The girl studied her with suspicion. “Why?”
Maggie laughed. “I’ll give you a makeover. Show you the world of photography and introduce you to some of the models. It won’t fix your problems, but maybe you can see how other people view you. You’re beautiful, Carina. Inside and out. You just need to believe it.”
As she said the words, Maggie suddenly fought back tears. What she would have given for someone to say those words to her. Would it have made a difference? At least she had an opportunity to tell another young girl, whether or not it made an impression. Disgusted with her burgeoning emotions in the past twenty-four hours, she tamped down her silliness and stiffened her spine.
“You would do that?”
“Sure. It’ll be fun.”
Carina threw her arms around her in an all-consuming hug.
A beat passed before Maggie hugged back, then pulled away awkwardly.
“Thanks, Maggie. You’re the best sister-in-law in the world!”
“I’m your only sister-in-law, babe.” Guilt pricked her conscience. It was one thing to pretend to be Michael’s wife, but another to actually form an attachment to his family. She regretted the invitation immediately but it was too late to change her mind. Maggie rose from the bed and walked toward the door.
“Grazie!”
“Prego.”
She shut the door behind her. Oh, boy. Michael was going to be pissed.
Chapter Six
Dios, he was going to kill her.
Michael watched his fake bride calmly gather her belongings for the upcoming shoot and move about the room like she was alone. Unfortunately, she was not. He was getting more and more irritated at her fake ignorance of the chemistry that burned through the room.
This was getting complicated. She was supposed to stay out of his business, remain distant, and depart with not even a ripple. Instead, she caused a tsunami the first day here. Everyone seemed to like her mouthy attitude. Now his baby sister was going to a shoot to see half-naked men, and Maggie thought this was a good thing.
“You did not even ask permission before you invited her,” he stated coldly. “Do not disrespect me with matters of my own family, Maggie.”
She didn’t bother to glance at him as she packed her day bag. She wore black satin pajamas that rippled over her like water, emphasizing every sweet curve of her body. Her silky hair brushed back and forth past her shoulders and put him in a meditative trance. “Hm, I don’t think the word ‘obey’ was in our vows, Michael. Anyway, I told you I was kidding about the blind date thing. At least you don’t have to worry about that.”
“This is not funny.”
She snorted. “Listen, I had no choice. She was hysterical, and I needed to calm her down. If you hadn’t treated her like a five-year-old, maybe I wouldn’t have had to do it.”
“Carina is an innocent and I intend to keep her that way.”
She snorted again and his temper reared. “Wake up and smell the coffee, Count. She’s on the edge of exploring her sexuality. She’s gonna do it anyway, and we might as well be her guides.”
“Not under my roof. I have a duty to protect her and I will. She needs to finish college and start her career. Boys are not in the picture.”
“She’s hot for Max.”
“What?” His roar boomed off the walls. “Did he do something to lead her on? I’ll kill him.”
“Geez, calm down. He didn’t do anything. He sees her as a child, too. I’m just trying to tell you to cut her some slack. It’s not easy crushing on your brother’s best friend.”
He jumped up from his relaxed position on the bed and paced the room. In minutes, she’d elicited arousal, anger, and frustration. At this rate, he’d be dead by the end of the week. “Max is family and Carina would never view him like that.” A horrible thought occurred to him. “Why? Are you attracted to him? Did you put these ideas in her head?”
That made her whirl around. He almost stepped back from the blast of ice vibrating from her body. Green eyes narrowed dangerously. “Contrary to your opinion of me, Count, I don’t come on to every man I see. And Carina is capable of making up her own mind. You just have to get your head out of your ass and actually listen to her.”
She turned her attention back to packing.
He closed the distance, grabbed her upper arm, and spun her to face him. “You are on dangerous ground, la mia tigrotta,” he growled. “I will not have any interference from you this week with my family. You are not taking Carina to this shoot, and I will handle this problem with her myself. Capisce?”
Another woman would cower. This one stood on tiptoes and got right back in his face. The sensual scent of amber and sandalwood swarmed him and wrecked his concentration. “I have no interest in messing with your family. Go ahead and play dictator if it makes you happy. I’m trying to tell you your sister needs a listening ear, not a lecture.”
“And you are the convenient listening ear?”
She gave a cheeky grin. “Guess so. Lucky I’m here, huh?”
Her dismissal of his authority burned and tilted his temper toward something else. Something more dangerous.
The slippery fabric of her pajamas slid through his fingers and he imagined an endless expanse of smooth golden skin beneath. He craved to hold her head and plunder her lips and see how sweetly he could turn anger to surrender. He grew hard at the thought, challenged on every level to claim and possess and conquer. When had a woman wreaked such havoc? Dimly, he wondered: If he allowed himself to take her to bed, would the need disappear by morning? It always did. Maybe he needed to satisfy his craving in order to rid himself of the itch to push between those thighs and make her forget anything and everyone but him.
“You put bad ideas in a young girl’s head. I take care of my own,” he warned. “One lousy day and you’ve already made a mess of things. You don’t know what my sister needs. You don’t know what anyone needs. Hell, you don’t even know what you need.”
He regretted the words the moment they left his lips. She stiffened in his arms, and raw pain flashed within those eyes. The memory of something in her past reared its ugly head, and he watched as she battled the monster and slammed it back into the closet.
An aching need to hold her and make it all better squeezed through him. What was this crazy combination of lust and tenderness? What was happening to him?
Her smile was distant and forced. “You’re right of course,” she mocked. “I’ll stay out of things from now on. But I’m not telling her she can’t go.”
She tried to back away, but he slid his arms around her back and tugged her toward his chest. “I’m sorry, cara,” he said softly. “I didn’t mean to say such a nasty thing. You bring out the beast in me sometimes.”
Surprise flickered over her face, but she remained unyielding against him. “Accepted. Now let me go.”
Instinct made him draw her closer. She arched upward as if to get away, then hit against his rock-hard erection. She gasped, then immediately stilled. “Seems like the beast side is pretty happy to see me. Insulting me turns you on?”
He laughed. Her razor-sharp wit never bored him, but lately he learned to push past her comedy routine and glimpse a hidden vulnerability that intrigued him. After all this time, was he finally spotting the real Maggie? He remembered the American expression “all bark and no bite” and wondered if he’d get to test his new theory. “No, cara, you seem to turn me on. As you are well aware. What I need from you now is just to hold you.”