Taught by the Tycoon (7 page)

He named some developer she’d never heard of and she gave a soft grunt.

“Actually, this leads us into lesson three.” He leaned down and said in a stage whisper, “Never get completely drunk at these sort of events. You’ll be labeled for life as a lush like poor Angela there has been.”

Rachel would have laughed, if a tingle of awareness weren’t racing through her with his nearness.

“I’m not a big drinker,” she promised. Though last night she’d been so nervous she’d had enough wine to be tipsy.

They made the rounds through the room, where several times people would stop to speak with Damiano. He always introduced her by name only, and most people seemed curious but didn’t question who she was to Damiano. Though one pretty woman had eyed Rachel with narrowed eyes that were anything but friendly.

Probably one of his girlfriends that I’ve sent breakup flowers to in the past.
She gave a small, wry smile as Damiano continued a conversation with a local politician.

“Shall we dance?”

She glanced up, surprised that the man he’d been talking to had disappeared. She glanced toward the dance floor, where couples were indeed swaying to the somewhat schmaltzy music the orchestra was currently playing.

“I’m not sure I’m very good at this sort of dancing.”

“It’s not such a challenge,” he murmured, taking her champagne glass and setting it on a nearby table. “Just move to the music, and if you get nervous, let me do the work.”

When he took her hand and let her onto the floor, she couldn’t find a reason to protest. She wasn’t even sure she wanted to.

He pulled her close, their bodies nearly brushing, with one hand on her waist, and the other holding hers.

It really was exactly as he said, just moving to the light upbeat music, and he was excellent at leading. There was no thinking involved, it was instinctive.

Thinking would’ve been out of the question anyway, with how aware of his touch she was. His fingers seemed to heat through the fabric of her dress and the hand that held hers was so much larger. Stronger.

“It’s not so bad, you see?”

“Not so bad at all,” she agreed, a bit more breathless than she cared.

She made the mistake of lifting her gaze up to meet his. But instead of finding his eyes twinkling with amusement, they were hooded. Dark and contemplative.

Her breath caught and she could feel the blood in her veins quicken. The tiny hairs on her arms lifted as she became all too aware of the little distance between them. How if she just stepped closer, her breasts would brush his chest.

“Are you all right?” Concern flickered in his eyes now. “You’re a bit flushed.”

“I’m...fine.” She nodded and stepped away. “But if you’ll excuse me, I need some air.”

She moved quickly out of the room, finding a door that led to one of the balconies. There was another couple outside, but they left shortly after her arrival.

She walked to a corner and held the railing, staring out into the night. She tried not to think about how it had felt dancing with Damiano, how her body had begun to instinctively react.

She focused instead on the view. It was beautiful out here. High above the glittering lights of the city, and yet hidden in the dark shadows of the building.

It felt a bit like a dream. Or maybe like she’d fallen down the rabbit hole. Was it just this morning that she and Damiano had been laughing and eating sugary baked goods in her Brooklyn apartment? God, she’d completely switched worlds. He likely had been as out of his element then as she was now.

“You must be cold.”

She closed her eyes, not surprised he’d followed her.

“I’m fine.”

But now that he’d mentioned it, she felt the slight chill in the air. The heavy warmth of his tuxedo jacket covered her shoulders a moment later.

“Thank you.” She turned to face him, thinking maybe they should just go back inside. But he was too close, trapping her against the railing.

“We are not so different from your blue collar boys,
Dolcezza
,” he said softly, using that word again. He placed his hands on the railing on either side of her. “Where we may seek any dark corner and an opportunity.”

Her heart began to pound. “An opportunity for?”

“For whatever we’re inclined to take.” His head dipped, and his mouth was just above hers.

Dizzy now, and every inch of her body coming right back into awareness, she let her lashes fall. Could only murmur a confused, “Damiano.”

But he was done talking. His lips covered hers and her mind went white with shock. As he teased her lips apart and dipped his tongue inside her mouth, the shock faded into pink bursts of pleasure.

Instinct and an answering desire had her touching his tongue with hers. Responding to the kiss without giving a conscious thought to do so.

Even with her feet firmly planted on the balcony, it felt as if she were falling. Rachel reached out to steady herself, and found the hardness of his chest beneath the crisp white shirt.

He gave a murmur of approval, and in an instant she was pulled firmly into his arms. Her breasts crushed against his chest and their hips pressed together as he deepened the kiss.

Every nerve in her body was alive with need. With sensation. When he moved his hand lower down her back she gave a soft moan. He stroked her tongue with his, and moved his hand lower still toward her bottom.

The haze of pleasure was only slightly infiltrated by the deep voice that drawled, “I see now why you turned down my offer for dinner.”

Damiano stilled, recognizing the voice instantly, but not as quick to believe that he’d heard the words right. Disbelief and irritation at the interruption warred inside him.

Merda
.

It couldn’t be true. Rachel’s little story had been
real
?

Without acknowledging the other man just yet, he lifted his head to stare down at Rachel. Her eyes were still closed, her parted lips a bit more swollen now. His entire being resented the fact that he’d had to abandon exploring the sweetness of her mouth.

Her lashes swept up. The look of dazed pleasure was slowly replaced by dawning comprehension. Then came the shock and the panic. Damiano’s jaw clenched as she tried to push out of his arms, and he made no effort to release his hold on her just yet.

Her gaze moved to his and there was a blatant incredulity in her eyes now.

“Damiano,” she hissed, pushing against his chest.

He released her, but only enough to slide an arm around her waist and turn to face the man behind them.

“A pleasure to run into you here, Lionelli.” He flashed an easygoing smile. “I didn’t realize you were interested in my assistant.”

The hotel mogul shoved his hands into his pockets and gave a wry smile. “Well, if it’s any comfort, it was on a personal level, not a business one.”

“I’m not sure either would be a comfort.” Damiano infused a hint of icy warning into his words.

The two of them weren’t enemies, by any means, but to call them friends would’ve been a stretch. They’d met several times when Damiano had stayed in one of his hotels on business.

Rachel shifted, glancing up at him with apparent confusion. She opened her mouth, and then closed it again.

“Duly noted.” Lionelli’s gaze turned equally hard and cool. “Had I known she was involved with you, Mantovani, I would’ve avoided poaching on your territory.”

“
Territory
?” Disdain dripped from the word, as Rachel clearly decided she was unable to keep silent anymore “Excuse me—”

“A good idea,” Damiano continued, his focus only on Lionelli now. “Because I don’t take kindly to others setting their sights on what belongs to me.”

Rachel made a choking noise, while a bit of humor flickered in Lionelli’s eyes. The other man nodded, gave Rachel a considering glance that still held far too much interest than Damiano cared for.

“Touché. And with that, I’ll wish you both a good evening then,” Lionelli murmured, before disappearing back into the building.

So Lionelli was the magnate who’d been so eager to seduce Rachel. The one who’d offered to take her to Masa. Clearly the man knew nothing about Rachel and how that offer had more than likely turned her off than on.

Oh, he knew Samuele Lionelli’s type all too well. Actually, they had a lot in common when it came to women. And he knew without a doubt that any interest Lionelli had in Rachel would’ve been for the span of a few rounds of sex, before she’d be tossed to the curb like every woman before her.

If Damiano was considered an affluent womanizer, than Lionelli was at master level.

“Okay, I don’t know what kind of pissing match that just was,” Rachel began, her voice shaking with fury. “But there was so much wrong with the last five minutes, I cannot even begin to list them all. But, let’s be clear about one thing. I’m not a stapler on your desk, Damiano. I do
not
belong to you. I can quit my job anytime I wish.”

His lips twisted into a wry smile as he nodded. When he’d made that remark, he wasn’t even entirely sure he’d meant in the employee form. Rachel might’ve been his employee, but the idea of her sleeping with one of his business associates didn’t settle well with him at all.

“My apologies,” he murmured. “I was a bit worked up at the moment when I said it.”

“Clearly.” She pressed a hand to her forehead. “Didn’t you think kissing me as part of the lesson was a bit extreme? I mean, you don’t have to fill in every little detail of what I should expect. It was a little—”

“It wasn’t part of a lesson.” He fought to choose his words carefully.

She turned to face him. “What do you mean?”

He decided to be blunt. “I mean, I didn’t think your billionaire love interest was real.”

Her brows drew together, disbelief flashing in her eyes. “I don’t understand. If you didn’t think my story was real, then why did you offer to take me tonight? Why this dress? These lessons?” She swallowed visibly. “Why did you kiss me?”

“Because I wanted to,” he said simply, “and I assumed your story was a ruse.”

She just stared at him for a moment, and he could imagine the gears in her head working.

“And please tell me just what you think it was a ruse for?” Her tone had lowered, her words unsteady.

“To get us into bed together.” He lifted one shoulder in a shrug. “It seems, however, that I was wrong. My apologies.”

She went completely still and her cheeks slowly began to fill with color. She made little choking noises and shook her head.

“Rachel—”

“You thought I was making all this up so you’d go to bed with me?” Her voice rose in disbelief. “How do you even go through a doorway with such a big ego? Of course it wasn’t a ruse! Do I look like the type of woman who would jeopardize her job for a fling with her boss?”

He didn’t reply, because he knew the answer to that. If he’d really used more than his hormones to think with, he would’ve realized Rachel never would’ve made the first move.

Merda
, but he’d really made a mess of things.

“And you were going to sleep with me?” she continued in dismay. “You kissed me, hoping it would lead to more?”

“Tell me I’m wrong and there’s not this attraction between us, Rachel.”

Her gaze slid from his, but she shook her head. “I could probably kiss the next guy who walked out onto this balcony and have the same response.”

His teeth snapped together. There was no chance she would’ve melted in some stranger’s arms the way she just had with him.

“And now you’ve gone and ruined any chance I had with Samuele with that silly little display of dominance.”

She was angry, and she had every right to be. He sighed and caught her hand when she moved to walk past him.

“The damage is done,
Dolcezza
. And in all honesty, I’ve done you a favor tonight.”

Tugging at his hand, Rachel tried to pull away. “You’ve destroyed any chance I had at finding someone else—” She broke off and bit her lip. “It doesn’t matter.”

“It does matter. And if you truly want to pursue a relationship with Lionelli, then maybe tonight could work in your favor.”

Rachel narrowed her eyes, wondering just what on earth he could mean by that.

She’d almost spilled the beans. Had almost outright admitted she’d seen dating Samuele Lionelli as a way to escape her growing attraction to Damiano. He’d asked her to deny their attraction to each other, and she couldn’t, but neither would she confirm it.

No good could come of that. She wouldn’t act on it. And this little kiss tonight had been a mistake. A wonderful, toe curling mistake, but a mistake nonetheless. And he still held her hand, so why wasn’t she trying to remove it?

“Lionelli will never take you seriously, Rachel. He may think he will, but I know the man too well. Right now you’re a dainty elusive flower he wouldn’t mind plucking—”

“Oh lovely. Some poorly phrased innuendo that I’m a virgin.” She couldn’t help but grimace.

“I said plucking, not—”

“Oh,
please
do
stop
.
You don’t need to be crude.”

Damiano laughed softly. “I apologize. But once he’s bedded you—yes, sorry, I promise this is the last bit of crude—he’ll move on soon afterward.”

“Well, I’m hardly the type to hop into bed with a man on the first date.”

His brows rose. “Are you waiting for a marriage proposal before sex?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. It’s just,” she hesitated, “Love, or being halfway there, would be nice. And, yes, maybe I’m a little old fashioned, but I’d like sex to mean something more than a physical release.”

“Those are the words of a naive romantic.” His mouth thinned and the hand that held hers tightened. “And this is why Lionelli will never take you seriously.”

She flinched, feeling a bit stung. “You think I don’t realize that? This is why I came to you for advice in the first place. It was a terrible idea.”

“You should’ve given me his name to begin with and we could’ve avoided,” he waved his hand, gesturing to nothing, “all this.”