Page 29 of Unveiled As The Italian's Bride
He shot her a slow, crooked smile. ‘I owe my uncle a debt of gratitude,’ he murmured. ‘And it’s my dearest wish that he is healthy and happy. But I would never go so far as to wed a woman I didn’t respect in order to achieve that. Self-sacrifice only goes so far.’
Respect...for an excellent employee, one who had a good relationship with his daughter...
Every complimentary word that passed his lips was a reminder that never in her life had she contemplated a marriage like this—one shorn of real emotion, one in which love was a word that would never been uttered. Her wish had always been for all the dreamy, fairy-tale stuff, for the joy of love, passion, hopes and dreams shared.
But the up sides had been too tantalising to reject. So much could be done with the money and how selfish would she have been to walk away from that?
‘That’s...er...very kind of you to say that,’ Kate said politely.
Dante shook his head in frustration.
What was it about her? He meant every word he’d just said about respecting her. There was no way he would have contemplated this escapade—if it could be called that—with anyonebuther, when he thought about it.
But that polite tone of voice, with just a hint of indifference to him underlying it...
For some reason, it got under his skin.
‘Shall we?’
She straightened, balancing as the boat rocked, and Dante nodded, instantly killing confusing thoughts that had no place in the scheme of things.
As the last to board, they were assured the complete attention of everyone there.
Kate knew to expect that and yet, as they stepped onto the massive yacht and walked down the stunted bank of wooden steps into the privacy of the gleaming wood, leather and polished chrome of the reception area, she felt her heart begin to gallop inside her.
She wanted to pause to appreciate her surroundings. Out of the corner of her eye, she was aware of the rich turquoise of the carpet, the polished patina of wood, the staircase to the left winding up to another deck and the twin sunken living areas with their arrangement of leather sofas.
Those things on the periphery of her vision were, however, all overwhelmed by the faces that turned to them just as soon as they were ushered inside.
The faces of a dazzling array of bejewelled, extravagantly dressed women and expensive-looking men of various ages, statures and doubtless of bank balances.
There was a hushed silence as they stood silhouetted at the entrance. Kate was vaguely aware of glass doors sliding softly shut behind them and of her cashmere coat and shawl being eased off her. In the periphery of her vision, she could see the darkness beyond the glass wrapped around the yacht, a black sky studded with distant stars like tiny diamonds and the secretive stillness of water, interrupted by reflected light from ancient buildings and bridges.
Somewhere in the crowd was Antonio and, as she searched out his familiar face, she felt Dante’s arm circle her waist, drawing her closer to him.
She half-tumbled against him and felt the hardness of his body alongside hers. While she was busy trying to steel herself from going a little weak at the knees, she heard him say, in a lazy drawl and with a smile in his voice, how pleased he was that everyone could make it to his impromptu gathering.
‘We all lead busy lives.’ He spoke with velvety self-assurance, a man at ease addressing an audience. ‘And I realise that this has been sprung on many of you. My gratitude for the effort you’ve all made in clearing your calendars.’
Kate recognised a platitude when she heard one. Grateful for clear calendars? This was a man for whom calendars would routinely be swept clean because no one would want to miss out on the golden ticket of a private invitation from him.
‘I expect some of you may well be speculating about what I’m about to say next...’ He allowed a moment’s loaded silence as his dark eyes roved over a sea of curious faces. Kate, meanwhile, was toeing a thin line between rigid self-control and total nervous freefall.
‘I would like to announce my engagement to this beautiful woman who has kindly agreed to be my wife.’
There was an audible gasp.
Surprise... Disbelief... Utter and absolute shock... Would anyone faint? Kate forced herself to smile, but her body was rigid with tension and she knew that she was transmitting that tension to the guy standing next to her. But how could she not be tense as a bowstring? She frantically wondered what was going through his guests’ heads, all of whom would surely have known Dante’s beautiful ex-wife with the impeccable pedigree.
They were standing here, confronted by Angelina’s nanny—although not that many of them had even set eyes on her before. A mystery woman, she thought with shrinking self-confidence, had blown in from nowhere and nabbed the most eligible bachelor in town—or, rather,country.
And, just when those thoughts were swirling in her head like a swarm of angry wasps determined to cause maximum mischief, she felt Dante manoeuvre her so that she turned away from those curious eyes, turned towards him and then...
Her eyelids fluttered and suddenly she felt as though she were being dropped from a great height, so great that everything inside her was jumbled up, a swooping, diving, dancing jumble that made breathing difficult.
She was scarcely aware of raising her hands, resting her palms flat against his chest or of the way her eyes widened as he lowered his head towards her. She just felt the taste of cool lips against hers, soft and slow, and the flick of his tongue meshing with hers, wetness sliding against wetness.
It was the most erotic experience she had ever had in her life. Time stood still. Everything stood still. Everything but the rush and race of blood through her veins and the heady beating of her pulse. Hot liquid pooled between her legs until she wanted to pass out. Her body closed the small distance between them and she could feel his heat searing against her, burning a dangerous path through the cool distance she dimly knew she had to hang onto.
