27Chapter Twenty-one: Unable to Resist
The sharp smack on her behind took her totally by surprise.
"Ow! What was that for?" Mary rubbed the sore spot with as much dignity as she could muster. Marco Maselli had bailed her out, and was marching her across the lobby of the fancy health spa. The two of them had just spent several exhausting hours being interrogated by Elizabeth and her private security guards.
"You deserve a hell of a lot worse than that," her boss grumbled. "That was for making me leave the restaurant, and miss an afternoon of work. Everyone was worried sick about you! What were you doing in Elizabeth's private office?"
"I wanted to find out when she hired you." Mary felt her cheeks turning red, just like her tingling bottom. She told herself it was only jealousy that made her get crazy notions about Marco. If her wicked cousin Elizabeth had hired him to sabotage her life, why would the man take her in the moment she got out of prison?
"She hired me right after I got out of prison," Marco said bluntly. "Just the way I hired you. Except I never slept with Elizabeth." Marco gave her a very direct look. "Not my type."
"Okay," Mary said, slumping her shoulders with a big sigh of relief. "But then, why did Elizabeth hire you? Was it to get close to me?" She risked a shy questioning glance at her big, frowning boss.
"Yeah." Marco took her roughly by the arm. "But she didn't want me to fall for you. She wanted me to ruin your business and get you in trouble so the board would put her in charge."
"And you did what she told you to." Mary gripped Marco's muscular arm as though she could squeeze the truth out of him.
"I did all of it just like she said," Marco grunted. "But along the way I realized you didn't belong in jail. You belong with me."
"I'm not sure I believe that," Mary chirped. But she made no attempt to pull free of Marco's possessive grip. Nor did she resist when he helped her into his sleek red sports car.
"Where are we going now?" she asked, putting on fresh lip gloss. Mary had been through a lot, being grilled by Elizabeth and her security men. But she wanted Marco to see she was as tough as he was. Mary smiled as she glossed her lips. The tiny sun visor mirror in Marco's car was perfect for checking her hair and makeup. "So, what next? Are we heading back to the restaurant?"
Marco grunted something, but as the powerful engine roared to life Mary got the feeling this was part of her punishment. Marco wasn't taking her back to the restaurant; he was taking her someplace where they could be alone. And when they got there he would probably have even more surprises in store for her. Mary sank back in her seat, resting her eyes for just a moment. She couldn't help imagining herself completely in Marco's power. At his mercy and unable to resist. Totally unable to resist . . .
"Wake up."
"Huh?" Mary felt as if she'd only closed her eyes for a moment.
"This is the street where I grew up."
"Oh." A dazed Mary could only blink her eyes. The dingy street didn't look very safe, especially now that night was falling. What part of town was this? Mary slowly realized that Marco had taken her on quite a long drive. She must have slept for several hours!
"Come on, Antonia doesn't like to wait."
"Who's Antonia? Marco, where are we? I can't . . . I'm not . . ." Mary wanted to say more, mostly about how she was dressed. But before she could even sputter a protest Marco pulled her close and melted words into moans with a devastating kiss.
