TheTemptationNotJustifiedAReFinal (15 page)

Chapter One

“I’ll
do it, but there are conditions,” Leonardo da Silva said.

His
name meant “strong as a lion,” and he was aptly named. He had the strength and
cunning of the large cat, and he never hesitated to tear apart his rivals in
business. His ruthlessness was not a personality trait that made him well-liked
in the business world. It made him a worthy adversary, feared more than respected.

Alexa
da Silva held her breath as she stared at the broad, muscular back of her
soon-to-be ex-husband. Her eyes were drawn lower to his butt, shown to
advantage because he’d chosen to shove his hands into his pockets, which
stretched the tailored trousers taut against his firm posterior.

She
lifted her gaze, reminding herself why she was there. She had just asked him to
help her brother, Xander, out of a financial debacle. She’d known there would
be a catch, of course, but what exactly he would demand in return remained to
be revealed.

It
had taken every ounce of courage she’d had to walk through the doors of the
high-rise building he owned in Atlanta and ask for this favor, buoyed by her
brother’s pleading request.

* * * *

“Lexie,
please, you’ve got to ask him. Leo is the only person I know who has enough
money to get me out of this.”

“I
haven’t seen Leo in months,” she’d explained to her brother. “It’s only a
matter of time before he files for divorce. I’m surprised he hasn’t done it
already.”

“All
the more reason to ask him now, before he does it,” Xander had offered
helpfully. As if it were as simple as merely asking for Leo’s help.

Sighing,
Alexa had shaken her head. “I don’t know if I can do that, Xander. I left him,
and now you want me to go back and ask him for money? He’s not going to just
hand it over to me. There’s just got to be another alternative.”

*
* * *

But
there hadn’t been, despite leaving no stone unturned. No one else they knew had
the kind of money Xander needed, and given the financial straits he was in,
getting another loan was impossible.

Now
here she was, sitting across from the modern, minimalist glass desk and the
floor-to-ceiling windows Leonardo was staring out of, hoping he wouldn’t laugh
her out of the office because she had the audacity, after all this time, to
come ask him for money. This was a low point in her life, but she and Xander
were close, and she would do anything for him.

With
trepidation, Alexa asked, “What are your conditions?”

She
stiffened her spine, ready to negotiate on whatever point her husband would
bring up. Even as she thought about it, she almost laughed at the idea that she
could negotiate on the same level as him. Leonardo was a shrewd businessman,
having expanded his family’s multimillion-dollar telecommunications enterprise
into a multi-country empire that worked on projects across the United States
and Europe.

He
turned, as if suddenly remembering she was in the office. Alexa braced herself.
When he faced her, she noted how the angular lines of his face looked harsher,
more pronounced than they were before their separation. Still, he was handsome,
despite the hardened square jaw and unwelcoming charcoal eyes.

Half
Brazilian, he had his mother’s dark coloring and spoke with a slight accent
because he’d spent thirteen years of his life in Brazil after his parents
divorced when he was five. His wavy dark brown hair, which he tended to wear a
little too long, curled along the collar of his shirt. He was a big man, with a
powerful chest and large, muscular arms.

His
mother had married the eldest son of a wealthy Georgia family who owned the
number one telecommunications company in the South. Proud of her heritage, she
had insisted he should be born in Brazil. After the divorce, she returned to
Brazil with him. She resorted back to her maiden name and changed Leonardo’s as
well. It had been a crushing blow to his father. Leonardo returned to the
States at the age of eighteen to go to school and work at his father’s firm. As
was expected, when Leonardo’s father retired, the reins of the company were
turned over to him. At thirty-three years old, he was already a seasoned
professional. He’d taken Radiant Communications from a regional powerhouse and
transformed it into one of the largest firms in the industry.

“First,
he has to agree to hire an office manager to help him manage his bills and
payments.”

Alexa
nodded in agreement. No argument there. It was something she herself had told
Xander on more than one occasion he needed to do, but he was the stubborn,
creative type, more concerned with the culinary arts than managing the business
side of things. That explained how he’d gotten into this dire situation.

“Second,
I want you to come home and resume our marriage.”

Alexa’s
eyes widened. It was amazing how he managed to state so calmly a sentence that
obliterated every ounce of oxygen from the room and shattered what little peace
of mind she had left.

She
laughed, stunned. “What did you say?” She must not have heard him correctly.

“You
heard me,” Leonardo replied, his face betraying no emotion. He walked over to
the desk in front of which she sat and braced one hip against the edge,
crossing his powerful arms and looking down his hawklike nose at her.

Alexa
shook her head, nervously running her fingers through her short black curls in
a futile attempt to calm the erratic beating of her heart. His unexpected
request rattled her more than she wanted to betray. She took a calming breath.

“You’re
being absurd, Leo,” she said, looking up at him. From her seated position, he
looked formidable. “I wouldn’t move back into the mansion if you were the last
man on . . .” Alexa let her voice trail off when she realized what she had been
about to say. She forced herself to calm down and think of Xander. She couldn’t
screw this up. He was depending on her.

Leonardo
lifted one thick eyebrow in mock inquiry. “If I were the last man on earth who
could get Xander out of the mess he’s in?”

Alexa
pressed her lips together before answering, taking time to formulate her words
carefully. “We’re getting a divorce.”

“Are
we? Did I miss something? I was never served with divorce papers. Should I
contact my attorney to find out if he’s forgotten to send me the documents?”
His tone was mocking.

“You’re
going to divorce me.”

She
was certain of it. It was only a matter of time. She had embarrassed Leonardo
by leaving him, and there was no doubt in her mind he would eventually
eradicate her from his life completely. That’s how he operated. When he was
done, there would be no trace of her left in his life.

“I’m
not the one who walked out,” he said pointedly. “You did. I never wanted our
marriage to end. Have you forgotten?”

Alexa
took a deep breath and got to her feet. “I haven’t forgotten, and you know why
I left.” She threw all caution to the wind. “It’s not as if you paid me any
attention when I was there. You never acted like a man who was married. Between
the long hours at work and the women falling all over you everywhere we went,
I’m surprised you even noticed I was gone.”

A
muscle in his jaw tensed. “Oh, I noticed.”

He
spoke quietly, but Alexa heard the menacing undertone as loudly as a drumbeat.
She knew she had grated on a still raw nerve.

Alexa
took another deep breath. “Leo, this is ridiculous. I’m not moving back in with
you.”

She
turned around, about to snatch up her purse from the chair, when he said, “So
what are you going to tell your brother?” His voice was still quiet.

Gritting
her teeth, she flashed him her most withering gaze. “You’ve reached a new low,”
she bit out.

Leonardo
smiled, completely unmoved by her disparaging remark. He had the upper hand.

“There’s
the fire that I’m used to,” he murmured. “That little helpless act you came in
here with was not very convincing.”

“It
wasn’t an act,” Alexa said, standing tall. “But it seems you prefer for me to
come out fighting. I would have thought you’d want me begging for your
mercy—groveling, on my hands and knees.”

He
tilted his head, as if contemplating what she said. “Hmm . . . just on your
knees . . . doing those amazing things you do with your . . . mouth.”

Alexa
inhaled sharply, shocked at the suggestion and the images it conjured. Her
heart rate picked up as she recalled a time when she had done just that in this
very office, unselfishly offering pleasure to the husband she adored. The
honeymoon period didn’t last long, though. About one month, to be exact, before
business took precedence in his life and her own self-doubt exacerbated the
tension between them.

“That
was out of line.”

“No,
it wasn’t,
querida
.” He smiled, the devastating smile she found
irresistible. “You’re my wife, and you do have an amazing mouth.”

Alexa
clenched her purse, ignoring the heart-wrenching familiarity of the Portuguese
endearment and fighting back the sensuous images that were now emblazoned in
her mind’s eye. “Yes, I’m your wife, but we both know that’s in name only. We
haven’t lived together as husband and wife for months.”

“That’s
easily rectified by a mutually satisfying arrangement,” Leonardo reminded her.

“What
is it that you’re suggesting? That we just pick up where we left off and act as
if we’re reconciled?”

“That’s
exactly what I’m suggesting. It would be perfect—like a business deal where
both parties get what they want.”

“You’ve
ventured into a new business now? Buying and selling women?”

She
saw the anger flash in his eyes before he could conceal it, and she gloated a
little that she’d gotten under his skin.

“You
should be careful what you say. Remember, you’re the one who sought me out to
ask for money.” He brushed imaginary lint from his shirtsleeve. “Maybe we
should forget the whole thing.”

He
turned away from her in a dismissive fashion, and she panicked.

“No,
wait!”

Alexa
grasped onto his arm as if it were a lifeline, feeling the heat of his muscles
bunch against her palm. He looked down at her fingers, and she released him. He
turned slowly, and she knew in that moment the tables turned. He knew how
desperate she was, and he would use it to his advantage.

“Yes?”
One dark brow lifted toward his hairline.

“I
can at least hear you out,” Alexa said. She couldn’t believe what she was
saying, even though the words fell from her own lips. “What would you . . .
expect?”

“I
would expect you to resume all your wifely duties, including sharing my bed.”
He didn’t flinch.

She
swallowed. “Think about what you’re asking me to do.” Alexa faced him full-on.
“I’m not a prostitute.”

“I
agree. Once again, you’re my wife. All I’m asking is that you behave like you
are.”

“Why
are you doing this? It’s been four months.” Alexa was appalled by the near
panic in her voice, but she was ill-prepared to conceal it. This was like
something out of a nightmare, and she wanted no part of it, but Alexa knew if
she didn’t comply with his demand, he would allow her brother to be crushed. If
she could just reason with him, then maybe they could agree to an alternative.
“There must be another way—another answer.”

“When
you think of it, let me know,” Leonardo said, just before he folded his arms
across his chest again.

Standing
before him, all of a sudden Alexa felt much smaller than her five feet five
inches, despite wearing heels that added another four inches to her height. He
was just that tall—and broad, too. She felt like an insignificant little pea.

The
ball was back in her court, and they both knew she could offer nothing to
bargain with. He was in an enviable position, with nothing to lose. She needed
him, not the other way around.

“I
shouldn’t have come here,” Alexa said, her voice laced with bitterness. “I
should’ve known you wouldn’t show me any mercy.”

“I’ve
shown you plenty of mercy,” Leonardo said, placing his fingertips on the cool
glass surface of the desk. He leaned toward Alexa. “I’ve allowed you to enter
my office, when I could have refused to see you and asked my assistant to tell
you to leave. Or better yet, I could have had security escort you from the
building.”

He
looked her up and down, a withering appraisal that silently shredded the
sleeveless ruffled top and flowing skirt.

“You
want mercy after what you did? After you walked out on me and I didn’t hear
from you for months?” He laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “Now you
come back here, asking me for money. What would you do if you were me, Alexa?”

“If
it makes you feel any better,” he continued, “you’ll only have to suffer
through our marriage for two more months, and then I’ll give you the divorce
you’ve obviously been wanting but were afraid to ask for.”