The Playboy's Fugitive Bride (7 page)

“Glad to hear that.”

He chuckled.  “I usually fly Howard, his vet, to Kenya, but Howard’s suffering from an ear infection and can’t fly, so I brought Jabari to him.”  He’d also wanted to spend some time with his old friend before Dafne arrived, and before they settled down into marital nightmare, but he couldn’t share that information with Nia.  “He’s heading back to Kenya tomorrow,” Massimo said, just then deciding to cut Jabari’s stay by one day.  He did not have the luxury to assimilate Nia into Jabari’s life at the moment.  Time was of the essence since he knew she would try to run away in two days.  On the other hand, Jabari was a jealous cat that needed constant affection that Mass could not offer with Nia around.  A brief introduction would have to work for now.  “Come meet him.”  He led her over to the cage.  He knelt on the floor and slapped his palms against his thighs.  “Jabari, come here.”

Jabari stared at him through vigilant bright-yellow eyes before shifting his gaze to Nia.

Nia’s hand gripped his shoulder when Jabari let out a high-pitched snarl followed by a low purring hiss.  Massimo recognized the sound as one of abidance and friendship.  “It’s okay.”  He patted Nia’s death-grip on his shoulder.  He smiled when Jabari rose from the floor of the cage and walked towards them in as graceful a stride as his short legs would allow.  His strong muscles rippled under his tawny coat, covered with dark circular rosettes.

Nia held her breath as the cat came closer.  Even though he was now cased behind a sturdy enclosure, and Massimo had said he was potentially harmless, she was still afraid of him.  But she took comfort in the knowledge that Massimo was here to protect her.  But then again, if his pet leopard had gobbled her up, he would’ve been denied the pleasure of devouring her himself at the end of the week, wouldn’t he?

She tried not to dwell on how safe she’d felt in his arms moments ago.  If he could shield her from a big cat, he sure had the means to shield her from a loan shark like Eddie.  The way he’d held her moments ago was different from the way he’d held her in the car.  That was passion.  This was protection.

She couldn’t tell which she liked more, but it was amazing to have a pair of strong male arms about her.  She hadn’t had that since her father’s death.  Lately when she was having a gloomy day, Aaron tried to cheer her up, but he was just a boy.  She needed the kind of security a full-grown man could offer.

Nia glanced down at the cat purring contentedly as Massimo reached a finger between the wires and stroked behind his black-tipped ears.  He was almost six feet long from his orange colored nose with a black streak running the length of it, to his exceptionally long spotted tail.  She’d guess he weighed close to two hundred pounds.  He could have mauled her quite terribly, she thought, taking a brooding glance at Jabari’s broad head, powerful jaws, and strong teeth.  Again, she was thankful for Massimo’s quick move to get between her and his cat.

“Squat down beside me and give me your hand,” Massimo said.  “Don’t worry.  He can’t harm you from inside the cage.”

Nia’s first instinct was to refuse, but remembering why she’d followed Massimo home, she reckoned it would play in her favor to make friends with his cat.  It might even cause him to doubt his own suspicions about her.  She squatted down beside him and placed her hand in his.

She held her breath as Massimo placed their entwined fingers against the wire and lined them up to Jabari’s nose.  His breath was warm and moist on her fingertips and it caused a tingle along her spine.  As she stared into his amber eyes, Nia felt as if she was staring at an old friend.  “You’re a beautiful cat, Jabari Andretti.  And it’s my pleasure to meet you.”

Jabari dropped his head on his paws and made a deep low growl in his throat.  The sound was thrilling, almost erotic, and it generated a feeling of danger and uncertainty in Nia—the same danger and uncertainty she’d felt when Massimo had kissed her.  It was as if he and his cat’s sexuality were morphed into one.

“He likes you,” Massimo said, smiling at her.

“He’s quite the charmer.  Much like his owner,” she replied, withdrawing her hand from his.  In an effort to avoid his intensely disturbing eyes, Nia glanced around the room.  Skylights ran the length of the cathedral ceiling, allowing in patches of the fading afternoon light.  The furnishings were comprised of posh dark brown leather sofas and chairs, marble tables, and Italian and Persian floor rugs.  A fully equipped kitchenette and a small dining table on the far side of the room, overlooking the mountains completed the suite—a real bachelor’s pad that represented Massimo’s male dominance and power.

Involuntarily, her eyes were drawn to the mating leopards on the wall.  The female was on her stomach with the powerful front paws of the male holding her captive against a bed of long grass.  His sharp teeth were sunk into the back of her neck.  Nia’s eyes grew wide when she noticed the dark streak that ran the length of the male’s nose.

She took a quick glance back at Jabari.  The resemblance was undeniable.  She glanced at Massimo and she felt the heat rising under her skin at the apparent amusement on his face.

“Yes, it is Jabari,” he said without hesitation.  “I’ve been capturing all aspects of his life since he was a cub.  Mating just happens to be one of them.  It’s a basic animalistic act that we humans enjoy immensely.  You’ll agree soon enough,
cara
.”

Perhaps, but not with you
, she thought, even as she wondered if Massimo was in the habit of capturing himself in the act as well.  Did he take pictures and make videos for his private collection?  What would it be like to watch the two of them making love—the erotic sight of their bodies thrusting against each other, the sounds of their passionate moans echoing around the room?  The thought caused a powerful ache between Nia’s legs, and she swallowed the low moan that threatened to erupt from her throat.

Massimo chuckled as he took in the look of embarrassment and desire on Nia’s face.  She was the most sensual woman he’d ever met.  Everything she did turned him on.  He doubted she knew the effect she had on men.  It was hard to believe she was still a virgin.

Massimo knew without a doubt that if he hadn’t promised Dafne not to take another lover before their wedding, at this very moment, Nia Sylk would be lying naked in his bed with her silken brown legs wrapped securely around his waist, their bodies moving in exquisite harmony as he rode her to the pinnacles of pleasure again and again.  He knew too, that she was the kind of woman a man would find hard to leave, to purge from his system.  He’d better not let her get too deeply embedded under his skin since he had other pressing obligations to fulfill.

He swore his heart laughed at his folly in thinking he would still go through with his plan to marry Dafne after the explosive desire that had seized him when he’d kissed Nia.

She was addictive.  He reached out and trailed a finger along her cheek.  Her skin was so soft and smooth.  “
Como sei graziosa bella e molto dolce.
” 
Very beautiful and sweet.
  Indeed.

Nia had no idea what Massimo had said, but the magic in his touch and the husky tremor in his voice told her it was something passionate.  Feeling the power in his fingertips tugging on her insides, she pulled away and stood up. 

Massimo Andretti took great pride in his ability to seduce women.  His kind would say and do anything to encourage a woman to take off her clothes.  He’d told her that he enjoyed the chase.  And from his multiple short-lived relationships, it seemed as if that’s all he enjoyed.

She stepped back as Massimo stood up and spoke to Jabari.  The cat leaped up, stretched like a lazy feline, and strolled to the back of the cage where he disappeared into a gargantuan kitty door.

“Is that Italian you were speaking to him?” Nia asked.

“Yes.  He also understands English and Swahili.”

“Where did you learn to speak Swahili?”

“In a Masai village in Kenya.”

“Oh yeah, you did say you visit Kenya often to see Jabari, but what’s an Italian-American boy doing at a Masai village?”

Laughing, he raked his fingers through his hair.  ‘You’re a curious little kitten, aren’t you?  I promise to tell you all about Kenya one day.  And I’ll teach you Italian and Swahili, or any of the other three languages I speak, if you so desire.”

Teach her foreign languages
?  Was he hoping she’d stick around that long?  “That might prove to be a most difficult feat.  I have enough trouble with English as it is.”

“There is a language that requires no words although the mouth and tongue are fully engaged.  I’m most anxious to teach you that language, Nia.”

Massimo’s husky voice hummed with titillating promises causing Nia’s heart to race so fast, her temples throbbed from the pulsation.  Her mouth filled up with saliva as she glanced at an unopened door that led to the inner quarters of the master suit—the place where she would sleep next to Massimo for two long torturous nights until she made her escape.

She hoped she made it out unscathed
.

* * *

Massimo savored his last spoonful of lobster bisque as he watched Nia finish off her second helping.  He understood the enthusiasm with which she’d approached her dinner—rich, creamy, and loaded with calories as it was.  Azi’s culinary skills were some of the best in the world.  Ever since he was a little boy, he was always happy to come home to Azi’s kitchen.  There really was no cooking like home cooking.

Yet Massimo felt Nia would have displayed the same amount of zeal if she’d been served a less appetizing dish.  It was a welcome change to watch a woman enjoy her food without giving a thought to the width of her waistline or her thighs.

He, on the other hand, was giving them a lot of thought.  So much thought that while Nia was dressing for dinner, he’d put a call through to his friend, Paul Dawson, an FBI special agent in New York, and asked him to run a check on her.

He’d called Dafne to let her know that her move to the States was on hold.  He’d simply told her that something had come up. 
Boy, had something come up
, he thought as his growing erection pulsed against his thigh.  Dafne’s nonchalant response had reminded him that it might be three long years before he would enjoy the silky feel of a woman’s skin beneath his palm again.

That possibility didn’t sit well with Massimo.  Not at all, he thought as Nia finally put her spoon down and gave him a smile that deepened his ache for her.  She was so damned beautiful.  He wondered if her appetite for sex would match the one she had for food.  “You have a very healthy appetite,” he remarked over the rim of his wine glass.

Nia eyed Massimo through lowered lashes.  The light of desire that illuminated his mellow blue eyes told her that he wasn’t just talking about her appetite for food.  She’d felt him watching her as she finished off her second bowl of lobster bisque.  She’d been tempted to stop halfway through it for etiquette’s sake, but God the bisque was the most delicious dish she’d ever tasted.  And seeing that she wouldn’t be around to enjoy this kind of cooking for long, she’d taken her time enjoying it.  She couldn’t care less if Massimo thought she was a pig.

“Do you always attack your food that way?” he asked, smiling as he twirled the long stem of his wine glass between his equally long fingers.

“They don’t serve food like this where I come from.” 
Nor where I’m going
Nia thought of the island of Dulcina where Aaron was hiding out.  It wouldn’t be a bad place to settle down once her business with Eddie and Massimo was behind her.

Her friend, Josie, a native of the island, had always tried to get her to visit, but the funds were never available for her to take a vacation.  Josie had recently married her childhood sweetheart and moved back to Dulcina.  Another friend, Amber, had found love on the island and moved there also.

Even Aaron seemed to have settled in and was enjoying himself in Paradise.  During their Skype session last night, he’d talked about Josie’s father as if the man was some kind of super hero.  It seemed that what Aaron needed all along was some bonding and masculine guidance—the one thing Nia could never give him.

Aaron had a bright future ahead of him, but he had to be alive and well in order to enjoy it.  Massimo’s million would secure both his safety and his future.  Massimo owed them.  If he’d held up his end of the bargain between Andretti Industries and West Gate Mills, her father wouldn’t have had to borrow money from Eddie.  If he hadn’t lost the mill, her father would be alive today, and neither Aaron’s nor her safety would be an issue. 

“Brooklyn?”

“What?”  Nia said as Massimo’s voice broke into her thoughts.

“They don’t serve food like this in Brooklyn you were saying?”

“Right.”  She held out her glass for another refill of the wine Massimo had fished out of his underground wine cellar.

He picked up the bottle and filled up her glass.  “You should go easy.  This wine is very effective.  It’s been maturing for years.”

“I can hold my liquor.”  Ignoring his warning, Nia took a long swallow from her glass, welcoming the cool feel of the white fruity liquid splashing against her throat.  Nia had no idea how many glasses she’d consumed.  She’d stopped counting at three.

“So what do you do there?”

“What do you mean?” she asked licking her lips slowly.

His eyes narrowed and he grunted softly.  “I assume you have a job, a career of some sort?” 

“I teach math at a private school.  I’m on winter break, just in case you’re wondering why I wasn’t in the classroom today,” she added.

“I suppose you’ve thought about resigning.”

“Why would I resign?”  She planted her elbows on the table and, resting her chin in her hands, smiled sweetly at him.

“Well, you can’t very well be teaching in Brooklyn while you’re acting the role of my lover here in Granite Falls.  Do the math.”

“I don’t plan on resigning, just taking a leave of absence.”  An involuntary giggle spilled from her lips.  “With your track record, I’ll probably be back at work in a week, anyway.”