Grapes of Wrath (Billionaires' Secrets Book 2) by Jennifer Lewis Page B

her—a job well done— but he wouldn’t let her.
    Not until he was done with her. Which was the reason he’d left her hungry and aroused in New York. They had unfinished business.
    She tucked a long lock of dark hair behind her ear. “How are your parents? I haven’t seen them yet.”
    “My parents? You’re forgetting that my mother is dead and you’ve just left my father in New York.”
    She swallowed. “I mean, Ignacio and Clara.”
    “They are still living.” Why should he make it easy for her? Today she wore a blue-and-white patterned dress. She favored tailored jackets. Dresses fitted enough to show her slenderness, but not tight or suggestive. Necklines that revealed her delicate collarbones but nothing else.
    As always, she was perfect. Irresistible. Desire swept through him like a sickness.
    He took a step toward her, invading her space. “Ignacio no longer calls me ‘my son’ as he used to.” He let his gaze linger on the curve of her cheekbone, painted pink by the setting sun.
    “It must be hard.”
    “Yes.”
    Let her pure heart fill with pity for him. A sympathetic woman could be very.. .giving. And he looked forward to taking everything she had to give.
    “And Clara? How is she taking it?”
    “Like a mother who has lost her child.”
    Now, he did look away. The pained expression on Susannah’s face cut to his heart. Poor Clara hadn’t been herself since his true parentage came to light. Pale and harried, she kept her distance from him, ashamed by her decades-long collusion in a lie that shaped all their lives. She hadn’t been to his house in a week.
    “Do you think that perhaps she’d come to believe the lie? That she’d almost forgotten she didn’t give birth to you?” He frowned.
    “Possibly.” It had never crossed his mind that Clara wasn’t his true mother. She’d never betrayed a single clue.
    But that was all over now. “The story’s been in the papers. The gossips are whispering.” He shrugged. “Nothing to be done.”
    He could see Susannah’s overactive brain ticking away behind those soulful eyes.
    “Trying to figure out how to save the day? Don’t. You can’t.”
    During dinner, Amado charmed and flirted. His earnest and thoughtful conversation, combined with wicked, sensual glances, had Susannah laughing and blushing like a schoolgirl.
    She could see what he was doing—toying with her— but she couldn’t seem to help her response.
    He slipped out of the room after dessert to talk to Rosa, and she collapsed back in her chair, gasping for air. How did he do this to her?
    Whenever she’d tried to guide the conversation in the direction of business, he’d steered it off somewhere else with a twinkle in his eye.
    He had a genius for nosing out subjects she loved to talk about—places she’d visited, books she’d read, world affairs—so she was totally unable to resist engaging in heated and passionate conversation with him.
    Without getting any work done.
    The front door clicked shut as Rosa left. Any minute now, Amado would be back with steaming coffee. Maybe he’d offer to massage her feet? Her pulse picked up in anticipation and she cursed herself for it.
    She didn’t have an ounce of self-control where Amado Alvarez was concerned.
    And worse, he knew it.
    Instead of coffee, he returned carrying a black shawl. “Let’s walk outside.”
    “In the dark?”
    “There are many stars.” Stars sparkled in his eyes.
    He’d donned a dark sweater, clearly intent on going on this walk regardless of her opinion. “This’ll keep you warm.” He held out the fringed shawl.
    “Woven from the hair of the finest local llamas?”
    “Vicunas. Their wool is softer.” A smile eased up the corner of his mouth.
    “I can hardly say no, then, can I?”
    Amado didn’t bother to reply. And why would he? They both knew she could never say no to him.
    They slipped through the front door into the thick, inky night. The slight chill in the air was no match for the