The Italian Billionaire’s Nubian Queen (BWWM Romance Book 1) Read online

  Two days ago, he wouldn't have described the right wife in any way that would fit Alyssa Benjamin.

  But now…

  He hadn’t known that he’d been looking for her, but he'd recognized her the moment he’d seen her. She was the one who could be his mate. She was strong enough to be his mate, and he wanted that joy in his life.

  Alyssa would need to be convinced, of course, and she would have to make quite a few changes, but it didn’t even occur to him that he might not be able to do that. He would need to prolong his time in the States, but he could do that. He would have to send Claudia back to make sure that he was kept up to speed, and he could rest assured that things would be fine if he did that, too.

  He could stay long enough to convince Alyssa Benjamin that when he went back to Italy, she should marry him and go back with him.

  He had absolutely no doubts about that. He was very confident.

  Which was why when he found out that Alyssa had left, he got a bit of a shock.

  ***

  Alyssa was awake and more than a little pissed off. It was seven in the morning. Yet again. She was not used to this and she had no intention of getting used to it. When she woke up early, usually, it was because she had a reason to wake up early. She liked sleeping.

  Now, if she’d gone to bed early and then woken up early, maybe she would’ve appreciated the sunrise and the bright, beautiful new day. But no, she'd gone to sleep at two in the morning because she’d had orders to figure out, and paperwork that had gotten lost, and a rare bottle of wine to track down that she’d almost found but had had snatched away right from under her nose, or so it felt.

  So after all of that, she'd been exhausted.

  And she'd welcomed the exhaustion because, she thought, it would make her sleep like a rock.

  But no, she'd been far too naïve in that hope. She'd been plagued, yes, plagued, by those damn dreams again. It was as if meeting that man had unlocked some part of her that she hadn’t even known existed, a part of her that seemed to like the idea of being in some gothic romance of the kind she'd never even liked. None of it made any sense.

  Generally, she would shrug it off and she would tell herself that she could wait it out. But now she was going on three nights of very little sleep and it was beginning to annoy her.

  She’d been up for an hour and a half and she'd tried all the things that usually relaxed her. She'd tried deep breathing. She'd tried yoga. She'd tried listening to calming music. She'd had an entire calming playlist on. She'd even given up and tried some of that herbal tea that Brianna had given her.

  None of it had worked, and the tea was so bitter and tasted so horrible that she was even more annoyed than she’d been before she’d started. This was already shaping up to be a worse day than the day before and that had been a pretty bad day.

  When her phone rang, Alyssa glared at it sourly.

  She considered letting it go to voice mail.

  But maybe it would be a distraction.

  She grabbed it, and glared at the screen. She didn’t have that number saved in her contacts. Apparently it wasn’t in the database, either, because it came up as caller unknown.

  Alyssa didn’t usually take calls from numbers she didn’t know, not on her personal phone. Her business line was another matter, of course. She couldn’t afford to be picky there.

  But still… A distraction. If it was a telemarketer, maybe she would sing to them until they hung up. That would be a change of pace.

  She took the call.

  “Hello?”

  “Alyssa.”

  She froze.

  Colombo.

  Not Matteo.

  “Yes?”

  “This is Gabriel.”

  “Oh. Hello, Gabriel.”

  “You left without saying goodbye.”

  “Well, I guess I did, but I wasn’t sure that we’d become… close enough to say goodbye? I had an emergency at work.”

  “That’s a pity. Is everything all right? Is there any way I can help? You run a shop that sells wine, I hear. I do have a few contacts in the industry if you think it could help.”

  Alyssa frowned.

  “Thank you for the offer, it’s very kind. I’ll keep it in mind. But for right now, I handled it fine.”

  “Well then, it is a pity that you left as suddenly as you did. I missed you, and so did Brianna.”

  Alyssa had just begun to relax a little. She froze again.

  “Brianna?”

  “I drove her home last night. She wasn’t very happy with being left alone like that, but I suppose I should thank you, in a way. I had a wonderful time. Your sister is a lovely woman.”

  “She is,” agreed Alyssa, but she didn’t like where this was headed. She didn’t like it at all.

  “Well, I suppose I just wanted to check and see that you’re all right, and thank you for your company.”

  “Oh.”

  “And Brianna’s, of course.”

  “Well, you should thank Bree for her company.”

  “I did. I plan to, again. I feel we should get to know each other, you and I.”

  Alyssa really, really didn’t think so. What had Brianna been thinking? Why had Naomi and Howie not driven her back as they’d said they would? Why had nobody told her any of this? Why was she finding all of this out from Gabriel?

  None of it made any sense.

  “Well, I’m sure you’ll be going back to Italy soon. You must have a lot to do back there, with the business and everything.”

  “I’m not entirely sure, Alyssa. It feels like there’s a lot here that I cannot get back home.”

  “There is? I’m sure you can get everything you want there,” tried Alyssa a little desperately.

  “I’m afraid not. But it doesn’t matter. My very responsible older brother takes care of business so well that nobody will miss me if I’m not in Italy. I will have plenty of time to get to know you better. And of course, Brianna too. The lovely Benjamin sisters.”

  “Oh. I… I’m sure Bree is flattered.”

  “I hope so. I called to ask you what Brianna’s favorite flowers are. I’m sure you know.”

  “Her favorite flowers?”

  “Yes, of course.”

  “Well, she loves orchids. Especially purple ones.”

  “How appropriate. Thank you, Alyssa. I hope we can have that dinner together soon. Ciao!”

  He hung up and Alyssa looked at her phone, completely confused. What the hell was going on? She should call Brianna. She should call Brianna right at that moment and find out what the hell was happening.

  Before she could, her phone rang again.

  Alyssa seriously considered just throwing it across the room and pretending it had never existed. But she took the call, resigned to her fate. It was probably Gabriel calling to ask what Brianna’s favorite perfume was. What was she supposed to do about it?

  “Hello,” said Alyssa, more than a little irritably.

  “Alyssa.”

  She froze again. Her heart skipped a beat and then beat faster as if to make up for it.

  She recognized this voice, too.

  “Matteo.”

  “Yes. You left.”

  “I… I had a work emergency,” she said, but the lie turned to ashes on her tongue. It sounded weak, because it was. She hadn’t had a work emergency. He’d know it.

  “You didn’t.”

  “Don’t you tell me what I didn’t have!”

  “You didn’t tell me you were leaving. You ran away,” he accused.

  “Don’t be ridiculous! We met two days ago. I had to leave, and I did. Sharing one picnic lunch doesn’t mean that I need to tell you when I’m leaving or where I’m going.”

  “It was more than that.”

  “It was not. That’s all it was. For heaven’s sake, what is wrong with the two of you?”

  “The two of me?”

  “Not the two of you, the two of you. Your brother and you.”

  There was a pa
use. She felt things change in that pause.

  “What did my brother do?”

  “He apparently drove my sister back home. She was supposed to come back with friends, and your brother drove her back, and now he called me to tell me he wanted to get to know us better and is asking what her favorite flowers are. I don’t know what's going on with both of you, but if either of you hurts her, I will hunt both of you down myself.”

  Alyssa didn’t have a clue where all of this was coming from, but she was filled to the brim with frustration and confusion and she let it flow. If the Colombo brothers wanted to call her in the morning when she was sleep-deprived, they could both deal with the consequences.

  “I’m not sure why you’re angry with me for that.”

  That was a fair point.

  “I… Why are you calling me, Matteo?”

  “Because I looked for you and I couldn’t find you. I wanted to see you. I want to see you.”

  “Look, don’t you have an empire to run or something? I’m… You’re Matteo Colombo, Jesus!”

  “I am not Jesus.”

  “I didn't say you were Jesus, you’re trying to put me off balance and I don’t appreciate it. You have a whole empire in Sicily. And in every other wine-making area in Italy.”

  “And in other places, including California. Yes, you knew that already.”

  “Why are you calling me? Why were you looking for me?”

  “Because I want to see you, Alyssa. I want to see you again.”

  “Well, I’m sure you have important things to do with your life, and my schedule is a bit full, and I don’t need complications in my life, so…”

  “The complications are already in your life. I heard that you’re looking for a bottle of Madeira. A specific Madeira.”

  The change in subject nearly gave her whiplash.

  “How did you know that?”

  Because she'd spent hours trying to track down a bottle, and she’d almost done it, and then it had just vanished from under her nose, or it might as well have.

  “I have my sources, Alyssa. You can have it.”

  “What?”

  “You can have it. I have it, and I will give it to you.”

  Everything in her went on very high alert immediately. When a very rich man offered you something you very desperately wanted, it was a fairly good bet that he wasn’t doing it out of the goodness of his heart.

  She would eat her own heart if he was, to be quite honest.

  “Why do you have it?”

  “Alyssa, it is my business. I know you want it. I can give it to you. Isn’t that good enough?”

  “No. No, it’s not. What’s your asking price?”

  “I don’t have a price.”

  “Don’t you say that, Matteo. Nothing in life comes free. Of course there’s a price. Tell me what it is, and if I can afford it, then I’ll buy it from you.”

  “All right, I’ll give you a price. Dinner with me, tonight.”

  “What?”

  “That’s my price.”

  That was ridiculous. And she had a feeling, a premonition, if she cared to call it that. She knew that that wasn’t all. Of course it wasn’t all.

  She would be risking far more than an evening, a few hours. She’d known that, hadn’t she? That’s why she’d run. She’d run away from him and the strange things he made her feel. She’d run away from a feeling that her choices were being taken away from her. But she hadn’t run far enough. She’d run home, and home hadn’t been far enough.

  “Matteo, I don't like being manipulated.”

  “Nobody does. Nevertheless, that is my price. I want you to have dinner with me. You can have the bottle of wine you’ve been chasing for months if you have dinner with me. Is that really such a high price to pay, Alyssa?”

  It was. It was far too high.

  But that feeling of inevitability engulfed her, threatened to drown her.

  So she shook her head.

  “Yes. Yes, it’s too high a price, because that’s not all. It’s not just dinner. It’s never just that. I don’t want it, Matteo. Goodbye.”

  She hung up on him, and knew that it was already too late.

  Chapter 7

  If only it could’ve been that easy.

  If only life could’ve been that easy.

  But it never was, because it wasn’t up to her. She had a Colombo brother in her life no matter what she wanted.

  “Is this really good enough?”

  “Stop fretting, Bree. It’s fine.”

  “He’s so used to fine things, Aly. I’m a little nervous.”

  Alyssa bit her tongue.

  “I really don’t want him to feel like it’s not good enough.”

  Alyssa couldn’t possibly bite her tongue hard enough.

  “Don’t be an ass, Bree! You don’t have to impress him. Besides, you’re not dating him.”

  There was complete silence.

  “Brianna?”

  “Adam moved out, didn’t he?” asked Brianna defiantly.

  Oh no. Alyssa knew her sister when she got that note in her voice.

  “Bree…”

  “I can live my life. If Adam can sleep around with his secretary, I can date men, too.”

  “Bree, don’t you think you’re jumping to a lot of conclusions? I mean, seriously! Just last week, you told me that you hadn’t even talked to Adam about all this.”

  “He can find me and talk to me if he wants to. Why do I have to be the one who puts her pride on the line all the time? He has everything. He can do whatever he wants and if I question him I’m the bitch. Well, I’m done with it. I see no reason why I shouldn’t spend some time with a handsome, charming man who finds me interesting. And he was kind to me! He didn’t have to drive me home or anything.”

  “That’s right,” said Alyssa, seizing the point. “He didn’t have to. Naomi and Howie were driving here anyway, you could’ve come with them. You said you’d come with them.”

  “And I chose not to. What is your problem with this, Alyssa? Do you have an objection to how I live my life?”

  Alyssa backed down. She knew where this would lead too.

  “No, of course not. I just don’t want to see you hurt, Bree.”

  “Why would I be hurt? Anyway, what could hurt more than how Adam betrayed me?”

  What could she possibly say to that?

  “I’m sorry, Bree. Of course, it’s your life. You should do what makes you happy. And yes, that wine is excellent with chicken. It’ll be great. You’re making your special chicken, right?”

  Brianna nodded.

  “Then it’s perfect. I’m sorry, Bree. Of course you should be happy. I just wish you would go a little slow and give Adam a chance to explain first.”

  “And I wish you would butt out and mind your own business, Alyssa.”

  “All right! Jesus, all right, fine. I’m minding my own business. You mind your business. Here, take your wine, and pay me, and it’s all business.”

  “Fine!”

  “Fine!”

  Brianna paid and left in a huff, leaving behind Alyssa, who was still fuming. What was wrong with everybody! What was wrong with her!

  She shouldn’t have been like that with Brianna, thought Alyssa, the temper leaving her. She should’ve been more understanding. She should have…

  Well, if regrets and wishes were pennies and dimes, thought Alyssa, and sighed.

  “I’ll close up, Diane. Thanks for coming in today. Did you get your revision done?”

  Diane grinned.

  “I did, and I'm sure I’ll ace it. And then I'll graduate!”

  “And I'll miss you when you move on to bigger and better things.”

  “Not unless I can get a bigger and better job,” said Diane with a grin, and Alyssa felt herself settle a little bit. Diane really was a ray of sunshine. She looked about sixteen but she was twenty-six and had gone back to college in the last couple of years. She was so close to graduating, and Alyssa was so proud o
f her.

  “I hope you do, and then you can buy a stake in the shop and we can expand.”

  “You won’t hear me complaining if I can do that. Sure you don’t mind if I take off?”

  “Absolutely sure. Go on.”

  “Great!” chirped Diane and grabbed her stuff and left, leaving Alyssa alone in the shop.

  Alone was a great time to brood. She decided to get some inventory and book-keeping done. If she was going to be grumpy, she might as well have a reason to be grumpy. Doing book-keeping and trying to make numbers make sense was a good reason for Alyssa. She'd struggled with a business major and she'd managed to get through it, but numbers were still a struggle for her.

  It was already dark. It was only six, and the days were supposed to be getting longer, but it felt like there was more darkness than there had been in the winter. She could have done with some sunshine, but what could she do?

  But she knew that no matter how much sunshine there might be outside, it wouldn’t help her, not the way she felt.

  She missed him. She missed him far more than she wanted to admit.

  It didn’t even make any sense. She'd only spent a few hours with him. Of that, only about half an hour had even been pleasant! But it felt as if he'd been with her every night because her dreams…

  Frankly, they were beginning to alarm her. Alyssa was beginning to consider therapy, or some kind of hypnotism, because she kept dreaming of storms, and Matteo searching for her, and Gabriel finding her instead because she wouldn’t go to Matteo. They made no sense. There was nothing about Gabriel that could legitimately be called alarming, and everybody else loved him. Brianna obviously liked him just fine.

  Matteo hadn’t called her since that day when he'd tried to bribe her into meeting him. How could he possibly have thought that that would work? He’d only succeeded in insulting her. And hurting her, she could admit it.

  Even as she thought of him, let him creep back inside her, she saw the flash of lightning, heard the crash of thunder. She should’ve jumped out of her skin, but she didn’t. Alyssa stood there, in the middle of her shop, expectantly. Another flash of lightning, another roar of thunder, wild and angry, and the rain lashed down. It was wild and primal.

  But it was just a storm. There was nothing more than that. No figure appeared to her, searching for her.