The Italian's Bedroom Deal (8 page)

She didn’t answer him. Since he’d hit the nail right on the head with his first shot, she thought there was no use denying it. He’d find out eventually anyway. And besides, what could he do? She had her own hotel room, her own money and credit cards and a map of the city. She could get around without his interference easily. “So are you going to follow me around and make sure I don’t meet any eligible men?” she asked sarcastically, furious with both him and herself for letting him discover her secret. Oh, he was infuriating!

He calmly leaned back in his chair, appearing as if her angry words didn’t bother him in the least. “No.”

That response surprised her. “Good!” But she could tell from his expression that he wasn’t finished. Instantly, her angry expression turned wary. He was up to something. After her initial satisfaction faded, she grew alarmed. She’d forgotten one essential issue when it came to dealing with Max.

He never lost a battle.

He smiled victoriously as he said, “I’m going to escort you around Italy and then bring you safely home to your father.”

Her mouth dropped open with outrage. “No, you’re not!” she almost yelled. Looking around to make sure they weren’t attracting attention from the other patrons of the café, she turned back to him, angry herself now. “You’re going to leave me alone and stop bothering me. I’m an adult and fully capable of making my own decisions. So just leave me alone, Max!”

His eyes fired as they looked at her across the table. “You haven’t stopped bothering me since I held you in my arms several weeks ago. So why should I stop bothering you?”

Clarissa wasn’t sure what he meant by that. Was he referring to the time when he kissed her? Had it been that bad? And what did he mean by ‘bothering’ him? That was too ambiguous but she was afraid to ask for clarification. “I haven’t done anything to bother you. And you’re being completely unreasonable. I’m not going anywhere with you so just leave!”

He smiled at her abuse, impressed despite himself that she would have the courage to stand up to him like this. Even the more seasoned executives had the courage to fight him like Clarissa did. Unfortunately for his state of mind, it only turned him on more. “I’m afraid that’s not possible, cara,” he replied with a controlled air.

She eyed his large frame with frustration. There wasn’t anything she could do if he didn’t want to move although she desperately wished she had the strength to move him physically. He was too big and too muscular for her to do anything to, so she’d just have to be satisfied with glaring her anger at him. “Fine. I’ll find some other place to have coffee.” She stood up and picked up her bag. “Don’t follow me. You’re not wanted or needed.”

“Is that true?” he asked, his eyes moving down her figure clad in a red and white striped shirt which clung to her breasts and slender waist, all the way to her white jeans. His look froze her to the stop and she stood there, her breath coming more heavily, her breasts peaking and her eyes dropped to his involuntarily. “I bet I could make you want me,” he replied softly.

She bit her lip and watched him, ached for him. It was with supreme effort that she pulled her gaze away from his, breaking the hypnotic power of his words and his look. “Not anymore, Max. You turned me down. Remember? That shut down all desire I had for you so please,” she finished with a deep breath, “leave me alone. I have a mission to accomplish and you’re only hindering my goal.” She prayed he wouldn’t call her on the lie.

Max stood up and cursed under his breath, tossing several bills down to cover their coffee before grabbing her elbow and marching both of them out of the café. “You’re being ridiculous!” he snapped.

She tried to pull her elbow out of his grip but he wouldn’t allow her to. His grip wasn’t painful, but was definitely firm enough to guide her out of the small café. “We’ve had this conversation before, Max. And it didn’t get us anywhere. Let go of me,” she demanded.

Ignoring her indignation, Max hustled her into the back of a waiting limousine and Clarissa almost screamed at how easy it had been for him to get her to do his will. Crossing her arms over her chest, she fumed and glared back at him, getting angrier as she watched the amusement light his face.

“You’re a real brute, Max. I never would have thought that of you.”

He tossed back his head and laughed. “And you are adorable when you glare at me like that.” He leaned forward, his eyes catching and holding her own gaze captive. “You’re cheeks turn a becoming shade of pink, you’re eyes are a soft, sweet violet, the exact opposite of what you are feeling inside, eh cara?” He smiled as the color in her cheeks increased. “Not to mention you’re lovely breasts which are pushing against that very interesting shirt you are wearing.” His eyes dropped to her breasts, then back to her eyes. “You feel it too, don’t you?”

She groaned in frustration and turned away from him, staring out the windows. “Where are we going, anyway?” she demanded.

“We’ll see the bigger sites initially and then I’ll take you to my favorite places. I’ll show you the wonderful museums that aren’t as well known but are still worth the time to investigate.”

True to his word, Max took her to the Coliseum, the Vatican, the incredible paintings by Michelangelo and all the mysterious, beautiful and exciting areas in between.

Max was the ultimate tour guide. He was charming and knowledgeable, knowing a huge assortment of facts about Rome as well as Milan and Venice, the two cities they traveled to after Rome. He took her to all the best restaurants, some of them nothing more than a small three or four table dining room with chaotic waiters and mouth-watering food as well as the more famous restaurants that catered to the wealthy Italians and tourists that came through, expecting exquisite dining experiences.

Unfortunately, he was also controlling, irritating and drove her completely nuts with his presence. He touched her in small ways that distracted her thoughts to the point that she wasn’t sure what he was saying at times. The heat of his body was always present and she wanted nothing better than to crawl into his arms whenever he was more than a few inches from her.

While they stayed in Rome, he managed to somehow have her luggage delivered to his penthouse where he demanded that she stay instead of the hotel, which he declared too unsafe. In Milan, they stayed at a villa just outside the city and each evening, Clarissa was surrounded by a magnificent garden scented with beautiful flowers.

Instead of taking the public transportation, which could be a circus at the best of times, there was always a chauffer driven limousine waiting for them, except in Venice where he had arranged a boat to transport them around the various canals.

The whole time, Clarissa was irritated by his gentlemanly behavior and constantly wished he didn’t have scruples. The only thing that could have made the trip better was to find herself in bed with her handsome tour guide.

Unfortunately, that never happened and she returned home, frustrated, angry and still a virgin.

Chapter 6

“I understand you showed Clarissa around Italy last week,” James said casually as they sipped dark liquid in the soft leather chairs of Max’s private clubhouse several days after their return. The two men had just finished a game of golf and were relaxing in the lounge.

“Yes. She wasn’t very impressed initially,” Max replied, not looking at James. He didn’t want Clarissa’s father to see the frustration that frizzled just under the surface whenever Clarissa’s name came up. Or whenever he thought of her lush, ripe body. Or her full, pink lips that she bit whenever she was nervous. Or angry, he smiled.

Dammit, he couldn’t even think of the woman without getting both irritated and instantaneously aroused. What was she doing to him?

“She needs to get married,” James was saying. “But all the men I’ve introduced her to haven’t seemed to interest her in the least. I’m a little bit at a loss to figure out what to do to help her find a husband.”

“She doesn’t want to get married,” Max grated out. It still irritated him that she would think in that way. It seemed to go against all the laws of nature. Which was ironic when he considered all of the women who had proposed to him or tried to manipulate him into proposing. Clarissa was different though. In so many ways, he knew.

James guffawed. “Of course she does. She just doesn’t know it yet. More perfect wife material, I’ve never known. Besides her mother.”

That sparked a question in Max’s mind. “Excuse me for asking because I realize it’s none of my business. But what happened with Clarissa’s mother?”

James’ eyes became hooded and he looked down at the amber liquid in his glass. “She died in childbirth. She was lovely. And sweet. Looked exactly like Clarissa. Didn’t let me get away with anything either.” He sighed and took a sip of his drink. “I’ll be the first to admit that I was a bastard father to Clarissa. She was raised more by the servants than by me.”

“Why is that?” he asked, angry on behalf of Clarissa. He knew that any child of his would be cosseted and spoiled, loved beyond measure. He couldn’t imagine a father abandoning his child to the raising of servants. It was too important a task to delegate to anyone.

James shrugged and looked around. “Initially, I was too devastated by the death of her mother to be able to pay attention to the little baby girl. Then, as she grew up, I didn’t understand her. Jeanie was the patient one. She would make sure everything was in order and make sure I didn’t take myself too seriously. I just sort of lost track of the years.”

“Clarissa is a very beautiful woman,” Max acknowledged. And sexy and irritating and blindingly lovely, not to mention witty, intelligent and a delight to talk with. He didn’t think James would appreciate the full force of his feelings for his only daughter.

James smiled and glanced sideways at the man he respected above all others. “I agree. I don’t think she knows how beautiful she really is though. That makes things a little dangerous.”

Those words were ominous. “She has body guards, correct?” He thought he’d seen them shadowing her on several occasions but they might have just been various men who thought she was as beautiful to look at as he did. That thought made his teeth clench in anger and jealousy.

“Oh, yes. Although Clarissa doesn’t know it. They’re not obvious. I’ve tried to ensure that at least. She’s always wanted to live a normal life. That doesn’t make any sense to me. She’s not normal, dammit!” he grated out. “She’s my daughter and she needs to be protected.”

James’ words relaxed Max and he sat back in his leather chair. He was glad Clarissa’s father wasn’t the unfeeling brute he’d originally considered him to be. “She knows about the guards.” Max took a sip of his brandy, thoughts tumbling through his mind a mile a minute.

That surprised James. “She does? How does she know? They’re supposed to make sure they blend in and remain in the background.”

Max raised an eyebrow at the man’s obtuse attitude toward his only child. “She’s not stupid, James.”

That stunned him. “I know she’s not stupid but I hired the best! How did she figure it out? I thought they were pretty good myself.”

Max smiled derisively. “She’s very intuitive. Perhaps after several years of seeing the same men wherever she goes, she put two and two together.”

James’ shoulders slumped in defeat. “Well, yes. I suppose.” He considered that for a long moment before relaxing once again. He stared into his drink, contemplating something deeply as he frowned. “So she knows about the body guards. Is she angry?”

Max couldn’t fathom why the man asked him. Didn’t he know his daughter at all? “She endures them for your sake.”

James looked up, confused. “Why for me?”

He shrugged one shoulder dismissively. “She doesn’t want to worry your mind.” Max couldn’t believe that he’d known Clarissa for only a few months but he obviously knew more about her than her own father did.

After a moment of stunned silence, James chuckled as Max’s words sank in. “She’s just as sweet as her mother, isn’t she?” He cleared his throat once again. “Well, thinking about it, I know I need to do something about getting her a husband. I’m sure she’s having a hard time meeting men being alone so much. I’m not sure what she does all day in that tiny little cottage she refurbished. I guess she reads a lot of books.”

Max wanted to punch the man for being so unaware of Clarissa’s life. How could anyone be so unengaged with their family, much less their only child? “She’s a translator. She works independently but she’s pretty good. I found out that one of my companies has used her on several occasions.” Dios, Max thought. How could a father not know anything about his daughter’s daily activities?

“A translator?” James asked, stunned. “Really?” His smile started off slowly but grew to encompass his entire face. “Well, I’ll be.” James shook his head at that revelation. “Her mother always wanted to write books. That’s how I met her. She was in the park, doodling on a notebook.”

“She’s good,” Max replied, taking another sip of his drink and trying to smother his irritation. Deciding that the liquor wasn’t going to work, he set his glass on the table in front of him and started to stand up. “I have to go.”

James stopped him, laying a hand on Max’s arm. “Bear with me for a moment, if you could. I had an idea and I think you might be just the man for the job.”

Max looked at James for a long moment, considering how he could deal with a man who was so oblivious to such a stunningly beautiful and intelligent daughter who lived right under his nose. Accepting that there was more to the relationship than he could understand, Max nodded and sat back down. “What’s on your mind?”