Ruthless Revenge: Priceless Proposal: The Sicilian's Surprise Wife / Secret Heiress, Secret Baby / Guardian to the Heiress. Margaret Way

couldn’t think of anything between them as anything but a transaction, it punched her in the gut like a blow she hadn’t seen coming.

      Did he really think no more of her than any other woman? And if he did, why did she care?

      Before he could enslave her with his mouth again, she moved away around the breakfast bar and leaned against the wall.

      Her legs trembled, her breath felt as if it would never be normal again, but she had finally put distance between them. And judging by how his eyes glittered, it was no small feat.

      “Clio—”

      She pushed away the need in her to one corner, the cascading hurt to another.

      “I know that the media focus is going to be on us for a little longer, but I still would like to be more than your arm candy and apparently, ‘the recipient of scorn and envy of a number of your ex-girlfriends’,” she said quoting from one article she had read today.

      All she had done was scan the internet for world news as was her habit with coffee. Instead, she had opened the Pandora’s box of Stefan Bianco’s exes and their reaction about his wedding.

      It was a long list comprising models, actresses and singers that even a pretend wife could get insecure about.

      He frowned, looking at her as though she had sprouted another head. “Mi scusi?”

      It seemed walking away from his embrace cost her every brain cell she possessed. The man kissed like he did everything—with absolute dedication. Her lips still tingled, her breasts felt heavy and her entire body was one pealing mass of sensation.

      Marshaling her thoughts, she began again. “I’m beginning Phase One of my reincarnation, beginning a life that’s not defined by whose wife or fiancée I am. I have received a couple of callbacks on some jobs I applied to. Hopefully...”

      He started shaking his head and her words trailed off. “Not necessary, I—”

      “If you make one comment about me mooching off of you—”

      Thunder danced in his eyes. “Keep that delectable mouth closed, cara, or I know of a very enjoyable way now to do it for you. Christian told me just last week that the charity the four of us runs needs a manager. I think you’d be a good fit for it.”

      Clio blinked and stared. “Are you serious?”

      “Dio, bella! Why are you so doubtful about your own abilities? Where is the woman who thought everything in life was a challenge she had to rise to?”

      Clio flinched. More at the fact that she had no answer rather than from his tone.

      He clasped her cheeks and lifted her chin. His gaze was awash in tenderness. The unexpected gentling of his mouth mocked her doubts. “Yes, I’m serious. I would never tease you about this, Clio.

      “Instead of turning your back on all those connections your name brings, instead of turning away from the powerful friends you have, instead of stubbornly refusing your new status as my wife, use them, bella.

      “Use them to further your career, use them to help someone who’s never had the advantages we had, use them to make whatever you want of yourself, Clio.

      “You’ve already conquered the hardest obstacle by staying the course on what we started, by showing Jackson what you’re made of.”

      “But I swore to make something of myself, Stefan. If I—”

      “Nothing will come of all the resources and connections of your family and background if you aren’t smart enough to channel them properly, Clio.”

      A lightness filling her, Clio wrapped her arms around her waist. She wanted to hug him so bad. But he wouldn’t like it.

      “That is, after and if you ever find something on Jackson.”

      “I will,” Clio said with utter confidence. “It’s just a matter of time.”

      “Then make that time now, Clio. As long as we carry on this pretense, you already have a full-time job of being my adoring wife.”

      “Believe me, it’s not easy to remember the adoring part,” she quipped.

      With a deft aim, he threw a plastic spoon at her.

      The way his eyes lit up, he reminded her of when he had been so carefree and affectionate and open. The memory that smile brought was so strong that she stared at him greedily.

      “My board members and their wives are dying to meet you. And my assistant tells me we’ve been invited to several dinners and charity galas, in and out of New York.”

      “I should probably charge you for making me into a glorified escort.”

      “I think escorts provide other services, bella.” He sent her such a scorching look that Clio should have combusted on the spot. “Are you offering?”

      “Do you want to start our fairy-tale marriage with domestic assault, Bianco?”

      He grinned and it was like her own personal sun had dawned in the living room, filling her with his warmth inside out. “No, Mrs. Bianco,” he countered smoothly. “I’d like to start it with a kiss from my wife.”

      Robbed of speech, Clio stared back. It shouldn’t bother her. It was just a technicality. He was teasing her.

      Still, the words clung to her like a physical brand on her skin.

      Apparently satisfied that he had shocked her, he forked a piece of pancake into his mouth. The usually scornful curve of his mouth relaxed with a sigh.

      “It’s not my fault that they all want to meet you. Apparently, you’re an asset any sensible man would be lucky to have.”

      “Of course. Let’s not forget how valuable my blue blood and where I come from are. Because there couldn’t be any other reason in the world that a man would want me, right?”

      “Do not put words in my mouth, bella. But I will tell you this because you seem to be forgetting it. It took guts to tie yourself to me, Clio. If you didn’t know it before, you know it now, sì? I will give you nothing but what you have rightfully earned from me.

      “Yet you didn’t back off. It took guts to start on the path to reclaim yourself. It took guts to take a stand on what matters to you when Jackson used those filthy words for you.

      “You’re far stronger than you give yourself credit for. Now find something on Jackson during the day while you dazzle the world as my wife at night.”

      Clio stared at his back, his words ringing in her ears.

      He was right. That decision had entirely been hers. But only two days in, she wondered if it was more dangerous than courageous.

      * * *

      Dazzle the world was what they did and they did it so well that even Clio couldn’t tell where the pretense ended and where reality began.

      Charity galas and dinners with influential, powerful men from all over the world, sometimes in New York, once in Hong Kong and once in London—from visiting art galleries to the charity-sponsored schools and shelters all over the world.

      And everywhere they went—big or small—the media followed them.

      In just a couple of weeks, Clio and Stefan had been almost around the world aboard his private jet and had become the media’s favorite couple to talk about.

      Frustrated more than once about hitting a wall with Jackson’s financials, Clio had taken to alternately learning as much as she could about the charity that Rocco, Christian, Stefan and Zayed had set up to help underprivileged kids in so many cities complete degrees through scholarships and find jobs.

      The range and scope of the charity stole her breath. It made her immensely proud to learn of the continuing resources and time all four of them poured into