The Tycoon's Virgin Bride - Part 1 (The Corskovi Dynasty) (4 page)

Hannah
Steeles became breathless as her eyes focused on Andre Corskovi’s sinfully sexy
lips. Had he just proposed to her? Had she heard correctly?

She was
sure her senses were deluding her. After all, she’d just had the most
traumatic, or humiliating, day of her life. There she was in her wedding gown
in a limo with the man who should have given her away but instead had decided
he wanted her for himself. And who could blame him? She was about to engage in
a convenient marriage with a jerk that forgot to mention that he was already
married.

Her
pulse raced and her mind reeled with confusion.

She
squeezed her eyes shut when the lump in her throat became unbearable.

“You
okay, Hannah?”

She
nodded but she felt as if she were having a panic attack.

“Andre…I…”
She wanted him badly but could she jump from one man to another so soon?

“I…this
is all so sudden. I mean to go through this again…”

Andre
leaned over and pressed his soft lips to hers. “Shh.”

Oh, he
was so irresistible. Even the way he quietly shushed her.

She
pulled back as hard as that was for her to do.

“No, Andre.
I really am grateful for you wanting to save my face with the guests in the
chapel and all but…I don’t want to be a pity bride.”

What
was she saying? The words were spewing out from her lips yet she did not
believe them. She wanted to retract them. Andre was the most adorable sex god
she’d ever laid eyes on. He took her breath away every moment of the day. He
starred in her deepest fantasies. Oh, God! She wanted him badly. The mind
blowing sex they’d experienced was, oh, so delicious. Addictive.

But no
way in hell did she want to come off as cheap or desperate. Bouncing from one
groom to another groom in the same day. She just couldn’t do that to herself.
And her mother.
What would her mother think? Her ailing
mother had been through enough heartache in her life struggling to raise Hannah
on her own on a pauper’s salary.

Hannah
also didn’t want to dishonor the memory of her late step-uncle who made all of
this possible. She wouldn’t want to come off as a wedding-whore. Whatever that
was.

“What’s
the matter, baby?” Andre whispered in her ear.
His voice
hoarse.
She could tell he was turned on. “I thought this is what you
wanted.”

“Andre…I…I
care so much about you.”
I love you to
death.
“But I think we’re both caught up in the moment. I don’t want to
have one of those celebrity whirlwind weddings.”

Lord
knows that
people could get carried away by the whole Vegas
scene
.
Gambling and fast weddings.
She
remembered Britney Spears infamous 2004 nuptials. Spears had done a similar
elopement with a friend of hers and the marriage lasted only fifty-five hours!

Of
course, she was no Britney Spears and she didn’t have a PR team or money or
fame to back her up. But that was the whole power, or magic, of the Vegas
spirit. It caused people to gamble like there was no tomorrow. But gambling
with her emotions and her heart was not something she wanted to do right now.
She’d just been burned. Talk about rebound love. She needed more time to
process things.

Andre
was hot. He was sexy as hell. But he was also a ladies man, a playa who vowed
to never get married. What if he regretted it after they
said
“I do”? Where would that leave her? No, she had to be sure. She wanted to have
kids in wedlock more than ever.
But not this way.
The
last time she tried to marry for the wrong reason—like this morning, it
blew up in her face. Big time!

Andre’s
luscious lips pressed into a thin hard line.

Oh, no.
Had she just offended the very
man who just tried to save her face in a chapel filled with family and friends
after her former groom-to-be turned out to be a no-show who was already
married?

“Andre?”
she murmured, reaching over to touch his shoulders. His body stiffened at her
touch. His brittle reaction caused her stomach to sink to her knees.

She
drew in a deep breath.

“We
should just get going to the chapel,” she murmured, trying to steady the
shaking in her voice. Her heart pounded in her throat. The heavy beats getting
harder each moment. There she was, seated in one of the most luxurious hummer
limousines, a palace on wheels, yet she could not even appreciate her
surroundings.

“And
what are you going to do when you get to the chapel?” Andre asked
,
his head turned away from her as he gazed out the window.
Why wasn’t he looking at her? She noticed his jaw was clenched and she could
see a muscle twitch in his well-defined jawline. His chiseled
cheek bones
were so beautiful from her view when she glanced
his way.

“I have
to face them,” she whispered. “There’s no use keeping them waiting.”

“So you
will walk down the aisle alone?” Again, his face was turned away from her. God,
she found this to be utterly annoying. It was as if he were talking to someone
else outside the window or on his Bluetooth. It was as if he were evading her.
Or perhaps he wanted to hide the hurt or disappointment in his eyes. She could
always read his eyes.

“You’ll
soon find out what I’m about to do,” she whispered. Just thinking about what
she must do at the chapel shattered her nerves. But she could not let Andre in
on what she was about to do. He might try to stop her. She’d gotten herself
into this humiliating situation so she’d have to get herself out of it. She
would have to face the music, or the gatherers, now before she lost her nerve
and could never show her face again.

A half
hour later, at the Vegas Chapel, Hannah stood alone at the altar facing one
hundred pairs of eager eyes. The room felt cold and the tension brittle. It
seemed as if nobody took a breath as they waited for what she was about to
announce. The eerie silence was overwhelming. You could hear a pin drop in the
church.

She was
more shaken than she cared to admit. Fear and anxiety knotted inside her. What
was she going to say? All eyes in the church blazed into her now. She dared not
look her mother’s direction who was seated at the front in her wheelchair. She
couldn’t bear to see the disappointment and pain in her mother’s eyes. She
squeezed tight onto the bouquet of beautiful silk flowers in her hands.

She
drew in a deep breath.

To the
side, she caught a glimpse of Andre who was not looking her direction. He stood
in his sexy tux beside his brother to the side of the church.

“Um…family
and friends,” she began to speak as her heart leaped in her chest. Her voice
quivered but was loud enough to be heard. “I know you’re probably wondering
what’s going on right now. Well, first of all, I want to thank you for coming
to my wedding, but…there won’t be a groom.”

There
she said it. Now it was time for the ground to open up and swallow her.

Again,
the chapel was silent.

Everyone
looked horrified. Oh, God, the last thing she wanted was to be pitied. It was
as if they’d felt embarrassed for her. Just then, Hannah felt much worse than
she did before entering the chapel and she began to question if she’d made the
right decision.
Shit! I should have
listened to Andre!

“Look…I…”

“Hannah
found out at the last minute that her Mr. Right was a jerk and she didn’t want
to go ahead and marry someone who wasn’t right for her. So she dumped him,” Andre’s
deep, commanding voice sounded as he made his way to the altar among the
whispers and gasping sounds made from the guests. He looked dashing with his
hands shoved in his pockets. “I was there when she called it off. End of
story.”

“Andre,”
Hannah murmured. She was stunned to say the least. She could not believe he’d
come to her rescue like that—again.

Lucy,
her maid of honor and roommate gave her a nod of approval and a supportive
smile. When Hannah glanced in her mother’s direction, her mother seemed
incredibly shaken, confused. Oh, God! What had she done?

As
Hannah proceeded towards her mother, Jessica Peterson, the spoiled heiress and
daughter of her late step-uncle, Donald Peterson, who made this dream wedding all
possible, got up and went over to the older Ms Steeles and mocked a consoling
look. “Dear, dear. Hannah, looks like you’ve broken your mother’s heart,” she
said, rubbing her mother’s shoulder. Jessica was the ultimate spoiled rich girl
who loved attention and who thrived on making a scene. Hannah had almost
forgotten that she would be there. They weren’t exactly friends. Especially
since Jessica always had her eyes on Andre and her own father seemed to have
more respect for Hannah than his daughter, the socialite-party-girl whose job
was to max out her father’s credit cards and make tabloid headlines for her bad
girl behavior.

“Shouldn’t
you just end this quietly so that we can all get a refund on our rooms for the
week?” Jessica pouted.

Hannah’s
blood surged with rage as a commotion of infectious whispers spread in the
congregation. Heat rushed to her cheeks. She could taste acid in her mouth. .
“L-l-listen…” Hannah started but her nerves got the best of her and she began
to stutter.

“Don’t
be silly, Jessica,” Andre intervened. “This is a celebration of love. Love for
family and friends. We’re all going to have a great time at the ballroom. It’s
all been set up. Don’t you agree it’s the best way to spend the day?” Andre’s
voice was icy cold and his gaze towards Jessica sent shivers down Hannah’s
spine. Oh, he was mad as hell. His eyes darkened and his jaw clenched as he
spoke.

Hannah’s
mood lightened momentarily. She almost giggled at the deer-in-the-headlight
expression pasted on Jessica’s face. Jessica’s cheeks blazed red in contrast to
her straight blond hair. That would teach her to keep quiet.

“Mama,
listen…” Hannah picked up her long train and shifted it to the side so that she
could kneel beside her
mother,
she ignored the
chattering going on around her as everyone started to get up. “I’m so sorry…I
knew how much…”

“No.
No, darling. It’s okay, I just want what’s best for you, baby. You’re my only
baby you know.”

“I
know, Mama.” Hannah felt as if there was a large
sink hole
in the center of her chest. Her mother just wanted her to have what she’d never
had herself.
 

A
family.
 

A
husband.

Respect.

In the
village they came from back in the Mediterranean, unmarried mothers were
frowned upon and her mother lived a life of shame after Hannah’s father sped
off before she was born. She just wanted the cycle to be broken. She knew if
Hannah wanted children she would have to have them soon or it may be too late
because of her medical condition.

Hannah
felt Andre squeeze her shoulder. Electricity pumped through her body as if he’d
given her a boost from his power. She turned to face him. “Thank you,” she
mouthed to him with deep appreciation. Just as she was feeling
more strong
, she also caught a glimpse of Jessica from the
corner of her eye. Jessica was giving her a deleterious stare.

Great
, Hannah thought. She was in for
some more drama. Jessica was not one to be publicly shamed by others. Doing
that
on her own
was fine though. Jessica gave Hannah
another look of disgust and narrowed her eyes before walking off. If anyone
could pull of the ultimate
evil-eye
it was Jessica.

Hannah
tightened her lips. The last thing she wanted was trouble, or worse,
competition from Jessica Peterson.

As if
things took a
360 degree
turn, Andre was nowhere to be
found in the ballroom as the dance begun. Hannah tried not to look desperate as
she scanned the crowd of
party-goers
looking for him.
The massive speakers by the DJ section had Beyonce’s
Crazy in Love
blazing through. That was just what Hannah felt at
that moment. Crazy! And yes, in love, too! The bass
sound
from the beats were
so forceful it caused the floor to pump with rhythm.
The strobe lights lit up the room as the large crystal-like disco ball sparkled
in the dim-lit hall.

“What’s
up, girl? You look lost,” Lucy, her bridesmaid shouted over the music as she
sipped champagne and danced.
 
She
was swaying her hips against Dane, Andre’s charming younger brother.

Oh, great. Even, Lucy had a date
. Hannah felt so out of place
there. She really wasn’t much of a dancer and she’d always been the last to be
asked to a school dance, if she
was
ever asked. Now there she was in her wedding gown without a groom, or a dance
partner.

Heck,
she’d just lost two potential grooms in one day!

But it
wasn’t just that. It was her entire body that was buzzing. It was as if Andre’s
passionate
love-making
with her earlier had been an
addictive elixir for pleasure. She’d felt so comforted in his arms.

A
flicker of apprehension coursed through her veins now.

Where
was he? Had he changed his mind about her? When he stood up for her in the
chapel, was that all in the name of pity?
An act, maybe?

Suddenly,
Hannah felt as if her stomach would cave in. A wave of doubt swept over her as
she finally realized she
may
never experience Andre’s
sweet touch again.

After
all, it was
she
who rejected his
proposal.
His proposal out of pity.

As she
made her way through the crowd, everyone seemed to be enjoying
themselves
.
Except her.

Then
she spotted Andre.

That’s
when her heart stopped.

Just
when she thought her day couldn’t get any worse…Hannah’s eyes caught Andre—sexy,
dripping with charm, Andre—dirty dancing with Jessica.

A
deadly combination of emotions rocked through Hannah. She was shocked,
humiliated and devastated. Hannah turned away and went for the exit door.

Dumped
twice in one day.

So
much for happy endings.