Untamed Italians. Janette Kenny

Чтение книги онлайн.

       CHAPTER SEVEN

      SHE shouldn’t have left Monte Carlo with Stefano. She should’ve taken the train back home.

      Home.

      She didn’t have a home any longer, just a flat in Viareggio. She’d let her nonna down in the worst possible way.

      What would happen next?

      Gemma had to ask Stefano about his plans for the inn. For if he intended to sell it, there was the slim chance she could still secure a loan from the bank.

      It was a slim thread to hang onto as she sat beside him in the helicopter, the lights of the casino fading as they flew out over the Ligurian Sea that lay black and fathomless at night. If only that emotionally draining scene with Emilio in the poker room would diminish as well.

      But it didn’t. It remained clear and garish.

      She’d failed to help her brother. In fact she didn’t know how to reach him anymore. She didn’t know if she had the heart to try, and that only heaped more guilt on her already tired shoulders.

      Emilio knew exactly what she’d done to get the money to refurbish the inn, yet he twisted the truth into something ugly. He insinuated that she had been Cesare’s mistress and that she was now Stefano’s lover.

      She hadn’t even had the heart to deny it for what good would it have done? Stefano hadn’t said anything in his defense, either, just stared at her with those dark, smoldering eyes like he had right before he’d kissed her.

      Mio Dio, even hours later she could still taste him on her tongue. Still feel the steely strength in the arms that had held her close. Still remember the evidence of his desire against her belly.

      Oh, yes, they had given the gossips plenty of fodder to feed on this night. She just hoped news of it wouldn’t reach Cesare soon.

      The day for his open-heart surgery had arrived. The last thing he needed was the stress caused by these vicious lies.

      Stress.

      Her life was a total disaster now. She’d never felt this adrift. This separated from everything she’d known and loved and trusted.

      She wanted to know what Stefano’s plans were for the inn. But even with the headphones, the roar of the blades dissuaded conversation.

      So she held her thoughts and fears to herself and settled in for the long ride back to Viareggio. That thought had barely crossed her mind when she spotted the lights of a big ship dead ahead. The helicopter circled it once and then began descending.

      Her mind ran away with dire reasons why Stefano would set down in the middle of the sea. And wasn’t this dangerous to attempt at night?

      Never mind he was landing on a small cruise ship. He was doing so nearly blind at night.

      Before she could work herself into a full-blown panic, he’d landed the helicopter. Her heart stopped its frantic pounding so she could hear him speaking to someone over his radio.

      She immediately thought of Cesare. “Is something wrong?” she asked before they both removed their headphones.

      “It is late and I didn’t wish to fly back to Viareggio tonight when my yacht was so close by.”

      She stared out on the deck of the large ship. “This huge boat is yours?”

      He slid her a devilish grin that had her seeing him as a desirable man instead of the man who’d just gained control of all she held dear. A very handsome man with an odd glint in his eyes that roused her suspicions.

      If he thought she’d tumble into bed with him now, he was sorely mistaken. There had to be plenty of rooms on board. Hopefully there was one far from his domain.

      “This is the starship of my new fleet,” he said with pride ringing clear in his tone. “I can work from here as easily as I can on land.”

      “Have you done that often?” she said in an attempt to make idle conversation.

      “Many times of late. Come.”

      He stepped from the helicopter and rounded it to assist her down. An odd thing to do since there were plenty of men who had jumped to attend to the helicopter and its billionaire pilot.

      A refreshing breeze greeted her as she crossed the deck with her hand tightly clasped in Stefano’s. Possessive. Sensual.

      The last sensation thrummed her nerves in an erotic melody she couldn’t deny. She didn’t want to feel anything toward him but animosity.

      Though she was helpless to stop the swift stab of desire, hell would surely freeze over before she acted upon it. With that thought in mind, СКАЧАТЬ