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“Life is about more than what can be bought.”
He agreed, leaning over to whisper in my ear, “Life is about good sex.”
I gasped, and he chuckled at catching me off guard. If he thought keeping me off balance would tip the scales in his favor, he was wrong. Even if his voice in my ear had just started percolating my blood with a heat I remembered all too well.
I swallowed, forcing a smile. “Yeah, well, we’re not having sex, so...” Keep telling yourself that and you might believe it. It was absolutely essential that neither one of us was naked around the other—that was just asking for trouble.
“Let’s make this week interesting,” he proposed with a playful glint in his eye. “We will compromise—”
“Donatos don’t compromise,” I cut in flatly.
“There’s a first time for everything,” he countered with a small smile. “Are you interested in hearing my proposal?”
No. Yes. Well, maybe. “If only out of sheer curiosity,” I answered, one brow climbing with skepticism. “What is this compromise?”
“If you agree to splitting our days between things I want to do, I will agree to do what you want to do without complaint. I get three days, you get three days, with the last day reserved for travel.”
“Technically, someone is going to get shafted, because today is a travel day, too.”
“Unfortunately, as you’ve already picked hostel living for our first day, you’ve used up one of your days,” he explained, matter-of-fact. “Unless you’d like to change your mind about staying in a hipster hotel. I’d be happy to make arrangements at the Four Seasons.”
I hesitated, weighing his offer. I could tell by the way his gaze intensified that he sensed victory, but he never made the rookie mistake of celebrating too early. He knew I was intrigued by his offer. I was even curious as to how he’d choose to spend his days when I’d taken sex off the table.
But I also knew giving a Donato room to wiggle was dangerous.
“Why do you care, Luca? Wouldn’t it be so much easier to just walk away?” I asked, exasperated by the allure of the game beginning between us. It felt too familiar, too entertaining. I didn’t want to feel anything remotely positive with Luca, because I didn’t want to question or regret my decision.
Luca offered a brief smile before saying with a shrug, “You signed a contract. If being a part of this family has taught you anything, it is that you honor your commitments.”
Not because he loved me, but because Donato men didn’t walk away from an investment. I smothered my disappointment. “Very Game of Thrones of you, but I’m no Lannister—nor am I a Donato. You and I both know that contracts entered into with a child are illegal and, thus, nonbinding. Your family and my father conducted an illegal sale of a person. Even with all your money, that’s still illegal—and despicable, I might add.”
“Have you wanted for anything?” he returned, that tiny twitch returning to his jaw that gave away his temper. “Have you been mistreated in any way?”
“Not the point,” I said stubbornly, shaking my head. “Still illegal.”
“The finest schools, the best opportunities, every need provided for... Yes, I can see how you received the sharp end of this deal.” He stopped me before I could jump in, adding, “And not to put too fine a point on your argument, but you were perfectly amenable to the arrangement until your ego was bruised. Suddenly, you were a victim and we were the devil. So, please, when you’re forming your narrative in your head, be sure to paint yourself with the same colors as you’ve assigned everyone else.”
No one liked to be called on their bullshit, and I was no exception. “Well, even the devil was an angel before he fell” was all I could offer by way of an excuse, because he was right. There was a time when I’d been blissfully happy, blessed even, not because of the money and the privilege, but because I’d been in love with a man I thought felt the same way about me.
“Better to reign in hell than serve in heaven,” Luca said with a flippant shrug. “Let me know your decision before we land. Now, if you don’t mind, I’m going to catch up on some sleep. Feel free to glower out the window, but do so silently.”
“I don’t glower,” I muttered, but he’d already tuned me out and my anxiety medication was making me sleepy. There was no point in arguing an unfortunate fact. Yes, I’d been in love with Luca, and being his bride had been my favorite daydream.
But things changed. People woke up. And rose-colored glasses often broke under the pressure of reality.
I couldn’t marry Luca—not if I wanted anything that was truly me to survive.
CHAPTER THREE (#u36704d03-5952-5d74-ac3b-a1fcfd0985ea)
Katherine
IN SPITE OF the medication, I couldn’t sleep, unlike Luca, who slept like a baby without a care in the world. While I tried to find a comfortable position, he snored lightly, deep in dreamland.
It was just like a Donato to manipulate a situation to their advantage in any way possible. I sneaked a glance at his profile. Dark hair, sharply barbered with perfect edges, his clean-shaven jaw without a single nick, as if even the blade was afraid of failing a Donato.
But I remembered a time when Luca wasn’t so concerned with the appearance of perfection.
When he’d smiled with warmth, when his blue eyes had sparkled with mischief and fun.
I squeezed my eyes shut against the unwelcome memories that began to spill forward with the slightest encouragement. That was the thing about opening a door, right? Hard to slam shut once the wind started pushing against it.
“You’re so beautiful...”
Luca’s voice echoed, a distant remnant of a different time between two different people.
It’d been a humid day in the city, and my prep school graduation from Dalton loomed. Luca had spirited me away with a promise of a private celebration between the two of us.
I remembered everything about that day—the smell of the wind as it made my hair dance through the open convertible top of his Maserati—how I couldn’t keep the hem of my sundress from rippling up my thighs and Luca couldn’t keep his eyes on the road.
“We’re going to crash.” I’d laughed, gesturing at him to stay focused, but I was drunk on his affection, his seeming obsession with me. I teased him with flirty looks cast his way, knowing I was driving him nuts. “Where are we going?” I asked, grinning.
“You’ll see.”
I loved the way he took control. I always felt safe with Luca. He seemed so worldly, so accomplished.
Of course, he was the Donato heir—the expectations were high. Giovanni Donato had groomed him from the time he was a kid to take the reins when the time came for the mean-eyed bear to retire.
Giovanni scared me and always had. It amazed me that Luca sprang from Giovanni’s DNA. Luca was nothing like his father. Luca was kind, sweet, caring and so romantic, whereas Giovanni was cold, manipulative and quite comfortable playing the bad guy if need be. To be honest, I avoided Giovanni whenever I could, which wasn’t difficult, as Giovanni paid as little attention to me as he would the multitude of servants looking after his palatial mansion.
But who cared about Giovanni Donato, anyway? He wasn’t around. It was just me and Luca, and I was his princess. The sleek car ate the road as we headed to our unknown destination. The joy in my heart was near to bursting. I was living the dream. How’d I get so lucky?
Just as I was about to scream from the building anticipation, Luca pulled into a dirt driveway lined with a white picket fence for as far as I could see. Rolling hills with gently swaying dried grass waved as we drove by, and cows dotted the pastureland.
“Where are we?” I asked, delighted as we parked in front of a huge farmhouse, chickens clucking and scratching around the front yard. It was like the living embodiment of “The Farmer in the Dell.”
“I thought you might like this place,” Luca said, opening my door with a wide smile. “It’s a sanctuary for animals that have been rescued from abusive owners.”
My eyes widened as I exclaimed, “Do they have goats? Oh, please, say they have goats!”
“They have goats.”
I squealed and jumped into his arms, wrapping my legs around his strong torso. His hands cupped my behind as he laughed at my enthusiasm while I peppered his adorable face with kisses. “You’re the best! This is amazing! I can’t believe you brought me here.”
Luca knew I’d always been obsessed with goats; they always made me laugh and I’d tried, unsuccessfully, to get approval from my dorm manager to have one as a pet.
I hopped down and slid my hand into his as we walked into the farmhouse, a permanent smile on my face. The old hardwood groaned in welcome beneath our feet, and the smell of beeswax and lemon was the most heavenly aroma I’d ever known.
“You must be Mr. and Mrs. Donato,” a plump woman said, coming forward as she wiped her hands on the apron tied around her ample waist.
I blushed at her assumption, biting my lip at the wild thrill of being called Mrs. Donato, but Luca corrected her with a coy “She’s not mine yet, but hopefully someday.” I wanted to pinch him playfully. Of course, I would marry him at twenty-three, after I graduated college, but no one knew that.
“Young lovebirds.” She sighed as if remembering her own youth. “Well, I’m Mrs. Ellering, but you can call me Iris. Welcome to Knucklebocker Sanctuary. We’ve prepared a special day for you and your sweetheart. Just follow me.”
Oh, that sneaky devil had prepared everything in advance, and I loved it.
“I heard someone is an animal lover?” Iris prompted as she led us to the large redwood barn.
“That’s me,” I piped up, squeezing Luca’s hand as I beamed. “I hope to work with animals someday. Maybe go to veterinary school.”
“That’s a noble profession,” Iris said, pushing open the barn doors. The scents of barn wood, hay and horse poop immediately assaulted my nose, but I liked it. It was so earthy and unlike the city that I drank in the ambience. Plus, the fact that Luca had arranged everything made it extra special.
“Harvard,” Iris called out, “we have guests.”
A bald, wiry man in faded overalls and a full white beard appeared from a stall where a horse nickered. “You them fancy folk from the city that’s bought us out for the day?” he asked.
I tried not to blush, but Luca answered for us both, saying good-naturedly, “What gave it away? My soft hands?”
“Oh, go on now, be nice.” Iris waved at her husband with mock disapproval, but it was easy to see they were both playing around. My heart melted a little at how easily the older couple flowed together, an obvious by-product of a long, happy marriage. I tightened my grip on Luca with a wistful sigh. That will be us, someday...
I awoke with a start, realizing that I’d been dreaming and we were landing. Luca was already awake, his attention focused on his phone.
What a difference from then to now. Gone were the smiles, the laughter...the sweet, good-natured Luca who went out of his way to make me happy with an over-the-top gesture, replaced by this manipulative caricature dressed in a ten-thousand-dollar suit.
I absently rubbed at the dismal chord that twanged in my chest. If I cared, I might’ve mourned the loss of the man I used to know, but I didn’t care. Disdain had replaced any pain that lingered, and I was grateful. Just as Luca wasn’t the man he used to be, I wasn’t the girl he used to know, either.
If Luca thought he could persuade me to forget the past with this phony seduction act, he didn’t know how much I’d truly changed. Of course, Luca probably felt secure in the idea that he could win this little wager; otherwise he wouldn’t have extended the offer.
Time to negotiate. “I want our deal in writing,” I said.
“You don’t trust me?” He tsked as if I were being unfair. When I didn’t budge, he relented. “Fine. Anything else?”
“Yes, I will give you seven days, but at the end of those seven days, when I haven’t changed my mind, you will not only agree to end my contract, but you will not seek any damages from the breach and you will leave me to live in peace. I never want to see you or another Donato again. Clear?”
“If I can’t change your mind,” he repeated, but there was something about his tone that sent a warning chill dancing along my skin. “But I will change your mind, Katherine. I have no doubt that by the end of the week, possibly sooner, I’ll be between your legs and you’ll be gasping my name.”
I sucked in an embarrassed breath, glancing around quickly to see if anyone had caught what he’d said. “I said no sex,” I said with a sharp hiss. “Absolutely no sex. No touching, no sucking, kissing or licking...nothing.”
His knowing chuckle undid me, and I suffered an intense need to run far and fast. It was as if he could sense that my heart rate tripled when he was around, that my skin heated and my toes curled inside my shoes against my will.
My attraction to him was mortifying. My dignity cringed and wailed, Remember how he destroyed you without skipping a beat? Do you want to be tied to him for the rest of your life? Afraid of when he’ll, no doubt, do it again?
God, no. Then suck it up, buttercup, and get ready to win at all costs. I swallowed the lump stuck in my throat but held my ground. “No sex,” I growled.
“Fine.” He sighed but then added with a silky whisper against the shell of my ear, “But I promise I won’t think less of you in the morning if you change your mind.”
A tremble rattled my knees. Was I afraid that he was right? That it wouldn’t take much for me to crumple beneath his touch if I so much as gave him one single opportunity? That if I did let him in, I’d willingly bare my neck for the slaughter as I sank into the pleasure that I knew he could wring from my body? Okay, maybe that part was a little dramatic, but my life was on the line. And as much as I hated to admit it, sex with Luca had been pretty good. Okay, spectacular.
True story—after one particularly long and exquisite orgasm, I temporarily went deaf. Yeah, that had done wonders for Luca’s already healthy ego when I’d shared that phenomenon with him.
But no one had been able to deliver that kind of pleasure since, so I knew Luca had some skill.
Immaterial, I reminded myself when I started to drift. I didn’t want to live my life as a Donato Stepford wife. I knew that for certain, and no amount of stellar sex was going to change that fact.
I just had to keep my eye on the prize—my freedom—and everything would work out in my favor.
I could handle seven days.
Lifting my chin, I held Luca’s stare, reiterating my terms. “In writing, please.”
There went that damnable smile again as he said, “I’ll have my lawyer draft something immediately.”
And I wasn’t sure if I’d just made a very big mistake.
CHAPTER FOUR (#u36704d03-5952-5d74-ac3b-a1fcfd0985ea)
Luca
TRUE TO MY WORD, I had a draft contract, simple and concise, emailed to me within an hour of checking into the roach motel passing itself off as a hostel. As Katherine perused the wording with the diligence of a woman signing away her soul to the devil, I wondered how quickly she would notice that the single bed in the room was quite small.
If she thought I was going to sleep on the floor, she was nuts. I’d seen toilets in third-world countries cleaner than this dingy, faded linoleum, and I wasn’t touching it with my bare feet, much less my backside.
“Everything in order?” I asked.
A subtle frown pulled on her forehead as she double-checked everything. Her frown deepened as she regarded me with irritation. “The bedroom clause? I told you no sex.”
“Are you saying you can’t sleep beside me without tearing off my clothes and having your wicked way with me?”
“Please—” she rolled her eyes “—you know I won’t have a problem, but you, on the other hand... I don’t believe you can keep your hands to yourself.”
Oh, sweet Katherine, you’re going to beg for my hands—and tongue—by the time I’m through with you. “I guess we’ll have to see,” I said with a small shrug. “Anything else?”
The indecision as she vacillated between refusing to sign and going forward was intriguing. I think of the many things I enjoyed about Katherine, it was her stubborn refusal to simply do as she was told. Maybe I was tired of people always jumping when I barked. I wouldn’t put it past Katherine to rip up the contract out of spite.
Finally, she signed her name with flourish, chewing her plump bottom lip as she finished. “There. Done. You get one week and then I’m gone.”
“So the contract says,” I agreed, causing her to cast a suspicious look my way. I smiled. “Now that the legalities are out of the way...shall we discuss the schedule?”
Katherine drew a deep breath and exhaled with a nod. “Might as well.”
“We can do this one of two ways. You can take all your days consecutively or we can trade off. Which do you prefer?”
“I prefer not having you in my space at all,” she answered with a perfunctory smile. “But seeing as I just agreed to this ridiculous game, we’ll switch off.”
“Excellent,” I said, already ready to vacate this trash bin. I would have the penthouse suite booked at the most exclusive hotel in the city for tomorrow. At the very least, I’d get a decent shower, which I knew wasn’t going to happen here. “On to the second order of business...as you can see, the bed is quite small.”
“I wasn’t counting on company,” Katherine said, but she could already see where I was heading. “I guess you’ll have to sleep on the floor.”
“You and I both know that’s not going to happen.”
