Deserving of His Diamonds (14 page)

suspected he deliberately shied away from his past, that he wanted to leave it

well behind him. But putting himself out there in such a public way spoke of

a deeply moving concern for others less fortunate than himself. It was such a

change from the super-successful businessman persona he presented to the

world. He was no longer using his wealth to show how far he‘d come up in

the world; rather he was reaching back down into his dark past to help others

climb out of it. One of the young volunteers, called Romeo, told her how

Emilio did a lot of the hands-on work himself on the streets, speaking to kids

to help them realise there were other options for them other than crime or

prostitution or gang warfare.

‗He‘s not afraid to get his hands dirty,‘ Romeo said. ‗I was one of the first he

helped get off the streets. He helped me see a better future for myself. He

taught me that you mustn‘t let what happens to you define you. It‘s how you

handle it that counts. You must be very proud to be his fiancée, sì?‘ Gisele

hoped her smile didn‘t look too unnatural. She was still feeling so incredibly

shocked. The world Emilio came from couldn‘t be more different from hers.

She couldn‘t imagine how hard it must have been for him to drag himself

from such a rough start in life to achieve all that he had. So many obstacles

must have stood in his way. How had he overcome them? ‗Yes, I am,‘ she

said, ‗very proud.‘ After a few more words of conversation, Romeo got

called away to help with serving food. Emilio came back over with a drink

for her. ‗I hope Romeo wasn‘t telling tales out of school,‘ he said. ‗He has a

tendency to exaggerate.‘ ‗Is this how you grew up?‘ Gisele asked, looking

up at him with a shell-shocked expression. ‗Like some of these kids? Why

didn‘t you tell me?‘ ‗Lots of people have it worse than I did,‘ he said with a

dismissive shrug as he took a sip of his drink. ‗Why didn‘t you tell me about

your charity?‘ she asked. ‗You‘ve not said a word to me about any of this. In

fact, this morning you said this was a business function.‘ ‗Does it matter?‘

he asked. ‗Of course it matters,‘ she said. ‗I thought I‘d be forced to speak to

stuffy old businessmen and their wives, and instead I‘m meeting young

people whose lives you‘ve

saved from God only knows what.‘ ‗Romeo would have made it without my

help,‘ Emilio said. ‗He just needed a leg-up.‘ ‗Who helped you?‘ Gisele

asked. ‗Who was your leg-up person?‘ His eyes became shuttered. ‗Some

people need more help than others,‘ he said. ‗So you did it all on your own?‘

she asked. He touched her on the elbow to position her to face a man who

was approaching them with a camera. ‗The official photographer is coming

over for a photo for the newsletter,‘ he said. ‗Put on your happy face.‘ Gisele

schooled her features back into happy fiancée mode as Emilio put his arm

around her waist, drawing her into his hard warmth. She felt her skin react to

his closeness, to his smell, to the sense of protection he offered. It was hard

not to want to get closer, to start to imagine a future where she would always

be by his side, helping him help others. He had mentioned they could make

their ‗engagement‘ real again, but how could she give him what he wanted

most? The one thing he had always been clear on was that he wanted a

family, but there was no way she could risk going down that path again. The

evening soon drew to a close. Emilio escorted her out to the waiting car, but

he barely spoke on the way back to the villa. He spent most of the short

journey staring straight ahead, his eyes blank, the differentcoloured lights of

the city passing over his features like a special-effects film, making his

handsome face take on grimly distorted shadows and angles.

Although he had cleverly evaded answering her question about his

background, Gisele wondered if he was thinking of the life he had left

behind, the life of poverty and neglect and unspeakable cruelty that lurked

on the underbelly of the eternal city. She thought of him as a young teenager

out there, huddled under a bush or park bench, cold, hungry, thirsty,

terrified, lost and alone. It made her heart ache to think no one had protected

him, no one had taught him how to love. ‗I think it‘s amazing what you‘ve

done,‘ she said into the silence. He frowned and looked at her as if he hadn‘t

realised anyone was sitting beside him. ‗Sorry, did you say something?‘ he

asked. She gave him a soft smile and took one of his hands in hers. ‗It must

feel good to have made a difference,‘ she said. ‗To think that you‘re

responsible for so many young people getting a chance to live a decent

life— a life they would never have been able to have without your help. It

must make you feel very satisfied.‘ He rolled his thumb over the diamond on

her finger before meshing his gaze with hers. ‗In my experience money fixes

just about everything,‘ he said. ‗You just need enough of it.‘ Gisele felt a

little frisson scuttle down her spine at the glittering darkness of his eyes. ‗I

guess you have to decide which projects are going to be worth pursuing,‘ she

said. ‗You wouldn‘t want to be throwing good money after bad.‘ His half

smile had a hint of ruthlessness to it. ‗I don‘t take on projects unless I‘m sure I‘ll succeed with them,‘ he said.

‗Success isn‘t always up to you, though, is it?‘ she said. ‗Other people or

circumstances can influence outcomes in spite of what you‘ve planned.‘ His

bottomless brown eyes moved from hers to slowly gaze at her mouth. She

felt her lips tingle and fizz, her heart stepping up its pace as he touched her

bottom lip with the pad of his thumb. ‗Overcoming obstacles is part of the

challenge,‘ he said, returning his eyes to hers. ‗The harder they are, the more

satisfying they are when accomplished.‘ Gisele felt another shimmery

sensation move down her back as the car drew to a halt outside his villa.

There was a premonitory weight to the air as he helped her from the car. His

fingers as they curled around hers sent livewires of electricity along her arm.

She followed him into the villa, all her senses on overdrive as he led her to

the

salone.

‗Would you like a nightcap?‘ he asked. Gisele sent her tongue out in a quick

darting movement to moisten her paper-dry lips. ‗Um … I think I might give

it a miss,‘ she said. ‗I think I‘ll go on up to bed.‘ ‗As you wish,‘ he said,

moving to the bar to pour himself a finger of whisky. She hovered for a

moment, not sure why, but unable to tear herself away. She watched as he

lifted the glass to his lips, how they rested against the rim and then how his

strong throat moved up and down as he swallowed the liquid. He put the

glass down and looked at her. ‗Is something wrong?‘ he asked. ‗No … I …

It‘s just I wanted to say thank you for this

evening,‘ she said. ‗I had a good time. It was very … revealing.‘ He picked

up his glass again. ‗Don‘t go out making me out to be a hero, cara,‘ he said

grimly. ‗I‘m anything but. You, of all people, should know that.‘ ‗I think

you care much more than you let on,‘ she said. He gave a grunt of something

that might have passed for mocking laughter. ‗Got me all figured out, have

you, Gisele?‘ He took another swallow of his whisky, a generous one this

time. ‗I think you hide who you really are and what you really feel behind

that I-couldn‘t-give-a-damn façade,‘ she said. ‗I think that deep down you‘re

afraid you‘re going to get let down so you do everything possible to protect

yourself.‘ He put the glass down with a crack that sounded like a gunshot.

His eyes were blazing with a heat that threatened to consume her. She felt

the lick of the flames as he raked her with his gaze, an incendiary heat that

ran along her flesh like a river of fire. ‗You should‘ve gone to bed while you

still had the chance,‘ he said, moving towards her. Gisele stood her ground,

determined not to be threatened by his devilish and roguish manner. ‗You

don‘t scare me, Emilio,‘ she said. ‗You might scare the warlords and the

pimps and the drug dealers of the backstreets of Rome, but you don‘t scare

me.‘ ‗Such brave words,‘ he said, taking a handful of her hair and pulling it

free from its restraining clip, unleashing with it a flow of sensations that

showered over her like the sparks from exploding fireworks.

Gisele sucked in a much-needed breath. He was so close. He was too close.

She could feel him there: the heat, the hardness, the need that was as hungry

as hers. It was pressing against her, calling her body into play. A call she

could not resist, even if she wanted to. It was too primal, too overwhelming

and way too rampant to be held back any longer. He tugged her towards him

with a roughness that thrilled her as much as it terrified her, pelvis against

pelvis, need against need. She could not hide behind her smart comebacks

now. Witty words were no defence for the onslaught of feeling that was

rushing through her like a tumultuous tide. There was nothing between their

bodies now but the desire that had always pulsed and throbbed between

them. ‗Such brave, foolish words,‘ he said and then his mouth came down

on hers. Gisele revelled in the fiery heat of his kiss. He took control from the

start and refused to relinquish it. He thrust through the seam of her mouth

with a bold stroke of his tongue and she whimpered in submission as she

gave him total access. He explored her thoroughly, staking his claim, leaving

her in no doubt of who was in charge. Teeth and tongues collided, hands

groped and grabbed, clothes were unzipped, unbuttoned and at one stage

even torn. ‗If you don‘t want this then you‘d better tell me now,‘ Emilio said

as he all but slammed her up against the nearest wall. ‗I want this,‘ she said

against his mouth, her lips nibbling at his, her hands searching for him,

aching to feel him. ‗I want this. I want you.‘ He groaned deeply as she

finally found him, her fingers closing around his hot, hard heat,

rediscovering the

length of him, the strength and power of him. She felt him shudder as he

fought for control. He was just as she remembered him: sleek and hard, an

intriguing combination of satin and steel. Somehow she was naked from the

waist down; she couldn‘t remember how it had happened but it didn‘t

matter. There was barely time for him to put on protection before he

positioned her and drove into her with a force that sent her head back against

the wall, a gasp exploding from her lips as she welcomed him all the way.

He grunted with deep male satisfaction and her skin rose in a fine layer of

goose bumps as she held him to her. He rocked against her savagely, deep

pumping actions that made her body sing with delight, a rapturous melody

that struck on chords that had been played in the distant past. She didn‘t take

long to reach the summit. She only teetered there for a moment before she

lifted off, her body convulsing around his, squeezing, contracting, milking

him of his essence in those few blissful seconds where common sense and

rational thought had no place, no foothold. He followed close behind, a

shudder going through him that ricocheted through her as she held on to

him. Long seconds passed. ‗Sorry,‘ Emilio said against her neck, still

breathing heavily. ‗I probably rushed that a bit.‘ ‗No,‘ she said, sliding her

hands over his back and shoulders. ‗You don‘t need to apologise.‘ After a

moment or two he eased back to look at her. ‗You OK?‘ Gisele wondered

what he was really asking as she

looked into the black unreadable pits of his eyes. ‗I‘m fine,‘ she said. ‗It was

… amazing …‘ He pushed himself away from the wall, his expression rueful

as he dealt with disposing of the condom. ‗It wasn‘t supposed to happen this

way,‘ he said, raking a hand through his hair in a distracted manner. ‗I

wanted it to be better than a rough grope against a wall. I wanted it to be

memorable.‘ Gisele stepped forwards and placed a gentle hand on the side of

his face, loving the feel of his raspy skin under the softness of her palm. ‗It

was memorable,‘ she said. Being back in his arms was unforgettable. She

knew she would have to live off the memories all over again, but at least she

had this time with him. He studied her for a moment before placing his hand

over hers, holding it to his jaw. ‗I want you in my bed,‘ he said. ‗I want to

wake up in the morning with you beside me.‘ How could she say no to him

when he made her feel things she‘d thought she would never feel again? He

might not love her but he wanted her. He might never love her. Some people

were just incapable of it and, from what she had picked up about his past, it

certainly hinted that he might be one of them, too damaged to open himself

to anyone else. It was a heart-wrenching thought but it was something she

would have to accept. She could not stay with him permanently without the

love she needed, but for now this felt right. She looped her arms around his

neck and looked up into his dark eyes. ‗Make love to me,‘ she said softly.

Emilio lifted her and carried her to his bedroom, laying her down as if she

was the most precious cargo he had ever had in his possession.