Resisting The Tycoon's Seduction (The Berutelli Escape) (10 page)

Marissa looked up into his eyes, her hands holding onto his shoulders to steady herself but she knew that he wouldn’t let her fall.  She also understood that he wasn’t bluffing.  The man would probably carry her out the door over his shoulder if she didn’t hurry along. 

“I don’t understand why,” she started to say and glanced through the window one more time.

“Fifty-five seconds, Marissa.” 

She was completely confused, but she also knew that she needed to get him out of there.  Fast.  She definitely didn’t want her father to discover him here in her bedroom.  She had no idea how her father would react to his presence in his house, much less his daughter’s bedroom.  Her father might want his daughter married to the man, but he might consider Zeke being in his daughter’s bedroom as a sign of disrespect.  That would be extremely dangerous.

“Come on,” she sighed and grabbed her purse, intending to come back later once she’d figured out what he was talking about, what his purpose was.  “Let’s get out of here before you’re discovered in my room.”

Zeke was in whole-hearted agreement.  Not so worried about being in her bedroom but about getting him out of this house, with that man as her father.  He’d been worried ever since his housekeeper told him she’d left his penthouse this morning.  He’d instinctively known she’d gone back to her father’s house even though he’d told her he’d see her tonight.  He’d meant that she should stay where she was.  He had never intended for her to leave the safety and security of his penthouse, especially to come back here where her father could hurt her. 

He took her arm and hurried her out the door, almost pushing her into his waiting limousine where his security detail was already on standby for him and
Marissa’s appearance.  “We’re in,” he said to his driver even before the door closed.  “Go,” was all Zeke said and the tires were squealing down the street. 

Marissa looked behind them and noticed a black SUV right behind them.  “One of yours?” she asked.

Zeke only nodded grimly as he took his phone out of his pocket.  “We’re on the way.  Have everything ready.  We only have ten minutes at the most.”

He hung up and looked out the window.  Marissa
waited for him to explain now that they were alone, but when it looked like he would remain silent, she shook her head, her patience and worry getting the better of her.  Besides, she couldn’t contain her curiosity any longer.  “So where are we going and why does someone only have ten minutes?”

He swung his head around, pinning her with his
almost black eyes.  “We’re running behind schedule.”  He looked out the window, his impatience almost palpable.  “We’re here,” he said a moment later.  The limousine pulled up outside a small, exclusive boutique and Zeke took her hand in his, pulling her gently but insistently out of the vehicle behind him and leading her into the store. 

A tall, beautiful blond stepped
in front of them as soon as they entered.  She looked cool and sophisticated with a professional smile on her face, making Marissa feel dowdy and homely with her barely styled hair and her just-bought clothes. “Everything is waiting for you, Mr. Vaughn.  We’re here to help you with anything you need,” she explained and gestured for them to follow her to the back of the store.

Marissa gasped when they stopped in front of several mirrors.  There were no other patrons, but there were five different wedding dresses in different styles hanging from each of the mirrors.  “Pick one,” Zeke said, crossing his arms over his chest and glaring at her. 

Marissa’s mouth dropped open and she stared at the dresses, then at Zeke, whose arms were straining the material of his jacket with his muscular arms crossed like that.  “Pick one?” she repeated.  “Why would I pick any of them?” she asked warily, unconsciously stepped backwards as if to separate herself from the idea of wearing a wedding gown.  It wasn’t that she didn’t want to marry Zeke.  It was that she wanted to marry him too much.  Despite their short acquaintance, Zeke was the kind of man she knew only came around once in a lifetime. 

Unfortunately, her lifetime would put him in jeopardy. 

Zeke stepped forward and looked her up and down, almost as if he didn’t know her body intimately.  “That one,” he said, pointing towards a gorgeous gown with a skirt that billowed out almost magically, as if a group of fairies were dancing around the edge, holding it out and making it flutter mystically.  The hem only came to mid-calf but that didn’t diminish the elegance of the dress.  The bodice would hug her breasts and waist, making her feel slender and feminine.  It was gilded with tiny pearls and shimmering crystals, cap sleeves and a sweetheart neckline, looking just as dramatic as the shimmering skirt.  “It’s beautiful,” she gasped, but shook her head. “I still don’t understand why you chose that one.”

He stepped forward, taking her hands gently.  “Would you just try it on for me?” he asked
, his eyes soft, but still coaxing.

She was about to shake her head in denial, but something about his gaze told her that it might be a good idea to just humor him on this subject. 

With shaking hands, she took the dress and followed the blond woman into a dressing room.  It took only moments to take off the clothes she’d just purchased that morning and pull on the fabulous dress.  It didn’t need any alterations, fitting her perfectly.  It was absolutely gorgeous! 

The blond woman handed her a pair of
white, satin shoes and Marissa slipped them onto her bare feet, feeling only slightly awkward to not be wearing white stockings. 

She wasn’t sure what was going on, but she loved the dress. 

When she stepped out of the dressing room, she peeked up at Zeke and was flattered when his eyes flared in appreciation of her in the dress.  “What do you think?” she asked softly, stepping up onto the round staging area.  “It’s pretty, isn’t it?”

“You’re beautiful,” he said, his voice husky as he looked her up and down.  “We’ll take it,” he said and nodded to the blond.  “Let’s go,” he said and took her hand.  “I’m sorry that you can’t get your hair and nails done, Marissa.  But we really need to hurry.”

Marissa was almost running behind him, trying to pull his hand to slow him down, but he ignored her feeble attempt and rushed her out of the boutique.  “I can’t take this dress, Zeke,” she gasped when he didn’t even stop to pay for the dress.  “I can’t…” she wasn’t sure what she was going to say but he stopped her by pushing her back into the limousine, which quickly sped off once again as soon as he was in the car as well.

She pushed her hair out of her eyes and looked
up at him, pushing the skirt of the dress down so he could see her angry expression.  “Zeke, what’s going on?” she demanded, hoping he would understand her frustration at being kept in the dark.

He shook his head and pulled out his cell phone once again.  “We’re on the way.  We’ll be there in less than five minutes.”  He waited, nodded his head at whatever someone was telling him and his mouth compressed with frustration.  He glanced at her only once before he turned away and nodded.  “I understand.  Make sure everything is ready.  Matt understands what’s going on, correct?”  Another pause and he nodded.  “Good.  We’re almost there.”

“Zeke,” she started again, only to be interrupted by another phone call.  She tried to wait patiently for him to finish, but she felt extremely silly sitting in the elegant car in a gorgeous wedding dress when it was barely even eleven o’clock in the morning.  When they pulled up to a large, sandstone building, a side entrance that seemed vaguely familiar, Marissa was becoming downright agitated.  She tried to hide it while he spoke on the phone, but when he once again pulled her out of the car, she became angry that he was treating her like this and not telling her anything.  “Zeke, I’m not taking another step until you tell me what’s going on!” stated firmly and dug her heels in to stop their momentum.  They were standing in the middle of the hallway, the sun shining through the lone window behind him while her eyes revealed her frustration and impatience. 

In response, Zeke glanced at his watch, then looked both ways down the hallway.  “If you could just hold your questions for another thirty seconds, we’ll be in Matt’s office and you’ll understand.”  He waited for her to briefly nod her acquiescence before proceeding down yet another hallway.  When they finally came to a door marked “Judge Matthew Johnson” Marissa felt her stomach muscles tighten with fear. 

“Why are we here?” she asked, but a part of her knew. The wedding dress should have been a tipoff, but she simply couldn’t believe that Zeke would hurry through any sort of marriage ceremony in this manner. 

As soon as they entered, Zeke
nodded to an older man, presumably “Matt”, who was standing in the middle of his office along with two older women, one on each side of him. 

Zeke nodded to the older, stately gentleman.  “Give us just a moment,” he said and turned to Marissa.  “We’re getting married,” he stated
with absolute finality, then waited to see her reaction.  When her eyes widened, he took both of her hands in his and held them steady.  “We have to, Marissa.  And you know exactly why.”

Marissa was already shaking her head.  Less than an hour ago, she’d been l
aying on her bed and had come to the decision that she would marry Jimmy Traveri just to protect Zeke from her father’s retribution.  Now she was standing in front of a federal judge in a wedding dress and Zeke was asking…no, telling her, that they were going to be married?   

“We can’t,” she said with finality and tried to pull her hands away.

Zeke wouldn’t release her.  He pulled her closer and rubbed her freezing hands to try and warm them up.  “Marissa, I’m not letting you go.  And you know exactly why we have to be married.  It must be quick.  Don’t worry about the rest.  We can work out the details later.  Let’s just get this over with and we can talk, okay?  I need to make sure you are safe and this is the fastest way I can think of right at the moment.”

Marissa didn’t agree, but Zeke turned to the older man and nodded. 

Matt smiled reassuringly.  “Good morning, Ms. Berutelli.  This is my wife, Olivia Johnson, and my administrative assistant, Rosemary.  They’ll act as witnesses for the ceremony if that’s okay with you.”

“She’s fine with that,” he said before Marissa could even open
her mouth to agree or disagree. 

Marissa was about to grumble something impolite
about rude men making assumptions, but she noticed the distinguished looking judge was having a hard time suppressing his amusement.  The older women also had laughter in their eyes so she stood there quietly in her gorgeous gown, trying to figure out how to stop this insanity. 

“Let’s begin,” Matt said
with a general nod to the group.

Zeke
agreed but Marissa shook her head.  “I need a private word with you,” she snapped up at Zeke.

He didn’t even bother to look down at her but took her hand in his and nodded to Matt.  “We’re ready to begin.”  Without looking at her he
bent lower and said, “We’ll talk privately later.  I know this is strange, but a marriage certificate will keep you safe.”

The judge chuckled
at their identical, belligerent expressions but looked down at a book he was holding in his hands.  “Marissa Desiree Berutelli, do you take Zeke Randolph Vaughn to be your lawfully wedded husband, to have and to hold, forsaking all others.  If so, say ‘I do’.”

Marissa looked around as four sets of eyes turned and looked down at her.  She even looked behind her and realized there were two bulky men standing behind her.  Those two men weren’t looking at her, but one
peered out the door, then back in the office. 

“She does,” Zeke said when she continued to hesitate.

“Really?” Marissa asked with sarcasm dripping from the one word.  “I do?”

Zeke winked at her.  “There, she said it.  Let’s move on.”

Matt laughed and shook his head.  “She has to sincerely say it, Zeke.  You can’t railroad her through this ceremony.”

Zeke
sighed heavily and turned to face Marissa.  “I know this is confusing to you, but you’re going to have to trust me.  Everything will be fine.  We won’t make any lasting promises today.  Just get through the ceremony and we’ll figure out the rest later on.  Okay?”

She started t
o shake her head but noticed his warning look and stopped.  “Zeke, how do you know everything will be okay?  We barely know each other.”

“You trusted me last night.  And look how that turned out.”
  He looked down at her with arrogance and complete confidence that there would be a repeat of last night. 

He would have to bring that up, wouldn’t he?  She blushed and tried to pull her hand away.  “That was different…”

He wouldn’t release her hand, but kept it firmly in both of his.  “That proved that we’re compatible.”

“Only…” she glanced self-consciously at the three others who were avidly listening to the conversation.  Knowing there was no way around it, she just spat it out.  “That only proves that we’re sexually compatible.  It doesn’t mean we should be married.” 

“That’s more than half the battle,” he argued with a raunchy grin.  “Would you just say the words and we can get out of here and I can explain everything?”

“No.”

He sighed and turned to her.  “You leave me no choice then.”  Without warning, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, his hands holding her against him, pressing her softness against his body and showing her how compatible they really were.  He felt her resistance for only a moment before she gave in to the passion that was always just under the surface.