The Marriage Ultimatum (Contemporary Romance)

by Christine Glover

  But her home in the United States didn’t have a patina of Italian culture and wealth in every corner and on every wall of the suite she shared with Stefano. Nor did her tiny bed in her old apartment have luxurious, one-thousand-thread-count Egyptian cotton sheets. Instead of waking up to the sounds of Matthew’s demands for cuddles and playtime, she only heard Stefano’s rhythmic breathing.

  Reality streamed through her last vestiges of sleep, and Roxy quickly exited the bed to tiptoe across the bronzed Italian tile floor before Stefano woke up, because the last thing she wanted to see was him without a stitch of clothing on. Still, she paused when she reached the couch to look at her husband.

  Her tummy did a dip and roll. Dear lord, the man was drop dead beautiful. With his eyelids closed to the world, Stefano looked far less dangerous and way too inviting. His lush curling lashes crested the tops of his cheeks and a sexy dark stubble shadowed his jawline, making him look both vulnerable and every bit the rogue she knew him to be. A single sheet covered him to just above his hips, but she could make out the line of his muscular thighs beneath the expensive cotton. She tracked the treasure trail of downy hair spiraling low, disappearing beneath the sheet, and his extremely impressive erection tenting the fabric.

  Her mouth watered. Everything buzzed beneath her skin, building excitement to the point of an exquisite ache between her thighs. Oh, she remembered the strength of Stefano’s possession, the way he filled her completely with his length, stroking in and out of her until she had been lost to the sensation of being one with him.

  She grew damp even now and a whimper escaped her lips. His eyes opened, then locked with hers. “Enjoying the view?” he asked lazily, shifting one leg from under the sheet.

  Roxy folded her arms across her chest to hide her tight nipples. Not good. So not good at all. But yes. She had definitely enjoyed the view. “There’s not much to see,” she said primly. Sure, she couldn’t deny the attraction humming between them, but he’d hurt her beyond belief. Though sinful, decadent thoughts continued to invade her brain, she knew if she surrendered to them, she’d confuse the passion for something more. “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have to get dressed before I get Matthew.”

  He grinned and tilted his head toward the wide, whitewashed arched doorway that lead to the suite’s opulent bathroom. “Go for it. I’ll be right behind you.”

  Another memory shot to the forefront of her brain, and heat flashed low. She knew all too well what it felt like to have Stefano take her that way. She bit her lip hard to stop her uber excited hormones from whimpering again, then scooted around him.

  “Don’t forget to lather and rinse twice,” he called after her, his voice carrying a hint of teasing laughter.

  Oh, that man. That wicked, wicked man. Now she couldn’t stop her mind from revisiting the many nights they had shared. Not when Stefano had every intention of using the details about what had happened to his advantage.

  Roxy hurried to the bathroom, slipped out of her pajamas, and turned on the shower. As she scrubbed her body from top to bottom, she tried to ignore the tingling sensations zipping through her bare skin and tugging down low. But the steaming hot water cascaded across her breasts, and her nipples marbled in spite of her desperate attempts to stop her imagination from running wild.

  Wanting—oh the wanting—nearly overwhelmed her resolve to keep her sex kitten paws off Stefano. Furiously, she washed her hair, lathering every ounce of her frustrated sexual energy into her scalp. Still, while she rinsed the suds away, she couldn’t pretend her desire didn’t exist. Not when every inch of her skin vibrated with awareness. Not when every nerve shot tiny tingles of electricity to her erogenous zones. Not when she literally ached for him to touch her, take her, bring her to her ultimate release.

  Stand down, girl. You cannot let your body rule your brain. He broke your heart once. He forced you to marry him or lose Matthew. You can’t let him get that close again. Roxy repeated her mantra until the intensity of the thrumming sensations receded.

  She exited the shower, dried herself, and then bundled her damp hair into a luxurious white bath towel. Swiping steam off the mirror, Roxy peered at her reflection, then grimly reminded herself that this wasn’t a relationship that would last. Period. The end. She had a son to take care of, and she already missed their routine morning snuggles. That’s where she needed to be right now—cuddling Matthew. Not here and lusting for Stefano.

  When a measure of steel replaced quivering need, she tied a soft robe around her waist and stepped back into the main living room.

  “This won’t work.” Roxy waved her hand at Stefano who lounged on the sofa with his arms behind his head, watching her and giving her a lazy, all too sensual smile. And there went the steel she’d girded herself with all the way back to Sex City where anything was possible.

  “Of course it will,” he said. “As I said last night, I can control my urges for as long as it takes.”

  “There’s no way I can stay in the same room with you if you continue to parade around naked as a jaybird.” How on earth could she stand her ground, let alone maintain her emotional distance from him, if he continued to expose her to his super sexy body?

  “Grandfather will wonder why we’re not sleeping together. No amount of PDAs can cover for that fact.” His gaze traveled from the tip of her towel-covered head to the bottom of her bare toes. “And there’ll be tons of PDAs in our future. Not that I mind.”

  Neither would she based on her current hormonal hallelujah high kicks. She suppressed them with the memory of Matthew’s last stomach virus and the hours she had spent mopping up the consequences. “You’re right. The only way we’ll convince Gregorio that we’re a happily married couple is if we stay in the same room,” she said. “But I won’t let you manipulate me.”

  Roxy turned on her heel, then stalked to the dresser where she withdrew a pair of drawstring pajama bottoms. She returned with the soft cotton pants and held them out. “Put these on, then we’ll renegotiate our sleeping arrangements.”

  “Excellent idea.” Stefano grabbed the bottoms and moved to get dressed.

  The sheet dipped lower, exposing his pelvic hair above… heat flashed again. Roxy swiveled to avoid the rest of the show. “Let me know when you’re decent,” she said.

  “You’ll be waiting a long time for that to happen,” he said while the sound of him drawing on the pants whispered seductive, enticing thoughts into her burning ears.

  Roxy inhaled a deep breath and counted to ten Mississippi before exhaling. “You ready?” she asked.

  “Yes.”

  She faced him again, then sighed. Even in drawstring pants, Stefano exuded raw sexuality with his lean, perfectly sculpted chest and abs, broad shoulders and drool-worthy biceps. To top it off, he managed to look devilishly attractive with his sleep-tousled dark hair curling on his forehead and accentuating his gleaming blue-green eyes.

  Part of her wanted to leave, use whatever resources she had to fight Stefano for full custody, but she had a son to consider. Matthew had a right to know his father, and to grow up knowing he was valued and loved by his family. Though the circumstances that had brought them together had been through fate, Roxy had no doubt now that Stefano genuinely cared for their son.

  Stefano rubbed his shadowed jaw. “What’s going on in that head of yours?” he asked.

  Yes. The stars, some god with a crazy sense of humor, had brought them together twice. Last time he’d been in charge. And she’d trusted him. Humongous mistake. Once again he’d taken control over her entire life. Still, she could bargain for some other way to live in these rooms with Stefano. He wasn’t a monster, just a man bent on a mission to satisfy his grandfather’s demands along with saving his family’s company.

  “That settee comfortable?” she asked.

  “No,” Stefano said.

  “You want to keep sleeping on it for the next three months?”

  “Absolutely not.”

  “Great. I bet you want to sh
are that king sized bed with me in a bad way.”

  “Totally,” he said, moving closer to her. “You ready to let me?”

  “Yes.” God. He smelled so damn good. Tremors traveled through her to her very core. She squeezed her legs together and straightened her shoulders. “On two conditions.” Please let him be willing to bend just a little. Otherwise the next few months would be unbearable in more ways than one.

  “Name them.”

  “One. Give up your ridiculous commando routine.” She stepped back to regain her equilibrium. “Two. You sleep on top.”

  “Missionary works for me.”

  Oh. He hadn’t changed much at all during the years that had passed. “You’ll be sleeping like a missionary. No getting under the covers. No touchy, feely stuff. And no more trying to manipulate me into doing something that we both know will confuse matters for everyone involved,” Roxy said.

  She waited a beat. Then another. Would he choose strutting his naked body around her and the discomfort of the settee? Or would he finally compromise?

  Chapter 6

  “I’m not sure I want to wait for your company to get its shit together,” Phillip Anderson said. “Rumors are surfacing about Durante Enterprises imploding. What gives?”

  Stefano held his phone. “Durante isn’t in trouble,” he said. At least, not yet. And not if he convinced Nonno to transfer power to him. Didn’t help that his cousin Elena’s husband Donatello had been brown nosing his way into Nonno’s good graces while Stefano had been out there busting his ass to find a way to save the family’s future. “Merging your company’s software technology and innovative products with our established manufacturing factories is a win-win.”

  “You’re not the only steel manufacturer who has approached me.”

  “Si,” Stefano said. “But I’m the only one who will give you autonomy over your research and development in addition to allowing you full control over future patents unrelated to my industry.”

  “It’s a fair deal,” Anderson said. “Which is why I was willing to wait for you to iron out all the details.”

  “Precisely.” He’d offered this compromise to make Durante Enterprises’ offer irresistible. Too bad the compromise he’d made with Roxy a week ago hadn’t resulted in enjoying mutually beneficial terms in the bedroom with her.

  “I won’t wait forever. You’ve got to make this happen before the end of this fiscal third quarter.”

  “Everything will be in place before the end of September.” A dull headache pushed behind his eyes. His grandfather might be gone before that deadline. Cristo. “We’ll announce our merger during the grand opening of Durante’s new office building in Naples.”

  “Excellent.”

  Stefano ended the call and reached for his pain killers. After popping two pills, he read through the financial reports and noted the dip in stocks. He’d already leveraged several side deals to prop the company and keep their factories running at full capacity, but he needed Anderson to breathe new life into their company.

  The fact that Nonno refused to discuss business with him worried Stefano. But he blamed it on the wedding celebration and ongoing festivities while acclimating his new family to life in Italy. Claiming his side of the bed and sleeping on top of the covers while Roxy snuggled beneath the sheets presented an interesting challenge for the last seven days. That challenge kept him awake, making him hot and bothered beyond belief. Not only that, but he’d heard her cry out in her sleep and that had given him the urge to comfort her, but holding Roxy in his arms wasn’t an option.

  He stared at the box of toys he’d installed across the room. While he hadn’t gotten a true wife in the bargain, Stefano had definitely acquired a new lifestyle when he’d brought Matthew into his world.

  Slower.

  Toddler ruled.

  That Matthew had so quickly taken to him warmed Stefano’s heart in ways he hadn’t expected. He had Roxy to thank for that happening and once again her stark contrast to his mother made him question once again how readily he’d used that damned background check to break things off.

  A set of alphabet blocks still remained in the tower that he’d built with Matthew an hour earlier that morning. When Carlotta had arrived to take Matthew to the kitchen for a snack, he’d pointed to it and demanded in his own special brand of toddler speak to leave it standing so his Momma could see it. Damned if that didn’t endear Matthew to Stefano even more. It also made him respect Roxy for giving their son that confidence and pride. Though no love existed between him and Roxy, Stefano wanted an amicable divorce for everyone involved.

  A knock sounded on the door. He stood, circled his mahogany desk, and crossed the floor to open it. Roxy stood in the hallway, her arms crossed and suspicion etching lines in her brow. “What’s the problem?” he asked, widening the door. Her alluring scent of flowers and sunshine and summer followed her inside. She smelled fresh and sweet, but her glowering features didn’t complement the image.

  “You said you’d ordered sculpting supplies to replace what I’d lost in the flood.” She circled him and crossed her arms. “If you think giving me the Italian Carrara marble will persuade me to have sex with you, you wasted a lot of money.”

  A pale blue T-shirt hugged her curves and had been tucked into a pair of simple workmanlike jeans. Flecks of sandstone dotted her cheeks and her silver eyes sparked with fire. Fire that he’d once seen burn with passion when they’d been lovers. “I ordered the marble for my commission.” And, though he’d never admit it, part of him had wanted to make up for the fact that she’d put all her resources into raising their son instead of pursuing her dreams. “I assumed you’d want to use a quality stone for this project. Feel free to exchange it if it’s not suitable.”

  She blinked, then shook her head. “Are you kidding?” Enthusiasm replaced her earlier suspicious look and she bounced a little on her toes. “I’ve dreamed of using this stuff for years. Never could afford it, but no way will I turn it down now that I know there aren’t any strings attached to it. You’ve given me an amazing opportunity to show my skills, and I won’t waste it.”

  Heat radiated through his chest. “Other women in my life want diamonds, baubles and money, but you get giddy over rocks and carving tools.” Once again he was struck by how much that pleased him. Again, he questioned his quick conclusions about Roxy three years ago.

  “You’re the one who foisted that stuff on me three years ago,” Roxy said. “I guess now you know me a little better which is a good thing for our son. Is it okay if I order my own replacement stone for the city council commission?”

  “Do what you want,” Stefano said. “I’ve set up a bank account for you with ample funds to order supplies, build your wardrobe, get Matthew what he needs.”

  “You’re trusting me with your money?” she asked incredulously. “Shocker.”

  “You need your independence.” However, she was kidding herself if she thought he wouldn’t monitor the account on a regular basis for suspicious activity. “Consider this opportunity as a way to rebuild your career from the ground up.”

  “I will, but I only have two clients—you and Mountain Brook’s city council—it’s hard to advertise when I’m staying under the radar.”

  Late morning sunlight streamed into the room through his window and highlighted her chestnut hair. His fingers itched and he had to suppress the urge to close the distance between them and twine his hands through the luxurious strands. Stefano tugged his collar and loosened a button.

  “The Durante name will open many doors for you after we reveal your piece during the grand opening.”

  “I hope so. And the chances of my brother Doug discovering my marriage to you and being able to reach me here are next to nil so I should be able to capitalize on those opportunities more publicly.” She held his gaze, then a hint of compassion floated into her silver eyes. “Do you think your grandfather will be able to attend?”

  Three months loomed like a dark cloud with little to
call a silver lining other than their mutual freedom. He hated that their new beginning relied on a death sentence on his grandfather. “I hope so.”

  She moved a little closer and then tucked her hand in her pocket. “So do I,” she said.

  “Even if it means being stuck with me longer than you had anticipated?” he asked, wondering why she cared.

  “Yes,” she said without hesitation. “In fact, I’d love to see him get treatment so he can live longer.”

  “I thought you couldn’t wait to get rid of that diamond ring and wedding band.”

  “I like Gregorio, and so does Matthew.” She glanced at her finger and twisted the bands round it. “Our marriage will dissolve after he’s gone, but I sure as heck don’t want him to die just so I can be free of you—which won’t totally happen because we’re always going to be Matthew’s parents. We’ll share that responsibility regardless of our marital status.”

  Stefano didn’t doubt Roxy’s dedication to their son. She was a stark contrast to his mother, Viviana, who came to him on a regular basis for bailouts. He paid her to get her off his back. That he hadn’t heard from Viviana in over four years meant she’d probably married yet another sucker and was happily plowing through that poor idiot’s wealth with the tenacity of a termite chewing through a cypress tree.

  Vivian had the instincts of a barracuda where family was concerned, but Roxy had a compassionate heart even if meant extending their sham marriage. That moved him in ways he hadn’t thought possible. Stefano moved to the play area he had set up for Matthew. Kneeling he picked up a stray toy truck and returned it to the storage bin. “Perhaps I can convince Nonno to get the treatment.”

  “He might agree to it for Matthew’s sake.” Roxy closed the distance between them and joined Stefano on the floor. “Nice work. You build it alone, or did you have help?”

  “Major assistance,” Stefano said, the teasing quality in her tone instantly lightening his somber mood. “Matthew wanted to make sure you saw this before I put it away.”