‘Then you’ll have to find someone else.’
‘There is no one else. All the women I meet are out for everything they can get—believe me.’
Meg was busy adjusting the ties securing a budding flower stem and replied without thinking. ‘I’m not.’
Gianni sighed. ‘That’s what you say now. But I wonder…’
His voice was heavy with regret. It was such a heartfelt comment that she looked up sharply. In that instant all trace of a smile vanished from his face. He was deadly serious—and all Meg’s wildest, most wanton fantasies were reflected in his eyes.
She caught her breath. She could not look away—and didn’t want to.
And then suddenly she was in his arms.
THEY kissed with a passion that was totally consuming. His hands held her close to his body. Her fingers tangled in his hair, desperate for him. It was everything she had ever dreamed about, all she wanted and would ever need, and more than was right. But…this was wrong in so many ways. Pitched through passion on a tidal surge of excitement, Meg took precious seconds to catch her breath and call a halt.
‘No! Gianni, stop!’
Alarmed, he let her go. ‘What’s the matter?’
‘Nothing…not now…’
‘That’s all right, then!’ His hold on her tightened and he chuckled with a sound as irresistible as chocolate.
‘No!’ she yelled, all her conviction boiling up again. ‘Don’t you have any morals?’
‘Not when it comes to a girl as beautiful as you…’ He dropped his face to her hair and began nuzzling it playfully.
Meg had to act fast, and totally against instinct. Her fantasies had primed her to find him irresistible. Now she was actually feeling his touch for herself, she was almost at the point of no return. Fighting against the urge to melt into his coiling embrace, she braced her hands against his shoulders and levered herself out of his grasp.
‘Oh, no, how could I forget? Of course you don’t have any morals!’ she retorted, trying to shock him into retreat. ‘After all, you’re Gianni Bellini, international ladies’ man, aren’t you?’
Gianni wasn’t shocked by anything, especially a girl barely half his size. He was flushed and breathing fast but did not release her straight away. Despite that, Meg sensed she was out of danger. The smile returned to his face. His irresistible charm should have made him more dangerous, not less, but in a strange way she realised he was no longer a threat to her—for the moment at least. She already knew Gianni Bellini had a highly developed sense of family loyalty. He wasn’t the sort of man to risk a scandal by forcing himself on an unwilling member of staff—especially a new member of the team. They were likely to run straight to the press.
‘I came here to work at the Villa Castelfino, not to become a source of entertainment for you,’ she said firmly, in case he was still in any doubt.
Gianni said nothing, but let his hands slide reluctantly away from her body. She looked down to see him bury them deeply in his pockets.
‘I’ll take that as your agreement, Gianni.’
He paused before replying. ‘Think of it more as a qualified acceptance, binding on neither side,’ he said with a flash of roguish humour.
The nerve of the man took her breath away.
‘There really is no arguing with you, is there?’
‘No. As you will soon discover from the rest of my staff, Megan, when it comes to work, it’s my way or the highway. I wanted to find out exactly how keen you are to keep this job.’
Despite the lightness of his tone, Meg detected a sinister meaning behind his words. From feeling flushed and excited, she went hot and cold with dread.
‘Does that mean…you’re going to sack me after what’s just happened?’
Gianni looked genuinely shocked. ‘Of course not! That would be illegal. But, far more importantly as far as I’m concerned, it would be immoral. This is the twenty-first century. I may be your employer, but that doesn’t mean I can force myself on you, against your will. What do you think I am?’
Meg’s eyes opened wider than she thought physically possible. Gianni looked as innocent as a priest as he stood in front of her, his hands now outstretched in a gesture of disbelief. Yet only a moment ago he had treated her to a ten-second burst of absolute temptation.
When she didn’t answer, he clicked his tongue in exasperation. Then he reached out and touched a wayward lock of her hair gently back from her forehead.
‘I’m interested in having a good time, but pleasing women is a big part of my enjoyment, Megan.’ His fingers trailed from her brow, lingering around the smooth curve of her cheek before falling away with obvious regret. ‘Blackmail and bullying have no place in my life. If you’re not scared off by what just happened, but you don’t want to sleep with me, then that’s fine. It’s your problem, not mine. ‘
He gave her a crooked smile of rueful acceptance. Meg was lost all over again. She desperately wanted to throw herself back into his arms, but found she couldn’t move. The look in his eyes riveted her to the spot. Then he spoke again, and burst her bubble of temptation.
‘Originally, I came out here to warn you that Cook will be arriving in peace. She won’t expect you to declare Round Two, so be careful not to take your sexual frustration out on her, won’t you?’
With that, he strolled away.
As Meg watched him walk nonchalantly along the greenhouse path a terrifying truth surged through her body. She did want to sleep with Gianni Bellini.
She wanted it more than anything she had ever wanted in her entire life.
From that moment on, Meg’s excitement at working in a totally alien environment took a back seat. Thoughts of Gianni Bellini coloured her days and haunted her nights. He had totally bewitched her at their first meeting. As a fantasy lover he was ideal. With those devastating looks and charm, he had no drawbacks. The spell he held over her refused to be broken. Despite her dream becoming reality, his power over her increased rather than dimmed. Although their paths rarely crossed, from that moment on Meg was in heaven. All she dreamed about was their torrid kiss, but as far as Gianni was concerned it might never have happened. He showed no signs of wanting to repeat their wonderful experience. He spent most of each day shut away in the Castelfino estate office. Meg spent virtually all her time out in the gardens and grounds. That meant her chances of catching sight of him were remote. That didn’t stop her keeping a keen lookout for him. His words circled her mind in a torrent of temptation. ’…pleasing women is a big part of my enjoyment…’ Her mind continually played with everything that might mean. Gianni had accused her of being sexually frustrated. If she was, it was because of him. With only one long-term relationship in her life, Meg was no expert when it came to romance. She used study to save her having to mix with people. Until her first meeting with Gianni, Meg hadn’t realised how much she was missing. He had set light to the fuse of her desire. Now everything about him made her desperate to find out more.
Gavin, her only serious boyfriend, had been too heavy-handed. He was fine as a friend, but he had kept trying to push Meg further than she had wanted to go. On top of that, he had tried to monopolise every second of her free time while she had wanted to study. Meg had resented that. After watching her parents struggle to pick things up by experience, she knew the value of gaining proper qualifications. She was in no hurry to curtail her career by making a serious romantic commitment, either. Or so she had always thought in the past…
Gianni