Bedded by the Italian Playboy (9 page)

She
desired Dominic intensely.

The
attraction she felt for him was not going to go away and she was vulnerable.
Very vulnerable to his charms. It was highly likey now that he knew about her
virginity that she would not be able to stop another seduction. He’d be
gentler, more careful, and he’d set her on fire all over again.

She
could not afford to let that happen and she certainly could not afford to let
things drag on. She had to pick his pocket, and then she had to get to his safe
and get to it soon.

Chapter Ten

Dominic
needed a little distance. Really, he did because he was becoming obsessed. It
had just hit the thirty-hour mark since he’d met Rachel yet it seemed like it
had been days, and he could not get her out of his mind. He was becoming
infatuated with her. And more than a little infatuated with the fact that she
was a virgin.

After
she’d confessed the situation, he’d pulled away immediately, shock and a
million other different feelings running through him. A virgin? A fucking
virgin? He was half convinced they no longer existed and yet there was no
denying the truth in her eyes.

Rachel
was
untouched
.

Her
innocence was real and dear God it excited him in a way nothing ever had. His
desire for her seemed to multiply tenfold and it was all he could do to move
away, help her sit up, and put her shirt back on. Both of them had been
breathing heavy, both of them were on fire, he knew it, could taste it in the
air, and yet Dominic held back. Rachel’s virginity changed everything.
Everything.

He
could no longer just seduce her and spend the weekend sating himself on her.
That sort of behavior was unacceptable. She was innocent and that changed the
whole game. He would have to woo her.

Sitting
down at his desk, he opened up his laptop and considered the possibility. It
had been quite some time since he had to woo a woman but there seemed to be no
other choice. Walking away was not an option. The more he thought about it, the
more he convinced himself that he had to be the one to take Rachel’s innocence.
He’d never slept with a virgin before, never introduced a woman to sex, and the
idea thrilled him in a way that was just ridiculous.

It
was primitive, this idea of being the first man inside her. It awoke something
in him, something that felt very much like possession, and Dominic knew he
would not feel right until he fucked Rachel. It really was as simple as that.

She
was going to be his. That was already decided.

It
was just a question of how and when.

He
clicked open Google and pulled up a search for flower companies. A few minutes
later, several bunches were ordered to arrive at her suite. He’d also added a
box of chocolates and little grey bear when he’d reached the checkout. They
seemed to be the sort of things Rachel would like. He could have asked Benjamin
to order these things. Though it was a Saturday, his assistant was still on
call. Only it felt, for once, like something he should do himself, and he
couldn’t help imagining the look on her face when her gifts arrived.

What
else? A phone call later and he’d booked them both in for dinner at an
exclusive restaurant just off
Mayfair
. It was
still relatively unknown and the chances of paparazzi finding him there were
slim. He had no intention of sharing Rachel with anyone, least of all the
tabloids. He would need to organize a driver too, he thought. Whilst he might
be cavalier with his own safety he could not risk hers.

It
was Katie at reception who answered his call. He recognized her breathless
voice. “I have yet to hear from Paul,” he said.

“He’s
here now, sir. Shall I send him in?”

“Yes.”

Paul
was full of apologies but Dominic was in no mood to listen to them. Strangely,
though he was in no mood to fire the man either. He let him go with a final
warning and told him to be ready and waiting at seven. Then he rang Ryan to
find out when he was likely to return. Monday, Ryan said, and Dominic had no
choice but to be happy with that.

Buoyed
after making his plans, he stood up from his desk and worked out the obstacles
in his mind. Time was a factor that was one. She was only staying for a couple
more days and he knew without a doubt that would not be enough to satisfy him.
She needed to stay for the two weeks he’d suggested, so that was the first
thing he needed to do. Get her to extend her stay.

Secondly,
he had to stoke her desire. It was there and she knew it. It was simply a
question of getting her to a point where she wanted him so badly she was
willing to let him be her first.

Her first.

He
shuddered and made his way over to the window. It gave him a view of the
gardens behind his hotel. A few small children were running around on the
grass, even though it was cold, their parents watching from a distance. Usually
such a view would make him frown. He was not particularly keen on the idea of
children or a family. He’d do it at some point, of course. He was thirty-three
now and time was bearing down on him, but it was always something he thought he
would do at some arbitrary point in the future. Why suddenly, he wondered, did
it seem like it would be sooner rather than later?

Rachel.

She
was physically perfect and now, with her innocence, he would be lying if he
didn’t admit to himself that he was looking at her differently than he usually
looked at his women. He needed to think about what he was doing. Dominic knew
that simply fucking her for two weeks and then casting her aside was beyond the
boundaries of acceptable even to him. She was a virgin and presumably she was
one for a reason. Waiting for Mr. Right perhaps. Though he doubted he was that
man, Dominic was shocked to find himself considering the idea of a relationship
with her. Of her being more than a quick fling like all the others. Maybe he
would even spend the winter with her.

For
once such an idea did not send him running in the other direction. There was
something special about the woman fate had thrown in his path and Dominic was
looking forward to finding out exactly what that was.

Chapter Eleven

The
invitation had come via text on her new Blackberry.

Fiore, please meet me for dinner tonight.
The lobby, half past six. Yours Dominic.

An
hour later, just as she finished her bath, the gifts came. Rachel had never
seen so many flowers in her life, bouquet after bouquet. And the little bag in
the midst of them was the most surprising thing of all. It held a tiny little
teddy bear that looked suspiciously like the one Penny had given her for her
birthday. A dusky grey, the bear was clutching a little bouquet of its own
flowers and smiling up at her. And then a little box of the most decadent
chocolates she’d ever seen. They were formed into tiny cupcakes and Rachel
thought them far too pretty to eat. She would save them for Lyra, she decided.
Her sister had the most intense sweet tooth of anyone she’d ever met.

Flowers
chocolate, a teddy bear. It was all so much and she simply stood there in the
middle of the room clutching the envelope that held a card.

“Everything
okay, miss?”

She
nodded to the delivery guy who gave her a deferential smile before shutting the
door and leaving her alone. With shaky fingers Rachel opened the card and read
the words.

The flowers are nowhere near as beautiful
as you. Yours, Dominic

Her
heart gave a little thud and Rachel sank down onto the couch. Dear Lord, what
the hell was going on? Was Dominic really so attracted to her that he was going
all out to woo her and bed her? Had their very brief intimate moment been
enough to make him burn so much? He had to be. There was no other explanation
and she found that just…odd. Oh, Rachel wasn’t so stupid that she didn’t know
she was attractive. All the sisters were, had been since they were very young
teenagers. Often in the past, though, their looks had been more of a trial than
an asset. Try being big breasted and blonde in a care home at the age of
thirteen. Rachel had spent a lot of her time making sure she was never left
alone with the other boys in the homes. Still, even with her looks and body,
something she was not responsible for and who the hell knew who was—she didn’t
know her parents, had been abandoned by them when she was very young and had no
interest at all in searching them out—was it really enough to snare herself a
billionaire? Or was she overthinking things? Was it simply that their plan was
going better than they could ever have hoped? That she was indeed Dominic’s
physically perfect woman in every way?

Her
eyes feasted on the word
“yours” and
her heart thudded as she looked it over. Dominic wanted her, desired her
intensely. She got that. But how far would he go to get her? And how could she
work it to get the money she needed?

Rachel
dropped the card on the table and wandered into the bedroom, her mind a whirr
of activity. Part of her felt ever so slightly guilty for thinking about
robbing him when he’d sent her such lovely gifts and written such lovely words,
but she could not forget the mission. Could not forget the reason she was here
in the first freaking place and it occurred to her that her sisters would be
super-proud of her resolve.

She
opened up the huge closet and began to flip through the Lucinda-sent dresses.
If it was dinner Dominic wanted, then now was the perfect time to make him burn
more. If she burned too, then so be it.

“Red,
black, blue….”

Rachel
sighed. None of the dresses fit how she wanted to look. The closest she could
see was a long white sheath. It draped right from the neckline to her ankle and
was demure in every way except for the back, which did not exist except for two
thin strings of material that crisscrossed from the hips to the shoulders. The
material was quite beautiful, though. Silk, she suspected but couldn’t be sure,
never having owned anything made of silk herself.

She
pulled it out and draped it over her arm before pulling out a pashmina. It was
a soft baby pink and would cover up the fact that the dress was backless. Next
came a pair of flat white ballet pumps. They would leave her looking tiny but
the mission-focused part of her suspected that Dominic would like that, like to
see her looking petite and feminine. It was that which he desired after all.

One
of the flowers tucked in her hair would complete the look, she thought once she
was dressed. Her hair was loose and falling in waves around her shoulders. She
plucked a large daisy and placed it on her left ear, checked herself in the
mirror, and set off down to the lobby.

Porters
and staff nodded at her as she passed and Rachel nodded back at them, trying to
keep her nerves in check. Usually she’d be standing next to them and part of
her wondered if they could tell she was a fraud just by looking at her, or
maybe that was just paranoia.

She
spotted Dominic the moment she entered the lobby. He was stood talking to
another man, a good-looking one who she instantly recognized as Paul, the
driver Lyra had made sure was late on the very first day by setting up a fake
date. She’d met him at the café he went to each Saturday and chatted him up.
She and Penny had walked her there. Rachel hoped to God he hadn’t noticed her.

“Rachel…”
Dominic spotted her and strode forward, the heat she was now familiar with
brimming in his eyes. “You look delightful.”

She
blushed, remembering his arms around her, his mouth on her nipples, and he
smiled slowly, probably remembering the same damn thing. Inhaling sharply
Rachel gave him her most demure smile. “Thank you.”

“Are
you ready to go?” He took her hand and placed it on his arm, but Rachel had to
angle it a little to be comfortable. He was significantly taller than her,
maybe even by a good foot, and as he walked her through the lobby, Rachel
couldn’t help but feel feminine and delicate.

Ridiculous.
But true.

The
drive to the restaurant took only a few minutes.
London
traffic was kind to them for once and
Dominic pointed out a number of sights as they passed. Rachel oohed and ahhed
even though she’d seen them all a million times. She’d lived in the city her
whole life, after all.

He
spoke a few words with Paul when they left the car and before she knew it, they
were seated in a private booth in the back of the restaurant. Fairy lights
dotted the air, greenery hid various little tables around them, and the whole
place felt like a hidden wonderland. Rachel drank it all in and eyed the
waitresses. She wouldn’t mind working here and wondered what the possibility of
getting a job would be.

“What
would you like to drink,
Fiore
?”
Dominic asked.

Flower.
She’d looked
it up on the web browser of her Blackberry and it made her heart thud when he
said it. “You choose.”