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‘I told you—I’ve made it my business to know these things,’ Marco said. ‘I suppose you’ve had enough of working for a living and can’t wait for the money.’
‘It’s not that simple,’ she said. ‘I need the money for something really important.’
‘And what does Vasile get out of it?’ he asked in a way that made a nasty prickle of distaste run down between her shoulder blades.
‘Nothing,’ she said automatically, then realised that wouldn’t sound very convincing. ‘Well, some money, of course.’
‘Only money?’ Marco said incredulously, letting his eyes roam across her suggestively. ‘You’re not naive enough to think Vasile won’t want to taste the delights of that body himself?’
‘You’re disgusting!’ she gasped, suddenly feeling the blood drain away from her head, making her feel dizzy with shock. The very idea of it made her feel sick. That was not what she had agreed to. She would never agree to something like that.
‘You’ve done a deal with the devil—what did you expect?’ Marco said harshly. ‘You can’t seriously think he won’t take everything he can get?’
‘Not that!’ she gasped, feeling her stomach turn over in revulsion.
‘Don’t worry about it,’ Marco said, lifting a hand and slipping it into her hair. ‘Vasile’s never going to get a chance to lay a finger on you.’
‘What…what do you mean?’ Claudia stammered.
A shudder of apprehension suddenly rippled through her and at the same time she became ultra aware of his hand in her hair. She tried to take a step backwards, but Marco responded instantly, slipping his hand to the back of her head to hold her in place.
‘I’m not letting him have you,’ he said.
He was so close that she could feel the heat radiating off his naked chest. See the subtle flare of his ribcage as he breathed.
‘It’s got nothing to do with you.’ She fidgeted under his intense gaze, unsettled by how breathless her own voice sounded. His eyes were boring down into her, penetrating the defensive barrier of emotional control she was trying to hold up against him.
‘It has everything to do with me,’ he said, pulling her slightly nearer to him. ‘You’re mine now.’
Claudia’s eyes widened and she swallowed nervously. Her body was already responding to the sexual message in Marco’s words—and that was the last thing she wanted.
‘You’ve just spent the last few minutes telling me what a terrible person I am,’ she said. ‘Why would you care if I married a man you hate?’
‘Vasile is not having you,’ he grated. ‘He’ll never have you.’
‘You don’t want me,’ she whispered.
‘You know I do. And you still want me,’ he goaded her.
‘No!’ She denied it. ‘How could I want someone so heartless—someone who was using me all along?’
‘I don’t know, bella mia,’ Marco said, skimming his hand down the back of her neck and slipping it under the soft collar of her blouse. Then he slowly drew it flat against the skin across her shoulder, around to the base of her throat. ‘Maybe because you’re not the kind of girl who marries for love.’
Tears sparkled in Claudia’s eyes as she looked at him. How could she challenge him? She had just told him she was marrying for business reasons. And, despite all the deception between them, she knew there was some truth in his words now. She did still want him.
His hand was burning against her skin, slipping lower and lower against her breastbone with every shallow breath she took. She had to stop him—but she didn’t want to.
‘Don’t do this.’ Her voice was shaky and she knew it lacked conviction.
‘We’ve been here before,’ Marco reminded her harshly, ‘when you begged me in the shower not to take your clothes off. Then, later, you were writhing in my arms as I made love to you.’
‘That won’t happen now,’ Claudia said, trying to pull his hand away from the inside of her blouse. But his reactions were too quick and she found her own hand pinned beneath his, flat against the skin above her left breast. She could feel her heart beating beneath her palm and the iron strength of his grasp as he held her hand in place.
‘I know it will,’ Marco said, lifting his free hand and starting to undo the front of her blouse. ‘But I don’t have time to play any more games. We have a flight to catch to the Caribbean and must be on our way back to the city soon.’
‘I’m not going to the Caribbean with you!’ Claudia gasped, barely aware of his fingers making quick work of her buttons. Did he know absolutely everything—even that she was supposed to meet Francesca and Vasile in the Caribbean? ‘I…I’ve made a commitment. I have to see it through.’
‘You’re coming with me,’ he said.
