by Sarah Morgan
‘Your mother is only thirty-two.’
‘Is she that old?’ Katy shuddered and pulled a face. ‘Hard to imagine.’
At any other time Alessandro would have laughed but he was too busy contemplating the facts to respond to the horror in his daughter’s expression.
Thirty-two. Many women weren’t even married at that age, he mused. Christy was still young. He’d met her young and made her pregnant almost immediately.
And his daughter was right. She had looked nice in the dress. More than nice. Gorgeous. Sexy. Stunning.
Closing his eyes to clear the image of long slender legs and tempting feminine curves, he realised that Christy had been spot on in her accusation. He was behaving like a caveman. The truth was that he didn’t want any other man admiring what was his. Especially at the moment, when their relationship was so precarious.
She’d given no indication as to what was going to happen when Christmas was over. Hadn’t mentioned whether she was staying or going, and he was afraid to ask in case his question provoked her into leaving.
He felt as though he was totally out of step with her thinking.
She confided in Jake, it seemed, but not him.
He inhaled sharply. Jake. He knew only too well that Jake had been crazy about Christy for a short time. Given the complexity and number of Jake’s subsequent relationships, he’d assumed that the connection had long since died. Now he was starting to wonder…
But no matter what, she was right about his behaviour, he reflected with grim self-awareness. He’d behaved that way from the first moment he’d met her. She’d been twenty and a virgin, and he’d fallen for her so hard that, given the choice, he would have locked her inside a room and never let her out.
She’d been with him for almost all of her adult life.
Could he blame her if she now wanted to dress up and party?
He ran a hand over the back of his neck and cursed fluently in Spanish.
Katy cleared her throat. ‘Thanks to those boring Spanish lessons I endure every Saturday morning, I understood that,’ she said calmly, and Alessandro threw her a quelling look.
‘I don’t need your comments at this time,’ he said in Spanish, and she gave a smile and responded in the same language.
‘Oh, I rather think you do.’
* * *
So much for expecting Alessandro to sweep her into his arms, Christy thought miserably as she reached for her coat. He hadn’t seen her as an attractive woman. Just as his wife, inappropriately dressed.
Part of her wanted to strip off the dress and have an early night in the spare room, regardless of the broken bed, but part of her was still determined to show him what he was missing, so she picked up the phone and called a taxi. Alessandro strode into the hall moments later. ‘Christy—’ ‘We need to leave,’ she said coldly, not giving him the chance to say what she would undoubtedly consider to be the wrong thing. ‘I ordered a taxi so that we can both have a drink. It should be here any minute.’
Alessandro inhaled sharply. ‘Por Dios, we need to talk.’
‘About what?’ She swept towards the door, her head held high, her hair streaming down her back like flames. ‘The fact that you don’t see me as anything other than the mother of your children? You’ve made that perfectly clear, Alessandro. I don’t need you to labour the point.’
She yanked open the front door, relieved to see the taxi arrive.
They made the journey to the manor house that was the venue for the Snow Ball in tense, brooding silence, and Christy turned her head to stare out of the window, afraid to look at him.
Afraid that she’d break down.
Merry Christmas, Christy, she thought bitterly as the taxi swept up the wide, snowy drive that led to the stately home. Christmas trees festooned with tiny lights adorned the entrance but she decided that it was impossible to be enchanted when your marriage was on the rocks.
Determined not to show Alessandro how much his casual indifference had hurt her, Christy handed her coat to the uniformed attendant and walked into the ballroom.
The party was already in full swing, the dance floor was crowded and the buffet table was loaded with festive food.
Huge boughs of holly and mistletoe decorated the room and the air was filled with the scent of pine cones and fir trees.
Christmas.
Christy blinked back tears. It should have been a happy time.
The first person she saw was Nicky, wearing a slinky green dress and clinging to her husband’s arm. ‘Christy!’ Waving a champagne glass, she sprinted over and embraced her. ‘You look amazing!’
At least someone thought so, Christy thought sadly, forcing a smile. ‘Thanks.’
Nicky grinned at Alessandro. ‘She looks unbelievably sexy, doesn’t she?’
Alessandro’s already black expression darkened still further and Christy quickly made conversation to cover his lack of response.
Clearly he didn’t find her sexy.
‘Come and dance,’ Nicky urged, and Christy nodded.
‘Great idea.’ Anything was better than standing with Alessandro. He obviously didn’t want her to go out. Didn’t want her to have a good time and enjoy herself.
She walked towards the dance floor with Nicky and let herself go.
For a short time she blocked out everything except the rhythm of the music and the feel of her own body.
Eventually heat and thirst got the better of her and she helped herself to a drink and walked outside into the grounds for some fresh air.
The snow was thick on the ground and she suddenly wished she’d asked for her coat.
Turning to go back inside, she bumped straight into Jake. ‘Well, well, Cinderella, I assume,’ he drawled in a soft voice, and she smiled.
‘Hi, there. Where’s your date?’
‘Not sure.’ Jake glanced back at the house and frowned. ‘In there somewhere. Last seen throwing herself around the dance floor in a most embarrassing fashion. Time to move on to the next candidate, I think.’
Christy rolled her eyes. ‘You’re irrepressible.’
‘No, I’m just fussy,’ Jake said calmly, his eyes on her pale face. Without commenting, he shrugged out of his jacket and slipped it around her shoulders. ‘OK, what’s happening with you?’
The jacket was warm and comforting but she frowned. ‘You’ll freeze.’
‘Me? You’re forgetting that I’m big, tough and manly.’ Jake lifted her chin and forced her to look at him. ‘Come one. What’s happened?’
She shouldn’t say anything, she thought miserably. She ought to keep her problems to herself. ‘Nothing.’
‘Christy, we need to get to the point fast, before we both catch pneumonia,’ Jake said patiently, ‘so let’s put this another way. Why are you out here on your own, leaving your husband inside and fair game for that Russian doctor with the long claws and the evil eyes.’
‘Katya?’ Christy swallowed hard. So Jake had noticed, too. ‘I can’t compete with her.’
‘That’s rubbish,’ Jake drawled, finishing his drink and putting his glass down on the wall that led towards the maze. ‘I thought you were going to fight.’
‘I was.’ Christy looked down at herself. ‘This was my weapon, but it didn’t work. He was supposed to be bowled over by how stunning I am. Instead, he just went off the deep end and said that I couldn’t go out looking like this.’
Jake’s eyes narrowed. ‘Is that right?’
‘I’m the mother of his children,’ Christy said wearily, and Jake grinned.
‘In that silver dress? Believe me, you look more like a walking fantasy than the mother of anyone’s children. I’m not surprised he didn’t want you to go out looking like that. He has a possessive nature, angel. And that’s your fault for marrying a brooding Spaniard. You should have picked someone safe and English, like me.’
‘You’re wrong. If it was about feeling possessive, he would have grabbed me and we never would have made it to the party,’ Christy
said miserably. ‘But he doesn’t want me.’
‘No?’ Jake lifted his eyes from hers and looked over her shoulder, his attention caught by something directly behind her. She saw his expression change but before she could turn and see what he was looking at, he muttered something that sounded like, ‘Oh, what the hell’, dragged her against him and brought his mouth down hard on hers.
The kiss lasted less than a few seconds because suddenly Jake was yanked away from her so violently that she almost lost her balance.
‘Get your hands off my wife,’ Alessandro growled fiercely, his powerful body pulsing with vibrant energy and barely contained tension.
Christy swallowed. ‘Alessandro—’
He didn’t glance in her direction. ‘Do not speak to me at the moment,’ he said thickly, his voice raw with aggression. ‘This is not your fault. You’re inexperienced when it comes to men, but Jake is—’
‘Yes?’ Jake looked at him calmly, his hands in his pockets. ‘What am I?’
‘You’ve always wanted her,’ Alessandro breathed with icy fury, and Jake gave a curious smile.
‘Yes. I did.’
‘Por Dios, you admit it?’ Like a tiger suddenly unleashed, Alessandro stepped forward and let out a punch that sent Jake flying into the snow.
‘Jake!’ Christy gave a scream of horror and ran towards him. ‘Alessandro, no! Stop it. Stop it now! I can’t believe you just did that! What do you think you’re doing?’
‘Protecting what’s mine.’ Alessandro was nursing his hand, his eyes still glittering with fury as he watched Jake struggle to his feet and lift a hand to his split lip.
Christy was forgotten as the two men faced each other.
‘I guess I deserved that,’ Jake said softly, ‘but you’re only allowed the one, Garcia. And now you’d better let me finish my sentence. It’s true that I wanted Christy when I thought she was available. Unfortunately that lasted all of twenty-four hours. Then she saw you and I didn’t get a look-in. You were the only man for her. You still are, but you’re too pigheaded to see it.’
Seeing blood on his chin, Christy took a step towards him but Jake lifted a hand to stop her. ‘I’m fine. I’m going inside now to find my date. There’s nothing like the sight of blood to bring out a woman’s nurturing instincts.’ Despite the bruise on his face, he gave her a saucy wink. ‘I’ll have the jacket back next time I see you, angel.’
She watched as he sauntered away, tears in her eyes. Then she turned to Alessandro in a state of appalled frustration. ‘I can’t believe you just did that. He’s our oldest friend!’
‘He was kissing you.’
‘Well, at least he noticed me,’ she yelled, ‘which is more than you ever do.’
‘I notice you.’ Strong fingers closed around her wrist and he dragged her towards the entrance of the maze.
‘Alessandro, this is ridiculous.’ She tugged at her hand but he kept on walking until they reached the walled garden in the centre of the maze. A fountain bubbled and the moon shed just enough light for her to be able to make out the hard, unyielding expression on his handsome face. Soft flakes of snow swirled around them but both were oblivious to everything except each other and the steadily mounting tension.
‘You think I don’t notice you, querida?’ He backed her against the wall, his powerful body hard against hers, his hand on her waist. ‘You think I’m not aware of you lying next to me in bed at night? You think I don’t notice the silver dress?’
Hunger exploded inside her and she clung to the front of his jacket, the intimate thrust of his body sending her pulse rate skyward.
He jerked the hem of her dress upwards and she gave a soft gasp of shock and excitement as she felt the strength of his hands on her bottom. ‘Well, I’ve got news for you, gatita, I notice.’ He brought his mouth down on hers in a hard, possessive kiss and she melted under the skilled seduction of his mouth.
No one kissed like Alessandro, she thought dizzily as she felt herself go under, sucked down into a sensual world where everything was suddenly hazy.
Her heart thumped, hot tongues of fire licked deep inside her and she slid her arms round his strong neck and held onto his head just in case he had any intention of ending the kiss before she was ready.
But clearly he didn’t.
Without lifting his mouth, he slid his hands inside the silk of her panties and the warmth of his palms was such a contrast to the freezing night air that she gasped against his lips and then cried out his name as his fingers slid inside her, exploring the most intimate place of all.
He was the only man who had ever touched her that way and she felt her body explode with an excitement so intense that it was close to unbearable.
‘I want you,’ he groaned huskily, lifting her with a powerful movement and anchoring her between the wall and his body, ‘Por Dios, I have to have you now. I can’t wait any longer.’
Exulting in the effect she was having on him, Christy wrapped her legs around him, desperate for him to finish what he’d started, desperate to ease the agonising ache that built deep inside her body. And still they kissed, as if they were never going to stop.
As if this were the last time they would ever touch.
In a swift movement that said a great deal about his physical strength, Alessandro held her secure with one arm and then reached down to deal with the zip of his trousers. Breathless with anticipation, she felt him hard and ready against her and shifted her hips with a whimper of need as the white-hot burning low in her pelvis reached almost intolerable levels.
He held her firm and entered her with a powerful thrust and she gasped against his mouth as she felt the slick, velvety thickness of his arousal deep inside her.
She forgot everything except the ferocious needs of her own body and his. She forgot that they were outdoors. She forgot the freezing cold air and the sharp, uneven surface of the bricks pressing into her back. She forgot that their marriage was in crisis.
Her entire focus was the building, throbbing ache that grew and grew deep inside her.
He was hard and demanding, his mouth never leaving hers, each rhythmic thrust creating erotic sensations that bordered on the painful. She tried desperately to move her hips, to alleviate the frantic ache deep in her body but he controlled her utterly and she gave a sob of relief as she felt him change the angle and drive her towards the edge.
She toppled with a force that shocked her and she clung to his broad shoulders, feeling his body tense as he drove still deeper into her and fell with her.
And finally, when their breathing had calmed and their pulses had slowed, he lifted his head and lowered her gently to the ground.
For a moment they both stared at each other, connected by the unique intensity of the experience that they’d shared.
No other man would ever make her feel like this, she thought dreamily as she stared up at him, still holding his arms for support. No other man.
And then he reached forward, straightened her dress and rescued Jake’s jacket, which had fallen to the ground.
He placed it gently round her shoulders, his dark gaze lingering on her face with brooding intensity.
And she waited.
Waited to hear him say the words she was longing to hear. I love you.
Surely he was going to say it any moment now. After what they’d just shared, how could he say anything else? What other words would possibly be appropriate in this situation?
Everything was going to be all right.
This was going to be a new beginning for them.
He grasped the lapels of the jacket and hauled her against him, moulding her against his lean, powerful frame with a strength that made her gasp.
‘You’re mine,’ he groaned, burying his face in her neck and trailing burning kisses over her bare skin. ‘Mine and no other man’s.’
Rigid with pent-up emotions and expecting an entirely different declaration, Christy froze. ‘I’m sorry?’ Her voice croaky, she pulled away from him, a warnin
g flash in her eyes. Had she heard him correctly? ‘Say that again?’
‘We belong together—and I won’t give you a divorce.’
Deciding that this wasn’t the time to point out that she’d never actually asked him for a divorce, Christy felt all the soft feelings melt away. ‘Is that was this was all about? You make love to me for the first time in more than two months and you do it as a gesture of possession?’
Immediately on the defensive, Alessandro’s dark eyes narrowed warily. ‘Of course not…’
But suddenly Christy was able to see the whole picture with an uncomfortable degree of clarity. ‘Until Jake kissed me, you didn’t lay a finger on me. You did it because he kissed me.’
He tensed. ‘I’m allowed to make love to my wife.’
‘I’ve been lying half-naked next to you in bed for the past week,’ she said through gritted teeth, ‘and you haven’t laid a finger on me. It doesn’t take a genius to understand that Jake was the reason you just ripped my clothes off in a public place in below freezing weather conditions. Permit me to tell you that I find your romantic streak less than impressive.’
‘I just made love to you.’
‘No, Alessandro,’ she snapped, her delicate chin jerking upwards and her eyes flashing with anger. ‘You just had sex with me. Sex, designed to stake your claim and wipe all thoughts of other men from my mind.’
A muscle worked in his lean jaw and his eyes gleamed dark as he lifted his head in an arrogant gesture. ‘And it worked—tell me you can feel that with any other man and I will know you’re lying.’
Goaded beyond reason, she lifted a hand and slapped him hard.
‘You may be a brilliant doctor, Alessandro Garcia,’ she choked, ‘but you’re a tactless, thoughtless, possessive ba—’ She stopped herself before she could say the word she wanted to say, her upbringing preventing her from giving voice to a word that she’d never before had reason to use.
It was bad enough that she’d hit him when she’d never before struck anyone or anything.
If she’d needed the evidence that he didn’t love her, she had it now, she thought miserably as she turned and stumbled down the path that led out of the maze