Latin Lovers: Italian Playboys: Bought for the Marriage Bed / The Italian GP's Bride / The Italian's Defiant Mistress. Kate Hardy

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      She felt the bruising strength of his hold as his eyes bored down into hers and, unable to withstand the hatred burning there, she dipped her gaze to the harsh line of his mouth, her tongue snaking out to nervously anoint her lips.

      ‘Damn you!’ he growled and hauled her roughly against him, his mouth crashing down on hers for the second time that day.

      Nina’s gasp of shock and surprise was silenced by the assault. She tried to use her hands to push against the hard wall of his chest but it was impossible to remove that punishing mouth from hers. She was imprisoned by his hold, his body rammed up to hers, imprinting its maleness on the soft feminine curves of her frame.

      His kiss became arrogantly intimate, the full thrust of his tongue through the seam of her lips taking all the fight out of her. She felt her legs begin to buckle beneath her and the hands that had pushed him away began curling into the fabric of his T-shirt to keep her upright.

      His tongue roved the interior of her mouth in a search and destroy mission that left her floundering in an unfamiliar sea of sensation. She felt the feathering of need run down her spine to render her legs useless, the solid press of his muscled thighs against hers reminding her of his indomitable strength and power.

      Her breasts felt heavy and full where they were crushed against him, her lower body on fire where his hard length probed her blatantly, unashamedly.

      He deepened the kiss even further, the pressure of his mouth eliciting a response from her she had not intended giving. She reprimanded herself even as she brushed her tongue along the stabbing length of his: he was the enemy, he was danger—but it did no good. Her body was on automatic pilot and acting independently of her common sense.

      Suddenly it was over. He stepped back from her so abruptly that she almost stumbled, her body not quite up to the task of standing without his solid support.

      His dark eyes glittered dangerously as he wiped the back of his hand over his mouth in an action that intended to inflict shame and embarrassment.

      Nina refused to give him the satisfaction of seeing how close to the mark he’d come. Instead, she schooled her features into contempt and, reaching for a tissue from her sleeve, lifted it to dab at the swollen tenderness of her bottom lip where her tongue had tasted blood.

      She saw his eyes follow the movement of her hand and was surprised to see a dull flush slowly ride up over his cheeks.

      ‘Forgive me,’ he said heavily. ‘I did not intend to go so far as to hurt you.’

      She sent him a scathing look as she tucked the tissue away once more. ‘How far did you intend to go, enough to double my allowance?’

      His mouth hardened. ‘I have no intention of handing you anything more than the sum we agreed on. I told you before—our marriage will not be consummated.’

      ‘Fine by me,’ she snapped. ‘But I suggest you run that past your body for clearance first.’ She gave his pelvis a pointed look before returning her eyes to his. ‘Somehow I don’t think it’s quite got the message.’

      His eyes locked on to hers, the air between them crackling with palpable tension.

      ‘I would advise you, Nina, not to push me too far. You might not like the consequences.’

      She lifted her chin defiantly. ‘You’ll have to try a little harder if you want to frighten me. Don’t forget I’m well used to dealing with ruthless men.’

      ‘I could ruin you,’ he reminded her. ‘One exclusive from me and even a city as large as this will not be big enough to hide your shame.’

      Nina felt the pinpricks of fear at his chilling threat. If only she knew what her sister had been up to she might have been able to call his bluff. But she daredn’t risk it, not with Georgia’s welfare to consider.

      ‘I hardly see what benefit it will be to you to assassinate the character of the woman you have just married,’ she pointed out.

      ‘I will not act on my threat unless your behaviour falls short of the mark.’

      ‘How very gracious of you,’ she taunted. ‘But what about your behaviour? Does that, too, come under scrutiny?’ She touched her fingertip to her bottom lip and gave an exaggerated wince.

      ‘You have my word it will not happen again,’ he said, dragging his eyes away from her full mouth. ‘Not unless you ask me for it, of course.’

      Nina’s eyes widened in defiance. ‘How absolutely typical! You can’t control your impulses so you blame me for inciting them!’

      ‘You were being extremely provocative.’

      ‘Oh, yeah? Well, you were being a complete and utter barbarian!’ she threw back. ‘It’s no wonder your brother had all the ladies after him. Unlike you, he at least had a certain level of finesse.’

      She stalked past him towards the door, but before she could open it his hand came from over her shoulder and slammed against the door to keep it shut.

      She could feel him behind her, the heat of his body seeping into hers as surely as if he were touching her again. She kept her gaze fixed on the woodwork in front of her, unwilling for him to see the bright glitter of unshed angry tears in her eyes.

      ‘Let me go, Marc. I want to check on Georgia.’ To her dismay her voice sounded defeated, nothing like her usual defiant tone.

      His hand left the door to touch her on the shoulder, the gentle but firm pressure turning her to face him.

      He was so close she wasn’t game enough to draw in a deep breath in case the expansion of her lungs brought her breasts into contact with his chest once more. She raised her eyes to his, doing her level best to control the tremble of her chin as she fought to bring her wayward emotions under control.

      ‘Don’t make me hate you any more than I already do,’ she said, her voice not much more than a thin whisper of sound.

      He held her gaze for so long that Nina felt as if he were seeing right through her flesh to who she was underneath.

      To whom she really was.

      To what she really felt.

      Just as her composure was threatening to crack he dropped his hand from her shoulder and stepped away from her. She watched in silence as he turned to his discarded drink and, tipping back his head, downed the contents in one deep swallow.

      Nina took an unsteady breath and eased herself off the flat plane of the door.

      ‘Marc?’

      He turned to look at her, his eyes unreadable as he removed a piece of paper from the pocket of his jeans and silently handed it to her.

      She took it with nerveless fingers, unfolding the paper to find it was a bank receipt documenting that several thousand dollars had been deposited in her account that day.

      Her allowance.

      She stared at it for a long time without speaking, not even noticing when Marc left the room, shutting the door with a soft click behind him.

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