someone outside could give her a
lift back to the house, because the grounds were extensive. She
stepped into the early evening air with the sunlight showing no signs
of relinquishing the day just yet. Ettore stood next to a BMW, and
she started toward him, but a beautiful Asian woman strolled over and
hooked her arm with his. A coy smile and a few whispered words in
Ettore’s ear, and the man was soon escorting the woman into his
car. They pulled off, and Jada sighed.

“
Ma’am, may I offer
you a ride?”

Jada turned around at the voice
behind her and smiled at the man who must be in his late twenties or
early thirties. He wore a suit, but it appeared lived-in a bit, yet
there was an appeal to him with his boyish good looks. “Sure.
Thanks.”

An imposing form blocked the sun
for both of them. “Ms. Thompson has a ride.

Jada peered up into the angry
eyes of one of the men handling security that Zita had pointed out.
Before she could tell him she didn’t need him, he wedged
himself between the rumpled friendly guy and her, somehow propelling
her toward a waiting vehicle without even touching her. Once Jada
settled in the back and he in the driver’s seat, she frowned at
him. “I was just fine getting a ride from that guy. He didn’t
look like the type to hurt anyone.”

The guard threw the car into gear
and started down the road. “No one at the tasting was that
type. We made sure of that.”

She sat back, folding her arms
over her chest. “Then what was the big deal?”

He gave a prompt answer. “Mr.
Mariani assigned me to look after you, and that man who wanted to get
you alone in his car is a reporter.”

“
Oh.”

Renzo didn’t want her
talking to the press? Did that mean he was ashamed of her or didn’t
want anyone to know about her? Then again, he had come to get her
during the event and insisted she stay beside him. Anyone looking on
must have picked up on her importance, even if it indicated they were
just lovers. She was too early to show, so no one could jump to the
conclusion she was pregnant. Considering how Zita complained of being
overprotected by her family, she wondered if that was it. Either way,
Renzo had thought to get a guard to escort her back to the house
although they weren’t that far away. The fact warmed her
inside, but not enough that she wouldn’t confront him regarding
his intentions the first chance she got.