Living the Charade (5 page)

Incredible
.

‘That’s not me,’ she said on a rush.

Her tongue snaked out to moisten her heart-shaped mouth; that succulent bottom lip was now glistening invitingly.

Valentino thrust his hands into the back pockets of his jeans and locked his eyes with hers. ‘If you want people to believe we’re a couple you’re going to have to let me take the lead, because you clearly know diddly squat about relationships.’

She looked at him as if he’d just told her the world was about to end. ‘
Now
who’s making assumptions? For your information, if we were in a real relationship something else you would know is that I’m not the demonstrative type.’

She had thrust her chin out in that annoyingly superior way again, and Valentino couldn’t resist loading her up. ‘Well, that’s too bad, Miller, because if we were a real couple you’d know that I
am
.’

Which wasn’t strictly true. Yes, he liked to touch, but he didn’t usually feel the need to grab hold of his dates and stamp his possession all over them in public—or in private come to that. The only reason he had with Miller was because she had avoided eye contact with him most of the evening, and with all the interest in their relationship he’d had to do something to make it appear genuine.

In fact she should be
thanking
him for taking his role so seriously instead of busting his balls over it.

‘Listen, lady—’

‘No,
you
listen.’ She stabbed a finger at him as his mother used to do when he was naughty. ‘I am in charge here, and your inability to read my signals is putting this whole farce in jeopardy.’

Tino thrust a hand through his hair and glanced over his shoulder as the lilting murmur of chattering guests wafted on the slight breeze. ‘Is that so?’ he said softly.

‘Yes.’ She folded her arms. ‘Trust me—I know what I’m doing.’

‘Good, because right now anyone watching you spit at me like an angry cat will think we’re having a humdinger of an argument.’

‘That’s fine with me.’ She gave him a cool smile that he knew was meant to put him in his place. ‘It will make our relationship seem more authentic than anything else that’s gone on tonight.’

Valentino saw red at her self-righteous challenge.

He stepped farther into her personal space and gripped her elbows, gratified when her eyes widened to the size of dinner plates.

‘What are you doing?’ she demanded in a furious whisper.

Yeah, what
are
you doing, Ventura?

Tino stared down at her, watching the pulse-point in her neck pick up speed. His body hummed with sexual need and he wondered what it was about her he found just so damned tempting.

She was more librarian than seductress, and yet she couldn’t have had more effect on his body if she’d been standing in front of him naked. It was a thought that was a little disconcerting and one he instantly pushed aside.

He wasn’t
that
attracted to her. But he
was
that annoyed with her, and while he might not have ever felt the need to put a woman in her place before he did now. And he’d enjoy it.

‘Why, Miller, I’m just doing what you asked. I’m going to make this farce of a relationship look more authentic.’

Before she could unload on him he took full advantage of her open mouth and planted his own firmly over the top of hers in a kiss that was more about punishment than pleasure.

Or at least it was meant to be. Until she stupidly tried to wriggle away from him and he had to clamp one hand at the back of her head and the other over her butt to hold her still.

She fell into him, her soft breasts nuzzling against his chest, her nipples already diamond-hard. They both stilled; heat and uncertainty a driving force between them. Her silky hair grazed the back of his knuckles and his fingers flexed. Her eyes slid closed, her soft whimper of surrender sending a powerful surge of lust through his whole body.

Her silky hair slid over his knuckles and made his fingers flex, and then she made a tiny sound that turned him harder than stone.

Tino couldn’t have stopped his tongue from plunging in and out of the moist sweetness of her mouth if he’d had a gun to his head. All day he’d wondered if she’d taste as good as her summery scent promised, and now he had his answer.

Better.

So much better.

He was powerless to pull back, his brain as stalled as the Mercedes he’d accidentally flooded in the second race of his professional career.

He gave a deep groan of pleasure as her arms wound around his neck, and he gripped her hips to pull her pelvis in tightly against his own.

His arousal jerked as it came into contact with her soft belly, and it was all he could do not to grind himself against her.

So much for not being
that
attracted to her.

He urged her lips to open even wider and she didn’t resist when he possessed her mouth in a carnal imitation of the way his body wanted to possess hers. An instantaneous fire beat flames through his body, and her low, keening moans of pleasure were making him hotter still.

He had to have her.

Here.

Now.

His hand slid to her bottom, the outside of her thighs, drawing her in and up so that he could settle more fully in the tempting vee of her body. He felt her fingers move into his hair, her feminine curves pressing closer as she rubbed against him. Tino couldn’t hold back another groan—and nearly exploded when he heard someone clearing their throat behind him.

Bloody hell
. He drew his mouth back and took a moment before reaching up to unwind Miller’s arms from around his neck. She made a moue of protest and slowly opened passion-drugged eyes. He knew when her senses returned from the same planet where his had gone that she’d be more than pissed.

‘Sunshine, we have company,’ he whispered gruffly, his unsteady breath ruffling the top of her hair.

He gave her time to compose herself before turning to face the person behind them. He was certain it was Caruthers. He also gave himself time to get his raging hard-on under control. Not that it seemed to be responding with any speed.

* * *

Miller looked up at Valentino and was aghast to realise that she had become so completely lost in his kiss that she had quite forgotten they were in a public place.

Never before had she been kissed like that, and heat filled her cheeks at the realisation that she wouldn’t have stopped if Dexter hadn’t turned up. That she would have had sex with Valentino in the middle of a garden like some dumb groupie.

Not wanting to dwell on how that made her feel, Miller shoved the thought away before lurching backwards.

‘Dexter...’ she began, trying to organise her thoughts on the hop. She was almost glad when Valentino took over.

‘You wanted something, Caruthers?’

Miller closed her eyes at Valentino’s rough question and wished the ground would open up and swallow her whole.

‘I came to let Miller know that TJ has opened champagne in the music room. As we’re here in a professional capacity to win the man’s business, it might be prudent for her to join us.’

Miller smoothed her eyebrows and stepped out from behind Valentino, determined that Dexter wouldn’t see how mortified she felt right now. ‘Of course.’ She forced herself not to defend her actions, even though she desperately wanted to.

‘Good. I’ll leave you to pull yourself together,’ Dexter said stiffly.

He was clearly upset with her, and he had good reason to be, Miller thought. She
was
here in a professional capacity, and even if she and Valentino really were lovers it didn’t excuse her poor behaviour.

Although they
had been
secluded from the other guests, Dexter had found them—which meant anyone else could have.

A small voice informed her that Valentino had probably achieved his goal and put paid to Dexter’s suspicions about the genuineness of their relationship, but Miller wasn’t listening.

She wouldn’t have chosen to do it that way, and she was furious that Valentino hadn’t given her a choice. Furious that he had used his superior height and strength to hold her against him to prove a point. A point he had clearly enjoyed.

As did you
. The snide voice popped up again, reminding her of how she had wrapped her tongue around his and tried to climb his body to assuage the ache that was still beating heavily between her thighs.

God, what a mess.

Valentino moved his arm in a gesture for her to precede him up the path and Miller determinedly made the same gesture back to him. He cocked an eyebrow at her, his eyes lingering on her mouth; his trademark sexy grin was more a warning than an indication of pleasantness.

Miller narrowed her eyes and thought about stomping on his foot as she strode past, but she decided not to give him the satisfaction of letting him know he had succeeded in rattling her again.

She knew he liked to take control but, dammit, this was not his show to orchestrate. She was in charge and it was time to set some clear boundaries between them. She’d dealt with alpha males in her line of work before, and she’d deal with this one too.

CHAPTER FIVE

F
EELING
as if the past hour had taken a day to pass, Miller unfolded a woollen blanket and laid it on the bedroom floor.

‘What are you doing?’

She glanced up to find Valentino lounging against the bathroom doorway, watching her. His face was stony, but it only highlighted the chiselled jaw that was again in need of a razor. He wasn’t wearing anything other than his black jeans, unbuttoned, and his biceps bulged where he folded his hands across his superbly naked chest.

‘Problem with your shirt?’ she said, and could have kicked herself when his mouth curled into a knowing smile.

‘Only in as much as I don’t wear a shirt to bed.’

Miller raised an unconcerned eyebrow. ‘Lucky you wear jeans, then.’

‘I don’t.’

His eyebrow rose to match hers and she turned back to unfold a second blanket she’d picked up from the end of the bed. Flicking it out, she laid it on top of the first.

‘I repeat—what are you doing?’

‘Making up a bed. What does it look like?’

Valentino looked bored. ‘If you’re worried about whether or not I’m going to jump your bones now that we’re alone, I doubt I could get through that passion killer you’re wearing with a blowtorch.’

Miller stood up and moved to the wardrobe, where she had seen a group of pillows on the top shelf. She was glad that he didn’t like her quilt-style dressing gown. It had been a present from her late father, and although the stitching was frayed in places she’d never get rid of it.

Thinking about her father made her remember the day her parents had told her they were separating. She’d been ten at the time, and while they’d talked about it calmly and rationally Miller had felt sick and confused. Then her mother had driven her from Queensland to Victoria and Miller’s world had gone from cosy and safe to unpredictable and unhappy. A bit like the steely, coiled man feigning nonchalance in the bathroom doorway.

‘Or are you worried you won’t be able to keep your hands to yourself after that kiss?’ he asked.

Miller cast him a withering look and returned to the bed she was setting up on the floor. She wasn’t going to stroke his ego by responding to his provocative comments.

He’d felt her response to his kiss and it still rankled. Afterwards she’d pretended that she’d been acting for the sake of their audience, but she hadn’t been, and she needed time to process that.

In the space of a short time the solid foundations of her secure life had become decidedly rickety, and she wasn’t going to add to that by letting her plans for the future be derailed by a sexy-as-sin flamboyant racing car driver who treated life like a game. Because Miller knew life
wasn’t
a game, and when things went wrong you only had yourself to rely on.

It had been a tough lesson she had learned hard after being sent to an exclusive girls’ boarding school, where her opinion hadn’t meant half as much as her lack of money. Teenage girls could be cruel, but Miller hadn’t wanted to upset her mother by telling her she was having a terrible time at school. Her mother had needed to work two jobs in order to give Miller a better start in life than she’d had, so Miller had put up with the bullying and the loneliness and made sure not to give her mother any reason to be disappointed in her.

‘If you think I’m sleeping on that, Sunshine, you’re mistaken.’

Valentino’s arrogant assurance was astounding, and Miller stared open-mouthed as he crossed to the bed and placed his watch on the bedside table.

Fortunately she had already anticipated this problem and, she thought grumpily as she fluffed up her pillows, she hoped the bed had bugs in it.

‘Good to know. At least there won’t be any more arguments between us tonight.’

* * *

Tino smiled. He couldn’t help it. Which was surprising since he was still irritated as hell by that kiss out in the garden and the way he had become completely lost in it. Drunk on it.

He’d told himself all day to lay off the little fantasies he’d been having about her mouth, but had he listened? No.

And what was up with that? If he ignored his instincts on the track as he had out in that garden he’d have bought the farm a long time ago.

The problem was he had made her off-limits and that had spiked his interest. Stupid. But he wasn’t a man who could resist a challenge. And on top of that she was clearly not fawning over him as other women did once they knew who he was. There was nothing more likely to get a woman into his bed than giving them his job title, but this pretty little ray of sunshine was not only
not
trying to sleep with him, she was making up a bed on the floor!

She couldn’t have challenged him more if she’d tried, and because he had been thwarted in racing these last couple of months, first due to injury and then because his car was under-performing and causing all sorts of problems, he was more frustrated than he normally would be. Which went a lot further towards explaining his sexual fascination with her than anything else he’d come up with so far.

It was even more of a reason to keep his distance from her. He wasn’t a slave to his hormones, and he had enough complications at the moment without adding her to the list.

He yanked off his jeans and got into the king-sized bed, letting out an exaggerated sigh of appreciation as the soft mattress gave just enough beneath his body. He might as well enjoy it since he
knew
she was about to order him to sleep on the floor. He’d do it once she said please. A word she was sorely in need of learning how to use.

He grinned. He was quite looking forward to seeing how long it would take before she caved in and used it.

He watched with some satisfaction as she stalked to the main door and hit the light switch with her open palm as if she wished it was his head. Then she did something completely unexpected. She shimmied out of her robe and got into the makeshift bed on the floor.

And made him feel like an absolute idiot.

‘Ever had your testosterone levels checked out?’ he grumbled.

‘What’s the matter, Valentino? Your masculinity being challenged because I’m not falling at your feet?’

Yes, as a matter of fact it was.

‘Was the kiss that good?’ he purred.

‘I can’t remember.’

He heard her fake a yawn and shook his head. ‘Sounds like you want a reminder.’

‘Not in this lifetime,’ she sputtered.

Her protest was a little too vigorous, which he liked.

Tino stretched out on the bed and stared at the ceiling, his eyes starting to adjust to the grey shadows cast around the room from the moonlight seeping in around the sheer curtains.

He heard the blankets on the floor rustle and his teeth gnashed together. She was being ridiculous and taking this just a little too far. He wondered if she was wearing something lacy. Something like the freshly laundered hot-pink thong hanging on the towel rail in the bathroom. The sight of those delicate panties had knocked him for a six, and he was pretty sure she hadn’t left them there deliberately.

Finding out she really
did
favour sexy lingerie was a fact he could have well done without. Ball-breaking Miss Miller Jacobs was turning out to be full of contradictions. Not least of all that fiery response to his kiss in the garden.

Acting
, she had said after the event.
Yeah, right.

Acting, my ass.

Yeah, and you’re not supposed to be thinking about it.

‘I like the thong you left in the bathroom,’ he said, unable to help annoying her as she was annoying him.

‘You can’t borrow it,’ she said after a slight pause.

He gave a soft chuckle.
Man
, she was sassy. And, no, he didn’t want to borrow it. But he wouldn’t have minded stripping it down her long legs to see what he was sure would be tawny curls underneath. His heart beat the blood a little more heavily around his body and he was unable to stop his mind from imagining her naked and spread out on the four-poster bed. Imagining her soft and wet with the same need that had compelled her to wrap her tongue around his in that garden.

He breathed deep and willed his body to relax, reminding himself that he only wanted her because he’d placed an embargo around her.

The blankets rustled again as she adjusted herself on the hard floor that not even thousand-dollar-a-metre carpet could soften.

His blood was Sicilian, and if she thought he could stay sprawled out on a comfortable bed while she lay uncomfortably at his feet she had another thing coming. But he knew offering up the bed would only play into her martyr’s hands and give her a reason to make him feel even more like a heel, so he stayed quiet and devised another plan that had the double advantage of allowing him to live up to his chivalrous nature and annoy the hell out of her at the same time.

Half an hour later Tino looked down on Miller’s sleeping form. Her hands were tucked under her face and her shoulder-length hair was dark against the white pillow. Deep shadows beneath her eyes attested to how tired she was.

Careful not to wake her, he leaned down and pulled the meagre blanket away from her body—and instantly stilled.

She was lying half on her stomach, one leg bent to the side in an innocently provocative pose. Her pale jersey camisole top and matching three quarter length pants stretched tight over her ripe curves. As far as night attire went it wasn’t the most seductive he’d ever seen, and yet as he gazed at her slender limbs, milky in the shadowy moonlight she had his full attention.

His hand itched to curve around the firm globes of her bottom while he bit down gently on the soft-as-silk skin that covered her trapezius. Would she be sensitive there? Or would she prefer him to kiss his way down each pearl-like button of her spine? Perhaps while he was buried deep inside her.

Tino groaned and closed his eyes. He felt like a randy teenager looking at a full on girlie magazine. Lust, hot and primal, beat through his body and made his legs weak. For a moment he was gripped by an almost uncontrollable urge to roll her over and wake her with a lover’s kiss. Get her to open her mouth for him as she had done earlier, cup her pert breasts, shove those stretchy pants to her ankles and thrust into her until all she could do was chant his name over and over as she came for him.

Only him.

He blinked back the unusually possessive thought, the incongruity of it burning through his sensual haze and reminding him of his initial purpose in pulling the blanket from her body.

Gently, he scooped her up off the floor and carried her to the bed. She stirred and shifted in his arms, the curtain of her hair trailing down his naked arm and her orange blossom shampoo tickling his nose. His body tightened at the allure of that clean smell and he almost tumbled her onto the bed in his haste to put her down. As soon as he did she mumbled something unintelligible and sighed deeply as she curled into the soft mattress.

Tino quickly pulled the comforter up over her near naked limbs before he could change his mind about being chivalrous.

His eyes drifted to the other side of the king-sized bed. It looked vast and empty with her only taking up one quarter of it. Tiredness invaded his body, and although he had fully intended to sleep on the floor he realised he probably didn’t have to. The bed was nearly as big as the infinity pool downstairs and he was an early riser. If the gods were on his side he’d be up and running along the beach before she even knew it was a new day.

Still, he laid a row of pillows down the centre of the bed. No point in tempting fate.

* * *

‘Oh, yes,’ Miller moaned softly as she felt the weight of a hair roughened thigh slip between her legs while a warm, callused hand palmed her breast. Her body buzzed and her nipples tightened, forcing her to arch more firmly into that warm caress. The hand squeezed her gently and somewhere above her head she heard a rough masculine sound of appreciation. Another hand was sliding confidently over her hip toward—

Holy hell!

Miller’s eyes flew open and she stared straight into Valentino Ventura’s sleeping face. Within seconds her brain assimilated the fact that she was no longer on the floor, but in bed and that Valentino had one of his hands on her breast and the other curved around her bottom.

Miller yelped and pushed against his impossibly hard chest, glad when he gave a grunt of discomfort, his jet-black lashes parting to reveal slate-grey eyes still glazed with sleep.

Miller pushed at his hands and scrambled backwards, her legs colliding with one of his knees as she roughly slid her leg out from between his.

Tino let out a rough expletive and moved his legs out of the way. ‘Watch the knee.’

‘Watch the...?’ Miller had a vague recollection of the men questioning Valentino about some racing injury but she didn’t care about that right now. ‘Get your hands off me, you great oaf.’

She shoved harder at his immovable arm and sucked in her tummy muscles as his steely forearm slid across her bare stomach.

Finally, fully awake, he acquiesced.

‘No need to sound the alarm, I was just sleeping.’

Miller gripped the duvet up to her chin. ‘You were groping me.’

‘Was I? I thought you’d just ruined a pleasant dream. Sorry about that.’

‘Yes, I just bet you’re sorry.’ She saw his eyes sharpen on hers. ‘How did I end up in bed with you anyway?’

Valentino casually slid his hands beneath his head and Miller swept her angry gaze over those powerful arms and that muscular chest. She felt her breath catch and her heartbeat speed up and berated her instant reaction.

‘I don’t know, Sunshine,’ he answered. ‘Are you prone to sleepwalking?’

Miller narrowed her gaze, her mind flashing back to last night. A vague memory of being lifted floated to the surface of her mind. ‘You carried me.’

Valentino yawned and pushed up until he was leaning against the headboard. The sheet dropped down to his waist, and the morning sun fell over part of his bronzed chest and corrugated abdomen as if lighting him up for a photo shoot.