Читать книгу Modern Romance September 2016 Books 1-4 - Кейт Хьюит - Страница 15
ОглавлениеBIANCA HADN’T HEARD from Liev since the day of the auction, but the idea that he had forgotten about their first public date this evening wasn’t a comfort she could afford. For the best part of the past week she’d looked at every other way possible to get out of the deal she’d been forced to accept, but nothing had presented itself. If she wanted the bracelet she didn’t have a choice.
Already photos of them leaving the auction and Liev’s high bid for the bracelet had caused a stir, alerting the gossip columns to a blooming romance. They’d speculated if the self-made Russian billionaire was the man to melt the sleeping heart of Bianca Di Sione, labouring hard on the fact that she’d not been seen out with male company for many years.
With no other way of getting the bracelet, Bianca knew she and Liev needed to be seen together again, and when they were, it would make the next piece of their engagement story. She stood at her apartment window, looking out over the city of New York as it basked in the sunshine of a July evening, willing Liev to arrive. She just wanted to get this evening over with.
He had chosen one of society’s biggest and most well-attended charity parties at which to parade her as his fiancée. Inside she was all nerves, wanting to do nothing other than run and hide, but outside, as ever, she was cool, calm and sophisticated. She’d hidden her vulnerabilities further with heavy eye make-up and dark lipstick—very much her preferred mask to hide behind.
The firm knock on her apartment door made her jump like a nervous kitten. That had to stop. There was no way she was going to allow Liev to see how anxious she really was. This was all just business, and the fact that it reminded her so starkly of her prom night had to be pushed aside; otherwise she’d never be able to put on the required act of adoration.
She picked up her clutch bag and headed for the front door, the silk of her dress sighing softly as she moved. At the door she took another deep breath, then looked out through the spyhole. Liev’s broad shoulders and hardened yet handsome face filled it. She drew in a sharp and ragged breath.
The way she reacted to him only made this more difficult. There had only been one other man who’d caused that kind of kick to her heart rate and he’d done nothing but humiliate her, betting with his friends he’d take her virginity the night of her prom. He hadn’t, but that night had only made her more determined to give it to the right man—and she hadn’t met him yet.
‘You can do this, Bianca. You have to,’ she whispered sternly, pushing back the past. She lifted her chin, put her shoulders back and pinned on a smile before opening the door.
Liev stood there in all his male glory, dressed in a tuxedo and looking so damn good she couldn’t drag her gaze from him. He in turn allowed his unconcealed scrutiny to travel down the length of the emerald green silk dress which clung seductively to her, before slowly moving back to her face.
She met his gaze with a haughty expression. ‘I trust this meets with your approval.’
He nodded and his cold grey eyes looked directly into hers as his superiority radiated off him in waves, irritating her further. ‘Yes. Exactly right.’
Bianca marvelled at the fact that he hadn’t actually dictated how she should dress, but then maybe even he had thought that was a step too far. She knew they would create a stunning couple and was certain they would end up in one of the celebrity magazines. But being seen and photographed with him was the easy part.
Tonight, if their sudden engagement wasn’t to be questioned by her family, she would have to act like a woman in love, swept away by Liev’s commanding presence. If one hint of their deal showed, Liev would find the doors he wanted opened slamming in his face and she would lose the one thing she just had to have.
‘But there is something missing.’
‘There is?’ She stumbled over her words again. What had she forgotten? She’d made sure every part of her act was right.
He stepped towards her, getting too close. From his inside jacket pocket he pulled out what could only be a ring box. Her heart turned over. The fake engagement ring.
‘You cannot truly be my fiancée without this.’
Cautiously she took the box from him. This had never been how she’d imagined the moment a man would propose. Their fingers brushed and her gaze shot up to meet his. The air around them sparked, as if a bolt of lightning had struck. He held her gaze as she glared angrily back at him.
She opened the box, trying to ignore the pounding of her heart, and gasped as a large diamond glittered expensively. ‘Where did you get this?’
‘Another auction. Like you, I have a liking for the finer things in life.’
She looked at the diamond glinting at her. ‘I can’t wear this.’
‘You can and you will.’ He took it from the box and lifted her hand, sliding the ring onto her finger in silence. She couldn’t help but watch and wish things were different.
The single large diamond which sparkled in the light as she moved was hardly going to go unnoticed this evening. By tomorrow morning, news of their engagement would be sweeping across the city and she still hadn’t found the courage to tell any of her family.
‘We should go.’ She had to move on from this moment and the crushed dreams it represented. Remember why she was doing it.
She stepped past him, unable to meet his gaze, and pulled her door shut, desperate to avoid any further contact when so much of her skin was exposed, and briefly wished she’d selected a more modest dress. But with a role to play, this had been the best choice.
That wish intensified when seconds later they were enclosed in the elevator as it descended. The shiny interior reflected their images as they stood side by side. She tried not to look and to calm her breathing, but the harshness of his reflected expression did little to help. If he was going to scowl like that, how would anyone really believe they were engaged? As their eyes met in the reflection, she realised she had to do more than dress the part of a woman in love—she had to act it too.
‘My car is waiting. When we arrive I hope that you will appear more enamoured with me, instead of visibly flinching from my touch.’ His words mirrored her worries and were sharp, his accent more pronounced. She had to stifle a smile at the knowledge that she was irritating him and resist the urge to continue to do so. Rebellion wouldn’t help her at all.
‘If I can take that constant frown from your face, then there will be no doubt in anyone’s mind that we are in love.’ Her tart words hit their target and he turned to look at her, his eyes narrowing in suspicion.
‘Already we make a well-matched couple. Let’s ensure that others see something softer, something more akin to a fairy-tale romance.’ His acerbic tone almost stole her breath as she glared back at him, frustration bubbling inside her.
So he wanted fairy tale, did he? ‘Very well, then that is what you shall have.’
The elevator doors opened and she looked up at him, slid her arm into his and pulled her body against him. The heat that seared her skin made her draw in a sharp breath—as did the racing of her pulse. What was the matter with her? Since when did any man do that to her? Certainly not since the night of her high school prom.
‘I am pleased we are... How do you say...? On the same page.’ His commanding voice had suddenly taken on a deep sexy tone as he seemed to scrabble for the right English expression. But it was a tone she would do well to ignore if the skittering of her heart was anything to go by.
‘We both have something the other wants. That is as far as our connection goes.’ She glanced up at his profile to see the corner of his mouth twitch with the beginnings of a smile.
With her head held high and her arm in Liev’s, she walked through the lobby, giving the doorman a smile, and out into the warmth of the evening. Before she had time to think, a chauffeur had opened the back door of a limousine and Liev was helping her in. She slid across the seat with as much composure as her tight-fitting dress would allow, only to be joined seconds later by Liev. The close proximity of the car was far more daunting than the elevator.
‘When we arrive, it is my hope that we will be photographed together and that this...’ He lifted her left hand, the large diamond sparkling mischievously. ‘I hope this will not go unnoticed.’
‘I don’t think there is any question it will not be noticed.’ Her pulse leapt again as he held her hand by her fingertips, his sharp gaze holding hers captive. Boldly she looked into the cold grey of his eyes, noticing again those flecks of blue.
‘I am counting on it, Bianca. I need to enter your social circle as much as you need that bracelet.’ The drawl of his voice sent a chill down her spine as cold as the heat which sizzled up her arm from just the touch of his hand on hers.
Before she could say anything else, the limousine pulled up at the doors of one of New York’s most prestigious hotels. Through the darkened windows she could see crowds had assembled along with hordes of paparazzi. Liev would get his wish.
More exposed and vulnerable than she’d ever felt, she stepped out of the car, followed by Liev. The flashlights burst into action as he put his arm around her waist, drawing her so close to him. Much closer than she’d dared to be moments before in the elevator.
* * *
Liev held Bianca close, enjoying the sensation of her body against his once more. When she’d moved against him as they had left the elevator, he’d been shocked. It was the last thing he expected of the cool and level-headed businesswoman. To find she had a playful, even flirtatious streak was unexpected and not totally unwelcome. Maybe his new engagement would prove more entertaining than he’d planned.
‘Bianca. Whose ring is that?’ Once one of the paparazzi had spotted the ring, the cameras exploded.
‘Thank you,’ he said firmly, stepping in front of her, gallantly shielding her from more opportune shots. ‘All will be revealed in good time.’
With that he guided her towards the door of the hotel and into the relative calm beyond its doors. His plan was well and truly under way. He looked across at Bianca as she stopped and was shocked to see vulnerability on her face, but as she sensed him watching her, that slipped away to be replaced by the toughness he would have expected from the woman he’d come to know and even admire.
‘Well, that is one hurdle over.’ She feigned an interest in smoothing the silk of her dress down against her body. He gritted his teeth together as he watched her, unable to drag his gaze away from her. Did she have any idea how flirtatious that action was? ‘Our engagement will no longer be a secret. It would, however, have been nice to have had time to prepare my family.’
‘Why? Would you have had time to think of them if we had been swept away by the madness of love?’
‘I don’t think the madness of love sweeping me away is something any of them will believe, especially my brother Dario, whose launch I am at this moment supposed to be concentrating on.’ Her eyes sparked with angry fury as she turned to look at him, her voice low and hushed as she spoke, but he didn’t miss the resentment in it.
‘I’m sure they will forgive you.’ He wanted to ask about her brother. She’d given him the perfect opportunity to find out more of Dario Di Sione’s dealings, but as ever, he would have to bide his time and wait. Now was not the time and place, and neither was her mood conducive to sharing such information. It was far better she was lulled into a false sense of security.
As they entered the room, she became the Bianca he’d first met, the confident woman who knew what she wanted and how to get it. It reminded him that right now she wanted the bracelet and the only way to get it was to introduce him into her world and that if she had a choice she would not be spending the evening with him.
‘Bianca.’ He watched as a woman, several years younger than Bianca, kissed her on each cheek and smiled at her. ‘How are those twin brothers of yours? Doing well by all accounts.’
Liev’s interest was piqued. One of those twin brothers was the reason he was here. Dario was now the owner of ICE, one of the most well-known computer companies which had become rich and successful by buying out other companies, then closing out the founders, destroying them until they had nothing. Just as they had done to his father.
Whilst Liev accepted that Dario hadn’t been responsible for the buyout which destroyed his father, he’d certainly turned a blind eye to the company’s past. Now, through Dario, Liev intended to expose all those underhand deals and the man who’d been behind them all.
‘Yes, they are. In fact, Dario is soon launching a new product.’ Bianca’s reply drew him back from the black hole of his childhood, her sweet voice full of pride. But how could she be proud of a man who advocated such practices? ‘This is Liev Dragunov, my...’
Bianca’s voice faltered very briefly, but he wasn’t going to give her the opportunity to create the wrong kind of speculation. ‘Her fiancé.’
‘Oh, Bianca, that’s so exciting.’ The younger woman beamed, probably because she was now in possession of one of the best bits of gossip this evening. He knew how women’s minds worked.
‘Yes, isn’t it?’ Bianca bounced back, her smile firmly planted on those painted red lips.
‘And what a ring.’ The woman cooed.
Bianca unashamedly showed off the large diamond ring he’d bought for the purpose. Every dollar it had cost proving to be a worthwhile investment.
‘We should take our seats, my love.’ Liev spoke softly and smiled down at her face as she turned to look up at him. Briefly her eyes filled with question, and then she smiled. A knowing smile that told him she knew exactly what he was doing.
‘Yes, darling,’ she said huskily, then turned back to the other woman. ‘It’s so nice to be looked after.’
Liev guided her through the guests, aware of the curious glances of women and the sometimes suspicious glares of the men. He knew that without Bianca he would never be accepted into their world, no matter how many millions he had. They closed ranks against strangers and self-made men like him, but with her at his side, those ranks were beginning to move apart.
* * *
Bianca seated herself at her designated table. Her name-card nestling close to Liev’s seemed strangely intimate, and as it had done when she’d first opened her apartment door this evening, her pulse began to race erratically, unsettling her more than she cared to admit.
He stood behind her as she took her seat and rested his hand on the back of her chair, leaning down to bring his head close to hers. She turned to look at him, startled by the realisation that she was close enough to kiss him. What would his kiss be like? Brief and cold or hard and demanding? Either would suit him. He smiled at her and she seriously wondered if he was second-guessing her thoughts. She blushed, worried that he knew she was thinking about kissing him.
‘You look beautiful this evening.’ His voice was deep and sultry and a new kind of intensity filled those icy grey eyes, warming them so they resembled the ocean as the sun’s midday rays danced on it.
‘Thank you.’ She wanted to lower her gaze, to break the tension which suddenly seemed to zip between them. She would have to be cautious. Liev Dragunov, her three-month fiancé and blackmailer, possessed charms that could be lethal to an inexperienced heart such as hers. A heart that had been torn apart by deceit and disappointment before it had even had the chance to truly experience love.
Strangely self-conscious, she looked away as more guests arrived at their table, and very soon the intimacy they’d just experienced was lost in a flow of conversation. Liev became immersed in a discussion with the other men and she was surprised to hear the pride in his voice when he spoke of his company.
She tried to concentrate on the women’s talk of the latest Broadway show but she couldn’t help listening to Liev, wishing he was talking to her like that. She felt the barriers she always kept well and truly up lowering as her curiosity increased about the man she was now engaged to. Sitting at the table, with others about them, she was more relaxed about being in his company, somehow tuned into his mood.
By the end of the meal she’d heard enough snippets of conversation to have built up a good picture of him, something she liked to do before representing a new client, but never before had she heard it indirectly from the client themselves. It was also what she’d tried to do when he’d initially contacted her. She recalled that gut instinct she’d had that there was more to him than he let anyone see and that he was as determined as he was unstoppable.
Now, to her cost, she knew that to be true. Liev Dragunov would stop at nothing to get what he wanted.
‘It has been a very successful evening.’ He took her hand from where it rested on her lap, startling her out of her thoughts. She glanced around to see just one of the four couples who’d joined them at their table remained, deep in their own conversation.
‘Yes.’ She forced the word out, but it sounded like a husky whisper, so she fixed him with a bold glare, only to find that smile which never fully showed tugging at the corners of his lips. ‘I’d like to go home now. I have a busy day tomorrow preparing for a customer launch.’
‘Your brother?’ His thumb caressed her hand, making her skin tingle and distracting her far too much, but his voice had a granite-hard edge to it.
‘Yes. As you obviously overheard earlier, my brother Dario is launching a new product next month.’ Irritated that he’d listened to her conversation, she snapped the words out. For some absurd reason, she didn’t want him to know anything about her family. It wasn’t as if they were really engaged. All she was doing was opening doors for him.
‘You, too, overheard much of my conversation if I’m not mistaken, Bianca.’ The feral warning in his eyes made them glint like ice in the morning sun, but she refused to be intimated by him. Blackmail was enough.
‘I didn’t realise you’d built your business up from nothing.’ Her honest curiosity got the better of her as did the need to rein in the increasing tension. ‘You will, of course, need to tell me more about yourself if I am to represent your company.’
‘Providing you tell me more about yourself.’ His eyes flared briefly with amusement, like a firework before it melted into the night sky.
‘I don’t think so.’ There was no way she was going to open up to this man and tell him about her family. She didn’t want to reveal the nightmare of losing her parents when she was so very young and the difficulty of growing up in the spotlight without them. He probably knew already, but she didn’t want to have to tell him anything. ‘I’d like to go home now.’
‘Very well.’ He stood up and she suddenly became overwhelmed by him. As she sat there and looked at him, at the broad width of his shoulders, she felt almost helpless, as if he’d somehow taken every last bit of control from her. She didn’t like it one bit. Just as Dominic had done, he was using her for who she was, what she could offer him. The only difference this time—Liev had something she needed.
She stood up, her height in heels almost coming close to matching his, but when he put his arm around her back, his hand resting on her waist and pulling her against him, she knew her ability to hold it all together much longer was slipping away. He was eroding her ever-present mask of confidence faster than the tide wiped away footprints in the sand.
‘I will get a taxi.’ All she wanted was to be on her own, to cease this charade of newfound love.
‘What kind of fiancé would that make me if I allowed you to go home alone in a taxi? I will at least take you to your door, Bianca.’
Aware that they were being watched and that getting the bracelet back rested on how quickly he was accepted by people like these, she smiled sweetly at him, placing her hand on his arm and leaning against him seductively. ‘I can’t think of anything better.’
His finger tipped up her chin, forcing her to look directly into the icy heart of his eyes. The world around them stopped turning and nothing else existed. The glamour of the room and everyone in it faded away. All she could see was the handsome man who had claimed her as his fake fiancée. All she could hear was the hard thudding of her heart. All she could feel was the heat of his body.
‘It will be my pleasure.’ He lowered his head and before she could do anything his lips met hers. Instinctively she closed her eyes as her body swayed towards him and hated herself for it. Her heart rate accelerated wildly and heat surged from deep within her as he moved his lips against hers, teasing and coaxing a response from her. She couldn’t help herself as butterflies took flight in her stomach; she sighed softly, enjoying the sensation of his kiss, of knowing that he, too, enjoyed it.
As all those conflicting sensations whirled around inside her, he pulled back just enough to whisper, ‘And a very great honour.’
Those huskily whispered words pulled her back from insanity.
‘I don’t think you know the meaning of that word.’ Her low retort had a sharpened edge to it and she wanted to collapse back onto her chair with relief when he let her go.
Before he could say or do anything else, she walked out of the room, away from the watchful eyes of people she’d known all her life and away from whatever it was that had just happened between her and the man she supposedly hated.
* * *
Liev got out of the limousine and helped Bianca out. The night air was warm and, as ever, the city hummed with activity. Bianca was still all fiery control and simmering sexiness, testing him more than he’d ever thought possible. Just as that kiss had done. He could still feel her lips against his, still hear that soft sigh of contentment. For a brief moment he had melted her icy heart.
‘There is no need to come up with me.’ Her words were so cold they almost froze him out, and he wondered about the passionate woman he’d glimpsed as his lips had brushed hers. Did she ever let her guard down enough for that passion to take over? Was that why she hadn’t dated recently? The challenge to find out more about the ice princess was immense, but it would get in the way of his real purpose and he couldn’t be distracted by a beautiful woman, no matter how attractive the prospect was.
‘We need to arrange our next date,’ he said as he held open the lobby door for her and nodded at the doorman.
As they waited for the elevator, he thought of seeing Bianca again. He pushed aside thoughts of kisses and passion, focusing instead on the thrill of sparring with her. The thought of coming closer to the moment he could avenge his father’s demise by finding out about Dario Di Sione’s latest product launch and using it against ICE pushed him forward even though his conscience was beginning to tug with something he didn’t want to acknowledge.
The elevator doors swished open and he followed Bianca in, more aware than ever of the crackle of tension which still simmered around them.
‘Yes, I suppose we do if we are to be believed. Shall I arrange something this time?’ Her voice distracted him from thinking of things he had little right to think about. The moment his lips had met hers something had changed, and although a public kiss was necessary, he had never meant it to be one so filled with such explosiveness as that lingering touch of lips to lips.
‘Not this time.’ He forced his mind to focus, not prepared to admit that he intended to test just how far and fast the news of their engagement was spreading. The elite of New York’s restaurants were always able to accommodate those who moved in Bianca’s high circles, and it was time to test if he was yet ranked among them. ‘Just keep next Friday evening free.’
‘Friday it is, then.’ Her voice trailed after her, as did her perfume, as she left the elevator. For a moment he watched, bewitched by the sway of her hips, encased in emerald green silk.
Following her, he shook his head and blinked. He had to stop wondering what really dating Bianca Di Sione would be like. If he didn’t, his whole plan, one that had taken years to come to fruition, was at stake. And he couldn’t let that happen.
As a teenager living rough on the streets of St Petersburg, he’d vowed he would do all it took to seek revenge for his parents, for the life together they should have had, and if it hadn’t been for the underhand dealings of ICE, he wouldn’t need Bianca to gain him acceptance into any society.
If it hadn’t been for ICE, he wouldn’t have been forced to steal just to feed himself and the other poor urchins he’d met while living rough. He wouldn’t have been caught and sent to the youth prison camps, hidden away in the country. The gruelling years he’d spent there had made him a man before his time and now that man was ready to exact payment. So what if the delectable Bianca Di Sione was part of it.
‘Goodnight, Liev.’ Her voice pierced the past he’d slipped into and he quickly focused his attention on the woman who stood before him.
‘Goodnight, Bianca.’ He lifted her fingertips to his lips and kissed them gently. ‘Until next Friday.’
Before he could do anything else, he turned and marched away, because if he didn’t he was in danger of giving everything away by either allowing the past to get the better of him and demanding answers from her about the company her brother now headed, or by giving into the urge to kiss her—really kiss her.
