"Yes."
Her heart stopped. She took a deep breath. "Take me home," she said. "With you."
Michael did take her, in more ways than one. He didn't give her a chance to change her mind. As soon as they arrived at his house, he led her upstairs to the big bed where she'd been absent too long and made love to her. He relished the scent of her body and devoured every inch of her. He drowned himself in the softness of her skin and the passion that roared beneath.He didn't want to think about how much he'd missed her, how much he'd wanted her. How had she become such an addiction? Her spirit, her emotions got under his skin. He still felt jealous of Stephen. It was an insane emotion, but he wanted to wipe away every memory of her former fiancé. He wanted her to think only of him. He wanted her to want only him.
Where had these feelings come from? He didn't want to feel this need for her, this deeper-than-his-bones connection with her.
The next morning, he loathed leaving her. The realization bothered him, but he brushed it aside and did his usual workout. After he finished, he noticed a message on his BlackBerry. He listened to it, feeling amused and irritated. Rafe was flying his wife and son, their brother Damien and his wife, to Atlanta this afternoon. Nothing like short notice.
Michael returned to his bedroom to find Bella sleeping in his bed. A fierce possessiveness filled him, but he fought it. This would pass, he told himself. No one had ever belonged to him fully. Bella wouldn't either.
Moving to the side of the bed, he slid his fingers over her tousled dark hair. She made a soft sound and curled her head against his hand. His gut clenched at her unconscious movement.
He swallowed over a strange lump in his throat and stroked her cheek. Her eyes fluttered open, her violet eyes immediately staring at him. She sighed softly. "Hi," she said. "Have you already done your workout, taken over a half dozen companies and started a new country this morning?"
He gave a wry chuckle and tousled her hair. "No. I worked out. I just thought I should give you fair warning. Both my brothers and their families are descending on me this afternoon."
She searched his face. "You want me to leave?"
He hadn't considered any other possibility. "They'll ask you a million questions."
"You didn't answer my question," she said.
"I want you to do what you want to do," he said.
She sat up, bringing the covers with her. "Well, that doesn't help me any. I mean it would be nice to know if you want to keep me hidden or you don't want them to know about me."
"I'm okay with them knowing about you," he said, watching her carefully. "You're the one who wanted to keep this secret."
She bit her lip and met his gaze. "Well, I have to admit this sounds even better than having dinner at Cie la Sea and seeing a Hawks game in a box seat."
Surprise and amusement rippled through him. "Oh, really? How's that?"
"Getting to meet your brothers," she said. "And they're both obscenely successful, right?"
He nodded. "I guess you might say so."
"And their wives?"
"Yes. What's your point?"
"I love it that they pushed themselves on you this way." She clapped her hands. "I can't imagine you allowing yourself to be pushed by anyone."
"You imagine correctly. I wouldn't let anyone but my brothers get away with this. But we missed too many years together to say no."
She took his hand and held it in hers, her gaze holding his with an emotion that made him feel less empty, less hollow. Damn if he knew why. "I'm in."
Michael sent his limo to pick up his family from the airport. Bella paced the den, checked the mirror a few times to make sure she looked okay. She smoothed her hands over her slacks for the third time and paced again."Are you sure you want to meet them?" Michael asked as he glanced up from his laptop.
"Sure, I'm sure," she said, fighting her nerves. "I'm just not sure what to expect or what they'll think of me."
"They'll let me know," Michael said and turned back to his laptop.
"That's great," she said. "So they'll talk about me behind my back."
"Relax. They'll like you," he said.
"How can you be sure?"
"Because your presence will give them something to annoy me about."
She put her hands on her hips. "Why is that?"
"I haven't introduced a lot of women to them," he said, still looking at his screen.
"Why not?"
He shrugged. "I don't know. Just haven't felt like it."
The knowledge gave her a start and she crossed her arms over her chest. "I just hope they're not expecting a super wealthy, sophisticated type-"
"They're not expecting anything because I haven't told them about you."
She felt a stinging pinch to her ego and rolled her eyes at herself. Unable to stand her anxiety any longer, she gave a sigh and turned to leave the room.
"Where are you going?" he called after her.
"To bake a cake," she said.
"Why? That's why I have staff," he said.
"It will give me something to do and make the house smell welcoming," she muttered and continued into the kitchen where the cook was preparing lasagna. "Would I be in your way if I baked a cake?" she asked Gary.
He looked at her in surprise. "Not at all, but I can do it for you."
"I know you can and you could probably do a better job, but I'd like to do it if you don't mind."
Gary's face softened. "Of course. Let me know if I can help you. Do you need a cookbook?"
"No. I've got this one memorized," she said and mixed together one of her favorite cakes from childhood.
Minutes after she put the cake in the oven, the doorbell rang. Her stomach twisted. She heard a chorus of voices, male and female, along with that of a child. She considered hiding in the kitchen, but forced herself into the hallway.
At first glance, she almost couldn't believe how similar the brothers looked. All were tall with dark complexions. One of the brothers had a scar on his cheek, his bone structure somewhat angular. If she hadn't seen him smile, she would have thought he looked like a handsome version of Satan. That one must be Damien.
The other brother held a boy in his arms and a glowing woman stood beside him. From what Michael had told her, she concluded this was Rafe, the playboy brother who'd been tamed by his wife.
Suddenly, she felt Damien's gaze on her. Curiosity glinted in his eyes. "Who do we have here?" he asked Michael.
Michael met her gaze and smiled. "This is Bella St. Clair. Bella, this is my brother Damien and his wife Emma. Rafe, his wife Nicole and his son-"
"Joel," she said, smiling at the adorable boy who looked like a miniature of his father with the exception of his blue eyes.
Rafe lifted his eyebrows. "She has an advantage. She knows more about us than we know about her."
"From what I've heard about the Medici brothers, I need every advantage I can find," she said. "Nice to meet you all."
"Nice to meet you, too," Nicole said, stepping forward. "You're a brave woman facing all of them at once." She paused and sniffed the air. "What is that delicious smell?"
"Michael's cook is preparing lasagna," Bella said.
Nicole shook her head. "No. This is a chocolate smell."
Bella smiled. "Oh, I baked a chocolate cake. It's a favorite recipe from childhood. Chocolate applesauce cake."
"You've just gotten a best friend forever," Rafe said. "My wife is having chocolate cravings that grow more intense each day. I'm having a hard time keeping up."
Nicole swatted at him. "He's joking. This isn't related to my pregnancy. I like chocolate anyway."
"So do I," Emma said and extended her hand. "It's nice to meet you. How did you and Michael meet?"
"At one of his restaurants," she said. "I worked there, but I didn't know he was the owner," she quickly added. "Snowy night, lots of conversation, some surprising things in common."
"Sounds romantic," Emma said.
"It was definitely interesting. I haven't met anyone like him," she said, catching him watching her from the small space that separated them.
"I'm so glad Michael has a … um-" Nicole stopped and laughed. "A friend. He's such a workaholic. Of course, Damien was the same. So was Rafe. He just projected another image, so everyone would think he was a playboy."
"Why are you talking about me as if I'm not here?" Rafe asked.
Gary appeared in the foyer. "I can serve dinner anytime you like."