Emma made the tough trip to Missouri and confronted her mother about her gambling addiction. She called it that: an addiction. Her mother cried, but confessed her weakness and her need.
Emma required her mother to personally pay off her creditors. Then her mother agreed that she needed help. Emma proposed on-site treatment and to her surprise, her mother leaped at the opportunity. She helped her mother pack and joined her on a flight to the treatment facility she hoped would get her mother on the right track.
Seventy-two hours after she’d first left Las Vegas, her return flight touched down on the runway back home. She was so exhausted she could cry, but she still needed to grab a cab and go home.
She pulled her carry-on bag through the airport, past the slot machines that lured arrival passengers to take a chance and win. The big jackpot was only one pull of the handle away. The thought made her stomach turn. The elusive promise of winning big had continually seduced her mother and made her home life unstable.
Emma didn’t believe in the big payoff. In fact, she feared the promise of it, because it never lasted. She walked outside the terminal to catch a cab. Instead of a taxi, however, a low-slung Ferrari pulled alongside the curb and stopped.
Her heart took a dip. It couldn’t possibly be Damien. She hadn’t been in touch with him since she’d left.
But there he was, stepping out of the driver’s side of the car and taking her bag to put it in the trunk. Too weary to be anything but grateful, Emma slid inside the passenger seat and practically melted into the leather.
“How’d it go?” he asked, pulling forward.
“As well as could be expected,” she said, leaning back against the headrest. “My mother admitted she has a huge problem and wanted help. All I had to do was mention a treatment facility and she jumped at the opportunity.”
“Good. She’s lucky to have you as her daughter,” he said.
Emma closed her eyes. “It’s crazy, but when I was little, I always wondered if she had this problem because of me. Maybe if I hadn’t been born or if I was different or—”
“None of that,” Damien said with a hint of ruthlessness in his voice. “You’re the best thing your mother has. I bet she would say the same thing.”
Emma took a deep breath at the same time her heart fluttered. She didn’t want to be under Damien’s spell. She wanted, no needed, to be in control. “Thank you for picking me up at the airport.”
“You’re welcome,” he said. “Do you need anything to eat?”
Emma shook her head at the same time her stomach growled. “Kids’ meal takeout would be great.”
“Can do,” he said and within minutes placed an order at a drive-thru window.
Emma opened her eyes when Damien paid. The fast food server gawked at the Ferrari.
She smiled. “I guess he doesn’t see these every day.”
“Guess not,” Damien said, sliding a sideways glance at her as she dug into a kids’ meal cheeseburger with mustard and pickles. “How is it?”
“Not quite the level of Allister’s, but ambrosia at the moment,” she said.
“I’m taking you back to my condo tonight. Your place is further from the airport and since tomorrow is Sunday, I thought you could sleep in.”
Too weary to argue, she moved her head in a circle. “I’m sure I’ll fall asleep the second my head hits the pillow.”
In fact, Emma must have fallen asleep as soon as she finished her burger and a few fries. She awakened to being carried in Damien’s armsinside a dimly lit room where she’d never been.
Shaking her head, she glanced around. “What—”
“Shh, you’ll wake up the baby,” he said.
Emma blinked. Baby? Then she realized Damien was referring to her. She couldn’t swallow a soft laugh. “Already done. The baby’s awake and wants to brush her teeth and wash her face before she goes into a coma again.”
He allowed her to slide down his body until her feet touched the floor. “Master bath is to the right. My housekeeper keeps a basket of toiletries underneath the sink.”
After a stressful trip and a day of harsh travel, Damien’s voice soothed her nerves and his strength felt like a warm blanket. “Thank you for bringing me upstairs.”
“No problem,” he said. “Do you want a bath?”
“That sounds wonderful,” she said. “Tomorrow.” Emma padded into the luxurious bathroom and quickly washed her face and brushed her teeth. Realizing she needed her gown, she remembered it was in her bag. She returned to the bedroom. “My ba—” She broke off when she saw Damien standing in nothing but lounge pants. His gleaming broad shoulders and bare chest captured her attention.
“You needed something?” he prompted.
Despite the fact that she should be too tired to keep her eyes open let alone gawk at Damien’s body, she couldn’t fight a ripple of awareness that ran throughout her body. She cleared her throat. “My bag. I need my gown.”
He nodded toward the side of the room where she stood. “There.”
She glanced in the same direction he had, sheepish that the bag had been positioned right beside her. Pulling her gown from her carry-on, she scooted back into the bathroom and put it on. Moments later, she returned to find Damien already in bed with the covers folded back.
Feeling a strange twist of nerves, she climbed into bed, hugging the opposite side. Three heartbeats later, she felt his hand wrap around her belly, and he pulled her back against the front of him. “Relax,” he said in a low voice against her ear. “Go to sleep.”
Seconds later, she did.
The next morning she awakened to the delicious sensation of being in his arms. He nuzzled the back of her neck and she held her breath in anticipation of him making love to her. Instead, he got out of bed. “Be lazy,” he instructed her. “I’ll be reading the paper outside on the terrace.”
Surprised that he hadn’t taken sexual advantage of sharing a bed with her, she stared after him for a moment. Then she decided to follow orders and fell back asleep.
After a leisurely bath, she joined him and sunned on the terrace wearing a pair of his shorts and a cutoff black T-shirt. They snacked on sandwiches prepared by his housekeeper. He touched her frequently, stroking her hair, sliding his hand over the bare skin of her torso.
The intermittent contact put her in a state of perpetual awareness. She felt as if a low hum of arousal buzzed inside her. He almost made her forget that they had made a deal, and she had practically sold herself to him.
He surprised her by preparing dinner. “All the Medici men cook. My father taught us at a young age. His father taught him and so on.”
Emma watched him as he prepared a sauce with plum tomatoes, spinach, olive oil, spices. “That smells delicious.”
“It will be,” he said.
“Did your father ever live in Italy? Or was he raised here?”
Damien’s jaw tightened. “He moved to the States when he was seventeen. His family went through a rough time in Italy and his father lost the family home in a business deal where he was cheated. Pretty much ruined them.”
“That’s terrible,” she said.
He nodded. “Yeah. Things were looking up for my father right before he died, and everything fell apart again.”
“You miss him,” she said, sensing his grief.
“Yes. It was ironic. He and his brothers and sisters were torn apart and the same thing happened to my brothers and me.”
“I bet he would be proud of how well you’ve done,” she said.
“Maybe,” he said. “He was from the old school where if someone hurt a member of your family, it was your duty to pay them back.”
“He wasn’t Mafia, was he?” she asked, his dark tone making her wary.
Damien laughed. “No. Just very Italian. Here, try the sauce.” He lifted a spoonful and blew on it before he extended it to her lips.
Emma tasted the spicy sauce and nodded. “Delicious.”
“Yes, you are,” he said, intently meeting her gaze.
They shared dinner on the terrace. Afterward, he coaxed her into taking a nude dip with him in the Jacuzzi surrounded by a teak lattice privacy screen. She’d thought all her tension from the trip was gone, but the velvet darkness and hot massaging water relaxed her even more.
“This is wonderful. It’s a good thing I don’t have one of these. I’d never get out,” she said, feeling decadent and languid as she sipped the champagne he’d poured for her. “How often do you use it?”
“A couple of times since I arrived,” he said, watching her from beneath a hooded gaze as he slid one of his legs between hers. “I’ve been too busy.”
She felt another rush of arousal ooze through her. She watched his gaze linger on her lips. Taking her hand, he lifted it to his mouth.
He was suddenly too far away and she suddenly couldn’t wait a minute longer to be close to him. She moved closer and he immediately pulled her onto his lap. Skimming his hands over her naked, wet body underwater, he lowered his head and took her mouth in a sensual kiss that made her breathless.
He touched the tips of her breasts and kissed her again. “I’ve been thinking,” he said.
“Oh, no,” she said, her brain muddled by his effect on her.
“It’s not so bad. I’ve been thinking that you and I should make our arrangement permanent.”
Confusion warred with arousal. She frowned. “Permanent,” she echoed.
He played with her nipples again, short-circuiting her thought process. “I think we should get married.”
Shock raced through her and she gawked at him. “Married? I—I—”
He shot her a half grin before he took her mouth again, his hands distracting her. “Think it over,” he murmured against her mouth. “Later.”
Awakening the next morning to the sound of Damien in the shower, Emma stretched, feeling the aftereffects of Damien’s repeated lovemaking. She covered her face with the sheet when she thought of how uninhibited she’d been.
Shaking off her self-consciousness, she rose from his bed and pulled on the nightgown she’d never worn last night and went into the kitchen to make coffee. The scent of fresh coffee in a timed maker told her she was too late for that.
She poured herself a cup and added sugar and milk, then gingerly sipped the hot liquid. Hearing the scream of a fax machine, she walked down the hallway and opened the door to an office. A large cherry desk dominated the room lit by three-quarter length windows covered with linen shades.
The fax machine continued to scream and she heard a rustle of paper. Emma rearranged the paper in case it was jammed. Seconds later, several sheets flew onto the floor. Although she wasn’t trying to read the fax, her gaze snagged on the name Max De Luca. Quickly scanning the document, she gleaned that it was a report with references to Max’s late half brother.
Damien appeared in the doorway, already dressed in black slacks, his shirt not yet buttoned. He lifted a dark eyebrow of inquiry.
“I heard a strange noise from the fax machine. It sounded jammed, so I tried to clear it. What is this about Max De Luca?”
Damien walked toward her and she handed him the papers. “It’s a report. I had him investigated. It’s not unusual.”
“But this mentions his brother. Well, the brother that died. Tony,” she said, still confused.
Damien read over the paper. “It appears that Tony briefly worked for MD and stole some money from the company. One of the company attorneys was determined to prosecute. This says Max De Luca not only paid Tony’s debt, he also paid the attorney to keep quiet and accept a transfer. Wonder what the board would think of this.”
Emma gasped. “You wouldn’t tell them, would you? I can’t imagine why you would. It doesn’t have anything to do with the downsizing.”
Damien’s jaw tightened. “Always protective of Max and Alex,” he said in a velvet voice with an undertone of bitterness. “Don’t worry. This is between Max and me.”
Confused, she shook her head. “I don’t understand.”
He thumped the paper with his forefinger. “No. You wouldn’t. You remember the story I told you about how my grandfather lost the family home in a business deal where he was cheated?”
“Yes,” she said, wondering where this was going.
“Max De Luca’s grandfather was the man who cheated my grandfather. My family home is a Megalos-De Luca resort.”
“Oh, no,” she said, horrified by the connection. Her mind and heart racing, she reached out to him. “That’s horrible.” She could hardly believe it. “I can’t believe Max knows about this. He truly is an honorable man.”
“Some might not agree,” Damien said, tapping the papers that gave damning evidence.
Her stomach tightened in apprehension. “But you wouldn’t use that against him because of something his grandfather did.” A long moment of silence passed and she felt a terrible sense of dread. “Would you?”
“Three generations of my family have suffered in some part due to what the De Lucas did to my grandfather,” he told her.
His harsh expression made her feel as if she were looking at a different man than the Damien she’d come to know. “How long have you known this?” she asked, trying to make sense of it all. “Why did you accept this assignment if you hated him so—” She broke off, suddenly realizing that Damien had taken the job with revenge in mind.
Emma felt as if her world had been turned upside down. If Damien was so consumed with revenge, where did she fit into the plot? He’d known she was protective of Max and Alex. He’d known…
Realization broke through. Her mind flashed back to that time when she’d told Damien about Max’s and Alex’s vulnerabilities. He’d used that information to dig deeper into Max’s situation with his half brother. She’d given him the clue and he’d run with it.
Nausea swept through her. “You were just using me.”
“Just as you were using me. Do you think I didn’t know that you went to Alex and Max every time I told you something important?”
Humiliation stung. Overwhelmed, she shook her head. “I was doing my job.”
“You tried to spy on me,” he said.
The truth hurt, but her heart hurt even more. “I almost thought you cared about me.”
“The irony is that I do, and I know you care about me. The situation is unfortunate.”
“And you mentioned marriage last night. How could you even begin to think we could have a successful marriage?”
“You thought we could, too,” he said. “Admit it.”
Never, she thought. “I would never marry you, because I’d only marry for love, and you’re not capable of it.”