Desert Jewels & Rising Stars

by Sharon Kendrick

  Lilley smiled to herself. She enjoyed her lessons during the day, but at night … She shivered. At night, she and her husband set the world on fire.

  At the end of the hallway, Lilley pushed open their bedroom door, half expecting to find Alessandro on the bed, wearing only a strategically placed jewelry box. Yesterday, he’d worn only a large black velvet box which held a priceless diamond and emerald necklace. He seemed to enjoy giving her such expensive trinkets, so Lilley always tried to accept them graciously, even though the impersonal, sterile new jewelry was the last thing she cared about.

  Spending time in bed with him, on the other hand … well. She’d take all of that she could get.

  But today, their bedroom was empty. So was the study where Alessandro had had business meetings all day with high-level board members from his headquarters in Rome. Peeking through the window, she saw him pacing by the pool, talking on the phone. Lilley’s eyes devoured his strong physique in a snug white T-shirt, old jeans and bare feet as he paced from the white cabana to the poolhouse. Behind him, palm trees waved against the sparkling blue sea.

  The pool! Perfect! She’d get him splashing in there yet!

  Squelching a mischievous laugh, Lilley raced back to their bedroom and changed into a tiny bikini, one of the six he’d bought for her in Porto Cervo. Tying the strings at her hips and back, she glanced at herself in the mirror. Funny how she’d once felt so embarrassed about her plump body. She’d worn baggy clothes that didn’t fit, trying to hide her shape. But Alessandro loved her body so much, what could possibly be wrong with it? How could she not love her overlarge breasts, her curvy belly, her wide hips, with their child growing inside her?

  For the first time in her life, she felt comfortable in her own skin. Even the morning sickness had all but disappeared since she’d become Alessandro’s wife. A coincidence? Or were her body and unborn baby in agreement with her, all of them deliriously happy about their new lives?

  Lilley looked at the brilliant ten-carat canary diamond ring on her finger. He’d bought it for her at the Caetani boutique in Las Vegas, as if the million-dollar price tag were nothing at all. It was pretty, though it weighed down her hand. As she went outside, the facets sparkled. She saw her husband sitting in a chair by the pool with a computer in his lap, and he was more seductive to her than any diamond.

  His dark form shone brighter than the white sun, which on Sardinia was really saying something.

  Palm trees waved in the warm breeze, giving a hint of moving shade over Alessandro as she walked around the pool, swaying her hips.

  He didn’t look up, but continued to stare intently at the screen. She went around to the back of his chair, then bent to rub his shoulders. “Hi.”

  “Buon pomeriggio, cara,” he said absently, typing.

  “Buon pomeriggio?” Smiling, she shook her head. “Buona sera.”

  His expression still distracted, Alessandro glanced up at her. Then he got a good look at her bikini, and his eyes widened. He snapped his computer shut. “Buona sera,” he replied with interest. “Your Italian is coming along.”

  “I’ve always been interested in your native tongue,” she said with a suggestive smile. When she saw his gaze linger upon her breasts, she glanced innocently at his computer. “I’m sorry to interrupt, were you done?”

  “I am now,” he growled. Pushing the computer to a side table, he pulled her into his lap and thoroughly kissed her. As she felt his sun-warmed lips against hers, melting her from the inside, she closed her eyes and breathed in his scent. With his body against hers in the sunlight, she felt intoxicated with pleasure.

  There was only one thing that bothered her.

  For the last week, they’d made love constantly, eaten delicious meals, slept in each other’s arms. Last night, he’d taken her into the village for dinner, and afterward he’d held her hand as they walked through the winding streets. She’d thought she might die of happiness. Then they’d strolled past an outdoor nightclub. She’d eagerly tried to pull him towards the music, towards the dancing couples spilling out onto the street. But he’d shaken his head. “I don’t dance. You know that.”

  “Oh, please,” she’d cajoled. “Just this once!”

  But he’d refused. Except when they were in bed, Alessandro didn’t allow himself to do anything that might make him appear vulnerable or foolish. He didn’t dance. He didn’t play. He didn’t splash in the pool.

  But that was about to change. It was time he learned to let himself go.

  Playfully, Lilley pulled away from his embrace. “I need some cooling off.”

  She walked over to the pool’s steps, swaying her hips as she waded slowly into the pool, relishing the shock of cool water against her skin. She went deeper, until the water level bobbed at her breasts. Then she glanced at Alessandro out of the corner of her eye. Oh yeah. He was watching, all right. With a soft, innocent sigh, she sank all the way into the water, swimming with long, sensual strokes. She bobbed up to the edge of the pool, at the foot of Alessandro’s chair.

  “Join me,” she suggested, smiling up at him.

  Looking down at her, Alessandro slowly shook his head. “Not my thing.”

  Languorously, she dipped her hair back in the pool. She felt his burning gaze as she lifted her head from the water. Droplets trickled down her skin, down her neck and breasts. She stretched her arms over her head, moving her body in a lazy sway against the translucent water.

  “Join me,” she sighed.

  He looked as if he were having trouble breathing. Licking his lips, he shook his head.

  Lilley sank fully beneath the water and was down there for several seconds. When she finally resurfaced, he’d half risen from his chair as if alarmed. She swam to the edge of the pool, a sensual smile curving her lips. Leaning against the edge, she threw something at his feet. He looked down at it.

  It was her bikini.

  “Join me,” she whispered.

  Alessandro looked at her, his lips slightly parted. She heard the hoarse intake of his breath.

  Then he moved. She’d never known any man could move that fast. Still dressed in his T-shirt and jeans, he did a cannonball right into the pool beside her. The water swayed wildly, splashing Lilley’s head and face as he rose to the surface, throwing back his dark head like a god of the sea. His wet, translucent white T-shirt clung to his shoulders, pecs and tight abs.

  Swimming over to her, he grabbed the edge of the pool with one hand, and with the other, he pulled her against him without a word. Lowering his head, he kissed her in a hot, hungry embrace. As his lips seared hers, his tongue teased inside her mouth, and she blindly reached out to the side of the pool to steady herself. Treading water with his powerful legs, he cupped her face with both his hands, deepening the kiss. A sigh of pleasure escaped her. Lost in the moment, Lilley flung both her arms around his shoulders, letting go of the edge.

  She had an instant of weightlessness, of swirling pleasure with no beginning or end, as they sank together into the water. Falling, falling, they held tight together in the intensity of their embrace before his legs suddenly kicked beneath them, bringing them back to the surface.

  Gripping the edge of the pool, they coughed water out of their lungs. When they could breathe again, they stared at each other, both of them bobbing in the cool water. The white sun beat down on them, reflecting glittering light against the sky and their tanned skin.

  Leaning forward, Alessandro pushed her against the edge of the pool, splaying his large hands over hers. He kissed her deeply, plundering her mouth. Tilting back her head, Lilley closed her eyes, feeling the heat of his mouth and the sun on her skin. Cool ripples of water moved against her naked breasts as he kissed her throat, nipping her shoulder, suckling the tender flesh of her ear.

  “Mi piace stare con te,” he whispered. I like being with you.

  “Baciami,” she whispered. Kiss me.

  With a muttered groan, Alessandro turned around in the water. Pulling her arms around
his shoulders, he lifted her onto his back and swam towards the steps of the pool. Her naked breasts pressed against his shoulder blades, her body rubbing against his clingy white T-shirt. As he climbed up the steps of the pool, water poured from his shirt and jeans that clung to his powerful body. He pulled her into his arms and looked down at her. There was a strange expression in his dark, handsome face. One she’d never seen before.

  “Mia moglie,” he whispered. “My sweet wife.”

  He carried her across the terrace and into the white villa, trailing water with every step. From a distance, she heard seagulls crying and the honking horns of boats. She breathed in the scent of lemon and orange groves mixed with chlorine from the pool and the salt of the sea. She placed her hand on his wet cotton shirt. It revealed every hard muscle of his torso, and she could feel the beat of his heart.

  Inside the villa, it was cool, dark and quiet. The housekeeper and other staff had already left for the evening, going back to their homes in nearby villages. She and Alessandro were alone as he carried her up the stairs to their bedroom, to the enormous bed with the sleek white duvet.

  The verandah doors were wide open. The wind blew in from the sea, causing the curtains to oscillate slowly in the breeze as Alessandro set her down on their marriage bed, where she’d already had endless revelations of pleasure and joy.

  Never looking away from her face, he slowly pulled off his T-shirt, revealing his muscular, tanned chest and broad arms. His jeans and silk boxers were next, as he stripped the wet fabric off his body and left them on the cool marble floor in a crumpled heap. Naked, he moved beside her on the bed.

  His kiss was hot and hard, like the rest of him. Then his embrace grew tender, his lips gentling as he whispered words of adoration in Italian that she only half understood, but that caused her to tremble. He pulled away, looking down at her in the shadowy bedroom, and she could hear their breath mingling in the silence. An inexplicable ache of emotion rose to the back of Lilley’s throat.

  Reaching up, she put her hand on his rough, scratchy cheek.

  I love you.

  But she couldn’t speak the words. She couldn’t be that reckless, or that brave.

  Alessandro made love to her slowly, taking his time as he caressed and licked and worshipped every inch of her body, until she exploded in the same instant that he groaned and filled her with his seed. Afterward, they held each other. For several minutes, he slept, and she watched him, looking at the contented smile tracing his sensual mouth. She turned towards the open verandah and the translucent curtains swaying peacefully in the breeze. She could see the distant glint of sunlight sparkling like diamonds against the blue water. And she could no longer deny it, not even to herself.

  She’d fallen in love with Alessandro. Fallen? The truth was she’d been in love with Alessandro Caetani from the night he’d found her alone and crying in his office that Saturday night.

  Lilley’s fingertips stroked the dark hair of his chest. He’d brought her pleasure that she never even knew existed. But was she doomed to love a man who would forever give her expensive jewels instead of his heart? Was there anything she could do to win Alessandro’s love?

  She thought of the etiquette lessons, the Italian lessons, the designer clothes he’d chosen for her. He was changing her completely, and if she were honest with herself, she didn’t like all the changes. Her jewelry tools were collecting dust, and except for her wedding gown, he hadn’t allowed her to choose a single item of clothing on her own. Other than the jewelry she had made, nothing she wore was truly hers. He dressed her like a doll. He didn’t trust her taste, or her ability to fit into his world.

  Lilley took a deep breath. She could live with that, she told herself. She’d be the wife he wanted. She’d keep her mouth shut and focus on being elegant and restrained. She’d try harder at her lessons and wear the clothes he wanted her to wear. She would be whomever he wanted her to be, if it would win his love.

  Then it would all be worth it—wouldn’t it?

  Suddenly shivering, she nestled closer into Alessandro’s warmth. In a moment, his eyes would open, and he’d lazily suggest dinner, or perhaps he’d want to make love to her again.

  Whatever it took. She would convince him to give her the tiniest fraction of his heart, as she’d recklessly given him all of hers. And it would be enough. She would make it be enough. With a deep breath, Lilley squeezed her eyes shut.

  Somehow, she would make him love her.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  “STOP him. I don’t care how, just stop him!”

  Sitting at his desk, Alessandro nearly shouted with fury before he hung up on his company’s chief financial officer. Clawing back his hair with a silent snarl, he lifted his hand to throw his phone across his study. Then he stopped himself, clutching the cold metal tightly in his hand.

  Exhaling, he set the phone carefully on his desk. Rising to his feet, he paced in front of the window, swearing at Théo St. Raphaël in English and Italian and tossing in a few profanities in French, too, for good measure. Damned vulture. Their rivalry had begun years ago when the Frenchman had bought the Italian firm next door to Caetani Worldwide’s headquarters in Rome. The insult had deepened when St. Raphaël had stolen the Joyería deal a month ago. But this was the final straw. The man was brazenly making a play for the takeover of a Japanese company that Alessandro needed to deepen his reach in Asia.

  Alessandro growled. He’d spent years building up contacts in Tokyo, in hopes of someday gaining control of the firm. And St. Raphaël had no reason to buy the company. It was pure retaliation for Alessandro’s purchase of the French vineyard. It was a taunt, pure and simple.

  He must be imagining he smelled Alessandro’s blood in the water after the humiliation in Mexico City.

  And why wouldn’t he? Someone had betrayed him. Alessandro’s chief financial officer had discovered why Miguel Rodriguez had sold Joyería to St. Raphaël instead of Caetani Worldwide. The Frenchman had learned of his plan to close the Mexico City studio and move it to San Francisco. Rodriguez had sold Joyería to the Frenchman to protect his employees’ jobs.

  But how had St. Raphaël possibly known?

  Sitting heavily at his desk, Alessandro stared at his computer. He’d been working with his team remotely as best he could, but the Tokyo deal was spinning out of control, and that was causing problems. He needed to end his honeymoon early and return to Rome.

  Alessandro glanced out of the window, instinctively looking for Lilley. It was past five o’clock. She’d come into his study an hour ago, but he’d sent her away—something he’d had to do too often in the last two days. He’d spent a few hours in bed with her last night, then he’d returned to his study to discuss strategy with his Hong Kong office. Last night he’d fallen asleep over his keyboard.

  Alessandro exhaled. He should have gone back to Rome two days ago. By remaining in Sardinia, away from his team, he’d put a woman ahead of his business. Something he’d never done before.

  But this wasn’t just any woman, it was his wife.

  There. He spied Lilley on the beach far below. A smile curved his lips and his shoulders unconsciously relaxed as he watched her frolic in the surf, dressed in one of the bikinis he’d bought her in Porto Cervo. Today the color was violet. He saw her pause and look up towards the sprawling white villa, as if she felt him watching her. Visibly squaring her shoulders, she went to talk to some children playing a distance down the beach. He squinted. He vaguely recognized a dark-haired young boy and small girl, the children of live-in servants from the next villa down the coastline. Lilley flopped down on the sand beside them and started enthusiastically to help build their sand castle.

  He watched her as she played on the beach. She was so happy, so natural, so free, so good with children. He’d seen the sweet, tender look in her eyes whenever she spoke to him of dreams for their unborn child. Lilley was everything a man would want in a wife. Everything he’d want the mother of his children to be.

 
She had only one flaw. She loved him.

  She’d very nearly confessed her love before their wedding, but he’d seen on her face what she was going to say and stopped her. He exhaled. As long as the words were never said, they had a chance. They could be lovers, even friends. Once the child was born, Lilley would channel her love into their baby. She would raise their child with a mother’s tenderness, while Alessandro would protect them and provide for them, ensuring his children would inherit a vast empire.

  His wife and children would never be poor. Never be ashamed of their father. His behavior would be above reproach.

  He regretted the shabby wedding he’d given Lilley, in the chapel of a Las Vegas casino, with no family and friends. It had been shabby indeed, but expedient and quiet. He had to give Lilley time to complete her lessons, to be fully polished like a hard-edged gemstone before he exposed her to the cutting, subtle mockery of his friends, or the people who passed for his friends. It was the only way to protect her, helping her become strong enough to protect herself.

  No man he knew in Rome would have married a pregnant mistress. He would have simply paid her off with a generous check and perhaps a few gifts at the child’s birth.

  But Alessandro had always vowed his children would know who their father was. After his own father’s selfish, callous example, and even more after his mother’s sickening revelation after his death, Alessandro had known the risk of sex, and so he’d waited until he was truly in love. When he’d fallen hard for a twenty-five-year-old waitress in his freshman year at Stanford, he’d taken his time, wooing her for months like a perfect gentleman. Until Heather had dragged him to her apartment and begged him to make love to her. She’d told him he didn’t need a condom, because she was on the Pill.

  “You trust me, don’t you?” she’d asked with big eyes. After so many years of waiting, sex had been a revelation. He’d been rapturous with joy. When she’d gotten pregnant, it had seemed like a miracle.