Bedded by the Italian Playboy (13 page)

He
dropped a kiss on her forehead and ran a hand along her side. “Everything I do
in this bedroom is with the aim of pleasuring you. It pleases me to see you
come. To feel you drench me. I love the way you taste. The way you feel. You,
Fiore
, are pure perfection.”

“But
you didn’t….”

“Tonight
is for you. Well, this part of it at least.”

For her.
Rachel sighed
and snuggled in closer to him. He smelled of musk and sex. That unique scent
that was just him. Slowly she traced along his chest, her fingers running
through the black curls that swirled around his nipples, then along the trail
of hair that led to the waistband of his jeans. He was hard, his cock outlined
against the denim, but he seemed to be content to just lie still and let her
explore him.

Maybe because this is your last night.

She
paused for just a second before trailing her way back up, letting the thought
take root. The last night. It had come so quickly, out of nowhere really, and
she couldn’t even bring it up. Couldn’t even ask if he was going to be there in
the morning to kiss her goodbye. Because it was better if he
wasn’t
. After all, she wouldn’t be
there. The plan was already set in her mind. She’d be long gone before Dominic
even awoke. And that there put a halt to any other questions. Will I see you
again? Will you call me? What was the point
?
she thought, and all of a sudden, the reality of it weighed down on her, and
she had to squeeze her eyes shut to try and shake off the nasty tightening she
could feel in her chest.

Trouble
was she’d been walking around in a complete bloody daze. She’d let it all just
happen. The seduction, the pleasuring, all of it, and though she’d known that
it had to come to an end, that eventually it was all going to come to a head,
she’d kept telling herself “Tomorrow, tomorrow, I’ll think about it tomorrow.”
Only tomorrow was now and it could be put off no longer.

Why
was that thought making her chest ache?

“What’s
wrong?”

“Hmmm?”

“You
went very still all of a sudden.”

 
“Oh, I was just thinking.”

“About?”

The fact that tomorrow you’ll know the
truth. Know I lied to you all along. That I was nothing more than a thief. Will
you even care? Or will you just be glad I’ve gone with a minimum of fuss?
“Dinner.”

“Ready
and waiting for you. I need to keep the curves fed, don’t I?”

Rachel
snuggled in closer, the thoughts she’d been ignoring all week suddenly
attacking her with a ferocity that made her head spin, and yet in as
lighthearted a voice as possible, she replied, “You’ve certainly been doing
that. I feel like a complete pig the amount I’ve been eating lately. But then I
guess you’re supposed to do that on holiday, right? It’s expected.” I’m
babbling, she thought and closed her mouth quickly.

“And
has your holiday lived up to its expectations?” Dominic asked and there was a
strange note to his voice that Rachel didn’t quite understand. She lifted
herself up on her elbow and looked at him properly.

Those
smoky eyes of his fixed on hers. His hair was getting long, falling across his
forehead and his lips were curved so deliciously. He was so attractive. Just so
gorgeous. She’d never stood a chance.

Never.

And
suddenly it seemed ridiculous that she’d thought she could leave him to burn
whilst being completely unaffected herself. The only reason she hadn’t been in
his bed on day one was because
he
had
decided to stage a long seduction. It had always been in his hands. Never hers.

“In
some ways,” she said slowly. “In others, I’m not so sure.”

“Come
then,” he said. “Let’s eat and see if we can rectify that.”

“Hold
on, let me get my panties on.”

Dominic
nodded, planted a kiss on her lips, and ambled off into the other room. Glad to
have a moment to compose herself, Rachel sat up, grabbed her panties and
T-shirt and shrugged them on. Her head was buzzing. Her chest hurt in a really
odd way and she didn’t really know what to do.

She
knew what she
had
to do but it all
felt so difficult now. So wrong.

She
could hear Dominic moving around in the other room, busy organizing their last
meal.

The last meal.

Her
chest tightened and Rachel had to take a very deep breath to try and ease the
pressure. She’d known this was coming, hadn’t she? Known their relationship had
a freaking shelf life! That it was a means to an end. It was nobody’s fault but
hers if she’d managed to somehow ignore that fact.

The mission. The game.

Only
it didn’t feel that way anymore. It felt like it had become something else
entirely, like Dominic was no longer just a mark. And as that thought burned Rachel
picked up her jeans, reached into the pocket, and pulled out the very thing
that it was all
supposed
to be about.

The
key to Dominic’s safe.

Chapter Eighteen

“Come,
let me feed you before I pleasure you again.”

Wearing
just a long T-shirt and her panties, Rachel gave him a shaky smile and took her
place at the small table without so much as a word. She fidgeted when she sat
down, moved her fork and her glass, and then fidgeted a bit more. Dominic knew
what was going on. How could she think he didn’t? He was in sync with all her
little gestures now. She was nervous. As aware as he that this was their last
night. Only she didn’t have the knowledge that he had. That there were many
more nights to come. Many more days of pleasure. He almost smiled as he
imagined the look on her face when she realized.

He
tucked her hair behind her ears for her, kissed her soft forehead, and began
lifting the tops of the various dishes. He’d had the antipasto delivered hours
ago in chilled containers by the staff in the hotel restaurant, knowing full
well that what he had to say tonight could only be said in private. Thank God
that, when he’d designed the suite he knew he’d practically live in, he’d added
a dining area as well as a living area, a bedroom and an en suite. Because he
had actually ended up living in it. It made sense. What was the point of buying
an apartment or a house when he could get everything done from here? Be on site
when needed. He had similar suites in all his other hotels, though he didn’t spend
as much time in them as he did the
London
hotel. The Rome one in particular rarely saw a visit from him and that was
because his cousin, Laslo, ran it just fine without him, not to mention the
fact that it put him in far to close proximity to his mother and meddling
sisters.

“A
last meal?” Rachel whispered and he paused, shocked that she’d brought it up.
It was out of character for her, but then she was a woman, had probably been
wondering about his intentions for days. Would he call her? Would he visit?
Where would they go from here?

“Not
quite.”

“My
train leaves at ten,” she said. “Just so you know.”

“I
do. The
Chelmsford
train. I too have booked a ticket.”

She
gaped. “What?”

He
did laugh then because the shock was just as he’d imagined and he hadn’t even
gotten started. “I thought it made sense to come with you.”

“Why
would you do that?” she asked. “Why?”

“To
meet your family.”

“But
why?”

It
was slightly ahead of his schedule but Dominic shrugged inwardly. This sort of
thing could not be planned precisely. Best to just roll with the flow. So he
paused in uncovering the dishes, fixed his gaze on hers, and held her hands
gently. “I want you to marry me, Rachel.”

She
jumped up from her chair, wrenching her hands from his and knocking her plate
into her full glass which then hit the table. The rich, red wine inside of it
spread across the crisp, white tablecloth but she didn’t even notice. Her hand
covered her mouth. She shook her head, dropped her hand and then shook her head
again. “Oh my God, are you serious?”

Frowning
Dominic stepped forward. “Completely.”

“Oh
my bloody God.”

She
was pale white, white as the tablecloth had been, in fact, and Dominic shook
his head inwardly. This was not going as he expected. “It makes perfect sense,
Rachel. I have thought about this in depth and it is the right thing to do.”

“The
right thing?”

“Yes.”
He came around the table and took her hands again, shocked to feel how cold
they were, how clammy. This really
wasn’t
going as he expected! Where were the exclamations of joy? The tears? He tucked
a finger under her chin and lifted her face so that their eyes met. Hers were
wide, full of surprise, and ever so slightly…panicked.

Make her understand.

“You’re
mine, Rachel,” he said, and he said it slowly. “You must know that. It is clear
to me. You belong with me and I cannot let you go.”

She
shook her head again. “But marriage?”

“Why
not? We fit. You are the exact sort of woman I would pick as my wife. You are
sweet, loving, generous. In short, you are perfect.”

“No.
I’m not.”

“Of
course you are,” he said, waving her words away. “You came to me completely
untouched. Do you have any idea how that pleases me? To know I was your first?
That no other man has made you feel the way I make you feel, and look at you,
Fiore
. You are stunning. Your face, your
body, it is all exactly as I would wish.”

“But,
Dominic, this is….”

 
“Is right, Rachel. Exactly right.”

She
shook her head and attempted to pull her hands free but Dominic held them fast.
She wasn’t going anywhere.

“It’s
unexpected is what it is,” she said, tugging her hands. “Completely out of the
blue! We’ve only known each other for two weeks. We practically just met! And
you’re…well, you’re you, and I’m me, and this doesn’t even make sense!”

“It
makes perfect sense.”

“How—”

He
pulled her closer so that they were mere inches apart, done with explaining his
thoughts. Did she not realize how lucky she was to be receiving this proposal?
How many women had wished for it over the years? “It is true that we have not
known one another very long and yet it just feels right,” he growled. “I cannot
explain it and I do not intend to. Know only that I want you to be my wife,
Rachel. More than that, I demand it. Now tell me you will marry me.”

She
bit down on her lip. “I don’t….”

And
then Dominic realized where all the protestations and nerves were coming from.
Women needed to be blinded by the sparkles, didn’t they? Was that not the whole
point of an engagement ring?

“Ah,
of course,” he said. “My apologies. I should have given you this.” He let go of
her hands and picked up the box that he’d had hidden next to the wine bottle.
“Here. It is yours.”

She
held it in her hands for what had to be about a minute, her gaze flitting from
it to him, and he noted that the knuckles on her hand were stark white. She was
gripping the box far too tightly and once again Dominic wondered why she was
not acting in the way he had envisioned. He’d expected tears of joy, little
gasps of pleasure. Instead she just looked panicked! Why? It made no sense.

“Open
it,” he said firmly.

She
did, pulling the lid back slowly, carefully. And
then
came the gasp, the little intake of breath, and he smiled as
she looked into the box, the diamond inside glittering and reflecting in her
eyes. “It’s stunning.”

He
nodded. Though he’d never seen the allure of diamonds personally, the assistant
in Tiffany’s had assured him that it was exactly the sort of ring women went
for. A large diamond on a band of platinum, it had cost him just shy of a
hundred grand, a small amount in his mind. He’d expected it to cost
significantly more and had told the assistant to bring out others. But they had
seemed too showy, too outlandish, and he reasoned that he could add to the ring
with a necklace and bracelet and other bits. Rachel could pick them out herself.
As many diamonds as she wanted.

 
“Here.” He placed it on her finger and she
allowed it. Satisfaction ran though him and he grinned. “It suits you.”

“It
fits perfectly,” she said.

Dominic
shrugged. “I estimated, though well it seems.”

She
looked down at the ring. The light continued to glitter off it and then into
her eyes, and she bit down on her lip. “I don’t know what to say, Dominic.”

“Say
yes.”

There
was a pause and Dominic paused with it because a nasty thought hit then and he
didn’t know what to think. Was it possible that she might refuse? Possible that
her reactions were so far from his expectations because in reality she did not
wish to marry him? That she had every intention of returning home and
forgetting about him and the time they had spent together? He shuddered at the
thought and opened his mouth to convince her further, but then she spoke, just
one word, and the moments of doubt fled. The breath he hadn’t even known he was
holding left him and Dominic smiled. It felt just as it should. Just as he’d
expected.