Pain. Reparation. Merciless humiliation. Those were his objectives.
‘There’s no hidden message in there, anjo. For the duration of my stay in Rio I expect you to make yourself available to me, day and night.’
Her genuine laughter echoed around the open deck. When he didn’t join in, she quickly sobered. ‘Oh, I’m sorry. But I believe you have me confused with a certain type of woman you must encounter on your travels.’
Theo let the insult slide. He’d told his skipper to take his time with the tour, but even his trusted employee couldn’t keep Pietro away for ever. And it looked as if he needed to step up this part of his strategy in order to forward his overall objective.
‘I was supposed to sign documents that guaranteed your father’s campaign funds this morning but I didn’t turn up. Aren’t you even a little bit curious as to why?’
A touch of confusion clouded her brown eyes but she shrugged one silky-smooth shoulder that shimmered softly under the deck lights. ‘Your business with my father is not my concern.’
A little of that control he kept under a tight leash threatened to slip free. ‘You don’t care where the money comes from as long as you’re kept in the style to which you’ve grown accustomed, is that it?’
Her eyes widened at the acid leaching from his tone. ‘You may think you know me but, I assure you, you’ve got things wrong—’
‘Have I? From where I’m standing it’s very evident you’re the bait he uses to trap weak, pathetic fools into opening their wallets.’
Her ragged gasp accompanied a look of outrage so near authentic Theo would’ve believed her reaction had he not seen her in action with Delgado last night.
‘If it is your intention to be offensive to show your machismo, then bravo, you’ve succeeded,’ she threw at him and whirled away.
He caught her wrist before she could take a step.
‘Let me go.’
‘I’ve yet to outline my plans, anjo.’
‘I think you’ve outlined enough. I won’t stand here listening to your unfounded insults. I’m going to find Pietro. And then we’re leaving.’ She tried to free herself. He tightened his grip until he could feel her pulse under his fingers. Furious. Passionate.
His groin stirred and he forced himself to ignore the throb of arousal determined to make itself known. ‘You’re not leaving here until we have this discussion.’
‘What we’re having is not a discussion, senhor. What you’re doing is holding me captive, torturing me with—’
She broke off, no doubt in reaction to his hiss of fury and the flash of icy memory that made his whole body go rigid for one long second.
Theo released her, turned away sharply and shoved his hand through his hair. He noted his fingers’ faint trembling and willed himself to stop shaking.
‘Th…Theo?’ Her voice came from far away, filled with confusion and a touch of concern.
He willed away the effect of the trigger words and forced himself to breathe. But they pounded through his brain nonetheless—captive, prisoner, torture, darkness…
Fingers closed over his shoulder and he jerked around. ‘Don’t!’
She jumped back, snatching back her hand. It took several more seconds for him to recall where he was. He wasn’t in some deep, dark hole in a remote farm in Spain. He was in Rio. With the daughter of the man who continued to cause his recurring nightmares.
‘What’s…what’s wrong with you?’ she asked with a wary frown.
He drew in a steady breath and gritted his teeth. ‘Nothing. I’ll get to the point. The agreement was that I’d take control of Da Costa Holdings and keep a fifty per cent share of the profits in exchange for liquidated funds to finance your father’s political campaign. However, the papers your father had drawn up contain a major loophole that I can easily exploit.’
Slowly, his panic receded and he noticed she was absently rubbing her wrist. He quickly replayed his reaction to her touch and breathed a sigh of relief when he confirmed to himself that he hadn’t grabbed her in his panic.
She continued to rub her skin and slowly another earthy emotion replaced his roiling feelings. He welcomed the pulse of arousal despite the fact that he had no intention of falling prey to the easy wiles of Inez da Costa. No matter how mouth-watering her body or how angelic her face.