“Does she know that you are in love with me?”
His hands tightened on her slender arms.
“She does not know anything, and it would displease me greatly if she should hear about our relationship, Sophia. It is in the past. And it should be kept there.” He started to pull her away again and she resisted. “I need to go back to her.”
“Oh Piero…” She looked so miserable that he could not help but hug her again, his arms tight around her slender waist. When she lifted her head in an effort to kiss him, he resisted, putting her firmly away from him.
“Go to the Bagno – restroom and repair your makeup.” He kissed her on the forehead before turning and walking out the room, leaving her standing there staring after him, a determined expression on her beautiful face.
*****
Lauren inched the slinky material slowly revealing a slender thigh encased in flesh colored stockings, an impish smile on her face. She knew that her new family were looking at her aghast but right now she did not give a crap! She was in her country where certain actions were not frowned upon. She had reasoned that she was giving up everything she was familiar with and going to a country she did not know with a man who was still very much a stranger to her. The last few days that she had here in the States were going to be ones of unbridled freedom until she was forced to behave prim and proper in that ivory tower that was going to be her home. Having her husband take off her garter was one such act.
She shook her head with a grin when he started to use his hands to peel it down.
“Your teeth, darling.”
He sent her a retiring look and a midst the shouts and egging on from both males and females, he did as he was told, clamping his teeth onto the material, and lifting her leg so he could remove it. Cheers erupted but he could just imagine the look on his family’s faces as they witnessed what they would no doubt think of as crass and beneath people of their class. But it was exhilarating and arousing, something he made sure his new bride was aware of.
“Now what?” he asked her softly, clutching the material in his hand.
“Now you toss it so that one of the single men in the crowd can catch it with the hope that he will be the next groom,” she said with an arched look as he pulled her to her feet.
“This is a tradition, no?”
“It is.” She touched his face briefly, frowning a little at the scent of exotic perfume coming from his clothes. Shrugging it away, she remembered that he had danced with several women during the course of the day.
Giving her his devastating smile, he turned with her in his arms.
“I understand that it is customary for me to toss this garter into the crowd of men, but I am afraid that I would not feel comfortable with doing so.”
“Why not?” someone shouted.
“Because, my friends, this tiny piece of garment has been against my wife’s skin for several hours. I can still feel the heat of her on it.” He shook his head as he stared down at her. “I am very possessive with what is mine. I am going to be keeping this as a… how do you say it? A souvenir.”
Ignoring the groans and complaints, he swept her into his arms and placed a kiss on her lips, his tongue darting into her mouth.
Sophia, who had been watching the entire proceeding, felt as if someone had plunged a knife into her heart as she stared at the incredibly intimate moment between him and the woman who had no place being with him and had to retreat from the room when she could no longer contain her bitterness!
*****
“Are you tired?” he asked her solicitously as he placed her onto the large bed that was in the center of the room. He had carried her over the threshold without being told to do so and Lauren thought that it was so romantic.
“Are you trying to get out of our wedding night?”
“No.” His dark eyes wandered over her slender body, resting on the curves of her breasts.
“Good.” She climbed off the bed and slid her feet down into the incredibly soft blue carpet, digging her toes in. “This is some room,” she murmured as she looked around.
“It is the penthouse suite.”
“The honeymoon suite was not available?”
“I prefer this, and the view is spectacular.” He gestured towards the floor to ceiling glass. “I always stay here whenever I am in the country. You don’t mind?”
“Why would I?” She turned her head to take in the antique furnishings and the luxurious settings. A bucket of champagne was on one table along with a platter of fruits and cheese. Slices of their wedding cake was also on the table. “I will go and get ready in the bathroom. Be prepared to be wowed!”
“I already am,” he told her with a smile.
She started to move past him but stopped. “Do you regret marrying me?”
The question threw him and brought a frown to his face. “Why would you ask that?”
She shrugged slender shoulders. “I hear talk, Piero, and I am aware that I am not your social equal. People wonder about that as well. I have also read up on the social happenings concerning you and your family. The speculations are rife, and the consensus is that you fell in lust and acted impulsively.”
“I never act on impulse.”
Lauren noticed that he did not deny the rest of the sentence.
“You did when you took me back to your apartment the very night we met.”
“That was not an impulse action. I was violently attracted to you and felt that if I did not have you I would go insane. I still feel that way.”
“What happens when the attraction wears thin?”
His thick eyebrows lifted. “You think that will happen?”
“It is a possibility.” Her dark brown eyes sought his. “Your family do not like me, and the feeling is mutual, and I have felt the daggers in my back from the women I am sure you have slept with in the past.”
“You are Mrs. Piero Giovanni De Luca, my wife. That means a lot to me.”
She waited for him to say the words she was dying to hear, and when it was not forthcoming, she planted a smile on her face.
“You are right.” She lifted her left hand where the diamond and emerald ring sparkled in the light. “I have the ring to show it.”
“And the documents we sign.”
“Including the prenup.”
“It is standard…”
“You don’t have to explain. You are a billionaire with vast amount of holdings. I have money in my account, but nothing compared to yours. If this marriage goes to hell, you stand to lose a lot.”
He frowned at her language. “You are picking a fight on your wedding night? You do not want to be with me tonight perhaps?”
“More than anything in the world.” She walked over to him and placed her hands on his chest. “When I come back, I will show you how much.”
He watched her walk towards the bathroom, the frown still on his brow. He admired her spirit and the fire she had inside her and would never dream of trying to kill that. But he was respected in his country and did a lot of entertaining. She would be expected to accompany him whenever he attended functions and people in his circle could spot an outsider from a mile away. And his wife was definitely an outsider, that was something his family harped on about since he had made the decision to marry her. With a brooding look on his face, he went over to the sofa to take off his Italian loafers and his socks, with the De Luca logo stitched at the sides of it.