VITTORIO'S LOVER (Vittorio Series) (7 page)

Had Luca sent his brot
her to intercept her? It seemed likely. She understood why they wanted her out of the mansion, although it was never her intention to create a scene. What Jenesa couldn’t comprehend was why Raffaele had kissed her and pretended he was interested in getting to know her better. Why ask her to go away with him instead of trying to get rid of her as quickly as possible?

Maybe he thought it was the only way to insure she
didn’t cross paths with Caroline…or the real Luca. Or maybe he wanted to keep her close until there was proof as to whether Luca had fathered a baby or not. Regardless, their reasons didn’t matter; she was furious with them both.

Confusing as it all seemed, one thing
was crystal clear; Luca had no desire to take his involvement with Jillian past their one night together. Raffaele provided the smokescreen while Luca went on with his life, oblivious and unconcerned with the casualties he’d left behind. They were cut from the same cloth; heartless, ruthless men who used others for their own selfish reasons and then discarded them when they no longer served any purpose. Whatever scheme the Vittorio brothers had devised, Jenesa was determined to derail it and give them a taste of their own medicine.

Just how she planned on doing that, Jenesa wasn’t sure. Until she came up with a plan of her own, she would have to play it by ear.

                                                      ***

As soon as he was out of earshot, Raffaele pulled out his cell phone and called Grady Thorpe
. Grady was a good friend and head of security at Vittorio Enterprises, as well as one of the few men Raffaele trusted implicitly to get a job done efficiently and with the utmost discretion. He’d confided in Grady about the phone message from Jenesa and her threat to show up at the party, although he had underestimated her cleverness in getting past the security posted at the front door. Something Grady would address with the two security men later.

It was highly unlikely Jenesa had arrived with
Marcus Zanelli because he knew how the man operated. He never showed up at parties with a date, but rarely left without one. It was the sport Zanelli loved; selecting a woman, unusually the one that seemed most unattainable, and then inevitably charming her out of her lacy panties. As long as they kept him entertained in bed and made no demands, he lavished them with attention and treated them like a queen. But he was easily bored and even the best of them never lasted more than a few months.

It irked Raffaele to know Jenesa had been tonight’s conquest, irrational as that seemed. What better way to rid his brother of the trouble she capable of raining down on him than to
let Zanelli seduce her away from the party and out of their lives? Except…he didn’t honestly believe she would have gone with Marcus Zanelli, did he? Or maybe he just didn’t want to believe it. Raffaele didn’t trust Jenesa, but she did something to him; affected him in ways he couldn’t begin to understand. He wanted her, plain and simple. And she wanted him. He just wasn’t sure if he could past the fact that Luca had claimed her first.

“Grady, pick us up at the
west entrance of the gardens in fifteen minutes. I need you to drive us to the helipad and fly us to the island.”

“
Us?
  Tell me you didn’t do something stupid.”

“
Wish I could, buddy,”

Grady groaned. “At least tell me you don’t have her tied up somewhere and
that I’m about to become an accomplice to kidnapping.”

“
I said it was stupid, not illegal. She…uh…may have gotten the impression that I’m Luca.”

“What?”

“It’s a long story and I’m short on time. I’m heading back to the mansion now for Jenesa’s purse. Get someone from security to collect it from the coat check attendant and meet me on the terrace in two minutes.”

“Can I ask where you stashed Miss Harding?”

“No,” Raffaele replied before disconnecting the call.

He was met on the terrace as instructed
, where Jenesa’s purse was passed to him without comment. Raffaele had just started back down the walkway when the volume of noise from inside the mansion escalated dramatically. So Luca had gone through with it and announced his engagement to Caroline despite the concerns voiced by each of his brothers. Well, there wasn’t anything he could do about that, but he
did
have the power to help Luca out of the sticky situation with Jenesa Harding. Of course, damage control would be easier if he knew more about her; something he could easily remedy with the assistance of his friend.

Veering onto a side path, Raffaele opened the small clutch purse and retrieved Jenesa’s wallet.
  From the main path behind him, he heard light-hearted laughter and the mingled conversations of guests as they began to wander out of the mansion and into the gardens. With a sense of urgency, he dialed Grady’s number.

“Write this down,” he instructed, giving Grady a few seconds to pull out the pen and small notepad he knew was always kept handy. He rattled off
Jenesa’s address and social security number, which he found on a card in one of the pockets, along with the name and address printed on a business card. “JLJ Inc.,” he read off. “Looks like Jenesa is an event planner.”

“Not just
any
planner,” Grady replied grimly. “JLJ was the company the Capisano’s hired for the charity event last weekend. The one Luca attended alone because Caroline wasn’t feeling well.”

“
How did you happen to come by that information, Grady?”

“Luca, actually. He told me he was impressed with the job they’d done and wanted me to check out their reputation in case he wanted to use them for company affairs.
Apparently, it’s owned jointly by the three Harding sisters.”

“And?”

“And, that’s it. I reminded him Simon had me investigating a couple of potential acquisitions. He said it wasn’t a high priority and to get to it when I could.”

“Consider it a high priority now,” Raffaele
instructed. “Be at the west end in ten minutes.”

“Already there, Boss.”

“Good,” Raffaele said as he retraced his steps to the main walkway, “and don’t call me Boss.” Grady was still chuckling when he disconnected the call and slipped the phone back into his pocket.

He found Jenesa hovering at the entrance to the alcove looking as if she was two seconds away from bolting and running. Not good. She was wary of him; Raffaele could see it in her eyes. Giving Jenesa time to think had been a mistake; not that he’d had any choice, but now he was left with the task of undoing what her rampant thoughts had done.
And
he had very little time to do it in. He’d passed a few couples on the way to the alcove and knew it was only a matter of minutes before someone saw them together. All it would take is one person to call him by name and the game would be over before it had even begun.

“The guests have migrated outside,” he said, handing Jenesa her purse. “I imagine you
’d like some privacy when making your call so it’s probably best that we be on our way.”

“I suppose so,” she said with uncertainty. “I was just thinking…”

“There will plenty of time for talk later,” Raffaele smiled reassuringly.

Slipping his arm around her waist, he steered Jenesa away from the mansion before she could offer any objections.
He’d driven the Maybach Landaulet this evening, a purchase he’d made recently after a considerable amount of internal debate, due mostly to the cost. Approaching it now, Raffaele could only compliment himself; the Maybach was exquisite by any standards. One of the things he liked most was that the roof could be fully opened at the rear, while the chauffeur’s compartment remained closed. He doubted Jenesa would appreciate having her hair blown about during the short drive to the helipad, but it was a feature he thoroughly enjoyed.

Grady played his part beautifully, hopping out to open the door for them and then hurrying around to the driver’s side and taking off
without delay. He’d put the partition up and drawn the electronic curtains to insure complete privacy, and even managed to procure a bottle of champagne and had it chilling in the mini refrigerator. Sterling silver champagne flutes glimmered invitingly, but Raffaele didn’t want to encourage Jenesa to drink when there was a possibility, however remote, that she was pregnant.

“It’s beautiful,” Jenesa said in a breathless whisper as she ran her hand along the soft leather seat. Her eyes moved
from the console, where a DVD and CD player were installed, to the twin video screens. Her gaze slowly shifted from speaker to speaker, a soft smile curving her lips when a classical piece filtered through the surround sound system.  “You have excellent taste in both cars and music, Mr. Vittorio.”

“You like classical?”

“Some. Bach’s
Cantata à Voce Sola e Stromenti,
the piece that’s playing now, is one of my favorites.”

“I’m impressed…and intrigued. I’m going to enjoy learning more about you,
cara
.”

Jenesa averted her eyes
and stared down at the tightly clasped hands in her lap. “I want to learn more about you, too, I honestly do. But after giving it some thought, I’m not sure going to this island of yours is a very good idea. I mean…I’m still willing to spend time with you. I’d just like it to be on more…neutral ground.”

Raffaele was the epitome of patience. “I understand your reluctance. You know very little about me and it’s a private island
, but that is the reason I want to take you there. Listen to me,
carissima
,” he said softly, “I want to be alone with you; no distractions, no interference from other people, nothing except you and me and the time we deserve to explore this attraction we feel for one another.”

Cupping
her chin, he gently tilted her head back, disturbed by the confusion of emotions swirling in her eyes. “What are you so afraid of, Jenesa? Surely, you don’t think I would try to force myself on you?”

“It’s not you I don’t trust,” she replied with trembling lips.

If she was being deceptive, Raffaele wasn’t able to read it in her wide eyes or the lines of stress on the otherwise flawless skin of her forehead. Not only did Jenesa have the ability to arouse him with the slightest of touches, it seemed she was also capable of annihilating Raffaele’s efforts to harden his heart with just a few simple words. Or perhaps that feeling of powerlessness was as alien and disconcerting to her as it was to him. She didn’t like being on an uneven playing field; all the more reason to make sure that was exactly what occurred.

“
Then it is not a problem,
mio piccolo
. I shall see to it that we both behave ourselves.”

                                                     ***

Jenesa’s breath hitched when he leaned closer, but to her surprise and foolish disappointment, he merely kissed her cheek. Even so, there was a tingling sensation where his lips had briefly touched her skin. It didn’t help that a slew of drunken butterflies had taken to bobbing and weaving in her stomach, making her feel as if she’d just stepped off a carnival ride. It was ridiculous to get so flustered but she couldn’t seem to help herself. She only hoped Raffaele didn’t hear the whoosh of air that was expelled from her lungs when he withdrew the light hold his fingers had on her face and sat back in his seat.

“Where are we?” she asked as the car came to a stop.

“Vittorio Enterprises. The helipad is on the roof.”

The butterflies kicked into high gear. “
But I…I haven’t called my sisters yet. Or my parents. And I really don’t think I can take off work on such short notice…”

“You can make your calls from my office while I check with the pilot to make sure the chopper is fueled and ready to go. And I’m sure your sisters can manage the business for a few days without you.”

Jenesa’s spine went rigid. “How did you know I run a business with my sisters?”

“You told me,” he replied without missing a beat. “Don’t you remember?”

Her eyes narrowed suspiciously. “I remember every word. I never mentioned the company or that I was a co-owner.”

“Of course you did,” he insisted. “The night we met. We
did
talk for quite some time before we went back to your room and…”

“Yes, yes…I remember now
,” Jenesa interrupted, a furious blush burning her cheeks.

No doubt his brother had recounted everything about his night with Jillian in vivid detail
, she thought resentfully. She could almost hear them laughing at poor Jillian’s naiveté; how she’d fallen for his seductive words and hollow promises when there had never been any intention to see her again. How cold these Vittorio men were, how painfully destructive. And Raffaele was the worst of the lot. Covering up the affair Luca had indulged in was at least understandable, but attempting to seduce the woman he believed had already slept with his brother?

Jenesa looked away from him, ashamed to admit that
she had done something equally contemptible by kissing him when she believed he was Luca. The fact that he wasn’t Luca, that he had never even met Jillian, didn’t make her transgressions any more palatable. Whatever she’d hoped to gain by telling Luca what she thought of him was lost now. Raffaele would make sure she never gained access to him, and any allegations she made would be brushed off as gossip or tabloid garbage. Unless Jillian was carrying Luca’s child. That was something neither of them could sweep under the rug.