Her Dark Dragon (5 page)

Danni was floored by his knowledge. "How in the world did you know about that? I haven't told anyone…"

"Yes, you did. When you were home from your first year at school, you were talking about planting olive trees for their precious oil. I didn't forget, just waited."

"So, all this time you've known I had other plans for Cirillo and still you bought the land!"

"I'll give you the land as a wedding present. You can still start your olive oil business. Keep the Cirillo name on that project if you like. Just remember the wine will always be Severino." He had become indignant, and he stood tall. .

"What a deal! I get to marry you, and you'll kindly give me a few acres to play with?" Her attitude made up for the height difference as she stood before him.

"Danni, this is getting us nowhere fast. You don't have many alternatives."

"I know, but I'm not going to accept any realities until I know all the facts. Then I'll figure out what to do and where my future lies. It won't be as your wife, Nico." She paused and softened her posture. "A few years ago, marrying you would have been my dream. Now it can never be. It's all been ruined."

"It's not too late, bella. We can build a future together." He softened his pose, reaching a hand toward her. He would never know how hard it was for her not to take it.

"No. I hate you too much, even though I understand on one level why you did what you did. We'd always have the land and the label between us." It was a fact neither of them could alter.

"If we tried, we could make this work. We both want what's best for the land. I have the ability to buy back the other acreage."

"Do you know that for a fact?"

"No, I haven't spoken to anyone. I don't know who Robert sold the parcels to, but I'm sure with the right amount of cash, I could eventually recover them."

"That makes this all worse, but I appreciate the thought." Her sarcasm made him give her a strained look. "What, am I trying your patience?" Danni knew holding onto her anger was the only way to survive.

"Something like that."

His admission came easy, holding back didn't. With a deep breath, he gave up, dropped the cigarette, and used his boot tip to put it out. He pulled her closer, his arms wrapping her against his warm, aroused body. Danni didn't pull back, rather glared, tempting him to take their embrace further. She hadn't needed to. Nico took the kiss he wanted. His lips slipped lightly over hers, over and over until she relaxed in his arms. His tongue slipped out to trace the contours of her mouth and pushed deeper only when she softened against him.

She slid her arms along his chest and wrapped them behind his head. She toyed with his hair, tilted his head in the direction she wanted. It was Danni straining to feel the heat of his skin, pulling his shirt away from his neck as she assaulted his mouth with hers. It was her persistence that turned the kiss into an all out war of lips and tongues. Her fingers tightened at his shoulders when he slid his hands to her buttocks, pulling her up and over his erection, using her body to stroke himself with the same rhythm his tongue used to invade her mouth. It was her groan that pulled them from their embrace. Danni took a step back, then a second before turning her back. Her nipples were budded and ached. Her lower lips were full and wanting the completion of the friction he was building inside her.

"Sex would work, Nico. You've always know that. But the hate would kill any emotion we'd try to establish."

She watched him shift slightly in his jeans and settle back against the post as if the kiss never happened. She hated him for that alone. Here she was, all hot and bothered, and he just didn't seem affected at all.

"Danni, you have twelve weeks before you lose everything. Marry me and I'll do my best to make you happy and get the land back. I'll even give you the netsukes."

That got her attention. She'd forgotten all about the statues. "Maybe someday I'll be able to buy them back," she said, knowing it would never happen. She'd never have that much money to spend on frivolous things, even if they meant a lot to her. "What else don't I know about this situation?"

He shook his head and pushed from the post he'd been leaning against. He headed for his horse and paused as she spoke.

"Nico, what else don't I know about this whole situation?"

"I'm not sure, Danni."

"Damn all of you! Robert and Felice for creating this mess all for money, the people who bought the other parcels, and you, Nico, for all the money you loaned them against the farm." She headed back to her horse, mounted and moved the animal quickly toward her house.

Something inside her broke free. Danni had never felt this way before. She wanted Nico, plain and simple. Maybe marrying him would be the best way to deal with the whole fiasco. She laughed aloud for the first time since she came home. Pulling the horse's reins, she laughed a second time as the idea fell into place. If her life was going to end as she knew it in twelve weeks, why not? Would Nico go for her idea? They'd both get what they wanted, in a strange way of sorts. She gently used her heels to goad the horse, only she didn't head back to Cirillo. Instead, she darted through the vines toward Severino. She stopped beside the barn where he was pulling the saddle off his horse.

"Did you think of another insult, Danni?" He kept the process going, walking inside to drop the heavy saddle over its wooden stand.

She'd tethered her horse near the water tub and was brushing the dust from her hands when he returned. "I did think of one thing, something we might both benefit from."

"I'm listening," he said, using long strokes to brush his horse. Her vision darted from his face to his hands, his large hands, with long, thick fingers. A sensual chill ran through her, and she watched him toss the brush aside. "All right, what's up?"

"I want my netsukes back."

"Fine, marry me and they're yours."

"No, I want to buy them back…of sorts." She stood tall, not looking away.

"If you had that kind of money you'd be best to try and buy back the parcels of land, not the netsukes."

"Well, I don't have cash, Nico. What I can offer is…" The words stuck in her throat, and she felt her whole body heat, which Nico apparently saw from the tilt of his head.

"Just what have you been thinking, bella?" He moved several feet from her, taking away her chance of reaching out to him. He let his hands drop to his sides, flexing his fingers several times, taunting her wants further.

"What if we just…slept together for them?" Danni knew the words came from her mouth, but even she couldn't believe she'd said them aloud, and to Nico. From the look on his face, he didn't believe her either. But his look changed, his eyes darkened, and the crease between his eyebrows deepened. It was a look both menacing and mesmerizing. The dark dragon had awakened.

"
What?
Girl, have you gone crazy? I'm not looking for a mistress. I want you as my wife."

"That won't happen. But this way, we both get a bit of what we want. I get the netsukes back and you get me in your bed." Her mind was swirling. Could she really sleep with him just to get the statues back? If she did, what did that make her? Nico looked just as shocked by her suggestion. It was one of the few times she'd seen him speechless. Holding back the smile tugging at the corners of her mouth was a struggle.

"Do you really understand what you're saying?"

"Yes, actually I do. And strangely enough, all the names I'm thinking don't seem to matter. I'm going to lose the vineyard in a few weeks. I'm going to have to sell that monstrosity of a house and find a new future, a job, and a place to live. I've gathered that the rest of the collection will be auctioned against the rest of Robert and Felice's notes. These are the only statues I'll ever see again. I want that piece of my heritage at whatever the cost."

"Danni, a woman doesn't just offer to become a man's mistress…"

"Not mistress, just one time."

He laughed before the words sank in, and he knew she was insulted. But it was a way to buy him some time. If he did take her to his bed, maybe she'd change her mind. Nico brought himself up sharp, realizing what he was actually considering. Danielle Cirillo was not mistress material. She was a strong, intelligent woman who should be a wife and mother. Having children had passed through his mind often in the last months, knowing that with Danni as their mother, they'd have a fighting chance at a good life. Keeping her close might just be the key. "Danni, bombshell that you are, the netsukes are worth a lot of money; one night won't begin to be enough."

"Twice then." She stood her ground, but he could see her start to shake. Nico's mind wandered, imagining how he'd touch her, how he'd love her until she was exhausted, until he was sated.

"One night for each statue," he countered. They both fell silent. He couldn't believe they were having this discussion. "And we re-create the statue position." That was a dare of his own.
If she thought she'd be able to get just a quick lay, she was going to be surprised. "Each night, we pick a netsuke, that's the position we re-create during the encounter." He almost wanted to frighten her, and saw on one hand he had. But he knew the Cirillo stubborn streak would prevail.

"I can't believe my mother and Robert would force me to turn to prostitution."

"They're not. The statues were sold, Danni. Let them go. Or marry me."

"No, this is better in a strange way. I'll earn each statue back, but we have to keep this between us. If the bank finds out I've got them back, they'll want them against the loans."

"Danni, I'm not about to spread any of this about to anyone. Bella, you're not thinking clearly. Go home, get some sleep. You don't want to do this. Not for some old ivory carvings."

"They're all I'll have left of the Cirillo legacy."

"Danni, you have an alternative."

"One I don't like. While I'm not happy about this situation, at least it's a means to an end." She strode away and mounted her horse with ease. "Think about it, Niccolo. One night in your bed for each of the statues."

"Lady, you have lost your mind."

"Agreed, but deep down, I trust you. I know this is crazy, but think about it." Then she was gone, darkness overtaking her moving form through the vines. He shook his head and wondered how she'd try to get out of all this tomorrow. For the rest of the night, he couldn't get her out of his mind. He'd have eight nights with her and he'd never have her again, he knew that for sure. If they did this, she'd never face him again. She'd settle up the yard and leave. This was his home, the only place he belonged. Danni belonged here too.

* * * *

The next morning, Nico found Danni with his aunt at the kitchen table over cups of steamy coffee. They were laughing together over what, he didn't know. Only they looked natural together. She belonged in his kitchen.

"Morning, ladies," he said, moving into the room and heading straight to the coffee maker. "A bit early, isn't it, Danni?"

"Probably, but I have a lot to do today, and I needed to speak with you."

Tia Maria looked from Danni to Nico, hiding her smile with her coffee cup. "Take your coffee and go. I'll call you both when breakfast is ready." She shooed them from the kitchen, and Nico knew if he turned quickly, he'd catch her smiling at them.

There was no pretext on Danni's part. "Can I see the netsuke folder, please?"

She waited while he went to the wall safe. Nico slid the folder on the desktop across from his chair, which he dropped into, pretending to enjoy his coffee. While it smelled good, he knew the hot liquid would turn to acid in his stomach. She went through each packet of pages several times before taking the chair across from him. After shuffling the contents one last time, she pulled one from the folder and slid it between them.

The statue she chose was "Worship the Penis," as it had been dubbed years ago. While only several inches tall, the ivory was sculpted to look like one large penis. Wrapped around its base was the figure of a woman, her kimono elegantly carved and painted with detail. Her arms wrapped around the shaft, and her cheek pressed against it. It was the one Nico had pictured often, only with Danni wrapped around him. She stood, pulled a sheet of paper from her back pocket, and placed it on top of the photo.

"I want to buy this one back, outright." He glanced up at her, took the paper, and unfolded it to find the bank statement. The balance was only a few thousand less than the original loan price. He knew it was all the money she had, yet here she wanted to buy back this one.

"Why this one?" he asked, wanting to know the truth.

"Because while I'm appalled by my actions last night, I still want to keep the deal, only seven nights."

"Danni, where did this money come from?" She was insulted and they both knew it.

"It's the balance of my college trust fund."

"It's probably the only money you have the bank can't touch. Do you really want to spend it on this statue? Think about it. If you don't want to marry me, then this will hold you over until you make other arrangements." He didn't want to think what they might be.

"I know that. But to keep our deal, I couldn't do this one." She sat back as her face turned a bright red. He pushed back in his seat, toying with the bank statement.