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  Dio, was he really so pathetic as to be jealous of stainless-steel gadgets now? He shook his head and stepped back. ‘I’m leaving for the office. We will speak this evening.’

  * * *

  Four hours later, he was pacing his office just as he had been last week.

  Only this time there was no sign of the ennui that had gripped him. Instead, a different form of restlessness prowled through him, one that was unfamiliar and mildly terrifying.

  He laughed mirthlessly and pushed a hand through his hair. Narciso wasn’t afraid to admit so far he wasn’t loving being thirty. He seemed to be questioning his every action. He was even stalling on the deal with Vladimir Rudenko. Did he really need to start another media empire in Russia?

  Going ahead with it would mean he’d have to spend time in Moscow. Away from New York. Away from Ruby. Dio, what the hell was she doing in his head?

  Gritting his teeth, he strode to his desk and pressed the intercom that summoned his driver.

  The journey from Wall Street to his penthouse took less than twenty minutes but it felt like a lifetime. Slamming the front door, he strode straight into the kitchen. He needed to tell her of his plans. Needed her to know he’d chosen a different path...

  She was elbow deep in some sort of mixture. She glanced up, eyes wide with surprise. ‘You’re back.’

  ‘We need to talk.’

  ‘What about?’

  ‘About Giacomo—’ he tensed, then continued ‘—about my father.’

  Her eyes grew wider. ‘Yes?’

  ‘I’ve decided to end—’

  A phone beeped on the counter. A look of unease slid over her features as she wiped her hands and activated the message. A few seconds later, all trace of colour left her cheeks. ‘I have to go.’

  He frowned. ‘Go where?’

  ‘Midtown. I’ll be back in an hour.’

  ‘I’ll drive you—’

  ‘No. I’ll be fine. Really. I’ve been cooped up in here all afternoon. I need the fresh air.’

  ‘Fresh air in New York is a misnomer.’ He continued to watch her, noting her edginess. ‘Is it your parents?’

  Her fingers twisted together. ‘No, it’s not.’ Sincerity shone from her eyes.

  He nodded. ‘Fine. I just wanted you to know, you have my backing one hundred per cent. After the party, I’ll have the papers drawn up to provide the funds you need for the restaurant.’

  ‘Th-thank you. That’s good news.’ The definite lack of pleasure on her face and voice caused his spine to stiffen. She reached him and tried to slide past.

  Unable to help himself, he caught her to him and kissed her soft, tempting mouth. She yielded to the kiss for a single moment before she wrenched herself away.

  ‘Amante—’

  ‘I have to go.’

  Before he could say another word she snatched her bag from the counter and walked out of the door.

  Narciso stood frozen, unable to believe what had happened. By the time he forced himself to move, Ruby was gone.

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  RUBY ENTERED THE upscale restaurant at the stroke of six and gave her name.

  A waiter ushered her to a window seat. It took seconds to recognise the man at the table. Shock held her rigid as she stared at him.

  Without his mask, Giacomo Valentino bore a striking resemblance to his son. Except his eyes were dull with age and his mouth cruel with entrenched bitterness.

  ‘I knew I recognised you from somewhere, Ruby Trevelli,’ Giacomo Valentino said the moment she sat down. ‘The wonders of modern technology never cease to amaze me. A few clicks and I had everything I needed to know about you and your parents.’

  She tensed. ‘What do you want?’

  ‘A way to bring my son down. And you will help me.’

  She rushed to her feet. ‘You’re out of your mind.’

  ‘I met with your loan shark today,’ he continued conversationally. ‘As of three hours ago, I own twenty-five per cent of your yet-to-be-built restaurant. If you walk out of here, I’ll call in the debt immediately.’

  Heart in her throat, she slowly sank back into her seat. ‘Why are you doing this?’

  His face hardened. ‘You saw how he humiliated me in Macau.’

  ‘Yes, and since then I’ve also heard what you did to him. And I know you met with Maria yesterday.’

  A flash of fear crossed his face but it was quickly smothered. ‘So Narciso knows?’

  ‘Yes.’

  The old man visibly paled.

  ‘Give it up, Giacomo. You’re out of options because there’s no way I’ll help you further your vendetta against your own flesh and blood.’

  The flash came again, and this time she saw what it was. Deep, dark, twisted pain. ‘He’s a part of me that should never have come into being.’

  She shook her head. ‘How can you say that?’

  ‘He took away from me the one thing I treasured most in this world. And he struts around like the world owes him a living.’

  Ruby heard the black pain behind his words and finally understood. Deep down, Giacomo Valentino was completely and utterly heartbroken over losing his wife.

  A part of her felt sympathy for him. But she could tell Giacomo was too set in his thinking to alter his feelings towards his son.

  Narciso, on the other hand, wasn’t. Ruby had seen gentleness in him. She’d seen compassion, consideration, even affection towards Paolina, the grandmother of the woman who’d betrayed him. He had the capacity to love, if only he’d step back from the brink of the abyss of revenge he was poised on.

  And will you be the one to save him?

  Why not? He’d helped her come to terms with her own relationship with her parents. She’d called her mother this afternoon, and, sure enough, her father had strayed again. But this time, Ruby had offered her mother a shoulder to cry on. They’d spoken for over an hour. Tears had been shed on both sides. An hour later, she’d received a text from her mother to say she’d contacted an attorney and filed for a divorce from her husband.

  Ruby knew the strength it’d taken for her mother to break free. Taking a deep breath, she looked Giacomo in the eye. ‘You probably don’t want my advice but I’ll give it anyway. You and Narciso both lost someone dear to you. You were lucky enough to know her. Have you spared a thought for the child who never knew his mother?’

  ‘Ascolta—!’

  ‘No, you listen. Punishing a baby for its mother’s death went out with the Dark Ages. Do you have any idea how much he’s hurting?’

  Pale silver eyes narrowed. ‘You’re in love with my son.’

  Her heart lurched, then hammered as if fighting to get away from the truth staring her in the face. Her fingers tightened on her bag. ‘I won’t be a party to whatever you’re cooking up.’

  ‘You disappoint me, Miss Trevelli. Before you go, I should tell you that your loan shark provided me with an extensive file on you, which details, among other things, a building on Third and Lexington.’

  Panic flared high. ‘My parents’ restaurant?’

  Giacomo gave a careless nod.

  ‘I swear, if you dare harm them I’ll—’

  Giacomo put a hand on her arm. ‘My request is simple.’

  She wanted to bolt but she remained seated.

  His speculative gaze rested on her. ‘My son is taken with you. More than he has been with any other woman.’

  Her insides clenched hard. ‘You’re wrong—’

  ‘I’m right.’ He leaned forward suddenly. ‘I want you to end your relationship with him.’

  Her mouth dried. ‘There is no relationship.’

  ‘End it. Sever all ties with him and I’ll make sure your parents’ livelihood remains intact. I’ll even become y
our benefactor with your restaurant.’

  Frantically she shook her head. ‘I don’t want your charity.’

  His eyes narrowed. ‘Do you really want to risk crossing me? I urge you to remember where my son inherited his thirst for revenge from.’

  Feeling numb, she rose. This time he didn’t stop her.

  Her thin sweater did nothing to hold the April chill at bay as she blindly struck through the evening crowd. She only realised where she was headed when the subway train pulled into the familiar station.

  Her apartment was soothingly quiet. Dropping her bag, she went to the small bar she’d installed when she moved in.

  Blanking her thoughts, she went to work, mixing liqueurs with juices, spirits with the bottle of champagne she’d been gifted on her birthday. Carefully she lined up the mixtures that worked and discarded the rest. She was on her last set when she heard the pounding on the door.

  Breath catching, she went to the door and glanced into the peeper.

  Narciso loomed large and imposing outside her door. Jumping back, she toyed with not answering.

  ‘Let me in, Ruby. Or so help me, I’ll break this door down.’

  With shaking hands, she released the latch.

  He took a single, lunging step in and slammed the door behind him. ‘You said you’d be an hour, tops.’ Silver eyes bore into her, intense and frighteningly invasive.

  She forced a shrug. ‘I lost track of time.’

  ‘If you wanted to return here all you needed was to say.’ There was concern in his voice, coupled with the vulnerability he’d been unable to hide on the yacht.

  Knowing what had put that vulnerability there, knowing what his father’s lack of love had done to him, made her chest tighten. She so desperately wanted to reach for him, to soothe his pain away.

  But in light of what she faced, there was only one recourse where Narciso was concerned. ‘I didn’t realise I had to answer to you for my movements.’

  He frowned and speared a hand through his hair. The way it fell made her guess he’d been doing it for a while. Swallowing hard, she forced her gaze away and walked into the small living room.

  He followed. ‘You don’t,’ he answered. ‘But you said you’d come back. And you didn’t.’

  ‘It’s no big deal, Narciso. I wanted to return home for a bit.’

  ‘Are you ready to return now?’ he shot back, his gaze probing.

  The need to say yes sliced through her. ‘No. I think I’ll spend the night here.’

  He started to speak. Stopped, and looked around. She didn’t even bother to look at her apartment through his eyes. Annie had used the term shabby chic when they’d picked up knick-knacks from flea markets and second-hand shops to furnish their apartment. The plump sofas were mismatched, as were the lamps and cushions. The pictures that hung on the walls were from sidewalk artists whose talent had caught Ruby’s eye.

  ‘Why are you here, Narciso?’

  Narciso walked over to a lampshade and touched the bohemian fringe. ‘I tried to tell you earlier. I’ve called off the vendetta with my father.’

  Shock rocked through her, followed swiftly by sharp regret. ‘Why?’

  He shoved his hand into his pockets and inhaled. ‘In a word? You. You’re the reason.’ Again that vulnerability blazed from his eyes. Along with a wariness as she remained frozen.

  ‘I shouldn’t be the reason, Narciso. You should do it for yourself.’

  He shrugged. ‘I’m working my way to that, amante. But I need your help. You set me on this road. You can’t walk away now.’

  Oh, God!

  She choked back a sob and fled to the bar. He followed and saw the drinks lined up on the counter.

  ‘You were working?’

  ‘I never stop.’

  ‘What have you come up with?’ There was a genuine interest in his tone. For whatever reason, he wanted to know more about her passion.

  His softening attitude towards her sent her emotions into panicked freefall. Belize had warned her she was at serious risk of developing feelings for Narciso Valentino. Seeing him in her home, touching her things, making monumental confessions, made her want to rush to him and burrow into his chest, hear his heart pounding against her own. But she couldn’t. Not now.

  She shoved her hands into her jeans pockets and shrugged. ‘This and that.’

  He flicked a glance at her. Then he picked up the nearest drink and took a sip. ‘What’s this one called?’

  Push him away!

  She took a deep, frantic breath. ‘Sleazy Playboy. The one next to it is The Studly Warlock, the blue one is the Belize Bender, and the pink one I’ve termed The Virgin Sacrifice.’

  He stiffened.

  ‘There’s a black Sambuca one I’m intending to call Crazy, Stupid Revenge—’

  ‘Enough, Ruby. I get the message. I’ve upset you. Again. Tell me how to make it better.’ He looked over at her and his eyes held a simple, honest plea.

  Dear God. Narciso wasn’t all gone at all. In fact, right at that moment, he was the single, most appealing thing in her life.

  Heat and need and panic and lust surged under her skin as his gaze remained steady on hers. With every fibre in her being she wanted to cross the room and launch herself into his arms.

  Giacomo’s face flashed across her mind.

  ‘There’s nothing to make better because there’s nothing between us.’

  His eyes widened. ‘Scusi?’

  ‘We had what we had, Narciso. Let’s not prolong it any further.’

  His eyes slowly hardened. In quick strides, he crossed the room and jerked her into his body. The contact threatened to sizzle her brain. Throwing out her hands against his chest, she tried to break free. He held tight.

  ‘Let me go!’

  ‘Why? Scared I’ll prove you wrong?’

  ‘Not at all—’

  He swooped down and captured her mouth. His kiss was raw, possessive and needy.

  ‘What the hell’s happening, Ruby?’ he whispered raggedly against her mouth.

  Again her heart skittered.

  Briefly, she thought to come clean, tell him where she’d been. Panic won out.

  ‘Dammit, Ruby, kiss me back!’ he pleaded raggedly against her lips.

  She couldn’t deny him any more than she could deny herself what would surely be her last time of experiencing this magic with him.

  Desperate hands grazed over his chest to his taut stomach. Grasping the bottom of his T-shirt, she pulled it up. He helped her by tugging it over his head and flinging it away. Eyes blazing with an emotion she was too afraid to name met hers. Stepping forward, she placed an open-mouthed kiss on his collarbone.

  His hiss of arousal echoed around the room. Emboldened, she used her teeth, tongue and mouth to drive them both crazy. When he stumbled slightly, she realised she’d pushed him towards the sofa. With a hard push she sent him sprawling backwards. Within seconds he was naked, his perfect body beckoning irresistibly. Driven by guilt and hunger, she stripped off her T-shirt and bra and unsnapped her jeans.

  With a shake of his head, he covered her hands with his. ‘Let me.’

  The slow slide downward was accompanied by hot, worshipful kisses that brought tears to her eyes. Afraid her emotions would give her away, she hurriedly stepped out of the jeans and pushed him back down again and resumed the path she’d charted moments before.

  His groan when her lips touched the tip of his shaft was ragged and raw. But encouraging hands speared through her hair, holding her to her task.

  Boldly, she took him in her mouth. ‘Dio, Ruby!’

  She looked up at him. His eyes were closed, his neck muscles taut from holding on to his control. Taking him deeper, she lost herself in the newfound power and pleasure, her heart
singing with an almost frightening joy at being able to do this, one last time.

  Tomorrow would bring its own heartache but for now—

  ‘Basta!’ he rasped. ‘As much as I’d love to finish in your mouth, my need to be inside you is even greater.’

  He pulled her up and astride him. Reaching for his discarded jeans, he took a condom from his back pocket.

  The thought that he’d come prepared dimmed her pleasure for a second. But realising what the alternative would’ve meant, she took the condom from him, tore it open and slipped it on his thick shaft, experiencing a momentary pang at how big he was.

  Silver eyes gleamed at her. ‘We fit together perfectly, tesoro, remember?’ he encouraged gently.

  Nodding, she raised her hips and took him inside her.

  Delicious, sensational pleasure built inside her, setting off fireworks in her body. His face a taut mask of pleasure, his hands settled on her thighs and he allowed her to set the pace. But this new, deeper penetration was her undoing. Within minutes, her spine tingled with impending climax. She had no resistance when Narciso reared up, sucked one nipple into his mouth and sent her over the edge.

  She surfaced from the most blissful release to find their positions reversed. Narciso’s fingers were tangled in her hair and his mouth buried in her throat.

  When he raised his head, the depth of emotion on his face made her breath catch.

  ‘I need you, Ruby,’ he repeated his earlier statement. Only this time, she was sure he didn’t mean sexually.

  The knowledge that things would never be right between them sent pure, white-hot pain through her heart.

  Unable to find the right words to respond, she cradled his face. Locked in that position, his eyes not leaving hers, he surged inside her and resumed the exquisite, soul-searing lovemaking. Eventually, he groaned his release and took her mouth in a soft, gentle kiss, murmuring words she understood but refused to allow into her heart.

  Tears sprang into her eyes and she rapidly blinked them away, glad that he was rising and putting his clothes back on.

  ‘I can stay here, or we can return to my place.’ Although his tone wasn’t as forceful as before, she knew he wouldn’t accept a third choice.