‘I can’t!’ The words exploded from her like the ricochet of bullets hitting metal. ‘I’m sorry,’ she choked. ‘I just can’t with you.’
Daniele stilled, and his gaze narrowed on her flushed face. He said nothing and the tension in the room stretched her nerves. Finally he let out a ragged breath. ‘It is of course your prerogative to say no.’ He spoke in a clipped voice, and his movements were jerky as he adjusted his clothes. ‘Out of interest, why did you change your mind?’
Conscious of her semi-naked state, Paloma scrambled off the bed and dragged the top of her dress up to cover her breasts. ‘We are not in public now, and we don’t need to convince anyone that our relationship is real. While we might want to scratch an itch, in the long run it will be better if we keep our marriage strictly as a business arrangement.’
‘Scratch an itch?’ His eyes had a dangerous glint. ‘You know it was more than that. We have been fighting our awareness of each other since Tunisia. A more likely truth is that you decided not to sleep with me because my father’s bloodline cannot be traced back over centuries of Italian aristocracy.’
‘That had nothing to do with why I asked you to stop.’ Paloma was struggling to reach behind her back to fasten her dress. ‘Will you zip me up, please?’ She turned around so that Daniele could close the zip, and her eyes collided with his hard stare in the mirror. Her reflection showed that she was flushed and rumpled, her hair had come half down from its chignon, and her mouth was reddened from his kisses. Daniele, on the other hand, bore no signs of their frantic passion, and the only emotion she could discern on his stern features was boredom.
‘You should return to your room,’ he told her coolly. ‘And in future I suggest that you are clear in your mind what you want before you invite yourself into my bedroom.’
‘In future I won’t set foot inside your bedroom ever again,’ she snapped, infuriated by his arrogance. Lifting her chin, she marched across the room and exited the suite. Slamming the door behind her was childish, Paloma acknowledged, but it allowed her to vent some of her anger. And yet, when she was in her own room, preparing for bed, her body ached for fulfilment, and there was a yearning regret in her heart for what might have been if only she had not been forced into a marriage bargain with the devil.
Daniele stared out of the window of the helicopter as it flew over the azure Adriatic Sea towards Isola Cappracio. The tall white tower of the royal residence, Castello delle Aquile, dominated the skyline. A few minutes later, the chopper hovered above the castle’s red roofs before descending to the helipad in the grounds.
Inexplicably, he felt his heart lurch at the prospect of seeing Paloma again after they had spent three days apart. On the morning following the ball, he had chartered a jet to take them to Isola Cappracio. But after introducing Paloma to Prince Dragan, Daniele had flown to Rome. He’d made the excuse that he had neglected his business lately and there were matters that required his personal attention. In fact, his executive team were dynamic and eager to prove themselves. But he’d hoped that distancing himself from Paloma would give him headspace.
Why had he come on to her with a lack of finesse like a clumsy teenager on a first date?Dio!Shame and disbelief at the way he had acted after the ball squirmed in Daniele’s stomach. The nagging ache in his groin was a constant reminder of the hunger Paloma had aroused in him. He knew she had been with him at first. Her soft cries when he’d given her an orgasm still rang in his ears.
But then she had rejected him. It was the first time a woman had resisted his lovemaking, Daniele acknowledged wryly. The truth was that ever since he had been a young soldier he’d never had a problem attracting the opposite sex. And when he’d become a successful business tycoon, women had flocked to him. Money was an aphrodisiac, he thought cynically. But Paloma was wealthy in her own right. Had she turned him down because he did not have a title? He recalled that her first husband had been a barman, and she had said that she had been madly in love with him. Daniele sensed that Paloma’s ex had destroyed her self-confidence.
Not for the first time, Daniele wondered how his well-ordered life had become so complicated. He showed his identity pass to the guards on duty outside the imposing door of the castle and they stood aside to allow him to enter. Footsteps rang out on the stone floor of the cavernous entrance hall and he saw Prince Dragan walking towards him. The two men halted, and Daniele bowed his head respectfully.‘Vostra Eccellenza...’he murmured.
The Prince responded with a cheerful lack of royal protocol and slapped Daniele’s shoulder. ‘It is good to see you, old friend. Your trip was successful?’
Daniele recalled his restless nights when sexual frustration for his unwilling fiancée had kept him awake. So much for forgetting Paloma. ‘It was,’ he lied smoothly.
‘You must have been impatient to return to Paloma. It is not surprising when she is so charming and beautiful. Your future wife has delighted everyone at court.’
Jealousy felt like a knife blade in Daniele’s gut. Was the Prince delighted by Paloma, and she by him?
Dragan looked at him closely. ‘I value our friendship, Daniele. Do you think I would try to steal the woman you love?’
Fortunately, Daniele was saved from having to answer when the tip-tap of stiletto heels heralded Paloma’s arrival. He turned his head to watch her descend the grand staircase and could not control his body’s reaction to the sight of her. She looked jaw-droppingly sexy in a short, flouncy skirt that showed off her endless legs. Her chestnut hair fell in loose waves around her shoulders. As she came closer, the evocative fragrance she wore stole around him like a sensual cloak. But it was her smile that had the oddest effect on his heart rate.
Paloma reached up to brush her lips over his cheek. ‘I missed you,caro,’ she murmured.
He knew she was acting the role of loving fiancée in front of their host, but, inexplicably, Daniele found himself wishing that they were not caught up in a game of smoke and mirrors. With an effort, he resisted the temptation to haul her into his arms and kiss her properly.
‘Tell me more about your e-commerce business,’ Prince Dragan said as the three of them walked through the castle. ‘I understand that you are diversifying into new areas.’
Daniele nodded, glad of the distraction from his intense awareness of Paloma. ‘Six years ago, I established Premio as the first cashback company in Italy. I quickly realised the potential to expand and offer other internet services such as insurance and online payments. My latest venture, Premio Worldwide Bank, is focused on SME banking.’ He paused when he saw Paloma’s puzzled expression. ‘Premio Bank provides loans to small and medium-sized enterprises,’ he explained. ‘I am especially keen to encourage start-up businesses and support entrepreneurs, just as your grandfather helped me when I set up my first business.’
‘I had no idea that you own a bank,’ she murmured.
Prince Dragan laughed. ‘I can guess why Daniele does not spend time talking about his work to you. Lovers have better things to do,è vero? Still, you only have to wait two more days until your wedding.’
When the Prince left them, to attend an official engagement, Paloma turned to Daniele. She was clearly on edge. Her tongue darted over her lower lip. ‘Don’t be annoyed,’ she began.
‘That is not an encouraging opening to a conversation,cara.’
‘While you were away, I was in contact with Stefano, and we spoke on the phone a couple of times.’
Something dark and ugly stirred inside Daniele. ‘What reason do you have for striking up a friendship with my half-brother?’
‘He told me that neither he nor your mother have received an invitation to our wedding. Stefano did not expect to be invited, but he said that your mother is upset by what she sees as a deliberate snub by you.’
‘What did she expect?’ Daniele said curtly. ‘She has ignored me for most of my life. Indeed, it is not widely known that we are related.’