LITMIR.BIZ

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anything will ever be. And if I had any doubt that you want me as much, those…fireworks put it to rest. The desire between us is not only as explosive as before, it has intensified. We’re more complex people now, with far more extensive knowledge of ourselves and the world, and it has only deepened our attraction.”

      He let go of her hand after he’d decimated whatever reason or resistance she had. As he dried the puddle she’d made, she wanted to tell him to get something bigger. For the puddle she’d become.

      He went on, intensity now morphed into matter-of-factness. “But I’m only declaring my intent. This time I’m not sweeping you away to bed. It’s up to you when you decide to come to me.”

      So über-businessman was back, huh? With the need for driving his bid home over and said bid certain to be soon begged for?

      “When, not if, huh?” He gave her a serene look. Wanna contest that? it said. And oh, how she wished she could. She couldn’t. Not when the truth was I wanna come to you…right now.

      She groped for something to say that wouldn’t be a lie or made her a self-destructive fool. “And what about the storm of speculation this will kick up? You don’t care what your possible future subjects think of your actions?”

      “Of course not.” He made it sound as if he’d care about the opinion of the island’s population of monk seals first. “You will have an official job of the highest order. Whatever else we choose to be involved in is our business. We are both free agents and too grown-up to care what people think or say.”

      “That wasn’t your position in the past, when you were obsessively secretive about our…liaison.”

      Something harsh flared in his eyes. Or maybe she’d imagined it. Her powers of observation weren’t the epitome of reliability right now. “My reasons for secrecy no longer apply now.”

      Yeah, tell her about it. Worrying that their liaison would threaten his chances of capturing the crown wasn’t a consideration now. They’d give it to him this time even if he kept a harem.

      “And with the changes in circumstances and in ourselves, we owe it to what we have raging between us to explore it to the fullest, without the shackles our old situation imposed on it.”

      “So this is all about ‘what we have raging between us’? It has nothing to do with having your way after all these years? Not that I know if your offer then was to ‘live’ with you, mind you.”

      His eyes turned unfathomable. “It was something along those…lines. And you think this has an element of payback?”

      “Why not? You’re a man who’s used to having all your whims bowed to. Both Castaldini and I thwarted you then. You’d be getting even with both in one fell swoop.”

      “You still can’t believe revenge is not my style, eh? No, Phoebe, this has nothing to do with asserting my will, over you or Castaldini. This is purely what I want. What I’m burning for.”

      She struggled to gulp down the heart that kept squeezing into her throat. “But if you’re making it a condition of coming back to Castaldini, then it’s an ultimatum that reeks of coercion.”

      “It’s a statement of intent. And then, what reason do you have to say no? When it’s clear no one you’ve been with has measured up to me?”

      He paused. Waiting for a corroboration?

      He’d have to wait another lifetime.

      When she made no answer, he again decimated all projections of what he’d say next. “I haven’t found anyone to hold a candle to you, either. And I felt that way when I held memories of your far less potent self. As you did of me. Now, I can hardly imagine what it will be like between us. But I intend to find out. I need to, to get this out of my system, as you said. I believe you need it, too. And we should wallow in every second of it.”

      Okay. He had been lying through his teeth. He was out to exact revenge on her. The cruelest, most annihilating sort. She could feel months ticking off her life expectancy with each word.And whatever turmoil didn’t consume, temptation would.

      But she had to kick to the surface for one last breath before she sank to the bottom under the weight of both.

      “And that’s your position concerning me made crystal-clear. Great.” She inhaled. “About your position on Castaldini. I admit I let prejudices form my opinion of why you’d be the worst thing that could happen to Castaldini now. But I still believe you would be more hazard than help. Don’t get me wrong, I do think that, with the methods you used to build your financial empire, compounded with the views you gave me a glimpse of, you’d make a formidable ruler. But I don’t think you’re best suited to be Castaldini’s.”

      And he laughed until she almost slumped off her stool.

      He wiped his eyes, his laughter subsiding. “Ah, Phoebe, every word you say makes me more undecided. Are you being Castaldini’s top negotiator, so devious you’re saying exactly what will reel me in to the challenge, or are you being confrontational for the sake of it and as unprofessional as you accused me of being?”

      “I’d love to lay claim to deviousness. But I can’t.” She shot him a sullen look. “Not with you around.”

      “So you’re being confrontational and unprofessional?”

      “Just appallingly, undiplomatically truthful. I think you’re unbelievably powerful and proficient. But you’re also driven and fixated on a certain mindset. You could make a magnificent king if you would consider other outlooks, if you would temper your views and methods. If you don’t, you could put an end to the monarchy.”

      “And you wonder why only you will do?” He pulled her to him again and robbed her of inhibitions and self-preservation. All she wanted to do was nuzzle him, inhale him, open her mouth over his pulse, taste his vitality and forget that a time when he wasn’t filling her world had or would ever come. “So that’s your opinion concerning my eligibility for Castaldini’s crown. What of my eligibility to be your lover? Are you going to sacrifice your truthfulness and say I’m not the best man for that role?”

      He wanted a verbal confession? Tough. He’d have to settle for her turning into estrogen goo in his arms.

      “What I want to know is, is your condition a deal breake—?”

      He didn’t let her finish. “Definitely.”

      “And you say it isn’t a coercive ultimatum?”

      He pulled her almost over his lap, cupped her face in his large hand with such gentleness. Everything inside her surged, tensed. “You need to get one thing straight, Phoebe. I spent my first thirty years with one goal on my mind: becoming the king of Castaldini. Then, suddenly, it was not an option anymore. I no longer believe it’s my destiny. I’m willing to give it a chance, but if you refuse my condition, I’ll be relieved, since that will put an end to your mission. They’ll be forced to go after Durante or Ferruccio and leave me out of it. And without the intrusion of duty, I’ll make you mine again that much sooner.”

      “Then you’re not giving the crown serious consideration,” she gasped. “It’s just a pretext for what you really want.”

      “I always give any undertaking my absolute best intentions and efforts to produce the best possible results, and that’s what I will give the succession proposition. But you’re right. You are what I really want. You once knew how much I can want. It’s nothing to how much I want you now. I put duty and the world’s expectations ahead of my desires before. But I’ve lived too hard and I know now what really matters to me. Having you, slaking my thirst for you, is my number one priority. It’s what I need. Anything else comes second. Or not at all. Your choice. But whatever you choose, I’m making you mine again. It’s up to you if I do it while giving Castaldini another chance.”

      Too much. What he was. What he said. What he did to her. “Resistance is futile, huh?”

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