The Moretti Arrangement (6 page)

Of course the way he was looking at her, totally impersonal, made it a bit easier. But that also made her nervous. What did he expect from her?

“That’s good. When are you supposed to meet him?”

“Next Wednesday. Dominic is scheduled to go to the F1 race in Catalonia, Spain.”

“Good. So we can set up this meeting with Barty. I will follow you to London,” Ian said.

“I don’t like it, I should be there,” Dominic said.

“You can’t be, Dom. If you aren’t where you are supposed to be, Eastburn will suspect you’re on to him.”

“I agree with Signore Stark,” Angelina said. “Barty isn’t a very trusting man. He always has me followed when I leave a meeting with him.”

“How do you know?” Dominic asked.

“I saw his man,” Angelina said. She’d never admit it to these men, but it had scared her at first. She didn’t know what Barty’s man would do to her. And for all that she was confident of herself and her abilities to take care of herself, the man was so tall and broad, she knew she wouldn’t stand a chance if he attacked her.

“Are you sure he was following you?”

“Yes, and it’s the same man everytime. The one time Renni was with me, the first time, he said that the man—Patrick, he called him—worked for Barty.”

“So the man’s name is Patrick?” Dominic asked.

“Sì.”

“Is this the man you call Patrick?” Ian asked, pulling a photo from a manila folder.

She looked at a photo of herself and Barty. Ian tapped the man sitting at a table behind them.

“Yes, that’s him,” Angelina said. “How did you discover it was me?”

“I followed the trail of paperwork,” Ian said. “Dom was very good at limiting who had the information, and the two men we thought were suspects never left Milan and never delivered information anywhere.”

She noted that Dominic’s eyes narrowed as Ian spoke about her betraying him. She wondered if being his mistress was really going to be recompense enough. She suspected it wasn’t and that really upset her.

“Well, I don’t know who Patrick is to Eastburn, but he seems to have his fingers in a lot of pies,” Angelina said.

“I suspected as much. I’m going to run him through a few of my databases. If he’s involved in organized crime…well, I have another client who will be interested in that.”

“What will we do next week?” she asked Ian. She didn’t care about anything but making things up to Dominic.

“You will do what you’ve always done with Barty. I will follow and record the meeting. Does he search you when you arrive?”

“No. At least he never has.”

“He must be very confident that you won’t betray him,” Dominic said, a tinge of anger in his voice.

“I think it is more that he knows he holds all the cards.”

“Not anymore,” Dominic said. “What’s the plan, Ian?”

“I want Angelina to wear a wire so we can record the conversation. I have a very sophisticated one that I can embed in a brooch.”

“I can do that. What do I say to him?”

“Just let him do the talking. Have you ever suggested information you can give him?”

“No. He’s always known exactly what he wants and asks me for it.”

“Good. That’s all I really need. Together with the photos we should have enough proof.”

Angelina nodded. “I told my brother he had to come back to Milan this time. I really was trying to find a way to stop having to give Barty information.”

“Why didn’t you go to the police or to Dominic?” Ian asked.

She looked at both men. “I didn’t know what to say to the police. Renni has a criminal record. I couldn’t chance getting him in trouble, maybe have him go back to jail. I didn’t want that. He’s all the family I have.”

“That’s understandable,” Dominic said. “But why not talk to me?”

“Everyone looks to you to solve their problems and I didn’t want to be just one more person in a long line,” she said.

“That’s a lame excuse,” Dominic said.

“Yes, it is. The truth is I’m used to fixing my own problems. It never occurred to me to turn to you.”

“I guess stealing from me seemed different to you,” he said with a bitter edge to his voice.

She felt a sting of tears at his words. “I never thought of it that way, but I can see that you’re right. Stealing from you wasn’t the right thing to do. But, unlike the great Dominic Moretti, I’m only human and infinitely fallible.”

“The important thing is that we’re moving on now. You’re making reparations to Dominic and making amends by helping us trap Barty,” Ian said.

She could tell by Dominic’s lack of reaction that he didn’t think there was anything good about this situation. She realized that she’d given herself to a man who didn’t want anything from her beyond what their agreement stated.

Suddenly she was very unsure that she could turn this negative into a positive. That she could find a way to make Dominic Moretti forgive her for her crimes. Because she saw the seeds of a man she could really like.

He needed to be alone. He was going to take one of his Moretti coupes to the track outside the city and drive it as fast as he could. Anything to get away from this mess and clear his head.

He knew he was making mistakes with Angelina, which was one thing he couldn’t abide.

There was a knock on his door. “Enter.”

Angelina stood there with her notepad in one hand and a very hesitant look on her face. “Do you want to go over your schedule for the day?”

No, what he wanted was to reaffirm that she was his mistress. That her loyalty was owed only to him.

“Close the door and lock it, Angelina, and then come over here.”

She swallowed and tipped her head to one side. “What do you have in mind?”

“Whatever I want, remember? That is our arrangement.”

Angelina locked the door and then leaned back against it. “I know I said…anything you wanted, but I never expected you to ask me for anything personal here at the office.”

“Neither did I. But I want you and you are my mistress, aren’t you, Angelina?”

“Yes, I am,” she said, straightening from the wall. “Do you want me, Dominic?”

“More than I should,” he said, giving her the truth. She was a courageous woman and he realized part of why he needed to make love to her now was the fact that she had placed herself in danger. The men who were after her brother wouldn’t hesitate to hurt her.

“Come to me,” he said.

She moved slowly toward him with sensual grace, the ruffled hem of her dress bouncing lightly around her thighs. He stood and crossed the small space between them in two long strides. Sweeping her up in his arms, he carried her to his desk.

Her mouth opened under his and he told himself to take it slow. That if he was going to retain any objectivity where she was concerned, he really needed to keep his cool, but that simply wasn’t possible. She was pure feminine temptation. He slid his hands down her back, down to the end of her dress, and slipped his hand underneath. He felt the silk of her hose and then just bare skin.

He set her on her feet next to the wide mahogany desk. He wanted, needed, to keep things light between them. To make the sex between them something of a game so that he didn’t forget to keep his objectivity and so that she didn’t forget that this was temporary. That they were lovers only until the six months was up.

“Do you like it when I tell you what to do?” he asked, coming up behind her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and drew her back against his body.

She turned her head to the side, resting it on his shoulder, and he felt a curious emotion inside him. An emotion that had nothing to do with lust. For a moment he tightened his arms around her, wanting to bury his face in her thick hair.

He wanted to pretend that her betrayal didn’t matter. That it didn’t matter that she’d spent time with his bitter rival Barty Eastburn. That it didn’t matter if he fell for her because he was no longer a man cursed by past generations.

But all of that did matter. “Angelina?”

“
Sì,
Dominic?”

“Do you like it when I tell you what to do?” he asked again.

She glanced up at him, a slight blush coloring her face. “I do. There is a certain freedom and being able to act without…”

She trailed off and he realized what she was going to say. “Without taking responsibility?”

“Yes. I’m sorry, that’s not fair to you.”

“In this case it’s perfectly fair. You have agreed to give your body to me whenever I ask. And I have agreed to give you pleasure until you forget your name.”

“Wow, that’s what you agreed to?” she asked, a teasing note in her voice.

“Sì.”

She smiled at him, making him very aware that she hadn’t smiled at all in the meeting with Ian. In fact, this was the first time today he’d seen genuine happiness on her face. And he was the one who caused it. He’d made her happy.

It shouldn’t matter to him; she was only his mistress. But it did matter. He stopped thinking and started to feel.

“Bend forward, place your hands on the desk,” he said.

She did as he said, bracing her hands awkwardly on the smooth surface. “Like this?”

“Just like that. Wait, are you wearing panties?”

She flushed. “Yes! Or course.”

He bit the inside of his mouth to keep from smiling. “Take them off.”

She straightened and turned to face him. She lifted her skirt to her waist revealing thigh-high sheer hose and a tiny pair of race-car-red panties. Slowly she took the sides of her panties and drew them down her legs.

When she reached her knees she pushed them to the floor and delicately stepped out of the undergarment. She started to lower her skirt, but he stopped her.

“Leave your skirt up and turn back around.”

She hesitated and he saw the vulnerability in her eyes. He kissed her. He didn’t draw her into his arms but took her mouth with his and reassured her the only way he could. If she didn’t like this, he would stop and just make love to her on the leather guest chair.

She grasped his shoulders and pulled herself closer to him. Her head tilted to give them both deeper access to each other’s mouths. And once again he was struck by the fact that where this woman was concerned he had no discipline. She’d undermined him again. Right now all he wanted to do was free his erection and take her.

He took her hips in his hands. Her butt was firm and smooth and he caressed the furrow between her cheeks.

She swiveled her hips against his touch, and he slipped his touch deeper until he caressed that slit between her legs. She was wet and hot with her desire. He stroked the edge of her femininity, circling the edge of her body with his finger. She said his name on a long sigh.

“Yes?”

“You make me so hot,” she said. “No other has ever taken over my body the way you do.”

“Good. Unbutton your blouse,” he said. “I want to see your breasts.”

He kept his hand between her legs as she slowly undid the buttons. The blouse fell open down her shoulders, over her arms.

Her bra matched the red panties at his feet. It was a demi-bra with cups that only covered the bottom half of her breasts. They looked delicate and tempting. The lace detail was black and a contrast to her creamy skin.

“Turn around again,” he said, his own voice husky and deep.

She did as he said and leaned on the desk, thrusting her butt back toward him. He leaned over her, his big body completely blanketing hers. He bent his legs so his erection rubbed at her core. Through the fabric of his pants he felt her heat.

The top of her blouse almost fell off of her body. And from his angle looking over her shoulder, he could only see the tops of her breasts, and the barest hint of the rosy flesh of her nipples. He reached up one hand and drew the lace down away from her nipple, completely exposing it.

He ran the tip of one fingertip around her aroused flesh. She trembled in his arms. He undid the front clasp of her bra and brushed the cups away. He took one of her nipples between his fingers and pinched her lightly. She shifted against him. Her hips thrust back against him and she shifted until her core rubbed over the ridge of his hardness.

She tried to turn in his arms, but he held her in place. “Dominic…”

“Yes?”

“I want to touch you.”

He wanted that, too. But he knew if he felt her fingers on his chest or on his erection, he would be inside her and this moment would end. And he wasn’t ready for that yet.

“No,” he said, growling deep in his throat. He leaned forward to nibble at the elegant length of her neck. He ran his tongue down the side of it until she shivered with pleasure. He reached between her legs to find her nether lips. Stroking her, he kept his touch light until she went up on her tiptoes and thrust her hips back into him.

Then he lightly traced her. She screamed his name as she tried to turn in his arms. But he held her still, his hands on her body.

He felt her heart beating frantically in her chest. Her hips moved urgently trying to find the pinnacle of her release. He drove her relentlessly toward it but stopped before she climaxed, holding her at the edge of sensation so that she would enjoy it more later.

“Do you like that?”

“Yes. Yes, I do, Dominic, but I need more.”

“More of this?” he asked, scraping his finger over her nipple.

She shook her head. He took his hand from her breast and unzipped his pants, freeing his erection.

“More of this?” he asked, leaning forward to speak directly into her ear as he pushed one finger into her body. She tightened on him and he felt the tiny contractions as she began to orgasm. He quickly pulled his finger back out and she moaned at the loss.

“Yes. That.”

He pulled her to him and lifted her slightly so that her buttocks were nestled against his abdomen. He leaned over her, bracing his hands on the desk next to hers, and let her feel his chest against her back. Blood roared in his ear. He was so hard, so full right now.

He caressed her creamy thighs.
Dios,
she was soft, something he hadn’t forgotten from the first time he’d had her. She moaned as he neared her center and then sighed when he brushed his fingertips against her humid warmth.

He turned his head to watch her as he tested her readiness, this time with the tip of himself. Her eyes were heavy lidded. She bit down on her lower lip and he felt the minute movements of her hips as she tried to take him deeper, to make him enter her. But he held his hips steady and waited, prolonging the moment until he couldn’t take it anymore.

He needed her
now.
Their naked loins pressed together and he shook under the impact. Naked loins…dammit, he needed a condom.

He reached into his pocket and pulled out the packet he’d put there earlier. He donned it quickly and then came back to her. She’d stood there waiting for him. Her hips lifted slightly and he knew that she was as hot for him as he was for her.

He had to have her.
Now.
He cupped both of her breasts in his hands, plucking at her aroused nipples. He adjusted his stance, bending his knees and positioning himself, and then entered her with one long, hard stroke.

She moaned his name and her head fell forward leaving the curve of her neck open and vulnerable to him. He bit softly at her neck and felt the reaction all the way to his toes when she squirmed in his arms and thrust her hips back toward him.

A tingling started in the base of his spine and he knew his climax was close. But he wasn’t going without Angelina. He wanted her with him. He caressed her stomach and her breasts. Whispered erotic words of praise and longing in her ears.

She moved more frantically in his arms and he thrust deeper with each stroke. Breathing out through his mouth, he tried to hold back the inevitable. He slid one hand down her abdomen, through the slick folds of her sex. Finding her center, he stroked the aroused flesh with an up-and-down movement. She continued to writhe in his arms no closer to her climax than before.

He circled that aroused bit of flesh between her legs with his forefinger, then scraped it very carefully. She screamed his name and tightened around him. Penetrating her as deeply as he could, he bit down on the back of her neck and came long and hard, emptying himself into her body.

He wasn’t cold or alone anymore, he acknowledged, and that scared him more than he wanted to admit. More than he would ever admit. Because Moretti’s legacy was built for a solitary man and he wasn’t about to give up his heritage for Angelina. No matter how right she felt in his arms.