CHAPTER TWELVE

Once Yeonhee had been fed and bathed, Changmin left her in Lucia’s care and made her way to the room Paloma had prepared for her.

It was luxuriously furnished, the huge bed dominating the room with its array of brightly coloured pillows and cushions, the floor softly carpeted with priceless antique rugs. There was a large wardrobe and dressing table and two doors, one leading to anen suite bathroom, the other to another room which, Paloma had informed her earlier—exchanging a conspiratorial wink with the hovering Lucia as she did so—was Yunho's suite.

Changmin tore her eyes away from the firmly closed door and moved across the room to the bank of windows, looking out over the majestic slopes of Mount Vesuvius. A slight breeze disturbed the sheer curtains, carrying the scent of orange blossom and honeysuckle into the room.

There was the sound of a knock on the connecting door. She turned and issued the command to come in, drying up when Yunho stepped into the room. He was dressed formally, his dinner suit making him appear even taller and more commanding, the whiteness of his shirt highlighting the olive tan of his skin and the darkness of his eyes.

‘My father likes to dress for dinner,’ he explained. ‘Do you have everything you need?’

‘Yes.’ She pointed to the dress Paloma had laid out earlier. ‘I’m sorry, I won’t be long. I wanted to make sure Yeonhee had settled first.’

‘I will wait for you in my suite. Knock when you are ready to go down. It will take you a while to find your way around the villa.’

‘Thank you.’ She waited until he had closed the door behind him before she stepped out of her clothes, wishing she had time for a shower but deciding it wouldn’t do to upset Yunho's father by turning up late for dinner. She made do with a quick splash at the basin and a touch of subtle make-up, tying her hair up with a clip in a casually arranged knot that revealed the length of her neck. The dress she had packed was one of Jaejoong's and, while it was very close-fitting, it was elegantly simple, the candy-pink chiffon giving her skin a creamy glow.

She gave the connecting door a tentative knock and held her breath as she heard Yunho’s footsteps approach.

‘Ready?’ he asked, his eyes sweeping over her with unmasked approval.

She gave him a small nervous smile. ‘Yes.’

The dining room was as sum tuously furnished as the rest of the villa. Crystal chandeliers hung from the high ceiling, and the walls were adorned with priceless works of art as well as several gilt-edged mirrors that made the room seem even larger. The long dining table was set at one end for three people, the best of glass and silverware laid out in elegant style, with a fragrant arrangement of roses as a centrepiece.

Jung Soo Man was already seated at the end of the table, his dark brooding gaze boring into Changmin as soon as she stepped into the room with Yunho by her side.

‘You are late,Yunho.’ he said in Italian, his tone reproving. ‘Have you not yet taught your wife how to be punctual?’

Yunho held out the chair for Changmin as he met his father’s scowling look. ‘It was not Changmin's  fault that we are late,’ he responded in his father’s tongue. ‘I had to make several calls. It was I who kept Changnin waiting.’

Changmin sat down and waited until Yunho was seated opposite before sending him a grateful glance. He held her look for a long moment, a small shadow of puzzlement passing through his dark gaze as it rested on her.

Soo Man muttered something under his breath and reached for his wineglass and took a deep draught of the rich red wine. Changmin saw Yunho’s eyes go to the glass in his father’s hand and the almost empty carafe nearby, the small frown between his brows deepening.

‘You have a very beautiful house, Signore Jung.’ she said to break the uncomfortable silence.

‘It will be Yeonhee's one day,’ Soo Man answered in English and beckoned to the hovering staff member to refill the carafe. ‘That is unless Yunho has a son. How about it, Yunho?’ He switched back to Italian and added insultingly, ‘You could take up where Yoochun left off. I am sure your wife will not mind if you pay her enough. She has opened her legs for many others, why not you?’

Changmin drew in a breath, her hands tightening in her lap in anger, her cheeks storming with colour.

‘What is between Changmin and me is between Changmin and me and no other,’ Yunho said with implacable calm. ‘I would prefer it, Papa, if you would refrain from insulting her in my presence. She is, after all, the mother of your only grandchild and surely deserves a modicum of respect.’

Soo Man’s eyes flashed with fury. ‘She is the reason your brother is dead! She must be made to pay.’

‘How?’ Yunho asked evenly. ‘By taunting her whenever you get the chance? By twisting the knife of guilt all the time like you do to me?’

Changmin sat very still.

Soo Man's glass thumped on the table so heavily that the chandelier above their heads tinkled along with the rest of the glasses on the table. He glared back at his son, his cheeks almost puce and his lips white-tipped.

‘It is true, is it not?’ Yunho continued in the same even tone. ‘You have always blamed me for my mother’s death because you do not want to face the truth of the role you played in it yourself.’

‘You were late.’ Soo Man’s words were slurred. ‘You killed her by being late!’

‘No, Papa,’ Yunho insisted gently. ‘You were the one who was late. Do you remember how I had to wait for you to turn up to sign the rest of the documents on the Milan deal? You had been drinking. I had to wait for you to sober up before you signed.’

Changmin watched in anguish as the older man reached for his glass and downed the contents, his chin wobbling as if he was having trouble controlling his emotions.

‘It is easy to blame someone else rather than face the pain of the truth,’ Yunho continued on the tail end of a sigh, his tone gentle. ‘Perhaps we are both to blame. I should not have covered up your drinking for as long as I did, but I only did it to protect my mother. I would do differently now that I know the price we all had to pay for my silence.’

Soo Man pushed himself away from the table and gestured for the young man who had poured the drinks to wheel him from the room.

Yunho got to his feet as a mark of respect as his father left. Changmin stayed put, raw with emotion at what Yunho had had to deal with on top of his own grief.

Yunho's eyes met hers across the width of the table. ‘I am sorry you had to witness that.’

‘It’s all right.’ She looked down at the table rather than hold his gaze. ‘I understand…you have no idea how much.’

There was a stretching silence.

Changmin hunted her brain for something to fill it but couldn’t think of a thing to say. She was conscious of the weight of Yunho’s gaze, as if he was trying to solve some puzzle about her that had previously eluded him.

‘How long have you spoken my language?’ he asked, bringing her startled gaze back to his.

‘I…I studied it at school and university.’

‘And yet you did not think it necessary to inform me of this?’

‘I had my reasons.’

‘Yes,’ he said with a hint of resentment. ‘So you no doubt could hear what was being said about you to use against me later. Is there anything else you have neglected to tell me about yourself that I should know?’

Changmin lowered her gaze. ‘No.’

She heard him get to his feet, heard his approach, her breath halting when he took her chin between two fingers and turned her head to look at him.

‘Why do I get the distinct impression you are lying to me, Changmin?’

‘I—I don’t know,’ she answered lamely.

He tilted her chin even further so her skittering gaze had nowhere else to go but lock with his probing one. ‘You are an intriguing woman,cara, ’ he said softly, the pad of his thumb along the curve of her bottom lip. ‘I wonder what other secrets those grey eyes of yours are hiding from me.’

‘Th-there are no secrets.’ Her voice came out thinly. ‘I don’t have any secrets.’

His thumb moved back and forth until Changmin couldn’t think straight. Her lips were buzzing with the need to feel the hard pressure of his, her s already tightening in anticipation of his touch.

He drew her slowly but inexorably to her feet and brought her up close to his body, his hands at her waist, his thighs brushing hers as his head came down.

A soft sigh escaped from her lips into the warm cavern of his mouth as it captured hers, her whole body singing with delight at being in his arms once more. She felt the ing probe of his tongue and began to melt inside and out, her legs weakening as she clung to him unashamedly.

His hands slipped from her waist to her hips, bringing her even closer to his pulsing heat. She felt the hard ridge of his and stifled a gasp of pleasure when he moved against her.

Yunho dragged his mouth off hers and stepped back from her, his eyes glittering with desire. ‘I told myself I would not touch you. After last night…’

She was saved from having to respond by the staff coming in with their entrée. She resumed her seat, picked up her water glass and drank deeply, all the time doing her best to avoid Yunho’s dark watchful eyes.

She was relieved when the meal was finally over. They had eaten most of it in silence, only occasionally exchanging a comment or two over the various dishes that were brought out from time to time.

Yunho got to his feet once the last of the plates were cleared and came around to Changmin's chair to her from the table. She got unsteadily to her feet and took his proffered arm as he led her from the room, while the nerves in her stomach fluttered frantically.

He opened the door of her suite for her and looked down at her, his expression unfathomable. ‘I would like you to think about our marriage becoming a real one.’

Changmin stared back at him, her heart starting to gallop behind her .

‘I want what is best for Yeonhee and, in spite of what my brother told me, I now believe that you do too. That is why I feel it would be best if we conduct ourselves in a normal manner so as to give her the best possible environment in which to grow up. It would not be good for her to be around parents who bicker and snipe at each other all the time.’ He gave her a soft smile as he reached out to tuck a loose strand of her hair behind her ear. ‘You are still jet-lagged. I will let you sleep in peace. For now.’

She didn’t want to sleep in peace! She wanted to sleep with him, but how could she tell him that without revealing her true feelings?

‘Go on,cara, ’ he said when she didn’t move. ‘I am trying to be a gentleman here but you are not making it easy for me.’

‘I—I’m not?’ She moistened her dry lips.

‘No, you are not. I only have to look at you and I want to bury myself inside you. Go now while I still have the strength to resist you.’

Changmin turned and went into her room with dragging steps, the door closing softly behind her.

She wasn’t so sure she liked the thought of Yunho being able to resist her, especially when she had no such strength where he was concerned. But then he wasn’t in love with her, she reminded herself painfully. He hated her even though he desired her, but he had decided to put that hatred aside for Yeonhee’s sake. How much more would he hate her if he ever found out who she really was?