Desire Has No Mercy by Violet Winspear Read Free Book Online

presented her with the IOUs which could have had an adverse effect on her own marriage. Verna might find the situation rather romantic, Julia thought, seeing reflected in the mirror the cynical twist of her lips, but her husband and his family would hardly be delighted. A man such as Paul Wineman would have suited them as an in-law, but not Rome Demario. He was so obviously foreign and involved not in law, banking or the arts, but in a more blatant form of commerce.
    Julia recalled the women she had seen playing at the casino, heavily painted, the sparkle of their jewels rivalling the gambling lustre in their eyes. It wouldn't trouble Rome's conscience if such women lost money at his tables, but Julia found unforgivable the way he had used Verna in order to lure herself into his trap.
    That was what her marriage felt like… she was so firmly caught in the trap he had laid that there seemed only one way of escaping from it, and that was to try quite deliberately to lose this child he had set his heart on.
    She placed a hand on her midriff, pressing upon herself until she felt the slight swell that betrayed the presence of the infant. Rome was the only one who wanted it… the spoils of the battle fought in the luxury of his bedroom above the gaming rooms of the white-stoned casino set in a palm court on the Neapolitan waterfront.
    Rome had said that when they arrived at the Villa Domani she could swim and ride; both were energetic activities and this was her first pregnancy. Being a man he probably didn't realise that a first baby was more easily lost than a second or third, especially if the mother was psychologically opposed to bearing it.
    Julia dropped her compact and comb into her handbag, smoothed the jacket of her suit, and emerged from the powder-room. As she made her way back to Rome there was a defiant little flame burning in her eyes. She heard the intake of his breath when she pressed past him into her seat; he had caught the scent of her freshly applied face powder and as she sat down Julia smiled quietly to herself. He was vulnerable in his own way, this tawny Italian with his southern sensuality, and the next time they battled he would be the one who got wounded.
    Lunch was served and Julia suddenly found that she was hungry. She tucked into butterfly steak with baby peas, potatoes and gravy. She enjoyed the individual pudding with syrup which followed, and had two glasses of red wine. She was aware that Rome sat there looking suavely amused by her appetite, a lazy droop to his eyelids. He made no comment, but when coffee was served he remarked to the stewardess that his wife had very much enjoyed me cuisine on board the aircraft. Julia noticed the way he said 'my wife', a definite note of possessiveness in his voice.
    'That's nice to know, sir.' The girl's eyes flicked Julia's hair and face and the orchid on the lapel of her suit. Her gaze dropped to the emerald which sparkled its facets on to the smooth suiting, and it was obvious to Julia that she was envious and would have liked to be possessed by a man whose looks and style made him seem the epitome of Latin charm.
    'When is touchdown?' he enquired.
    The girl glanced at her wristwatch and said they would be landing at Naples in exactly one hour and twenty-five minutes. 'I'm pleased you've enjoyed the flight, sir. Will you be returning to New York?'
    He smiled and shook his head. 'We have a villa in Campania and at this time of the year it's very pleasant there. The sea is very blue and it will be good for my wife to get away from the tall buildings of her native city, where to me the air always feels as if it's been put through a pressure steamer. I couldn't live anywhere else but in Italy.'
    'It is very exciting.' The girl was looking at him as if she really meant that he was. 'Things Latin do have that certain charisma.'
    'Do they?' He drew Julia's left hand towards him and enfolded it in his own. 'I wonder if my wife agrees with you? Do you, my