Modern Romance June 2016 Books 5-8. Tara Pammi

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      Yes. Because she was now bound to him, a contracted employee who couldn’t refuse reasonable requests.

      Swallowing the hysterical laugh that rose in her throat, she stood, ignoring the collective muted sighs of relief that floated round the table.

      Carla entered Javier’s office and drew to a stunned stop. Unlike the rest of his company’s workspace, this was an unapologetically masculine domain. From the massive walnut desk and throne-like armchair set back against a solid wall, to the studded black sofas grouped around a glass and gold TV and entertainment centre on one side, the space shrieked a dominance that made her flesh tighten with acute premonition.

      But no.

      So far Javier had been cold and brutally businesslike. Uninterested in her, other than as another financial asset for his company. She had nothing to fear.

      Behind her the door swung shut, followed by another distinct click.

      Her gaze flew to Javier, to the tiny remote in his hand. A second later, he flung the control away, then advanced towards her with slow, precise strides. Her breath uselessly trapped in her lungs, Carla tilted her head to meet his gaze and the blood rushed from her head in a dizzying surge.

      Because those mesmeric eyes were no longer cold. No longer impersonal. A very specific, very dangerous light blazed in their depths. A light that threatened to stop her heart altogether.

      ‘At long last, here you are,’ he murmured.

      The savouring, triumphant statement made every nerve in her body jump.

      ‘Here I am? What does that mean?’ she retorted, fully aware her voice was bled of any power.

      He stepped closer, amplifying his power and might by a thousand degrees. ‘It means I never thought this day would arrive. You won’t believe how many times I nearly threw in the towel. But revenge is a dish best served cold. Isn’t that what they say?’

      Ice filled her veins. ‘Revenge?’

      He bent his head closer, as if sharing a salacious secret. ‘Luckily, I’m a very patient man,’ he whispered. ‘I knew, sooner or later, I could count on you and your father’s greed to bring you back to the contract table.’

      Carla’s mouth dropped open, her heart falling to her toes.

      ‘Dio mio.’ Her voice snagged on the words.

      He leaned back and smiled. A pure evil smile that drew her dumbfounded gaze to his sensual lips. ‘Sí, this is the expression I’ve been waiting three years for.’

      He’d been scheming. Laying the perfect bait for her downfall. And like a lamb to the slaughter, she’d walked right into his trap.

      Just as she’d been a weak, trusting lamb throughout her father’s machinations, childhood fears of abandonment unconsciously stalking her into adulthood so stealthily that she hadn’t realised she was being taken advantage of until it was too late. She’d sacrificed herself for her father.

      And now she was to be a sacrifice for Javier Santino.

      A sheer wall of dread rose before her, every single brain cell frozen as she was caught in suspended animation.

      From far away, she heard Javier speak but she couldn’t rouse herself from the horror of her circumstances.

      Firm hands caught her elbows. Eyes fringed by thick lashes narrowed. ‘What is wrong with you, Carla? Or should I call you The Ice Princess? Isn’t that what the media calls you? You’re certainly dressed for it.’

      Numbly, she glanced down at her white palazzo pantsuit. The jacket’s severely cut style opened at the elbows when she lifted her arms, and the sleeves dropped almost to the floor. Teamed with a white silk camisole and white stilettos, the ensemble broadcasted a cutting-edge style suitable for a woman at the top of her game. Or so the stylist had insisted when she’d arrived with the clothes this morning. Staring at the get-up, she suddenly saw differently.

      White, for innocent sacrificial lambs.

      White, for fools.

      The hysterical laughter she’d tried to stem bubbled up from her chest and burst free. It sounded strange in the impressive, masculine room. But the crack in her self-control felt good.

      So good she couldn’t stop laughing.

      Javier blinked, then jerked her once. ‘Carla!’

      Laughter cut off like a light switch. ‘I thought I was only Miss Nardozzi to you?’

      Puzzlement tracked over his face. ‘What’s wrong with you?’ he demanded again.

      ‘What do you care?’ she flung at him.

      ‘I don’t, except I’d prefer not to have a conversation with a woman who’s acting like a walking, talking zombie.’

      ‘Right in this moment, I wish I were one.’

      A dark frown clamped his brow. ‘Excuse me?’

      Another bubble of laughter bursting free, she shook her head. ‘You should see your face, Javier. Is this not going how you expected? Did you expect me to be a quivering idiot in the light of your revelation? Did you—what are you doing?’ she screeched as strong arms lifted her off her feet.

      In half a dozen strides he pinned her against a wall. They stared at each other for a charged, timeless second. Then someone moved. Her gasp was swallowed by the mouth that slanted over hers, the domineering possession so electrifyingly potent, every trace of numbness was instantly zapped from her body.

      In its place raw, intense emotion flooded. Every sensation she’d retreated from surged in a tidal wave of feeling, concentrating in that powerful connection of their fused lips. From one heartbeat to the next, they tore at each other. Tongues duelled, groans fought for supremacy, hands searched and groped. And Javier came out on top each time, his indomitable will pounding into her, into the kiss until she was a seething ball of sensation, ready to be done with as he pleased.

      Gradually the other emotions receded, leaving her with a deep, decadent arousal she’d only believed existed in her dreams. The realisation that it did not had her surging up on tiptoes, eager to experience more of it.

      Javier deepened the kiss, his hands moulding her, his teeth nipping at her full lower lip. Powerful thighs parted hers and he planted himself firmly between them, the evidence of his arousal unmistakeable.

      Dio, but he felt glorious. And he made her feel alive!

      About to spike her hand through his hair, demand more, more, more, she was brought back to earth when her arms were wrenched from around his neck and pinned ruthlessly to her sides.

      ‘Do I have your attention now?’ he rasped.

      White lamb. Sacrificial fool.

      She glimpsed the menacing look in his eyes and her insides turned to useless jelly. ‘Wh-what do you plan to do to me?’

      Teeth bared in a cruel smile, he СКАЧАТЬ