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lover.

      A woman with a face like a madonna’s would surely have a lover.

      Would he be a man she could command? Yes. Of course. And what a pity that was because what the lady needed was a lover whose touch would make her tremble. Whose kisses would melt her icy hauteur. Who would make love to her until she begged for mercy…

      “Barbieri!”

      Nicolo forced the darkness away, looked at the expressions on his friends’ faces—and realized that he had held his glass so tightly it had shattered.

      Whiskey puddled on the table.

      “Merda,” he growled, and dabbed furiously at the spreading pond of golden liquid with a napkin.

      “Never mind that. Did you cut yourself?”

      Had he? Nicolo checked.

      “No. Not a scratch.” He forced a laugh and held out his hand. “See? Relax, Reyes. There won’t be a lawsuit.”

      But Lucas wasn’t buying into the poor attempt at humor.

      “Amigo, I’m not the one who needs to relax. You’re wound tighter than a spring.”

      Nicolo thought about denying it but what was the point? These men knew him too well.

      “You’re right. I am, and I’m sorry I’m spoiling your evening.” He pushed back his chair. “The truth is, I can’t keep my mind on things tonight, so I’m going to head back to my hotel. I told you, that meeting—”

      “We’ve known you too long to fall for that. Tough negotiations don’t stress you, Barbieri. You live for them.” Laughing, Damian nudged Lucas in the ribs with his elbow. “It’s a woman. Admit it.”

      Nicolo gave a deliberately careless shrug. Maybe if he made light of it…

      “Okay,” he said, “it is. But I’ll get over it.”

      “Of course you will.” Lucas leaned closer. “And I know the quickest way to do it. It’s like drinking, Nicolo. Remember, back in college? The hair of the dog cure after too much partying? You wake with a hangover, you get rid of it by taking a drink. Well, you have a woman on the brain, you cure that by—”

      “Lucas,” a soft voice purred, “darling Lucas, here you are! We’ve been looking everywhere.”

      Five women had materialized beside the table. All stunning. All smiling as if they’d found the lost treasure of the Amazons.

      “The hair of the dog, my man,” Damian whispered, and Nicolo thought, Why not?

      Chairs were dragged over. Introductions were made. Champagne corks popped. After a few minutes, one of the women—her name was Vicki—turned to Nicolo.

      “Lucas tells me you’re a royal”

      Nicolo looked over her shoulder. Lucas grinned and winked.

      “Lucas is a comedian,” he said.

      “I’m famous, too.” She giggled. “Well, not yet but someday. Maybe you’ve seen me? I’ve been in—”

      A list of plays. Or TV shows. Or something. He didn’t know, didn’t care, and stole a surreptitious glance at his watch. When could he get out of here without insulting the lady or putting a damper on the party?

      Not that she wasn’t beautiful. And friendly. She smiled a lot. Put her hand on his arm. Asked him the questions a man likes to be asked.

      It was an old game, one he’d played often. The outcome was always understood. And pleasant.

      Amazingly pleasant.

      He felt his blood tingle. Damian was right. Lucas, too. This was what he needed. A willing, beautiful woman. A game with a predictable ending. A night’s pleasure.

      Wasn’t it bad enough the woman with the violet eyes had made a fool of him once? Was he going to let her do it again by keeping him from what waited for him now?

      Nicolo pushed back his chair. Took Vicki’s hand.

      “Dance with me.”

      He led her down the steps to the dance floor. Salsa music blasted the air, its insistent beat almost as sexual as the moves of Vicki’s ripe body lightly brushing his.

      Yes. This was good. This was what he needed…

      But it wasn’t. It was the wrong body, teasing his. The wrong face, lifted to his and smiling. The wrong eyes, filled with heat and desire.

      Basta, he thought in disgust, and he put his arms around the woman and brought her tightly against him as the music segued into something slow and sexy.

      She settled close against him as if she’d been waiting for the invitation. Her hair tickled his nose. It was stiff and smelled of hairspray.

      Those honeyed curls this afternoon had been soft and fragrant with rain.

      “It’s terribly noisy here,” Vicki said, her breath warm against his ear.

      Why don’t we find a quieter place? That was the next line. His, or in these days of supposed equality, it could be—

      “Why don’t we find a quieter place?” she whispered.

      Nicolo cleared his throat.

      “You know,” he said, “I think that’s—I think it’s—” An excellent idea. “I think I’ll have to take a rain check on that,” he heard himself say.

      She looked as surprised as he felt but, damn it, he didn’t want this woman.

      No substitutes, he thought as the music began to pound again, and the need, the desire he’d been suppressing all these hours ignited and threatened to consume him.

      He knew what he wanted. What he needed. And there had to be a way, had to be something he could do to—

      Nicolo caught his breath. He stopped dancing, let the other dancers and the music swirl around him.

      There she was!

      Honey-colored curls. Violet eyes. The woman who was driving him insane. No black suede coat. No hood. No boots. Instead she wore a clinging scrap of crimson silk that barely covered her body. Gold sandals, all straps and sky-high, needle-sharp heels. She was dancing, if you wanted to call it that. Moving in a man’s arms. Breasts swaying. Hips rotating. Head up, eyes locked to the man’s face, mouth turned up in a smile…

      A smile she had denied him.

      “Nicolo?”

      Vicki, whatever her name was, said his name. Said something more and put her hand on his chest. He brushed it aside. Stepped away. Abandoned her in the middle of the crowded dance floor.

      The part of his brain that was of this century knew all that. Knew, too, that his response to the events of the afternoon might not be entirely rational.

      But the part that was as old, as savagely male, as time whispered, This is what I want. And I’m going to have it.

      And Nicolo heard nothing else.

      The music had turned wild; the throbbing pulse matched the insistent thump of his blood, the beat of his heart….

      The fury eating inside him.

      Fate, always capricious, had decided to favor him tonight. The woman who’d made a fool of him was here.

      Now, he could even the score.

      He shouldered his way through the crowd, eyes locked to his quarry. She was oblivious to him. Good, he thought grimly. He wanted to reach her before she had time to think.

      But halfway there, she suddenly stopped dancing. Her partner said something; she didn’t answer. Instead she moved out of his arms and stood like a doe at the edge of a clearing, sensing the presence of a hungry predator.

      Later, Nicolo

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