Too Cold To Love (10 page)

His smile was wickedness itself, when he raised
his head and looked at her. He took her hand and guided it to his cock.

"Want to help me out here, wife?"

Elise's heart went into overdrive. Her ragged
breathing matched his as he ran his tongue along her jaw line. He settled on
the spot on her neckthat, she had discovered mere hours ago, sent her into a
boneless bag of pure need. Every nerve ending in her body screamed his name.

She barely recognized her own voice. "What
do you want me to do?"

Marco nipped her lightly with his teeth, and
combined with the friction his stubble created on her overheated skin, Elise
couldn't help the earthy moan. She involuntarily rubbed her moist thighs
together.

"Straddle me,
pasticcino."
He
breathed the words in her ear, and she shivered. His hands grabbed her hips,
helping her to position her wet pussy lips over the purple, swollen tip of his
rigid cock.

Their eyes locked, and she lowered herself
slowly. Inch by delicious inch he slid into her, and she gasped at the
fullness.

"I…I can't." Her breath came in short
gasps, and tears sprang to her eyes. "This isn't going to work."

He laughed and trailed one hand across her hip
until he could tease her clitoris. He flicked the swollen bud, and Elise moaned
as the pleasure pain shot across her pussy. More of her juices seeped out of
her tight channel, aiding his cock further into her.

"That's my girl. Relax. Let me in."

Marco growled the words into her neck. Shivers
of anticipation danced down Elise's spine, and she angled her hips, taking him
deeper still. The slight soreness was replaced by pure pleasure, as the move
caused his cock to scrape against her g-spot. Her internal walls stretched
around the thick invasion, until she was so filled, she could hardly breathe.

"Ride me."

She followed the murmured demand instinctively,
gripping his shoulders for leverage, as she found her rhythm. She moved slowly
at first, gasping at the sensation of his cock sliding across sensitized nerve
endings. His whispered encouragement urged her on. Warm hands caressed her
breasts, and Marco's mouth worshipped every bit of skin within reach, murmuring
Italian endearments. His thrusts joined hers, deeper, faster, until they came
together in an all-powerful climax that had them clinging onto each other
whilst they waited for the world to stop spinning.

Marco kissed her deeply, his usually so-cold
eyes a very deep blue as he scooted down the bed. He pulled her boneless self
next to his and settled her in the crook of his arm.

"Go back to sleep,
pasticcino."
Exhausted, Elise's eyes fluttered shut. She was vaguely aware of his whispered
words before she fell into a deep sleep.

 
"I'll keep you safe; you're mine
now."

Chapter Eleven

Elise woke up alone the next morning. She
blinked in the sunshine streaming through the open windows and smiled at the
dust motes circling in the rays of light streaking across the plush carpet. Her
smile turned to a blush, when the unfamiliar soreness between her legs reminded
her of the night before, as clearly as the red stain on the sheets. Who'd have
thought Marco would be that inventive in the bedroom?

A noise in the en-suite bathroom announced the
man himself, and Elise swallowed nervously when he appeared in the doorway. His
hair still wet from the shower, he wore nothing but a low slung towel, and
Elise couldn't help but drink in the view in front of her.
 
Her nipples beaded against the silk sheet she
clutched to her chest, and her pussy was sopping wet already. She pulled her
knees up to her chest in a vain effort to regain some measure of self-control.

Sheesh, one night with Marco, and she was acting
like a raving nymphomaniac.And if that knowing smile of his was anything to go
by, he knew exactly how much she was wishing that loose knot to unravel.

He sat on the edge of the bed and kissed her
nose, before running one finger along her cheek, his eyes teasing.

"Shower is yours,
pasticcino,
and as
much as I'd like a repeat of last night," he chuckled at the renewed heat
creeping into her face, "I don't think you're up for it... yet."

He sobered as he ran one hand lightly up her
inner thigh, his gentle touch caressing her whilst the unexpected tenderness in
his eyes took her breath away.

"I'm sorry, I should have been gentler. Are
you very sore?"

Not trusting her voice at all she simply shook
her head.

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"I…I…It's no big deal." She couldn't
bring herself to look at him. Why did he have to ask her that now?

Marco cupped her chin and forced her to look at
him.

"It's a big deal to me,
pasticcino.
Had I known I could have made this easier on you. I never thought you could
still be—" His voice trailed off, and Elise lost herself in the azure
depths of his eyes. He shook his head, leaving her to wonder at his rueful
smile before his kiss made her forget everything. He stalked away from her in
such an awkward manner that she giggled, until she got out of bed and
discovered that she could do little other than waddle herself. A cool shower
helped somewhat, and when Marco casually announced that they were not going
home, but on honeymoon, she forgot all about her leftover niggles. She tried
her darndest to get some more information out of him, but she should have known
he wouldn't budge. Trying to get blood out of a stone sprang to mind. They
briefly stopped at Marco's house, where Agnes handed them their suitcases, and
they said an emotional farewell to little Mimi. They were both lost in their own
thoughts for a while until Elise broke the silence by saying, “She could come
with us."

Marco threw her such a heated gaze that it was a
minor miracle she didn't combust on the spot.

"Elise, as much as I love my daughter, I
have no intention of taking her on our honeymoon! You will be far too busy to
worry about her,
pasticcino
."

****

But worry she did.

Elise leant on the railing. The wind tossed her
loose hair around her face, as she thoughtfully looked out on the
English Channel
.
 
She had no idea where Marco was taking her. The ferry was going to
Calais
, but from then on
the destination was a mystery.

 
A child's
high pitched wail threw her out of her musings. She tightened her grip on the
railings as the children darting past screamed the glaringly obvious at her.
Shit,
shit, shit
, not once last night had they given any thought to
contraception. How could she have been so stupid? Even Jem always made sure she
was protected, and Elise was supposed to be the responsible one. What the hell
had Marco been playing at? He must have known that she wouldn't be on the pill.
But then again she hadn't spelled that out to him, had she? She shivered in the
wind. Her heart beat like a broken drum against her chest bone.

She grabbed the cool metal of the railing with white
knuckled hands, desperately trying to stop herself from hyperventilating.
Images of Kitty's adorable twins swam in front of her eyes. She couldn't do
this; she just couldn't. She may have dreamt of babies once, but that was
before...

No, no,
no, no.
Elise fought the tears threatening to fall.
They had been right. She did not deserve children of her own, not after Rosie.
It had all been her fault. If Marco found out he was going to hate her.

Marco's deep voice shook her out of her internal
anguish. She released her death grip, just in time for him to spin her around
in his arms, before his mouth claimed hers.

****

Dannazioni,
he
wanted her again, right now. Seeing her so deep in thought, the wind hiding her
expression behind a curtain of hair and making the silly little excuse of a
summer dress cling to her curves had him hard in an instant. He hadn't been
this permanently horny since his teenage years.
If we weren't in such a public place, hmm, the lifeboats look
promising, but something is wrong
. Instead of melting into his frame as he
was expecting her to, his little
pasticcino
was holding herself stiffly.
Were those tears he could taste under his tongue?

Forcing his wayward body back under control with
a deep sigh, he blocked the mental image of taking her right now, perched
against that railing. That was
so
not helping to relieve the ache in his
pants. He took a step back to give her some breathing space.

The two little boys ran past them, their mother
in hot pursuit. He smiled, but turning back to Elise that smile froze. She was
deathly pale looking towards those boys. She hugged her arms to herself and
blinked back tears.

She'd looked like this when he had woken her up
from that nightmare. He hadn't wanted to press her then, but now he wondered
what was behind it all.

His whispered, "Elise?" brought no
reaction. She seemed completely lost in her own world.

"Earth to Elise, come back, baby. Whatever
is wrong?"

He shook her gently, and she visibly startled as
her eyes slowly came back into focus.

"Hey there, glad to have you. Where have
you been?"

Wherever she had been wasn't a happy place. He
could feel her agitation under his hands. Her rapid heartbeat and erratic
breathing gave her away even as she struggled to pull herself together in front
of his eyes.
 
Protectiveness welled up
inside him with such a force, his own hands shook as he tried to pull her into
his body. She resisted, putting one hand on his chest, she shook her head.

"
No.
Marco, how could you?"

Dread washed over him at the whispered question.
How could he what? Well, apart from blackmailing her, threatening her, taking
away her virginity without any thought as to her own feelings about that, and
now almost abducting her on this honeymoon. Hell, she looked ready to spit fire
and so goddamn beautiful it hurt to look at her. He took a careful step away
from her whilst grabbing her elbow and steering her round the corner, away from
the elderly couple who were watching them intently.

"Let's do this away from prying eyes at
least, Elise."

He smiled grimly when they found themselves
under the lifeboats. Not quite what he'd had in mind originally. Elise snatched
her elbow out from his grasp, her hands on her hips and two spots of color high
on her cheeks. He crossed his arms and leant back against the column behind
him, hoping like hell his own anxiety didn't show on his face.

"Ok, let me have it then. What have I
done?"

Elise took a deep breath.“Don't you think a
woman deserves to be asked before you take chances on impregnating her? And not
just that... How dare you?"

Waves of righteous indignation poured off her,
but that wasn't what froze Marco to the spot. It was the barely concealed
desperation he sensed under those hasty words, words designed to wound him.

"You don't need to worry about that, Elise,
and do you really think so little of me?"

Some of the anger went out of her. Her hands
pushing the errand strands of hair from her face trembled slightly, and he had
to strain to hear the next few words.

"What do you expect me to think, Marco? I
don't know you. You blackmailed me into this whole thing, and then... then...
last night." Heat crept into her cheeks, and her voice faltered as she
looked at the floor.

"Last night what,
pasticcino
? What
are you really worried about here? However we got here, we are married now in
every sense of the word, and should you find yourself pregnant, it would hardly
be the end of the world."

A goddamn miracle, but not the end of the
world
. He turned his back on her gasp of outrage as
the old wound was ripped open, and pain and fury crippled him. Long strides
carried him back to the railing. He stared unseeing across the swirling expanse
of water, dimly aware of Elise having followed him.

"Don't you dare walk away from me, Marco
Giovanni. It may not be the end of the world to you, but this is my body you're
talking about. I have a right to decide if I want to get pregnant, damn it. Are
you even listening to me?"

Marco resolutely pushed the memories,
threatening to overwhelm his self-control away, and his voice was harsh when he
responded.

"I am listening, woman. There is no need to
shout at me. Rest assured, I was not taking any liberties with your body, other
than the ones you were begging me for last night."

The slap took him by surprise. His head snapped
round with the sheer force behind it. His cheek stung.
 
He blocked the next one. He grabbed her hand,
and he spun her around until they were once again under the lifeboat. He used
his body to crowd her against the column.