He started to lift up the skirt of her dress but she suddenly stepped back, turning away from him with her arms going across her body as if she were suffering a chill. ‘I’m sorry, Andreas,’ she said. ‘I don’t want to continue with this.’
‘Is this part of your technique?’ Andreas asked. ‘To tempt and to tease?’
Her cheeks flushed with delicate colour. ‘It was unfair of me to give you the wrong impression,’ she said. ‘I didn’t mean to mislead you.’
‘The impression you gave me is that you want me just as much as I want you,’ he said.
‘Yes, well, I’m sorry about that but I had no idea that was going to happen every time you kiss me,’ she said with a return to her haughty air. ‘Maybe you should keep your mouth to yourself for the rest of the time we have together.’
‘Ah, but that would not be half as much fun, would it, ma belle?’ he asked. ‘I quite like kissing you. I am developing rather a hunger for it, actually.’
She challenged him with those incredible grey-blue eyes and that stubborn little uptilted chin. ‘Then you’ll have to satisfy your appetite elsewhere. I’m not going to be a rich man’s mistress.’
‘You’re not my mistress,’ he said. ‘You’re my wife.’
‘Same difference, as far as I can see,’ she threw back.
Andreas fought down his frustration and anger. She had been toying with him all along and he had been fool enough to fall for it. She knew how much he wanted her. It wasn’t as if he could hide it. She had sensed it. Damn it, she had felt it.
And she wanted him. He’d have to be blind not to see it. He felt it in her kiss, in her touch and in the way she had pressed herself closer as if she had wanted to climb into his skin.
He would not rest until he had her where he wanted her.
Where he had always wanted her.
Sienna was the one woman who could make him lose all sense of control. He had sensed it all those years ago and had fought it determinedly.
But now was different.
Now there was nothing to stop them exploring the heat and passion that was flaring between them every time they were in the same room.
He could hardly wait.
Sienna closed her bedroom door and leant back against it, her heart thumping like a jackhammer. Her breathing was still out of control and her insides quivered with a longing so intense she could barely stand up. They had been married only a matter of a couple of hours and already things were spinning dangerously out of control. She didn’t want to feel this level of attraction, not to Andreas Ferrante, not to a man who hated her as much as he desired her. But what was she to do? Her mind said no but her body kept saying a resounding yes. It completely disregarded her common sense. Instead, it was set on a pathway to sensual hedonism that she could not control. She didn’t want to end up like her mother, madly in love with a man who only saw her as a convenient outlet for his lust. Unrequited love for Andreas’s father had destroyed her mother. After Guido Ferrante had rejected her so publicly, Nell had sunk into an alcohol and prescriptions drugs binge that had eventually killed her.
Sienna wasn’t prepared to go down the same path of destruction. She was determined to keep her heart well guarded. Andreas was by far the most attractive man she had ever met and his kisses were a temptation she couldn’t seem to resist, but that didn’t mean she had to fall in love with him. She had thought herself in love with him as a teenager, but that had just been a youthful crush, an infatuation that had got totally out of hand. She was no longer that foolish star-struck teenager caught up in the fantasy of thinking a well-born rich and powerful man was the answer to all of her problems.
Things would be different this time.
She would do what other young women her age did and what men had been doing for centuries. She would separate her emotions from her physical needs. Sex would be just sex. Love would not come into it at all.
Sienna joined Andreas in the salone for the intimate celebration Elena had taken such delight in setting up for them. The housekeeper was clearly in her element, a beaming smile was spread across her face as she brought in an ice bucket and a bottle of vintage champagne.
‘I have left everything ready for you in the dining room,’ she said. ‘You will prefer to be alone, sì? It will be much more romantic.’
‘Grazie, Elena,’ Andreas said. ‘I’m sure it will be delightful.’
‘Thank you for going to so much trouble,’ Sienna chimed in. ‘I saw the dining room on my way past. It looks fabulous with all the candles and the food smells absolutely delicious.’
‘Enjoy,’ Elena said and bustled out, closing the door softly as she left.
Sienna went over to where Andreas was standing and handed him his mother’s pearl necklace and earrings. ‘I thought I’d better hand these back before I get too attached to them,’ she said. ‘I’m sure your next bride will appreciate the chance to carry on the tradition.’
He took them from her with an unreadable expression on his face. ‘Thank you,’ he said.
‘So,’ she said with forced brightness. ‘Champagne, huh?’
‘Yes,’ he said. ‘Would you like some?’
‘Why not?’
Sienna watched as he unpeeled the foil cover and unwound the wire before he popped the cork. A soft flutter like wings passed over the floor of her belly as she thought of those hands on her breasts and other parts of her anatomy. He had beautiful hands. Not soft and unused to hard work, but strong and capable.
She took the bubbling glass of champagne from him and was about to take a sip when his voice stalled her.
‘Shouldn’t we make a toast?’
‘Sure,’ she said, holding her glass up. ‘What shall we drink to?’
He clinked his glass against hers, his eyes holding hers in a steely little lockdown that made her spine tingle. ‘To making love, not war.’
She looked at him archly. ‘Love, Andreas?’ she said. ‘Don’t you mean sex?’
His eyes glinted smoulderingly as he gave her a half-smile. ‘You want it as much as I do,’ he said. ‘There’s no point pretending otherwise.’
Sienna gave a little indifferent shrug. ‘I admit the thought of seeing what you’re like in bed holds a certain fascination,’ she said. ‘But I don’t want you getting any ideas that if we conduct an intimate relationship it will mean anything to me other than the satiation of physical lust.’
He held her gaze for a pulsing moment. ‘If?’
She gave him a defiant look. ‘If.’
He took a leisurely sip of his champagne. ‘I think we both know this thing between us is not going to go away,’ he said. ‘The thing is, it can only last as long as six months. By that time we will both have achieved what we want and will be free to move on with our lives.’
Sienna toyed with the champagne flute with her fingers, determined to rattle his chain as much as she could. It was an impish urge in her she couldn’t quite control. ‘What if you want me to stay a little longer?’ she asked. ‘What if you get so used to having me around you don’t want to let me go?’
His hazel eyes drilled into hers with burning intensity. ‘I will let you go, Sienna,’ he said. ‘Make no mistake about that. You are not the woman I want to be my wife or the future mother of my children.’
Sienna wasn’t expecting his cutting response to hurt, but it had and deeply. Having children of her own was a subject she had put to the back of her mind. It was one of those things she didn’t want to think about. Her childhood had been so unsettled and chaotic, and her mother’s example of mothering so poor, she had always felt worried she might not be a good mother herself. But to hear Andreas say she was a totally unsuitable candidate as the mother of his children made her feel crushed in that closely guarded centre of her being. No woman wanted to hear that sort of insult. It felt as if she had been stabbed in the heart. The pain was so acute and so raw it momentarily took her breath away. She was annoyed at herself for feeling so upset. It wasn’t like her to b
e so emotionally ambushed by a throwaway comment.
She quickly disguised her feelings by pasting an insolent smile on her face. ‘Just as well, because I’m not planning on ruining my figure any time soon for a brood of obnoxious brats,’ she said. ‘Even a billionaire’s ones.’
Andreas’s eyes hardened. ‘Is your twin sister as selfish and shallow as you?’ he asked.
Sienna took a sip of her champagne. ‘You can find out for yourself when you meet her in a few weeks,’ she said. ‘I’m going to be her bridesmaid. You’ll be expected to attend the wedding with me in Rome. Won’t that be fun?’
‘I can hardly wait,’ he said dryly.
Sienna sat down and flung one leg over the other, idly swinging her ankle up and down. ‘So, this proposed honeymoon,’ she said. ‘When do we leave?’
‘Tomorrow morning,’ he said. ‘I can only be away a couple of days, three at the most. I have a lot of work on at the moment.’
‘Is it absolutely necessary I come with you?’ she asked.
‘We’ve already had this discussion, Sienna,’ he said a little impatiently. ‘I’m sure your dog will survive the separation from you. I have already spoken to Franco about making sure it is taken care of.’
She gave him a narrow-eyed look. ‘You’re not going to get rid of him while my back is turned, are you?’
‘While I don’t share your enthusiasm for the mutt, I can see you’ve taken him on as some type of project,’ he said. ‘I just hope you won’t be disappointed when he fails to live up to your expectations. He’s half wild and quite possibly dangerous. You shouldn’t let your guard down around him in case he reverts to form.’
‘You sound as if you care about my welfare, Andreas,’ Sienna said giving him a teasing smile. ‘How touching.’
Andreas put his barely touched drink down. ‘We should go and eat,’ he said. ‘I don’t want the food to be spoiled.’
While the wedding ceremony had not been in line with Sienna’s dreams, the wedding breakfast Andreas’s housekeeper had prepared certainly was. Dish after delectable dish of local produce had been laid out in the dining room. There were hot dishes and cold ones, main ones and gorgeous desserts. Elena had even made a wedding cake. It was only a small one but it had been decorated with marzipan and white royal icing with fresh flowers as decoration. It even had a bride and groom on the top, and a silver knife with a satin ribbon tied around the handle lay ready.
It was a jarring reminder that none of this was for real.
‘Gosh, will you check this out,’ Sienna said. ‘Elena’s made us a wedding cake. Isn’t that sweet?’ She leaned down to peer at the plastic figures standing together. ‘And the groom even looks like you, see? He looks all stiff and formal.’
Andreas gave her an irritated look. ‘She shouldn’t have gone to so much trouble.’
‘No point complaining,’ Sienna said as she picked up a plate. ‘You’re the one who insisted on telling everyone this is the real deal.’
‘And what would you have done in my place?’ he asked in an embittered tone. ‘Told everyone you know—including the world’s media—that you’ve been manipulated by your father into marrying a sleep-around gold-digging slut? I would be laughed out of town, if not the country.’
The words echoed in the silence.
Sienna put the plate she was holding down on the sideboard with calculated precision in case she was tempted to throw it at his face. Then, turning to face him, she gave him the coldest look she could muster. ‘Enjoy your dinner,’ she said. ‘I hope it damn well chokes you.’
She moved past him to leave but he blocked her with his body. ‘Sienna,’ he said.
Sienna refused to even look at him. ‘Get out of my way,’ she said through tight lips. ‘I don’t want to talk to you.’
He put a hand on the top of her nearest shoulder but she jerked back out of his grasp. ‘Don’t you dare touch me,’ she said, glaring at him furiously. ‘I can’t bear it when you touch me.’
His green and brown-flecked eyes challenged hers. ‘We both know that’s not true.’
‘It is true,’ she said. ‘I hate you. I hate the way you think you can just crook your little finger and get what you want just because you’re rich and powerful. You can’t have me.’
‘I can have you,’ Andreas said with steely conviction. ‘I can have you any time I want. That’s what you’re frightened of, isn’t it, Sienna? You don’t like it that you want me. You like it when you’re in the driver’s seat, but you can’t be with me. You can’t call the shots with me, ma chérie, because I’m not playing by your rules.’
Sienna tried to get past him again but he made a roadblock with his arm. Her belly tingled when she came into contact with those strongly corded muscles and she immediately sprang back as if he had burned her. ‘Move out of my way or I’ll hit you,’ she warned.
His mouth curled upwards mockingly. ‘Go on, I dare you,’ he said. ‘Show me what a little guttersnipe you really are.’
The hair trigger on her temper suddenly snapped. Sienna flung herself at him. She felt the tornado of her anger and frustration propel her forwards with such force she surprised even herself. Her fist landed a punch to his abdomen but it bounced off as if she had struck a slab of stone.
She slapped at his face but his hand came up and deflected it with a deftness that was as swift as it was effective.
She tried to kick him in the shins but somehow his thighs were so close to hers all she could do was make little shuffling movements with her feet that did nothing other than remind her how seriously outmatched she was.
There was only one avenue left and it wasn’t one she normally used. She couldn’t even understand why she was using it now. It bubbled up from nowhere, catching her off guard. Emotions she normally hid under layers of sass and cheek suddenly rose to the surface. She burst into tears but, thank God, it worked like a charm.
Andreas dropped his hold as if she were on fire. ‘What the hell?’ he said.
Sienna knew she wasn’t the prettiest crier on the planet. Not only did her nose go bright red but it streamed as well, and her eyes got pink and swollen, and if she really got going she couldn’t speak past the hiccups.
‘Sienna,’ he said, taking her by the upper arms. ‘Stop it. Stop crying. Stop it right now.’
‘I … I can’t,’ she blubbered.
He let out a whooshing breath. ‘I’m sorry,’ he said. ‘I pushed you too far. I can’t seem to help myself.’ He pulled her into the cradle of his arms, one of his hands pressing against the back of her head. ‘Come on, ma petite. Don’t cry, please. I didn’t meant to upset you like this.’
Sienna should have pushed back from him at that point but something about the warm, strong protective circle of his arms struck a chord inside her that insisted she stay right where she was. It felt good to have his heart beating right against her cheek. It felt amazing to have his hand pressed against her head in such a gentle and tender manner. It felt wonderful to have his other arm around her in a band of iron that made her feel safe in a way she had never felt before. His body felt so warm and solid. So dependable, so fortress-like she wanted to stay there for ever.
The breeze of his warm breath ruffled her hair when he spoke. ‘This is not like you, ma belle. Has today been too much for you? I should have realised. You’ve had a lot to do to prepare. Leaving your flat and your friends in London, moving in with me and handling the press’s interest in us. It’s a lot to cope with in a very short time.’
Sienna gave a big noisy sniff and he dug in his pocket for a handkerchief. ‘Here,’ he said. ‘Dry your eyes, cara.’
She buried her nose in the clean linen and pulled herself together with an effort. ‘Sorry,’ she said. ‘I don’t know what came over me. I don’t do this normally.’
He brushed her hair out of her eyes with a gentle hand. ‘I’ve been a brute to you,’ he said. ‘It’s not helping anything, is it? We’re stuck together and we have to make the most of it. It won�
��t make the time go any faster by trading insults.’
Sienna rolled his handkerchief into a soggy ball in her hand. ‘I’m sorry about hitting you.’
He gave a wry smile. ‘I didn’t feel a thing.’
She pressed her lips together, feeling a little more exposed and vulnerable than she cared for. ‘Would you mind if I gave dinner a miss?’ she asked. ‘I think I’ll have an early night. I have a bit of a headache.’
‘Can I get you anything for it?’ he asked. ‘Some painkillers?’
She shook her head. ‘No, I’ll be fine. I always get a headache when I cry. It’ll pass.’
She moved across to the door, stopping to turn to face him before she left. ‘I’m really sorry, Andreas,’ she said.
‘You don’t have to apologise,’ he said. ‘I was the one who was out of line.’
She chewed at her bottom lip for a moment. ‘I’m not only talking about just now …’
His whole body stilled, as if every muscle and cell inside him had come to a sudden halt. His expression was like a mask, not even his eyes gave anything away.
It seemed a very long time before he spoke. ‘Go to bed, Sienna,’ he said. ‘I will see you in the morning.’
Sienna slipped out of the room, closing the door softly behind her and, with a heart that felt like a dumbbell inside her chest, quietly made her way upstairs.
CHAPTER SIX
DURING the journey to Provence Sienna could sense Andreas was making an effort to be polite and solicitous towards her. Whether it was for the benefit of any lurking press, or whether it was because he had taken on board her attempt to apologise for her behaviour all those years ago was still open to question.
Andreas had explained on the way in the car from Marseille that the chateau had been in his mother, Evaline’s, family for generations, but since his uncle Jules had died some years ago without leaving an heir, the place had been left to Andreas’s father in Evaline’s will.
Although he didn’t say anything specific, Sienna could tell Andreas was intensely frustrated that his mother hadn’t changed her will before she’d died. Sienna knew for a fact that Evaline had found out about Guido’s affair with Sienna’s mother Nell several weeks before her death, but she had been desperately ill with aggressive rounds of chemotherapy. Sienna suspected Evaline hadn’t had the energy or wherewithal to correct things before it was too late. She also suspected Evaline had been hopeful that her husband’s affair was just a one-off thing that would soon pass.
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