The Wedding Charade (17 page)

She looked up at him but kept her arms wrapped around his waist. ‘It’s not like you think, Nic,’ she said. ‘I didn’t sleep with Tim or even half of the men the press have reported I’ve been with. I let everyone think I was a tart but deep down I hate that label. I wish I could make it go away.’

He took out his handkerchief and gently blotted the tears coursing down her cheeks. ‘I have things in my past I would like to forget about too—everyone does, I would imagine. The thing is to show the world you don’t care. If you ever meet someone from your past, ignore them, move on without engaging in idle chit-chat. They will want to drag you down to their level but they can only do that if you let them. Hold your head high,
tesore mio.
You deserve respect. You’re beautiful and talented and have a caring, gentle nature when you’re not too busy pushing everyone away.’

Jade placed one of her hands on the side of his face, stroking his cleanly shaven jaw. ‘I wish there were more men like you in the world, men of quality and decency.’

He gave her a rueful smile. ‘You wouldn’t be calling me decent if you knew what I was thinking right now.’

She smiled coyly up at him. ‘What are you thinking?’

He brought her close to his growing erection, his hands warm and strong as they cupped her bottom.

‘How is that for a clue?’ he asked with a dangerously sexy look.

‘I think I’m more or less getting the message,’ she said, moving against him, delighting in the way his eyes darkened in response.

His mouth came down to meet hers in a kiss that was blisteringly hot. Jade’s lips felt like fire as he plundered her mouth, his tongue sweeping against hers, calling it into a sexy duel that made all her senses sing with delight. Her whole body erupted into flames of longing, her inner core pulsing with the need to feel his hard presence moving inside her.

He scooped her effortlessly into his arms and carried her upstairs to the master suite. He laid her on the bed and then stood and stripped off his clothes, his eyes never once straying from hers.

Jade could feel her excitement building. Her blood began to speed through her veins as her eyes went to his aroused length. She licked her lips and scrambled onto her knees on the mattress, wriggling out of her dress and lacy bra and knickers and tossing them over the side of the bed. She went to undo the pendant from around her neck but Nic’s hand came out and stopped her.

‘No, let me make love to you wearing nothing but diamonds,’ he said and kissed the valley between her breasts where the pendant hung in sparkling brilliance.

There was something decidedly decadent and yet affirming about being pleasured whilst wearing priceless jewellery, Jade decided. She felt like a princess, a person of worth instead of the trashy home-wrecking whore she had been portrayed as in the past.

Nic’s mouth closed over one of her breasts, his tongue
teasing her nipple until she was arching her spine in rapture. He worked his way from her nipples to the sensitive undersides of her breasts, stroking and gently nipping with his teeth, making every atom of her being crave his final possession.

He went from her breasts over the flat plane of her belly, his tongue circling then diving into the little bowl of her belly button. Her nerves twitched and danced under the ministrations of his lips and tongue, her mind becoming vacant of everything apart from how he made her feel.

He moved lower, taking his time as he separated her tender folds. His tongue tasted her nectar, the intimate action sending sparks of electricity up and down her spine. Her toes curled, her belly flipped and flopped and her heart raced, her breathing becoming choppy as he intensified his caresses, his jungle cat-like licks making her edge closer and closer to the release she wanted so badly. Her fingers dug into his thick hair in an attempt to hold herself steady in a sea of sensation that was pitching and rocking her about like a bit of flotsam.

She cried out when the first ripples of her orgasm rolled through her, the sheer force of it as it gathered momentum making her mind go blank.

He moved back up her body, his need for her so obvious she couldn’t help but reach out to stroke him, to feel the pulse of his blood as it extended him so powerfully. He groaned as she moved her hand harder and faster, and then, with another muttered imprecation, he sought her moist warmth, driving into her with a slick thrust that sent a shower of fireworks off in her brain.

He set a fast pace but she quickly caught his rhythm,
moving her pelvis in time with his, accepting each of his hard thrusts with a clutch of her inner muscles until he shouted out loud as he came. She felt the pumping action of his body, the hot spill of his life force anointing her as she lay there quivering in reaction.

His face was buried against her neck, his breathing hot and hectic against her skin. ‘Am I too heavy for you?’ he asked.

‘No,’ she said, smiling to herself as his big, strong body pinned her to the bed. She loved the weight of him; it made her feel sensuous to have her limbs entwined so intimately with his and to have his maleness encased in the secret feminine vault of her body.

He came up on his elbows and pressed a soft kiss to her mouth. ‘You are beautiful, do you know that?’ he said.

Jade wasn’t vain. She knew she had inherited from her mother high cheekbones, a neat, slightly uptilted nose, gloriously thick long hair and unusually green eyes, but she had never truly thought of herself as beautiful because she couldn’t do the things she most wanted to do, the things most people took for granted. Perhaps beauty and brains didn’t go together, after all, she thought. She had certainly missed out on the latter.

‘Hey,’ Nic said, taking her chin between his finger and thumb. ‘What is that serious look for?’

Jade tried to smile but it didn’t quite work. ‘I was just thinking how I am going to miss this when it’s over,’ she said truthfully.

His brows moved together and his chest rose and fell as he let out a sigh. He rolled away and looked up at the ceiling, not speaking for a long minute. ‘I know,’ he finally said in a husky-sounding voice.

Jade waited for a few beats before she turned on her side to look at him. ‘Will you miss me?’ she said. ‘I mean when we finally part company? I’ll probably go back to live in London or maybe I’ll go to Australia. I’ve always wanted to go. Have you been?’

He got off the bed and snatched up his trousers, his eyes moving away from hers. ‘Yes, it’s a great place to visit. I wish I’d had more time when I was there. You should go. The press wouldn’t know who you were out there. You would have a chance at the fresh start you said you’d like to have.’

Jade couldn’t read his expression. It was like a mask, and his voice had been curt, brusque and to the point, as if he didn’t want to continue the conversation any longer than he had to. ‘Nic?’

‘What?’ he asked, still frowning darkly as he faced her after shrugging himself back into his shirt.

She bit her lip, stung by the way he was shutting her out. ‘Nothing,’ she said.

‘Look, Jade,’ he said, scoring a rough pathway through his hair with his splayed fingers. ‘You know the score. I have been totally honest with you about how far I am prepared to go. Don’t go changing the rules, OK?’

She rolled her lips together and slowly lowered her gaze. ‘I’m not changing the rules,’ she said softly. ‘I was merely saying I would miss what we’ve had when it’s gone.’

‘What do you want me to say, for God’s sake?’ he asked in a biting tone. ‘That I will miss it too?’ She brought her gaze back to his. ‘Will you?’ His eyes held hers for a throbbing second or two. ‘I

haven’t given it a moment’s thought,’ he said and, without another word, he left the room, the door closing behind him like a punctuation mark on the conversation.

N
IC
announced over breakfast the following morning that they would be returning to Rome, a decision Jade assumed meant their honeymoon was effectively over. She suspected he was putting a wall up between them, a suspicion that was confirmed as soon as they returned to his villa close to the Villa Borghese.

Although he still joined her in bed at night and made love to her as passionately as ever, he didn’t engage in lengthy conversations, or even trivial ones for that matter. When he wasn’t putting in long hours at his office, he spent a lot of time in his study or on the phone, conducting his business matters with the sort of focus and drive she could only envy.

A new housekeeper was appointed without any input from Jade, but thankfully the woman Nic had chosen was friendly and helpful, even effusively admiring the sketches Jade brought in each day after her treks around the city.

Jade lost track of time as she wandered through the cobbled streets and alleyways as well as the major tourist drawcards. She spent hours at The Vatican, staring up at the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel until the guards urged her on. She made sketches of The Vatican and St Paul’s

Basilica and a sheltered glade in the Villa Borghese, as well as some street scenes that captured the essence of the Eternal City.

On Friday she spent the morning at the Colosseum, and then did another afternoon tour of The Vatican. And then, on a whim, she walked back to do some window shopping. She stopped outside a baby wear shop, looking at the tiny clothes with a tight ache in her heart. Her desire to be a mother seemed to increase more and more every day. It was such a no-go area with Nic. She couldn’t understand why he was so adamant when he was clearly so fond of his little niece and nephews. Luca and Bronte had called in only a couple of evenings ago and again Jade had watched Nic play with Ella. He had swung her around in what Ella called a ‘whizzy dizzy’. Nic had gone round and round with her in his arms until the little toddler was giggling uncontrollably. It had been such a happy family scene and Jade ached to be a part of it. Instead, she felt on the outside again, looking in, a spectator instead of a participant.

She went into the shop and picked up a little Babygro, a pink one with white polka dots. She ran her fingers over the velvet-soft fabric, wishing, hoping and dreaming for her life to be like Maya’s and Bronte’s. They were so deeply in love with their husbands and Giorgio and Luca were equally devoted.

Jade wasn’t sure what made her look up at that point. A member of the press was standing outside the shop with his camera aimed straight at her. She put down the little suit and walked out, keeping her head down, ignoring the questions as they were fired at her.

‘Are you expecting the next Sabbatini heir,
signora?’

She moved past him and two other people who had stopped to stare.

‘Is your husband pleased about the prospect of a son or daughter some time in the future?’

She skirted around another group of tourists and ducked down a side street but the journalist persisted.

‘Is this a honeymoon baby? ‘

Jade finally managed to escape by slipping in amongst a guided tour group. Once the cameraman had gone, she walked back in the direction of Nic’s villa. She was about halfway there when from inside her handbag she could hear her mobile ringing and quickly dug it out and pressed the answer button. ‘Hello?’

‘Jade, where are you?’ Nic asked. ‘I’ve just got home. It’s after six. Why didn’t you leave a note to tell me where you were?’

‘I’ve been out sketching and then shopping,’ she said, stepping out of the way of some tourists who were busily snapping their camera phones at the scenery.

‘You could have at least sent me a text,’ he said, sounding distinctly annoyed.

‘I didn’t want to bother you,’ she said. ‘You seem rather busy lately.’

‘Feeling neglected,
cara?’

‘Not at all,’ she responded tartly. ‘I know you have things to do. So have I.’

‘I haven’t just been working on my own stuff. I have been working on setting up a meeting for you with an art gallery owner,’ he said. ‘He’s coming at seven this evening to look at your work.’

Jade felt her skin break out in a sweat. ‘Why? I told you it’s mostly rubbish. I don’t want anyone to see it,
let alone a gallery owner. I can just imagine what he’s going to say. I’ll be mortified.’

‘He will give an unbiased opinion,’ Nic said. ‘You have no need to get into a state about it. Constructive feedback is important, in any case.’

‘I don’t appreciate you interfering with my private life,’ she said as she walked briskly back the other way along the footpath, her agitation rising with every step.

‘Jade, you are being childish about this. And of course I have the right to interfere in your private life. I am your husband.’

‘Only for the next eleven months,’ she said with cutting emphasis.

There was a silence that lasted only a couple of seconds but, even so, it seemed more than a little menacing.

‘I will see you when you get back,’ he said in a clipped tone. ‘The art guy will be here in less than an hour. Don’t be late.’

‘Don’t tell me what to do,’ Jade shot back but he had already rung off.

When Jade got back to the villa after taking a lengthy detour, which included a coffee to fill in the time, Nic was fuming. He threw open the door as she came in, his eyes blazing with anger. ‘Do you have any idea of what you might have just thrown away?’ he asked. ‘Clyde Prentham waited over an hour for you. He’s an extremely busy man and he made a special effort to be here to meet you. He left just a few minutes ago.’

Jade tossed her head and stalked past but he captured
her by the arm and turned her to face him. ‘Let me go,’ she said, glaring at him.

‘Jade,’ he said, this time lowering his voice. ‘You seem to want to deliberately sabotage any chance at a career.’

She tugged on his hold but his fingers were like a manacle of steel. ‘You don’t understand,’ she said, terrifyingly close to tears. ‘I don’t want to have my work analysed and judged and laughed at.’

Nic frowned and slowly loosened his grip to more of a caress on her arm. ‘Why are you so worried about what people think of your art when you don’t give a toss for what they think about you as a person? You seem to have it the wrong way about,
cara.
You let people say hideous things about you in the press without defending yourself and yet you hide your amazing talent as if it is something you are embarrassed about.’