‘I may kiss the love of my life,’ Luca whispered so that only Callie could hear, ‘the only Princess I’ll ever need.’
‘The only Princess you’re ever going to get,’ she teased him softly before they kissed. She stared down at the band of diamonds that Luca had whispered could never replace the blue plastic ring from the cracker, but he hope she liked it. Liked it? She loved it. And there will be another ring, he’d told her. ‘When we marry in Fabrizio, you will have a ring made in Fabrizian gold.’
‘The blue plastic ring was enough for me,’ she had assured him. ‘What I feel for you is in my heart.’
As they stepped outside the ancient church hand in hand, a crystalline scene of snow and icicles greeted them. Luca turned to Callie beneath the stone archway decorated with white winter roses and floating silk ribbons, to draw her winter bridal cape more snugly around her shoulders. ‘Warm enough?’ he asked.
She gave him one of her looks. ‘Is that a serious question?’
Pulling her close against his muscular body, Luca gave Callie the only answer she would ever need, in a kiss that was more than hot enough to keep out any chill.
* * *
Michel, Luca’s elderly aide, had advised on all things formal to make sure that protocol was followed for Luca and Callie’s second ceremony in Fabrizio, but the magic, as always, was provided by the Browns, who had a far more relaxed take on what went into making the perfect wedding day. Callie only knew that it took one man to make her day perfect and he had just snuck into her suite at the palace, when she was fresh from the shower and naked beneath her fluffy towelling robe.
‘You shouldn’t be here,’ she whispered, glancing over her shoulder to check that the door was securely locked.
‘Why?’ Luca demanded, looping his arms around her waist. ‘You’re not in your wedding dress, are you?’
‘Exactly,’ Callie exclaimed, shivering with desire as he teased the sensitive skin just below her ear with the lightest of rasps with his stubble. He looked beyond amazing, wearing nothing more than a white T-shirt and banged-up jeans. ‘You parked the shave?’ she reprimanded in between hectic gasps of breath.
‘I know how much you like a good rasping,’ he murmured, transferring his attention to her lips, which he now brushed with the lightest of kisses.
And she did like a good rasping. Far too much. ‘You have to stop,’ she gasped out.
‘Or you won’t be accountable for your actions?’
‘Something like that,’ she agreed on a dry throat as Luca’s experienced hands traced the outline of her breasts.
‘Do you know how long it is since we made love?’ he demanded.
‘Too long?’
‘That’s right,’ he confirmed. ‘It must be an hour since. What’s this?’ he asked, frowning as he extracted the fine gold chain that disappeared between her breasts.
‘My something blue?’
‘The plastic ring,’ he exclaimed, smiling. ‘I hope you won’t mind if I replace it with something more substantial today?’
Callie’s heart beat nineteen to the dozen. What type of rings did princesses have to wear? Her knowledge of such things was confined to magazines and newspapers, and those rings always looked so clunky and as if they would ruin all her clothes. ‘So long as it’s nothing too flashy.’
Luca hummed and frowned. ‘I’m afraid I can’t promise that.’
And Callie couldn’t fail to be impressed. In fact, she was speechless when she saw the obviously priceless diamond ring that Luca had so casually pulled out from the back pocket of his jeans. The large, blue-white oval stone glittered wildly in the light as if it contained countless hopes and dreams just waiting to be set free. It was the most stunning piece of jewellery she’d ever seen, apart from the diamond ring Luca had surprised her with in the church in England. ‘I don’t need this,’ she felt it only fair to tell him.
‘But I want you to have it,’ Luca insisted. ‘Our children will expect you to have beautiful gifts from their father, a man who loves you more than anything else in the world.’ As he spoke Luca placed his hand on her not quite so flat belly, as if he were making a pledge to both Callie and their baby to love and protect them with his life. ‘You’ll have to wear the engagement ring on your right hand with the eternity ring from England,’ he said as he brought her fingers to his lips. ‘According to tradition in Fabrizio, your wedding band goes on this left hand, because it is said to contain the vein the ancient Romans believed connected directly to your heart. We still call it the vena amoris, the vein of love, and for that finger you will wear something very different.’
‘Fabrizian gold,’ she said, remembering as their stares connected.
‘As strong and as direct as you are,’ Luca confirmed in a way that made her heart go crazy. Thrusting his hand for a second time into the back pocket of his jeans, he brought out the simple band. ‘No frills,’ he said. ‘Just plain, honest perfection like you. I hope you enjoy wearing it.’
‘I love it,’ Callie exclaimed. ‘You couldn’t have chosen anything better. This is the most precious ring I’ll ever wear.’
‘And the plastic ring?’
‘I’ll never forget it, but this,’ she said as Luca drew her close, ‘will be the ring of my heart.’
He dipped his head to kiss her just as Ma Brown called out from the other room, ‘Are you ready to get dressed, Callie? We can’t keep that carriage waiting.’
‘Punctuality is the politeness of kings,’ Luca teased.
‘And my time-keeping’s dreadful,’ Callie fretted.
‘Lucky for you I’d wait for ever if I had to.’
Luca had turned serious in a way that made her body ache for him, but with the briefest of kisses he was gone.
* * *
The second royal winter wedding was perfection, if a little grander than the first. The streets were packed with people eager to see their new Princess, and they weren’t disappointed. There were food stalls and bands, and Christmas decorations still glittered everywhere. The theme was white and silver, which made everything seem filled with light. There might not be snow in Fabrizio at Christmastime, but beneath the flawless blue the gentle sunshine warmed the throngs of wedding guests as they cheered their new Princess dressed in yards of white silk chiffon that floated behind Callie as she walked along, and yet moulded her body so beautifully. The finest lace covered her arms and shoulders, while her train was almost twenty feet long. Anything shorter than that, and there wouldn’t have been enough fabric for all the young Browns to take a handful of, Ma Brown had proclaimed ominously, but all the small bridesmaids and pageboys behaved perfectly on the day. There wasn’t a spill or a smudge from any of them, and under the Browns’ and Anita’s prudent shepherding, Callie felt as if she were floating down the aisle of the glorious cathedral in Fabrizio before she finally halted at Luca’s side.
‘Who giveth this woman—’
‘We do,’ Pa Brown piped up, to be heartily shushed by his wife.
No one in the congregation noticed anything amiss, as they were all too busy watching the way Luca gazed at his bride. There was no doubt in anyone’s mind that this was a royal love match, and one that would benefit all.
‘Happy Christmas,’ Luca murmured, and as Callie’s gaze dropped instinctively to his mouth he added in a sexy whisper, ‘Remind me. How long is it since we made love?’
‘Too long,’ Callie whispered back, her gaze locked on Luca’s. ‘Must be almost three hours now.’
‘We may have to miss the reception,’ he said with a mock frown.
‘Almost certainly,’ she agreed. And then the announcement rang out that His Serene Highness, Prince Luca of Fabrizio, could now kiss his bride. ‘We may have to ask the congregation to leave,’ Callie said dryly when Luca kissed her and she felt his very obvious impatience for herself.
Turning Callie, so that now they faced the packed body of the church together, Luca announced in a firm, strong voice, ‘My Princess.’ And as everyo
ne applauded, he added, ‘The love of my life.’
* * *
‘There are no affairs of state for me to deal with for the next two weeks,’ Luca told Callie as their horse-drawn carriage made its stately progress along the gracious main boulevard lined with cheering crowds. ‘There’s just my long-running affair with my wife to concentrate on now.’
‘After our wedding feast,’ she reminded him as she waved happily to the crowds.
‘Did I mention we’ll be delaying our arrival?’
‘Really?’ she asked, pretending to be shocked.
‘I have commanded the carriage pause at our private entrance to the palace, so we have chance to...freshen up.’
‘You think of everything,’ Callie remarked dryly.
‘I try to,’ Luca confirmed.
If the staff at the palace was surprised by the sight of their Prince and Princess racing full tilt, hand in hand, across the grand hall, the bride with her tiara askew and her lengthy train bundled up beneath her arm, they of course made no comment. Minutes later, the happy couple had slammed their bedroom door behind them. Frantic seconds later Luca had opened every button down the back of Callie’s beautiful gown. She barely had chance to remove her tiara before he swept her into his arms and carried her to the bed. The room was full of flowers and the scent was divine. ‘And all for you,’ he said.
‘They’re so beautiful,’ Callie gasped when Luca gave her the briefest of chances to take everything in. ‘Everyone’s gone to so much trouble.’
‘For you,’ he declared as he took her deep, groaning with pleasure as she claimed him. ‘For ever,’ he whispered.
‘Or even longer than that,’ Callie agreed.
* * * * *
EXCLUSIVE EXTRACT
Leonidas Betancur was presumed dead after a plane crash, and he cannot recall the vows he made to his bride Susannah four years ago. But once tracked down, his memories resurface – and he’s ready to collect his belated wedding night! Susannah wants Leonidas to reclaim his empire and free her of his legacy. But dangerously attractive Leonidas steals her innocence with a touch… And the consequences of their passion will bind them together for ever!
Read on for a sneak preview of Caitlin Crews’ next story
A BABY TO BIND HIS BRIDE
One Night With Consequences
There was a discreet knock on the paneled door and the doctor stepped back into the room.
“Congratulations, madame, monsieur,” the doctor said, nodding at each of them in turn while Susannah’s breath caught in her throat. “The test is positive. You are indeed pregnant, as you suspected.”
She barely noticed when Leonidas escorted the doctor from the room. He could have been gone for hours. When he returned he shut the door behind him, enclosing them in the salon that had seemed spacious before, and that was when Susannah walked stiffly around the settee to sit on it.
His dark, tawny gaze had changed, she noticed. It had gone molten. He still held himself still, though she could tell the difference in that, too. It was as if an electrical current ran through him now, charging the air all around him even while his mouth remained in an unsmiling line.
And he looked at her as if she was naked. Stripped. Flesh and bone with nothing left to hide.
“Is it so bad, then?” he asked in a mild sort of tone she didn’t believe at all.
Susannah’s chest was so heavy, and she couldn’t tell if it was the crushing weight of misery or something far more dangerous. She held her belly with one hand as if it was already sticking out. As if the baby might start kicking at any second.
“The Betancur family is a cage,” she told him, or the parquet floor beneath the area rug that stretched out in front of the fireplace, and it cost her to speak so precisely. So matter-of-factly. “I don’t want to live in a cage. There must be options.”
“I am not a cage,” Leonidas said with quiet certainty. “The Betancur name has drawbacks, it is true, and most of them were at that gala tonight. But it is also not a cage. On the contrary. I own enough of the world that it is for all intents and purposes yours now. Literally.” dpg!
“I don’t want the world.” She didn’t realize she’d shot to her feet until she was taking a step toward him, very much as if she thought she might take a swing at him next. As if she’d dare. “I don’t need you. I don’t want you. I want to be free.”
He took her face in his hands, holding her fast, and this close his eyes were a storm. Ink dark with gold like lightning, and she felt the buzz of it. Everywhere.
“This is as close as you’re going to get, little one,” he told her, the sound of that same madness in his gaze, his voice.
And then he claimed her mouth with his.
Don’t miss
A BABY TO BIND HIS BRIDE
By Caitlin Crews
Available January 2018
www.millsandboon.co.uk
Copyright ©2017 Caitlin Crews
ISBN: 978-1-474-05319-8
A NIGHT OF ROYAL CONSEQUENCES
© 2017 Susan Stephens
Published in Great Britain 2017
by Mills & Boon, an imprint of HarperCollinsPublishers 1 London Bridge Street, London, SE1 9GF
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A Night of Royal Consequences Page 16