Read The Italian's Passionate Return for Free Online

“He’s five now?” he asked.
    Jemma let in the horses, giving them all an affectionate pat as they passed by her. Several of them nudged her, asking for more before they hurried into their stalls, eager for their morning treat. They ate grass out in the fields, but they all preferred the oats she gave them.
    “We’ll have to get married,” he told her.
    Jemma swung around, startled. “Married?” she gasped.
    “Yes. We’ll have to get married. I can arrange it immediately.”
    Jemma shook her head and backed away nervously. “I’m not marrying you,” she said, more than a little breathless just at the idea. “No way.” She was shaking her head and backing up, staring at him the whole time. “I’m fine right here.”
    Damien rubbed a hand over his face. “No. We must be married.”
    Jemma’s mind was whirling. Married to Damien? Be in his bed every night? Enjoy his arms around her, experience the mind boggling sensuality of him every night?
    But then reality intruded. Damien wasn’t offering her marriage as much as he wanted to ensure Dylan’s parentage. “Don’t you want to check his DNA?”
    Damien shook his head. “That could take weeks,” he said. “Of all the women I’ve known, I believe in your honesty the most.”
    She couldn’t believe what he was saying. “Just a few minutes ago, you were asking me how much money I wanted to be your mistress. What happened in the last thirty minutes to change your mind?”
    He smiled, his eyes lighting up. “Marriage is much more convenient, isn’t it?”
    She stepped back. “Not for me!”
    “Why not?”
    She thought hard, trying to remember her life. “Because I don’t want to be married to you. I don’t want anything from you.”
    Damien didn’t understand her. “Everyone wants something from someone,” he retorted, becoming angry now. She wasn’t making sense! Not to mention, he was offering her the one thing that he’d diligently avoided for years. She was slapping him in the face with his offer and he didn’t like that feeling at all!
    Jemma couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She looked up at him curiously, almost as if he were some sort of alien being. “Is that really how you live your life, Damien?” Her voice was softer, kinder because she felt sorry for him. “Does everyone in your world want something from you?”
    “Of course!” he snapped, irritated with her naiveté. “The world is not a sweet, fair place, Jemma.”
    Her heart melted more than a little with his words. “I’m sorry that you feel that way. But that’s just another reason why I won’t marry you. Nor will I expose Dylan to that kind of a world.”
    He was gritting his teeth but not exactly sure what he was feeling. Anger, definitely. Betrayal? No, that wasn’t exactly the right word. Confusion? Yes, and that made things worse because he wasn’t really sure what he was confused about. Nor was he used to feeling this way. Confusion was not allowed. Not in his world. Nor had he ever experienced such a feeling.
    Damien realized that he really didn’t like confusion. He was used to acting quickly and decisively. He paid a fortune for experts to give him information so he could act immediately and maximize his advantage and profit. So why was this slender beauty not behaving rationally? Why was she rejecting such a profitable position as his wife?
    “I thought you said that Dylan was also my son,” he came back. He knew he’d hit on the right issue when he saw her eyes widen.
    Her shoulders tensed and her body stiffened. “So it’s started already, eh?”
    He blinked, not understanding. “What has started?”
    “You making demands. You trying to decide what’s best for Dylan.”
    Damien rolled his eyes. “I’m not trying to change everything. If what you say is true, then…” he paused. The reality that he genuinely had a son suddenly hit him full force. He stopped speaking and looked up, not at any specific thing but just off in the