Too Cold To Love (24 page)

He held her for what seemed like an eternity
waiting for his thundering heartbeat to slow down, her head cradled on his
chest. Her breathing raised goose bumps on his fevered skin yearning for her
touch.

Her whispered, "Marco?" stopped him
mid nibble on one delicious earlobe.

"Mmm what,
cara mia
?"

"Marco, stop it. I need to ask you
something."

"Spoil sport!" But he scooted himself
up on the bed watching her. She was worrying her bottom lip with her teeth
again, and he wiped his thumb across it to stop her. He smiled in satisfaction
when her breathing hitched at the contact.

"Stop worrying,
cara mia,
or I shall
have to make you forget again."

She blew a raspberry against his thumb, and his
smile deepened.

"Behave yourself, Marco. Be serious for a
minute."

"Who says I'm not being serious?" He
took one of her hands guiding it to his hardening dick, and he chuckled at the
blush spreading across her front.
Si
, she was as helpless to resist the
sexual pull between them as he was. If only he could be as certain of her
feelings for him out of the bedroom. But he daren't let himself hope he was man
enough for her. Perhaps in time his useless body would work and he could be the
husband she deserved.

"How did you find out about Rosie?"

He couldn't stop the groan escaping. Damn it all
to hell, he didn't want to discuss this now. But one quick glance at her drawn
together eyebrows and serious expression told him she would not let this go.

"I didn't,
cara mia
. Jennifer did,
and her solicitors are trying to make a case out of it."

"What do you mean? Marco, are they going to
use this against you in the custody case? Is she actually fighting it?"

Her righteous indignation gave him a warm,
hopeful glow inside.

"They're trying to, yes, but it's not going
to get them anywhere. No chance in hell that bitch gets her hands on Mimi.
There will be questions asked, and social services will want to speak to us but
Robert has it in hand. All we have to do is convince them that we are a happily
married couple. Apparently Jennifer has them convinced that our marriage is a
sham, quite ironic really."

Elise's furious growl was the sexiest sound he'd
ever heard.

"Oh she does, does she? Well, we'll just
have to show her, won't we? We can do this Marco, you and me. It's the least I
can do after everything you've done for Jemima. Seriously, whatever did you see
in that woman?"

She leant forward to kiss him, and he was
grateful the darkness hid the tears in his eyes. He had his answer. She was
doing this for Mimi and out of gratitude for her sister. But, heaven help him,
he wanted so much more from her. He wanted the goddamn fairy-tale!

Chapter Twenty-Four

The pounding on the door found them fast asleep
in a tangle of arms and legs. The late morning sun made them both blink through
gritty eyes when Stella's loud voice rang through the heavy door.

"Marco, Elise? I take it you haven't killed
each other in there? Hello!
Dio Santo
, answer me!"

Elise had to smile at the expression in Marco's
eyes, as he groaned and buried his face in her shoulder. "Do you think she
will go away if we just ignore her,
tesoro
?"

"Urm, knowing Mamma G, I don't think that's
very likely." Elise felt his smile in the kiss on her shoulder, and right
on cue more furious pounding could be heard.

"
Dannazioni, Marco Giovanni, mi
risponde.
Elise, so help me I will leave you in there!"

Marco's amused, "Oh I wish you would, Zia
Stella," made Elise giggle before the click of the lock had her scrambling
under the covers. A frowning Mamma G stood in front of them. Her ice-blue eyes
raked them. Then she pointedly looked at the piles of clothes strewn across the
room. Heat rose in Elise's cheeks, and the blush spread all the way down to her
toes when Stella's gaze fell on her torn knickers. Stella smiled briefly and
nodded to herself.

She said something to Marco in Italian, which
made him laugh, and she turned about heel.

"When you're decent, come down to the
kitchen. I'm putting the coffee on."

Marco kissed her nose, his eyes tender.
"You heard her. We've been summoned, so best get dressed."

"Easy for you to say. You're not missing
your underwear!"

His light hearted chuckle wrapped itself round
her heart, whilst the sheepish look he threw her was in direct contrast to the
heat in his eyes.

"Yeah, sorry about that,
cara mia
.
What can I say? I can't resist you."

He ducked the cushion she threw at him with
another chuckle.

"Yes, you look
really
sorry,
Marco!"

 
"Would you like me to show you exactly
how sorry I am?" His suggestive drawl had her running from him. She slammed
the bathroom door shut behind her.

"I'll see you down stairs,
angelo mio.
Don't be too long. I expect you to rescue me from Mamma G."

Ten minutes later, having hastily freshened up
and feeling incredibly self-conscious in her knicker-less state, her mouth
watered at the delicious aroma of freshly brewed Italian coffee. Marco looked
up when she walked in, and his tense features relaxed. Elise walked into his
embrace. If he was holding her a bit too tightly, only she was aware of it.

"Well, it's good to see you two have sorted
out your differences. Have some coffee, Elise. You look as though you need
it."

She passed a steaming mug of freshly brewed
coffee across the breakfast bar, and Elise accepted it gratefully whilst
pulling her skirt a bit lower. A movement not lost on the elderly woman, and
Elise squirmed under her knowing smile. Marco's silent chuckle trembled through
her back, and she was all too aware of the heat once again creeping into her
cheeks.

Way to go, girl. Just make sure they both
know you have never gone commando before. Best just feign interest in that
coffee cup.

"Marco was just filling me in on the latest
developments with the custody case. I cannot believe the woman has the nerve to
fight this. She has never shown the slightest interest in that little girl. Now
Mimi is finally coming out of her shell she wants to see her. Over my dead
body. To think I once used to defend her. My past judgment has clearly been
seriously off." She threw a reassuring smile towards Elise. "I hope
you've made it clear to Robert that there is no way in hell we will ever allow
her to get her hands on Mimi, Marco."

"That goes without saying."

Marco's barely controlled groan resonated
through Elise, and she threaded her fingers through his. She earned herself a gentle
kiss on the neck which caused an army of butterflies to descend on her tummy.
Oh
my
, she was going to fall in love with him all over again if he kept this
up.

"How is Mimi this morning? She was up so
late last night and with all the excitement of the day, did she sleep well? I
know she tends to have nightmares when she's been that over-stimulated?"
Elise asked.

Stella's frown changed into a warm smile when
she replied,"Yes, she's fine. She asked after you, Elise. Well she asked
for Mamma Lissss to be precise, so I reckon that's you."

Elise's heart beat in a very strange rhythm, and
she furiously blinked away tears, dimly aware of Marco's soft exclamation in
Italian. He pulled her further into him.

"She said what? But she can't have,"
Elise said in a far too shaky voice.

Mamma G just smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
She said something in Italian to Marco and patted Elise's arm.

"Best get back to her. She'll want her
mamma, won't she, Marco?" Stella left them alone in the suddenly too small
kitchen.

Elise scrambled off her chair. She had to put
some distance between herself and Marco. She risked a glance at his face. How
was he reacting to this news? He was so protective of Mimi; she was half
expecting him to be furious. Just when they were getting on so well, too.

His soft curse made her jump.

 
"You
heard her. She needs her mama, so let's go."

They were silent on the drive back to Marco's,
both lost in their own thoughts. Marco's occasional glances towards her sent
her heartbeat into overdrive. If only she knew what he was thinking. He didn't
seem annoyed, but he didn't exactly look pleased either.

"We're home, Mamma."

Her startled gaze flew to his smiling face, and
she noticed that they had indeed made it home. When did that happen?

"Wha... what did you just call me?"
Instead of answering her, he scooped her up in his arms. He caught her shriek
of surprise in a passionate kiss which left her breathlessly clinging onto his
shoulders.
 
Marco carried her effortlessly
over the threshold, to all intents and purposes as though they had just gotten
married, past a smiling Agnes, who murmured something about young love, and
Elise buried her face in his shoulder.

"Put me down, you silly man. You'll hurt
your shoulder again."

"My shoulder is fine,
angelo mio."
He slid her slowly down his front his eyes full of deep emotion she didn't dare
analyse just then, even as her breathing sped up and her silly little heart
jumped in excitement like a rabbit in the morning dew.
 

 
"Papa, Mamma!" Mimi's excited shriek
broke the sensual spell between them, and Marco swung his daughter up on his
broad shoulders. Mimi giggled, and Elise had to turn away to hide her tears.

Marco's firm arm around her waist spun her back
around, and he kissed away her tears with such tenderness it took her breath
away, causing that rabbit inside her chest to go ballistic.

"Ach, look at ye three, it warms the
cockles of ma wee heart it does for sure. Oh and before I forget, there was a
phone call for ye, Elise, said she was ye sister and not to worry she was
okay."

The grip on her arm tightened for just an
instant before Marco handed Mimi to Agnes.

"Take Mimi to the kitchen, Agnes. We'll be
there in a minute."

Elise braced herself for the storm which never
came. Instead he watched her with a small smile on his face, He took her hand
and steered her towards his office.

He picked up the phone on his desk and
wordlessly handed her the receiver, after dialing and waiting for a response.

"It's okay,
cara mia.
Talk to
Jemima. I think you need to." He left her staring at his retreating back
in disbelief. Whatever had gotten into him?

Chapter Twenty-Five

"Are you sure you don't want me to keep
Mimi here, Agnes?" Elise asked for the second time this morning earning
herself one of the housekeeper's famous eye rolls.

"Ah balderdash, yae just enjoy the peace
an' quiet fer five minutes. Lord knows there's been enough going on over the
last few days. The wee lass loves that market, and I'll have her back before
yae know it."

Elise hugged Mimi, and Agnes bundled her out of
the door.

"Ciao, Mamma."

Elise blinked back tears. Every time the little
angel called her Mamma, Elise's heart skipped a few beats. It was a small
miracle she hadn't suffered cardiac failure in fact, with all the shocks to the
system her poor ticker had had to contend with lately.

And all of them caused by Marco. Thoughts of her
husband brought a wondering smile to Elise's lips. She had no idea what had
gotten into him since that night at Mamma G's, and she was too frightened of
rejection to allow herself to read too much into it, but he was a changed man.

She still couldn't believe his easy acceptance
of her contact with Jemima. A huge weight had lifted off her shoulders, knowing
that her twin was safe. But what had completely floored her had been Marco's
casual suggestion that perhaps they could meet up with Jemima, once the whole
custody thing was over and done with. He'd mentioned it over breakfast
yesterday. He'd peered at her over his financial times, to all intents and
purposes as though he didn't care either way, but he hadn't been able to hide
the white knuckled grip on the paper waiting for her reply.

Elise blushed, remembering how she had thrown
herself at him, sending that paper flying. Had it not been for Agnes and Mimi,
well, he wouldn't have made it to work that morning.

Were it not for the custody hearing looming over
them, life would be pretty much perfect right now. Marco played it down
whenever Elise mentioned it, but she couldn't help but worry. She would never
forgive herself if Rosie's accident would work against them. The visit from
social services had been harrowing to say the least.