Latin Lovers: Italian Playboys: Bought for the Marriage Bed / The Italian GP's Bride / The Italian's Defiant Mistress. Kate Hardy
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for her and.
She jerked away from her wayward thoughts as he turned his head to look at her, his dark gaze tethering hers.
‘Is something wrong?’
‘No.’
‘You look … flustered.’
‘I’m not.’
‘Have you settled in?’
‘Yes.’
‘I would like to talk to you about our trip to Italy,’ he said, moving across to hold the door of the nursery open for her. ‘I will meet you in my study in twenty minutes. I would like to shower and shave first.’
Nina moved past him and made her way downstairs, taking the portable baby monitor with her. Lucia had left for the day so she set a tray with coffee and some cake the housekeeper had baked and carried it through to Marc’s study to wait for him.
He came in a short time later, his black hair glistening with dampness, his face cleanly shaven and his casual jeans and long-sleeved close-fitting black T-shirt making Nina’s pulse start to race.
‘How was your trip?’ she asked, disguising her reaction to him by concentrating on the coffee tray.
He took the cup she had handed him, his eyes meeting hers. ‘Am I to presume you are rehearsing your role as my wife by serving me coffee and asking me such solicitous questions?’
She turned away from the cynicism she could see in his eyes. ‘You can presume what you like. I don’t care how your stupid trip went. I was just being polite.’
‘Do not exert yourself trying to be polite to me, Nina. It does not suit you.’ He took a sip of his coffee but when he met her slightly wounded expression he instantly regretted his terse words. He put the cup down and came across to where she was standing and, taking one of her hands, slowly lifted it to his mouth and pressed a barely there kiss to her fingertips.
She stood transfixed, her heart thudding behind her breast as she held his mesmerizing gaze.
‘Why did you do that?’ she asked.
‘I am not sure,’ he answered somewhat gravely. ‘To tell you the truth, Nina, I sometimes feel when I am with you that I am dealing with two different people.’ He paused for a moment, his dark eyes boring into hers before he added musingly, ‘I wonder which one I will be marrying tomorrow.’
Nina pulled her hand out of his and put some distance between them as she tried to stem her rising panic.
‘I can’t imagine what you mean by that. You make it sound as if I have some sort of multiple personality disorder.’
‘My brother told me many things about you but I am at a loss for I do not see any evidence of those things that disturbed him the most.’
‘Perhaps I’ve changed,’ she said, deliberately avoiding his eyes. ‘People do, you know. Having a child is a very life-changing event.’
‘Undoubtedly, but I cannot help thinking there must be more to it than that.’
‘W-what do you mean?’ She gave him a wary glance, her hands twisting in knots in front of her.
Marc watched the play of emotions on her face, the shadow of worry in her eyes and the way her smooth forehead adopted that slightly anxious look that he found so incredibly engaging. He had spent the whole time he was away thinking about her, wondering what it would be like to sleep with her, to have her long blonde hair splayed over his chest, her slim limbs entwined with his, her body satiated by his. It was as if, knowing she was forbidden to him, his body had decided to crave her relentlessly. He could feel it now, the steady throb of desire pounding through his veins, making him hard just looking at her.
He wanted to hate her, needed to hate her in order to keep her at a distance, but in spite of all his efforts his hatred was slipping away to be replaced by something much more dangerous.
‘I sometimes feel as if my brother was talking about someone else entirely. It just does not add up.’
Nina was at a loss to know what to say in response. She thought of chipping back with a Nadia-type retort but couldn’t bring herself to do it.
‘Have you nothing to say, Nina?’ he asked after another long silence.
She lifted her gaze to his, deciding the only way out of this was a complete change of subject. ‘You said you wanted to discuss our journey to Italy. When do we leave?’
‘We will leave the day after the ceremony. I will get Lucia to pack for you. She will accompany us to help with Georgia.’ He reached for his discarded cup and refilled it from the pot before turning back to her. ‘I should warn you that my father will not welcome you with open arms. He is an ill man who is still grieving. I will try to protect you from any unnecessary unpleasantness but I cannot guarantee things will be easy.’
‘I understand.’
‘The ceremony will be conducted at ten a.m. tomorrow,’ he said. ‘It will be a low-key affair as befits the circumstances.’
Marc watched as she made a movement towards the door as if she couldn’t wait to be rid of him. He considered calling her back but thought better of it. It was asking for trouble to spend too much time alone with her. He was already treading a very fine line and it wasn’t going to take too much to push him over.
As the door closed softly behind her, he wondered if he was more than halfway there already.
CHAPTER NINE
MARC stood at the foot of the stairs the next morning and watched as Nina came down dressed in full bridal regalia. She gave him a defiant look from beneath her veil as she traversed the last steps.
‘You look very nice,’ he said, giving her a wry look. ‘Going somewhere special?’
She twitched her train out of his way as she moved past him. ‘Nowhere special, I just felt like dressing up.’
She was certainly dressed up, Marc thought with an inward frown. She looked absolutely stunning, just as a real bride should look. Why had she done it?
Nina stood silently beside Marc half an hour later as the brief ceremony was performed. ‘You may kiss the bride.’
Her eyes widened in alarm at the celebrant’s words, her palms sticky with sudden nerves as Marc turned towards her, his hands reaching out to lift the gossamer of her veil from her face.
‘I don’t think—’ Her hastily whispered protest was cut off by the descent of his firm mouth towards hers.
She closed her eyes and did her best not to respond to the feel of his lips moving over hers, but it was hard, if not impossible, to ignore the warmth of his mouth heating her in places she didn’t want to be heated. She felt every nuance of his mouth, his firmness against her softness, the way his skin rasped hers as he moved to gain better access.
She could feel her mouth swelling beneath the insistent pressure of his, her tongue moving forward inside her mouth as if seeking the probing warmth of his.
She felt something begin to unfurl deep and low in her belly but before she could identify what it was he lifted his head to look down at her, his dark gaze inscrutable.
She swallowed and turned back to the celebrant, who was smiling at them with indulgent approval.
For better or worse she was now married to Marc Marcello.
The reception was little more than a brief lunch with some of Marc’s colleagues at a private function centre and as soon as it was over Nina changed into one of her sister’s outfits, a silky sheath of a dress which clung to her rather too lovingly. She stood in front of the mirror in the powder room and tried to adjust the fabric so it didn’t reveal too much of her cleavage, all the while doing her best to ignore the nervous flicker of unease in her eyes.
She ran her tongue over