Authors: Doris O'Connor
Marco startled her by his sudden low growl, and
the heat in his eyes when he raked her body up down.
"Trust me; I'm beginning to wish that I
had, my little
pasticcino
. But you got Mimi to laugh. That is the only
reason you're still here. Besides I severely dislike being taken to the
cleaners, so you will pay me back every penny; and there will be no more
friends
. And before you get any ideas, the new card comes with a personal
shopper to make sure you buy something decent. After all, my fiancée needs a
better dress sense!"
"Your what?"
Marco's smile was ice cold when he quietly
uttered the most damning words.
"
Si
, did I not tell you? You have
graciously accepted to be my wife. Quite a Cinderella story we have going here,
and don't even think of saying no, or you'll find your cute little ass behind
bars for fraud before you can blink!"
Chapter Four
Elise nervously twisted the exquisite diamond
engagement ring Marco had given her before they left the house, glancing across
at the man's profile. They were in his Range Rover on the way to Mamma G's, as
she would forever be known to Elise now, Mimi in the back seat, quietly looking
out of the window.
It had been a crazy couple of days to say the
least. She'd literally run from his study after that horrendous announcement,
once it had become clear that he had indeed been deadly serious, only for him
to come after her. He'd taken every last one of Jemima's clothes and bundled
them up in two black bags, with distinct instructions to an astonished Agnes to
burn them. When Elise had tried to protest, he'd used his body to crowd her
against her bedroom wall, his eyes a menacing, ice cold blue, his mouth
hovering over hers, before he raised his eyebrows, his voice as cold as his
eyes.
"They're going, lady, and you have an
appointment at one. I suggest you keep it!"
Elise told herself that he may have won the
battle, but she was going to win the war. Only problem with that brilliant
theory of hers was the fact that he kept on winning those battles. He was a man
on an unstoppable mission it seemed, and he would not listen to reason. Agnes
thought it was all highly romantic, the way the man steam-rolled over every one
of Elise's objections. It was all a sign of how much he loved her apparently.
Yeah, as if!
Though his tendency to watch
her out of half-closed eyelids made Elise extremely nervous and all too aware
of him as a man.
And now they were going to this family do, where
he was going to announce that they were about to be married. Next week in fact.
He had informed her of that very casually over breakfast this morning, throwing
her one of those looks over the newspaper he had been reading, whilst wolfing
down the full English breakfast Agnes had prepared. Elise, on the other hand,
had completely lost her appetite which probably went a long way to explaining
why she felt so faint right now.If only she could find a way to get out of
this, but Jemima had been so desperate back at the coffee shop. And Elise
didn't even want to begin to imagine what Marco would do if he ever found out
the truth. Damn Jemina. Not for the first time Elise wished she hadn't promised
their mother to always look out for Jem.
She risked another glance at his profile whilst
he was concentrating on his driving, mindful of the butterflies in her stomach.
How Jemima could say he wasn't handsome was beyond her. Maybe she was just a
glutton for punishment, but he did that mean and moody look so well, and the
rare genuine smiles, reserved for Mimi only, made her wish he would smile at
her like that just once.
One large, warm hand closed over hers, making
Elise jump.
"Quit fiddling
pasticcino
. Mamma G
will love you. Well, she'll love the fact that I'm getting married
anyway."
Elise could feel his gaze on her, which did
absolutely nothing to quell the army of butterflies which had firmly taken
residence in her stomach.
"Smile, and look as though you're in love
with me. We're here."
****
Marco watched Elise deep in conversation with
Kitty across the room. The two women had hit it off immediately. Elise was
cradling one of the twins in her arms, and the soft expression on her face drew
him in. Out of her garish clothes she was beautiful, stunning in fact, in the
strappy, yellow, little summer dress, which hinted at luscious curves. His
fingers itched to explore those curves. It was going to be a long wait until
their wedding night. Not that he had told her yet that he had every intention
of consummating their marriage. She was still under the illusion that this was
just going to be a marriage of convenience. He smiled grimly; it was certainly
going to be one of his conveniences.
"Hey, Marco, you could scare small children
with that look," Alex chuckled, as he, too, glanced across to Kitty and
Elise. "Suits her, doesn't it?"
Marco groaned, earning himself another amused
chuckle from his cousin.
"Never thought I see the day again a woman
has got you so wound up in knots," Alex said.
"She hasn't. You have with talk of babies.
We're still not sure what's up with Mimi. I'm hardly going to add to the brood
of Giovanni with that hanging over me, and besides a man has got to get to
enjoy his wife for a while."
Stella Giovanni's voice rung out loud and clear
from behind them.
"Of course you're going to have more
babies, Marco. There is nothing at all wrong with Mimi; she just needs a
mother's touch. You'll see, she'll blossom now that you're getting married.
Already she seems so much happier. Just look at the two of them."
Sure enough little Mimi, having toddled over to Elise
whilst they had been talking, was tugging on her dress putting her arms up for
a cuddle. Elise smiled down on her and, deftly transferring Alex's baby
daughter over to Kitty, picked Mimi up. One of the layers of ice round Marco's
heart melted a little, hearing his daughter's delighted giggle. Whatever Elise
was she certainly had a way with Mimi.
Elise looked across at him. Her smile faded, and
he made himself grin at her, mindful of his audience.
****
Elise hugged Mimi a little closer to herself, feeling
Marco's intense gaze on her. One would be forgiven for thinking that Alex and
Marco were brothers, so similar where they in looks. Marco wasn't quite as tall
as his cousin, but he had a commanding presence that exuded a quiet power and
authority. Alex in contrast was open and friendly, winking at Kitty, standing
next to her.
"Aren't we the luckiest women around? The
Giovanni men are a sexy bunch are they not? I never get tired of just looking
at Alex."
Elise made a non-committal sound, far too aware of
the said Giovanni men walking towards them. Alex smiled at her as he enveloped
Kitty in a bear hug, before kissing her deeply. Marco pulled Elise into his
hard frame. His voice was an angry whisper in her ear.
"Relax, will you? Remember, we're madly in
love."
She forced herself to relax into his embrace,
Mimi still in arms, and Marco said something to her in Italian which made the
little girl giggle. Elise blinked away the sudden tears, and putting Mimi down,
excused herself to find the bathroom. Or at least she tried. She made it as far
as the hallway, before Marco caught up with her. He grabbed her arm and
propelled her out into the garden and away from prying eyes.
"What's up with you now?"
Oh why could he not just leave her alone? She
was not going to cry in front of him.
"Nothing, I need to spend a penny that's
all."
She tried to sidestep him, but he just moved
himself in her way every time.
"Will you let me past, for pity's
sake!"
"No, Mamma G is watching, and I want to
know why you felt the need to turn on the waterworks. I'd like to think it's
because you're so overcome with emotion at our upcoming nuptials, but we both
know that's not the case, so spill. What's rattled your cage?"
He took a step closer to her. His hand toyed
with a strand of her hair, which had come loose out of the messy bun. His blue
eyes scanned her face. Elise tried to step away, but Marco simply grabbed her
around the waist. His face grim, he pulled her flush against his body.
"Let's pretend I can't keep my hands off
you, shall we?" And before Elise could stop him, his mouth descended on
hers.
She gasped at the first contact of that firm
mouth, allowing Marco's tongue access. He wasted no time exploring her. Heat
curled low in Elise's core as long denied needs slammed into her, and the tears
started falling in earnest. It had been such a long time since she had been
held by any man. Marco pulled back. His hands framed her face as he scowled at
her, his voice a low murmur.
"Why are you crying?"
Elise drew a shuddering breath and shook her
head.
"It's nothing, Marco. It's not as though
you care anyway, so kiss me already and get this over with."
Something hot and dangerous flashed in Marco's
eyes, and he muttered, "I have no intention of just getting it over with,
pasticcino
,
ever. In fact now would probably be a good time to tell you that I have every
intention of taking you very slowly and any which way I can, just as soon as we
are married." He pulled her in even closer, bringing her lower tummy in
direct contact with his obvious arousal.
"You cannot be serious!" Elise stared
up at him in shock. Dread crept up her spine at what she saw in his eyes.
"But I thought…"
"You thought wrong, lady. I told you, you
owe me, and I can't think of a better way to repay me then by having you in my
bed."
"You will find me a very unwilling
participant then." Elise spat the words at him. She straightened her spine
in an effort to make herself taller, but all it achieved was bringing her
breasts in direct contact with his chest. She bit back the moan as her nipples
reacted in an embarrassingly obvious way.
Marco chuckled, a harsh cold sound, as he ran
one hand under her dress, cupping her moist heat with a knowing smile.
"I beg to differ, lady!"
Chapter Five
Elise approached the glass fronted foyer of
Parkins Solicitors with a certain amount of trepidation. The summons had been
curt and brief, as was Marco's habit.
"Meet me at 11.00. Don't bring Mimi, and
wear something sexy and elegant. We'll be eating out."
The nerve of the man! She hadn't seen much of
him since Sunday. He left the house early every day, returning long after Mimi
went to bed. She could hear him across the hall saying good night to his
daughter. More than once his footsteps stopped in front of her door, giving
Elise palpitations, before they moved on to his room next to hers.
He confused the hell out of Elise with his
actions. After that humiliating scene in the garden, he'd stayed irritatingly
close to her the rest of the afternoon. He'd kept one hand on her at all times,
and by the time they finally bundled a sleeping Mimi back into the car, Elise
wanted to scream in pent up frustration. He took Mimi up to bed himself,
leaving her to clatter about in the huge kitchen trying to fix herself a hot
chocolate before bed.
Her nerves were in such tatters that she spilled
the hot milk all over her hand when she sensed Marco's quiet presence behind
her. He swore loudly when she yelped at the pain, dropping the milk all over
the floor and his polished Italian loafers.
"For God's sake, woman, you're a
menace."
But he grabbed her hand and made her hold it
under the cold water until she thought she would have frost bite. And his hands
applying the burns cream and dressing to the large reddened area of her poor,
abused fingers had been gentle and steady, even if his eyes were frost itself.
He made her sit down and prepared a new hot
chocolate, adding a large dose of brandy to it. When she was going to refuse,
he stared her down until she took it.
"Don't argue, woman. You're as white as a
sheet. Drink that; it will help you sleep, and for God's sake stay out of the
kitchen. You are no use to me injured."
"I am no use to you, period. Why are you
doing this, Marco? Why force me to marry you? Surely you have more than enough
willing women lined round the corner…"
She grimaced, remembering the fierce scowl on
his face as he wielded the mop with such force Elise feared it would break. He
didn't answer her, just carried on clearing up the mess on the floor, frowning
at the state of his shoes.
"I'm sorry about your shoes," Elise
made herself say. "Guess you'll be adding them to the bill I have to pay
off."
Marco sighed, fixing her with an intent gaze
before he stepped into her personal space once again.
"They're just shoes; forget it. How's the
hand?"
Elise flexed her fingers experimentally.
"I'll live. I am forever dropping things. I'm used to it."