-I have loved you for a thousand years-
It was a grand church, the walls were grey with centuries of holy smoke. These ancient walls had witnessed hundreds of thousands of ceremonies and rituals. And here was another for it.
I stood facing the altar. The designer had decorated it with swags of greenery, baby’s breath and roses that had been flown in from France for their sweet scent.
Behind me the pews were full of pastel colored hats, dresses and suits. There was a buzz of excitement in the air. I turned slightly and looked at my father. His shoulders and his spine were straight. There was no smile on his face, but I knew he was proud of me.
This was his dream.
He nodded formally at me. I felt a pang of sadness that my mother was not there, but I told myself she would be watching from wherever she was. She was a good woman and chances were, she was in a good place.
My brother stood next to me. The day he and Bianca would leave for Africa for good was looming closer and closer. I was going to miss him like hell, but he had his dream to follow. The music changed. I was told not to turn around, to wait for my bride to arrive beside me, but I had never been one to follow custom.
I was not missing this for the world.
I took a deep breath and turned around and saw the little flower girls in their sweet pink dresses and wide white sash bows, strewing petals on the carpeted aisle. Then she appeared at the entrance of the Church.
Ahh … something inside me melted. My woman was here.
In the white gown and long veil she looked other-worldly, like a nymph or a spirit of the forest. She must have been nervous because she was clutching the flowers entwined between her fingers so hard they trembled. Then she began to walk down the aisle, the light caught her tumbling curls and turned them into glowing fire.
I remembered again the girl hanging upside-down from the tree.
Yes, I wanted to marry her that day. It was my big goal. The goal I never told anyone. The reason no woman would ever do. I was always waiting for the green-eyed witch. No more. She would be mine soon. Forever. Inside her was everything I ever wanted. When I laid my head on her belly, I could already hear the sound of my children’s feet, their laughter, the happy life that we would have.
Flanked by her father, she walked slowly, in time with the music. It was so beautiful. My mind made a record of the moment. It would live forever inside me. No matter how hard or difficult the times get I would remember this moment and know I was the luckiest bastard alive.
Tears of joy gathered in my eyes. I wasn’t ashamed of them.
As she got closer I could see her white face. I felt as if my heart would burst with the love I felt for that woman.
The butcher was grinning from ear to ear. When he caught my eye he made the thumbs up sign. I was too choked up to respond. He gave his daughter to me and went to sit next to his eighteen-year-old Italian model girlfriend.
I lifted her veil. “I love you,” I whispered.
She raised her hand and wiped away my tears. “This is not a competition, but I love you more.”
I laughed through my tears. The priest cleared his throat. I guided her to our place in front of him. He droned on and I didn’t hear a word. I was so happy. When I was prompted I turned to face my bride and said, the right words. All of them were mere inventions of man. None of those shallow words that could only describe the feelings of the unimaginative could adequately reflect how I felt about her. The passion I had for her. A promise I made all those years ago.
Then my brother was turning to me, handing me the ring I’d picked out for her. I took it from him and it felt cool against my fingers. That felt wrong. It should feel like fire. That is how our love was. From the very beginning. Pure fire.
I looked into her beautiful eyes and slipped my ring and mark of possession onto her slender white finger. “With this ring … I thee wed.”
The End
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Coming Next: Sample Prologue
Bianca
(College Days)
I am about to do something insane, I wrote to my best friend, Aldie.
Then I sat and waited for her response to come in, my eyes fluttering above to reread what I’d just typed into our chat room. As I tapped my fingers impatiently on the desktop I wondered why I was waiting for her response when I didn’t want her to talk me out of my intention.
Exiting the chat room, I pulled up his contact on my phone. The crazy message I’d just painstakingly crafted was there, still waiting for me to do something with it.
Still no reply from her.
I took a deep breath and put my finger on the Send button, but to my surprise I couldn’t let my message fly off into the ether. A message from Aldie pinged its way into my computer. I said a silent desperate prayer and took my finger off the Send button and went after Aldie’s message.
She had a one word answer for me. What?
My thumbs got busy. You’re too late. I’ve just told Levan that I really, really, really like him.
Her reply was as instantaneous. You really used THREE reallys?
I could feel my heart start sinking. Is that really bad?
The seconds ticked by, but there was no response. But I could see that the message had been read.
I hate you, I wrote.
She came back with a hysterically laughing emoji. Then a message. What did he say back?
I swallowed hard. He hasn’t responded yet.
I could picture her sighing. Paste what you wrote here.
I did as she asked. A couple of minutes passed with not a word from her. I wanted to strangle her.
ALDIE! I punched in.
She responded with a giggling emoji. Well, you were direct if a tad bit dramatic, but… I guess you’re breaking out of your damn shell.
When Aldie used the words a tad bit it was never a good thing. My nerves began to buzz with the very alarming possibility that I might have just blown up everything with Levan.
Do you think I made a mistake? I asked anxiously. I know he is, you know, out of my league. Not to mention we’re still not certain of who he is exactly.
Her reply was immediate. He’s not out of your league, babe. Yeah sure, he’s gorgeous as fuck, but you’re good enough for anyone, even him. Let’s just wait and see what he replies back, okay?
I closed my eyes for a second. Okay, let’s wait and see, but I really, really, really like him Aldie.
It took a bit longer for Aldie’s answer. It’s never a good idea to wear your heart on your sleeve or anywhere it can be easily trampled on. Men are class A bastards when they know you’re crazy about them. So just cool it, okay.
I didn’t tell her I thought I was already more than half way in love with Levan. Okay. I will cool the ardor.
That’s my girl, she wrote back. I just got out of class, I’m hurrying now to an open house in East Village, but I’ll stop by your bakery when I'm done.
Nah, my mom is working there today. I’m in the library then I’m going home, I responded. I paused a moment then added hopefully. I’ll text you when he replies.
Cool. Can’t wait to hear what he says.
I waited and I waited, but Levan never called or wrote back. He disappeared into thin air. I took full responsibility. I had pathetically worn my heart on my sleeve, and he, being the bastard he was, stomped on it.
Sample Chapter
One
Present Day
Levan
I was sitting at the bar of a French seafood restaurant in Midtown Manhattan, and had just taken a sip from my glass of wine, when she emerged from the restroom area.
Doubling over in shock, I nearly choked on my wine.
My unguarded reaction immediately raised the alarm of the two men with me. They shot their gazes around, searching for the sign of danger.
“Is there a problem?”
Sergei asked in low urgent tones, his hand going to his concealed weapon.
“No, no,” I said quickly, raising a reassuring hand. “There’s no problem.”
Both men settled down, but for me, my turbulence had just begun. My restless, shocked eyes searched for her again, but she was nowhere to be seen. She must have gone into the main room where the diners were.
The barman appeared and asked if I desired a refill. I nodded and watched blankly as the dark vibrant liquid flowed smoothly into the glass. She was here.
I’d dreamed of this moment a thousand times and yet it didn’t’ seem real. She looked even more beautiful than she had been. I lifted the glass and drained it down.
Sergei gave me a funny look. Fuck him. What did he know of the sacrifice I’d made? My chest hurt at the memory. I returned my attention to my men.
“Will Maxim be present when Luka and Dimitri arrive?” Mikhail, asked.
My attention snapped back to them at the mention of my brother, Maxim. “He left for Spain this morning.”
Both men nodded in understanding. Anytime Maxim was called out of the continent in that way by our father, we all knew that it was for something extremely delicate, and it would take him a while before he resurfaced again.
I took the opportunity then to scan my gaze across the French seafood restaurant in, and was disappointed when I wasn't able to find her. Had she left
I started to rise to my feet but fell back heavily into the stool when I saw them come out of the dining area. His arm possessively snaked around her waist.
As if he owned her.
As she was fucking his.
I couldn’t believe my eyes. The irony was too much to bear. I’d walked away from her to save her from the life of a Mafia wife, and here she was with the biggest, meanest psychopath in our world. Calling him an animal or a beast was being unfair to animals and beasts. They didn’t kill for fun.
This man was a heartless sadist who did his own wet work because he enjoyed inflicting torture. There were terrible rumors about him, the kind of stuff snuff movies were made of. I didn’t usually pay attention to gossip, but there were too many stories from too many credible sources to dismiss. No smoke without fire and there was plenty of poisonous smoke hanging around him.
At first the shock of seeing her with him had completely floored me and I couldn’t even think straight, but then I gathered my wits together. Something was not right. They were chalk and cheese. They should never be together. I forced myself to focus at her face, and instantly, I knew.
She hated the man who held her as if he owned her.
Her body was stiff with revulsion, her face was tight with a mixture of fear and despair, and she was staring straight ahead of her as if she wished she was somewhere else, someone else.
“Tell me that’s not Semion Litvinenko,” I murmured, without taking my eyes away from her.
“That’s him,” Sergei spat out disgustedly, but even in his voice I detected the touch of fear.
I ran my hands through my hair and felt as if my veins were burning. Damn. What hell on earth have you got yourself into, Bianca Russet?
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Also by Georgia Le Carre
Owned
42 Days
Besotted
Seduce Me
Love’s Sacrifice
Masquerade
Pretty Wicked (novella)
Disfigured Love
Hypnotized
Crystal Jake 1,2&3
Sexy Beast
Wounded Beast
Beautiful Beast
Dirty Aristocrat
You Don’t Own Me 1 & 2
You Don’t Know Me
Blind Reader Wanted
Redemption
The Heir
Blackmailed By The Beast
Submitting To The Billionaire
The Bad Boy Wants Me
Nanny & The Beast
His Frozen Heart
The Man In The Mirror
A Kiss Stolen
Can’t Let Her Go
Highest Bidder
Saving Della Ray
Nice Day For A White Wedding
With This ring Page 25