Taught by the Tycoon Read online

  The immediate flash of jealousy in his eyes only confirmed her suspicions from last night. Theo had put Damiano in a chokehold of guilt, and Damiano was trying to do the right thing. She’d just have to ensure he ended up doing the wrong one.

  They were making decisions for her, as if she were irrelevant in this all. Just a pawn in a game. Well then. She’d just have to play her own gambit.

  Damiano returned to his home in an irritable mood he hadn’t been able to shake since morning. It had taken hold when Rachel had read that text from Lionelli and gotten all flustered.

  He hadn’t been able to make himself leave the house fast enough after that, before he said something he regretted. Or did something like drag her into his arms and kiss the thought of his fellow tycoon away.

  He moved through the house trying to figure out where she’d disappeared to, and then realized she was likely in the very place he’d suggested.

  A quick step outside showed her off at the far end of the pool, lying on one of the lounge chairs.

  She was too far away to see more that a flash of pale flesh and bikini. If he were smart, he’d leave her be and go inside and send the few emails he needed to reply to.

  But at the moment, intelligence seemed to be failing him. He stepped out onto the grounds behind his home and made his way to where she lounged.

  “I hope you’re wearing sunblock?”

  She’d been lying on her stomach, and at the sound of his voice turned over to her back.

  “I am. Though I’m sure quite a bit rinsed off when I swam.”

  Her hair was still damp, curling slightly around the ends that touched the tops of her breasts.

  “Maybe you could help me apply more?” Her smile was lazy. Challenging.

  Merda. She was bent on tempting him.

  “I must attend to business inside.”

  “Oh must you? Really?” Amusement laced her tone. “What happened, Damiano? You were so eager to seduce me, and now it’s as if you couldn’t be bothered to even look my way.”

  Couldn’t be bothered to look her way? Dio, he was having a harder time taking his gaze off her. But he needed to desperately. Needed to not stare at the triangles of crocheted pink fabric on her breasts. At the flat stomach that stretched below it. And he most definitely shouldn’t be staring at the tiny scrap of swimsuit that barely covered the swell of her mound.

  She crossed one long leg over another, and his blood quickened.

  “Let’s just say my conscience kicked in.”

  She arched a brow. “And by conscience you mean my brother?”

  His gaze reluctantly slid to hers. “Sí.”

  “Ah. At least you’ve admitted it.” She unfurled herself from the lounge and walked toward him. “Didn’t you once say that we were both adults?”

  “Rachel.” He didn’t step back, but rasped her name in a plea to cease whatever intentions she had.

  “This trip was about lessons, and you’ve taught me quite a bit already.” She gave a light shrug and toyed with the string that held her bikini top up. “I told you once before that I’m not a virgin, but the two times I’ve had sex were fairly awful.”

  The jealousy that surged through him at the image of her with other men was instant and powerful. So much so, he almost convinced himself he’d heard her next words wrong.

  “And so I’ve decided there’s no reasons for our lessons to stop at the bedroom. Teach me how to be a better lover, Damiano.”

  Chapter 18

  One quick pull on the knot behind her neck had the bikini top half off. His tongue was glued to the roof of his mouth as he tried to protest, but she’d already reached behind her to untie the string at her back.

  Deftly she plucked the top free and tossed it onto the lounger. Her pert breasts were now set free to the Italian sun and his hungry eyes.

  “Rachel,” he said thickly as she took his hands and placed them on her breasts. “Your brother—”

  “Is completely irrelevant in my decisions, and honestly kind of a mood killer, so please don’t bring him up again.”

  He groaned, unable to stop himself from molding the small curves of her breasts in his palms. She made a little gasp of pleasure that completely undid him.

  “Just promise you won’t find some reason to fire me down the road for sleeping with you.” She sounded half-teasing, half-solemn.

  “Sí. I promise,” he rasped, stroking his thumb over her nipples. “But in fair trade, you promise not to sue me for sexual harassment.”

  “I’d never do that. I want you, Damiano. You want me. Let’s deal with this lust and be done—”

  He scooped her up, turning her ridiculous statement about it only being lust into a cry of surprise. Her arms wove around his neck as he carried her past the chaises to the outdoor daybed.

  It did not matter that they were in view of any of his staff whom might walk by or glance out the window. His employees were discreet and likely had disappeared into the large house once he’d approached Rachel outside. They weren’t stupid and knew what might happen.

  The daybed was large and lush, and she reclined against the pillows, naked save for the fabric between her legs. Her expression was one of complete confidence and arousal, but he saw the flicker of nerves in her eyes. She may have had lovers, but it was clear her experience was as limited as she proclaimed.

  He leaned across the cushions and dipped his head, drawing the tip of one dark pink nipple into his mouth.

  “Oh.” She dragged in a sharp breath and her hips lifted.

  He adjusted his position to slide a leg between her spread thighs, letting the apex of her thighs rest against his knee to help ease her ache.

  “Yes.” She gripped his hair, rocking against his knee and breathing raggedly. “Please. Yes.”

  Her words set him on fire and he switched his mouth to the other breast, sucking and teasing the sweet textured tip with his tongue and teeth, until her cries grew more frenzied.

  More. He needed more. To taste her intimately. To watch her fly while he claimed her with his mouth.

  Reaching down between them, he tugged at the strings on either side of her hip, and then plucked the bikini bottoms free.

  “Now. Please now. Take me, Damiano.”

  “Not yet, Dolcezza.” He kissed her belly and teased his tongue into the delicate crater in the middle. Then he moved lower.

  She stiffened. “You don’t have to do that. I don’t need—”

  “I need.” He placed a gentle kiss on the top of her swollen sex.

  “Wait,” her protests became as weak as the hands pushing him away. “I’ve never actually done this.”

  Disbelief momentarily held him still, and then he laughed softly. Then it was no wonder her first attempts at making love had been terrible.

  And what they were about to do was not sex. Italian men made love, and she would quickly learn the difference.

  “You must stop thinking so much, and let yourself enjoy, Dolcezza.” He parted her folds and discovered her pink and glistening flesh.

  His cock became rock hard, and he wondered how in the hell he was going to keep any semblance of control.

  “I don’t know if I can do that.” Her thighs nearly closed on his head.

  “You will learn.” With that, he lowered his mouth to find the sweet bud that would bring her to paradise. And with that first taste, he discovered he’d found his own.

  Oh holy crap.

  Rachel gave a strangled whimper at the first touch of his tongue inside her. Her bottom clenched and she shook her head, but instead of pushing him away she found her hands tightening in his hair now.

  He licked her again, teasing her clit with deliberate strokes and an expertise that made her stop thinking, just as he’d instructed. In fact her mind was doing a lovely job at shutting down completely as each stroke of his tongue brought her infinite pleasure and closer and closer to a climax.

  Her hips rose and sank against him, and she rode the sensation as he
brought her higher. The pressure of him sliding a finger into her channel as he pleased her with his mouth pushed her over the cliff of pleasure.

  Wave after wave of ecstasy slammed through her and she cried out sharply. As the pleasure ebbed away, she struggled to get in more than little gasps for air.

  Never had she come from being with a man before, but only with her own hand. And Damiano had done it twice now. Just moment’s ago faster and easier than any time she’d touched herself. It was almost as mind-blowing as the orgasm she’d just had.

  “I need you. Now,” he rasped.

  She was so weak she could barely protest the absence of his warm body as he left her. Dimly she was aware of him retrieving something from beneath the cushion of the patio bed.

  As he slipped on a condom, it became clear. She dimly thought of the one foil packet she’d left next to the chaise lounger where she’d sat earlier. She’d put it there when she’d planned this whole seduction. She never would’ve remembered. It was him who’d had the sense to use a condom.

  She wouldn’t let herself think about how he apparently kept a stash beneath the cushions to no doubt be available when he seduced other women here. Right now it was just the two of them. It was the moment she’d tried so hard to deny she wanted. But she did want it. More than anything she’d ever wanted.

  When he wedged between her thighs, she parted them further to make room for him. The tip of his erection pressed between her swollen, sensitized flesh and her mouth parted on a silent sigh.

  He braced himself above her before sinking slowly inside. She grasped his shoulders, watching his face and the myriad of pleasure on it as he entered her.

  The pleasure had to mirror her own. He stretched and filled her so completely that she could only whimper as she accepted his intimate invasion.

  Sunk to the hilt now, he closed his eyes and shuddered. “Dio, Rachel, but you feel incredible.”

  She couldn’t manage more than a guttural mmmph in reply, when in her head she screamed yes. She tried to move and he shook his head.

  “Not yet. Let me enjoy being inside you for just one moment.”

  She let her gaze move down to where they were joined, and the sensual image had her growing wetter.

  “Dio. What are you doing to me?” he choked out.

  When he finally began to move inside her, she tried to match his rhythm. Was driven by the need and urgency growing inside her again. But he was like a man possessed, needing to rid himself of demons as he plunged into her. Again and again. Faster. Then harder.

  He lowered his head and took her mouth the same way he took her body. Demanding. Thorough. Leaving no part explored.

  As he rode her fiercely, there was a tiny bit of pain that turned her pleasure into a tidal wave. She found another orgasm, smaller this time, but still intense, as he moved into his own shuddering climax.

  When it was over, and his body lay heavily upon hers—his face buried against her neck—she waited for her heart to return to normal.

  Though she saw the hypocrisy of that thought right away. Something had changed in her heart, even before she’d slept with Damiano. There would be no normal with her heart when it came to him. Tonight had just cemented it.

  She closed her eyes against the prick of tears.

  Damiano lifted his head from her neck. “Any regrets?”

  Damiano had no intention of settling down anytime soon and had said so often. She knew he enjoyed his bachelor lifestyle. So she would take this week together and play along with the little ‘lessons’ ploy. Because she knew after tonight she could never consider Samuele Lionelli as a lover. It would probably be a long time before she took any other man to her bed.

  But none of that mattered now. All that mattered was exploring this passion and pleasure with Damiano. One week.

  She opened her eyes and found his gaze on her. His eyes held a mix of passion, amusement, but more so a strange intensity that had her heart thumping.

  She gave a small shake of her head, then softly said, “No regrets.”

  The rest of the week flew by, with all business meetings over and out of the way. They made love any time and place they could. Any thoughts Rachel had initially had about being bad in bed had disappeared after her first experience with Damiano.

  It wasn’t that she’d been terrible at sex; it had just been the men she’d been with had been selfish lovers. Damiano was a passionate, considerate lover and always put her pleasure first.

  As the weekend approached, and she knew they would soon fly home to New York, her stomach seemed to be constantly queasy.

  It was so easy to forget everything while they lazed about in a luxury home on Lake Como. So easy not to think about tomorrow and just stay caught up in the passion.

  But back home it would be back to normal. Only, how did they find their old normal when things were so clearly different? Did the charade end the moment his plane touched down in New York?

  When not making love, her days had been filled with sun and relaxation, swimming in the lake and pool. There’d been no further contact from Samuele Lionelli, and she had to admit she was a little relieved by the fact. Samuele was a reminder that this week wasn’t real. That it was all in pretense. Partly for her, and partly for Damiano.

  “We’re having an early lunch with my mother tomorrow before we fly out.”

  His mother was another reminder that this wasn’t real. Rachel glanced up from where she was curled into a couch reading a book.

  “It’s probably a good idea.” She felt compelled to agree. “You’ll want to see her before we go home.”

  Damiano sat down at the end of the couch and pulled her feet onto his lap. When he began to massage them she made a happy murmur of approval.

  “I should warn you that Maria may be there.”

  So maybe the massage had been a way to soften the bad news? “Ah. I see. Is that why you’re bringing me to lunch?”

  “You would join me regardless.” He gave a small shrug. “We are feigning a serious relationship, it would only make sense that you be by my side.”

  Feigning one. Most of this week they hadn’t spoke about the forces that drove them to this pretense. His words were a small, yet painful reminder that although they made love, he was not committed to exclusivity with her. He could walk out that door and flirt with any of the pretty, sophisticated women wandering around town.

  “Of course, you’re right.” She set the book down. “What happens when we return to work on Monday, Damiano?”

  His lips twisted in amusement. “I suppose we work, as tedious as that may be.”

  “No, I mean with the two of us. What happens?” She paused and nibbled her lip. “When do I publicly end this fake romance of ours?”

  His skilled hands paused in their massaging for a moment. “Does it have to end right away?”

  Her heart skipped. “Is there any reason for it to continue?”

  “I don’t know, I quite like this little arrangement we have between us. I’m not entirely sure I want it to end come Sunday.”

  Chapter 19

  “Hmm.” Rachel allowed her lashes to fall at his surprising confession. Each stroke of his thumb over her foot sent shivers through her and had her blood warming. Made the area between her thighs start to ache and dampen.

  She wanted him again. Which really shouldn’t have been a surprise, because all he had to do was look at her and she wanted him.

  “When do you want it to end?” She watched him beneath her lashes. “Or are you wanting something more...permanent?”

  “I’m not looking for a relationship at the moment, Rachel. And marriage isn’t even on my horizon.”

  Embarrassment slid through her blood. “I realize that, and I wasn’t asking for either of those. I just don’t have any idea what you want from me.”

  He lifted a brow. “No idea? Really?”

  “Well, clearly you want that. But you’ve never struggled to find a lover, and I’m really not all that special.
”

  “Oh but you are.” His soft words sent a thrill through her. “I’m insatiable with you, Dolcezza, and I shouldn’t admit it. Though I can hardly hide it.”

  “Likewise,” she whispered, finding no reason to lie. “Will it eventually fade? Become less...good?”

  “Undoubtedly. Which is why we should enjoy it and each other while we can.”

  “So we should just turn this into a real affair, not a fake one?”

  He nodded. “We keep it discreet, no one needs to know any more than what they saw on the gossip site. It’s all speculation. We have not actually given confirmation that we are in a relationship. We simply allowed my family here to believe it.”

  “So we keep it in the shadow. As if I were your mistress.”

  Guilt flashed in his eyes, and he gave a terse shake of his head. “That word is old-fashioned.”

  “Yes. I suppose another term would be friends with benefits.” She gave a small, somewhat dejected laugh when he winced. “Well you don’t want commitment, you’ve just admitted it.”

  His massaging fingers began to work their way up her calf, and she couldn’t suppress a whimper of pleasure.

  “And is commitment what you are after?”

  She bit back the yes that hovered on her tongue. Her pride wouldn’t allow her to admit that maybe it was. She didn’t like the idea of sharing him with another woman, but she wasn’t foolish enough to think he’d be faithful to her after a while.

  Instead she gave a small shrug and ignored his question. “All I’m saying is we wouldn’t be in a relationship, and we’d be free to see other people.”

  His eyes darkened. “I don’t want anyone else at the moment.”

  Her heart stumbled at the confession. But it was just pretty words, and he had to know that and was using it to his advantage.

  “You have a short attention span when it comes to women.”

  “But right now you fill it completely.”

  “For how long?” Hating this conversation the longer it continued, she shook her head. Her body was humming with arousal again. He’d awoken her need with just a foot massage. She was literally that easy.