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His words made tears prickle and her laugh grated painfully in her own ears. ‘But they couldn’t have been more wrong, could they? You wanted nothing to do with me after your precious blueprints went missing and you were forced to halt construction of the Abu Dhabi project. In fact, I’m surprised you didn’t think of this sort of punishment yourself.’
He stiffened as if a bolt of electricity had shot through him, but his face gave nothing away. With casual ease, he continued to feed his son until the pot was empty. Then he put it to one side and cleaned up the remnants of Gianni’s breakfast as efficiently as if he’d been doing it since he was born.
As she watched him, the small part of Mia not reeling with shock and hurt found it hard to believe Rocco had only just met his son. And the realisation of how keenly and naturally Rocco had taken to fatherhood sent a spike of alarm through her, effectively blotting out the niggling that had started at the back of her mind.
Rocco picked up a red racing car off the counter and handed it to his son, brushing his hand affectionately through his hair before turning to her.
‘The women I associate with are normally well aware of the terms of our association. Yours was the only alliance I had a little...difficulty with.’
Heat rushed up her face at the deliberate barb, but she forced her chin up. ‘I’m sorry if I didn’t just slink away quietly when accused of being a thief! I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself if I hadn’t tried to defend myself.’
‘That’s a very admirable quality, in the right circumstances. Unfortunately, when the weight of evidence is against you, sometimes it’s better to make a quiet exit than to draw even more attention to yourself.’
‘And be labelled a thief for the rest of my life? No one would’ve hired me. You certainly weren’t inclined to give me a reference and you made sure I was blacklisted everywhere. So, tell me, where would that have left me?’
Narrowed eyes threatened to tear strips off her skin. ‘Married to a billionaire, if you’d only kept your mouth shut and not further compromised your situation by revealing your true intentions before my wedding ring was on your finger. That way you’d have been set for life, wouldn’t you?’ His words were by no less deadly for their soft delivery.
Confusion caused her to frown. ‘What are you talking about?’ she demanded.
He ignored her question and glanced at his watch. ‘We have an appointment with my lawyers at one o’clock. If we are to make it, I suggest you get a move on.’
The mercurial direction of the conversation was causing her head to spin. ‘Your lawyers? Why would they want to meet with me?’
‘This is now officially a fraud investigation. You need to provide a formal statement.’ His eyes flicked to Gianni and the ruthless determination in their depths caused her heart to miss several beats.
‘Why wasn’t I consulted before you arranged any of this? You can’t just blow into my life after making it a living hell and start making decisions without my consent. Besides, everything you need is in that file. That should be enough.’ Her voice had been rising with her agitation and, belatedly, she noted Gianni staring at her, his lower lip beginning to tremble. She rushed forward and scooped him out of his chair. Murmuring soft words to him, she glared at Rocco over his head.
He leaned back against the small counter and crossed his legs at the ankles, but hi
s easy stance didn’t fool her for a second. ‘Perhaps I was wrong, but I was under the impression that the chance to clear your name would please you, not cause you so much distress.’
‘I’m not distressed! I’m angry,’ she hissed at him. ‘You can’t just swoop in out of nowhere after three years and start laying down the law like some...like some...’ The word she wanted to utter wouldn’t have been suitable for her son’s innocent ears, so she contented herself with an even more withering glare.
Rocco merely folded lean, muscled arms over his chest and regarded her steadily. ‘So I take it you don’t want to clear your name? That you’d rather live with this “obsessive stalker” label hanging over your head?’
She yearned to claw the mockery out of his eyes, pound her fists against his chest for taunting her into falling in with his plans. But with her son in her arms, she had to content herself with an even fiercer glare before, walking out of the kitchen, she placed Gianni on his play mat in front of the unlit fireplace.
Turning, she found Rocco directly behind her. Every essence of his masculine aura filling every angle of her vision so completely, she had to force herself to concentrate on what she’d been about to say.
‘I hate you,’ she husked out with as much feeling as she could muster without distressing her son.
His eyes glinted with dark amusement. ‘I take it that’s a yes, then?’
Her hands balled into fists. ‘Of course I want to get to clear my name. That doesn’t mean I’m willing to let you ride roughshod over me to do it.’
In a flash, his expression altered. His mouth softened into a sensual curve and his eyes blazed a long-forgotten hunger that made the muscles of her stomach dance crazily.
‘I seem to recall there were two things that could hold your utter attention: sex and work. While I enjoyed our mental grappling in the boardroom, I found the bedroom games just as stimulating.’ His hands slid over her waist to cup her bottom, bringing her into sharp contact with his groin and the masculine dominance of his erection. His mouth descended, a sensual promise that came to hover deliciously over her lips. ‘In the bedroom we had perfect understanding, cara, and if that’s the only way I can get your cooperation, and stop you spitting nails at me, then I’m willing to try it.’
‘Don’t go martyring yourself for my sake.’ The sarcasm she aimed at him emerged high-pitched and desperately false.
He laughed low in his throat, the sound singing along her nerves in ways that did nothing to soothe her equilibrium.
‘Trust me, it won’t be a hardship at all. I told you last night, the body doesn’t lie and right now mine is demanding that I be true to it in the most primal way.’ One hand caressed its way up her side, sparking flash fires wherever he touched. When it curved beneath the soft swell of her breast, she knew she had to do something or risk dissolving into a heated puddle at his feet.
The hands she lifted to push him away with felt feeble. ‘Aren’t you forgetting something?’
He lifted winged brows, even as his mouth descended another tempting millimetre, his warm breath washing over her tingling lips, setting them on fire so she had to fight not to give into the temptation to lick moisture into them.
