A layer of ice coated her heart. Fear pumped into her in waves. “You cannot,” she said, proud that her voice did not break. “If you could, you would have already done so.”
He let her go and sat back. “You forget, cara mia, that I am a much richer man than I was only a few weeks ago. And I will use that wealth—and the power that comes with this title—to destroy your precious brother if you do not agree to marriage.”
Horror seeped into her then. She thought of Renzo, of Faith and baby Domenico, and a wave of guilt swept her. Renzo was happier than she’d ever known him to be now that he’d found Faith. He laughed a lot more these days, and he no longer risked his life on the track. His leg was also on the mend now that the surgeons had removed the scar tissue that had built up over time, and he would very likely be walking without a cane once it healed.
He had everything. How could she put his happiness at risk, especially when she’d created this mess by indulging in a single impulsive act solely for her own pleasure? Renzo had done everything to make sure she had a good life, and this was how she repaid his generosity?
“You are really very cruel, aren’t you?” Tina asked, her heart throbbing with fury and hurt.
Nico’s expression didn’t change, though she thought the corners of his mouth tightened. “Life is cruel,” he said. “I am merely doing what I must to protect my child.”
“Our child.”
“Yes, our child.” He said the words plainly enough, and yet there was an inflection there, an unspoken threat. Our child if you do as I say.
Tina shivered. It did not go unnoticed.
“Are you cold?”
“A little,” she said, unwilling to admit that her shiver was born more out of apprehension than the breeze.
“Then let us go inside.”
He came and held out a hand to her. She didn’t accept it, pushing herself to her feet without his help. He didn’t move away, however, and she found herself trying to take a step backward.
The chair stopped her. He was so close. Too close. She could feel his heat crawling into her, surrounding her. His scent filled her senses, spice and man mingled with the aromas of leather and wood.
Heat blossomed in her belly, flowed like a river of syrup into her limbs. She felt as if she’d been drinking when she had in fact not had a drop. He did that to her, had done from the first moment she’d met him on the docks outside the palazzo in Venice.
No, he’d always made her feel funny, though when she’d been younger it had only been a hot, hollow feeling right beneath her breastbone. She’d crept into the garage to feel it, to gaze upon him and daydream.
How deluded she’d been about him. How very, very naive. He was not her dream man, not the husband or lover she could have wished for. He was arrogant, cold and very determined to get his way, no matter the consequences to anyone else.
She despised him. And her body wasn’t getting the message. Her body was zinging with sparks, melting, aching. Wanting.
Tina sucked in a sharp breath, reminding herself why she couldn’t allow that to happen.
She could never allow it to happen again. He’d consumed her the last time, and she’d willingly let it happen. She’d only panicked when she’d known who he was, not because of what had transpired between them. No, she’d been half-ready to do it again, but she’d let her curiosity get the best of her.
If only she’d never removed his mask!
Tina’s first instinct was to drop her gaze from the intensity of his, but she forced herself to look him in the eye. Unflinchingly.
His gaze sparked. Heat spread through her body.
“I won’t marry a man who threatens my family,” she said firmly.
One eyebrow arched. She had the impression he was mocking her. “Oh, yes? Originally, you said you wouldn’t marry a man who didn’t love you. Which is it, Tina? Love or duty?”
Tina stiffened. “I won’t be compelled against my will.”
His expression was doubtful. His gaze dipped, lingered on the scoop neck of her tank top before drifting back up to meet her eyes. “I think you shall, cara. If you value the things you claim to.”
“You are very certain of yourself,” she said, her breath hitching in her throat.
“Indeed.”
“Renzo is not an easy mark, and you know it.” It made her feel confident to say so, but the truth was she had no idea.
Nico’s smile was lethally smug. “Do I? And what if I don’t care, bella mia? What if I am willing to do anything it takes to win?”
“Even immolate yourself in the process?”
He looked thoughtful for a brief moment. “Perhaps. Are you willing to risk it?”
“Are you?”
He laughed at her. “Allora, we shall get nowhere if we talk in circles. Come.”
He put his hand on her back then and ushered her inside, through hallways and rooms she hadn’t seen earlier. The castle had been modernized, but the rooms were still magnificent. Huge vaulted ceilings soared above her head, painted with frescoes that gleamed with bright blues, deep greens, vibrant reds and creamy flesh tones. The floors were inlaid marble mosaic, punctuated with intricate patterns of lapis and gold, porphyry and malachite.
The old wooden panels lining the walls gleamed with oil and care, and lush sheets of silk damask hung over the floor-to-ceiling windows that she knew would look out on the cool blue beauty of the lake when it was daylight.
She didn’t realize he was leading her to her room until he stopped in front of her door. Tina dropped her gaze from his, cursing the timid side of her nature for kicking in when she wanted to face him down like a lioness protecting her brood. Her heart kicked up again at his proximity, at the intimacy of standing in front of her bedroom door with the only man she’d ever shared a bed with.
“Defy me if you wish, but you will realize there is only one choice in the end. You will do the right thing for Renzo and his lovely Faith.”
“One choice is not a choice,” she replied, her jaw aching with the effort it took not to scream at him.
He shrugged, arrogant and unfeeling to the last. “You can choose what is right, or you can choose to let me compel you into it. Either way, you will do what I wish in the end.”
“How very generous of you,” she said, her voice dripping with sarcasm. “I wonder that you even pretend this is a choice.”
He laughed, startling her with the rich sound in the dark and quiet hallway. “You amuse me, cara—defiant to the last. I can hardly reconcile this with the girl who couldn’t speak to me without turning red.”
“I was a child then. I’ve grown up now.”
His gaze slipped over her. “You have indeed. Quite delightfully, I might add.” Before she knew what he was planning, his long fingers came up and gripped her chin, holding her head up high for his inspection. “There is a connecting door between our suites. Should you desire a repeat of Venice, you have only to open the door and come inside.”
Her heart throbbed in her ears, her neck. Surely he could see her pulse beating. Tina swallowed hard. “I don’t,” she said. “Never again.”
She could see his teeth flash white in the dim hallway. His handsome face was so close, the hard angles touchable. Kissable.