The Wedding Charade (15 page)

Jade moved out from under his gently cupping hands and folded her arms across her middle, her face turned away to look out of the window to the bubbling fountain
way below. ‘I prefer it this way,’ she said. ‘When you have spent all of your life in the public’s eye as I have done, it is nice to know there is at least one area you can keep private. This is mine.’

Nic frowned as he studied her. She had that keep-your-distance aura about her again, which he hadn’t seen in days. He had thought he was finally breaking down some of the barriers she kept putting up. He had enjoyed seeing her relax her guard around him. He had enjoyed seeing her smile and once, when she’d laughed at something he had said, he’d felt a warm feeling spreading like hot honey deep inside his chest. It seemed as if each day he discovered something new about her. Like how her skin tasted when she had been in the sun: hot and silky and delicious. How her green eyes darkened when she looked at him when he was about to kiss her, and the way her hands felt sliding over him, over his back or chest, or the way she cupped him and stroked him until he felt as if the control he had always prided himself on was like a wisp of smoke, about to slip out of his grasp.

He was discovering things about himself too. How much he liked the way her dark, silky hair tickled his chest when she lay across him after making love, when in the past he had always preferred blondes. He liked the way her body felt as it gripped him so tightly, as if he was her first and only lover. In a way he felt as if he was. He dismissed those who had gone before as exploitative creeps who had lusted after her for all the wrong reasons. Nic liked how she continued to surprise him. He had grown increasingly bored with the women he had dated recently. They looked good and they had
felt good, but he had not had an in-depth conversation with any one of them.

Jade had layers to her character that he was only starting to peel away—interesting, captivating layers that hinted at a deeply sensitive, gifted and intelligent young woman who, for some strange reason, was doing her best to keep that side of herself hidden as if she was somehow ashamed of it.

He was determined to get to know everything there was to know about his wife.

His wife.

He almost laughed out loud. His grandfather had pulled a swift one on him, that was for sure, making certain he was well and truly shackled in matrimony. But more than a week had gone by already and Nic was starting to think about how it would feel closer to the time to end it. He hadn’t thought too much about that part of things before; he had simply concentrated on securing his inheritance. That had been his main priority and Jade’s too, when it came to that. She had made it clear she wanted the money and, unless she decided to enter the workforce or sell some of her paintings, she was going to need every penny of it to live the life she had said she wanted to live.

Would he get so used to having her in his life that getting her out of it would prove a little too difficult?

He suppressed another laugh. Of course not! He wasn’t the falling in love type. He had always lived in the fast lane. Settling down to domesticity, even with his wealth, which made his life easier than most, was out of the question. He was a freedom lover. He liked the ability to come and go as he pleased. He didn’t want
to answer to anyone but himself. He couldn’t envisage himself any other way.

But looking at her with that faraway look on her face made him ache with need for her. How did she do it to him? It was like a magnetic force that kept luring him towards her. He had made love to her only that morning and yet his body was hardening as he thought of taking her now.

She turned from the window and saw him looking at her. Her eyes darkened and his blood began to pound. She sent the point of her tongue—the tongue that only this morning had tasted him intimately—across her lips and gave him the look—the look that he could not, in this lifetime at least, seem to resist.

‘Come here,’ he commanded.

She gave a little haughty lift of her chin but he saw through it for the game it was. ‘Why don’t
you
come here?’ she said.

‘I want you over here.’

She slowly walked towards him, tempting him every step of the way with her coquettish smile and gently swaying slim hips. ‘And you always get what you want, don’t you, Italian boy?’ she said in a husky whisper as she placed both of her hands flat on his chest.

Nic smiled as her hands slid down, all the way down over his abdomen to brush against his erection. ‘So far,’ he said and sealed her mouth with his.

She kissed him with her whole body, wrapping her arms around his neck, her fingers lacing through his hair until he felt a shiver of anticipation course down his spine. She pushed herself against him, her pelvis exciting him as it rubbed against his. His tongue played with hers, stroking and cajoling and then stabbing and
thrusting as his need for her escalated. He loved her in this mood, so playful and teasing, making him want her as much as she wanted him.

Loved her?

His mind slammed on the brakes. This wasn’t about love. It was about lust. He wanted her body and that was all he wanted. And she was offering it to him in the most delightful way possible.

He cupped her breasts and heard her whimper in response. He peeled her loose-fitting top off her shoulder and kissed his way down her neck, moving aside her bra to take her nipple in his mouth. She dug her fingers into his hair and arched her spine like a cat, inciting him further. She tasted so fresh and feminine and irresistible. He wanted her so badly he felt his body straining against his clothes. But, as if she sensed his discomfort, she started to deal with it by unhooking his belt and sliding down his zip, her dancing fingers wreaking havoc on his senses.

Nic fought for control as she caressed him, slowly at first, up and down his shaft, taking her time, making each pleasurable sensation ramp up his desire. His abdomen clenched like a fist as she went to her knees in front of him, her moistened lips moving closer and closer …

‘You don’t have to do that,’ he croaked. ‘I don’t expect it of you.’

She looked up at him with sultry green eyes. ‘I want to do it,’ she said in that same husky tone she had used earlier.

Nic swallowed as she moved closer, her pink tongue coming out to lick him like a kitten did at its first taste of milk. He felt every nerve twitch and fire, lightning-fast blood filling him to bursting point as she did it again,
slower this time, long slow strokes that sent him into a tailspin of want. He couldn’t speak, he couldn’t even think beyond what he was feeling right at this point. Her tongue continued its sensual teasing and then she opened her mouth over him, taking him in bit by bit, sucking, pulling, withdrawing and then doing it all over again. He tried to anchor himself by holding her head with his hands, but she took that as encouragement and went harder and faster. He knew then he had no possible hope of stopping this runaway train. He came with a burst of cannon fire that sent colours exploding like fireworks in his head. He shuddered his way through it, almost folding at the knees as she milked him for every last drop of his essence.

And that was another thing that totally surprised him. It didn’t feel like it had in the past. This time it felt sacred, as if something elemental had just occurred between them, something that was not so easily reversed.

Nic didn’t want to think too deeply about exactly what it was. Instead, he brought her to her feet and slid his hands down her body, cupping her feminine mound, which was delightfully humid and moist with her need of him. He laid her down on the floor, removing her clothes until she was totally naked. He drank in the sight of her, the way her breasts rounded out now she was flat on her back, the way her long, slim legs had opened for him, the secret heart of her swollen and ready for his possession.

He wasn’t far off it either. He was already growing hard again and couldn’t wait to feel her ripples of pleasure around him. ‘I can never seem to get enough
of you,’ he said, kissing his way down her sternum. ‘I want you even straight after I have just had you.’

‘I want you too,’ Jade said and gasped as he slid a finger inside her.

‘You’re so wet for me,’ he said. ‘I want you to be wet for me all the time.’

Jade felt utterly shameless as he caressed her to the brink of release. She whimpered and panted as he brought her close before backing off, as if he wanted to prolong her pleasure for as long as he could. She couldn’t take it any more. She wanted the precious release his body could give and begged for it without demur. ‘Make me come,’ she said. ‘Please, Nic, make me come now.’

He removed the rest of his clothes and positioned himself over her body, flinging one leg over one of hers before he thrust into her, stronger than he had ever done before. Pleasure shot through her as he filled her to the hilt, her body wrapping around him, squeezing him, delighting in the power and potency of him as he worked them both to a tumultuous orgasm.

Jade felt every wave of pleasure in every part of her body. The aftershocks were just as pleasurable, leaving her relaxed and boneless in his arms.

‘You know something?’ Nic said as he propped himself up to look down at her.

She smiled coyly. ‘What?’

He trailed a finger down the curve of her cheek, setting her skin alight all over again. ‘If we make love in every room in this villa and my one back in Rome, the first year of our marriage will go so quickly it will be over before you know it.’

The year or our marriage or both?
Jade wanted to ask but daren’t. ‘How many rooms are there here?’ she
asked instead, trying to ignore the fault line ache in her heart.

‘Fifty or so, I think,’ he said, sending his finger over her top lip, back and forth until it buzzed with sensation.

‘And the one in Rome?’ she asked, quivering as he began to nibble at her earlobe.

‘Thirty or so,’ he said. ‘I have the perfect room in mind for your studio.’

She looked at him in surprise. ‘You mean I can have another one? ‘

He smiled a glinting smile. ‘You can have whatever you want.’

No, I can’t,
Jade thought sadly.
The thing I most want is way out of reach and always has been.
Nic wanted her for now. It was convenient for him, as convenient as their marriage. He didn’t want her for ever.

His lips brushed hers softly. ‘We should go out to dinner tonight. The press will expect us to surface by now. How about it? Do you fancy a night out?’

Jade would have much preferred a night in but sensed Nic was getting restless. He thrived on being around people and, after a week at the villa with only the skeleton staff around, he was probably going crazy for more stimulation.

‘Sure,’ she said with a forced smile. ‘Why not?’

He gave her another quick kiss before he leapt to his feet, holding out a hand to her to help her up. ‘You have the first shower while I sort out some business,’ he said. ‘I’ll call and make a booking. Wear something sexy for me so I can fantasize about what I am going to do to you when we get home.’

Jade showered and then dressed the part of glamorous
society wife, taking extra time over her hair and makeup. The designer dress she wore was black but cut in a classic style that highlighted her figure. She arranged her hair at the back of her head in a smooth, shiny chignon and, after spraying herself with her favourite perfume, she was about to put on a pair of earrings when Nic came behind her and handed her a flat, rectangular jewellery box.

‘How about you wear these?’ he said.

She took the box from him and carefully opened it. Inside were an exquisite diamond pendant and a pair of droplet earrings, the sheer brilliance of them taking her breath away. She had worn plenty of expensive jewellery in the past but nothing of this phenomenal quality. It was as if three bright stars had been plucked from the night sky and laid on the black velvet just for her pleasure. ‘I don’t know what to say … ‘ She looked up at him. ‘Are these for me to keep or did you hire them?’

He rolled his eyes at her. ‘You think I am that cheap,
cara mio?’
he asked. ‘Of course I didn’t hire them. I bought them for you.’

‘But it’s not my birthday for days and days,’ she said, looking back at the glittering diamonds.

‘Does it have to be a special occasion for you to be given a gift?’ he asked, tipping up her chin so her eyes meshed with his.

Jade felt the magnetic pull of his gaze. All her senses began to twitch with excitement at the way he was looking at her. Her need of him made her feel more and more vulnerable. She supposed that was why she said what she did before she stopped to think about it. ‘Do you buy all your lovers expensive gifts?’

His mouth tensed at the edges. ‘You are my wife, Jade. It is only right that I buy you things.’

‘I’m not really your wife, not in the normal way,’ she said. ‘Or at least not for very long.’

‘Then all the more reason to get what you can out of this marriage while you can,’ he said. ‘Money, jewellery and memories of the best sex you’ve ever have. Not such a bad deal,
sì?’

Jade wanted to call him out on that but how could she? What he said was true. She was going to take all of that and more from this marriage when it ended. But instead she smiled coolly and elegantly rose to her feet.

‘Will you help me put these on?’ she asked, turning her back to him.

His hands made her neck fizz with sensation as he attached the pendant, and her heart began to race as she thought of him removing it later that evening, most probably along with the rest of her clothes.

‘You smell divine,’ he said in a low, husky voice next to her ear. ‘If we had more time I would feast on you right here and now.’

She tilted her head to one side and closed her eyes, her breath coming out as a ragged stream as he trailed a fiery pathway of kisses down to her bare shoulder. His tongue rasped along her sensitive flesh, making her shiver all over.

‘Do you need help with the earrings?’ he asked against her collarbone.

‘I’ll be fine,’ she said in a scratchy voice. ‘Don’t … you …urn …need to shower and change?’