Wanton Heat (A Feel the Heat Novel) (Entangled Brazen) (10 page)

Uh-oh. Considering how brazen she’d been when they’d met on the castle grounds, what did Dom really think of her?

His mouth relaxed into a semblance of a smile. “You’re wondering what I thought of you when we first met.”

Her initial instinct was to lie, but that wouldn’t help her cause of getting him to trust her enough to divulge more. “Maybe a little?” She held up her thumb and forefinger an inch apart.

“You’re intelligent. And articulate. And bold. I like that.” The steely glint in his eyes faded. “Honesty is a trait I value highly. It’s all-important to me. So I liked how blunt you’ve been in our…dealings to date.”

He was talking about their sex antics. She could see it in the relaxing of his posture, the softening around his mouth. But she couldn’t afford to get off track, and that’s exactly what responding with a flirtatious comment right now would achieve.

“So keeping with your honesty theme, why don’t you want to continue what your grandfather started?” She pointed out the window. “Not that I’ve seen much of the island yet thanks to that brutal storm out there, but if he had the foresight to deal with Kaluna in the first place, shouldn’t you do the same?”

He stiffened, the partial smile vanishing. “Because I’m not my grandfather.”

“You’re trying to assert your dominance?” She was treading on dangerous ground, but she’d started down this path; she had to continue. “Is that what this is about? You’re deliberately wanting to do the opposite of him?”

His eyes narrowed to fiery blue slits. “You don’t know anything about me.”

“Maybe I’d like to.” She threw it out there casually, alluding to more than their business dealings.

Because if Zoe were completely honest with herself, she did want to know more about this enigmatic man. No guy she’d ever dated, even the ones she’d been involved with for longer than a few weeks, had intrigued her as much as Dom.

Which is exactly why she should focus on business.

“Let’s not pretend this is something that it’s not.” He waved a hand between the two of them. “You and I share a powerful sexual connection. One I would like to keep exploring while we’re stuck in each other’s company—”

“Wow, when you put it like that, how could any woman refuse?”

He ignored her droll response and continued. “But we both know there is no future for us, so please don’t try to patronize me by suggesting otherwise.”

For an insane moment, Zoe felt like crying. So she fell back on her surefire way to deflect emotions. “You obviously don’t have too many friends, because you’d know that’s what people do when they’re getting to know each other, for a week or otherwise. They chat. They talk about personal stuff. That’s all I meant by saying I’d like to know more, okay?”

On a roll, she puffed up with indignation, the words pouring out of her mouth. “But thanks for the clarification. You want to fuck me, but you don’t want to know anything else. Got it.”

She held up her hand and pretended to write on it with the other. “No niceties. No politeness. No mistaking a connection in the bedroom for anything other than a cheap fu—”

“That’s enough.” He stood so fast the chair toppled. “Don’t belittle what we have.”

“Why not? You just did.” She leaped to her feet too, wishing she could lean across the table and stab him in the chest with a fingernail. “I guess we’re done here.”

Emotion clogged her throat, and she busied herself tidying her stuff before she burst into tears. She needed him to leave her alone, to give her some time to figure out where they went from here. Because her kick-ass presentation just went to hell in a hand-basket.

This was exactly what she didn’t want. To
feel
anything for Dom. And that’s what had happened when they’d connected on an intimate level last night. Sex she could handle. Making love? A stupendously bad idea.

How had she fucked up so badly?

She’d spent years holding men at bay emotionally, deliberately maintaining a fun, flirty facade to protect herself from feeling exactly how shitty she was right now.

“I’m sorry.” He’d sneaked up behind her and laid a hand on her shoulder. “You didn’t deserve any of that. I’m just not used to opening up to anyone.”

She didn’t want to turn, but he left her no option when he gently spun her around.

“I haven’t been close to a woman since Lilia.” The heartache in his tone finally made her glance up and meet his gaze. “I’m out of practice.”

His sincerity undermined her almost as much as the sadness in his voice.

“So you’re not some renowned playboy prince who masquerades as a recluse?” The quiver in her voice undercut her deliberately flippant remark.

Damn, she needed to get a grip before she cried and embarrassed the hell out of both of them.

“Don’t believe everything you read about me online.”

“You’re not a recluse?”

He glanced away. “Socializing loses its appeal after a while.”

“Yeah, I guess all those A-list parties and royalty-exclusive soirees and launching ships gets tiring.”

Finally, the glimmer of a smile. “Princesses or queens usually launch ships.”

“Too bad. I bet you’d be real good at smashing champagne bottles against bows.”

“That’s better.” He reached up and trailed a fingertip across her bottom lip. “I like it when you’re teasing and lighthearted.”

“And I like it when you’re open and receptive, not repressed and grumpy.”

“There you go again, hitting me with your refreshing honesty right here.” He grabbed her hand and pressed it over his heart in a gesture that made hers race like a wild thing. “And I can honestly say I’ve never wanted a woman more.”

If Zoe’s heart had been racing a moment ago, it fairly stopped at his mind-blowing declaration. She needed clarification before she read way more into that statement than was good for her.

“But what about Lilia? You were engaged to her?”

She watched the battle he waged within himself. Every conflicting emotion radiated from his eyes. Regret. Sadness. Wariness. Anger. She expected him to clam up, hoped he wouldn’t.

“Lilia helped me through a hard time in my life.” He tugged on her hand, and they both sat. She was impressed when he didn’t release her. “The death of my parents hit me hard, and I was floundering. She made me laugh again. I was indebted to her.”

For once, Zoe clamped down on her urge to blurt her first thoughts. The last thing Dom needed to hear was how making life-changing decisions while grieving probably wasn’t ideal.

“I guess I became dependent on her for my happiness.”

If anyone understood how that worked, it was Zoe. Her mom was the same with her dad, and it had turned her from a bubbly, bright woman to a sad, maudlin mess.

He rubbed the back of his neck. It did little to ease the obvious tension making his muscles stand to rigid attention. “But we were doomed from the start. We were too different. I loved the quiet island life; she loved the big cities. We started to drift apart before…”

Pain, raw and undiluted, contorted his features. “She died in a car crash. Sitting alongside the developer who’d been hounding me to sell off tracts of land I own.”

The implication behind Dom’s revelation detonated, and Zoe gripped his hand tight. “She was cheating on you?”

“I don’t know.” He shrugged. “But what she was doing was just as bad.”

Confused, Zoe shook her head. “Like what?”

“Elio wanted to build condos on these islands and turn Osturo and Ancora into the next Ibiza.” The sadness in his eyes solidified into fury. “She was feeding him information. Soil reports. Zoning permits. Copies of the land deeds. Everything.”

“Oh my God…” Zoe couldn’t believe any woman would be stupid enough to do something so treacherous, especially to her fiancé.

How Dom must’ve felt…the betrayal, the anger, mingling with sorrow at losing another person close to him.

“I’m sorry you had to go through something so painful.” She leaned over and hugged him tight. “For what it’s worth, she was a fool for choosing to hurt you in such a way.”

“Thanks.” He eased her away, held her at arm’s length. “Now can you understand why I’m not so good with the ‘getting to know you better’ thing?”

“You’re scared…” It clicked in that moment: why he was reclusive, why he held himself aloof, why he freaked out when she said she wanted to get to know him better.

A woman he loved had betrayed him when he was at his most vulnerable. No wonder he didn’t want to open up to her, a virtual stranger. Whom he probably considered as yet another outsider who wanted something from him.

“Fear isn’t very manly,” he said, grazing her cheek with the back of his knuckles. “Let’s settle for saying I have a healthy disregard for emotional attachment.”

“That makes two of us.”

Before he could ask her why, she rushed on. “The rest of my presentation centers on a tour of the current Kaluna resort and demonstrating what the campaign will highlight.” She nodded at her work materials. “Let’s leave this for today, and hopefully we’ll be able to get outside later today or tomorrow?”

“More likely tomorrow.” He glanced out the window and frowned. “By the weather reports via the sat phone, this isn’t abating for another twenty-four hours.”

“Wow, your grandmother really miscalculated—” Damn, the moment the words spilled from her lips, Zoe wished she could take them back.

“What does Nonna have to do with the weather?”

Considering what he’d just told her, about his fiancée’s betrayal, Zoe knew this would look bad. With the help of his grandmother, she’d manipulated the situation for her gain. Getting Dom to sign on the dotted line would be a financial coup for her company and a huge win for her.

She crossed her fingers behind her back and hoped to God he wouldn’t view her involvement in this crazy plot as a similar betrayal to Lilia.

“Uh…” Zoe couldn’t lie, not after he’d praised her for being so honest. “Well, the whole kidnapping thing? It was kinda Catarina’s idea.”

Disappointment clouded his eyes. “An idea you were more than happy to go along with to further your agenda.”

Yep, he was pissed at her. “I thought it was a pretty ingenious way to ensure your undivided attention.”

“And underhanded,” he added, not sounding amused in the least, before a reluctant smile erased his disenchanted expression. “Though it’s typical Nonna at her crafty best.”

He stared at her with disillusionment, and it didn’t take an Einstein to figure out he’d bitten back the rest: “but what’s your excuse?”

Increasingly uncomfortable that Dom now viewed her as being like his scheming ex, she said, “She knew the storm would be a doozy and we’d be stranded here for a day, so she thought that would make you my captive audience.” Zoe waved at the storm still raging outside. “Guess she underestimated how bad it would be.”

“Or did she?” Dom’s eyes narrowed to slits of blue brilliance. “Nonna has lived on these islands all her life. She can predict the storms by the aches in her joints.” He pointed at the window. “She would’ve known exactly how bad this storm would be.”

“Then why strand us together for so long…? Ah, so my instincts were right.” Zoe smiled. That devious old queen.

Dom nodded. “Nonna is a renowned matchmaker on the island. She thinks we’d be suited.”

“You and me?” Zoe laughed, trying to alleviate Dom’s bad mood since he’d learned the truth about being stranded. “As you said, there’s no future for us. Why would she go to such lengths?”

His expression grew grimmer. “She’s an old woman, and she’s worried about me.”

He stood, turned his back on her, and crossed to the window. “She’ll hear my thoughts on her scheme when we return.”

“Whereas I cop your bad mood now?” The words slipped out before she could stop them. Just what she needed, to antagonize him further.

His shoulders stiffened. “What did you expect? That I’d be thrilled you manipulated this situation to suit yourself?” He shook his head, and she only just heard, “Knew it was too good to be true.”

Saddened that he’d lumped her in with the rest of the suck-ups who probably wanted something from him—even if she kinda deserved it—she said, “If it’s okay with you, I’m going to spend the afternoon in my room.” She gathered up her stuff, clutching it to her chest. “I’ll skip lunch.”

“Fine.” By his icy tone, it wasn’t.

“I’ll see you later.”

His chilly silence haunted her long after she’d reached the sanctity of her room.

…

Dominic took refuge in the family room at the back of the house.

He’d spent many hours here as a kid. Building model airplanes. Constructing elaborate forts and castles from blankets and chairs. And at night, playing cards and board games with his parents. They’d been a close family, and he hadn’t minded being an only child. He’d lapped up the attention. And he admired them for raising him as a normal kid without the crown and title hanging over his head. He’d had to scoop up the family dog poop and weed the garden and tend to Nonna’s veggie patch like any other kid. His parents had wanted it that way.

It wasn’t until much later, when he’d attended Oxford, that he’d been grateful for the normality of his childhood. He’d mixed with students from many different walks of life there, and the majority of the upper-class ones had been utter pricks. Snobby, condescending bastards who’d looked down their noses at everyone, including the lecturers. Many of them had tried to get him on their side by schmoozing, but he’d made it clear from the start he didn’t care about class distinctions. So they settled for ignoring him instead. Suited him just fine. The problem arose when the kids from less privileged backgrounds had tried sucking up to him, faking false friendship for anything from free holidays on his island to cash.

Their relentless, shameless pandering had made him plain uncomfortable. So he’d distanced himself. Become increasingly aloof. Withdrawing from everyone, until the users ended up ignoring him, too.

He’d pretended that he hadn’t cared. Had studied hard and gotten exceptional grades. Had believed his self-talk that he preferred being a loner. But those nights when he heard the guys gathering outside the dorm to head into town for an evening of carousing at the pub, or when he wasn’t invited to be part of a study group before exams, the loneliness crept up on him. And it had been palpable.