The Chatsfield: Series 2. Кейт Хьюит

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СКАЧАТЬ of the dress against her skin, she just said faintly, ‘What’s that?’

      He looked at her, black clashing with green.

      ‘Sex, Keelin. I want to make love to my beautiful wife.’

      And with the most gentle yet deliberate of movements he brought his finger down the center of her dress, and the delicate lace ripped apart like butter melting either side of a hot knife until he got to the top of the bodice under the lace, just above her cleavage.

      Then his other hand came up and with both hands he tore the lace edging away completely from front and back, so now Keelin stood before him in a strapless sheath of a minidress, with the remains of her sheer lace sleeves still on her arms. She might have appreciated the sartorial edginess of the look if she wasn’t engulfed in shock and heat.

      Gianni looked down at her, seeing her breasts barely confined by the bodice. For a moment she had a vision of him ripping that clean apart too. The fact that she wanted him to make love to her was a revelation that she couldn’t really wrap her head around. How had it come to this so quickly? And yet she knew that if she had a choice right now, she wouldn’t walk away. She was burning up inside and only he could assuage that.

      She also had a keen sense of just how far she’d pushed him this time. He was clearly not in a gentle mood. And even though a part of her felt excited at his passion, another more sensible part knew she had to tell him the truth.

      Her voice was shaky. ‘Gianni, wait, there’s something I should tell you.’

      They were way beyond games now. Here was a bristling alpha male demanding his mate, and Keelin knew from the bulge in his trousers that she’d been aware of all day that he was more than ready to take her to bed. And while a part of her thrilled at that and ached for it too, she couldn’t. Not like this. She wasn’t experienced enough for him in this mood.

      He bit out, ‘Keelin, so help me, Dio.’

      Fear fluttered along Keelin’s nerve endings dousing her desire. ‘The thing is, I haven’t been entirely honest.’

      He was silent for a long moment and then he emitted a curt unamused laugh. ‘Honest? Principessa, you wouldn’t know honesty if it jumped up and bit you on the ass.’

      Keelin stung at that and she curled in on herself, inwardly. This man hated her. He was only marrying her because she came with a pass to unlimited business growth and potential. And here she was quivering before him like a virgin on their wedding night. Well, that might be because you are a virgin, a voice pointed out.

      Gianni wrapped two hands around Keelin’s waist, hauling her into his hard body. His hard, hot body.

      ‘Bella, I know exactly what you are now. An amoral spoilt little liar who seeks only to get her own way, but I’ve won this round and now it’s time for my prize and I’m going to claim it before I die of frustration.’

      Then his mouth was on hers, hot and hard and demanding and so ruthlessly passionate that it scrambled every one of Keelin’s functioning brain cells. Every corner of her body wanted this in spite of what her head was telling her about going slowly.

      It was only when she felt his hands come to the zip at the back of the dress that some sanity broke through. She pulled her mouth away and pushed both hands against his chest. Hard. ‘No.’

      Gianni looked at her. About to explode. Fingers poised to undress her completely.

      ‘We need to stop, you need to stop.’ Her mouth felt swollen. She backed away, dislodging his hands, and sucked in a deep quivering breath. ‘The thing is that I’ve never done this before. I’m a virgin...’

      Gianni just looked at her. Disbelief was etched onto his face. And then other expressions followed: derision, disdain and disgust. He backed away too.

      Humiliation made her skin prickle to know she’d laid herself so bare for his ridicule. ‘Gianni, wait, I—’

      He put up a hand. ‘Basta. I don’t want to hear it, Keelin. I’ve had enough of your lies and playacting. Just go to bed. Damn you.’

      And then he turned around and walked out, the door closing with incongruous softness behind him. Keelin looked at it in the gloom for a long time before reaction set in and she started to shake. The slivers of lace on the floor mocking her.

      Her mind mercifully went to some numb place, induced by shock, fatigue and an overload of emotion. Vaguely aware of what she was doing, she kicked off her shoes and found the zip at the back of the dress, yanking it down. She stepped out of it and went to the bed, and climbed into it, pulling the luxurious covers over her body. And then she weakly shut out all of the voices and recriminations and slept.

      * * *

      When Keelin woke in the morning it took her long minutes to figure out where she was and why she was in her underwear in the most sumptuously soft bed she’d ever lain in.

      Then she opened her eyes and took in the room and it all came flooding back, along with the reality of opulent dark red furnishings and antique furniture.

      She came up on her elbows and looked around. The curtains hadn’t been drawn so she pushed back the covers and got out, squinting a little at the daylight outside. A robe was behind the bathroom door, so after splashing some water on her face she pulled it on.

      There were French doors and a balcony so she opened the doors and stepped out. The view took her breath away. Undulating green hills as far as the eye could see. For a moment she felt absurdly homesick as it reminded her of Ireland.

      And then a low but powerful noise impacted—and she realised that that must have woken her up. And just as she thought that, she saw the helicopter rise up from the back of the property and bank to the left before disappearing off into the horizon, quickly becoming a small black dot. She hadn’t been able to see who was in it but she assumed the pilot was taking it back to Rome.

      Something skated over Keelin’s skin to think of Gianni and how angry he’d been last night. And of facing him this morning. Recalling the events of the previous day felt a little dreamlike. Had it really happened?She looked down and saw the enormous diamond of her engagement ring and the slim wedding band.

      Oh, yes, it had happened. She’d exchanged vows with the man in front of witnesses. And even now she could recall the strange kind of paralysis that had gripped her.

      Knowing she’d have to face him sooner or later, Keelin went back inside and found that her things that had been sent on ahead were hanging up or in drawers. Along with a lot of clothes that looked brand-new. Her blood boiled slightly to think of him instructing someone anonymous to pick things out for her.

      After a quick shower she dressed in worn jeans and one of her favourite plaid shirts and thought to herself that if Gianni didn’t like it, then he’d have to get used to it because this was the real her.

      But as she found her way downstairs she had the uncanny sensation that Gianni wasn’t here. And until now she hadn’t even realised she’d been so aware of his whereabouts at any given time.

      Lucia the housekeeper appeared as Keelin got to the bottom of the stairs looking a little worried. She spoke fast and made some kind of gesture with her hands, as if something was flying away. It was the unmistakable concern mixed with pity СКАЧАТЬ