Читать книгу Ruthless Revenge: Sweet Surrender - Эль Кеннеди, Annie West - Страница 17

CHAPTER NINE

‘IF YOU STAY the night, who knows,’ Donato murmured hours later, languidly tracing Ella’s back, ‘we might make it to a bed.’

It was the first time he’d invited a woman to stay overnight but he’d passed the stage of being surprised at his need for Ella. Whatever this was between them, he’d enjoy it to the utmost.

A rich chuckle shivered through her, tickling his hand and tugging at something in his belly. She had a warm, sexy laugh. ‘That would be a novelty.’

He smiled. That was better. The sight of her silver eyes awash with tears had disturbed him, even if it had been in the aftermath of a stunning climax.

He’d gathered her close, ignoring the upsurge of desire as she settled across him. The shadows had lengthened and she’d slept, making him wonder at her exhaustion. Perhaps she hadn’t slept last night either.

Ella Sanderson wasn’t what he’d expected. From her plain cotton bra and knickers, as if she’d deliberately dressed not to entice him, to the look in her eyes when she’d probed about his past.

Donato’s chest clenched. No one since his mother had ever been completely on his side, not even his lawyer. He wasn’t used to it. That explained the weird, full sensation when Ella had looked at him with such sympathy, her mouth a pout of distress.

He shook off a sense of disquiet. Deliberately he pulled her against his erection, enjoying her gasp. He enjoyed holding a woman who was all sweet curves and hollows. He looked forward to exploring every centimetre.

A phone pierced the silence and Ella moved. Donato was surprised at the strength of his urge to tug her back.

‘That’s mine.’ She scrambled across the day bed, breasts swaying, her peach of a backside making his mouth dry as he imagined taking her from behind.

‘It can wait.’ He propped himself on one elbow for a better view. How could a woman who looked as good as Ella doubt her attractiveness? He’d put the pieces together now—her discomfort when he’d called her attractive, her haughtiness that defied him to find fault and the surprise in her silvery eyes when he’d pulled back to admire her.

‘It might be important.’ She scooped up her phone and, before he could stop her, stood.

‘On a Saturday?’ What could be so vital? Another lover? The idea punched his gut. Instinct, or maybe pride, told him Ella wasn’t promiscuous, despite the rampant sex they’d shared. He’d seen her shock when they came together so spectacularly and her dazed disbelief when rapture claimed her.

He guessed her bravado hid a deep reserve.

His gaze lingered on her hourglass figure, slightly broader at the hips and deliciously narrow at the waist. Long shapely legs and hair like dark honey. She wrapped a nearby towel around herself and scowled at the phone.

‘Hello, Dad.’ Her voice was wary. More than wary.

Donato’s interest stirred.

Ella shot a harried glance at him then moved away. But the curve of the building improved the acoustics so he caught part of the conversation.

‘No, it’s not all settled! We’ll find another way.’ She hunched the phone against her ear and pulled back her shoulder-length hair in a gesture that screamed frustration.

‘You wouldn’t! That’s Rob’s money. You have to repay that before you do anything else.’ Another look over her shoulder before she walked to the end of the pool.

Donato watched her long-legged stride. She couldn’t keep still. One hand slashed the air and her mouth turned down as if she’d swallowed something sour.

Talking to Reg Sanderson had that effect on him too.

So there was a rift between father and daughter. He’d guessed that, seeing the lack of affection between them. Plus there was outrage in Ella’s voice when she spoke of Rob’s money. Rob, her brother? Had Sanderson got his claws into his kids’ assets?

Donato shouldn’t have promised not to investigate her and, by extension, her siblings. It tied his hands. There was far more he wanted to know, but having given her his word—

She strode back, her features taut. Something clenched hard inside him.

‘Come here.’ Donato put out his hand. ‘You need someone to help you feel better. I’m just the man.’

His invitation wasn’t entirely selfish. He didn’t like her troubled expression, knowing Sanderson had caused it. Another reason to hate the man.

Ella lifted her hand as if to take his, then stopped.

‘No.’ Her hand dropped and Donato was surprised at the strength of his disappointment. ‘Thank you. But...’ She shook her head and the afternoon sun caught the sheen of honey gilt. ‘I need to go.’

Donato was about to insist she remain when he read the strain around her mouth. He knew he could have her in his bed all night, enjoying what his body urged him to take. He could weasel the information he wanted after breaking down her defences.

He let his arm fall. He wanted Ella’s passion and her sweet body. He wanted to understand her and her relationship with her father. But he wouldn’t seduce the details from her.

His belly churned in a moment of unfamiliar disquiet. He was already taking advantage, pretending to want marriage. It wasn’t just Sanderson pressuring her, putting the shadows beneath her bright eyes.

Amazingly, for the first time in years, doubt shivered through what passed for his conscience. More than doubt, it was guilt, its sharp blade scraping.

Donato sat up, his jaw setting as Ella gathered her clothes. She might be vulnerable and sassy, sexy and funny and, he suspected, brave, but he couldn’t allow her to stand in the way of justice.

Nothing would save Reg Sanderson from his deserts. Not even the fact his daughter was the most appealing, fascinating woman Donato could recall knowing.

He stood, retrieving her floaty top that had landed on the day bed’s high canopy.

‘Thank you.’ Her eyes didn’t meet his and he caught again that hint of embarrassment.

Their hands brushed and sensation jolted. Maldición! Need was like an electric current running through him.

‘I’ll see you tomorrow.’

She shook her head and he had to restrain himself from catching those honey-brown tresses and hauling her close again.

‘I’m busy.’

‘Be ready at nine. I’ll collect you.’

‘You don’t know where I live. And you promised not to set your investigators onto me.’

Donato suppressed a smile. That was better. Her eyes shone with challenge and her chin notched high.

‘I didn’t promise not to follow you home.’ He let that sink in. ‘I’ll just toss on some clothes.’ He reached for his shirt, absently noting a couple of missing buttons.

Her deep sigh drew his attention. Despite her defiant air, she clutched her clothes close, hiding herself. As if he couldn’t perfectly recall those enticing curves.

‘Okay. I’ll meet you tomorrow. I’ll come here at midday.’

‘Nine.’

‘Eleven.’

‘Nine.’ He brushed her hair off her cheek. ‘And I promise not to ring you after midnight.’ She shivered and he moved closer, inhaling her skin’s delicate perfume, like sweet peas and sunshine.

‘Nine-thirty, then. And you won’t call me at all.’

Donato didn’t say anything. If she thought he’d pass up a chance to hear her voice, husky and delicious, when he couldn’t have her in his bed...well, she didn’t know him yet.

* * *

‘That’s it. You’ve got the hang of it now.’ Donato’s voice was warm with approval and encouragement and Ella felt emotion flare. Pleasure? Pride? Or excitement at being so close to him?

No time to work it out now. She had to concentrate.

‘Shift your left hand.’

She watched as Donato demonstrated. Like her, he was suspended on a rope, halfway down a rock face. Except, unlike her, he was perfectly at ease. His eyes danced with pleasure and she’d seen his exhilaration earlier as he’d abseiled down the cliff then swarmed back up with an efficiency that left her in breathless awe.

She knew he was strong. It was two weeks since she’d become intimately acquainted with his body. But seeing him now she realised how carefully he leashed that power when they made love.

‘Ella? Are you okay?’

‘Fine.’ She wrenched her gaze to the rock and made herself concentrate on his instructions. Carefully she stepped backwards, feeling the rope play out in her gloved hand.

‘Perfect. You’ve got it.’

Delight filled her. It was partly the thrill of abseiling and partly the effect of his approval.

Since when had she wanted Donato’s approval?

She froze, her throat catching.

‘You’re doing well, Ella. Just keep moving.’ His voice was encouraging but businesslike enough to focus her. The perfect teacher.

Who’d have thought it? She remembered that first night when he’d seemed so daunting with his saturnine looks and air of despotic authority.

But the Donato she’d begun to know had surprising depths. He got his own way too much and there was a shut-off side to him she couldn’t penetrate, yet he was unexpectedly thoughtful and...kind.

He moved close but not close enough to crowd her. ‘Try bending your knees and pushing off. Just a little bounce. You know you’re safe.’

Ella nodded. She’d inspected the equipment, learning all she could before she’d agreed to try this. And their professional guide was at the top, watching out for her.

Tentatively she bent her legs, pushing off from the rock. For a dizzying instant fear hit her, then the thrill of it kicked in. She did it again, this time releasing the rope a little so she moved out and down in an arc.

‘I did it!’ A grin split her face.

‘Of course you did, since you set your mind to it.’

Ella turned and found Donato smiling as if he was as thrilled as she was. The warmth of his smile lit her inside.

‘Come on, let’s get to the bottom.’

Ella turned back to the rock, concentrating on each movement. Yet as she descended, thrilled by the fun of it, she was aware of him beside her, matching his pace to hers.

Finally she stood on shaky legs, breathing hard, adrenalin coursing through her body.

‘Good?’ Donato pulled her close, his hands on her hips, and a different sort of thrill shot through her.

‘Marvellous.’

‘Glad you agreed to try something different this weekend?’

‘Absolutely.’ She braced her hands on his shoulders when he would have pulled her closer. ‘When did you learn to climb?’

He waited before replying, as if assessing her curiosity. ‘In my early twenties. I discovered a taste for wide-open spaces.’ His mouth curled at the corner. ‘Not surprising after being penned in. When I could, which wasn’t often, given I was building a business from scratch, I’d get out of the city. Windsurfing, climbing, hang-gliding.’

‘They sound challenging.’ And dangerous.

‘I like the wind in my hair. The feeling of not being hemmed in.’

Ella thought of his Sydney house. Set at the top of a cliff with a commanding view of the Pacific, it was as un-hemmed-in as you could get in such a metropolis.

‘What about you, Ella?’ He tilted up her chin so his words brushed her face. ‘What do you do to unwind?’

Make love with a breathtakingly gorgeous, enigmatic tycoon.

This fortnight there’d been no time for anything but work and Donato. If she wasn’t with him in the evening, he was flirting with her over the phone, his espresso-dark voice a constant reminder of what she missed by refusing to stay with him.

But the need to keep part of her life private remained strong. Donato had stormed into her world like a cyclone flattening every defence. He dominated her thoughts and even her dreams.

‘How do I unwind? You’ll find out soon enough.’ Their weekend in the Blue Mountains west of the city was in two parts. Donato had suggested they spend half the time doing something he enjoyed and the other half was her choice.

As if he wanted to share his private life with her, not just his bed. As if he wanted to know more about her too. It was a beguiling idea. After two weeks of toe-curling orgasms and carefully light banter, this signalled a shift in their relationship.

Ella had tried telling herself they didn’t have a relationship. They had sex. Stunning, all-eclipsing sex.

And they had this farcical engagement. Her father insisted they were marrying and went ahead with preparations despite her protests. But it would take more than his demands to make her marry a man she didn’t love.

Meanwhile she needed to help her siblings. Her father had misappropriated Rob’s inheritance from their grandfather, the money he needed to finish the resort’s refurbishment. Reg had promised to repay it when his business with Donato was sorted.

Ella felt trapped, by her attraction to Donato and the situation with her father.

She’d told Donato repeatedly there’d be no wedding. Every time he’d shrugged and said it would all work out.

It was like a game, one where only he knew the rules. When she tried to press for a resolution he distracted her, usually with some outrageous provocation that led to verbal sparring and, most often, sex.

Now he wrapped his arms around her and her heart gave a familiar leap. ‘Don’t I get a kiss for introducing you to abseiling?’

She shook her head, teasing. ‘It was our guide who did the work, organising the equipment and—’

‘If you think you’re kissing anyone but me,’ Donato growled, a light in his eyes, ‘you’re sadly mistaken.’

Instantly she was all quivering anticipation. That hint of possessiveness was too appealing.

She wanted Donato. Not just his kisses but his attention, his time. Warning bells clanged.

Ella needed to remind him, and herself, she was her own woman. He was so overwhelming it was a constant battle not to be swept up, simply giving in to him.

She put a hand on Donato’s broad chest, pushing. ‘That’s for me to choose. You don’t own me, Donato. You haven’t bought me.’

She’d anticipated a mock scowl, or that lethally slow smile that stirred all her senses.

What she got was sudden stillness and a look that made the hairs on her nape stand on end. Not a look of anger. She couldn’t read his expression, but she knew he’d gone somewhere she didn’t want to be.

His hold tightened, his fingers digging too hard. Then suddenly she was free. Donato stepped back, hands flexing. His chest rose as he sucked oxygen, like a swimmer too long underwater.

‘Donato? What is it?’ His stark expression made the blood curdle in her veins. Shivers ran down her arms and disquiet stirred.

His eyes were fixed on the distance.

‘Donato?’

His gaze swung down to her. She read turmoil and strong emotion. What was going on? One minute he was laughing and intimate. The next he’d totally withdrawn.

‘Of course.’ The last vestiges of tension vanished as she watched. He looked the same as ever, confident and in control. But Ella knew something had happened, as it had when he’d spoken of his past.

What was he hiding? Everyone had secrets, but she sensed Donato’s cast very long shadows.

Ella gripped his arms, needing the physical connection. Needing, if possible, to help. His taut biceps were hard as the rock they’d just traversed. She loved his strength. Being with Donato made her feel almost petite and dainty.

Deliberately she stood on her toes and brushed her mouth against his. Instantly he responded with a slow, bone-melting thoroughness that made her wish their guide wasn’t waiting above.

Finally Donato pulled back.

‘Come on, Ella. It’s time you learned how to climb back up.’ His lips curled in that devastating smile and she found herself smiling back.

But she was silent as he busied himself with their gear. For his smile had been wrong. It hadn’t reached his eyes.

Ella told herself that just because they were lovers didn’t give her the right to pry into things he obviously didn’t want to share. She too kept part of her life off-limits to Donato.

Yet the need to understand him gnawed. She wanted to know so she could help. Because she never wanted to see that blank shadow on his face again.

Was that the reaction of a short-term lover?

Or was it the reaction of a woman sinking deep over her head?