Wanton Heat (A Feel the Heat Novel) (Entangled Brazen) Read Free Page A

they wanted.
    Oxford students who’d sucked up to him for entry into his world. London businessman who’d done the same. Women at parties who deliberately targeted him in the hope of gaining more than a bed partner for the night.
    He’d learned to protect himself well, discounting his disastrous engagement to Lilia.
    Now, a bold, attractive woman had stormed his castle, wanting something he wasn’t prepared to give. He should’ve definitely thrown her out. Instead, he’d flirted with her, and his cock had joined the party.
    He’d deliberately gone for an ocean swim half an hour before her scheduled arrival, wanting to keep her waiting. He liked his adversaries off guard. But his plan had gone awry when she’d been early, and he’d been caught with his pants down. Literally.
    He hadn’t expected her to be so…so…bold. The way she’d looked at him, the way she’d touched him…damn, he was hard just thinking about it.
    The sooner he heard what she had to say and he sent her on her way, the better. He had no intention of letting her stay a week, despite what his meddling Nonna wanted. Zoe could check out Kaluna’s resort on Ancora, then take the ferry straight back to Naples.
    And in the meantime, he’d get a PI he often used in business dealings to investigate Kaluna’s plans for Ancora. Better to be prepared than blindsided. After Lilia’s treachery? He’d never make that mistake again.
    He slid his smartphone out of his suit jacket pocket, found the PI’s details, and fired off an e-mail.
    No way would anyone take him for a fool again.
    “I saw you chatting to our guest earlier.” His grandmother strode into the room, a nimble seventy-five and as mentally sharp as anyone half her age. “What’s she like?”
    He gritted his teeth against the urge to blurt exactly what he thought of Zoe Keaton. “She’s pushy and obnoxious.”
    “She’s also beautiful.” Catarina took a seat at a wrought iron table, poured herself a glass of water, and added a slice of lemon. “Smart too, if she has you this wound up.”
    He accepted the glass of water she poured for him and sat opposite. “We need to be on good terms with the Kaluna Resort, and that’s the only reason I’ll meet her.”
    “Yet you’re agreeing to let her stay a week?” Catarina tapped her bottom lip, pretending to ponder, while Dominic ignored that telltale matchmaking gleam in her eyes. “Interesting.”
    “I only allowed that because you blackmailed me into it.” He shook his head. “If you don’t let your cardiologist check you over more regularly, I’ll kill you myself.”
    Catarina tsk-tsked. “Don’t waste your Italian theatrics on me.” She grinned. “Save your zeal for someone who deserves it, someone like our pretty visitor—”
    “Nonna…” His warning fell on deaf ears as she reached over and patted his hand.
    “Darling boy, I haven’t seen you look so…riled in a long time.” She squeezed his hand and released it. “It means this woman has sparked something inside you. A passion that has been lacking for too long—”
    “It’s business, Nonna, nothing more.” He had to interrupt, before she ventured into territory he’d rather avoid.
    He knew she meant well, but on the rare occasion Catarina brought up the subject of his dead fiancée and how he’d lost the love of his life, it took all his willpower not to blurt the sorry truth. His grandmother had been through enough pain in losing her sole surviving son a few years ago—no point adding to it. Besides, speaking ill of the dead would gain nothing. Best to leave the past in the past and hope to God he never made the same mistakes again.
    “You spend too much time focusing on business.” She tut-tutted. “These islands don’t have to be your responsibility. Allowing Kaluna to increase tourism will allow you the freedom to explore your other ventures overseas and—”
    “I’m not going anywhere, so stop trying to get rid of me.”
    Dominic knew the