Claiming His Wedding Night

by Louise Fuller

  ‘Only we’re not going to the suite.’

  The lift stopped moving.

  Addie stared at him incredulously.

  ‘Have you lost your mind?’ she said finally. ‘Why are you doing this?’

  ‘I told you. We didn’t finish our conversation.’

  ‘There is nothing else to talk about,’ she said furiously. ‘Why do you think I left? I don’t have anything to say to you.’

  He nodded. ‘I know. And you don’t have to say anything. You just have to listen. I’ll do all the talking.’

  ‘It’s too late, Malachi. If you wanted to talk to me you should have done it an hour ago.’ Her eyes narrowed. ‘In fact you should have done it five years ago.’

  He leaned back against the doors, his face hardening. ‘As I recall, you didn’t give me a chance.’

  She stepped towards him, her fingers curling into fists. ‘That is not what happened. I tried to talk to you and you just walked away.’

  ‘It was our wedding!’ His face was taut. ‘You were making—’

  ‘What? A scene? Oh, I’m sorry—what was I supposed to do? I’d just heard two men talking about how lucky it was that your new wife had such strong ties with the local community. How it had made such a difference to getting your plans for a new casino approved.’

  ‘That’s not what happened,’ he said savagely, and he stepped towards her, his eyes locking on to hers.

  ‘So that isn’t why you married me?’ Her whole body was shaking with anger but her heart contracted painfully at the memory. ‘Tell me I got it wrong. Go on. Tell me.’

  Looking at his stricken face, she felt suddenly nauseous.

  ‘You can’t because it’s true.’

  ‘No.’ His voice echoed loudly around the lift. ‘I admit when I asked you to marry me I thought it would be good for business.’ Tipping his head back, he breathed out sharply, his face twisting. ‘But then things changed. I started to care about you—’

  He took a step forward and with shock she saw that his hands were shaking.

  ‘I missed you when you weren’t there and I looked forward to seeing you.’ He shook his head vehemently, his eyes dropping away. ‘You have to understand, Addie. I’d never felt like that before. I didn’t know what I was feeling.’

  She looked up at him uncertainly. ‘What were you feeling?’

  He shivered. ‘Out of control. Scared.’

  She bit her lip. ‘Why were you scared?’

  He clenched his teeth. ‘Because I cared. About you. Only I didn’t know how to deal with those feelings. When you got so upset it hurt to see you like that and I just wanted to get away. I didn’t think you would leave—’

  ‘I didn’t think there was any point in staying,’ she said flatly. ‘I thought you didn’t love me.’

  His eyes met hers. ‘I can see why you would think that.’ Looking away, he ran a hand over his face. ‘I grew up not knowing what love was. I didn’t understand how to love someone or be loved. I didn’t have relationships. I had sex. And sex was just a way of feeling things without actually having to care.’

  His voice cracked.

  ‘When I met you that changed. I started to see the world differently. But it was still all so new, and I found it hard.’ He shook his head. ‘I should have come after you.’

  There was a lump in her throat. ‘I was to blame too.’ She bit her lip. ‘I should have stayed and fought for our marriage.’

  He breathed out slowly. ‘Upstairs, you said you loved me and that you wanted to try again. Was that true?’

  Hesitating, she stared at him in silence. But she knew the truth was written all over her face anyway. ‘Yes. But I won’t be your mistress, Malachi.’

  He shook his head, his eyes damp, his face pale and strained. ‘I don’t want you to be my mistress.’ Reaching out, he gently took hold of her hands in his. ‘But I do want you to forgive me for blackmailing you. And treating you so badly.’

  His hands tightened around hers.

  ‘I’m so sorry, Addie. I know I don’t deserve you, and I should have let you go tonight. Let you find someone kinder and better than me. But I can’t. I know it’s selfish, but I can’t allow you to leave because I love you. And my life is nothing without you.’

  Breathing out unsteadily, she looked down at his hands. ‘Does that mean you’re not going to sue me?’ she said softly.

  He shook his head. ‘It wasn’t a binding contract.’

  She smiled weakly and then pulled away slightly.

  ‘What about divorcing me?’

  She felt her heart tumble over as he shook his head.

  ‘Absolutely not.’ Gently, he pulled her towards him. ‘You’re not getting rid of me that easily. You’re my wife, and as soon as we get out of here I’m telling the entire world.’

  She looked up at him, her mouth trembling. ‘I don’t know, Malachi. It all sounds perfect in here. But we can’t stay in a lift for the rest of our lives.’

  He grinned. ‘It’s tempting, but—trust me, sweetheart. I can make this work.’ He frowned. ‘Which is more than can be said for this lift...’

  Her eyes narrowed. ‘You broke the lift?’

  He nodded. ‘It would appear so. See that flashing light—that means it’s locked.’

  ‘Locked!’

  He gave a helpless shrug. ‘I was a little distracted.’

  ‘So what happens next?’ she asked slowly.

  His eyes dropped to her mouth. ‘We have to wait. Just for a couple of hours.’

  She lifted an eyebrow. ‘I see. I suppose we’ll just have to think of a way to pass the time.’

  His hands slid slowly round her waist. ‘Do you have any ideas?

  ‘Actually, I do.’ She wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him gently on the lips.

  He drew away from her, his eyes softening. ‘Me too.’ Lowering his mouth, he brushed his lips across hers. ‘Did I tell you that I love you, Mrs King?’

  His hands moved over her waist, sliding under the shirt, warm palms touching her bare skin, and she felt her heart start to race.

  ‘Yes, you did.’ She closed her eyes. ‘But tell me again.’

  * * * * *

  Read on for an excerpt from THE DI SIONE SECRET BABY by MAYA BLAKE.

  CHAPTER ONE

  ALLEGRA LOOKED UP and smiled at the flight attendant. With a slight shake of her head and a numb smile, she refused the proffered glass of champagne. Thankfully, the first-class cabin was nearly empty. No one could witness her shock or deep worry. No one could tell she still reeled from the news her brother Matteo had delivered two days ago.

  How could Grandfather have kept the true extent of his illness from her? She’d known he was undergoing tests since doctors suspected his leukaemia had returned, but he’d brushed her off when she’d asked him about his prognosis two months ago. Now she knew.

  One year to live.

  Her heart clenched. It was impossible to believe the man who’d always seemed larger than life wouldn’t be here for Christmas next year. Tears welled in her eyes. She quickly dashed them away as she sensed the effervescent flight attendant returning. She couldn’t lose her composure. The world was watching. And these days, with technology streamed faster than the speed of light, maintaining the right appearances at all times was even more paramount.

  For she was Allegra Di Sione, oldest granddaughter of one of the most powerful men in the world. She was also the face of the Di Sione Foundation, a charity she’d dedicated her life to. A full-time job she was more than happy to immerse herself in, even if it meant embracing a life that more often than not felt desperately lonely.

  Shaking herself free of the self-involved thoughts, she glanced out the window as the plane left its berth at Dubai International Airport and slotted into place on the runway.

  The early May sunshine was dazzling. Almost as dazzling as the wealthy guests and stunning success her foundation’s latest gala had been. Her well-oiled charity team assured her it was their b
est yet, with almost double the amount raised last year, but Allegra, as proud as she was of her achievements, couldn’t dwell on that now.

  Not when Matteo’s words continued to spin in her head. Besides the news of the old man’s declining health, her brother had dropped another bombshell.

  Grandfather’s little fable wasn’t a fable at all, if Matteo was to be believed.

  For as long as she could remember, she’d thrilled to the story about her grandfather’s Lost Mistresses. At one time she’d even wondered if her grandfather had led as decadent a life as her parents to possess such wild stories. She’d discarded that idea because she knew her grandfather had remained devoted to her grandmother until she’d died. His integrity was one of the many stalwarts she’d tried to emulate. Besides that, building the Di Sione fortune had been his number-one priority.

  Discovering that the Lost Mistresses held real-life meaning, however, was one reality she hadn’t been prepared for. Because why would her grandfather task her brother with retrieving a long-lost necklace on a whim?

  As for the look in Matteo’s eyes when he’d told her to return home without delay...

  Allegra sucked in a deep breath as the plane thundered down the runway and lifted into the arid desert sky.

  She’d faced losing her parents in the most horrific, media-guzzling way when she was six years old. She’d smothered her own pain in order to be there for her six siblings, despite desperately missing the mother whose love had been as volatile as it’d been all-encompassing.

  Whatever her grandfather had to tell her, she would face it.

  * * *

  Despite the bracing pep talk she’d given herself all through her flight, Allegra couldn’t stop the full-body tremble as the town car turned into the long driveway that led to the place she called home. She kept a three-bedroom condo on the Upper East Side in New York City, but the Di Sione family estate in Long Island where she’d grown up with her brothers and sisters was her true home.

  As with most homes, the memories that came with it were bittersweet, although in the case of her siblings and her, they were more bitter than sweet. Allegra couldn’t stop her gaze from darting up the northwest corner of the stunning sprawling mansion that was the Di Sione estate. Cultivated lawns surrounded it with just a glimpse of Long Island Sound further beyond.

  It was where she’d been brought after the night she’d stood at her parents’ home, watching her mother and father enact what was to be their ultimate screaming drug-fuelled row.

  Two hours after that harrowing performance, a single, ominous police cruiser had arrived; an officer had stepped out, and, with a few words, turned her and her siblings into orphans.

  Enough.

  Allegra pushed the bad memory to the back of her mind, and exited the car.

  The double doors opened and Alma, the housekeeper, who’d been part of their family for longer than Allegra could remember, stepped out. Although the elderly Italian woman’s smile was huge and welcoming as always, Allegra spotted the worry in her soft brown eyes and in the furtive wring of her hands.

  ‘Miss Allegra, it has been too long,’ she murmured when Allegra stepped into the vast marble-floored hallway.

  Allegra nodded, but her gaze was already seeking the familiar figure of her grandfather, her heart slamming against her ribs anew at the thought of him being taken away from them. ‘Where is he? How is he?’ she asked.

  Alma’s smile dimmed further. ‘The doctor has advised bed rest, but Signor Giovanni...he insists he’s having a good day. He’s sitting outside, in his favourite spot.’

  Allegra turned away from the imposing wrought-iron staircase that soared three floors, intending to head for the west wing of the villa, to the place where her grandfather had taken his breakfast for as long as she could remember.

  ‘Allegra?’

  She stopped and turned back to Alma. The distress on her slightly wrinkled face was pronounced enough to send a cold shiver down Allegra’s spine.

  She hadn’t doubted her brother for one moment, but truth be told, Matteo had been a little preoccupied with the woman he’d attended the foundation gala with. In a secret part of her, Allegra had hoped he was exaggerating the severity of the situation when he’d spoken to her in Dubai.

  The expression on the housekeeper’s face now confirmed to Allegra that Matteo hadn’t been exaggerating.

  ‘He’s not as he was the last time you saw him. Be prepared.’

  Mouth dry, Allegra nodded, ran her damp palms on her knee-length navy blue linen dress and continued down the west hallway, neither seeing nor appreciating the light that filtered through tall windows onto priceless works of art that graced the walls.

  All she cared about was making it to the end of the corridor, and through the double French doors that led to the pillared terrace.

  Be prepared.

  Despite the warning, Allegra gasped as she stepped out into the sunshine. She’d expected her grandfather to be sitting in his favourite outdoor armchair. The sight of the bed, rigged with what looked like an oxygen canister, was such a shock to her system she froze in the doorway.

  In the bed, her grandfather lay, with folds of cashmere blankets tucked up to his waist. His chest rose and fell in shallow breaths and his lids were lowered. But it was his normally vibrant complexion, now turned pasty and shrunken, that hit her hardest. Against the thick white hair, since the last time she saw Giovanni two months ago, the transformation was startling in the extreme.

  ‘Are you going to stand there like a statue all day long?’

  Allegra jumped at the gruff query. Her platform-heeled feet freed themselves from the shock and moved towards the figure, whose frailty was outlined harshly in the morning sun.

  ‘Grandfather.’ Allegra stopped, not sure of the appropriate words to tackle what was in front of her.

  ‘Come. Sit down,’ Giovanni Di Sione urged, patting the side of the bed with a gnarled hand.

  She closed the gap and perched on the edge, swallowing a sob when her eyes met her grandfather’s. She couldn’t have borne it if the spirit of the indomitable man who’d arrived on Ellis Island over half a century ago had dimmed. But thankfully, his clear grey eyes were as piercing as ever, if a little shadowed with pain.

  ‘Why didn’t you tell me?’ she whispered, her voice hoarse from the emotions she was trying to suppress. ‘We’ve spoken on the phone so many times since I was last here. And why didn’t you send for me sooner?’

  ‘You had other things on your mind.’

  Allegra frowned. ‘Things like what?’

  ‘I know how important the foundation gala was to you, and from the reports I’ve heard it was a rousing success. I didn’t want you to worry about an old man when you had a big event needing your attention.’

  ‘My work will never be as important to me as you are. You know that. You should’ve sent for me!’

  A wry smile twisted his thin lips. ‘Consider me suitably berated.’

  Chagrined, Allegra shook her head. ‘I’m sorry.’

  ‘Don’t be. Your quiet fire is one of the many things I’m proud of you for, piccola mia.’ He held out a large hand and she placed hers in it. His touch was warm and reassuring, but her heart dipped to notice that it lacked its usual gripping strength. ‘So, Matteo spoke to you?’

  Swallowing hard, Allegra nodded. ‘Your leukaemia is back? And the prognosis is a year if we’re lucky?’ Her voice shook with the question, and the pit in her stomach she’d been struggling to keep from widening yawned open as she stared back at her grandfather. With every fibre of her being she had wanted it not to be true, but heart in her throat, she watched Giovanni nod.

  ‘Sì,’ he confirmed, his eyes steady on hers in a way that told her he wouldn’t let her shy away from the reality of the situation. ‘And this time, there will be no medical intervention. The last time was risky enough, or so the doctors tell me.’

  ‘There’s absolutely nothing they can do? Are you sure? I could make some c
alls...’

  ‘Allegra, cara mia, that is not why I asked you to come home. I have beaten the odds for over fifteen years since I was first diagnosed. I’ve had a good life, and been blessed in so many ways. I’ve accepted my fate. But before I go...’

  ‘Please don’t speak like that,’ she pleaded.

  Her grandfather regarded her with sympathy, then shook his head. ‘You will accept this, much as you’ve accepted so many hard things in your life. You are strong, Allegra mia. You will be even stronger for this challenge. I know it.’

  Allegra wanted to childishly shut her ears, to dismiss the old man’s philosophical waxing. But she’d never been one to bury her head in the sand. She’d been ejected from childhood to a role of responsibility over her younger siblings almost overnight. Alessandro, her oldest brother, and Dante and Dario, the twin hellions who’d made the life of every single person they came into contact with at the Di Sione mansion a misery, had been sent to boarding school as soon as they were old enough, but her three younger siblings had been her responsibility. And while she knew deep in her heart that she hadn’t succeeded in her efforts to be the best role model for her sisters and brothers, she’d tried her damnedest to make their orphaned lives as easy as possible. In a world where nannies had come and gone with the frequency of a revolving door, and a grandfather who’d been fully immersed in building his empire, Allegra had tried to bring stability to her younger charges.

  More often than not, she’d failed, and Giovanni had had to step in. While with each failure, she’d doubted her ability to be what she needed for her family, she’d never shied away from doing the right thing.

  And the right thing was her family. Grandfather and her siblings came first and foremost. Always.

  Stemming the pain slashing her heart, she took a deep breath and nodded. ‘What do you need me to do?’

  Whether it was the briskness in her voice or the hard acceptance that she couldn’t change the wiles of fate that did it, her grandfather sat upright, his face showing a trace more colour than it had a few minutes ago. Allegra was grateful for it, even as her heart hammered at whatever he was about to ask of her. Giovanni wouldn’t have summoned her if it weren’t important.