Robyn Grady - Italian Mavericks - New Year Temptation

‘I think we ought to finish our dinner,’ he said gruffly.

‘I’m not hungry.’

Nor was he—except for this woman, his wife. He clamped his lips and nodded, only the slightest movement of his head. Megan didn’t even notice. But that was what she was, his wife. She belonged to him. She could run but he would never divorce her. One day they would be a happy and contented couple again. With perhaps another child to keep Charlotte company. It was only a matter of time.

Megan went to bed with a heavy heart. Luigi was doing his best and she appreciated that, but in her eyes it wasn’t good enough. And letting him make love to her was no answer either; it distorted her judgement, it reminded her of all that had been good in their marriage. It made her forget the long hours of neglect. So, although she had felt bereft when he backed away, she was now glad of it, and determined not to let herself be swayed into such a position again. Easy to say but difficult to do! Even the thought of kissing Luigi had her aching inside and she wasn’t sure that she could be strong enough to deny him.

But she would give it a good try. Luigi needed to reform; he needed to put his wife and daughter before his business interests. And when he did that—then perhaps their marriage would stand a chance.

His idea of taking her away for a few days was a sound one in principle. In fact it would be heaven—if it weren’t for Charlotte, and the fact that Megan knew unequivocally that once they were back he would revert to his old ways. Who was it who said that a leopard never changed its spots? Luigi would never change. Working was his way of life; his wife and now his child came second. They always would.

She was almost asleep when her door slowly opened. At first she thought she was dreaming when she saw Luigi’s shadowy shape in the doorway, but as he began to make his way softly over to her bed she sat bolt upright. Her heart stampeded as her need for him rose like a phoenix from the ashes.

But fear overrode her desire. ‘What the hell are you doing here?’ Her voice was low but shrill and there was panic inside her. He was a danger to her system—and he probably knew it. He knew that relaxed in bed she would be at her lowest ebb, and it would be easy to take advantage.

‘There’s something I need to ask you.’ He came to a halt at her side and looked fiercely down. And Megan didn’t see desire, she didn’t see a deep-seated need of her body, instead she saw something that sent a chill through her entire system.

‘I’VE just discovered that you haven’t been entirely truthful with me,’ Luigi spat.

Megan frowned. ‘What do you mean?’ She had no idea what he was talking about. And she’d never seen him look at her so coldly or accusingly. It set her teeth on edge and made goose-bumps rise all over her body.

‘The fact that you indulged in an affair with another man and lied to me about it,’ he shot at her harshly.

‘What?’ she shrieked, jumping up from the bed. ‘You’re not making sense. Who, for pity’s sake, am I supposed to have slept with?’ She dragged her dressing gown on over her nightie and hugged it closely around her. ‘Where did you conjure up that piece of fiction?’

‘Straight from the horse’s mouth, if you must know,’ he thundered.

Megan shook her head. ‘This is nonsense.’

‘I knew you’d say that,’ he scorned. ‘I was expecting it.’

‘So why don’t you tell me who’s made these accusations?’ she asked him coldly, an icy shiver beginning to take over. It was all she could do to keep herself still.

‘Your dear friend, Jake.’

‘Jake?’ Megan echoed dazedly. ‘You have to be joking. In any case, when did you speak to him? Jenny hasn’t rung to say they’re back.’

‘They are, I assure you. I phoned them myself.’

‘Why?’ she questioned loudly.

‘I needed to make sure she wasn’t out of pocket with you moving out so suddenly.’

‘And you spoke to Jake, and he told you that he and I had had an affair, is that what you’re saying?’ Megan couldn’t comprehend. Why would Jake make such a statement when it wasn’t true?

‘He hinted that you’d been friends before Jenny came on the scene, and the emphasis he put on the word “friends” made me realise what he was trying to tell me.’

‘So he didn’t put it in as many words?’

‘He didn’t need to. I got the message.’

It was true; she had known Jake before Jenny did. She had worked with him when she first came to London, and he’d sort of taken her under his wing. But she hadn’t had any kind of relationship with him, even though he would have liked to. She hadn’t felt ready to commit to any man. One day he’d gone back to the flat with her to borrow a book and she’d been delighted when he and Jenny struck up a close friendship.

‘Why should it bother you that I might have seen other men during our separation?’ she asked him coolly, at the same time thinking that this could work in her favour. Luigi had had other girls, she knew, but he seemed incensed when it came to her doing the same. This could be a way to keep him at a distance.

‘Because you’re my woman,’ he snarled, practically bouncing on his feet. His dark eyes glittered in the light from the bedside lamp, and his face was angular and savage—and gorgeously handsome.

Megan shook the thought away. Luigi was her number one enemy. She must remember that. She must never see him as an expert lover, as a man who could melt her bones by a mere glance or a touch. He had never treated her fairly, not once in all the years of their marriage. He was self-centred and egotistical. She dismissed the fact that he was an excellent provider and an expert businessman. It was the unadulterated love of a good man that she desired. And love wasn’t high on Luigi’s list of priorities. In fact she doubted it even existed.

‘I am not your woman,’ she told him tersely. ‘You gave up all rights to me when you chose work over your marriage.’

‘I did it for us!’ he exclaimed loudly.

‘So you keep saying. But it wasn’t what I wanted.’

‘And did Jake Whatever-his-name-is give you what you wanted?’ he demanded fiercely.

‘That’s my business.’ She saw the angry glitter harden in his eyes and his body swayed dangerously towards her. But she stood her ground, her eyes fierce in their determination, even though there was a part of her that couldn’t dismiss the sensations playing on her nerve-ends—excitement and hatred bundled into one.

‘And I think it’s my business now to remind you, in a very personal way, that I don’t want any other man to touch you ever again.’ They were so close that Megan could feel his breath on her face, feel the warmth of his body, and she could even smell the male sexiness that had at one time driven her insane. ‘You are my woman,’ he continued grimly. ‘You can deny it all you like, but you belong to me for the rest of your life.’

If that wasn’t a warning she didn’t know what was. For the rest of her life! In her present frame of mind it sounded like a death sentence and she wanted to lash out, to pound her fists on his hard, muscular chest, to kick his shins, to let him know in no uncertain terms that he was mistaken.

But she was afraid to make too much noise in case she woke Charlotte. So she maintained a reasonable decorum. ‘Carry on like that and I really will divorce you,’ she said quietly. ‘Marriages aren’t built on threats, nor on absentee husbands. And if you can’t live with the fact that you believe I’ve had an affair with Jake then I’ll willingly move out.’