Falling into Black (11 page)

Fireworks danced before
my eyes as I writhed. The throbbing shaft impaled me with perfect accuracy.
Again and again.

Then, when I thought I
couldn't take it anymore, my body jerked and trembled as another rush of
pleasure consumed me. His hot load spilt inside my sex. The weight of his chest
pressed against my back as his hands wound around my waist and gripped my
stomach.

“You’re mine, Alicia,”
he groaned into my ear and smothered my neck in kisses.

“Yes,” I agreed.

But for how long?

*
* *

My parents flew in the
day before the wedding. I barely got a chance to tell them about Dorian on the
phone, but both my mom and dad didn’t seem as surprised as I thought they’d be.
Unfortunately, I was too stressed to notice.

Besides our combined
friends and family, the board members were also attending. Of course they
needed to see the wedding they forced on their CEO.

After showing my parents
the villa’s grounds, they went to their room to unpack, and I stepped outside
for some fresh air.

The cold autumn breeze
chilled me, even through my wool coat. The leaves, gold, red and yellow, blew
across the walkway and the sky was a dull slate gray, threatening rain. I wasn’t
the type of girl who dreamed of a spring wedding, so the rich beauty of the
countryside wasn’t lost on me. A fall wedding suited us, I thought, even if it
was out of the blue.

Good thing the hall had
heaters. Otherwise we’d freeze during the nuptials!

The click of shoes
sounded behind me on the path, and I turned to look.

Sylvia stood there,
wrapped in a black coat with her blonde hair tied into a severe ponytail.

“You’re really going
through with it?”

I stared at her for a
moment. I’d never be as tall or as strikingly beautiful, but it didn’t matter.
How could I be jealous of a woman so sickly jealous of me? She could have
almost any man she wanted except Dorian.

“Of course,” I said and
balled my hands into tight fists. She probably put the board up to this in the
first place.

“Do you think he’ll
stick around and go through with it?” she asked and glanced out at the ocean in
the distance.

“Yes. Dorian loves Black
Inc. He’s not going to let you take it from him.”

She turned and shook her
head. “Me? I don’t want to take anything away from him. I’m trying to warn you,
Ms. Jones. You’ve bit off more than you can chew. How well do you know Mr.
Black? Has he told you about Jenny Garret?”

My heart pounded in my
chest.
This is a trick, Alicia. She’s trying to make you doubt him!

But she was also right.
I hardly knew a thing about Dorian’s past. The company belonged to his uncle
and he worked his way up from an assistant to CEO in six short years. His
parents died in a car accident when he was a child and his uncle passed from
cancer the year before. Dorian didn’t have any family left.

And he’d never mentioned
anyone named Jenny.

“No. Who is she?”

Sylvia smiled. “Dorian’s
old flame. She was a lot like you, Alicia. Plump, savvy and oh so dedicated to
him. They were engaged.”

I set my lips into a
line and stared at her. “And?”

“He left her at the
alter. Ran off when he got cold feet. The last thing I heard, poor Jenny Garret
drowned herself to get over the heartbreak. He killed her, Ms. Jones.”

I shook my head, but I
couldn’t think of anything to counter that. Dorian’s ex-fiancé committed
suicide after he broke up with her? It was a pretty big secret to keep!

“Why tell me?” I asked.

“Because Mr. Black is
rough on the heart. I should know. He’ll use you and toss you aside. Have you
signed a pre-nup?”

I didn’t answer, but she
must have seen the truth on my face.

“No? What happens when
he screws you over in the divorce? He has the money to hire the best legal team
around and you’re just a lowly assistant.”

Divorce? We weren’t even
married yet. But I couldn’t deny I’d thought of it; worried what might happen
if he did decide he didn’t love me anymore.

“He wouldn’t do that.” I
wanted to shout, but it came out as more of a whisper instead.

“Wouldn’t he?” she asked
and raised an eyebrow. “Good luck then. I’ll see you tomorrow at the wedding.”

She swept off down the
path, her heels clicking on the damp cobblestones. I didn’t want to fall prey
to her jealously, but she didn’t plant seeds of doubt in my mind. She merely
watered them into sprouting.

You’re doing this for
him not for you, Alicia.

Wiping my eyes, I walked
back to the villa.

*
* *

My mother stood behind
me tightening the corset around my waist as I stared at myself in the mirror.
She tried not to cry, but the tears welled up in her eyes every time she looked
at me.

“Oh darling. It’s so
beautiful. Why did you keep your relationship with Dorian a secret? He’s such a
thoughtful young man.”

“He’s my boss,” I
reminded her and smoothed my hands over the silk. My curls were piled on my
head in an intricate design I could never hope to emulate, and my soft make up
made me look delicate, like a little doll. It fit my short curvy stature well.

“Still. You should have
told us! Your father and I were surprised when he called right before your
trip.”

“What?” I asked and
tried to turn around. “He called before we flew over?”

“Yes. The night before,
actually. He called and asked for our permission to marry you. Didn’t you know,
Alicia?”

My heart slammed in my
chest, and I glanced at the ring on my hand. He asked my parent’s permission
before the board gave him their ultimatum? Did he know about it in advance and
didn’t bother to tell me? Or was he planning on proposing anyway? How could I
marry him if I didn’t know the whole truth?

“Are you finished?” I
asked as I fought to catch my breath. I needed to find Dorian right away!

“Almost,” my mother said
and finished tightening it.

I slipped on my shoes,
and my hands trembled as I turned toward the door.

“It’s time, Alicia,” my
dad said and stepped into the room right as I headed out.

“What?” I asked and
glanced at the clock. Sure enough, I needed to be walking down the aisle in a
few minutes! But I hadn’t even spoken to Dorian yet! Dammit!

Smiling, my dad took my
arm in his. “You look lovely. Dorian’s will be thrilled.”

“Did you see him today?”
I asked as we walked across the courtyard to the hall.

“He grabbed some
espresso for breakfast, then disappeared into the bathroom. Why?”

I shook my head. Telling
them he might stand me up like he had Jenny Garret wouldn’t do me any good. And
there was no way in hell I could talk to him now without alerting the board
members something was wrong. I couldn’t do that to Dorian – even if I
wanted to learn the truth.

My feet moved on their own.
My body floated down the aisle past my family and friends and the guests on
Dorian’s side whom I didn’t know. I was going to marry Dorian Black. A man I
hardly knew. A man whose past was riddled with secrets and supposed lies. But I
couldn’t back out now. Not when his whole company was at stake!

He stood, tall, dark and
handsome personified, at the end of the hall. The black tux hugged him like a
dream. A smile slid across his lips when he saw me, and my heart caught in my
throat.

Why had he called my parents
and not told me? Why hadn’t he said a word about this Jenny girl?

We spoke our vows, and
the audience around us faded until we were the only people in the world. When
he leaned down to kiss me, his lips hungry and burning against my own, I
gripped onto his shoulders for support. My knees weakened, and he slipped a
strong arm around my waist and held me up, pulling me out toward the reception
as rose petals rained onto our heads.

“You’re mine now,
Alicia,” he whispered in my ear, his hands digging into my side.

I bit my bottom lip and
said nothing.

The reception went off
as I planned. Dancing, dining, pictures and mingling all rushed by in a whirl I
could hardly take in. I needed to catch a moment alone with my new husband, but
how could I do it and keep up the ruse?

When we slipped into a
limo after a final round of congratulations, I took a deep breath and balled my
hands into fists.

“Where are we going?” I
asked as Lance turned off the driveway and toward the coast.

“Our honeymoon,” Dorian
said and buried his smooth cheek into my neck, nipping at my sensitive flesh.

Another secret.

“You never said we were
going on a honeymoon. Where?”

“It’s a surprise,” he
said and looked at me.

Even in the shadows of
the car, I saw his eyes narrow dangerously.

I swallowed the lump in
my throat.
Now or never, Alicia!

“Why did you call my
parents before we came to Tuscany? And why didn’t you tell me about it?”

He raised an eyebrow.
“You know why I called them. I wanted to make sure they approved of our union.
They do. Is that what’s been bothering you all day?”

Chewing on my bottom
lip, I shook my head. “That was before the board’s decision. Did you know what
they wanted? Is that why--”

Dorian grabbed my
shoulders and shook his head. “No, Alicia. It isn’t. Why can’t you admit I
wanted to marry you
before
the board sprung it on us? I bought the ring
right after the fundraiser because that’s when I knew you would be my wife.”

He wanted to marry me
before?
My mind swam, grasping for a lifeline. “What about Jenny Garret? You never told
me about her.”

His green eyes widened
and a shadow fell across them. “Who told you about Jenny?” he growled.

“Sylvia. She said you
left her at the alter and then she killed herself,” I squeaked.

Dorian shook his head
and ran his fingers through his hair. “That lying bitch. First of all, Jenny
left
me
at the alter – not the other way around. We were young,
Alicia. Only twenty-one at the time. And she drowned while on a boat trip with
her family. She got swept under the river’s current. She did
not
commit
suicide!”

My heart ached.
Why
was I so stupid? Why couldn’t I believe him? Believe he wanted me, Alicia
Jones, over other women?

“I’m sorry. I shouldn’t
believe anything she says.”

He sighed and slipped a
strong arm around my shoulder, pulling me into him. “I’m not angry at you. Not
at all. But I will do something about Sylvia. I thought Lance would be enough
to keep her at bay. I suppose I was wrong.”

“You hired Lance to
protect me from Sylvia?”

He smiled and shrugged.
“Yes. I’m tired of that woman filling your head with lies. Look, Alicia. I’m
not perfect -- and there are things about me you don’t know. But you have to
believe I love you more than anything in this world. You’re mine, and I’ll do
anything to protect you. We have our whole lives to get to know each other, but
you have to trust me.”

“I do,” I said and
buried my face into his chest. “I trust you.”

His lips brushed my
hair. “Good.”

“Does this mean you’ll
tell me where we’re going for our honeymoon?”

His chest rumbled with
laughter. “No. It’s still a secret.”

*
* *

I stood naked in our
lavish suite. The narrow streets of Venice stretched below us, awash with
twinkling lights. The room shone with the dim flicker of candles, and I fought
the urge to turn around and look at my new husband.

Dorian’s orders were
explicit. Undress and wait for him.

I glanced at the wedding
band, snug on my finger next to the engagement ring, and smiled.

Then footsteps broke the
silence, padding across the carpet toward me. I held my breath and waited for
his touch. His kiss. The first time we’d make love as a married couple.

“This is my surprise,”
he whispered and slipped something cool and heavy around my neck.

It felt like a choker. I
fingered it slowly, the ridges of gems uneven under my hands.

“Not Venice?”

His lips smiled against
my neck as his strong arms encompassed me from behind. “Venice is a treat. You
always wanted to come, right?”

I nodded. “How did you
know that?”

“I know all about you,
Alicia. Now let me show you your wedding present.”

His powerful body led me
away from the window to the full-length mirror, its edges gilded with painted
gold. I took in my reflection. The full curves of my breasts and hips, the tuck
of my waist. My round thighs and thick calves. Dorian stood more than a head
taller than me, his bare, sculpted chest pressed flat against my back.