VITTORIO'S RUNAWAY BRIDE

by Kimberley Reeves

  It must have been doubly painful for him; learning that she wasn’t pregnant and then having her place both physical and emotional distance between them. But he’d pushed his own feelings aside and made arrangements to have the studio put together in an effort to lighten her mood and take her mind off her own worries. How could she not love a man who was so kind and caring, who always placed her needs above his own?

  Shelby crossed the room and all but launched herself in his arms. “You are the most amazing husband,” she whispered as she pulled his mouth down onto hers.

  Logan lost himself in the warmth of her kisses, shoving aside thoughts of the talk he knew he couldn’t put off much longer. He’d been incredibly hurt last night when she’d turned away from him, but she’d managed to erase it all with just one radiant smile when he’d opened the door and shown her the studio. And he could tell by the way Shelby had looked at him that she knew he hadn’t passed the task on to his Personal Assistant but had actually gone down to one of the finest art supply stores in the city and made all the purchases personally.

  It had actually worked as balm to his own aching heart to do something he knew would bring her happiness. Shelby had always found solace in her artwork and he’d felt certain it was just what she needed to get over the disappointment of not being pregnant. But he would remedy that unhappy situation soon too, he thought as he pulled her closer and deepened the kiss. He’d be on her every chance he got, and he’d enjoy every single moment of it. Starting right here, right now.

  “Oh, Logan,” she said on a sigh as he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bedroom.

  ****

  A small giggle bubbled up in her throat as Shelby’s brush swept across the canvas. How Logan expected to get any work done was beyond her. He’d already made up fictional appointments twice this afternoon so he could sneak up to the Penthouse and have his wicked way with her, and that was after he’d made love to her earlier this morning when he’d first shown her the studio. The man was insatiable and Shelby was beginning to wonder if he hadn’t made a raving nymphomaniac out of her because she’d practically ripped his clothes off the second time he’d sauntered in with a sexy grin on his face.

  Of course things wouldn’t always be like this but she intended to soak up every second of attention she could while it lasted. Eventually he’d have to get back into his daily routine at work and his visits wouldn’t be nearly as frequent, but she was okay with that. She wasn’t a clingy person by nature which Shelby knew was one of the things Logan admired most about her.

  She didn’t hound him about where he was going or when he’d be back even though she missed him terribly when they were apart because she understood he needed to maintain some independence outside their marriage just as she did. She adored him for letting her spend hours on her painting and though it had to annoy him to some degree that she often got so involved in her work she forgot a dinner engagement or party they were to attend, he never showed it. He would just smile in that indulgent way he had when he came home to find she wasn’t ready. He’d give her a kiss and tell her to hurry so they wouldn’t be late but he never really got upset with her for it.

  Shelby’s brush froze over the canvas. Logan never disturbed her while she was locked away in her studio because he knew how important her artwork was to her. It was a part of her, a part of who she was, but it was something she had to do alone. His presence would only distract her or make her so self conscious she probably wouldn’t be able to paint a stroke. Was that one of the reasons he’d balked at having her work with him at Vittorio Enterprises? Would she hinder his ability to do his job if she was around?

  She set the brush down and wandered to the kitchen to pour herself a glass of water. Logan was a powerful man in the industry and she knew there were times when he had to be ruthless in his business dealings. It was a side of her husband Shelby wasn’t used to seeing, a side of himself he obviously didn’t want her to see.

  She’d been unfair to him, she realized. He’d only agreed to let her come and work with him because he loved her and because Logan was rarely able to deny her anything, especially when he knew it meant so much to her. Maybe she wasn’t asking a lot; after all she’d only be helping out a little or filling in for his Personal Assistant now and then. But it was still an invasion into his business world, no matter how slight.

  He’d built up Vittorio Enterprises through sheer determination and hard work and he deserved to keep it to himself if he wanted to. She had no right to ask him to give up any part of it and she felt horribly selfish now for taking advantage of his desire to make her happy no matter what the cost to himself. It was just another example of how soft hearted Logan was when it came to her, and for that reason Shelby decided to tell him she’d changed her mind about working with him.

  She rinsed out her glass and set it in the dish washer then went back to the studio to clean her brushes and tidy things up. She’d thought working with Logan was a grand idea when she’d first considered it but now she realized it had just been a way of trying to wheedle more time with him. Everything will be okay, she promised herself. Even when his visits to the Penthouse became less frequent, she’d still have more precious time with him than she’d had before.

  No, she wouldn’t become a clinging vine and have him end up despising her for it. She’d make the most of their time together and be happy with it because nothing, nothing was going to keep her from being the wife Logan deserved.

  ****

  He’d put it off much longer than he should have and now as Logan stepped in the Penthouse suite, his stomach churned nervously; another alien sensation that had made its appearance when Shelby waltzed her way past the concrete barriers he’d built around his heart. If there was ever a time when he’d been hit with a bout if jittery nerves before his sweet young wife had captivated him with those expressive green eyes of hers, he certainly couldn’t remember.

  Like all of his brothers, Logan had been taught that a man should always be confident without being arrogant and that he never gave away his hand before all the cards had been laid out on the table. Weaknesses were to be overcome and fears conquered before they had a chance to infiltrate the perfect order of his life. And though his father had taught them women should be treated with kindness and respect, real men did not wear their hearts on their sleeves for all the world to see.

  And yet…how many times had Logan caught Cesare Vittorio’s gaze linger on his mother’s graceful form as if she was the most beautiful creature he’d ever laid eyes on? That Ravenna held her husband’s heart in her hands was no secret, it was evident in the way his father’s normally commanding voice softened when he spoke to her and the way his hardened façade slipped away when she was anywhere near him.

  Growing up, Logan had never quite comprehended the transformation that took place when Cesare was in his wife’s presence, but he fully understood it now. Because the same thing happened to him whenever he even thought of Shelby. Something deep inside him shifted, became calmer, gentler, and the truth was that Logan liked that place she took him to because he felt more like a man when he was showing his wife kindness and tenderness than he ever had when he was barking orders or bulldozing over someone to get what he wanted.

  From the doorway of the studio, he watched Shelby primly placing each artist tool in its assigned spot and already he could feel the hunger rising inside of him to take her again. So proper and refined his wife was, but when she was in his arms, his bed, it was as if something wild and very unladylike was unleashed. It had been that way right from the beginning but even more so since they’d reunited, and he loved it, loved that he could make her writhe beneath him with wanton abandon and that he could coax the most arousing little sounds out of her.

  Shelby turned just as he started across the room. Her eyes widened and a small, helpless whimper whispered from between her parted lips when she saw the determined look on his face. Color bloomed in her cheeks as he reached for her, drawing
her in for a long, hard kiss. She didn’t say a word when he gently gripped her shoulders and turned her around, nor when his hands glided up her bare thighs and disappeared beneath her sundress. There was only the ragged sound of her breathing and an almost inaudible moan as he lowered her panties then freed his erection and slipped inside of her.

  “Oh God,” she cried out when Logan pulled back then thrust into her once more.

  Shelby leaned forward, stretching herself across her drafting table, her fingers curling around the edges as he filled her again and again and again. By the time Logan exploded inside of her, she’d been reduced to little more than a quivering mass of jello. She managed to stand on wobbly legs as Logan guided her panties up over her hips and smoothed her dress back down but she didn’t dare loosen her grip on the drafting table.

  “Cara mia,” Logan whispered, winding his arms around her waist and pulling her back against his chest. “You excite me as no woman ever has. I have only to look at you and I want to bury myself inside your soft body.” He lowered his head and pressed his lips to her neck. “I am not wearing you out, am I? I do not you to grow tired of making love with me.”

  Shelby let out a breathless laugh. “How could I ever grow tired of being so intimate with you Logan? I’m afraid I’m becoming a bit of an addict where you’re concerned; my body craves your touch and I get the most annoying ache when I go too long without you.”

  “An ache, you say?” His hands glided up her body to cup her breasts. “Is this where you ache, mio tesoro?”

  “Mmmmm, one of the places,” she murmured.

  “There are more?”

  “Many, many more.”

  Logan turned her in his arms and pulled her close. “I think I am going to enjoy learning where all of these places are so I can help alleviate your suffering.”

  “Such a humanitarian,” she teased.

  “Only with you, carissima.”

  Shelby locked her eyes to his. “I know that now,” she said thickly. “I can’t believe I was stupid enough to think you’d ever be unfaithful to me. I just…couldn’t think rationally after I saw you with that woman.”

  Logan heaved a resigned sigh. There could be no more stalling, no more excuses; he had to tell her about Alicia. After giving her a long, lingering kiss, he asked her to join him in the living room. She gave him a curious look but didn’t say anything until they were seated on the sofa.

  “You look worried,” she said in a subdue tone.

  “I am not quite sure how to broach this. Shelby…” He took one of her hands and lifted it to his lips. “I love you so very much and I hate knowing that you may feel hurt by what I am about to tell you.”

  “Logan, what is it?”

  He drew in a deep breath and started from the beginning when he’d first met up with Richard Delatorre and his subsequent encounter with Alicia when she’d pranced around in a bikini. He told her everything; Alicia’s attempt to seduce him in his office, the sexual innuendos and suggestive clothing. He told her why he’d escorted Alicia to dinner and the art gallery, and how he now realized what a mistake it had been.

  “I am embarrassed to say it was Simon who pointed out how foolish I was to believe she would lose interest once she understood I had no desire to sleep with her.”

  Shelby had listened quietly while Logan told her all about Alicia Delatorre and though she was a little hurt that he’d waited so long let her know what had been happening, she was also elated that he’d come to her with it even knowing it might revive old suspicions. It was obvious he thought she was going to fall to pieces on him or, at the very least, question whether he had ever encouraged Alicia’s behavior. It was the worried frown and the way his eyes searched hers, begging her to believe him, that convinced Shelby he’d never felt anything but distain for the woman.

  “Well,” she finally said, “what do you think we should do about it?”

  Logan drew in a stilted breath. “We?”

  “Of course. Obviously this woman doesn’t believe you’re not interested in carrying on an affair with her, so we need to figure out a way to convince her.”

  He eyed her skeptically. “You do not think I hold any blame in her infatuation with me?”

  “How can it possibly be your fault? Logan,” she said with a soft smile, “you are an incredibly handsome man and I can certainly understand why she’s attracted you. I admit, it would have been difficult for me not to be suspicious if I’d found out about it from someone else, but I trust you and…I’m glad you trusted me.”

  “I should have told you that day at the beach house when you overheard me talking to her.”

  “No,” she disagreed. “If you had told me then I’m not sure I would have believed that you hadn’t at least considered having an affair with her. I was far too emotional and uncertain of our relationship at that point to handle this.”

  “And you are certain of our relationship now?”

  “Yes.”

  Logan drew her into his arms. “Mio amore, you have no idea how much it means to me to hear you say that.”

  “I love you, Logan, and I won’t make the same mistake twice. I should have trusted you before and I nearly destroyed our marriage because I didn’t have enough faith in you, in us.”

  “So what do propose we do about her, my little wild cat?”

  Shelby climbed onto his lap, giggling as she nestled her head against his chest. “I think I like that; turning into a wild cat in order to protect what’s mine.”

  “Do not underestimate her, cara. Alicia Delatorre is a devious creature who will go to any lengths to get what she wants and not suffer a moment of remorse no matter who she hurts.”

  “I’m not afraid of her.” Shelby tipped her head back. “I know I’m probably just wasting my breath, but…don’t worry about me, Logan. I’m not a confrontational person, you know that, and I have no intention of just waltzing up to her and telling her to keep her claws out of my man.”

  Logan couldn’t help laughing at the image that created. “Somehow I think that might actually do the trick. Alicia has been around enough of my colleagues to know what a sweet nature my wife has it would probably throw her for a pretty good loop to have you say something so bold.”

  Shelby smiled. “Well then, I’ll keep it as a backup plan.”

  “No,” he said softly. “No, Mrs. Vittorio, I love you just the way you are.”

  “And how is that, Mr. Vittorio?”

  “Sweet, gentle, kind-hearted.”

  “You’re saying you prefer me as a docile house cat then?”

  “Well…perhaps there are a few exceptions to that rule,” he said as he eased her back onto the sofa.

  ****

  “I don’t understand it,” Shelby said miserably. “Both Logan and I have seen our physicians and were assured there was nothing preventing me from getting pregnant.”

  Logan’s sister put a comforting arm around Shelby. “It will happen, I promise you, but you have to give it some time.”

  “How much time? We’ve been trying for three months now, Milana.”

  “Three months isn’t so long, not really.”

  “It is when I have to see the disappointment in Logan’s eyes when I tell him my cycle started. And emotionally, it’s tearing me apart as well. It’s difficult to enjoy…being intimate because I can’t help worrying if maybe I’m doing something wrong and that’s why I can’t conceive.”

  Milana couldn’t quite keep the laughter from her voice. “Shelby, you’re not doing anything wrong. I’m sure I don’t have to tell you my brother is an over-achiever. He’s never given up on anything in his life, not when he’s determined to have it, and he’s determined to have a baby with you.”