Fascination: The Sicilian's Ruthless Marriage Revenge

‘If it makes you feel better, Robin, I do not consider it … appropriate for us to share a bedroom tonight,’ Cesare rasped, impatient at her pondering silence. ‘Marco’s nursemaid is obviously also in residence, and as I intend for the two of us to be married. It is not appropriate,’ he repeated hardly. ‘And it is not flattering to me as a lover for you to look so relieved at the thought of not sharing my bed,’ he finished disgustedly.

Had she looked relieved? Robin wondered. Maybe. But not for the reason Cesare obviously thought; it just somehow seemed completely unacceptable that she responded so wantonly to a man who was forcing her into marrying him by threatening her family.

‘I was merely concerned that you might not benefit from missing another night’s sleep,’ she told him with a saccharine-sweet smile.

Cesare eyed her admiringly, not fooled for a moment by her insincerity. ‘A lot can happen before bedtime, Robin,’ he pointed out, rewarded by the delicate blush that instantly coloured her cheeks. ‘I will pour us both a glass of brandy while you call your father,’ he told her as he strode into the sitting room, deliberately giving Robin the privacy to make her call.

If he were Robin’s father—which he was not, thank goodness!—then he would have his concerns about her apparent choice of lover too.

Robin was frowning when she walked through to the sitting room several minutes later. ‘I spoke to the butler,’ she explained as she took her glass of brandy from Cesare. ‘He said my father seemed rather weary this evening and had retired early,’ she explained distractedly.

‘You think there is reason for concern?’ Cesare frowned.

Robin shook off her feelings of despondency to look up at him angrily. ‘Don’t pretend that you actually care, Cesare!’ she challenged. ‘Not when only yesterday you were quite prepared to ruin my father’s publishing company and probably kill him in the process!’ she reminded him accusingly.

Cesare’s expression darkened, a frown between those almost black eyes, his mouth a thin, disapproving line. ‘Must I remind you that I am not the one responsible for your father’s current ill health?’ he responded.

No, Robin acknowledged heavily; that had been caused by her father’s worry over Simon’s obsession with gambling, followed by his death. Although possibly her own failed marriage and then her divorce hadn’t helped the situation.

Whatever the reason, her father was still obviously under a lot of strain—which only seemed to confirm her decision to keep Cesare’s plans for Ingram Publishing from him.

She took a reviving swallow of her brandy before answering, ‘I’ve been trying to think of a way to return the shares of Ingram Publishing to my father—after we’re married, of course—without his ever becoming aware that they had gone out of the family’s possession—’

‘Do not trouble yourself, Robin,’ Cesare cut in arrogantly.

‘But I do trouble myself, Cesare,’ she retorted. ‘It will defeat the whole object of my … of my decision to marry you, if my father were ever to realise Simon had gambled his shares away.’

‘Of your sacrifice, I am sure you meant to say,’ Cesare drawled derisively.

‘Don’t attempt to put words into my mouth, Cesare!’ Robin threw back, her eyes flashing deeply purple. ‘If I had meant to say sacrifice, then I would have done so, I can assure you!’

Yes, he was sure that she would, Cesare noted. Robin’s frankness was one of the qualities he most admired about her.

‘The significant part of your previous statement concerns the fact that your father might realise,’ Cesare told her dryly. ‘But there is absolutely no reason why he should,’ he assured her. ‘Simon sold the shares to maintain his gambling obsession, I bought the shares from the casino owner, who happens to be an acquaintance, through my broker—’

‘How convenient!’ Robin couldn’t resist her sarcastic rejoinder.

Cesare’s eyes darkened warningly. ‘I bought them,’ he repeated evenly. ‘On our wedding day they will be gifted back to you. At which time you are perfectly at liberty to destroy all evidence of them ever having been out of family ownership,’ he completed with finality.

‘You really do have all of this worked out, don’t you, Cesare?’ Robin observed.

Not all of it, no—Cesare knew that he certainly had not been prepared for Robin Ingram, nor the desire he felt to make love to her every time he was with her.

As he did now!

‘Perhaps it is time we went to our respective bedrooms,’ he bit out tersely. ‘I have several business meetings to attend in the morning, and I need to read some papers tonight before going to sleep.’

Robin was surprised at the abruptness with which Cesare was bringing an end to the evening. She had been prepared for—had expected—a repeat of last night’s lovemaking before the two of them parted.

Was she just a little disappointed that Cesare felt no such inclination?

Of course she wasn’t!

Was she?

Well … maybe a little, she conceded reluctantly, as she placed her empty brandy glass firmly down on the coffee table. Which was pretty stupid of her. This wasn’t a love affair; she was being forced to accept Cesare’s marriage proposal!

‘Which bedroom would you like me to use?’ she prompted tartly.

His mouth twisted wryly. ‘I would suggest the one that adjoins my own, but I accept that might be misconstrued too!’

By whom? Herself? Or Marco’s nursemaid?

Not that it mattered. The truth was that Robin was the one in danger of spending a sleepless night this time, as she imagined a naked Cesare in the bedroom along the hallway from her own—meaning she would probably be feeling as irritable tomorrow morning as he had this evening!

‘A chaste kiss goodnight is permissible, however,’ Cesare murmured mockingly as he watched the play of emotions on Robin’s face.

The unattainable Robin Ingram most definitely wanted him physically!

He gave a satisfied smile, his own disappointment no longer as uncomfortable now that he knew Robin would be in the bedroom along the hallway from his own tonight, suffering the same sense of deflation.

‘A chaste kiss goodnight!’ she echoed. ‘No, thanks. I think I’ll pass,’ she said. ‘If you’ll just tell me which bedroom I’m to use, I’m sure I can find my own way.’

‘Do not be childish, Robin,’ Cesare chided softly as he crossed the room to her side.

Her eyes sparkled angrily as she returned, ‘I said I’ll pass on the chaste kiss, thanks!’

‘I was referring to the fact that you have pulled me up about the politeness of showing a guest to her bedroom, not your reaction to a chaste goodnight kiss,’ Cesare told her, his rebuke rewarded by the flush of embarrassment that coloured Robin’s cheeks.

‘A guest, Cesare?’ she repeated unbelievingly. ‘I would hardly call myself that.’

‘Nevertheless, for tonight that is exactly what you are,’ he insisted tautly.

‘Fine,’ she accepted tersely.

It was not fine. It was far from fine. But it was all that Cesare could do for this evening.

Marco’s nursemaid, Catriona, who came from their native Sicily, had been with Carla from the day of Marco’s birth. As Cesare expected one day to take Robin and Marco back to Sicily, if only for a visit, he considered that his wife’s reputation should be unsullied by any gossip which might take place between Catriona and her family. His sharing his bedroom with Robin before they were married, even for the night, was definitely not acceptable.

‘The goodnight kiss does not have to be completely chaste.’ Cesare offered throatily, standing very close to Robin once he had shown her to one of the four bedrooms in the suite—his room, Catriona’s and Marco’s nursery taking up the other three.

Robin’s lids narrowed as she looked up at him, slightly unnerved by his proximity, able to feel the warmth of his body so close to hers, the smell of his aftershave tantalising her senses. ‘Either a kiss is chaste or it isn’t, Cesare,’ she replied. ‘I really don’t think there can be degrees of chastity!’

His mouth twisted ruefully. ‘Perhaps I was a little hasty earlier …?’

Robin felt her earlier bad temper evaporating as she saw the way Cesare’s eyes had darkened to black, his lids slightly lowered as that gaze locked hungrily on her slightly parted lips.

He really had been serious about the necessity of not scandalising Marco’s nursemaid by the two of them sleeping together tonight! And she had thought he was just paying her back for his own feelings of frustration the night before.