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  David leaned forward across the table once the two of them were alone again. ‘I don’t appreciate being spoken to by you in this insulting manner.’

  Her eyes narrowed. ‘And I don’t appreciate learning that I was going to marry a dissolute gambler!’

  David reared back, a look of total shock on his face. ‘I have no idea what you’re talking about.’

  But he did, Lia realised. The truth was there in his guarded expression and in the way his face had paled.

  ‘Let’s not play any more games, David,’ she scorned. ‘Your parents can’t possibly know about your gambling, or they would have done something to help you.’

  She had always liked the couple she had believed would one day be her in-laws, and knew that Daphne and Alec Richardson would be devastated to learn the truth about their only child.

  ‘Are you threatening me?’

  Lia felt a shiver down the length of her spine at the underlying malice in David’s tone. It reminded her of something her father had once told her: a cornered animal almost always attacked. The look of rage on David’s face said he was getting ready to do just that.

  ‘Not at all,’ she assured him smoothly. ‘I was merely thinking how disappointed they would be if they knew the sort of man you really are.’

  ‘Stay away from my parents!’ David grated.

  ‘I intend to. Oh, I almost forgot.’ Lia turned to search through her handbag. ‘You might want to give this to the next unsuspecting idiot.’ She placed a ring box down on the table in front of him. The engagement ring inside had belonged to his grandmother. ‘Or perhaps you could just sell it to pay off more of your gambling debts? But then, you don’t need to, do you?’ she continued in a hard voice. ‘Not when you have the money you stole from my father’s company stashed away in an offshore account.’

  ‘You don’t... I didn’t... You can’t possibly know...’ David’s face was now an ashen grey rather than just white.

  ‘I do know. And, yes, you did do exactly what I’ve just accused you of doing. I don’t have all the proof as yet, but I will. Believe me, I will,’ she assured him vehemently.

  She would never wish to harm Daphne and Alec deliberately by revealing the truth about their son, but neither could she allow David to get away with having destroyed her father.

  ‘I don’t think so,’ David sneered as he recovered quickly. ‘You’re no longer the privileged daughter of the wealthy and powerful Jacob Fairbanks. Now you’re just Lia Fairbanks, who has to work for a living. You have all the power and influence of a toothless dog.’

  ‘You—’

  ‘Sorry I’m a little late, Lia.’

  Lia had recognised Gregorio’s voice the instant he spoke, but that didn’t stop her from staring at him as he slid into the seat beside her. Or drawing in a shocked breath as he kissed her lightly on the lips before turning his narrowed gaze on the man seated on the opposite side of the table.

  ‘Richardson.’ He nodded tersely.

  If Lia was surprised at Gregorio’s being there then David had obviously gone into complete shock. So much so he couldn’t even answer the other man.

  Gregorio turned to Lia, one dark brow raised in innocent query. ‘Have you said something to upset your ex-fiancé? What’s this?’ He picked up the dark blue velvet ring box and flicked the lid open to reveal the two-carat solitaire diamond ring David had given her on their engagement. ‘No wonder you gave it back—it isn’t right for you at all.’ Gregorio snapped the lid closed and put the box back where he had found it. ‘I much prefer the natural yellow diamond ring I have picked for you.’

  The ring Gregorio had picked for her?

  A natural yellow diamond?

  Lia had only read about natural yellow diamonds, and seen photographs of them. They were so unique, so rare, that most reputable jewellers claimed they never expected to see one in their lifetime, let alone have the privilege of selling one.

  Gregorio reached over and linked his fingers with those of her left hand before lifting it up and kissing her ring finger. ‘It’s going to look perfect on you.’

  ‘What...? I... You... Are the two of you...?’ David at least made an attempt at speech, even if not very successfully.

  Talking was still beyond Lia. It was surprise enough that Gregorio had come to the bistro at all, but that he should now be giving David the impression that the two of them were... That they were...

  ‘Yes, we are,’ Gregorio stated challengingly. ‘Have the two of you ordered yet?’ he continued, as if he hadn’t just rendered the two people seated at the table with him dumb. ‘I worked up quite an appetite this morning.’

  The look he gave Lia could only be called intimate.

  Except...

  When Lia looked into his eyes she could see the dangerous glitter so at odds with his pleasant tone and demeanour. Gregorio was angry. Coldly, furiously angry.

  With her? Because she had met up with David?

  Lia was pretty sure that was the reason.

  Earlier she had refused to tell Gregorio who she was meeting for lunch, but she’d never had any intention of keeping the identity of that person a secret: how could she when she knew one of Gregorio’s men would have followed her when she’d left the hotel earlier? Lia had known that the other man would report back to Gregorio as to who she was meeting. She just hadn’t expected it to be so soon—or that, knowing she was meeting David, Gregorio would decide to join them.

  Or that he would intentionally give David the impression that the two of them were together.

  What on earth was all that about?

  Did Gregorio think David would physically hurt her?

  Why else would he have assigned one of his own bodyguards to protect me?

  Before today Lia would have dismissed the idea of David ever hurting her as ridiculous. But the dangerous glitter in his eyes a few minutes ago, when he had taken her comment about his parents as a threat, said she would have been wrong.

  David was more than capable of hurting her.

  And Gregorio was obviously taking no chances.

  His protectiveness really was quite... Well, not sweet, because Gregorio was the least sweet man Lia knew. But his concern for her definitely gave her a warm and fuzzy feeling inside.

  ‘No, we haven’t ordered yet.’ She gave him a warm smile. ‘I’m not sure David is staying.’

  Her ex-fiancé was still staring at Gregorio, and at their linked hands, as if he had seen a ghost. Or his own demise? David must surely realise that with Gregorio beside her—literally—she wasn’t the defenceless little nobody he had implied she was earlier.

  He gave himself a visible shake before answering her. ‘You’re right. I have to get back to the office.’ He slid to the end of the bench seat.

  ‘Don’t forget to take this with you.’ Gregorio picked up the ring box, but retained his hold on it as David would have taken it from him. ‘Stay away from Lia in future, Richardson.’ Gregorio spoke softly, but he was no less threatening because of it. ‘If I see you near her again I might not be quite so understanding.’

  David’s face flushed with annoyance. ‘She was the one who asked for this meeting.’

  ‘Lia always tries to see the good in everyone.’ Gregorio nodded. ‘I don’t suffer with the same affliction.’

  The other man’s chin rose defensively at the challenge in Gregorio’s tone. ‘You don’t frighten me.’

  ‘I have no intention of frightening you,’ Gregorio said pleasantly as he finally released the ring box. ‘But they can—and will if I think it necessary.’ He gave a nod in the direction of the two men standing outside the restaurant.

  Lia had to choke back a laugh as she saw the look of horror on David’s face as he looked at the two burly bodyguards. One of them had obviously accompanied her, and Gregorio had brought the second man with him. Both men were at least five inches over six feet in height, with shoulders that looked to be almost as broad.

  David didn’t say another word, pushing the ri
ng box into his jacket pocket as he turned on his heel and strode out of the bistro. Lia saw him give the two bodyguards a wary glance before he hurried off in the direction of his office building.

  Leaving a tense silence behind him.

  Lia shot Gregorio a nervous glance from beneath her lashes. She could feel his tension, and see it in the stiff set of his shoulders. His eyes were narrowed, his lips thinned.

  She breathed in deeply before speaking. ‘I thought—’

  ‘You didn’t think at all,’ Gregorio rasped. ‘If you had then you would have known not to arrange to see or speak to Richardson alone.’

  ‘I—’

  ‘You will not defy me in this way again, Lia,’ he bit out evenly. ‘Do you understand me?’

  ‘But—’ She broke off as the unfortunate waitress chose that moment to come back and take their order.

  ‘We are not staying,’ Gregorio informed her abruptly as he took out his wallet to remove some money, handing it to the waitress as he slid out of the booth and pulled Lia with him.

  ‘Where are we going?’ She just had time to grab her shoulder bag as he marched them both towards the exit.

  ‘Somewhere we can talk privately,’ came the grimly determined reply.

  Lia didn’t like the sound of that.

  At all.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ‘WILL YOU JUST ease up—before I either fall over or you pull my arm out of its socket?’ Lia complained as Gregorio continued his march down the street, his fingers firmly around the top of her arm as he pulled her along beside him. Everyone instinctively stepped out of his way, and consequently hers too. They obviously knew from looking at Gregorio’s face not to get in his way.

  His expression was... Dark and dangerous. That was the only way Lia could think of to describe it. Thunderous brows were lowered over even darker and stormier eyes, his jaw was tight, lips still thinned, his jaw clenched. His whole body language said, Get out of my way or risk being trampled underfoot.

  An impression no doubt added to by the two men who were six and half feet of pure muscle following just a couple of steps behind them.

  ‘Gregorio—’

  ‘It would be better if you did not speak to me right now,’ he bit out, without so much as glancing at her.

  ‘But—’

  ‘Dios, do you ever do as you are told?’ He maintained his hold on her arm as he turned to face her, his eyes glittering darkly as he glowered at her from his superior height. ‘Do you have any idea what you risked by meeting Richardson alone?’

  She did now. ‘I wasn’t exactly alone when one of your men follows me everywhere I go. Besides, David would never—’ She broke off with a wince, knowing that the David she had met today was not the man who had wooed and won her. Today he had been that cornered animal. Feral. Likely to strike out and maim or kill without warning.

  Gregorio eyed her scornfully. ‘Do not try to convince me of something you no longer believe yourself!’

  Her cheeks warmed. ‘That isn’t true—’

  ‘Do you still have feelings for him? Is that it?’ Gregorio snapped disgustedly. ‘You want to believe he is not involved because you are still in love with him?’

  ‘No!’

  Gregorio couldn’t miss the vehemence in her denial. ‘Then why meet with him at all? Why would you even do something like that when I have told you of my suspicions regarding him?’

  ‘Because I needed to know—to see for myself—whether or not David is capable of doing what you suspect he has!’ She glared at him.

  ‘And?’

  She gave a shiver. ‘He’s more than capable. In fact I was about to excuse myself from having lunch with him when you arrived and started acting like a caveman.’

  Given the circumstances, Gregorio considered his behaviour earlier to have been quite circumspect. What he had really wanted to do was rip David Richardson’s head from his shoulders for daring to so much as breathe the same air as Lia.

  If Lia thought he had behaved like a caveman when he’d joined her and Richardson, then she should have seen him when he’d first received Silvio’s phone call telling him exactly who she was meeting for lunch.

  Gregorio had left the hotel immediately and walked the short distance to the bistro. Seeing Lia sitting cosily in a booth with Richardson had only made him angrier. Overhearing Richardson’s scornful comments to her, mocking her social fall and her need to work for a living, had made Gregorio want to slam his fist into the other man’s face.

  ‘I consider myself to have been very restrained,’ he assured her tightly.

  ‘Is your restraint an excuse for all that nonsense about an engagement ring too?’ She eyed him disgustedly.

  Gregorio felt warmth staining his cheeks. ‘It was my way of letting Richardson know that you aren’t alone in the world, no matter what he may think to the contrary.’

  ‘By giving him the impression that I’m now engaged to you?’

  A nerve pulsed in his jaw. ‘It worked, didn’t it?’

  ‘And what if he decides to tell someone else about our bogus engagement? Maybe the media?’ Lia challenged. ‘Did you even think of that?’

  Of course Gregorio hadn’t thought of that. His only objective had been to protect Lia.

  Really?

  Was he being honest with himself?

  Knowing Lia was with David Richardson had filled him with a blinding rage. Seeing her in the company of the other man, her hair a loose tumble about her shoulders in the way that he liked it, had sent every thought from his head except getting rid of Richardson.

  And one word.

  Mine.

  Lia was his—whether she knew it yet or not.

  Perhaps it was time that she did.

  ‘Gregorio!’ Lia squeaked in protest when he didn’t answer her but instead resumed pulling her along the street beside him, his face set in grim lines.

  Lia wasn’t sure she altogether trusted that expression. And she felt even less reassured when they entered the hotel through the underground car park, where one of the lifts for the penthouse floor was situated. Gregorio scanned his key card to open the doors and pressed the button for the penthouse floor once they were both inside.

  Lia could only assume the two bodyguards would either remain downstairs or come up later. Because Gregorio obviously wasn’t willing to let them travel in the same lift as them.

  Lia could feel the heat and tension radiating from Gregorio now they were together in this small confined space. He didn’t so much as look at her—because he was so disgusted with her?—but his harsh expression said he was every inch the arrogant and ruthless Gregorio de la Cruz at this moment.

  She ran the tip of her tongue over the dryness of her lips before speaking. ‘I believe I owe you an apology for the way I behaved and spoke to you yesterday evening—’

  Her words were cut off abruptly as Gregorio pressed her back against one of the mirrored walls, grasping both her wrists in one of his hands before lifting her hands above her head and holding them there as he fiercely claimed her lips with his own.

  The length of his body was pressed intimately against Lia’s, allowing her to feel how aroused he was. And she was aware of the response of her own body.

  She kissed him back with all the pent-up emotions from last night and from this morning, parting her lips to allow Gregorio’s tongue to claim the heat of her mouth. Possessively. The victor with his captive. Exactly like that conquistador Lia had once likened him to.

  She loved it.

  Was she falling in love with Gregorio?

  It was far too soon for her to know that for sure. Besides, right here and right now she just wanted to kiss and devour him in the same way he was claiming her. To lose herself in the desire that was never far away when the two of them were together.

  She pressed even closer against him as she returned heated kiss for heated kiss. Neither of them was even aware of it when the lift doors opened and then closed again—until the lift started to go ba
ck down again.

  ‘Dios mio!’ Gregorio reluctantly dragged his mouth from Lia’s, his forehead resting on hers as he kept her pressed up against the wall. ‘You are driving me so crazy we risk being stuck in this lift for the rest of the day.’

  Lia laughed softly under her breath. ‘I’d much rather we spent our time in a bed!’

  Gregorio drew his breath in sharply. ‘Me too.’

  She smiled teasingly. ‘That’s it? Just “me too”?’

  He grimaced. ‘As you said, conversation seems to be our downfall. I do not want to ruin the moment as I obviously did yesterday evening.’

  She sobered. ‘That was completely my fault. I felt defensive after Cathy and Rick arrived. But I should never have talked to you in that way.’ She moistened lips slightly swollen from the force of their kisses. ‘You drive me crazy too, Gregorio.’

  ‘I—’

  Gregorio turned away as the lift reached the ground floor and the doors opened automatically to reveal a surprised Silvio and Raphael, waiting outside.

  Gregorio made no move to separate himself from Lia. ‘Could you inform Mr Harrington that Miss Fairbanks will be spending the rest of the day with me in my suite?’ he told them, before once again pressing the button for the penthouse floor.

  Lia giggled, and buried her face against Gregorio’s chest as the lift doors closed and they began their second ascent in as many minutes.

  Gregorio had never heard Lia giggle before. It was pleasant. Warming.

  An indication that she was happy?

  Dios, he hoped so. Because there was no way he was going to be able to let her walk away from him again today.

  Lia’s confidence faltered slightly as they stepped out of the lift into Gregorio’s suite. He was ten years older, and so much more experienced than she was. He’d had dozens of lovers, whereas she’d only had one—and not a very satisfactory one at that.

  She had believed sexual compatibility to be of minor importance when she’d been with David. They’d loved each other, mixed in the same social circles, and their families had approved of the match. Her lack of sexual pleasure with David hadn’t seemed that important.