Signed Over To Santino. Maya Blake
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for a long time? He’d learned with time that he could live without the soft trappings of family and endless entanglements of relationships that were, more often than not, fraught and tedious. The ideal family life he’d envied from afar as a child had proved to be nothing more than a cluster of blood relations fighting over what remained of a once prestigious aristocratic name.
He’d achieved more in his lifetime than his so-called ancestors had managed in several generations.
But the rejection still hurt...
Javier shrugged tense shoulders, ferociously denying the voice in his head, and looked up as Carla murmured in her sleep.
Clinically, he examined her, forcing himself to assess what had drawn him so inexorably to her. She certainly wasn’t his type. Slim and far too delicate where he preferred his women curvy and vivacious.
Yet, from the first moment he’d laid eyes on her, he’d been captivated by the combination of ethereal beauty that comprised silky caramel-streaked chocolate hair, vivid green eyes and a figure that begged for masculine hands, his hands, to mould and possess.
And despite everything that had happened—her deliberate, callous insults and her flaying rejection the morning after their passionate night together—he couldn’t help the rush of heat to his groin as he lingered on her full mouth and the steady rise and fall of her breasts.
He surged to his feet, disgusted with himself for ogling a sick, bedridden woman.
But Carla Nardozzi wasn’t just any woman. She epitomised the very thing that Javier had struggled all his life to effectively deny.
She’d rejected him because he hadn’t been good enough. Not once, but twice, she’d looked upon him as if he hadn’t been worthy to address her.
The family he didn’t want or need had been allowed to get away with treating him like that.
She would not.
And before their association was over, he would make sure she took back every dismissive word, every scathing look and gesture she’d spurned him with.
EVEN BEFORE CARLA came fully awake, she knew he was still there. His presence was too oppressive, too hyper-intense, to dismiss.
Thankfully, her headache had lessened, and, even though her broken wrist throbbed, Carla felt much better and in control of herself than she’d been a few hours ago.
So she opened her eyes, and glanced at the occupant of the armchair.
Javier was asleep.
That in itself was shocking enough to observe—the man was larger than life, a demigod who surely didn’t require the rejuvenating needs of mere mortals. But it was the transformation that had overcome his face that made her eyes widen. That made her stare shamelessly.
His arms were flung over the sides of the chair, his long legs splayed in front of him. The position offered an unfettered view of the stunning landscape of his body. Powerful taut thighs tapered to lean hips and a trim waist before veering up to display a torso that would’ve made any athlete proud. His deep chest and broad shoulders rose and fell and his slightly relaxed jawline drew attention to the stubble that had grown in the hours he’d been here. Almost reluctantly, her gaze traced his face.
Sinfully gorgeous, Javier’s features had always been a subject of acute fascination for her and this time was no exception, despite his less than formidable demeanour in repose.
Heat dragged low in her belly as she recalled what that mouth had done to her, what she’d begged him to do to her during that mad, reckless night in Miami.
He’d fulfilled her every wish, and more, with an intensity that had sent her running for cover in a blind panic the next morning. Carla had known that Javier was bad news for her. His healthy sex life and reputation for strictly temporary liaisons with women hadn’t been a secret. She’d known even before she woke up in his bed that it was only a matter of time before he notched her name on his bedpost and moved on. Dio mio, she’d barely kept up with him during their night of passion, her inexperience blazing through every fumbled kiss and caress that had made his sensual lips twitch with tender humour. But it was the risk to her own emotions that had finally sent her scurrying.
That had made her strike out before he’d got round to rejecting her first.
‘You stare at me with such fascination, it’s almost enough to make me forgot the horror on your face when you looked upon me once upon a time.’
She jumped, her mind dragging itself to the present and to the ragged contempt in his voice. She forced herself to meet Javier’s gaze. ‘It wasn’t horror. At least not at you.’
One sleek eyebrow lifted. ‘Is that supposed to make me feel better, pequeña? That you were horrified with yourself for choosing me to be the man you lost your innocence to?’
‘Is there anything I can say that will make you stop condemning me for what I said the next morning?’
The gleam in his eyes slowly hardened to merciless chips. Still splayed out in indolent abandon, he linked his fingers over his washboard stomach. ‘You told me sleeping with me was the worst mistake of your life. Of course with the benefit of hindsight I see that I was being used all along. But even if I hadn’t believed you then or found a way to excuse that insult, your behaviour since has proven your words to be true. Why should I believe that anything you say now isn’t just to save face?’
‘Save face?’ she said, confused.
‘Angelis is engaged to another woman, is he not? He’s made his choice and it wasn’t you. It’s natural you wouldn’t want the world to know how you truly feel about him.’
‘I’m not in love with him. I’m really not,’ she stressed when mocking disbelief draped his face.
‘Then why were you seen kissing him at your charity event in Tuscany last month?’
‘Would you believe me if I told you it was a mistake?’
He surged to his feet in one smooth bound, a volatile emotion bristling from his large frame. ‘No. The fact is your obsession with him continues, and you don’t seem to be interested in the small matter of him being committed to another. You just want what you want, don’t you, Carla, and to hell with the consequences?’
‘No, of course I don’t. I’d never do that—’
‘But you did.’ He strolled closer, a predator stalking his prey, until he stood over her. ‘The evidence speaks for itself.’
She shook her head, unable to believe she was having this conversation with Javier. ‘It’s obvious you’ve made up your mind about me. I said I’d return to New York with you. So why are you still here? I’m not exactly in the position to make a run for it.’
A dark frown clamped his brows. He shoved his hands in his pockets and shrugged. ‘You fell asleep before I got your word that you’ll stay away from Angelis from now on.’
Carla sat up gingerly and swung her legs over the side. The wave of dizziness that washed over her was blessedly brief. ‘He’s my agent. Avoiding him will be impossible. And counter-productive, don’t you think?’
‘You can and you will. Angelis has enough executives to ensure he has no personal dealings with you from now on. I’ll contact him myself to make sure the request is understood.’
‘Are you going to forbid me from letting him become my trainer too, which was his suggestion?’ She shook her head. ‘If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were jealous. And you don’t wear it particularly well.’
Deep, unamused laughter erupted from his throat, mocking her every word. ‘Don’t delude yourself. Scandal may sell newspapers, but my company has remained free of it up till now and I intend to ensure it stays that way. As for