PunishingPhoebe (4 page)

Fear dried her mouth, making it difficult
to respond. “What do you expect from me?”

“For one thing, I want you back in the
office tomorrow morning. I can’t spare you right now, until the merger goes
through. After that, you’ll need to train your replacement.”

Relief swept through her. “Of course. I’ll
pay back whatever else I owe you after my employment ends.”

He quirked a brow. “I’m not finished. Did
you think I would let you off so easily?”

She shook her head. “I can explain why I
accepted your father’s offer. I can explain everything.”

He held up a hand. “As I said, I don’t care
to hear rationalizations for your greed. All I want from you is what I paid
for—your body.”

Her eyes widened when he pulled her against
him. She couldn’t believe it was happening, that he was about to kiss her, even
as her body melted against his firmly muscled frame. Of its own volition, her
head tipped back and she moistened her lips as he brought his mouth against
hers. His lips were firm and demanding, molding hers to his possession. Phoebe
groaned when he buried a hand in her hair to pull her neck back even more,
allowing his tongue to penetrate her mouth.

She wrapped her arms around his neck,
anxious to be closer to Luca. It didn’t matter how they had come to this right
then. She only cared about tasting him. With eager strokes, she met each thrust
of his tongue, savoring the trace of brandy she detected. Pressing herself
closer, Phoebe brought her hands to his shoulders, then lower, to his chest.
His muscles rippled under her hands as she pressed her palms against the silky
cotton of his dress shirt and the heat of his skin scorched her palms.

Luca seemed intent on devouring her. His
tongue had swept every inch of her mouth several times over and he began
thrusting it in and out suggestively, in time with his hips as he pumped them.
Phoebe wanted to be closer to him still, but couldn’t. They were pressed
against each other so tightly only their clothing served as a barrier to
separate them.

He stroked his tongue across her lips
before moving his mouth, brushing his lips against her cheek on his way to her
ear. Phoebe cried out when he nipped her earlobe before whispering, “
Bella
.”
The endearment was almost as pleasurable as his tongue tracing the contour of
her ear before he sucked the lobe into his mouth once again.

Her hands shook as she tugged impatiently
at the hem of his shirt to remove it from the waistband of his pants. It took
more concentration than it should have to work the small buttons through the
buttonholes and she whimpered with need when she managed to push open the shirt
to reveal his bare chest. “Luca.” His name was more a cry of passion than an
actual sound as she placed her palms against the lightly haired skin. He
retaliated by bringing his mouth to the bend of her shoulder, to suck on her
neck. Her insides warmed and melted, making it difficult to do anything besides
enjoy his touch.

A deep-throated groan left Luca when she
raked her nails lightly across his nipples, propelling her to repeat the
action. His throaty sound of satisfaction fed her own and she ignored the voice
in the back of her mind trying to get her attention. She didn’t care about
common sense at the moment.

Luca made short work of the robe, while she
tried focusing on removing his belt. Her persistence paid off, as did his, and
they were soon standing together in the living room, bare body to bare body.
The hair on his chest tickled her nipples and she squirmed with pleasure.

He brought his mouth to hers again, his
lips taking possession of hers. Phoebe swept her tongue inside the moist
confines of his before he could edge inside hers, taking control. Her moans of
pleasure mirrored his as she absorbed his taste.

She cried out his name when he cupped her
breasts, his thumbs rubbing against the firm buds of her nipples with confident
strokes. “Luca,” she whispered, dropping her face to his chest and burrowing
against him. His name was her talisman, the only thing keeping her anchored to
the world, and she found herself almost screaming it when he lifted her higher.
Instinctively her thighs locked around his waist and she gasped when his cock
sank inside her wet pussy.

He filled her completely—almost to the
point of too much—and she clutched his back to keep her balance. Her nails dug
into his skin when Luca began thrusting. He supported her with his hands
cupping her bottom, bringing her tightly against him with each thrust. “That’s
amazing, Luca.” That she could manage any coherent sound surprised her.

He buried his head in her fall of blonde
hair. “
Mia tesoro dorato
. My golden treasure.”

Convulsions deep inside her womb instigated
an orgasm and she shuddered, tightening around his cock. He convulsed inside
her and they fell backward together on the sofa. “
Mia tesoro
,” he
repeated, his mouth against her ear.

Phoebe struggled to catch her breath, still
ravaged by the force of their passions and her earth-shattering release. It had
been unforgettable, more than she could have imagined in her most erotic
fantasies. So why did she still feel empty?

“Worth every penny,” he said in a different
tone—a mix of smugness and smoldering anger. “I have imagined you like this,
but didn’t want to rush you. You seemed so sweet and a bit uncertain.” He
sneered. “Now, I don’t have to worry about building trust just to get you in my
bed.”

She jumped away from him as though burned.
Memory came crashing back and she cupped her hand over her mouth to keep from
crying out. How could she have been so stupid? He hadn’t taken her because he
wanted her but because he thought he was entitled to.

Her mouth firmed and she glared at him. “I
hope you enjoyed it, because it will never happen again.”

He stared up at her impassively, seemingly
unbothered by their state of undress, and showing no sign of leaving. “Wrong,
mia
tesoro
. It will happen when and where I want it to.”

“Because you own me?” Her voice was full of
anger but she didn’t miss the shaky note underlying it. Phoebe hoped he didn’t
notice the hurt in her tone or expression.

He smiled, a sexy quirking of just one side
of his mouth. “Partly, but mostly because you want it to happen too.”

She sagged, unable to deny his assertion.
How could she resist him when she wanted him so desperately? Making love with
him once hadn’t sated her. It had only deepened her hunger for Luca, regardless
of what he thought of her.

She hugged herself, both in an attempt to
hide her breasts and to disguise her conflict. “Will you leave now? I’m tired.”

In an infuriating fashion, Luca shook his
head. “I’m not going anywhere, Phoebe.”

Her eyes widened and she shook her head.
“You have to. I have things to do.”

“You have nothing to do other than spend
the night in bed with me.”

“You don’t understand—”

Luca gained his feet in one fluid motion, a
visual performance that took her breath away as she watched the coordinated way
his muscles flexed and contracted under his skin, reminding her just how it
felt to be joined with him.

He walked toward her slowly, as if he had
all night. “I’m not letting you out of my sight. I don’t trust you not to run.”

“I won’t…” She trailed off, remembering the
forthcoming trip. “I mean, I have to go somewhere, but I’ll pay you back when I
return.”

He tucked a long strand of hair behind her
ear. “Yes, you will,
mia tesoro
. You’ve made a start and now it’s time
to continue.” In seconds, he had lifted her into his arms and was headed down
the hallway, seeming to know exactly where her bedroom was. “I’m going to spend
the night getting to know every inch of you.”

He seemed to swallow all the space in her
bedroom, making it difficult to breathe as he lowered her to the bed. The
feminine pastels should have been a jarring backdrop for his masculinity, but
he looked right, settled on her bed, against her pale purple sheets. Maybe it
was because she had imagined him there so many times in the past few months.

As he straddled her, she put up her hands,
resting them against her chest. “You don’t have to do this. Please, let me
explain.”

He sighed, sounding impatient. “Enough. I
can think of much more pleasurable uses for your mouth—like wrapped around my
cock.”

She moaned, unable to resist picturing the
mental image his words evoked. Her pussy grew wetter and she squirmed.

Luca chuckled while shifting his weight to
free one of his hands. Phoebe tensed when he brought a hand between her thighs,
his fingers slipping inside her folds to find the slippery little bud hiding
within. She cried out as he stroked her clit, arching against his hand. “So
hot,
mia
tesoro
.” Luca penetrated her with two of his fingers.
“And so tight. Surprising, considering your previous…experience.”

She flinched, torn between anger and hurt,
all the while under the onslaught of his expert fingers. Pride demanded she
push him away. Phoebe pressed her palms against his chest. “Get off me.”

“Not yet.” With ruthless precision, Luca
continued stroking and thrusting his fingers inside her.

Tears of shame blurred her eyes as her body
responded, giving him the climax he sought. She turned her head, trying to hide
her tears as they escaped to trickle down her cheeks.

Luca said something in Italian that sounded
like a curse. With the same hand he’d had between her legs, he wiped away the
moisture with his thumb. “I apologize. That comment was unnecessary.”

She took a deep breath, struggling to
restore her calm before speaking. Her voice was still thick with tears when she
said, “This isn’t going to work. You hate me. How can you still want me?”

Luca eased himself off her body to lie
beside her. “I don’t hate you. I wish I could, but I don’t. I do not understand
the avarice that drives you, but I had a privileged upbringing that you
lacked.”

She didn’t try to proffer an explanation
again. “I can’t do this. Your snide words…the anger. I just can’t.” But what
choice was there? Even if she could convince him to accept the check from
Salvatore and release her from this twisted deal, Anya would be just as blind,
with no hope.

Luca caressed her hip. “I can’t promise I
will always be able to control my anger with you, but I will not make such
comments again, especially when we are in bed together.”

In defeat, she rolled into his arms as he
turned her. The thought of being his whore for however long he wanted her was
heartbreaking, but Anya’s needs came before her own. Not that her needs didn’t
include Luca, at least physically, she admitted to herself when he lifted her
leg to position her for his cock. She bit hard on her tongue to keep in her
cries of pleasure as his cock entered her. It would be even more humiliating
for him to know the depth of her desire.

Silently, she counselled herself not to
reveal that she still planned to leave tomorrow. He would be furious, but Anya
needed her. When she returned, she would make herself available until his
revenge burned itself out. Perhaps he would even reconsider the whole idea
during her absence, since he had now had sex with her. She allowed herself to
cling to the hope as Luca drove in and out of her, hoping each thrust of his
cock brought her one step closer to absolution.

Chapter Three

He had been true to his word, having spent
most of the night fucking her in myriad ways. Phoebe was sore in places she
hadn’t even remembered existed and the hot water cascading over her did little
to ease the pleasurable aches. It would serve him right if every muscle in his
body screamed in protest from their night of sex, though he had seemed
disgustingly chipper upon waking. She needed coffee before she could even
consider being half that alert.

She had to admit the previous night had
served to invigorate rather than exhaust her as she might have expected. It had
been too long since her last lover to remember if she had always felt this way
after a night of vigorous sex. Being unable to remember her morning-after
reactions with previous partners spoke for itself. Luca was different, and
being with him was unlike anything she had ever experienced.

It was going to be hard to leave him, but
she had no choice. Anya needed her, but she couldn’t have stayed anyway, not
under the circumstances. She had come to that realization sometime around dawn.
Her heart was already at risk, but there was no way he would ever love her
after she had taken money to get out of his life. Staying with Luca would
destroy her. Phoebe knew she would have to return to serve her sentence in his
bed, but she needed to figure out a way to protect her heart first.

She dried off and dressed quickly, not from
eagerness to face Luca but because time was growing short. She had to get rid
of him so she could pick up Anya in time for their flight.

He had made himself at home in the kitchen,
evidenced by the stack of pancakes and orange juice on the table. He sat at the
table, talking on his cell phone, but looked up when she walked in. He held up
a finger and spent another moment on the phone before closing it.