“Thank you,” she said softly.
He nodded and she turned away.
“Ava, wait.”
She half turned to face Dominic. Though Angelo was waiting on the dock, she knew he was watching.
“What is it?” she asked.
“I meant what I said. All of it. Think about it.”
She nodded, not sure what to say before she turned and walked down the ramp that lead to the dock. Angelo took her luggage and motioned for her to follow him. A black limo was parked less than ten feet away.
As they approached, a chauffeur exited and popped the trunk, loading her luggage. Ava gritted her teeth at the feel of Angelo’s hand on the small of her back as he opened the back door for her. Before she entered the limo, she took one last look back towards the boat. Dominic was being lead handcuffed down to a police car. She sighed and climbed into the limo. It wasn’t her problem. But somehow saying that didn’t make her feel any better.
Chapter Sixteen
As the limousine started to move, Ava tried her best to ignore the eerie silence inside the car. She could feel Angelo’s gaze on her, hot and heavy, even without looking at him.
“You want to tell me what you were doing with Joseph’s bastard?”
Ava turned and looked at her former brother-in-law. A scowl marred his features. She could see the faintest tick moving in his jaw.
“Excuse me?”
“Dominic. What was he doing on that boat with you?”
Ava folded her arms. “The more important question is how did you get here so damn fast with papers signed by a judge? I called you less than thirty minutes ago.”
Angelo gave her a smile that didn’t quite reach his eyes. “I have contacts in many places. When you called me I was having dinner with Judge Ritts and my attorney. The judge kindly offered to use his influence as a personal favor to me. As soon as all the Is had been dotted and all the Ts crossed, I came straight here to you. The last thing I expected was to find you with that bastard.”
“I appreciate you keeping me from having to go downtown, but that doesn’t give you the right to question me. I’m not one of your lackeys, Angelo.”
His hand slid and caressed her thigh. “Ava. Ava. Why do you always have to be so combative with me? Why can’t things just be easy between us?”
“Because you don’t understand boundaries, Angelo.”
Ava gritted her teeth in an effort to fight down her rising ire as he continued softly rubbing her leg.
“And what boundaries would those be, Ava?”
“I was your brother’s wife. I am the mother of your niece. That entitles me to a certain level of respect. A level above what you would show the other women you deal with.”
“Haven’t I always treated you like the high-class girl you are?”
“No. You haven’t and I don’t appreciate it.”
Angelo’s brows drew together. “Cut the crap and tell me the truth.”
Ava tried to school her expression. “Well since we’re being so upfront and honest, no, I don’t appreciate you questioning me about him.”
“Well I don’t appreciate the way he was looking at you.”
“Are you out of your mind?”
“I’m very sane. And I know what I saw. He had your luggage and he was staring at you like a boy who’s just had his first taste of pussy.”
Ava slapped Angelo hard across the face. “I think you’ve forgotten who you’re talking to.”
The muscle in her neck was forming into a tight ball. If she’d had a gun, she would’ve likely shot Angelo. What was his problem? She didn’t have time for this.
“I like it rough, Ava. Don’t start something you’re not willing to finish.”
“Bastard.”
“No, that would be Sambarino. What happened between you two? Why was he even there in the first place?”
“He was invited. I had no clue he would be there. If I did I would not have gone.”
“You’re still dodging my question.”
“I’m not dodging anything. I just don’t have to answer.”
Ava was caught off guard when Angelo grabbed her arm, yanking her closer to him. His eyes bored into hers.
“Did you let him kiss you? Did you let him touch you? Did you, Ava?”
Ava sneered. “What business is it of yours if I did?”
Angelo’s face seemed to turn white. His mouth formed into a thin line. His fingers dug more tightly into her flesh, but she didn’t flinch.
“All I’ve ever tried to do is look out for you. Protect you since Joseph died.”
“I’m not a fool. There’s more to it than that and you know it.”
“Fine. You want the truth? The truth is that I want you, damn it. I have since the moment I first saw you.”
She gave him a thin smile. “You’re not telling me anything I don’t already know.”
Angelo released his tight grip on her arm, but he didn’t completely let her go. Instead he leaned over closer to her. So close their faces were inches apart.
“If you know how I feel about you, if you know how much I want you, then why do you keep me at arm’s length?”
“Besides the fact you’re my late husband’s brother? You’re no different from Joseph. I’ve already ridden on the Martelli train once. I have no desire for a repeat.”
“As much as I love my brother, he’s gone and he’s not coming back. But you and I are still here.”
“What’s your point?”
“My point is we could be good together. No, we could be
great
together. In some ways, my brother was a fool. He had you waiting at home for him. A ripe peach no other man had ever plucked and yet he still wanted to fool with common street whores. I’ll never understand.”
Ava laughed. “Angelo, are you breaking your brother’s confidence and telling me about his other whores? So much for the code of silence.”
“I’m trying to be honest with you. I wouldn’t treat you like that. I’d treat you like the goddess you are. I’ll worship you if you’ll let me.”
There was such an earnest expression on Angelo’s face. Ava had never seen him look so…so…honest. She was almost tempted to believe him. Almost. As the limousine pulled into her driveway, Ava breathed a sigh of relief. Home sweet home. Time to make her escape from Angelo.
“This has nothing to do with business, Ava.”
“Maybe it doesn’t, Angelo. But there will never be anything between us. Never.”
Without another word she opened the limo door and climbed out. Behind her Angelo cursed. Ignoring him, she went to the trunk as the driver appeared to unload her luggage. She declined his offer to take her bags into her home. Grabbing the handles of her suitcases, Ava rolled them up to her house and fished inside her purse for her keys.
“This isn’t over, Ava,” Angelo’s voice called behind her.
Finding her keys, she turned to face him. “Yes, Angelo, it is.”
Quickly unlocking the door to her home, Ava took her bags and went inside, closing and locking the door behind her. Sighing, she leaned against the door. Her life was a mess. A real mess. A possible stepson fancying himself interested in her and an ex brother-in-law dying to get in her pants. Ava had problems and for once she wasn’t sure how to solve any of them.
Chapter Seventeen
Her house phone had not stopped ringing for the past two days. The media smelled blood and they were circling like sharks looking for wounded prey. But Ava was not going to be that prey. She’d done the smart thing and taken the phone off the hook. Only a select few had her cell phone number. Everyone else could go to hell.
Working from home today, she’d kept Maia with her. There was no need to go out into the madness until things had died down. The last thing she needed was some snot-nosed children telling Maia her mother was a murderer. The brats at that private school had already said enough hurtful things to her little girl. No. Maia would stay there with her until it was not so bothersome to venture out. Too bad poor Natalie didn’t have the same luxury. The girl had class that morning and had no choice but to brave the media that would no doubt soon be onto her as well.
All of this was a nightmare. An absolute nightmare. The police were pissed they hadn’t been able to nail her for the murder and were taking every opportunity to let it be known. Instead of harassing her, they should be finding Gina’s killer.
Days later she still couldn’t wrap her mind around it. Gina was dead. Fun-loving, business-savvy Gina. Throat cut like she was a damned deer. And the police still hadn’t recovered the murder weapon. For all they knew whoever the killer was had tossed the knife in the ocean. With the incompetent jerks on the force today, Ava didn’t hold out hope of them finding the weapon either. They needed Sherlock Holmes for this one. Too bad he was just a fictional character.
But Dominic’s not fictional, is he, Ava?
No, Dominic wasn’t. And he’d been calling her cell phone insistently. She hadn’t spoken to him. What happened between them was still too raw, too confusing. The messages he’d been leaving telling her not to ignore him weren’t helping either. Or the ones where he told her that she wasn’t just some fling and he still wanted her. It sucked that her heart skipped a beat every time she replayed one of the messages. What was wrong with her?
She didn’t know. She honestly didn’t. Joseph was the only man she’d ever been with before Dominic. Was she having strange and conflicted feelings about Dominic because he was only the second man she’d ever been with?
It was still a real possibility that Dominic was her husband’s illegitimate son and Maia’s half brother. Not to mention the fact that he was suing her for a piece of Joseph’s estate. It was a twisted situation all around.
Then why can’t I stop thinking about him?
About the way he’d kissed her. The way he’d pleasured her in ways Joseph had never dared. His eagerness to have her again and again. Her thighs trembled at the memory. The buzzing of her cell phone on the table startled her. She glanced down at it. Immediately she recognized the number. Dominic.
Stop being a wuss. Just talk to him already.
The phone continued to buzz and she waited. Taking a deep breath, she finally picked it up.
“This is Ava.”
“I know that. About time you picked up.”
“I don’t have to talk to you.”
“No, you don’t, but I’m glad you finally are. I miss you.”
Ava’s breath caught in her throat. His words were stuck in her brain. He missed her. Really? This was just too much.
“You don’t even know me, so how can you miss me?” she asked.
“I know all I need to know about you, Ava.”
“Is that so?”
“I know you make little noises in your sleep. I know that—”
Ava sat up straighter. “You watched me sleep?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because you looked so unguarded. So beautiful. I just couldn’t help myself.”
Ava swallowed. “You know that makes you sound like a stalker, right?”
“I think it makes me a hopeless romantic.”
“There’s no such thing.”
“What? No such thing as romance. I disagree.”
“Then it sounds like you’ve been reading too many romance novels. In real life a man doesn’t sweep a woman off her feet and give her a happily ever after. He seduces her until he gets what he wants and he moves on, regardless of whether he marries her or not. The allure is gone. What he felt for her, he will feel for somebody else.”
Dominic sighed in her ear. “I hate to hear you say that. It doesn’t always happen that way, Ava. For some people happily ever afters do exist.”
“Not for people like me.”
“Yes they do and if you would stop being so stubborn, you’d see that I’m ready to give you just that.”
Ava stood up. “What did you say?”
“You heard me. Give me a chance, Ava. That’s all I’m asking.”
“A chance to do what?”
“Love you.”
Ava nearly dropped the phone. Her chest felt tight.
Love me? He wants to love me?
No. This was a game. It had to be. This was about getting Joseph’s money.
“So after spending less than two days with me, all of a sudden you’ve had this epiphany that I’m the one? That you want to pursue me? No. I’m not buying it.”
“Ava, I told you when we left the ship the way I felt. Don’t act like this is some surprise to you. I already told you I’ve watched you for some time, but seeing you face-to-face that night was like getting hit by a bolt of lightning. And the time we spent together was the closest I’ll ever get to heaven.”
“If you’re not running a scam, you’re just infatuated. Nothing more that a schoolboy crush.”
“We both know that I am not a boy.”
She suppressed a grin. He was definitely all man. But no, it didn’t matter…
“Believe it, Ava. I want you. Don’t tell me you don’t feel the same about me.”
A denial sprang to her lips, but the words wouldn’t come out. Instead she sighed.
“You do feel something for me,” Dominic said softly.
“It’s lust. That’s all.”
“It’s more than that. The sooner you admit it to yourself, the happier you’ll be. I miss you, Ava. Don’t you miss me?”
Ava raked a hand through her hair. She bit her lip, but that didn’t stop the words from coming out. “Yes. Damn it. I miss you. You happy now?”
“I’d be even happier if you’d let me see you now.”
“I can’t. My daughter’s here.”
“Why is that a problem? She’s going to have to meet me sometime,” Dominic said with impatience.
“And why is that?”
“Because I’m going to be in both your lives. I’m not going to be just some booty call you see at night. I want more than that, Ava.”
“I haven’t agreed to anything.”
“You’re right. So let’s start with me coming over later tonight. I want to see you. To hold you in my arms. To hear your cries as I make love to you. Don’t you want that?”
She wanted that. To spend the night with him. To have her thighs locked around him as they made love all night.
“I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“We’ll be meeting in court.”
“That doesn’t change anything.”
“Yes it does. What kind of whore would have a relationship with a man who might be her daughter’s half brother and is suing her in court?”
“You’re not a whore, Ava. Don’t feel guilty about what you feel for me. It’s not wrong.”
“Yes it is.”
“No it’s not. Look, the truth is, I started out hating you, wanting to take you down a peg. I blamed you for my mother’s unhappiness, I blamed you for the half-assed family I grew up with, and I even blamed you when he was killed.
“But when I started watching you, trying to figure out how I could take everything from you… as sick as it sounds, I began falling in love with you.”
“You’re right, it does sound sick.”
“I watched you dropping your daughter off at school, going to work, taking business lunches, going to the gym… I was sure if I watched you long enough, I’d find proof that you were a whore, a horrible mother, a gold digger who didn’t deserve her business…
“But I found the exact opposite. You’re a devoted mother, I’ve never seen you with another man and you’re at your office from sunup to sundown. I found nothing but reasons to fall in love with you. And I have. I’ve fallen in love with my dead father’s wife, and I’m not afraid to say it.”
“Goodbye, Dominic.”
“Ava, wait—”
She hung up the phone. This was too much. His pursuit of her, the way he was trying to pull out all the stops to convince her to give him a chance. She couldn’t. Things were too tangled between them. She didn’t trust his motives. But most of all, she couldn’t trust her own mind where Dominic was concerned.
Her phone buzzed. She picked it up without looking at it. “I told you I can’t. Leave me alone.”
“I can’t do that.”
That voice. The same voice that had called her before.
“Who is this? What do you want?”
A raspy laugh greeted her ear. “I want you to stay away from them.”
“Stay away from who?”
“Don’t be coy. You know exactly who I’m talking about. Stay away from them or there could be consequences.”
“I don’t know who you think you are, but I do what I want and when I find out who you are, you’re going to pay for this.”
A mocking laugh. “I look forward to it, my sweet.”
And then the line went dead in her ear. Ava checked her call log. Restricted. Just like last time. She didn’t like this. Not one bit. Some sick jerk was playing games with her and she had no idea who it could be. Games like this weren’t Angelo’s style. He preferred a direct approach. So did Dominic, therefore she could rule both of them out. And that brought her firmly back to square one. No suspects. She had to do something. Ava needed a bodyguard now more than ever. Too bad it seemed nobody was willing to step up and protect Joseph Martelli’s widow. Ava was on her own. Some things never changed.