‘It is true, is it not?’ Marc continued in the same even tone. ‘You have always blamed me for my mother’s death because you do not want to face the truth of the role you played in it yourself.’
‘You were late.’ Vito’s words were slurred. ‘You killed her by being late!’
‘No, Papa,’ Marc insisted gently. ‘You were the one who was late. Do you remember how I had to wait for you to turn up to sign the rest of the documents on the Milan deal? You had been drinking. I had to wait for you to sober up before you signed.’
Nina watched in anguish as the older man reached for his glass and downed the contents, his chin wobbling as if he was having trouble controlling his emotions.
‘It is easy to blame someone else rather than face the pain of the truth,’ Marc continued on the tail end of a sigh, his tone gentle. ‘Perhaps we are both to blame. I should not have covered up your drinking for as long as I did, but I only did it to protect my mother. I would do differently now that I know the price we all had to pay for my silence.’
Vito pushed himself away from the table and gestured for the young man who had poured the drinks to wheel him from the room.
Marc got to his feet as a mark of respect as his father left. Nina stayed put, her throat raw with emotion at what Marc had had to deal with on top of his own grief.
Marc’s eyes met hers across the width of the table. ‘I am sorry you had to witness that.’
‘It’s all right.’ She looked down at the table rather than hold his gaze. ‘I understand…you have no idea how much.’
There was a stretching silence.
Nina hunted her brain for something to fill it but couldn’t think of a thing to say. She was conscious of the weight of Marc’s gaze, as if he was trying to solve some puzzle about her that had previously eluded him.
‘How long have you spoken my language?’ he asked, bringing her startled gaze back to his.
‘I…I studied it at school and university.’
‘And yet you did not think it necessary to inform me of this?’
‘I had my reasons.’
‘Yes,’ he said with a hint of resentment. ‘So you no doubt could hear what was being said about you to use against me later. Is there anything else you have neglected to tell me about yourself that I should know?’
Nina lowered her gaze. ‘No.’
She heard him get to his feet, heard his approach, her breath halting when he took her chin between two fingers and turned her head to look at him.
‘Why do I get the distinct impression you are lying to me, Nina?’
‘I—I don’t know,’ she answered lamely.
He tilted her chin even further so her skittering gaze had nowhere else to go but lock with his probing one. ‘You are an intriguing woman, cara,’ he said softly, the pad of his thumb stroking along the curve of her bottom lip. ‘I wonder what other secrets those grey eyes of yours are hiding from me.’
‘Th-there are no secrets.’ Her voice came out thinly. ‘I don’t have any secrets.’
His thumb moved back and forth until Nina couldn’t think straight. Her lips were buzzing with the need to feel the hard pressure of his, her breasts already tightening in anticipation of his touch.
He drew her slowly but inexorably to her feet and brought her up close to his body, his hands at her waist, his thighs brushing hers as his head came down.
A soft sigh escaped from her lips into the warm cavern of his mouth as it captured hers, her whole body singing with delight at being in his arms once more. She felt the thrusting probe of his tongue and began to melt inside and out, her legs weakening as she clung to him unashamedly.
His hands slipped from her waist to her hips, bringing her even closer to his pulsing heat. She felt the hard ridge of his erection and stifled a gasp of pleasure when he moved against her.
Marc dragged his mouth off hers and stepped back from her, his eyes glittering with desire. ‘I told myself I would not touch you. After last night…’
She was saved from having to respond by the staff coming in with their entrée. She resumed her seat, picked up her water glass and drank deeply, all the time doing her best to avoid Marc’s dark watchful eyes.
She was relieved when the meal was finally over. They had eaten most of it in silence, only occasionally exchanging a comment or two over the various dishes that were brought out from time to time.
Marc got to his feet once the last of the plates were cleared and came around to Nina’s chair to escort her from the table. She got unsteadily to her feet and took his proffered arm as he led her from the room, while the nerves in her stomach fluttered frantically.