by Annie West
His shoulders slumped as the truth pummelled him, like waves on a high sea.
He had nothing to offer her. All he had was his quest to recoup past glories. But now he understood no wealth, power or prestige could make up for the emptiness inside him. The emptiness now she had gone.
She’d been right to leave. Yet already he found himself planning to follow and fight for her. He had no notion how he’d convince her to return, no leverage he could use, but he couldn’t give up. He—
‘Dario.’
Hairs prickled his nape as he imagined her voice on the surging waves. By now she’d be halfway to the airport, eager to be gone.
He should give her time before he pursued her, time for her righteous anger to abate. Time for him to develop a plan. But his desperation was too great. He spun round and almost slammed into the figure blocking the path to the villa.
‘Alissa.’
Was that his voice? That raw, hungry gasp? He was beyond caring how much that revealed. He cared only that she was here.
Her hands were small, capable and real in his grasp. He felt her warmth, looked down into her cornflower-blue eyes and still couldn’t believe. She was here.
It was all he could do not to drag her into his arms and kiss her doubts away, blotting out the world.
But that hadn’t worked before. He had to make this work between them. There was no other alternative.
‘Dario.’ His name tasted perfect on her lips. She wanted him to tug her close and kiss her doubts and questions away, take her to that special place they alone shared. But he held back.
Suddenly her idea seemed too crazy even for words. Had she made a terrible mistake? She shivered as ice covered her heart. Her tongue froze as she looked up into his set features.
‘I came back because I realised…’
‘Yes?’ His tone gave nothing away. Only the hammering pulse at the base of his throat gave her hope. That and his grip, tight enough to make her blood pulse hard and slow in her fingers.
But he had himself in hand. Dario Parisi, careful and in control. His expression was unreadable.
She hesitated, hearing her blood pound in her ears. She was afraid to lay herself bare but she had to know. She couldn’t leave him while there was even the remotest possibility…
‘I realised you wouldn’t get the castello if I left.’
His iron-hard grip on her fingers slackened and her hands slipped free, falling to her sides.
‘You came back because of the castello?’
His eyes turned gun-metal grey, blank and devoid of light. The sight doused her last hope. Suddenly she wished she was in the limo, cocooned from everything by the tinted glass that concealed her misery.
She’d made an awful mistake. The realisation numbed her brain.
‘I said you were free to go. I do not hold you to our agreement. I forced you into that bargain unfairly. I won’t do it again.’
He raised a hand to spear through his sleek, perfect hair. Was it imagination or did his fingers tremble?
‘But you need the castello. I understand what it means to you.’ She paused, horrified to realise how badly she wanted to stay. If acquiring the place would bring him peace after a lifetime of pain she was prepared to swallow her pride and help him. And it would give her a few more precious weeks with him. ‘It’s only for a short while. I could move into a guest room and…’
‘No! It’s impossible. Do not even suggest it.’
Alissa’s eyes prickled and her throat jammed as roiling emotion engulfed her. He wouldn’t even let her help him achieve his dream. She really had destroyed whatever affection he’d had for her. Desperately she told herself it was for the best. She swung round to leave.
‘Alissa.’ His voice stopped her. It wasn’t a command but a hoarse plea. ‘Please understand that I will not dishonour you any more.’
Dishonour! What did she care for honour when her heart was breaking? The blue Sicilian sky dimmed as despair pressed down on her. She lifted one leaden foot to walk away.
‘If you had come back for any reason but the castello…’
She stumbled and strong arms wrapped round her before she could find her feet. Dario hauled her back against him and she shut her eyes at the exquisite sensation of their bodies locked together.
To be held by the man she loved, feel his heart beating behind her, his arms like warm steel, supporting her…
It was delicious torture, pleasure so poignant her poor heart welled and overflowed.
‘But the castello means everything to you,’ she whispered when at last she found her voice.
‘You’re wrong, tesoro.’ His words were muffled in her hair as he nuzzled her scalp. Tremors of reaction vibrated through her and she arched back against him. ‘Once it did. But not now, not for a long time. Not since I fell in love.’
Alissa heard the words but couldn’t take them in. He can’t have said—
She turned so swiftly she bumped her nose on his chin. She tried to back away to see his expression but his arms locked relentlessly round her. He hauled her close and she heard the thunder of his heart pound against her, matching her own galloping pulse.
‘The castello is just a place.’ His voice rumbled up from deep in his chest. She felt every word. ‘A special place, but not nearly as important to me as you, carissima. That’s why I had to let you go. It isn’t worth the pain you were suffering, being here with me. I’ve abided by my promise to my father, but he wouldn’t expect me to destroy the woman I adore to get it.’
‘You love me?’ Had he really said it?
‘I love you, Alissa. I’ve never known anything like this feeling.’ He grasped her hand and pressed it to his heart. The pulse of his life force beneath her palm, his words a hot caress against her forehead, made the unbelievable real. Excitement sheared through her.
‘For months I told myself it was lust, but from the first it was far more. You are such a woman, my sort of woman. Strong, independent, but caring and gentle.’
He put his hands on her shoulders and stepped back till at last she could see his face. His silvery eyes shone overbright. She’d never seen that expression before, of joy and fear mixed together. Hope sang in her breast.
‘Dario.’ Her voice was choked as she reached up to cup his jaw. ‘I can’t believe it. You’re so—’
‘Stubborn? Unwilling to see what’s under my nose?’
‘Of course not.’ A smile broke on her lips as she met his eyes and saw the tenderness there. An expression of love so real, so honest, for a moment words were beyond her. ‘I never guessed. You never hinted…’
‘That’s because I didn’t know myself till I’d sent you away.’ He turned his face into her palm and pressed feverish kisses there, sending her body into meltdown. ‘I thought it was my pride you’d injured, till I realised the truth. I’d become like the man I hated most in the world. I’d become as ruthless as he, desperate to get what I wanted no matter what the cost. When I saw how deeply I’d hurt you I knew I’d do anything to make it better, even let you go.’
Regret shimmered in his eyes. An agony of self-hate that evoked all her protective instincts.
‘Shh, Dario. You’re not like him at all. You could never be. You’re honourable and generous. You genuinely care.’ She drew a shaky breath and bared her soul. ‘I love you too. But I thought you’d never feel the same. That’s why I had to leave—’
His plundering mouth stopped her confession. He snagged her close and tilted her head to accommodate his sweet invasion. It was all there in his kiss, the heady emotion, the shared passion, the trust and promise for the future. Everything she’d ever dreamt of. And more.
‘Tell me again,’ he whispered against her lips. Heaven was in his hoarse command. In the way he held her, as if she was the most precious treasure in all the world.
‘I love you, Dario. I’d trust you with my life.’
He crushed her so close she could barely breathe, yet she smiled as she looked up into t
he earnest features of the man she adored. He was as handsome as ever. But never had he looked so gorgeous as now, with love shining clear and bright in his eyes.
‘Bella Alissa. Will you marry me? A proper wedding this time. In a church with all your friends and family. A wedding with all the trimmings and a reception in the town square for everyone to join in.’ His voice resonated with the depth of his feelings. ‘I want everyone to hear when I promise to love and honour my darling wife.’
Alissa knew no hesitation at all as she leaned close and murmured, ‘Yes, Dario. I will.’
ISBN: 978-1-4268-4454-6
BLACKMAILED BRIDE, INEXPERIENCED WIFE
First North American Publication 2009.
Copyright © 2009 by Annie West.
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