Ignoring her words, he slipped her hand under his arm and pulled her to his side. "Vene."
Lara fumed as he led her down the aisle. Stop. Come. He treated her like a pet dog. Next he would be snapping his fingers and giving her treats if she performed for him. As the resentment flooded through her, profound relief followed. As long as she held this hatred inside, she would be safe. Safe from him and the velvet darkness inside of him that called to the depths of her.
"You are a horrible bully," she grumbled, forcing herself to concentrate on his arrogance, not on her libido.
He nodded at a fawning couple, shook an usher's hand, and then guided her toward the open doorway. "I am collecting many new titles," he said, under his breath. "Arrogant ass. Manipulative jerk. Horrible bully."
The sunshine was bright and warm after the coolness of the church. The crowd of family and friends surrounded them in a buzz of color and conversation. Yet it seemed to her as if a circle of vibrating energy tied both of them in a cocoon of intense awareness. She fought against it, yanking her antagonism around her like a shield, she also yanked her arm from his grasp.
He glanced at her. Unexpectedly, the edge of his mouth quirked. "It is a good thing I have a healthy self-confidence. If not, your words would wound me to the core."
"I'd say your self-confidence borders on egomania."
"So many compliments, bella." His black eyes gleamed as if he delighted in her insults. "You leave me speechless."
This was crazy. Why did she keep going at him? It only encouraged him.
She turned.
His hand landed on the tender, naked skin of her elbow once more.
"You will drive to the villa with me."
"I will not." She tried to pull her arm from his grasp again, but there was no easy way of doing this without calling attention to what was going on between them. His family and neighbors encircled them, and she suddenly noticed how many smiles and glances the two of them were receiving. Apparently, she and Dante were already gaining attention. Bloody hell. She needed to get out of here before the attention turned to speculation and then to certainty.
"The limos are here." His dark head nodded to the line of cars waiting on the street.
"I drove here." Dangling her car keys in front of him, she gave him a look of feigned regret.
"Your car will be taken care of." Swiping them from her hand, he passed them to an usher.
"Now wait just a minute-"
He leaned in, his breath heating her cheek. "Do you actually want to make a scene here?"
She simmered with suppressed rage at his high-handedness. Still, he was right. The only way out of this was making a scene, and she wasn't quite at that point.
Almost. But not quite.
The black eyes above her glimmered with humor and victory. He took her arm and led her toward one of the first limos.
His family followed, laughing and joking with each other. She tried to slide into the middle of the crowd, but his hand kept a firm grip on her, forcing her to stay beside him until they approached one of the more isolated cars.
"Get in," he commanded as the limo door was pulled open by a smiling driver.
Brushing past him without touching, she sat down on the supple black leather. She slid into the far corner, hoping for a flurry of family members to come in before he entered. She needed some buffers.
Dante stepped in and the door closed.
"What about the rest of the family?" she protested.
He unbuttoned his coat and eased back along the seat. "They have all been assigned to different cars."
"Assigned by you."
"Correct." He glanced at her, obsidian gaze once again unreadable.
"You made sure I would be riding with you to the villa."
"Si."
"Alone."
"Si." His focus never left her face.
"Do you have any idea the gossip this is going to start?"
"I am not in the habit of worrying about what people say about me." He finally released her from his scrutiny and stared out the window.
"Your sisters are going to suspect the worst." She couldn't seem to keep her eyes off him. The sunlight played a serenade across his olive skin, the black of his hair, the long blade of his nose.
"The worst?"
"Us. Together. A pair."
His gaze landed on her once more while his hand clenched on his lap. "Paired with me? The worst?"
"Yes." She couldn't make her position any clearer.
His hand shot out and pulled her across his warm, muscled body. "You have managed to make me annoyed with only a few words."
Stunned at his sudden move, she sagged into his heat, and for a moment, only a moment, she was tempted to stay.
One long finger pushed her chin up. Instead of his blank stare, she saw the embers of velvet warmth. "The impact you have on me," he muttered. "Remarkable."
Then his mouth slammed onto hers and she was lost. Waves of heated male energy poured over her and into her. His hard lips told her he was irritated, his tongue told her he wanted no more of her words. He gave no concessions, only demands.
Against her will, she filled every one of them.
"Wait-" she managed to say when he slipped his mouth to her neck.
But his lips caught hers once again and he pulled her under his spell. His arms tugged her into his body, surrounding her with his searing need. It startled her, over and over, the difference between his cold exterior and his hot passion.
Unexpectedly, he let her go. Set her away from him in one abrupt shift.
A haze of desire kept her from finding any words of rejection. Breathing was about the best she could do at the moment. Her mind and body were filled with a mist of pleasure that refused to clear.
"I will give you some advice."
She started at the cool cut of words. His voice was bland, though she detected the ruthless current underneath. He was still irritated. Sudden inexplicable elation pumped through her. She'd been able to penetrate the ice surrounding him. The impulse to keep pushing him could not be contained. "I don't need your advice."
"Nevertheless, you will have it."
She braved a glance his way. His face was turned from her, his gaze fastened on the flow of red-tiled houses and cypress trees passing by. He was trying to draw back behind his shell, his mask. However, she wouldn't let him. "Why would I take advice from a man whose priorities are upside down?"
His mouth tightened. "What does that mean?"
"All you care about is money, position, power. I've been listening to your sisters for months."
"Listening to gossip." He made a disparaging sound.
"Listening to information," she countered. "They love you for some reason, but it's clear what kind of man you've become."
His big body relaxed against the leather, all male elegance and casual interest. "Please. Continue. Give me more of your lovely conclusions about my character."
She was beginning to see beneath his mask. Slight clues, yet they were there if she was very observant. He was taut with tension. She was sure of it. A delicious thrill of daring ran through her. "A man who spends all his time at work."
"Mmm."
"A man who directs his family like a tyrant."
"Ah."
"A man who only thinks about his next deal, his next billion, his next power play."
"All this," he mused. "From some gossip and three brief meetings between us."
She would not retreat. She would not allow him to withdraw inside himself without letting him know exactly what she thought of him. Someone had to tell him how awful he'd become. "You have become the most cold-blooded man I know."
He appeared completely unfazed by her comments. However, his long fingers curled into his palm. "More cold-blooded than your husband was, bella?"
The strike was stunning and accurate. It cut into her like a fine blade, right to the bone. He'd taken her one stupid slip in the church and jumped to conclusions. The correct conclusions, but he didn't know that for sure.
Wrenching her head around, she stared at the passing scenery. She couldn't look at him now, couldn't challenge him. The shock of his words might show on her face, and then he would know his guess had been more accurate than he realized.
Yet she could not escape the gaping hole in her heart he'd sliced open. She knew she still carried enormous baggage from her marriage. Rage and bitterness and self-pity mixed in with loss and pain and self-hate. And now, somehow, some way, these emotions had laced around her memories of this man, their past, his actions against her, magnifying them inside her like a horrid brew of destruction.