Shaking her head, she looked back at her brother. "He's still my husband, remember?"

Her father gave her a long look. "Not for much longer."

"One month, Papa. I'll tell you everything at the end of the month."

One of the island's launch boats fired up its engine, shattering the quiet and bringing home the fact that soon Teresa would be alone with a man who'd waited five years for revenge. Sadly, she was both concerned about that...and aroused.

Talking to her family again, she said, "Don't worry. I'm not in any danger. Rico's angry, but he would never hurt me."

"He's keeping you here against your will," her father reminded her.

"I'm staying because I choose to stay, Papa," she said.

He frowned, glanced at the launch boat that would take them to St. Thomas, then turned back to her. "We've already tried to call Gianni. He's not answering his phone. We'll find him, though, and get the dagger your husband requires."

Briefly, she wondered where her oldest brother had vanished to this time. Gianni hadn't been around much in the last couple of years and when he did spend time with the family, he was even more secretive than usual.

"Wait a month before returning, Papa. Rico means what he says."

"I will wait," Nick answered with a hard look at Paulo, who was grumbling under his breath. "If you're sure you want to do this."

Want was a strong word, she thought. Oh, she wanted Rico, there was no denying that. But if she had any real choice, would she choose to stay with a man who could barely stand to look at her? Probably not. But the truth was, they were all out of options.

"I'm sure," she said and hoped her voice sounded stronger than she felt at the moment.

"I still don't like it," Paulo muttered.

"Neither do I," their father agreed, then stepped close enough to draw his daughter into the circle of his arms. He held her tightly for a long moment and Teresa snuggled in, taking the comfort he offered before he leaned back to look at her. "You are the one who decided to not be a part of the family business, Teresa. It is not right that you are the one to pay for your legacy."

She forced a smile she didn't feel. "It's only a month, Papa. Then I'll really be free. And so will my family. That's all that matters."

He huffed out an exasperated breath then snapped, "Take the bags to the boat."

With a last look at his sister, Paulo scooped up their luggage and headed down the dock.

"You're certain you'll be safe here?"

"I will," she lied. Of course, she wasn't worried about Rico actually hurting her. Not physically, anyway. But every time he looked at her through eyes that spat fury, a new emotional wound opened up inside her.

Nodding, Nick looked up to the white hotel on the crest of the hill behind them, as if he could see straight into Rico's eyes. When he turned back to his daughter, he sighed. "I should have listened to you, cara, about staying away from this man. I swear to you now, when this month is over, Rico King will be nothing but a bad memory. For all of us."

He had never been a bad memory to Teresa, though. And she knew that after another month with him, most likely spent in his bed, she would never again be able to pry him out of her mind. But her father didn't need to know that her heart was still uncertain when it came to the man who was now pulling their strings like a master puppeteer.

"It'll be fine, Papa."

Still frowning, he nodded. Then he kissed her forehead and stepped back. "One month, Teresa. We will come back for you in one month."

She nodded too, though her heart was breaking. Her family was leaving and any minute now she would be alone with the one man who could shatter her heart and soul. "I'll see you then."

She watched them board the small craft and stood on the dock, gaze locked on the boat until it was no more than a smudge on the horizon. Then she turned and stared up at Rico's castle-wondering what kind of dungeon he had in store for her.

Four.

A half hour later, her family had left the island and Teresa was exactly where Rico wanted her. In the bedroom of the home he'd had built for himself on the island. Just beyond the hotel, there was a rise of land that overlooked the ocean on one side and the forest on another. Rico had known the moment he'd seen it that this was where he would build his house.

And though he had furnished it and staffed it and lived in it for almost a year now-it had felt empty to him until today. Now she was here and the palatial home felt...crowded.

He watched her walk around the room, stepping tentatively, as if she expected land mines to be lying beneath the gleaming bamboo floor. White linen curtains rippled and danced in the island breeze that wafted through the open windows. Birds in the trees beyond sang in harmonies that lent a peaceful air to this confrontation that was anything but peaceful.

In her red silk shirt and dark blue slacks, she looked like a jewel dropped from the sky against the background of his room's white walls and furnishings. He waited for her to speak. To say something about what had happened five years before. h.e.l.l, to beg him to release her. But she gave him nothing, and a part of him wasn't surprised.

Narrowing his gaze on her, he blurted out, "Was it all a lie? Right from the beginning?"

She turned so quickly her dark hair swung out around her in a curtain of silky movement. "What do you want me to say?"

Tricky question.

"I want the truth, but somehow I doubt I'll get it," Rico said, never taking his gaze off the woman across the room from him.

"Then why should I say anything?" she countered. "You wouldn't believe whatever I told you."

How the h.e.l.l could he? He kept his distance purposely. He didn't quite trust himself when he was too close to her. The need in him roared for satisfaction and the anger was just as raw.

Oh, he'd never hurt her. He didn't hurt women. But d.a.m.n it, he didn't want to blackmail her into staying with him, either. d.a.m.n her for bringing him to this. And d.a.m.n her for putting him here, in this position. Soon enough, though, he would have her panting to have him making love to her once again. Then he would remind her just what she'd given up by disappearing so long ago.

No other person in the world had managed to twist Rico up like she had. She'd dug so deeply inside him, there was no room for anyone else. He had his family, of course. The Kings were loyal down to the bone.

But there hadn't been another woman in his life since Teresa and his body was clamoring for what he'd denied it for too d.a.m.n long.

Sure, he'd gone out with women. Had even brought a few of them back to his rooms at the hotel. But he'd never brought one to his home before. Never taken one into his bed. Not since Teresa.

He knew what it looked like to the world at large, but the world saw what it wanted to see. A billionaire playboy. The man with a succession of gorgeous women on his arm. But those women never touched him. Never shared his bed. And none of them would admit to it, because none of them could stand letting the public know that they hadn't been able to coax a King into their beds.

So as Teresa had lied to him, Rico had lived a lie for five long years and now that the end was in sight, he wanted her so badly he was hard as stone. So yeah, better he keep his distance.

"Try me. Tell me why. Why any of it?"

"Telling you why won't change anything, Rico. Why go there?"

"We never left there."

She shrugged and walked to the French doors opposite his bed that led to the terrace. She stared out and he knew the view she was looking at. The white sand beach. The aquamarine ocean beyond. The banyan trees and the double-wide hammock strung between them. There was a stone patio out there, surrounded by so many different varieties of flowers it took the breath away even as it urged you to breathe deeply, to savor the scents and tastes on the wind. There was a boat at his private dock, a yacht that Rico took out when he needed complete privacy and time to think. And when it was still and quiet enough, you could hear the waterfall in the nearby forest that splashed over rocks worn smooth by time and the relentless rush of the river.

He'd built his treasure, his paradise on Tesoro. And now that she was here-it felt complete.

"There's nothing I can say to you, Rico."

"There's plenty you could have said five years ago," he countered.

She blew out a breath and shook her head. "If I give you a reason, will it make this better for you?"

Nothing would. Nothing could. "Give it a shot."

"Fine," she said, crossing her arms over her chest in a cla.s.sic self-defensive posture. "I slept with you because you were gorgeous. Famous. Rich. What girl wouldn't go to bed with you?"

A fresh spurt of anger shot through him even as he identified the lie in her words. She was too dismissive. Too careless to be telling him any kind of truth. But this lie would serve him as no truth could.

"Good. Then the next month will be easy for you," he said, at last crossing the room in long, slow strides that had her automatically backing away. "I'm still famous. Still rich. So being with me again won't be a hardship for you."

He saw her pale slightly. Then she stiffened her spine and squared her shoulders.

"I'm ready to pay my debt." She glanced at the bed, then to him. "Now?"

G.o.d, yes.

"No." He enjoyed the flicker of surprise he caught in her eyes. "I've already told you, I don't bargain for s.e.x, Teresa. When we come together again, it will be because you need me. Not because you are paying a bill owed by your family." She flushed and the color was lovely on her skin.

By the time he was finished with her, she'd be pleading with him to take her. "Your things have been brought here from your suite at the hotel."

"Here? To your house?"

"Here. To my room," he corrected. "Our room-for the next month, anyway."

She stiffened her spine but flattened her lips together to keep from saying whatever was stuck in her throat. Didn't matter, he told himself. Nothing mattered now. Nothing but finally getting the revenge he'd promised himself so long ago. And still, he had to ask. "One more question."

"Only one?"

"Were you planning your family's theft from the beginning?"

"Would it matter if I said no?"

He thought about that for a second or two. "No, because how could I believe a thief?"

She winced and he almost felt guilty-almost.

"Get dressed. We're going to dinner."

She frowned and couldn't stop herself from asking, "Dinner?"

Her surprise told him he had caught her off guard. Good. Now all he had to do was keep her there. "Be ready in an hour."

After he left Teresa in his room, Rico stalked down the long hallway leading to the front of the house. He didn't notice the throw rugs in bright tropical colors or the sunlight glancing in through the front windows to lie on the gleaming tile floor. His mind was too busy, his emotions choking him too completely to be interested in the mundane. Right now all he could think about was the fact that Teresa was back with him. And what that was going to mean.

In long strides, he marched down the long, elegant hallway directly to the library. Once there, he sealed himself inside, walked to his desk and sat down behind it. s.n.a.t.c.hing up the phone, he hit the speed dial and waited for the connection to be made.

"h.e.l.lo?"

His cousin Sean's voice sounded clipped and a little hara.s.sed. Rico smiled. "Catch you at a bad time, Sean?"

A huff of resignation came before Sean King said, "No. Just recovering from my latest heart attack. Mel had another false alarm."

In spite of everything going on, Rico had to grin. Sean King had, since marrying Melinda Stanford, become a changed man. Wasn't so long ago that Sean himself would have laughed at the image of himself as devoted husband and father-to-be. Now, though, he was the prototypical family man. And since Melinda's due date was only a week or two away, he never let his wife out of his sight. Every sigh she made sent Sean into a tailspin, and watching his anxiety escalate over the last several months had been very entertaining. While Melinda was sailing through her pregnancy, it was about to kill Sean.

"I swear," Sean said under his breath, "sometimes I think Mel's doing it on purpose. I'm sitting here watching the game and she lets out this little whimper-slash-groan. I jumped up so fast I knocked my beer over and dumped a whole bowl of popcorn on the floor. The dog loves me."

Rico laughed. "If it's this bad before she goes into labor, how will you survive the real thing?"

"Once it actually happens I'll be fine," Sean argued. "It's this waiting and waiting that's making me nuts. And between you and me, I think Mel's doing this stuff just to watch me jump."

She probably was. Melinda was great, but she did love keeping her husband on his toes. "I'm sure she's as nervous as you are."

"Who's nervous?" Sean replied. "I'm not nervous. I'm just hyperprepared." He grumbled something under his breath then added, "Right now, she's eating ice cream and laughing at me."

In the background, Rico could hear Melinda's laughter and the excited barking of their dog, Herman. Soon they would have their child and be even happier than they were already. Hard not to be jealous of that.

"You're a lucky man," Rico told him.

"Yeah, and she never lets me forget it," Sean said, laughing. "So what's going on?"

Secrets were impossible to keep inside the King family. So naturally Rico's brothers and cousins all knew about his marriage to Teresa-and the fact that the divorce had never gone through. h.e.l.l, with a lot of the Kings now living across Europe, Rico had had unpaid "detectives" keeping their eyes open looking for Teresa so that Rico could finally end what was still lying between them.

The King family was tight. And since Sean had led the King Construction project to build this hotel and Rico's home-then stayed on Tesoro when he married Melinda-the two cousins had grown even closer. They'd spent many nights having a drink together, talking about work and family and what Rico would do if he ever caught up to Teresa Coretti King.

Now that he finally had, Rico had to talk to his cousin about this. He took a breath and said simply, "She's back."

"She?"

"Teresa."

There was a long pause and Rico knew his cousin was as dumbstruck as he'd been just a couple of hours ago. Idly, he picked up a pen off the desktop and flipped it between his fingers.

"Are you kidding me?" Sean's voice ratcheted up a notch or two before he stopped and talked to Melinda. "Rico's wife showed up. Yeah, I'm finding out." When he came back, he asked, "She just showed up at the hotel?"

"Not alone. She was with her father and brother-who were doing what they do best."

"Oh, c.r.a.p. They were pulling jobs on your guests?"

"Yeah. Serenity James lost a necklace and there were a few others. .h.i.t, as well." Just thinking about it infuriated Rico all over again. Of course he'd made sure the Corettis turned over the stolen property before they left the island, but the fact that thefts had occurred at all seriously p.i.s.sed him off. "They returned the jewels before they left."

"Before you tossed 'em off the island, you mean."