VITTORIO'S MISTRESS (The Vittorio Series) (9 page)

Looking into her wide, frightened eyes, his anger left him in a rush.
 
He’d been too rough with her, and that was inexcusable but it did not deter him from the path of revenge he’d chosen.
 
He didn’t want to hurt Paige physically, on the contrary he wanted to take her to heights she’d never known before.
 
For that to happen, she’d have to come to him willing and that wasn’t likely to occur if she was afraid of him.

Dante reached up and gently raked his knuckles down the side of her cheek.
 
“I am truly sorry for hurting you when I shoved against the door, but I am not sorry for what happened on the porch.
 
I cannot let you go,
cara
mia
, not when you consume my every waking thought.”

Tears filled her eyes.
 
How could she tell him to go away when everything in her would wither and die if he did as she asked?
 
She wasn’t sorry for happened either, at least not until he’d suddenly gone cold on her and used that horrible emotionless tone of voice.
 
But maybe, just maybe he’d been as confused by the maelstrom of emotions assaulting him as she’d been.
 

She blinked back the tears.
 
It didn’t matter, not any of it.
 
Whatever it was that drove him to it, whatever possessed her to surrender to the madness, it was secondary to the little girl whose life would be turned upside down if Paige allowed this to continue.

“You have to let me go, Dante.
 
You have no choice.”

“No,
cara
,” he said softly, “it is you that has no choice.”
 
He let her go then and stooped to pick up the envelope he’d dropped when he’d come through the door.
 
Dante pressed it into her shaking hands.
 
“Read this and you will understand.”

A sense of foreboding fell over her as she pried the envelope open and pulled out several pieces of paper.
 
Paige scanned the pages, flipping through them one at a time before returning to the first page and reading through it more slowly.
 
The bottom fell out of her stomach when she got to the end, not because she understood the ramifications of the documents in her hands but because she didn’t.
 

She looked at him, confused and more than a little apprehensive.
 
“Why?”

Dante shrugged.
 
“I want you.”

Paige stared at him, dumbfounded by his simple statement.
 
She held the papers up.
 
“You honestly think these entitle you to have me?”

“It is your own fault that I had to resort to such measures,” Dante informed her.
 
“When you attempted to cut me out of your life I decided I needed to do something that would persuade you to change your mind.”

“
This
is not persuading me,” she waved the papers in front of him, “this is nothing more than blackmail, and for what reason?
 
Because I turned you down when other women practically throw themselves at you?
 
Because I bruised your ego?
 
Or was it because I wasn’t sufficiently impressed by your vast wealth and you wanted to prove what all that money could buy?”

Dante’s expression hardened.
 
“I told you why.
 
I wanted you and was willing to do anything to get you.”

“Including blackmail.”

“If that is what you choose to call it.”

“There’s no other name for it,” she said resentfully.
 
“The only reason you bought my loan for the daycare center from the bank is so I’d sleep with you.
 
So what are you planning on doing, calling in the note if I refuse?”

Dante met her hostile glare without a stitch of remorse.
 
“Yes, but I do not think it will come to that.”

“Really?
 
Well I have news for you, Dante Vittorio.
 
I have enough money in the bank to cover this note so go ahead and call it in if you want.”

“You underestimate me,
cara
.
 
I am aware of your financial status and agree that you could pay off the loan, but it would seriously cripple you and leave next to nothing for you to fall back on.”

“You’re a cold-hearted bastard,” Paige said, her voice shaking with fury.

“I have been called worse,” he replied evenly.
 
“Now, would you care to hear the terms of the agreement?
 
I think you will find my offer is more than generous and that you actually have more to gain from this than I do.”

More than anything, Paige wanted to tell Dante to take his offer and go to hell, but he was right about how crippling it would be to her finances if she had to pay off the loan right now.
 
She could take her chances and hope no unexpected expenses came up, but it was a scary thought when she had
Daniella’s
welfare to consider.
 
Even if she decided the risk was worth it, what would she do if the daycare center didn’t flourish as she anticipated?
 
She could lose everything.

Paige swallowed what little pride she had left.
 
“I’m listening.
 
What are your terms?”

Dante’s expression remained impassive, not an easy feat considering the enormous sense of relief that washed over him when she hadn’t turned him down flat.
 
She’d considered it though, he could see it in her face, but she was smart enough to realize he was in a position to seriously injure her financially.
 
He wasn’t proud of the method he was using, but it was the fastest, easiest route to getting what he wanted.

“It is very straight forward,” he told her.
 
“There is no fine print, no escape clauses,
no
tricks.
 
You will be my mistress for one month, which means you will be at my disposal whenever, wherever I want you.
 
You do not have to worry about this interfering with your job because I have the same responsibilities to my business, but in the evenings you belong to me.”

“You said I had more to gain from this than you,” Paige said bitterly.
 
“So far, I fail to see where this benefits me.”

“If you adhere to the terms and fulfill your role as my mistress, I will sign over the deed to the daycare center along with a financial statement showing you have paid the loan off.
 
You will own it free and clear.”

“What if you get tired of me and call it off in a few weeks?
 
According to your terms, if I’m not at your disposal for a full month, you can call in the note.”

“Whether I take advantage of you being at my disposal or not does not negate the agreement.
 
As long as you remain available to me, it does not matter if I spend one night with you or all thirty, you will still get the deed to the center.”

Paige shoved back the rising panic.
 
She had no choice, not really, but how could she agree to his terms when she had Daniella to consider?
 
She gnawed at her bottom lip, acutely aware that Dante was watching her closely as he waited for an answer.
 
She also knew he wasn’t going to leave until he had one.

“I will consider it only if you agree to negotiate a few minor things.”

Dante arched a brow.
 
“Such as?”

“My day doesn’t end when the daycare closes.
 
I still have the next day’s curriculum to work out and that usually takes at least a couple of hours.”
 
She licked her lips nervously.
 
“That means I couldn’t possibly be available to come to you until after eight o’clock.”

“I can accept that.”

“
There’s…
a few more things.
 
I don’t want anyone but you and me to know about this…arrangement.”

“I cannot promise that.
 
There may be times when I want you to accompany me to a social event.
 
People will see us together and speculate.
 
It is unavoidable.”

“Let them think what they want,” she snapped.
 
“I don’t care if they think we’re sleeping together but I don’t want them knowing the sordid little details as to
why
.”

“Very well,” he conceded.
 
“Is that all?”

“No.
 
I don’t want any of this to touch my personal life here or at the daycare center.
 
I will meet you anywhere you want but you will not come to my home or to the park.”

Dante’s smile was triumphant as he moved closer.
 
“Does this mean you agree to my proposition?”

Paige’s eyes flashed with undisguised anger.
 
“I don’t really have a choice, do I?”
 

“I gave you a choice,
carissima
, and you wisely took the one that provided the most rewards for both of us.”
 
He took the papers from her hand and let them drop to the ground then slipped his arms around her waist and pulled her up hard against his body.
 
“We will meet with my attorney on Monday to sign the contracts.
 
But for now,” he lowered his head, “we will seal our agreement with a kiss.”

Paige would have struggled, but what was the use?
 
She’d already made a deal with the devil and there was no backing out of now so why not enjoy what little of himself Dante was offering her?
 
Dante’s mistress
.
 
That simple phrase repeated itself over and over in her head like a mantra, sending ripples of excitement coursing through her veins.
 

She lost herself in the taste of his mouth and the feel of his strong arms binding her to his muscular frame, lost
herself
in the heady sensation of kisses that grew more bold and demanding by the second until Paige was afraid she’d lose her very soul if she let it go on.
 
She tore her mouth away from his, gulping in air for a few seconds before she was able to speak.
 

“Not here,” she rasped out.

Dante’s eyes darkened.
 
“You
want
me to make love to you,” his voice sounded as grainy as hers.
 
“Say it,
cara
mia
.
 
Say the words and we will go to my house and share an unforgettable night of passion.”

There was no hesitation on her part; Paige was too far gone to deny him anything.
 
“I want you, Dante.
 
I want to feel your hands and your lips on my skin and the heat of you pulsing inside of me.
 
I don’t want to sleep tonight…”

A low growl rumbled deep in Dante’s chest.
 
“Get an overnight bag.
 
I will be waiting in the car.”
 
He wanted to kiss her again but the sultry look in her eyes was more than he could take.
 
“Go get your things.
 
Now
,” he ground out harshly, “unless you want a repeat of what happened outside.”

Dante forced himself not to follow Paige when she whirled around and scampered out of the foyer.
 
His insides were shaking as he strode from the house and made the short walk down the driveway and across the street where he’d parked his car.
 
He eased the vehicle up to the house making a futile attempt to control his impatience.
 
Being around Paige had always stirred some deeply primal desire inside of him but he’d never lost control as he had tonight.
 

Even now he had to clutch the steering wheel to keep
himself
from bolting back into the house and taking what he wanted, what he
needed
.
 
If she hadn’t appeared in the doorway at that moment, Dante was certain he wouldn’t have lasted more than few more seconds before his raw nerves snapped.