Making Mina 2: Strings Attached (2 page)

Mina’s cheeks burned.  Her lack of experience was what landed her in Marco Genovese’s bed in the first place, and he’d definitely spent the majority of that night stretching her boundaries. 

“Your confidence is overwhelming,” she said through clenched teeth.  “I promise: Dr. Fielding, Dr. Peabody, and I will do everything we can to make sure that you are satisfied with the exhibit.”  Ivy smiled, her face actually peeking out from behind her curtain of hair. Dr. Peabody beamed with pride, nodding and making little noises of agreement, and Mina knew she was well and truly stuck.  She couldn’t back out now, even if she wanted to.

Not that you want to
, a little voice said. Her night with Marco Genovese had been everything she could ask for—excitement and passion and romantic murmurings in the dark. Those incredible fingers slid over every inch of her body, exploring slowly—so slowly—that she thought they must be finding the nooks and crannies in her soul.  Marco learned the spots that made her whimper in ecstasy, and the rhythms that made her scream as she orgasmed over, and over, until she collapsed like a rag doll in his arms.  Even then he didn’t stop. He petted her and kissed her, whispering mysterious nothings in the rolling accents of his native tongue until sleep claimed them.  It was everything she’d ever dreamed of, but the knowledge that it was temporary—it could be taken from her at any time—was more than she could bear.  It was better to end it on her terms; so, she did.

Or so she thought.

Dark eyes followed her every move.  His face was still a mask of polite interest, but his eyes were hard.  His presence at the museum made it clear that her terms hadn’t suited him, and he wasn’t a man accustomed to disappointment.  She could feel his eyes as they traveled over her, and her skin tingled in response. Her cheeks were flushed, her pulse fluttering in her throat, and she shifted in embarrassment as she felt her nipples harden under his gaze as if it was a physical touch.

Marco’s face barely changed, but Mina could see the satisfaction there.  He was pleased at her reaction, pleased that he could trigger such a response without ever raising a finger.

“I am so glad to hear you say so,” he said. “This project has consumed me over the past few days, and I am looking forward to proceeding as quickly as possible.”  He turned, breaking their gaze, and focused on Dr. Peabody.

“Dr. Peabody,” he said, “You mentioned that you had papers in your office that would be required to arrange for the transfer of items—release forms, catalog pages—do you think that you could bring those to me now?  I have a meeting this afternoon, but I would like to make as much progress as I can today. You never know when an opportunity is going to,” he paused, “slip away?”  He turned, back to Mina, expression dark and unreadable, and stared.  “That is the phrase, yes? Slip away?”

She couldn’t find her voice so she nodded instead. Marco smiled but it never reached his eyes.

“Good, good.” He turned back to Dr. Peabody. “Sometimes I think we should do all our communicating with actions.  Words mean so little to some people, and can lead to such 
misunderstandings
.”

Mina trembled as she stood, remembering the last words she’d said to Marco before he climbed from bed.  He’d promised to arrange breakfast after his run, told her to sleep, that she’d need her rest. She laughed a little thinly, already feeling the panic brought by the light of day.  She pulled the blankets up to her chin, wild curls falling across her eyes, and nodded.  
It’s so comfortable here.  I don’t think I’ll ever want to leave
.  He rolled over her, pinning her blanket and all, and kissed her possessively.  Long moments later, both of them breathing raggedly, he’d answered. 
Good. Leaving isn’t on the agenda
.

As soon as he’d left, though, her feet weren’t just cold, they were ice cubes.  She knew he was expecting her to stay, knew she’d all but promised that she would, but she couldn’t do it.  The power, the money, the passion… it was just too much for her to handle.

“Of course!  I’d be happy to get that paperwork started for you.  I have a packet that our new donors are given, and if you can give me ten minutes my assistant can collect all the other items we have prepared. You must understand that once we get into deliveries and security that there will be more specific materials that must be addressed, but Mina here will be able to talk you through any of that as it comes up.”  He paused, fingers tapping against his chin.  “Ivy?”  Ivy jumped and pulled her eyes away from Marco.

“Yes, Dr. Peabody?” She was already moving towards the door and it took every ounce of restraint for Mina not to grab her arm and stop her.  “Is there something you’d like me to take care of?”

“Yes, yes,” the little man was muttering, now, his mind speeding along at a mile a minute.  “I need  you to run down to the Development and Giving department and pick up the donor packet that they have, and then stop in the office of the Senior Archivist and let him know that we need all the release forms and transport restrictions for the more delicate items that will be coming.  Oh, and don’t forget to stop in…” His voice faded away as Ivy followed him down the hall, visions of Etruscan sugarplums dancing in their heads.

And just like that, she was alone with Marco Genovese.

The room was admittedly small, but with Marco standing there it felt miniscule. His broad shoulders blocked her view of the door, her only avenue of escape, and she looked everywhere but at his face, afraid of what she’d see there.

Or what she wouldn’t see.

She could feel the walls closing in on her.  She shifted from foot to foot nervously, waiting, waiting, waiting, but she wasn’t sure for what.

“You left without saying goodbye.”  Marco’s voice was flat, the words curiously distant.

“I thought it was better that way.” Her voice didn’t crack and she was grateful for that.  Her breathing was tight, her heart was racing.  She raised a hand to push a curl out of her face and was amazed that it wasn’t shaking like a leaf.  Long, muscular legs took a stride forward and cut the distance between them in half.

“You were,” he paused again and she forced herself to look at him, “mistaken.”

His calm infuriated her.  How dare he come in here, to her office, to her world, and pull this kind of stunt?  He might be used to all this King of the Universe crap, but she didn’t have to put up with it.

“The only mistake I made,” she said, anger putting an edge in her voice, “was going home with you in the first place.”  The look on his face changed minutely and she hurried on. “Don’t get me wrong.  I enjoyed myself.  I did.  I can honestly say I’ve never experienced anything like it before, but it was a mistake.  Rebound madness.  A one night stand.”

Everything in the room grew still.  She wasn’t even sure she was breathing.  Marco held her gaze for a moment that stretched into another and another, longer and longer until she was almost dizzy with it.  Then he stepped forward, crowding her back against her desk, the heat from him palpable even in the stuffy little room.

“Come to dinner with me.”

Mina sucked in a breath. 
Okay
, she thought, her brain changing gears, 
not what I expected
.

“I don’t think that would be a good idea,” she managed, wincing at the breathy quality of her voice.

“Oh, I think it would be a good idea,” Marco said, leaning forward a fraction and sending her pulse skyrocketing, “a 
very
 good idea.”  His eyes glittered with heat.  “You can’t tell me that you don’t want to—I can see it in your eyes, hear it in your breath.  I bet that if I were to lift your skirt I’d find you soaked and ready for me.”

Mina drew in another shaky breath, trying vainly to calm herself. One of his hands reached out, the long fingers that had given her such pleasure trailing down her side, lightly grazing her breast and then resting on her hip.  It stopped there, grasping at the lightweight material of her skirt.  He was right: wetness pooled between her legs as she remembered what those hands were capable of, and her nipples were tight in invitation, begging to be tugged and sucked.  She shifted away from him, desperate to put distance, even an inch, between them.

“This isn’t the place for this,” she tried.  “Dr. Peabody…”

“Fuck Dr. Peabody,” Marco snarled, sliding his hand possessively over her ass and pulling her tightly against him.  “I’m not above a little exhibitionism, and unless you want your dear Dr. Peabody to see you taking a little more than 
dictation
…” he ground his hips against her, his erection hot and heavy against her stomach, “you’ll agree to come to dinner with me.”

Mina whimpered at his words, a flood of moisture soaking her panties.  Her eyes fluttered closed and she breathed in the scent of him, every inch of her body aching for him to touch her.

Marco was not going to take no for an answer, so Mina decided to accept the temporary defeat. “Okay,” she whispered, licking her dry lips, “I’ll come.”

Marco growled next to her ear, his breath sending goose bumps down her arms.  “I know you will.” His tongue darted out and traced the shell of her ear, causing her knees to buckle, but as soon as he made contact he withdrew. “I’ll pick you up at eight.” An instant later he was back across the office, nonchalantly examining the books on the shelves beside the door as Ivy and Dr. Peabody reappeared, babbling about papers and shipments and honorariums.   Mina turned to face her desk, leaning heavily against it as she struggled to gather the tattered remains of her control. 

 “Thank you for all your kind attentions,” Marco said, appearing as unruffled as ever.  “Miss Hemingway has graciously agreed to accompany me to dinner tonight, so I will take these documents with me and we will look over them this evening.”  He pushed himself away from the wall, reaching out to shake Dr. Peabody’s hand.

“Well then,” the older man said with enthusiasm, “I’ll leave you in her care.  I’m certain she will be able to address anything that comes up.”  He stepped over and patted Mina on the shoulder.  “Won’t you my dear?”

Mina smiled wanly and nodded.

“Absolutely,” she agreed, listening half-heartedly as Marco made his goodbyes.  His eyes landed on her and she could see the determination there behind a façade of civility.

What have I gotten myself into?

Chapter Two

“So, you’re telling me that the whole thing is nothing but a power play?  Some big scam to get even with you for running out on him?”

Mina flopped into an armchair covered in Finnish flowers.

“I don’t know, Ivy,” she sighed, head flopping back.  “What I do know is that it’s an unlikely coincidence.  It’s the only thing that makes sense. I mean, yeah, sure, he has a collection of Etruscan art and the Oppen is as good a place as any to exhibit it, but really?  Three days after a torrid romp in the sheets he appears in my office making ridiculous offers to make me Head Curator?  Me? You know that isn’t how it works—Hell, I’ll be lucky if Santiago doesn’t penny my door shut when he hears that his position as Head Curator has been given over to a lowly grant writer.”

Ivy pushed her chair back from the table, eyes intent.

“None of this makes sense—including the torrid romp, if you don’t mind my saying—if he’s trying to make you look bad,” she said. “This is a man who runs a 
multi-billion
 
dollar
 corporation.  Coming in to the office singing your praises, agreeing to provide an exclusive collection to the museum as long as you are the one running the show… there’s just not enough downside to this scenario.” Mina could hear the wheels grinding away in Ivy’s head and smiled. She never could leave a puzzle alone.  “All he’s managed to do, other than get a dinner date with you, is make you look 
really good
.  Dr. Peabody is so happy he’d have your name tattooed on his ass if you told him it would keep Mr. Genovese happy.”

Mina couldn’t help laughing at the image, but it didn’t last long.

“I know.  Right now I’m his golden girl, but if this exhibit goes south then I’m going to be looking a lot less like the Girl from Ipanema, and a lot more like Bea Arthur.”

Ivy grabbed her water bottle and took a long drink.  “We just have to make sure that we get all the contracts in place up front.  Once he’s committed—in writing—it won’t matter what happens between the two of you.  The exhibit will be protected, and that means your position at the Oppen should be safe, too.”

Mina blushed at the thought of what could happen between them, and Ivy gave her a stern little look.

“Now that there’s a plan in place for the exhibit, you need to explain—in a little more detail, thank you very much—about how all this happened in the first place.”

Nothing could budge Ivy once she got her teeth into something, so Mina didn’t try.

“It’s like I told you.  I was upset about Ethan, so I went down to Carlito’s with the idea of picking someone up and taking them home in front of all of Ethan’s co-workers.” Ivy’s heavily plucked eyebrows rose in surprise. Mina let out a groan of frustration, blonde curls flying everywhere. “I know, I know!  I don’t know what I was thinking.  It wasn’t like me at all, but I couldn’t help it.  I think I was insane.  All I could think of was how much I wanted to hurt him, or at the very least embarrass him, and you know what a bunch of backstabbing bitches he works with.”  Ivy nodded and Mina went on. “When Marco showed up it was like the Universe had sent me the ultimate weapon. I couldn’t imagine 
anything
 that would piss Ethan off more than me, his frigid little cast-off, getting it off with Mr. Italian Club Med who wouldn’t give him, or his company, the time of day.”

The anger in her voice surprised even her.  She thought she’d be able to let it go already but apparently Ethan’s betrayal cut deeper than she realized.

“I can see the want to hurt Ethan part,” Ivy said as she took another drink, “I can even see the screwing Marco Genovese part.” Mina raised her eyebrows in return and Ivy gave an unladylike snort.  “I may not have a boyfriend, but that doesn’t mean I don’t know a good-looking man when I see one.”