At Her Latin Lover's Command

‘You’re denying me my child!’ she cried, white-faced and terrified. ‘Any woman would go crazy with grief—!’

‘Spare me the hearts and flowers,’ he snapped. ‘I don’t buy that one. The trouble is, Miranda, you didn’t hear me out. You were too ready to condemn me, to jump to conclusions. You cannot deny that I have Carlo’s interests at heart.’

‘Only in your own, twisted way,’ she retorted sulkily.

He glared. ‘I’ll ignore that. Unfortunately, where my son’s interests are concerned, it seems I have to take you into account.’

The breath left her lungs. She stared at him warily. Yes. He would come up with a solution—and if it included her… Oh, God! What was his Machiavellian mind focused on now?

With a trembling hand she slicked dislodged strands of pale hair back into her chignon, playing for time, for a moment to think.

‘Let me know when you are satisfied with your appearance,’ Dante drawled, ‘and I’ll tell you something to your advantage.’

She met his mocking gaze head-on and wished her glare could fell him on the spot. ‘Spit it out.’

Italian through and through, he winced at her deliberate choice of phrase. ‘Sit,’ he snapped, as if talking to a disobedient dog.

Naturally she remained standing. In proud defiance she lifted her chin and drew up the whole slender length of her body. His eyes dropped to her heaving breasts, then the neat, wasp waist. It felt as if he was branding her, the caress of his gaze as it slid over her curving hips forcing her to squeeze her thighs together in an attempt to deny her shameful response.

She only hoped that he couldn’t read the signals of her treacherous body. In case he thought she was a pushover, she spoke more forcefully than necessary.

‘I won’t be bullied—not by you or anybody!’ she seethed. Her ice-blue eyes simmered with silvery lights and she lifted her chin high in defiance.

And, thunderously angry for some reason, he turned and walked to the window, his usually liquid movements strangely jerky and uncoordinated. The set of his broad shoulders was daunting, however, and she bit her lip.

That was what he wanted, she thought. To dominate her. To teach her that no one ever crossed him and came away laughing.

Mutinously, she scowled. She hadn’t done anything wrong. One day she’d discover what had happened to her that night. And she’d make Dante apologise for doubting her. He’d grovel—she’d see to that!

‘Carlo needs you,’ he stated in a distant, chillingly frosty voice.

‘At least we agree on something,’ she said sharply.

‘Therefore,’ he continued, as if she hadn’t spoken, ‘I have decided that you will live here.’

Her eyes widened as her jaw dropped. Seconds ticked away before she could jerk out an astonished,

‘What?’

In a haughty gesture he swung back on his heel to face her.

‘You will have total access to him,’ Dante went on as if she hadn’t spoken.

‘You—you’re letting me have him?’ she gasped, her face suddenly radiant with hope.

The black eyes flashed and his mouth tightened.

‘No.’

She slumped down in the chair, feeling as if he’d hurled a bucket of iced water over her. She passed a shaking hand over the smooth silk of her hair.

‘Then what? My patience is exhausted. If you don’t tell me exactly what you’re proposing,’ she grated, ‘I’ll start smashing things.’ With a menacing glare, she picked up a figurine from the desk and held the voluptuous ivory in her cold and trembling hand. ‘Starting with this!’

‘I’m trying to,’ he gritted. ‘I am not finding this easy—’

‘Do you think I care?’ she flung.

His expression became utterly forbidding and closed.

‘No,’ he answered quietly. ‘I don’t think you do. Still, at least that will make your part in this less difficult. You will be able to consider this as a business arrangement.’

‘A…what?’ she gasped.

‘We will be colleagues, as we were once before. It worked well then—’

‘I was your secretary!’ She frowned, puzzled. ‘Is that what you want? I am to work for you?’

‘Not exactly. I don’t think either of us would want the hothouse atmosphere. Me in this chair dictating letters, you sitting there…’

His hoarse rebuttal croaked to a halt. But it had reminded her of the heady days when she was falling in love with him. The way he’d watched her, his dark eyes turning her knees to water, ruining her concentration so that he’d had to come close and go through her shorthand notes, one hand on the back of her chair, his breath whispering on the hairs at the back of her neck.

She gulped and shifted in the seat because of the pooling heat in her loins.

He looked grim, his lips pressed firmly together as though he had loathed the charade he’d had to act out, the pretence of falling in love with his secretary.

Whereas it had been a roller coaster of ecstasy for her. Tense moments of excitement. The thrill of seeing him so cool and businesslike at meetings, knowing they had just made love across his desk…

‘What, then?’ she jerked out, hurting from the self-torture of those wild memories of unbelievable pleasure.

He took his time to answer, his chest rising and falling several times before he was ready. By which time she hated him for keeping her dangling.

‘I propose,’ he said tautly, ‘that you will live in this house. I want people to assume we are a perfectly normal husband and wife—’

‘That’s not likely when we’re at daggers drawn,’ she said caustically.

‘They won’t know that. Must not know that. To all intents and purposes we will seem to be on good terms,’ he snapped. ‘For our son’s sake we will be polite and courteous to one another in public. We will appear at functions together. It is not necessary that we give an impression that we lust after one another—that would be asking too much of me,’ he added scathingly, ‘but we will keep up appearances—’

‘You must be joking!’ she gasped.

‘Deadly serious. There will be no bickering, no acid-tipped remarks, and no double meanings in our conversation when Carlo or others are around.’

His eyes were frighteningly remote. Miranda shrank back, absorbing his extraordinary suggestion and the catalogue of dos and don’ts, her face pale with shock.

For several seconds he studied her, then when she said nothing but remained trembling and astonished, he firmed his mouth and continued.

‘In your private life,’ he said tautly, ‘you will be irreproachable. You will not get drunk. You will not take drugs. You will never, never,’ he roared suddenly, making her jump, ‘be indiscreet and cause a scandal by taking a lover. If you do, you’re out of here. Is that understood?’

She felt as if he’d hit her with a steam-hammer. He wanted her to live here as his wife. The thought of living with Dante and not making love with him was impossible to imagine.

‘You want me to live like a nun for the rest of my life?’ she asked slowly.

‘Too difficult?’ he scorned.

The way things were, she never wanted to commit herself to another man again. Her plush mouth thinned. Stunned and still trying to absorb his suggestion, she pretended indifference.

‘I’m just establishing the ground rules.’

‘One of which is that you will be chaste and above suspicion. That is my ultimatum. As I said, if you break it, I will throw you out to fend for yourself. And you will never see Carlo again.’

She put a hand to her temple where a pulse throbbed painfully. ‘That’s why you wanted him out of the way! If I refuse this…gross proposition, then you intend to hide him until I leave! Well, I have no intention of agreeing to your cold-blooded solution. I couldn’t possibly live with you! I won’t go, either,’ she defied. ‘I’ll stay here until—’

‘The police will escort you from the premises,’ he stated smoothly.

He smiled faintly when her shoulders dropped, a give-away, she thought in despair, that she was at the end of her tether.

‘Maybe. But I won’t go quietly! I’ll raise hell!’ she threatened.

‘Then everyone will sympathise with me about the fishwife I mistakenly married,’ he flung back. ‘Your attitude would affect your chances of access. Besides, no one will believe anything you say. I will reveal my reasons for keeping you from Carlo and the courts will uphold my request for sole custody. You will be deported as an undesirable.’

Her eyes darkened to violet. Now she was clutching at straws, searching for anything to fight him with. Tears welled up as she thought of Carlo’s unhappiness and she racked her brains for a way to gain mastery over Dante.

‘In that case, I will walk away quietly,’ she amended, ‘and stay near by. People will murmur and wonder why my son is so sad and why I stand at your gates hoping for a glimpse of him!’ she hurled.

His jaw set hard. ‘You have no money, Miranda. How will you survive? Or…is that a silly question when your assets are clearly displayed before me?’

‘You are obsessed with whoring!’ she yelled in frustration, hating the fact that he was right about her poverty and seeing no way out but to surrender. In one final stab, she snapped, ‘Strange that you were perfectly happy for me to play the whore for you in bed!’

‘And anywhere else, for that matter. You did it so well,’ he murmured, so mockingly sexy that her breath began to jerk in the furnace of her body. ‘But those days are over. And I find it interesting that you see your role in that light. I fondly imagined you were enjoying uninhibited sex with the man you loved. But of course, you had sold yourself to me, hadn’t you?’

The look in his eyes belied his remark that their physical relationship had ended. A desperate and unstoppable desire heated the air between them. Hunger was in every tense inch of his body. She had seen it too often before to doubt the evidence of her own eyes. He wanted her.

As much—heaven help her—as she wanted him. They were still physically tied and it would take a while before their passion for one another waned. The memories were too recent, too intense, and too ecstatic.

She felt hot, the electrically charged atmosphere swamping her senses. It took a huge effort of will to reject his unspoken invitation. Yet she must, because otherwise he’d destroy her.

There was something more important to consider. Carlo. She had no doubt that Dante would carry out all his threats. It seemed she had no choice.

‘If—if—I should agree to your disgusting plan,’ she croaked, ‘then I’d want your guarantee that you won’t touch me.’

How odd. Immediately after she’d made this stipulation she felt miserable…empty, at the thought of never reconciling with Dante. After all, she’d never be able to trust him again. Or to respect him. She sighed. Bodies were odd things—totally at odds with one’s brain.

Dante’s intake of breath broke the spell and he seemed to withdraw into himself, his head lifting proudly.

‘I would rather kiss a cockroach,’ he drawled.

She flinched at his vile insult. ‘The feeling’s mutual.’ Or it would be, once she’d got over him. ‘Let’s get something straight,’ she said with dignity. ‘I was ill when you abandoned me that night. I could have been seriously ill for all you knew. In fact it took days before I felt better. Not only did you take our son away—although I’d looked after him devotedly—’

‘That’s debatable—’

‘Devotedly!’ she emphasized. ‘But you scuttled away and secreted yourself away somewhere, too afraid to face me. Those are the actions of a heartless, callous man. Someone who is an abject coward, Dante! And to think I once believed you were hero material! Huh!’ she scorned. ‘I despise you. How could I possibly be polite to you when I feel hatred and loathing and contempt for you?’

His shoulders hooked up in a shrug but she could see from the tautness of his mouth that her words had struck home.

‘You must realise that I had to remove Carlo from you,’ he said in a choked tone, his eyes lowered so that she could not see if they were pained. ‘I had to give him a chance to be without you and your malign influence. I didn’t like doing it—and I don’t like doing this, Miranda. But for his sake, I must. Maybe I can wean him from you. I don’t know. But as sure as hell, you will never be alone with him!’

So he’d make her play his game of happy families—and then get rid of her! No way.

And yet he’d acted in good faith. He’d thought he was doing the right thing where Carlo was concerned. That did alter her opinion of him a little. And so she tried another tack, giving him a chance to salvage his pride and admit he’d been wrong to think he could bring up Carlo.

‘Dante. I realise this must be hard for you,’ she began more evenly.

‘Hard? That is an understatement,’ he muttered, his gaze fixed grimly on his glove-soft shoes.

‘For the moment, we can’t agree about what happened that evening,’ she went on, trying to stay level-headed. His suggestion was unworkable. He must see that. ‘But we can agree about one thing: Carlo’s best interests. You love him. And you know in your heart of hearts that he’ll be happier with me in England—’

‘Until you neglect him again and then he’ll be miserable!’ Dante exploded. ‘I can’t let you have him! I’d never sleep. I’d go out of my mind with worry!’

His anguish was genuine. He really cared about Carlo and, because he believed she’d been selfish and promiscuous while he was on business trips, he was trying to protect his son. That was laudable—if misguided. Carlo didn’t need protecting from her.

‘I promise you—’ she began fervently.

‘No! I will not risk my son’s happiness on the promise of a woman I don’t trust and who has deceived me all down the line! That is my final word!’ Dante snapped.

He was convinced that he was justified in his actions. Like her, he would die for their child. Dante would not waver in his determination, she knew him too well.

They were going round in circles. Wearily she passed a hand over her aching head. Lack of sleep and food, the constant tension as she had hunted for Dante in his commercial outlets around Europe, had taken their toll. She was close to giving in. It would be easier than this constant fighting…

‘Let’s explore your suggestion. Supposing I agreed,’ she said, her voice shaking with exhaustion. ‘What is your intention? That I would live here, in a room of my own?’

‘Not exactly. You would have your own apartments but you would reach them from my suite of rooms to avert scandal and gossip. The young woman I have in mind for your personal maid is a distant cousin. She can be trusted not to divulge any secrets of our sleeping arrangements. You would, in effect, be alone. And let me say that if you are tempted to try your luck with me, you’ll find a padlock the size of a dinner plate on my side of the door,’ he added scathingly.

She flushed. ‘I’m relieved to hear that. We can both stick to kissing cockroaches! One more thing. If I did come to stay, I would want to earn my own living,’ she stipulated. ‘As a secretary,’ she added, seeing where his vile mind was heading.

He looked down his nose at her. ‘The wife of a count does not work.’

‘A count!’ she exclaimed. ‘My, my, we have come up in the world. I wouldn’t stand a chance if I took you to court, would I?’

‘Not a hope.’

She stared at him, suddenly crushed by his loathing and the prospect of living a lie.

‘I couldn’t do it!’ she whispered.

‘Not for Carlo? Then do it for the life of luxury,’ he said coldly. ‘You will have a generous allowance and a credit card, the bills for which I will pay. I will make provision for you in my will, in the event of my death. On the condition that—’

‘I behave like a nun.’

He bowed his head in acknowledgement. ‘A woman of impeccable morality will do.’

All of a sudden she wanted to be free of him. Of his overwhelming presence, his suffocating dominance. The occasional drifts of vanilla fragrance she recognised which clung discreetly to his body, and which she had once inhaled with joyous delight as her mouth had explored every inch of him. All this was clouding her senses, making her head whirl.

‘I’d be mad to agree! You would have a terrible hold over me,’ she muttered. ‘You could manipulate everything I did—’

‘Forget what’s gone between us. Think of our son. All I want is for him to feel secure and happy.’ He pushed his hands into his trouser pockets, looking worried. ‘If you love him, as you say you do, then surely you want that too? You see, Miranda, I will never let him go. He belongs here. This is his heritage, his right. A glorious future. Would you deny him that?’

‘He needs to be loved more than he needs material wealth—’ she began shakily.

‘He will be loved!’ Dante snapped.

‘In a coldly polite atmosphere that will surround his parents?’

He folded his arms, his eyes blazing at the prospect of being thwarted.

‘If you come here, I am sure we would both do our utmost to put the past behind us and make the best of this mess. It’s the only way, Miranda, believe me. I’ve spent hours pacing up and down thinking of a solution. This is the only one I can live with.’

She bit her lip, wavering. It sounded so simple, the way he put it. Cut and dried. And horribly emotionless. She’d never known him to be so cold and remote.

‘I don’t know… I need time. I want to be alone, to think this over.’

His face darkened. ‘What is there to think about? Personally, I would give up everything for my son.’

His criticism was plain. ‘Then let me have a small house here and bring him up—’ she began eagerly.

‘No!’ He looked shocked. ‘I couldn’t trust you to care for him properly. Besides, Carlo will inherit from me. The business. The silk mills, the outlets, the offices around the world. This estate. The flat in Milan, the villa on the Veneto and the house in Antigua. To say nothing of the fortune behind it all. He needs to know how to handle wealth. How to run the business—’

‘He’s only three!’ she wailed, stunned by the extent of Dante’s inheritance. Suddenly she felt out of her depth. Dante had the whip hand.

‘And if he grows up here, he will learn naturally how to deal with people. He will learn that power brings responsibility and carries with it a sense of duty,’ Dante snapped. ‘One day he will be Il Conte Severini. He must not shame the name and blunder about helplessly because he doesn’t know how to behave. Or do you want your son to be disinherited and for my brother, Guido, to take his place?’

She shuddered at the mention of Guido’s name but didn’t know why. There was a foul taste in her mouth suddenly. All her instincts were railing against Guido inheriting Carlo’s birthright.

‘You’re asking a lot of me. Let me think,’ she said weakly. ‘Please! It’s such an important step. We’d be committed to living a lie for the rest of our lives!’

It seemed a prison sentence. But she knew in her heart of hearts that she would do anything for her child…even this, if she could come up with no other solution.

Her head ached. Frowning, she rubbed at her temple, knowing she needed privacy to work things out. To come to terms with her frightening future.

Slowly she lifted her head and gazed at Dante with huge, tear-washed eyes, her mouth trembling with misery and fatigue.

He seemed remote, the honeyed skin taut over his cheekbones, his lips no longer curved in a sensual arch but pressed into a hard, grim line. He would never relent, she thought in desperation, and felt like weeping at her defeat.

‘Please, Dante! Give me time!’ she whispered again.

There was no indication in his face that he recognised this, not even when two huge, crystal teardrops squeezed from each corner of her eyes. As she saw his stony expression, the granite of his jaw, her whole body drooped. She was hanging on by a thread and he didn’t give a damn.

‘As you wish,’ he said in an uncharacteristic rasp. Perhaps he was angry that she hadn’t agreed immediately, and was trying to conceal his rage, she thought dully. ‘Perhaps some fresh air will help. I will show you the way to the garden, where you can consider my offer. You’ve got an hour. No longer.’

Again that jerky walk. A shaking hand on the doorknob that betrayed his tension. Puzzled, she wondered just how badly Dante wanted to ‘keep up appearances’. Presumably it had been pointed out to him that it was not proper for him to be married and to live apart from his wife. Maybe the Italian aristocracy would frown on divorce.

If so, she thought tiredly, following him down the stairs, she had a small advantage. Perhaps she could push through some alterations to his ruthless plan…

‘Darling!’

Already heading for the back of the hall, they both whirled at the trilling cry. Miranda saw that the tall, elegant figure of Dante’s mother stood in the open doorway, framed against the sunlight, her arms held out in a typically generous welcome.

‘Sonniva!’ Miranda said in surprise. And to her horror, she gave a little choking cry.

‘My dear! Oh, you poor darling!’ crooned Sonniva, clacking rapidly across the chequered marble.

And then Miranda was enveloped in silken arms, the bird-like body grasping her with surprising energy, two gentle hands stroking and soothing her as if she were a child.

‘O, povera piccolina! You poor little one! How glad I am to see you,’ Dante’s mother murmured, great wafts of Paradiso perfume drifting enticingly into Miranda’s senses. ‘It must have been so hard, being in an isolation hospital and not allowed to see your own husband and child! I’m thrilled you’re better now. But you look so thin!’ she chided, taking Miranda’s startled face between her palms. ‘And pale! Dante! She is still not well. We must look after you. Red wine and chocolates, yes?’ She lowered her voice to a whisper. ‘The fever. All is well now? The hospital has let you go and you are here to stay?’

She took a deep breath, feeling wrecked. Her eyes slipped to Dante. She was shocked to see how alarmed he looked. So that was the story—that she’d been in hospital with a dangerously contagious illness. What a liar he was!

‘Miranda, darling!’ crooned Sonniva in concern. ‘You look…how do I say it?….dazed. Dante, she is staying, isn’t she? Oh, he’s been such a bear without you! And I couldn’t bear little Carlo to cry so pitifully for his mama again!’

‘You’re exaggerating, Mama—’ Dante began.

But the damage was done. ‘Oh, dear heaven!’ Miranda whispered, utterly broken by Sonniva’s final sentence. She drew in a shuddering breath. ‘Yes. Yes. I’m staying.’

Dante’s relief was palpable. She was aware of the relaxing of his muscles, one by one, and knew that she must do everything in her power to prove to him that she had been wrongfully accused. Or her life would be an utter hell.

CHAPTER FIVE

‘I WILL collect Carlo for you,’ Sonniva said decisively. ‘Dante has done his best to be a mother and father while you’ve been in hospital, you can be sure, Miranda. He has been so attentive, so loving to our little darling. To cheer him up today, Dante arranged a little entertainment after nursery—a trip on the train, a fun party with some friends and a garden full of…come si dice?’ she asked, turning to the impassive Dante.

‘Bouncy castles and play equipment,’ he provided. ‘Thank you, Mama. I’d be glad if you will collect him from his friends in Cadenabbia. Miranda will have a chance to rest before Carlo returns.’

‘And you two can be together. What a thrill for you! Allora. You can “rest” with her, Dante, yes? But don’t exhaust her. See you in a while, darlings.’

With her eyes twinkling mischievously, Sonniva blew kisses and breezed out.

‘Thank you,’ Dante said hoarsely.

‘For what? Helping you to lie to your own mother? How low will you stoop, Dante?’ she asked with contempt.

‘For my son, I will do anything,’ he muttered.