A Forbidden Seduction

Her head jerked around. Level with her eyes was the unmistakable spotless white shirt and the broad knot of Colleoni’s royal blue tie. Since she was above average height, she realised that he must be unusually tall but embarrassment stopped her from looking up at him.

‘I wish the floor would open up and swallow me,’ she muttered miserably to his tie.

“That can be arranged,’ he grated grimly stepping back as if she’d contaminate him with some foul disease.

Leaving her to squirm, he reached down and courteously helped the redhead to her feet, and was rewarded by a breathtaking display of femininity as the woman nervously clutched at the shelf that was Colleoni’s broad, pin-striped shoulder. Debbie, however, wasn’t mollified by the pathetic whimpering emerging from the pouting red lips.

‘I want a word with her,’ she said menacingly.

‘Save me!’ The woman cringed and clung, but didn’t forget to thrust out her ample chest in a way that threatened to split the stars and stripes forever. ‘Protect me,’ she implored. “That woman’s mad!’

Debbie noticed that Colleoni was ignoring the redhead completely and became aware that his frowning gaze had focused with a deep concentration somewhere around her breastbone. For a moment she was riveted by the raw sexual curl of his suddenly expressive mouth and then she realised why he seemed to be breathing so heavily.

Hastily she shot a quick look down at herself and groaned at the startling amount of her own bosom that had become exposed—almost, but mercifully not quite, to the tight, hard peaks thrusting out at the sprigged material. Appalled at the way the treacherous neckline had let her down, she wriggled the modesty piece back in place again, feeling hotter and hotter as the disapproving silence deepened.

She knew she’d never get the business back now. She felt her stomach somersault with the awful realisation that her late delivery and the mortifying scene had counted against her.

Most men would have found the situation amusing—especially the ratio of flesh per metre of fabric. This guy evidently had firm ideas about women and, although he’d been red-blooded enough to spend a little while staring at her half-exposed breasts, his ideas of womanhood didn’t include females who rolled around the floor dressed in fancy costumes.

‘I’m not mad; I’ve just had enough of being sabotaged!’ she said irritably, adjusting the puff sleeves and restoring some of her dignity. But not much. ‘Look,’ she continued sharply to Miss Stars and Stripes, ‘I know it’s not your fault you’re working my area, but—’

‘Shove off!’ said the woman rudely, bending down to pick up the scattered cling-filmed sandwiches and return them to her basket. ‘I’m delivering samples. Ask him. It’s his sister who’s got the franchise. Pia Colleoni. She’s the boss of City Lights,’ she sneered.

‘City Lights! His sister?’ Debbie’s husky voice ran out on her.

‘Sister-in-law,’ corrected Colleoni. ‘Leave the sandwiches,’ he said disdainfully to Miss Stars and Stripes. ‘I’ll let you know.’

Lithe and supple, as if his muscles had been liquefied, he strolled back into his office, confident that the matter was closed. But for Debbie it wasn’t; it had been City Lights which had made sneaky deliveries to some of their customers. After a moment of shocked astonishment, she sped inside after Colleoni and slammed and boldly locked the door behind her.

He froze on the way to his desk and then whirled around, his black eyes glittering with exasperation. ‘Unlock that door at once and get the other side of it!’ he roared. ‘You’re infringing my space—’

‘And you’re infringing my rights!’ she said hotly.

He raised eloquent eyes to the ceiling. ‘A woman with rights!’ he said in exasperation. ‘OK, now what?’ he barked.

Her eyes blazed with anger. ‘I think City Lights has been acting unfairly,’ she said vigorously, tossing a wedge of ruffled blonde hair out of her eyes and earning herself a cynically curled lip in response.

‘What are you after?’ His eyebrow was making a lot of suggestions, all of them sexual.

‘Justice,’ she said huskily, and could have kicked herself for the breathless way that word had been delivered. She might as well have said ‘sex’, judging by Colleoni’s expression.

He pushed back his jacket and lazily studied her while she tried to pretend that she hadn’t noticed his flat stomach and the slender hips. Her brain was in a tangle and he knew that, and his menacing sexuality unnerved her utterly.

‘And... how may I provide this... justice?’ he asked sardonically.

She felt the wash of heat burning her face again but forged on, dragging her brain to attention. ‘My mother and I are trying to run an honest business,’ she said shortly. ‘We provide good food at competitive prices. City Lights isn’t playing fair—’

‘So? That’s business,’ he interrupted coldly.

Exasperated, she went closer, anger and desperation overcoming her sense of intimidation.

‘Sliced factory bread and soggy, chemical-injected ham don’t win orders!’ she said heatedly. ‘They have to resort to dirty tricks: telephoning customers and saying that deliveries can’t be made, undercutting with ridiculous prices and pinching staff from small businesses who are running on a shoe-string like us. It’s not decent and it’s not fair competition,’ she stormed. ‘If you won’t tell your sister-in-law she’s heading for trouble, then I will!’

‘Don’t threaten me,’ he said in a deceptively soft growl that reminded her of distant thunder. ‘I don’t want to get involved in your nasty little squabbles. You might think it’s acceptable to throw yourself at your rival delivery girls and tussle on my office floor, but I find it highly distasteful.’

She took a long, slow breath and a long, slow look at him. She sensed his claws were about to be unsheathed. Though sleek and urbane, there was something about the way he glowered at her from under his brows, the way his eyes blazed into hers, that spoke of danger. He was staring at her, unblinking, unsmiling, unmoved by her plight.

She recognised that he was more stubborn, more pigheaded than she was—with infinitely more power to hold his ground. The taut and muscled body exuded a great strength—not only a physical energy, but the sublime directness of purpose of a man who expected—no, demanded—respect and obedience. Her lashes flickered with the surprise of that discovery. She lowered her gaze in weary defeat—and found herself staring at a photograph on his desk, half concealed in some bubble-wrap as if it had just arrived in the post. It was a picture of Gio!

Startled, she rushed forward, and he flung out an arm to stop her so quickly that she lost her balance, grabbing at the nearest thing: Colleoni himself.

She was in his arms, trembling at the hardness of his jaw against her cheek and the instinctive male tightening of powerful sinew around her. Alarmed, too, by the slide of his hands up her back and the sudden warmth and silken slither of his chest against hers.

Then he was detaching himself calmly and looking down at her, his expression inscrutable. With great care, he checked his jacket for damage, shot his cuffs with a flash of gold and amber cuff-links and said tightly; ‘I don’t like the way you seek justice. I dislike women who use their bodies like a weapon.’

‘I didn’t!’ she objected indignantly.

‘You’ll get out,’ he continued, overriding her protest. ‘Now! I see you’re married. What in God’s name do you think you’re doing, propositioning customers when they curtail contracts?’

Sick with shame, her head whirling with confusion, she ignored what he’d said and stared at the photograph in the solid silver frame, Luciano and Gio, side by side. Gio grinning, Luciano scowling. No mistake. Something lurched in her heart; Gio had said he had no family. But the photo had been taken recently—after Gio had altered his hairstyle.

She took a deep, steadying breath, her grey eyes dark with shock. Gio knew Luciano Colleoni. He’d lied to her about having no relatives. She felt her lip tremble as she wondered whether Gio had been deceiving her about anything else, and, if so, why...

CHAPTER TWO

DEBBIE felt the room whirling around. She clung to the desk, fighting for breath, and then Colleoni was forcing her head down with a none too gentle hand on her neck till she was bent over double and breathing stentoriously.

Conscious of the fact that she must present a rather provocative picture to the red-blooded Sicilian, she struggled to free herself and came up panting, her face puce with embarrassment and the effects of gravity.

‘That’s...’

She gulped, not from dizziness caused at the shock of discovering that her husband was linked with a wealthy financier, but from that same financier’s touch. The strong hand drifted over her shoulder as it withdrew, leaving her skin alive with the sensation. Struck dumb, she struggled for a reason and decided she must be suffering from confusion. No one had ever had that effect on her—not that strong, that intense.

‘Sit down.’ When she was slow to respond, still trying to work out her extraordinary reaction, Colleoni said irritably, Tor God’s sake, sit down, woman!’

‘Bully,’ she muttered, resentful of more than the command.

With a glint in his dark eyes, he put his firm hand on the centre of her back, unaware that he was sending more frantic signals to her brain. And, because she was dealing with the sexual messages and trying to deflect them, she offered no resistance.

So she found herself by one of the deep armchairs which faced the picture windows looking out to Tower Bridge and the River Thames. One of the most expensive views in London, she thought hazily. And this man had bought the bank as if he’d been buying a bar of chocolate.

‘Sit down,’ he repeated, a little more gently. ‘I’d prefer you not to faint if you can possibly avoid it,’ he added drily.

She sat. And felt a lot better. ‘I’ll do my best,’ she promised spiritedly, trying to gather her wits.

‘I hesitate to suggest that your dress ought to be eased. I don’t think either of us could cope with that, could we?’ he drawled.

‘No,’ she answered hoarsely; the thought of loosening anything in Colleoni’s presence was quite illogically unnerving. ‘Oh, my feet,’ she moaned, feeling them throb now that she’d sat down.