He was the epitome of masculinity as he strolled through the door of the ski cabin, bringing a draft of New England’s frigid air with him. The rough-hewn floor groaned under his weight, and his hard muscles rippled beneath his skin-tight ski outfit as his sturdy legs transported his six-foot, three-inch frame across the room. He came to a stop in front of a woodstove, pulled off his mittens, and held large hands toward the roaring flames.
Nia’s eyes glowed with a mixture of conflicting emotions as she gaped at the notorious Italian playboy—Massimo Luciano Andretti, sole heir to Andretti Industries, one of the largest textile manufacturers in the world.
With his smooth olive complexion, black, wavy, shoulder-length hair, a wide sensuous mouth, and eyes as blue as the Atlantic Ocean on a sunny day, Massimo was, by far, the sexiest exhibit in the billionaire bachelors’ storefront window. No woman he set his sights on was safe. He captured them, pampered them, bedded them, then wiped his mouth and moved on to the next willing victim like an impartial judge at a pie-baking contest.
But Massimo’s irresistible sex appeal wasn’t the reason Nia had tracked him down to the resort mountain town of Granite Falls, New Hampshire. She had a six-year-old score to settle with the bastard who’d caused her father’s death, and just recently placed the lives of her younger brother and herself in danger.
On his dying bed, her father had made her promise to forget about Massimo Andretti and to concentrate on taking care of herself and Aaron. He’d also made her promise that she would move as far away from Maine as possible. Nia had kept her promises and gone on with her life as best she could, even though she had never been able to put Massimo Andretti completely out of her mind since she’d first seen him six years ago.
Aaron had grown into a responsible young man and didn’t need her protection from Maine’s child welfare system anymore. He was a high school senior, and had recently received a full scholarship in engineering from MIT. Nia was so proud of him, and grateful that she’d had a chance to give him as normal a life as possible.
It wasn’t easy, and many times she’d prayed for someone to come along and take the burden of parenthood away from her. But no one had come. She was all Aaron had, and he was all she had. Together, they’d survived a difficult past and had been looking forward to a better future.
But the past had a way of raiding a girl’s present and stealing her future.
It showed up in the form of a letter from a loan shark named Eddie. Included in the letter was a copy of a six-year-old promissory note that bore her father’s signature. Eddie wanted his money—interest, penalties, and late fees included. It was then Nia understood why her father had instructed her to get as far away from Maine as she could. Seemed she hadn’t gone far enough. She’d definitely picked the wrong state in which to start fresh and hide from her past.
Nia had been puzzled as to how Eddie had tracked her down, especially when she’d been so careful to cover her tracks. She’d simply ignored it, hoping he would think she wasn’t who he thought she was. But when a second letter arrived with a photo of Aaron’s high school football team with his face circled, and another of him walking home from school that very week, Nia knew she was in real trouble. In the note, Eddie had promised that Aaron would be beaten to death in front of her, and then he would take his sweet time with her before slicing her throat. She had two months to produce the money.
She should have listened to her gut when it warned her not to let Aaron tryout for the football team, but how could she deny him that one little pleasure in his young pitiful life? He’d been denied so much, and she couldn’t take that away from him, too. She never imagined that their high school would win the national championship and that their names and faces would be plastered all over the local news. The problem was that Aaron was the spitting image of their father. There was no denying who he was.
Nia quivered from the memories of reading that letter. There was no way she could come up with a million dollars—ever—much less in two months. Eddie was neither impressed nor pacified with the small installments she’d offered him, and had even suggested that she was a pretty little thing who could work it off in trade for him.
In her desperation, Nia’s thoughts had gone to one man—Massimo Andretti. His actions, or lack of them, had created the problem. It was only fair that he fix it. She’d thought of writing to him, but recalling her father’s numerous unsuccessful attempts to contact him six years ago, she’d decided it was a waste of time.
Luckily for her, the delivery of the second letter coincided with the breakup of Massimo’s six-month engagement to a Boston heiress. Nia wasn’t surprised when it fell apart. Massimo was an Andretti, and five months into the engagement, rumors of an affair began flying. Then, just two weeks ago, the bride-to-be canceled the wedding. Infidelity was synonymous with Andretti men. Massimo was merely proving he was hewn from the same adulterous piece of granite.
He hopped beds as frequently as he hopped the globe, which was pretty often, seeing he owned companies on every continent. His five-month engagement to the heiress was the longest relationship he’d ever had. He never denied the charges of infidelity, and he didn’t even seem shaken up over the breakup. As far as the world knew, he hadn’t yet zeroed in on his next catch. But with Massimo, one never knew.
The thought of associating herself with such an unscrupulous man made Nia sick to her stomach. But she had no choice. Her father owed Eddie. Massimo owed her. His broken promises had destroyed her family. This debt was not hers. It was Massimo’s. And it was time he paid it.
Nia rubbed her palms along her arms and curled her fingers into the soft material of her cashmere sweater. Her new wardrobe and travel expenses had cost several thousand dollars, not to mention the high interest on her credit cards, but she couldn’t approach Massimo looking like an underpaid schoolteacher. He was a man who appreciated classy women. She’d never seen a shabby-looking love interest on his arm.
A rush of uncertainly fluttered in her belly. What if Massimo didn’t take her bait? What if he decided she wasn’t worth the trouble? There was no doubt in her mind that Eddie would keep his promise to kill her and her brother if she failed to pay him in two months.
The day after she’d gotten the second letter, Nia had packed Aaron off to the Caribbean to stay with her friend who’d moved back there. She didn’t want Eddie getting any ideas that he could kidnap and hold him as collateral until she paid the debt. Besides, she couldn’t leave him in New York by himself, and she couldn’t bring him to Granite Falls on her clandestine mission, either.
She’d never lied to Aaron about anything, but she wasn’t about to lay this kind of burden on him, so she’d simply told him that it was crucial he left the country. He wasn’t happy about the disruption in his senior year, but he’d grown to trust her over the years and knew that she would only ask him to do something if it was vitally important. Since his high school was a superb prototype of twenty-first-century learning, he was able to carry on his studies via the Internet and satellite. Thank God for technology.
She’d been tempted to follow him across the ocean and forget about Massimo Andretti, but Eddie had found them once. He could find them again. This time, there would be no warning. He would just kill Aaron, use her up, and then kill her, too.
Nia’s heart began to race as she watched Massimo slide his mittens back on. He was warm now and ready to go back out on the trail. Maybe she should let him go before her plan blew up in her face. Massimo Andretti could turn out to be far more dangerous than Eddie if he discovered she was about to swindle him.
No. She shook her head. There was no room for doubts and fears. Massimo was the only way to keep her and Aaron alive. She just had to convince this Andretti hound that she was his next willing victim.
Girding herself with resolve, Nia slid the metal strap of her knockoff Kate Spade purse over her shoulder and glided from the bench. Her legs felt like worn-out elastic as she covered the short distance to Massimo’s side. “Beautiful day for skiing, isn’t it?” she said, smiling up at him.
His head swung lazily to the other side. His thick long lashes lifted and his deep-blue gaze patrolled her face. “Then why aren’t you out on the trails?”
Nia breathed through the sensual tremor that rocked her body. She never knew being this close to a man could be so unnerving, even one who presented a chilling aura. She forced her confused emotions into order and placidly said, “I enjoy watching other people.”
His wide mouth pulled into a slight smile as his gaze moved slowly down the length of her then back up again. “Is that the way you get your kicks, watching other people?”
“It depends on what I’m watching them do.” She held his hard gaze even as the provocative question and his deep voice made her insides quiver.
Interesting, Massimo thought as he surveyed the young woman with straight dark hair tumbling past her shoulders to the soft curve of her back. He’d felt an instant attraction towards her from the moment he walked into the cabin and spotted her sitting in the corner. If it weren’t for the sticky matter of his marriage of convenience in less than a week, he would have joined her at the booth and been charming his way between her shapely thighs already.
He groaned inwardly as his eyes feasted on the slender brown-skinned kitten gazing up at him through brown, almond-shaped eyes. She was wearing black leather boots, a red cashmere sweater that accentuated her jutting breast, and body-hugging jeans that seductively emphasized her narrow waist, just-right hips, and a firm round derriere that would fit nicely in his palms. She clearly hadn’t come to the mountain to ski.
He forced his gaze back to her pear-shaped face and full rosy lips, structuring a mouth so wide, visions of her kissing specific erogenous parts of his body sent a licentious need coursing through him. She was sinfully sexy in an unsettling innocent way. He hadn’t been with a woman in weeks, and just looking at her was pushing him close to the edge of his restraint.
As he continued to gaze into her eyes, a disturbing familiarity washed over Massimo. He’d seen those eyes before—sweet and radiant, with a bright rim around the pupils and a combination of gold and lighter brown shades within the irises. She was definitely not a one-night fling—even in his most inebriated state, he would have remembered enjoying such an enticing creature.
So, where had he seen those eyes before? “Do I know you? Have we met?” he asked, pulling his mittens from his hands and pushing them into his pockets.
She dropped her gaze and shook her head. “No, but I’ve wanted to meet you for a long time, Mr. Andretti. What woman doesn’t?” She chuckled softly and tucked a handful of hair behind her ears with slender French-tipped fingers.
That mundane gesture and the way her lips unfolded like a rose glistering with morning dew caused a deep burning in the lowest regions of Massimo’s belly. “I’m flattered, Miss—”
“Sylk. Nia Sylk.”
As Massimo took the delicate hand she extended, he quivered at the thought of all that dark, fine, silk wrapped around him. “A very apropos name. Silk happens to be my favorite fabric. So soft and smooth and slick to the touch,” he murmured, slowly caressing the back of her hand with his fingers.
“This Sylk is spelled with a Y,” she said, pulling away from his grasp.
“Just as a rose by any other name is still a rose, silk is silk, whether it’s spelled with an I or a Y.”
Noting the flash of embarrassment that shrouded her face, Massimo knew he was right about her innocence. No sexually experienced woman would blush like that at such a mild overtone. Enough with the games, he thought with a hint of irritation. No need to toy with the prey since he couldn’t gobble her up once he caught her. “To what do I owe the honor of your beautiful acquaintance, Miss Sylk?”
Nia’s skin prickled with warm sensations that had nothing to do with the heat from the fire, but from his touch, his voice, and his overwhelming proximity. No wonder women willingly succumbed to him. The man was potent. Lethal. He knew his debilitating effect on the opposite sex and he took great satisfaction in exercising it.
She looked anxiously around the cabin. The two teenage boys who’d been trying on boots a few minutes ago had left, and the woman behind the rental counter was still engrossed in her sweater-knitting project. The place was deserted, not the kind of ski lodge that attracted many people. Luckily for her, it was the right time and place to cast her bait into the lake. Imposing an iron control on her nerves, Nia said in a low, steady voice, “I want to be your lover.”
His eyes deepened to a cobalt blue. “You’re definitely not shy, Miss Sylk. A properly raised woman would wait for a man to pursue her.”
“Being properly raised doesn’t mean you shouldn’t go after what you want.”
“Bold and beautiful. An intriguing combination.” His eyes flinched like indigo lightning across a lake. “And what makes you think I would want you, Miss Sylk? Women who go around offering themselves to strange men don’t interest me. I chase the women I want, not the other way around. You’re taking all the fun out of the game,” he added with a mocking downward turn of his mouth.
“I’ve never done anything like this before,” Nia said, determined not to let his lack of interest deter her. Or was he just pretending? After all, he was a hound, and hounds never passed up opportunities.
“And I’m supposed to believe you because—”
“I’m a virgin.”
Massimo bounced that unexpected bit of information around in his head. He’d had one virgin in his lifetime, and the experience had been so horrible, he’d sworn off them. But as he gazed into the seductive eyes of Miss Nia Sylk, the very thought of deflowering her, exploring the untouched landscape of her enticing little body made his cock throb. He was much more skillful now, and he was sure the experience would be pleasurable for both of them.
But he was getting married in five days.
Massimo stroked his lower lip with the pad of his thumb as he felt the familiar ache in his groin. If she glanced down, Miss Sylk would know exactly what he wished to do with her. He was never one to hide his desire for a woman. He wasn’t into playing games. Games were for the inexperienced, the uncertain, and the cunning. And something told him that this inexperienced little kitten had a cunning game all plotted out with a trap at the end of her ball of yarn—just for him.
Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Well, she wasn’t an enemy, yet, but she just might become one when she found herself tangled up in her own ball of yarn. He’d be a fool to walk away without knowing why she’d approached him with such an indelicate offer.
For all he knew, Nia could be a Trojan horse his bastard half brother, Galen, had sent to keep him from fulfilling the requirements in his father’s will. Damn his father for putting him in this situation!
It was just payback for his refusing to marry the innocent, young girl his father thought was a suitable match, ten years ago. Massimo had informed his father that he had no intentions of ever marrying any woman. He had no desire to break an innocent girl’s heart like his father had broken his mother’s—like all Andretti men were destined to do.
Luciano had gotten his revenge by stating in his will that if Massimo wanted to inherit Andretti Industries, he must marry on or before his thirty-fourth birthday and produce an heir within a year. Moreover, he had to remain faithfully married for three years or Andretti Industries would go to Galen. The old geezer couldn’t control Massimo from his desk, so he figured he’d do it from his grave.
Massimo had had no idea of Galen’s existence until the reading of his father’s will, six years ago. The shocking information had sent Massimo into a psychological decline and begun a series of incidents that had almost cost him his life. But he’d recovered, and he was ready to fight anyone who got in the way of his goal.
And ‘anyone’ included Miss Nia Sylk, no matter how alluring she was.
“Hello?”
Massimo shook off the odious memories and surveyed the uninvited intrusion into his world. “So, you’re a virgin. What’s the big deal about virgins?”
What’s the big deal? Nia balked at his cavalier response. He’d probably had more than his fair share of virgins. “I thought virgins were every man’s fantasy, Mr. Andretti. I’ve heard that the pleasure of a virginal conquest for a man is equivalent to breaking in a wild horse. Merely a matter of triumph.”
His thick eyebrows arched. “And where specifically did you hear that?”
I have no idea, Nia thought of the lame analogy. Seriously? Momentarily speechless, Nia could do nothing but stare at him. His apparent enjoyment of her inability to deliver a witty response grated on her already sensitive nerves. You’re doing this for Aaron. You have to play along. There’s no room for failure. She took a deliberate step backward, hoping her desperation wasn’t too obvious. “Since you’re not interested, I’ll just—”
“How old are you, Miss Sylk?”
“Old enough to know what I want. I’m ready to be a woman in every sense of the word and I want you—a real man, to teach me, Mr. Andretti.”
“Let me see some ID.”
“You don’t believe me?”
“Since I don’t know you, I can’t very well answer that question fairly. Your hesitation suggests you may have something to hide. Perhaps your name isn’t even Nia Sylk.” He turned and headed toward the door.
Crap. She couldn’t let him leave now that she’d gotten his attention. She’d been waiting all week for this opportunity. Nia pulled her wallet from her purse, yanked out her driver’s license, and rushed after him. “Here.” She shoved it into his hands.
He studied the thin plastic. “So you’re twenty-three, and from Brooklyn.” He handed it back.
“Satisfied?”
“I’m not that easily satisfied, Miss Sylk.”
The cynical twist of his lips and his suggestive gaze ignited fires inside her Nia had never experienced before. She didn’t know exactly what she was supposed to feel when a man like Massimo Andretti looked at her that way. Since her father’s death, she’d been too busy working to support herself and Aaron and stay under the radar of the law. She’d never had time for boyfriends.
She’d been looking forward to having a life, to finally engaging in all the things girls her age had been enjoying since they were teenagers—things she’d had to set aside while she was raising her little brother. She had a lot of catching up to do with partying with her girlfriends, with dating, with falling in love and losing her virginity to the man of her choice. She’d been looking forward to learning, growing, and discovering herself—who she really was.
Instead, here she was, playing a dangerous game with a scoundrel who could hurt her, destroy her innocence before she had time to embrace it. But if she didn’t play along with Massimo, Aaron could die in front of her. So for that reason, with her heart beating wildly in her chest, Nia asked as casually as possible, “Well, are you going to take me up on my offer, Mr. Andretti?”
“What do you want in return for your... virginity?” He flipped his wrist indifferently.
Nia shrugged. “I’m not harboring any silly romantic notions, nor am I expecting any type of commitment, if that’s what you think. I just want to fulfill a fantasy.” That much was true. She’d been fantasizing about Massimo ever since she’d seen him, six years ago.
“You traveled all the way from Brooklyn to offer me your virginity with no ulterior motives. And when I’ve had my fill, you’ll go back to Brooklyn with no hard feelings.”
“Well, that and four million dollars.”
A soft long whistle flowed through his pursed lips. “Is that what a virginity costs these days?”
“Since I haven’t sold one before, I wouldn’t know,” she stated haughtily. She knew four million dollars meant nothing to him. He spent double that on some of his mistresses. He’d bought many of them villas to encourage them to go their ways quietly. It was the MO of Andretti men. They thought anything and anyone could be bought and discarded at will, and that they could change their minds on a deal without any explanation and without any regard to how it affected other people. Their callous behavior had cost her father his life. “Anyway, I’d like the money in cash, if you don’t mind,” Nia added with a dignified jut of her chin.
“Sure. Keep it clean and simple. No paper trails.”
Under his withering gaze, Nia felt like a costly piece of marble being assessed for his private gallery. Perhaps this wasn’t such a very good idea, she thought as the silence grew and thickened. The unreadable, changing expressions in his eyes worried her. What if he was contemplating turning her in for solicitation? The cards were stacked against her. She was a desperate schoolteacher drowning in debt. No one would believe her if she tried to deny the accusations.
On the other hand, Massimo was one of the wealthiest, most handsome, eligible bachelors on the planet. He didn’t have to pay for sex. Everybody would believe his version of the…
“Deal.”
Nia shook her head and blinked. Did he just say…
“Andiamo.” He waved his hand in the air as if he’d just signed a contract on the purchase of a new car and continued on his way to the door.
“Wait!” Panic edged Nia’s voice.
He stopped midstride and turned, his head tipped to one side. “Changing your mind, Miss Sylk? You’re not quite ready to become a woman?”
“There are conditions to my proposal.”
“Now you tell me. Well, let’s hear them.”
Nia’s fist tightened around the cold metal of her purse strap. “I get half the money now and the other half after the— um—” She cleared her throat. “The deed is completed.”
“Fair. Anything else?”
“I need time to get to know you better before I— before you— before we— consummate the agreement.”
“Ahh!” He slapped his palm against his forehead in a clearly mocking manner. “You doubt my performance. Well, I assure you, Miss Sylk, no woman has ever left my bed unsatisfied. I can get my hands on some references if you’d like. I’m certain many of my former lovers would be happy to share their experiences with you. I’ve heard some of them even compare notes—positions, duration, locale. The kinds of things women brag about when they try to outperform each other. Perhaps one day you’ll feel obliged to contribute to the blogs.”
Nia gasped. If she didn’t know it before, she knew now that she was making a pact with the most dangerous man on earth. Yes, they were just words, but they nevertheless sent heat rippling through her at the thought of rubbing skin and swapping bodily fluids with Massimo Andretti, and then blabbing about it. But that’s not the reason she’d come looking for him.
“Well, I’m certain you’re a master at the art of lovemaking, Mr. Andretti. It’s one of the reasons I chose you. But all the same, I just can’t jump into bed with you. A woman’s first time should be special. She should feel comfortable and safe with her partner. I mean, we aren’t even on a first name basis, yet.”
“How much time, Nia?”
“One month.” That should give her enough time to settle her debt with Eddie, make arrangements for a new life with Aaron somewhere out of the country, and escape from Granite Falls with her virginity still intact and two million of Massimo’s dollars in tow—enough to make a decent life for her and Aaron. It wouldn’t make up for five years of suffering, but it would bring her comfort to know she’d outwitted the notorious Massimo Andretti.
“One week,” he said, pulling his mittens from his pockets and slipping them on.
“Three weeks,” Nia countered.
“One.”
“Two?”
“One. You’ll have two million dollars on Friday. I’ll have you next Tuesday, after which you’ll receive the other two million. Fair?”
“Well—”
“That’s my final offer.”
“But—”
“Good day, Miss Sylk.” He reached the door in two swift strides.
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