The Playboy's Fugitive Bride (28 page)

Nia sighed and glanced at the pillows on Massimo’s side of the bed.  There was no indication that he’d been in the bed.  Maybe he’d left early for his trip.  Her gaze wandered across the room where her suitcases and the briefcase with the money had been placed on the floor.

She was tempted to carry out her initial plot against Massimo.  She was sure he wouldn’t leave her alone without commissioning his spies to watch her every move.  But Nia doubted any one of them would dare lay a finger on her to try to stop her.  They might call Massimo, but what could he do thousands of miles away?

She could still make Eddie’s drop today, fly to Florida for her cruise on Tuesday, and be in Dulcina late next week.  She would send Aaron back to the States so he could finish up high school and get ready for college.  She wouldn’t have to worry about Massimo finding him since she’d told him she had no other family.  And Aaron would be using his legal name anyway.  She was sure the name Norwood wasn’t one Massimo would remember and connect to West Gate Mills.

Once Aaron was settled, she would find a remote little town on the other side of the Atlantic to live as Shaina Norwood.  

A slow smile parted Nia’s lips.  Massimo wouldn’t want the world to know that his bride had run away from him one day after their marriage.  He’d all but admitted that her disappearance would make him look like a fool.  He would lose credibility like he had when he began selling off pieces of his father’s company and reneging on deals Luciano had made before he died.  The business world had thought he’d gone mad or was simply throwing a spoiled, rich-boy tantrum for a wrong his father had done to him.  It was a miracle Andretti Industries had survived that fiasco.  A scandal involving a fugitive bride could destroy him for good.  How could he control his billion-dollar corporation when he couldn’t control his little slip of a wife?

No, Massimo Andretti wouldn’t be able to live that one down.

With Massimo and Eddie behind her, Nia would finally be able to live a normal life.  If she were lucky, she would fall in love with a man who wanted to marry her because he truly loved her and wanted to spend the rest of his life with her, not trick her into his bed to prove a point.

If Massimo had left the country, she’d be foolish to pass up this opportunity.  She was already dressed and packed.  Throwing back the covers, Nia hopped out of the bed and checked the bathroom and dressing areas.  There was no sign of him.  She ran back through the bedroom toward the door that led into the living area.  She opened it slowly and stuck her head out.  There was no sign of Massimo there either.  The dining table was set for two, and the delicious aroma of breakfast heating on the warmer in the kitchenette made her stomach growl.

Promising her stomach that she’d take care of it once she got on the road, Nia pulled her head back in and switched on the lamp on a table near the door.  It was then she saw the note propped against the lamp.  With her heart fluttering wildly, she picked it up.

Cara, I’m sorry I had to run out on our wedding night.  But an emergency came up.  Take a bath.  Have some breakfast and relax.  I will be back as soon as I can!
Mass
.

Nia had no idea when he’d written that note.  It could have been five minutes or five hours ago.  His emergency could have taken him out of out of town, out of state, or out of the country, or simply to his office.  Only one way to find out.  She picked up the house phone and dialed Azi.

“
Yeess, Mizz
Nia.”  The woman’s heavy African accent boomed in her ear.

“Good morning, Azi.”

“
Gooood
morning,
Mizz
Nia.  I trust you slept well, eh?  And I hear congratulations are in
ordaar
.  Missimo is a
veeery luucky
man, eh?”

Nia dropped her weight into the chair near the table.  Congratulations were not in order, but she liked Azi and had no reason to be rude to her.  “Thank you, Azi, and yes I slept well.”  It was left to be seen how
luucky
Massimo would get.  “Do you know where Massimo went?”

There was a short pause before she answered.  “
Nooo, Mizz
Nia.  Massimo never tells Azi where he’s going, only when he’s coming back.”

Nia was sure Massimo had put Azi on guard and coached her on how to respond to any questions his wife may have.  “And when is that?  I mean, when is he coming back?”

“He
saaays aroun’ nooon
.”

Nia clasped her hand to her mouth to stifle the scream. 
Five hours
.  She would have a five-hour head start if she left now.  Officer Jordan wouldn’t dare stop and arrest her for grand theft auto again.  She was Mrs. Massimo Andretti and had every right to her Mercedes.  He wouldn’t want her throwing up in another of his cruisers, anyway.

“Thanks, Azi.  And thanks for breakfast,” she added before hanging up.  She felt guilty that all that delicious food would go to waste.

Nia picked up her stockings from the floor, and pulled them on.  She hastily pushed her feet into her pumps, grabbed her purse, luggage, and her briefcase and strolled out of the bedroom without a backward glance.

She walked across the hardwood floor of the living area pulling her suitcases behind her.  She could hardly contain her chuckle as she turned the knob on the door leading into the corridor.

Son-of-a…

The door was locked.

She rattled the handle again. 
Damn him!  Damn him to hell!

Nia let out a long growl and, dropping her belongings, she sank to the floor in ultimate defeat.

Massimo didn’t trust her.

Do you blame him?
her annoying inner voice taunted.

Nia dropped her head in her hands.  She didn’t sigh.  She didn’t moan.  She didn’t cry.  She just simply accepted the raw truth.  There was no escaping Massimo Andretti.  He would always be one step ahead of her.

She inhaled deeply as another truth registered in her brain. 
She was tired
.  She was tired of running, of hiding, of scheming, and deceit.  She just wanted to be normal, make friends, form bonds, walk down the street without wondering if someone was following her or if she would collide with death around the next corner.  She didn’t want to have to worry about Aaron so much.  She just wanted to live, take time to breathe and discover who Shaina was.

She’d been living as Nia Sylk her entire adult life and had no idea who Shaina Norwood was.  God, she didn’t even know if she liked Shaina Norwood.  But now that she was Mrs. Massimo Andretti with nothing but time on her hands, she might be able to find herself, figure out who she really was.

Aaron might hate her for marrying the enemy.  She had no control over that, but she hoped he would come to realize the sacrifice she’d made to keep him alive and in perfect health, and that Massimo’s money had made it possible.

Massimo might be cold and shrewd when it came to business, but in the last four days Nia had discovered a side of him that reminded her of her father.  He could be sweet, gentle, and patient and even funny at times.  He’d proven that last night when he’d held her in the limo as she slept in his arms, brought her inside and put her to bed.  She’d been tired and fresh out of fight, and he could have taken advantage of her vulnerability.  But he’d done the gentlemanly thing, and let her sleep.  Alone.

Yes, his insensitive actions had gotten her family into the mess with Eddie, but ironically, his crafty plot to have her was digging them out of it—just not quite the way she’d planned.  Marriage to Massimo might not be such a terrible thing.  She could do worse.  Her father would want her to be happy.  She wasn’t fooling herself into thinking she would be happy just because she was married to Massimo.  She’d spoken vows to him, and he to her.  So the least she could do was give them both a chance to make or break those promises. 

In a few days, when Massimo left for Asia, she would make Eddie’s drop, then find a way to tell Aaron about the changes in their lives.  Later on, if Massimo proved he could be trusted, she would finally tell him who she really was and give him a chance to explain why he’d reneged on the contract with her father and ultimately caused his death.

Everybody deserved a second chance, but she couldn’t risk revealing her true identity yet.  Massimo thought she had tried to swindle him because she owed someone money.  If he knew it was also because she blamed him for her father’s death, he might have second thoughts about sleeping next to her every night or leaving her alone with his food.  No man in his right mind would stay married to a woman he knew had come looking for him to avenge her father’s death.

He might take back the two million dollars, and she’d probably have to take Eddie up on his offer of trade—that is if Massimo didn’t have her thrown into jail for sure this time, which would consequently leave Aaron at the mercy of Eddie and his thugs.  If she had to trade her body to keep her brother and herself alive, she would stick with the most desirable trader.  That was Massimo Andretti—her husband.

Nia got up from the floor, took her luggage back to the bedroom and unpacked.  She ran herself a hot bubbly bath in the Jacuzzi then soaked for a good while, allowing the jet streams to massage her aching muscles and the steam to clear her head.  Then she wrapped her wet hair in a towel and her body in a huge bathrobe.  She opened the drapes, letting the day into the suite, sat down at the small dining table, and thoroughly enjoyed Azi’s breakfast as she watched the local news.  The paparazzi had moved on from her and Massimo—for the time being.  She cringed at the commotion the news of their marriage would create.

With her stomach full, her hair blow-dried and straight, and her body scented, relaxed, and adorned in a white silky lacy nightgown and matching panties, Nia selected some of her favorite artists on the built-in stereo and curled up on the divan near the fireplace in the sitting area of the bedroom.

From there she watched giant snowflakes tumble down to the ground while she waited for her husband to come home.

Massimo’s heart thumped erratically against his chest as he stood at the foot of the divan and studied his sleeping wife.  She was the epitome of enchantment as she lay on her back, her arms overlapping above her head on the pillow, one leg fully extended while the other was slightly bent at the knee.  Her feet were small and dainty, and he imagined them pressed flat against his chest, her red-tipped toes curling inside his mouth as he thrust deep inside her.

His eyes slid upward to where her white gown had ridden up to the junction of her thighs.  From his position, Massimo was awarded a sensational view of the outline of her Venus mound straining against the white lace of her panties.  His sex throbbed at the anticipation of a bold introduction to her folds and a tight, wet invitation into her steaming heat.  His finger tingled from the memory of her clamped around it last night.

Heat crawled across his belly as his eyes feasted on her belly, her slender torso, and the swell of her voluptuous young breasts, spilling halfway out of the deep V in the front of her gown.  For a breathless moment, Massimo focused on the brown mounds of flesh rising and falling to the steady rhythm of her breathing.  He shifted restlessly as the subtle bumps of her taut dark nipples pushing against the gown tempted him.  His mouth watered at the thought that soon those breasts would be swelling in his hands, then his mouth, those nipples hardening against his tongue.

God, he had so many fantasies about making love with Nia, and had no idea which ones to indulge in first.  He sighed deeply.  Some of those fantasies should have become reality last night, but he was glad they hadn’t consummated their marriage yet.  Making love with Nia now would be so much more meaningful, he thought with a bittersweet tug on his heart.

As he studied his wife, it dawned on Massimo that he’d never taken the time to watch a woman sleep before.  The desire had never been there.  Did they all look this defenseless and innocent, or was it just Nia?  And even in her vulnerable state, she was still the perfect picture of sexuality with her long black hair spread out around her head on the pillow, her plump lips slightly parted in slumber, and her dark long lashes brushing her impeccable coffee cheeks.  Her face was void of makeup, yet she was the most beautiful, most alluring woman, Massimo had ever seen.  In all her waking and sleeping moments, Nia exuded sensuality like Massimo had never encountered in any other woman.

She kept him in a constant state of wanting.  He’d be coming home for lunch every day, and his wife would be on the menu every time.

Massimo held his breath as Nia shifted in her sleep, bending her other leg at the knee and widening the space between her thighs.  She gave a little half-stretch followed by a soft sigh and brought her left hand to rest on her stomach before settling back down into slumber. 

A twinge of guilt shook Massimo as the diamonds on Nia’s finger sparkled in the sun streaming through the wall of glass.  He closed his eyes briefly at the memory of Nia standing rigidly and despondently in front of him while he’d slipped the rings on her finger and promised to protect her, care for her, and love her for the rest of his life.

Every one of those promises had come from his heart, and Massimo hoped that in time Nia would come to realize his sincerity.  Especially now, he thought, as he toyed with the diamond-studded band she’d slipped on his finger while she made similar promises to him.

She was his wife.  He was her husband.  They belonged to each other.

A tightness gripped Massimo’s throat and his heart began to pound with an emotion he dared not try to analyze, but which made him feel very unworthy of such a divine gift.  A gift from the most unlikely benefactor.

When Massimo had walked into his bedroom to find Nia fast asleep, he’d been relieved even though he’d had to fight the urge to pick her up from the divan and take her to bed.  He’d needed time to think and clear his head of all distractions, and mentally prepare to deal with the events, revelations, and questions that had arisen in the past few hours.  He hated that he’d had to resort to locking Nia in like she was a common prisoner.  But he’d had no choice.