Untouched Until Marriage (7 page)

‘I don't know what to do,' she admitted helplessly, terrified of the enormity of the decision facing her.

‘Yes, you do,' Raul insisted. ‘You must do what is best for Gino, and in your heart you know he needs me.'

He was so strong, so self-assured, and after months of worrying about Gino's health and struggling to cope with her grief at Liz's death, Libby felt so tired. ‘Maybe you're right,' she said numbly.

‘I am.' Raul's voice rang with conviction and a heady feeling of triumph swept through him. Libby need never know that his overriding reason for suggesting that they should marry was so that he could take full control of Carducci Cosmetics. He had not been lying when he had told her that he wanted to be Gino's father, or that he wanted them to have children together. Once they were married he would do his best to ensure she quickly fell pregnant; that way she would be too busy caring for a toddler and preparing for the arrival of another baby to realise that she no longer had control of Gino's shares in the company.

Raul could see the indecision in Libby's eyes and sensed the battle waging inside her head. He was renowned in the boardroom as a brilliant tactician, and, sensing victory, he deliberately softened his voice. ‘It is in your power to give your son the stable family life you longed for when you were a child. Say yes for Gino's sake,
cara
.'

 

She couldn't do it. She could not marry a man who did not love her. Could she? Libby's eyes snapped open, and after hours of tossing and turning in bed she finally acknowledged that she was never going to fall asleep while Raul's astounding proposal was going round and round in her head.

She had fled from his study last night after telling him that she needed time to think, but in the pearly softness of dawn her emotions were still in turmoil. Wearily, she threw back the sheets and slipped out of bed, crossing to the window that overlooked the lake. The water was silvery-grey in the early-morning light, reflecting here and there the pink clouds above as the sunrise slowly stained the sky.

‘You must do what is best for Gino, and in your heart you know he needs me.'
Raul's words haunted her, for she could not deny the truth of them. Gino needed a father. She believed Raul when he had said that he wanted to adopt the little boy and care for him as Pietro had cared for
him
. Did she have the right to deny Gino what she had wanted more than anything when she was a child: a father, and the security of being part of a proper family, living in a proper home?

She had never felt secure when she and Liz had lived in the commune. When they had eventually moved back to England the other kids at school had been envious of her unconventional upbringing, but the reality was that she had never felt as though she belonged anywhere or to anyone. The adults at the commune had for the most part been absorbed in their own lives, and the children had been undisciplined and unruly, with the older ones frequently bullying the younger ones. Libby had learned to be tough to survive, but she did not want the same for
Gino. Children needed rules and boundaries as well as love to help them feel safe, and the fact that Gino would one day inherit a fortune meant that it was vital he had people around him he could trust.

She did not need to marry Raul for him to be a father figure to Gino. But he had told her he would like children of his own. He was embittered by his divorce now, but if she turned him down it was conceivable that in the future he would marry someone else and draw Gino into his new family. The idea of Gino having a stepmother made her blanch. What if Raul and his wife wanted to take Gino away on holiday? And what would happen at Christmas? Would she spend it alone, while Gino celebrated the day with Raul and his family?

She hugged her arms around her, trying to marshal her thoughts. Wouldn't it be better to agree to a loveless marriage and give Gino the stable family he deserved? When her mum had died she had vowed to devote herself to him and do what was best for him, and in a moment of calm clarity she accepted that marrying Raul and allowing him to be a father to Gino was indisputably the greatest gift she could give her orphaned baby brother.

 

Brilliant sunlight slanted across Libby's face and dragged her from sleep. She sat up, disorientated, and stared blankly at the clock, which showed that it was ten o'clock. She remembered now. Having finally made up her mind to accept Raul's proposal she had fallen back into bed, hoping to catch an hour's sleep before Gino stirred. But she had slept for much longer than she had intended. Gino should have had a dose of his antibiotic at seven, along with a bottle of milk and breakfast…

Heart pounding with panic, she jumped up and shot into the adjoining sitting room, stopping dead at the sight of Raul stretched out on the floor, building towers of wooden bricks which Gino delightedly knocked down.

Two sets of dark eyes focused on her: one pair flecked with amber, which lit up as she moved forward, the other pair as black as midnight and gleaming with sensual heat as they trailed over her wild hair and sunflower yellow nightshirt.

‘I can't believe I slept so late,' she burst out, hastily dragging her gaze from Raul's mouth. She focused on Gino and was gratified when he greeted her with a beaming smile and crawled over to her with the speed of a missile. ‘Hello, baba,' she murmured, her voice aching with love for the baby as she scooped him up and rubbed her cheek over his silky black curls. ‘Has he been okay with you? I mean, he's only ever had me to care for him,' she explained, when Raul's eyebrows rose in silent query. ‘He was due his next dose of medicine at—'

‘Silvana gave it to him when he had his breakfast,' Raul interrupted her. ‘The maid said you were fast asleep, so I sat him in his pushchair and took him for a stroll down by the lake.'

‘Oh.' Libby stared at him, disconcerted by the idea of Raul taking Gino off without her. ‘I hope he was warm enough. It's important to wrap him up while he has his cough.'

‘The thermometer on the patio was showing eighteen degrees Celsius at eight o'clock this morning,' Raul in
formed her dryly. ‘As for Gino's respiratory problems— I've made an appointment for him to see a specialist in Rome next week.'

Relief flooded through Libby. ‘Thank you. I've been so worried about him,' she admitted. She bit her lip, wondering how to broach the subject of Raul's marriage proposal. Part of her still wondered if she had dreamed the whole thing, and before she could say anything there was a light tap on the door and Silvana appeared.

‘I thought Gino might be ready for a nap,' the nanny said with a smile. As if on cue the baby yawned widely.

‘I'm sure he is,' Libby agreed, her heart lurching when Silvana took Gino through to the nursery, leaving her alone with Raul. She tensed as he strolled over to her, every nerve-ending in her body suddenly tingling when he slid his hand beneath her chin and tilted her face.

‘Did you sleep well,
cara
?' As he spoke he lightly touched the give-away dark circles beneath her eyes, and Libby shook her head ruefully.

‘No.' She did not explain the reason for her disturbed night, but the shadows in her eyes and the way she tugged her bottom lip with her teeth told their own story. An unbidden feeling of tenderness surged through Raul. She was so young, and so fiercely protective of her son, but there was a vulnerability about her that tugged on his heart. He had expected her to jump at the opportunity to marry a billionaire, he admitted wryly. But instead she had clearly been awake all night, debating the best thing to do for Gino.

‘Do you doubt that I will love Gino as much as if he were my own flesh and blood?' he said softly.

Libby was drowning in the liquid warmth of his gaze. ‘No, I don't doubt that,' she whispered, unable to tear her eyes from his mouth that was so tantalisingly close to hers. She forced herself to concentrate and voice her doubts. ‘It's just that we don't know each other. We're practically strangers.'

Raul heard the note of panic in her voice and once again felt the curious sensation that his heart was being squeezed. ‘That is something I intend to remedy over the next couple of weeks. I have arranged to work from the villa, so that I can spend some time with you and Gino, and I will only go to Rome when it is absolutely necessary for me to be at the office.'

‘I see.' Libby wet her lips, and her heart began to pound when his head moved imperceptibly lower. ‘That will be…good.'

The electricity in the atmosphere crackled, searing them both, and Raul could no longer resist the lure of her moist pink lips. ‘Let me show you how good it will be between us,' he said hoarsely. ‘I do not only want to marry you for Gino's sake. There is something powerful between us—attraction, chemistry, it doesn't matter what you call it—and it was there from the moment we laid eyes on each other. I challenge you to deny you feel it too.'

‘I can't,' Libby admitted shakily, but her voice was no more than a fragile breath, lost beneath the hungry pressure of his lips as he caught her to him and brought his mouth down on hers in a kiss that plundered her soul.

She did not even try to resist. This was where she wanted to be, Libby accepted silently as she wound her arms around his neck to mould her body even closer to
his. Her lashes drifted down, her senses focused on the slightly abrasive feel of his skin against cheek and the firm, demanding pressure of his mouth moving on hers in a slow tasting before he pushed his tongue between her lips and explored her with a bold eroticism that made her tremble.

When at last he lifted his head she stared at him dazedly, shaken not so much by his passion but by the faint tenderness she glimpsed in his eyes before his expression was hidden by the sweep of his thick black lashes.

‘Will you be my wife, Libby, and allow me to be Gino's father?'

She suddenly felt so emotional that for a moment she could not speak. Maybe every woman felt the same way when faced with a marriage proposal, she told herself. But it meant nothing; Raul meant nothing to her, or she to him. The only reason to accept was an orphaned baby boy. She swallowed the lump in her throat and said steadily, ‘Yes'.

His smile stole her breath, but to her disappointment he did not kiss her again, or carry her off to bed and make love to her as she had secretly hoped he would.

‘I have some calls to make, so I'll leave you to get dressed,
cara
. Meet me on the terrace for lunch, and we can discuss the wedding.'

 

Two hours later Libby went to the nursery to collect Gino, and discovered that Raul had not wasted any time in announcing their engagement.

Silvana greeted her with a beaming smile. ‘May I offer my congratulations, Libby? Signor Carducci told me that the two of you are to be married, and that he
intends to adopt the
bambino
. He will be a wonderful father,' she said approvingly. ‘I have seen how much he cares for Gino. I hope that you will be very happy.'

‘Thank you.' Libby settled Gino on her hip and made her way along the rabbit-warren of corridors to the main part of the house. As she walked down the central staircase she saw Raul's aunt Carmina emerge from the dining room, and her heart sank when the older woman moved purposefully to the bottom of the stairs, clearly in a furious temper.

‘You must think you are very clever.' Carmina launched into her attack as soon as Libby reached the bottom stair. ‘First Pietro, and now Raul—both seduced by your youthful body and no doubt your expertise between the sheets. I credited Raul with more sense than to get involved with his father's whore,' she spat viciously. ‘I can only think he has lost his sanity if he seriously intends to marry you.'

Libby was determined not to show that she was shaken by the vitriol in Carmina's voice, but she instinctively tightened her arms around Gino. ‘I didn't seduce anyone,' she defended herself angrily. ‘Raul was perfectly sane when he asked me to marry him—and why shouldn't I be his wife? You know nothing about me, and you have no right to make horrible insinuations about my character.'

‘You are a cheap tart who deliberately went after my brother-in-law because you knew he was wealthy, and struck lucky when you conceived his child,' Carmina told her with icy contempt. ‘Pietro and I…' Her voice quivered slightly. ‘We should have been together—and would have been if he hadn't lost his head over
you
.'

Libby frowned. ‘But I thought that Pietro's wife—your sister—died ten years ago? Surely if he had felt anything for you he would have told you in all that time?'

She bit her lip, feeling a pang of sympathy for Raul's aunt, who had clearly been in love with Pietro. No wonder Carmina hated her when she believed Libby had been Pietro's mistress. But even if she could reveal the truth Libby doubted Carmina would feel any happier that Pietro had had an affair with her mother.

‘I'm sorry,' she murmured, and immediately realised that her apology had only fuelled the other woman's rage.

‘You should not be here—you and your illegitimate son. The Villa Giulietta has been owned by the Carducci family for generations, and it will be a tragic day if a common whore becomes its mistress.'

Libby gasped in shock at the other woman's rudeness. ‘Look, I realise you're upset, but you have no right to talk to me like that,' she said shakily. ‘Raul—'

‘Raul keeps his brains in his underpants, and all he is interested in is getting into your knickers. He has had hundreds of women, but he never keeps them for very long,' Carmina said contemptuously. ‘Don't get too comfortable here, Ms Maynard, because he will soon grow bored with you—and then he will replace you in his bed.'

Carmina swung round and swept regally across the hall, leaving Libby feeling sick as she stared after her. ‘She's a poisonous old bat,' she told Gino, and gave a rueful smile when he grinned at her, happily unaware of the unpleasant scene that had just taken place.