The Moretti Seduction (5 page)

Before they had graduated from college he’d only been a distant figure, leaving their upbringing to their mother. Which Genevieve hadn’t minded. But Nathalie always had. She’d craved her father’s attention and from her earliest memory knew that the only way to get it was through Vallerio Inc.

“Dom is going to take your father and sister on a tour of the car factory so that we can have some time to talk about what we both want. I think together we can find a solution that will work for both of our families.”

“I agree.”

Nathalie did agree. She wanted this over with. She needed to finish up the negotiations in Milan and make her way back to Paris where her real life was. She didn’t need to stay here under Antonio’s influence any longer than necessary.

“Would you like to continue working in here?”

“Yes, I think it would be for the best.”

“Okay, then, please have a seat.”

Nathalie took the same seat she’d had before, expecting Antonio to sit across from her. Instead he took the seat right next to her.

“At the end of the day what will please Vallerio Inc.?”

“Besides our original offer?”

“Yes. You know I won’t agree to those terms.”

“I’m not sure. I know we want to make sure that the new Vallerio production car represents Pierre-Henri’s legacy. Profits are something we can haggle on, but
Grandpere
’s legendary status as a racer…I’d like to see that brought forward.”

Antonio leaned closer, the scent of his aftershave surrounding her. Last night after he left she’d noticed that she still could smell and feel him around her. And she realized she was going to be feeling that until this business meeting was over.

“How do you want to handle that?” Antonio asked.

“He’s already in the hall of fame, but I think I’d like to see the marketing campaign focus on why the car is named for my
grandpere.
I’d like him to be the focus and not Lorenzo.”

Antonio made some notes on the yellow pad in front of him. His handwriting was scrawling and masculine.

“We can’t leave Lorenzo out completely, but I’ll see what we can do. What else do you want?”

“We will take the seat on the board that you offered.”

“Of course.”

“And we want profit sharing for our investors.”

Antonio shook his head. “I’ll have to talk to our board. Are you offering a reciprocal arrangement for our shareholders?”

“No. Why would I?”

“I don’t know that we are going to go for it. What else do you want?”

“I’m still thinking seventy percent of the profits from the Vallerio Roadster.”

“Well, you go back and see if you can get a reciprocal arrangement for us and I’ll see about giving you fifty percent of the profits. Dom wanted to offer you guys thirty.”

Nathalie jotted down a few notes. She thought she could talk the board and more importantly her father into accepting a fifty percent profit margin from the Vallerio production model. But the reciprocal deal…that was going to be harder. No one wanted another company to be a part of Vallerio Inc. On the other hand, they wouldn’t turn down the money to be made from the roadster. R & D was expensive and they could always use more money for that. Though they didn’t build cars, they developed engines and Vallerio Inc. was on the cusp of launching a new biofuel engine.

That was why they weren’t too concerned about coming to an agreement with Moretti Motors for the Vallerio. The company stood to make huge profits from its groundbreaking engineering patent.

“I will have to go back and discuss it with my board. Why don’t we reconvene in a couple of weeks?”

“You haven’t heard what else we want,” Antonio said.

“What else do you want?”

“If you can get your board to go for reciprocal profit sharing, then we’d like a seat on your board. Just so we can keep track of our investments.”

“Antonio, let me be straight with you. The chances of us doing a reciprocal deal are slim.”

“Then your shareholders should know they’ll get no stake in the Vallerio Roadster.”

She knew he wasn’t going to give away the shop. And he knew at the end of the day that he wasn’t going to give up until he had everything he wanted.

But then she remembered his comment from yesterday.
All’s fair…
Pivoting her chair to face him, she leaned forward so that she was almost touching him. He glanced away from the table and down her body.

Inside she smiled. Genevieve’s dress was right on the money and the perfect tool to distract Antonio. “I think we’re both too tired to discuss this anymore today. How about if I send you an e-mail with the things we want?”

She was careful to keep her shoulders back so that her breasts were thrust forward. Inside she knew her business school mentor, Professor Stanley Muchen, would have told her that this behavior was deplorable.

But as Antonio leaned forward and took her hand in his she realized that she didn’t care. She wanted to flirt with Antonio, and using her “wiles” to distract him was exactly what she needed to get what she wanted.

Nathalie suspected that Antonio wasn’t paying as close attention to the meeting as he normally would have. She had to wonder if it was because of her new clothes. But that seemed a bit silly to her. Antonio was a sophisicated man who was used to attractive women.

But this wasn’t like her normal boardroom maneuvering, and frankly, as Antonio leaned closer to her, she knew she was out of her league. The dress was just a costume she wore. It hadn’t changed who she was on the inside. To be honest he knew she had no idea how to use her body to manipulate the deal.

“What are you thinking?” he asked.

“That I’ve started something I can’t finish.”

He stood up and leaned against the table in front of her. She arched her neck back to maintain eye contact.

“What do you mean,
cara?
This?” He gestured to the two of them.

“Yes, this. My sister said…Oh, man, am I really saying this out loud?”

“What did your sister say? That you should seduce me and get me to agree to all of your terms?”

She tipped her head to the side and realized that either he had thought of the idea of seducing her or someone on his team had suggested the same thing. “Perhaps.”

“We are both adults, Nathalie,” he said. “We are attracted to each other. It doesn’t have anything to do with our families or the companies they own.”

She wished it were that easy. That she could simply turn off the corporate lawyer part of her brain and pretend that an affair with Antonio would have no repercussions beyond the emotional ones she felt when affairs ended.

“I’m trying to decide if you really believe that or if you are just trying another tactic to get me to agree to your terms,” she said.

Antonio reached down and took her hand in his. “I always believe what I say. I might not tell you all the reasoning behind it, though.”

“I am not sure—”

“Don’t think about this, Nathalie. We both have agreed to go back to our board of directors and to discuss the new terms. There is nothing more to be said or done this day. Why not enjoy each other’s company?”

“Why not?” she asked, shaking her head. “I imagine Romeo must have said the same thing to Juliet.”

He laughed. “I don’t intend for either of us to die and I’m pretty sure that Dom and Emile won’t draw blood while touring the car factory.”

“I’m not trying to be melodramatic. It’s just we aren’t two people whose paths have crossed without consequences. As much as I might want to have an affair with you—”

“You want to have an affair with me?” he asked, leaning forward.

Any other man would have been crowding her, but with Antonio he couldn’t get close enough. She stood up and put her hands on his shoulders.

“You’re a smart man. You can figure that out.”

He reached up and touched the side of her face with one long finger and she shivered under that touch.

“I already have,” he said, leaning up to rub his lips over hers.

She tunneled her fingers into his thick hair and held his head still. She wasn’t about to let Antonio take control of any part of their relationship, and she had realized over the last few minutes that they were going to have a relationship. There was too much spark between them for her to ignore it. That wasn’t true, she thought. She would have been able to ignore it if Antonio wasn’t attracted to her.

But he was.

His tongue sliding over her lips made her entire body tingle. She tipped her head to the side and opened her mouth as he deepened the kiss. She had never reacted this quickly to a man before.

He tasted so good, so right. And for once everything about a man felt as though he was made for her. He slid his hands down her back, stroking the length of her spine and then drawing her closer to him. As he sat there, she was nestled between his legs and felt the warmth of his body heat wrapping around her.

She pushed his suit coat off his shoulders and he shrugged out of it. She put her hands on his chest, wanting to feel his pulse beating under her fingers. She sucked his lower lip into her mouth and felt his hands flex against her hips. He lifted her up and set her on the table, then nudged her legs apart to make room between them for his hips.

The skirt of the dress she wore flowed over her thighs and onto the conference room table. She looked down at their bodies knowing that the time for talking was long gone.

“Antonio…”

“Sì, la mia amore?”

She realized she didn’t know what to say. She wasn’t going to call a halt to their lovemaking, so instead she took his face in both of her hands and brought their mouths together again. She kissed him with all the pent-up passion she’d carried for a lifetime. She refused to think of anything but this moment. Refused to occupy anything but his arms right now.

He groaned into her mouth and she felt his hands sweep up her sides to cup her breasts. She found his hips with her hands and drew him closer to her. She felt his erection nudging her center, but it only made her hungrier for him. She wanted—

A sound in the hallway made them pull apart. Antonio looked at her, something solid and steady in his eyes. Something she’d never really seen on a man’s face before.

“I’m going to lock the door.”

All she could do was nod because she knew she didn’t want this moment to end.

She looked so tempting with the sun streaming in from the tinted windows onto her red-gold hair. Her creamy pale skin was like a beacon, guiding him back to her. Unable to resist, he loosened his tie and hurried back to her side.

She was sitting just as he’d left her, her legs parted, those impossibly high peep-toe shoes on her tiny feet, the skirt of her dress draped over her thighs. Her breasts rose up and fell with her breaths.

“Lean back on your elbows for me,
cara,
” he said.

She did as he asked. She was temptation incarnate, everything a man could want, and she wasn’t doing anything but sitting there, just as she had all morning. She’d cast a spell over him just as powerful as the curse that Cassia Festa had put on Lorenzo all those years ago. But this spell was enchanting and he wanted nothing more than to indulge himself in her.

And he could. He wasn’t going to deny himself the pleasure of Nathalie and her body.

Her green-gold eyes were shy as he tossed his tie on the credenza and unbuttoned his shirt, but once he touched her, took a strand of that red-gold hair of hers in his hand, all that melted away.

She stayed where he’d asked her to as he leaned down to take her mouth in his. She was the first woman he’d kissed who tasted like home to him.

She smelled of spring flowers and her skin was softer than anything he’d ever touched. He ran his hands down her arms, linking their fingers together as his mouth moved over hers.

He slid his hand down her side, finding the zipper hidden in the seam, and lowered it slowly. “I want you naked,
cara mia.
”

“Me too, Antonio.”

Blood rushed through his veins. Antonio knew the boardroom wasn’t the sexiest place in the world, but with Nathalie that didn’t matter. The fabric of her bodice gaped away from her chest and he wanted to see more.

“Arch your shoulders,” he said.

“Like this?” Her shoulders moved and the loose bodice gaped further.

“What are you wearing under this?” he asked, tracing his finger along the seam where fabric met flesh.

“Why don’t you find out?”

He growled deep in his throat. Leaning forward, he brushed soft kisses against her shoulder and collarbone, following the lines of her body down to where the loosened bodice was and then he took the soft fabric in his teeth and pulled it away from her skin. There was no strap from a bra there. Just the smooth skin of woman.

He pushed the fabric out of his way, letting it pool at her waist. She was exquisite, her breasts just the right size for her frame, her nipples a pretty pink accent to her creamy white skin. He hesitated to touch her, wanting to just look at her for a long moment.

“Take your shirt off,” she said.

But he shook his head. “You do it.”

She shifted on the table and reached between them, pushing his shirt off his shoulders. He took her wrists in his hands and drew them to his hips. He caressed the length of her arms and then slid his hands down her chest, caressing every bit of skin he touched.

“Come closer, Antonio.”

“Like this?” He drew her into his arms, held her so her nipples brushed against the light dusting of hair on his chest.

“Yes.”

He rotated his shoulders so that his chest rubbed against her breast. She squirmed delicately in his arms.

“I like that,” she said.

Blood roared in his ears. He was so hard right now that he needed to be inside her body.

Impatient with the fabric of her dress, he shoved it up and out of his way. He caressed her creamy thighs.
Dio,
she was soft. She moaned as he neared her center and then sighed when he brushed his fingertips across the crotch of her panties.

The lace was warm and wet. He slipped one finger under the material and hesitated for a second, looking down into her eyes.

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 move his touch where she needed it.

He was beyond teasing her or prolonging anything. He ripped her panties aside, plunged two fingers into her humid body. She squirmed against him.

He pulled her head down to his so he could taste her mouth. Her mouth opened over his and he told himself to take it slow, but Nathalie was making him go naught to sixty in less than 3.5 seconds. She was pure fire. Like putting jet fuel in a car, she was sending him skyrocketing.

He nibbled on her and held her at his mercy. Her nails dug into his shoulders and she leaned up, brushing against his chest. Her nipples were hard points and he pulled away from her mouth, glancing down to see them pushing against his chest.

He caressed her back and spine, scraping his nail down the length of it. He followed the line of her back down the indentation above her backside.

She closed her eyes and held her breath as he fondled her, running his finger over her nipple. It was velvety compared to the satin smoothness of her breast. He brushed his finger back and forth until she bit her lower lip.

Her intelligence, wit and unwillingness to back down at the bargaining table had turned him on before, but seeing her today as a sexy, confident woman had been more than he could handle.

She moaned a sweet sound that he leaned up to capture in his mouth. She tipped her head to the side, allowing him access to her mouth. She held his shoulders and moved on him, rubbing her center over his erection.

He scraped his fingernail over her nipple and she shivered in his arms. He pushed her back a little bit so he could see her. Her breasts were bare, nipples distended and begging for his mouth. He lowered his head and suckled.

He held her still with a hand on the small of her back. He buried his other hand in her hair and arched her over his arm. Both of her breasts were thrust up at him. He had a lap full of woman and he knew that he wanted Nathalie more than he’d wanted any other woman in a long time.

Her eyes were closed, her hips moving subtly against him, and when he blew on her nipple he saw gooseflesh spread down her body.

He loved the way she reacted to his touch. He kept his attention on her breasts. Her nipples were so sensitive he was pretty sure he could bring her to an orgasm just from touching her there.

He suckled the inside of her left breast, needing to leave his mark on her so that later when she was away from him and surrounded by her family, she’d remember this.

He kept kissing and fondling her until her hands clenched in his hair and she rocked her hips harder against his length. He lifted his hips, thrusting up against her. As he bit down carefully on her tender, aroused nipple, she screamed his name and he hurriedly covered her mouth with his, wanting to feel every bit of her passion.

He rocked her until the storm passed and she quieted in his arms. He held her close. Her bare breasts brushed against his chest. He was so hard he thought he’d die if he didn’t get inside her.

Then he remembered he had no protection with him.

Maybe this time it was better to leave things as they were, he told himself. He’d just realized that keeping his head and his heart separate were going to be harder than he’d thought.

Damn, did he say heart? He wasn’t the kind of man to fall for a woman. Even one as sexy as Nathalie Vallerio.