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‘Has he done anything beyond the pictures and the placards?’
Distaste showed on her face. ‘He sent a few horrible letters when he was banned from going on my fan webpage.’
The surge of protectiveness took him by surprise. ‘I’ll make sure he gets the message about keeping clear boundaries.’
Her soft breath feathered over his hand. Despite his every instinct warning him against it, he drew her closer, the mingled scent of her perfume and shampoo washing over his senses.
‘He makes me uncomfortable but I think he’s harmless.’
‘If he makes you uncomfortable then he’s already overstepped his mark.’
Her eyes met his, surprise mingling with another emotion he couldn’t read. ‘Careful, Javier, or I’ll confuse you with someone who actually cares one iota about me.’
His fingers slipped around her nape and tightened in her hair. The action lifted her head up further, exposing the flawless, sleek line of her neck. His senses pounded with the need to taste. He barely managed to restrain himself. ‘Your confusion would be unfortunate. I’m merely protecting my investment.’
He ignored the hurt that blinked through her eyes. He couldn’t lose sight of the repercussions of her and her father’s previous actions. Because of them, his beloved mother’s last resting place was among strangers, and each day Javier was unable to right that particular wrong was a day too long.
Sliding his fingers from her hair, he stood and shoved his fist in his pocket. ‘You want to go out, be ready in half an hour. I have a video conference later.’
‘I thought you were taking the day off?’ she replied.
‘Sadly I’m addicted to the urge to hammer down the next seemingly impossible deal.’
‘You mean, the temptation to torture another human being until they buckle under your will?’
His smile felt as if it could crack ice. ‘Same difference. So unless you want to be the recipient of my torture tactics, you’ll do as I say.’
She muttered under her breath in Italian, the very unladylike statement bringing a reluctant smile to his lips as she hurried out of the room.
A second later, he frowned, dragging his mind from the sylph-like form of the woman whose presence in his life was anything but a laughing matter, to the reason he’d taken a rare day off.
Any trace of mirth evaporated as he contemplated the reason for his videoconference. As usual, his father hadn’t given him advance warning nor any assurance that the call Javier had requested would actually take place. The banked rage that resided just beneath his skin every time he thought of the man whose blood ran through his veins threatened to resurge. The knowledge that it was because of Carla that he continued to have to deal with Fernando made him curse inwardly as he paced to the window.
Looking out to the street below, he caught sight of the clutch of Carla’s fans across the street, and another form of rage took hold. She might have downplayed the seriousness of her fan’s actions, but Javier knew the side-effects of hero worship and the unfortunate decisions that could unfold because of it.
He was a product of such a misstep.
Had his own mother not been blinded by stars in her eyes, she wouldn’t have been taken advantage of by an unscrupulous man who saw no harm in ruining an innocent. She wouldn’t have wasted her life pining for and chasing a dream that had been unattainable from the start.
Juliana Santino had died long before her time. The official cause had been cancer, but Javier knew sadness and bitter disappointment had played a huge part in his mother’s demise. And the man responsible for those debilitating emotions still had a form of power over Javier because of a woman who commanded more power than was permitted over him.
He needed to end it once and for all.
‘I’m ready.’
He whirled, disturbed that he’d been so lost in contemplation he’d been unaware of her return. His gaze raked over her and his senses leaped.
Her white skinny jeans moulded her hips and thighs, heeled boots and a white oversized top that insisted on falling off one shoulder drawing attention to her body. With her newly regained weight and better health had come a vibrancy to her skin.
Something hot and urgent jerked within him.
She looked a perfect picture of innocence, but it was deceptive innocence, he reminded himself.
He forced his gaze up from her endless legs. ‘Why are you wearing your hair up?’ he demanded before he could think the question through.
She held up her cast-encased hand and wriggled her half concealed fingers with a hint of triumph. ‘I can move my fingers without it hurting too much now. The brushing took longer than I wanted and the knot isn’t the tidiest, but I’m sure it’ll stay up.’
He didn’t want it to. He wanted her hair flowing over her shoulders, catching the light and making him guess what colour it really was, not scraped up into a careless bun, making her eyes seem huger and her flawless bone structure fracturing his ability to think coherently.
