The Devil to Pay (8 page)

There was absolutely no doubt in her mind that Daniel Bracchi was completely in control of everything. Even the wildlife seemed to realise it, judging by the rabbits and other fauna scattering to clear his path. The power of the car’s engine roared and tickled her diaphragm, a beast under its master’s gladiator-like command, bent to Daniel’s will like a blade of mallow.

“You see over there?” Daniel suddenly gestured out of her window. “To the right, those pink roof tiles?”

“Yes,” she replied, shielding her eyes against the startling reflection of the sun off the sea. She strained against her seatbelt to look down on a rocky lagoon surrounded by a mosaic of blue, pink, and yellow houses.

“That’s Portofino harbour. My place, Villa Gabbiano, is almost directly above it. We’ll be there in a few minutes, but you can’t see it from the road due to all the trees. More private than being in town, but I can still stroll to the harbour if I want to. It also has a helipad nearby in the grounds being so high up. These roads can be hell when you’re in a hurry.”

“So you don’t always drive?”

“I always do if there’s time or if I don’t have to work. I know it’s childish, but I love cars. I can’t help myself.”

Rianna recognised the passion. She’d been fathered by a man consumed by a need for power and control which manifested itself in cars, rugby, and chapel. She understood its draw and felt a shiver run down her spine.

“Well, the scenery has certainly been worth it,” Rianna replied, keen to keep the conversation pleasantly neutral now the silence had been broken. “Quite stunning. It’s taking my breath away.” It
was
the scenery that made her feel so light-headed, she reasoned inwardly, nothing at all to do with Daniel Bracchi taking her briefly to his house before dropping her off at her hotel. They would be alone in his domain and the prospect made her entire body flood with anticipation.

Daniel took a turning to their right, gateposts and a forbidding-looking red and white sign in Italian indicated it was definitely off the tourist trail. The narrow road twisted and turned, stirring up a blur of olive trees, cypress, rock, and a dazzling blue-gold sea. Rianna gasped as they sped toward a lowered barrier across the road, but it miraculously rose up at the last moment, pointing reverently to the sky as if saluting Bracchi’s homecoming.

“It has sensors to detect admissible vehicles from two hundred metres,” Daniel added helpfully over the sound of the engine. “No one gets in here unless I say so.”

Now why didn’t that surprise her?

“Very James Bond,” Rianna muttered under her breath.

“He’s way behind the times,” Daniel replied with a wry smile as he stared straight ahead.

The car turned yet another corner and Rianna held her breath at the sight unfolding. Rising from a savage promontory, which towered above the sea, stood the most magnificent house she had ever seen. Sparkling white walls and columns were visible behind dark green vegetation and rocks, spread in levels over grand terraced blocks to blend into the natural cove. The contrast of the harsh, natural rock strata and the crisp lines of art deco architecture painted a picture that almost made her eyes sting. This had to be one of the most desirable properties in the world.

“Do you like it?” Daniel drove slickly into a gravel semi-circle at the base of the enormous cliff upon which the house was built, and leapt out of the car to open the passenger door.

Rianna craned her neck upwards, squinting at the temple-like property that was now a dark silhouette against the backdrop of a brilliant Ligurian sun. She felt as insignificant as an ant, standing meekly at the foot of something quite astonishing, still touching the hot metal of one of the most expensive cars on the road.

“Come,” Daniel said, gesturing for her to follow. “There’s only one way in. It’s very secure.”

Set in a natural alcove of the rock was a discreet lift, a door of black steel with a very small keypad, a CCTV camera and no other visible means of entry. If Rianna wasn’t so excited by it all, she’d probably be feeling scared. She’d seen this sort of thing in films with very close-knit Italian business associates and dark deals in shadowy corners.

Rianna slapped herself down immediately for getting carried away. Talk about an imagination! Daniel wasn’t the type to indulge in dead horse heads or similar acts of fiction and fantasy. That was far too visceral and messy for those exquisite hands of his, the same hands she watched punch in a seven-digit security code. God, she hoped she didn’t need to get out of this place in a hurry. Rianna pressed her hand to the inside pocket of her jacket to check her mobile was there, but deep in her heart, she knew she was in no particular hurry to leave.

Her gaze flickered around the lift interior. Steel, marble and mirrors. Lots of glass reflecting at least four different views of Daniel. Rianna swallowed and looked at the ceiling for some sort of reprise. She was met with the reflection of her own huge, anxious eyes and the dark sheen of Daniel’s head, which suddenly lifted and connected with her own nervous stare.

“It’s OK,” he drawled lazily. “I’m not going to try it on in here.”

Chapter Six

Daniel’s smile, reflected in the mirrored ceiling, held more than a hint of devilment. He was in control of the situation while she was virtually helpless and rapidly getting out of her depth. She suddenly had the awful feeling he could sense her vulnerability and like a hungry wolf, smell her fear. He must also know how much she wanted him.

Rianna squeezed her eyes shut. “No, of course you’re not,” she muttered, feeling herself weaken as his arm snaked easily across her shoulders. “That would be quite ridiculous. And unprofessional.”

Daniel’s chest vibrated with amusement and he gently stroked the bare area of skin under her earlobe with his fingertips. “Don’t be nervous,
gattina
. You have nothing to worry about. You’ve only seen my harsh side, the image I want the world to see. I can be who I want to be here, in my home, my sanctuary.”

Was this her CEO speaking to her like this? Or was it just Daniel Bracchi, the man, stroking her skin and sending shivers up and down her spine with every soft word? She couldn’t be sure, however appealing it would be to discover a warm, demonstrative man under the granite veneer he had worn in Wales.

Whatever the case, she couldn’t risk making a fool of herself with him. His arm draped around her, sending bolts of wildfire electricity through her body, was just the behaviour of a normal Italian male; friendly, physical, meaningless. It was up to her to snap out of it and not allow the proximity of his body to send her into a whirl of erotic fantasy and intoxication again. He could be in his eighties and he’d still behave that way. It was only in the UK that everyone was so uptight about physical contact. She shouldn’t read anything into it.

Anything at all.

And if she was really
smart, she would keep this whole experience on a one hundred percent business footing from now on. She had to shake off this dangerous infatuation. After all, just how many women had he brought back to this place? More to the point, how many women had he
had
? Rianna cringed at the thought as she remembered how easily he’d stripped her naked and brought her to orgasm. He’d clearly had a lot of practice.

She was only an accountant for a loss-making quarry in a struggling area of a struggling country, there to get a job done. That was her lot, a hundred million miles away from the luxurious hardships Daniel Bracchi sought to avoid.

The lift door swished open, and Daniel indicated that Rianna should exit first, but not before he caught her unawares with the curve of a smile on his lips. She stepped hesitantly into an enormous bright hallway. Her stiletto heels clicked like cicadas on the glass-smooth marble floor, and she took very small steps rather than face the humiliation of ending up on her backside. They walked toward a ceiling-height archway whose glass doors were flung open toward the sea outside, framing the scene like an oil painting.

The huge curved balcony Rianna found herself stepping onto was constructed from white stone and it sparkled with tiny veins of crystal in the bright sunshine. Vast urns held a profusion of ancient palms and exotic planting and a magenta Bougainvillea scrambled over the main walls of the house like graffiti.

“Amazing,” Rianna breathed as she leant over the balcony, her fingertips clinging on tightly.

As she felt the warm Mediterranean wind kiss her forehead and tumble her hair, she marvelled at the sight below. The harbour of Portofino looked like something out of a fairytale. Tiny vessels bobbed in the turquoise pool of the sea and the heat of the sun caused a haze, which gave the whole scene a dream-like quality. Green shuttered houses clung precariously to the steep cliffs and were so confused in their arrangement that the pastel-painted town appeared to be tumbling into the ocean, like a bag of sweets falling from a child’s hand.

“I thought you’d like to see the view first,” Daniel said, taking a deep, breath of salty air. “It never fails to remind me just who I am.”

“I’m not surprised,” Rianna said wryly. “You really need to be CEO of a multinational corporation to afford this.”

“Actually it reminds me that, ultimately, I’m just one tiny, insignificant speck in the grand scheme of things. We all are.” Daniel ran his hand along the roughness of the balustrade and frowned. “Come on, I’ll show you to your room.”

Rianna’s jaw dropped unseen behind his back as Daniel marched through an enormous sitting room leading off from the balcony. Her heels clattered like rain on glass in his wake. “My room?”

Daniel stopped in his tracks and turned to face her with a bemused expression. He then leant lazily against the arm of a brown leather sofa and crossed his arms and ankles as if he was waiting in the sun for a bus. “Yes, your
room
,” he replied with slow deliberation
.
“You don’t honestly think the Lewis Quarry profit and loss statement can cope with a week of hotel bills in Portofino, do you?”

“Well, I—I hadn’t really thought. I just assumed—”

“Then you assumed wrong. It would be completely reckless to waste money in such a way, especially when the financial situation is so precarious. And you an accountant?” He tutted mockingly. “I’m surprised at you. Besides, if we’re both here, we can work whenever, and however I deem necessary. Most satisfactory,
si
?”

Rianna felt a surge of anger at the patronising way he tilted his head to one side and smiled at her like a naughty infant, but she was determined not to let him know just how badly he was getting to her. “Of course, yes. Very satisfactory for all concerned.” Rianna wrenched on her tightest little smile as covert retaliation for the way he was making her squirm. “So the sooner I can get to my room, the quicker we can start on this project.”

“Indeed,” he replied with a knowing smile. “The sooner the better.”

Rianna could have kicked herself for using exactly the same phrase as Daniel had the night before outside her hotel room door. She had hoped he had completely forgotten about it. He clearly had
not
.

Rianna’s “room” turned out to have the floor space of an entire apartment. It was a spacious living area which had stunning sea views, and a vast suite of lounge furniture, oozing luxury. A working area set to the side had a desk, phone and laptop, everything one could possibly need in an office and there were paintings and antiques scattered tastefully throughout. Rianna peered quickly into the lavish vault of a pristine white and blue bathroom as Daniel whisked her past. It was about the same size as the entire ground floor of her gran’s house!

“I hope you will find everything in here to your liking,” Daniel said as she stood on the threshold of the bedroom.

Her fingers brushed the honey-coloured wooden doorframe as she stepped inside and held her breath. The entire space was a confection of white, cream and gold, flashed with blood-red accessories. The heavy dark wooden furniture was polished to a mellow gleam, and a light breeze filtered through gauzy floor length white curtains.

“It’s—it’s beautiful,” she breathed as she noticed her very own balcony beyond the curtain. “And
more
sea views. Wow!”

“There’s only one side of the house without a sea view. As you may have noticed, we’re on top of a wedge shaped cliff so the back of the place is actually set into the rock. The lift shafts are at the rear and I use the rest of it for dark and dingy domestic purposes. There’s the wine cellar, cinema, store rooms, and a panic room.”

“A panic room?”

“Don’t worry. It’s never been used and I don’t expect it ever will be.” He smiled reassuringly. “The last set of developers thought it would be a good idea, increase the value of the property, bring it up to date.”

“Oh, well, that’s a relief,” Rianna blustered. “I guess you can’t be too careful these days, not when you’re a billionaire. There must be threats everywhere you turn.”

“Not really. I’m comfortably well off, but there are much easier targets than Italian miners these days. All of this belongs to the Bracchi Trust, along with the helicopter and the jet. I’m afraid my dad still doesn’t trust me with the family millions.” His eyes sparkled. “I’ve been a very bad boy in the past and I’m not a billionaire. I hope you’re not disappointed.”

“Oh, no, of course not,” Rianna replied, wondering what had possessed her to make such an assumption in the first place. “I was just joking.”
How embarrassing
. With an unconvincing release of breath, her gaze was suddenly drawn to a completely out of place lump on the bed. Her battered suitcase sat awkwardly upon an expensive-looking counterpane—hand-embroidered by the look of it—and antique, which only served to highlight the shabbiness of her mail-order luggage.

At what point precisely had she thought a neon smiley address label and an enormous Welsh dragon sticker would be a good idea? She groaned inwardly as she remembered it hadn’t had an airing since her teens. It hadn’t seemed quite so embarrassing at home. In fact, she hadn’t even noticed the state it was in. God, he must think she was a complete peasant!