Too Cold To Love (6 page)

His thumb drew lazy circles on the back of her
hand. Circles that Elise felt all the way down to her toes, and her breathing
speeded up when she looked up and saw him watching her reaction. His intense
gaze dropped down to her breasts, which felt much heavier. Elise put one arm
across them to hide the effect his gaze was having on her, all too aware that
her nipples were straining against the confines of her bra. She tried to snatch
her hand away, but he kept a firm, but gentle hold. His other hand went under
her chin making her look up.

The heat in his gaze made her swallow, and Elise
licked her suddenly dry lips. Marco's eyes darkened, following that small
movement, and he rubbed one of his long fingers over Elise's bottom lip. His
mouth kicked up in a ghost of a smile. He released her abruptly when her phone
started ringing, cursing softly in Italian.

Elise blinked, recovered from the sensuous spell
Marco had woven over her and made a grab for her phone.

Jemima.
She had
to finally return her many phone calls when Marco was sitting right across from
her setting her female instincts into overdrive by the simple act of lifting
his wine glass to his full mouth.
Oh shit, I'm marrying that man tomorrow.

"Not going to answer that?"

Elise shook her head, but before she could put
the phone away, Marco snatched it out of her hand and looked at the display
with a frown.

"Who's Jemima?"

As he asked, the phone stopped ringing, and
Elise breathed a sigh of relief – short lived, as the phone started ringing
again. Damn, she would have to answer that. Jemima was nothing if not
persistent, and what if she was in some sort of trouble again?

It stopped, only to almost immediately start
again.

Marco handed the phone back to her. "Answer
it. Don't mind me. She seems most determined, whoever Jemima is."

****

Marco watched Elise's expressive face as she
finally answered that phone. She didn't seem very pleased to speak to this
Jemima. His ears pricked up when he heard Elise gasp.

"You cannot be serious, Jem! Where am I
supposed to get that sort of money from? No, I most certainly cannot… Well,
that's too bad; he will just have to wallow in it… I don't care…
No
…
Jem, grow up. You cannot carry on like this, and I can't believe you did that
to him…"

Elise threw him a glance that brought all of his
instincts on high alert. Were they taking about him? His eyes narrowed as he
continued to listen.

"No, Jemima, he did not deserve it… What
did you expect, of course he would… That is none of your business… Enough, Jem…
I can't… I won't…. Jem, how dare you? I have always looked out for you, always,
but I cannot do this, not now, not ever and… "

The tension was coming off his little
pasticcino
in waves as she snapped her phone shut. Her delicate features were so pale that
the two enticing freckles on her jaw stood out very clearly. Marco shifted in
his seat to relieve the sudden pressure in his groin. Tomorrow, he would only
have to wait till tomorrow.

The tears in Elise's eyes brought him up short.
Dannazioni
,
he could never resist a crying woman. His papa, God rest his soul, drummed it
into him from knee-high that women had to be protected. How many times had he
fallen for that old trick? His ex-wife had cried over everything. Like the
lovesick fool that he'd been he had believed the tears every fucking time,
until he'd caught her red handed in bed with his best friend.

There was a crack as the delicate stem of his
wine glass broke in his hand.
Damn it all to hell.

Elise jumped, her eyes huge.

"Marco, are you ok?"

"I'm fine, woman. Don't fuss. Who was on
the phone, and don't say that phone call wasn't important. Like I said I find
myself curious about my fiancée, so spill."

He had to strain to hear the whispered words.

"She's my sister, and she's in
trouble."

Chapter Seven

She had a sister? Why did he not know about
this? And why was she not looking at him? Damn it all, what was the woman
hiding now?

"What sort of trouble?"

Elise just shook her head still refusing to look
at him, shredding the napkin in front of her.

"Damn it, woman, answer me. We're getting
married tomorrow, and I know next to nothing about you, so tell me!"

She surprised him by throwing her shredded
napkin at him, slivers of white falling like confetti. Color rose in her
cheeks, her eyes blazing, and her full lips down turned in disgust.

"Suddenly that bothers you? You have
blackmailed me into this, not listened to anything I had to say about any of
this and now you want to know about me? Why? Afraid my sister is an Axe
murderer? Maybe you should have thought of that before arranging this
charade."

Marco had to smile at the sudden passionate
outburst, and he couldn't help but wonder whether she would be this passionate
in the bedroom. God, he sure hoped so. His smile deepened as he took in the way
her erratic breathing made her full breasts dance in front of him. Right now he
could kiss whoever designed that dress she was so beautifully filling out.

"Don't you dare laugh at me you arrogant,
piece of … argh!" Elise ran out of steam, her tawny eyes filling with
tears which she resolutely blinked away before finishing the almost full
wineglass she had been nursing all through lunch in one angry swallow.

"If it wasn't for Mimi, I would rather go
to jail then marry the likes of you. But that would leave her at the mercy of
whomever else you might bring in instead for this crazy plan of yours. She has
had too many changes already!"

Marco did laugh then, a cold harsh sound.

"Keep my daughter out of this if you know
what's good for you. Lucky for all concerned you have agreed to marry me, and
quite frankly I am not at all averse to dragging you in front of the registrar
kicking and screaming, if need be. Now your sister – and I want the truth,
woman, now!"

He watched her take a deep breath, one hand
fisting the table cloth and the other clutching her wineglass as though her
life depended on it.

Just as he thought he would have to add more
pressure for her to open up, Elise's words tumbled out, hesitant at first, then
faster and faster, and Marco leant forward enthralled by what he was hearing.

"Jemima has always been in trouble over
something for as long as I can remember. She used to drive Mummy insane and
usually tried to get me into trouble along the way. More often than not it
worked. If Mum had ever known half of the things she got up to… I am older, so
have always had to be the responsible one, especially when Mummy got sick.
Jemima just kicked off even more, she couldn't cope with it, and in the end
…"

Dannazioni
, she
went so pale, and there was so much pain in her voice he couldn't help himself.
Marco reached across. One thumb wiped away the tears that fell silently – not
attention seeking loud sobs, like Jennifer had used – just a quiet desperation
that cut straight through all of the carefully constructed layers of ice around
his heart.

"What happened,
pasticcino?"

"Mummy died within two months of being
diagnosed with ovarian cancer. It had spread to every organ of her body, and
she was riddled with it. She made me promise to look after Jemima before she
died. She was in so much pain at the end. It was awful."

Elise's voice broke again, and damn it, he
needed to hold her. This brought back too many memories of his parents. Marco
threw some money on the table and, grabbing Elise, made a dash for the exit.
Somehow he got them back to the car, and once they were safely inside pulled
Elise on his lap, her tears seeping into the front of his shirt.

"How old were you,
pasticcino
?"

Elise mumbled, "Ten", into his chest,
and Marco closed his eyes whilst kissing her hair and whistling under his
breath.

He felt Elise push against his now damp chest,
and he reluctantly let her go watching her warily. Her beautiful eyes were red
rimmed, her hair a mess, where he ran his hands through it in a futile effort
to offer some comfort. Hah, he was offering comfort, whatever next. But heaven
help him, he wanted to make all that pain go away for her. No child should have
to deal with this.

He smiled grimly remembering his own parent's
car accident that had robbed him of their loving guidance when he was sixteen.
That had been bad enough, and he'd had the rest of the Giovanni to help him
through.

"What about your dad?"

Elise shrugged her shoulders. "He left us
when we were very little. I can't remember much about him, just the arguments
he used to have with Mummy."

Damn the man, if he could get his hands on the
good for nothing bastard.

"He didn't come for you, when your mother
died?"

"No, we were put into one foster home after
the other. I tried my best, but Jemima, well, she has a mind of her own, and
she acts before she thinks. She has always been the prettier and more
flamboyant one. Men flock to her, and she just laps it up."

"Don't sell yourself short,
pasticcino
."

He frowned at Elise's short laugh.

"Trust me, men always want her not me, not
that I mind. Men are nothing but trouble, if Jemima's
adventures
are
anything to go by.
 
I mean look at her
latest boyfriend. He's some weird rocker dude that she is jet setting round
Europe with, and now he's landed himself in jail for possession of drugs for
pity's sake, and she expects me to bail her out again. Well, she can sing for
it. She really can. Besides I haven't got the money she wants, and even if I
did, she has gone too far this time. Drugs, Marco. She's insane I tell you,
insane!"

Some of the colour had come back into her
cheeks, and Marco's smile turned wicked when she seemed to remember whose lap
she was sitting on.

"
Europe
,
eh. And how did she get the tickets for the trip, Elise?"

He chuckled as her colour increased, and she
threw him a worried glance.

"Did I pay for those tickets by any chance?
Elise?"

At her barely visible nod he sighed.

"Why didn't you ask me?"

"Ask
you
? Yeah right, as if you'd
have ever said yes."

Marco shifted in his seat, his conscience
pricking at him. In all fairness, he probably wouldn't have listened. She had
annoyed him far too much back then, with her garish clothes and her sharp
tongue. Heaven only knew what that Jemima must be like,if Elise thought she was
the conservative one. His eyes hurt just trying to imagine what Jemima must
dress like, bearing in mind the outfits he had made Agnes burn. That had been
an ingenious plan of his. Once again his eyes ran over the delightful curves
her dress displayed, and he moved one hand deliberately just under the short
skirt, delighting in her gasp and the way she tried to clamp her thighs
together.

An action that made her wriggle enough to have
his cock tighten painfully.

He chuckled to himself when she noticed, her
brown eyes turning huge before she tried to wriggle off his lap.

"Not so fast, woman, you owe me
remember."

Elise put her hand on his mouth stopping him
from kissing her.

"No need to constantly remind me of that. I'm
all too aware that you bought me for your own ends, but that doesn't start
until we're married Mr."

"More's the pity,
pasticcino,
but
have it your way, for now."

****

Elise sat in the Land Rover wondering what was
taking Marco so long. He had stopped in a back street outside a shabby looking
tailor’s, and he'd been ages, mumbling something about last minute wedding
arrangements.

Elise had palpitations just thinking about the
wedding. Earlier in the car had been bad enough. She had wriggled off his lap
in a hurry, her hand tingling where he licked it when she had stopped him from
kissing her. His eyes singed her with the heat of their gaze, and she'd been
all too aware of his clearly visible erection, through the tailored trousers.
She highly doubted that he would ever let her wriggle away again, once they
were married.

He surprised her with his quietly uttered
question.

"Do you want me to bail your sister out? I
can afford it, after all. It'll be too late to get her to the wedding,
but…"

"No, no, no, no!"

He cocked one eyebrow at her vehement denial,
and Elise cursed herself for a fool when his gaze turned suspicious.

"Why not, she is your sister after all, and
we only get one family."

"I know that, Marco, but really, she needs
to learn a lesson."

"Ok, I'll get Robert on the case, though,
in case she needs legal counsel."