Wife By Force: International Billionaires II: The Italians Read Online Free PDF

should be at his headquarters in Florence, telling people what to do.
    Not here, swimming. Half-naked.
    Causing a flutter of lust in her abdomen.
    She turned to walk back to her car. Taking a few steps down the path, she didn’t quite run, but...
    “Running away?” A deep silky voice slid around her.
    The accusation stopped her cold. She never ran away now. Never. Turning, she met his gaze. “No.”
    He’d put both of his arms on the edge of the pool and the action highlighted the bulge of his shoulder muscles. A trace of dark hair covered his pectorals.
    Lara forced herself to stare at the surrounding gardens.
    “It looked like you were leaving.”
    “You’re mistaken.” Why couldn’t she have slipped away before he saw her? Now she was stuck. Her pride demanded she not run away.
    “Good.” He lifted his long body out of the water, drawing her gaze once more. Pacing to one of the many lounge chairs lining the tiled patio, he picked up a towel and slid it over his hair, his torso lengthening, his skin glowing in the sun.
    Her nipples tightened. She gave thanks for the extra covering of her pool dress.
    “ Vene .” He lowered the towel, gesturing to a chair right next to his. “Join me.”
    “Where is everybody?” She stayed right where she was.
    A black brow arched. “Everybody?”
    “Your sisters.” Her hand waved pathetically in the air. “Their kids.”
    “They were not invited.”
    “But…but…” she sputtered. “Your housekeeper—”
    “Invited you.”
    He eased down on the lounge and closed his eyes. Relief spread through her, knowing his dark gaze was no longer fastened on her. Irritation quickly followed. “You tricked me.”
    One eye opened at her accusation. “How did I do that?”
    “You knew I wouldn’t come—”
    “Yet, here you are.” His eye closed. He took a deep breath in and the play of his muscles rippled under his skin.
    The heat between her legs surged. “I have to leave.”
    “You mean…run away.”
    The challenge zapped steel up her spine. “I don’t run away.”
    “You never did as a child,” he said, a soft slur to his words as if he were falling asleep. “I wouldn’t expect you to do it at present.”
    She suddenly had the feeling she stood before two paths. Two roads leading to two very different conclusions. Which was absurd. This was nothing except an afternoon swim, with someone she despised instead of with a group of women she adored. He’d tricked her, and the resulting annoyance churning inside her would help her get through this miserable interlude without letting her libido go wild.
    She walked to a chair one removed from his, laid out her towel, and eased her body down. Heat lapped up from the white tiles, warming the tension from her limbs. The breeze whispered along her face and legs, providing a bit of coolness.
    His eyes remained closed.
    Slowly, she relaxed on the soft give of the cushion.
    Minutes ticked by without a movement across from her. The hot sun beat on her skin and the pool dress became sticky with sweat. Why was she huddling in this thing because of him? This was nonsense. She would take no notice of him and enjoy the swim she’d looked forward to as she drove here.
    Lifting herself to a sitting position, she untied the dress and slipped it off her shoulders.
    “At last,” he murmured. “I was beginning to think you were ashamed of your body.”
    “Of course not,” she snapped. Was he staring at her as she had stared at him? She didn’t want to know, didn’t want to see what was in his eyes as he inspected her body. She didn’t care. Turning her head from him, she closed her own eyes and willed her body to relax.
    “Perhaps then, you are suffering from a cold?”
    “No.”
    “That is a relief.” A taunt laced his words.
    A recollection swirled in her brain. Of the boy teasing her, tugging her hair, making her giggle. She didn’t feel like giggling now, though. She felt like snarling at him.
    Ignore him . She opened