Far more than I’d previously suspected.
Susannah wasn’t sure it was a good thing to be capable of such total sexual abandon. Seemed the kind of trait that could get you into trouble.
At least her secret would be safe with Amado. Tierra de Oro was very far from New York. And surely no one would ever get her going like that again.
Thank goodness.
Amado’s breathing slowed and steadied. His muscles relaxed and grew heavier, as he pulled her closer to him. He shifted slightly, and let out a sigh.
He’d fallen asleep—on her.
Susannah couldn’t help a burst of silent laughter, and even the vibration of her chest didn’t stir him. He looked so sweet lying there, his handsome face nestled between her breasts and his arms wrapped securely around her torso.
Apparently he was quite at home with her in his bed. And why wouldn’t he be? She had no illusions that this was a rare occasion for him. He was gorgeous and an incorrigible flirt. She really didn’t even mind.
Did she?
She swallowed.
Didn’t want to think about that.
In a day or so she’d be back in New York, updating her database and checking on the deliveries she was expecting from vineyards all around the world.
Including Amado’s. Some of his wines were daring and successful to the point where she was sure Tarrant would want them for his own cellars.
Which meant she’d still have to deal with Amado.
Or not? Amado concerned himself with the aspects of the business that interested him, the hands-on growing and fermenting. He left the marketing and shipping to his capable staff.
Most likely she’d chat on the phone with a friendly assistant who’d give her the advertising spiel on the various wines and send her samples and…
Samples.
She couldn’t leave here without the DNA sample.
Susannah swallowed hard.
I’ll give you a sample of my DNA—just to prove that you’re wrong, of course—if you’ll spend the night in my bed.
She’d held up her end of the bargain.
But somehow, asking for his DNA now would be harder than ever.
Chapter Four
Susannah snuck out of Amado’s bed and back into her own room sometime before dawn. She needed to compose herself and regain her professional demeanor—or what was left of it—before she confronted him again.
His enormous white dogs greeted the sunrise with a chorus of enthusiastic baying. Heat crept up her neck when she heard the sound.
She dressed carefully in a plain black dress and arranged her hair into a chignon. It was too tangled to wear down. Her lips were red from kissing and she tried to tone down her flushed cheeks with loose powder.
There wasn’t anything she could do about the dazzled look in her eyes.
When she heard Rosa arrive in a car and start clattering around in the kitchen, Susannah took a deep breath and went downstairs, determined to act as if nothing had happened. Her offer to help was politely rebuffed so she sat in front of the unlit fireplace.
When breakfast was ready, Rosa yelled up to Amado. Susannah rose from the sofa and held her breath as his door creaked open.
Amado appeared, sleepy and disheveled, at the top of the stairs. He stopped when he saw her. Susannah swallowed as he rested his eyes on her and a smile spread over his face. He eased down the stairs on bare feet.
“Morning,” he whispered. His eyes had the same dazed look she’d seen in her own mirror that morning.
His pale blue shirt hung unbuttoned, revealing an enticing slice of tanned chest.
“Hi,” she stuttered. Then she refocused her eyes on the door to the dining room, blinked, and attempted to guide her feet in that direction.
Rosa tutted at the sight of Amado. He simply smiled at her.
He pulled out a chair for Susannah. “Sit down. Eat.”
Susannah snuck a glance at Rosa, whose stolid face was characteristically expressionless.
Did Amado always eat breakfast half dressed?
Or only when he’d slept with his guest the previous night. No need to stand on ceremony when you’d spent the night writhing and moaning in each other’s arms.
She fanned her napkin out over her lap. She had nothing to be ashamed of. They were both adults and she…
Rosa’s withering look made her shrink into her chair.
Amado didn’t even bother to make polite conversation. Relaxed and at ease, he enjoyed the breakfast Rosa had prepared for them.
Susannah wanted to concentrate on her creamy cafécon leche and the delicious fresh baked rolls and pastries with homemade jam, but it was hard with Amado sitting across the table, staring right at her.
He caught her gaze time after time, his dark eyes shining with pleasure, until her heart was ready to flutter right out of her chest.
I’ve got to get out of here, was the thought foremost in her mind. Amado had an unhealthy and dangerous effect on her libido.
She was here to do a job. She was actually being paid for this, and she’d better start to earn her salary—if she wanted to keep it, that is.
She checked that Rosa was out of earshot.
Her heart thudded as she leaned forward. “You will give me the DNA, won’t you?”
Amado’s expression hardened. The smile slipped from his mouth and faded from his eyes. “Yes.”
A chill descended over the breakfast table. He pulled his napkin from his lap and rose to his feet. Padded silently away, leaving her sitting, staring after him.
She kept her breathing steady and forced a smile as the grim Rosa came back into the room with more coffee. “No, thanks.”
Right now, she felt guilty eating their food and enjoying their hospitality. What if Tarrant Hardcastle was right, and she was about to show them all that Amado was the illegitimate product of a casual affair?
Amado buttoned his shirt and slicked his hair back with a comb. He had a bizarre sensation of going into battle.
Susannah Clarke was here to impugn his mother’s name. Of course, the idea that his mother had an affair was preposterous, so he wasn’t afraid of the test results. Still, his cheerful mood had evaporated.
So, she’d slept with him for purely practical purposes. Why did that bother him? He’d slept with her for his own reasons, which admittedly were far less complicated.
Had no idea what he was getting into, either. He’d never met a woman like this. So cool and composed on the outside, so fiery and abandoned in his bed. Fascinating.
Then this morning she confronted him with that prim smile. Reminded him that last night’s enjoyment was simply part of a cold-blooded business deal for her.
Irritation spiked in his gut as he buckled his belt. Still, he was a man of honor, and he’d made a promise.
He heard her moving about in the guest bedroom, and he entered without knocking. “My body is yours to do with as you like.”
She dropped whatever she was packing in her bag and looked up. She looked nervous, so slender and delicate in her long black dress.
He