Taken Over

by Penny Jordan

  ‘Ah, so innocent still. My father was right when he described you as an extremely rare and delicate flower. In Italy we know how to nurture and take care of such things, but somehow I suspect that your Englishman does not.’

  Cassie had no wish to be drawn into any unguarded criticisms of Joel or indeed anything that might betray the true state of her marriage to Bernardo. Flirtation was what Miranda had said and Cassie sensed that as long as Bernardo believed her to be happy in her marriage that was all he would indulge in. The problem was, as she readily admitted to herself; she was so unused to the heady intoxication of flattery and male attention that she stood in grave danger of taking it too seriously, of allowing herself to be drawn into something that she might later regret simply for the purpose of flexing her new-found feminine power. An affair with Bernardo pleasant though it might be in many ways, was not really what she wanted and yet, when she looked at him and saw the admiration in his eyes, she couldn’t quite help wondering what it would be like to be kissed by him; to be kissed indeed as a man did kiss a woman he found attractive and desirable. All the kisses she had received had been given in anger, resentment, punishment or just simply out of necessity, and she shivered suddenly, wondering if she would ever find someone to oust Joel from her heart, or if she was destined to spend the rest of her life yearning hopelessly for him. Live for the moment she advised herself, smiling gratefully as Bernardo expressed quick concern that she might be chilly.

  ‘I forget that I am wearing a suit,’ he told her, gesturing briefly to the extremely expensive and well-fitting garment he was wearing, ‘while you are dressed in no more than a few wisps of silk.’

  In point of fact Cassie was wearing a very pretty silk blouse teamed with a toning patterned skirt, but somehow Bernardo’s choice of words transformed these attractive but thoroughly respectable garments into something far more provocative and scanty. It was almost as though he already knew of the brief silk undies she was wearing next to her skin, and was indeed pleasurably employed in studying her in them.

  Cassie couldn’t remember enjoying anything quite as much as Nico’s birthday meal. Only the four of them were dining, Miranda having pronounced that since all his family were invited to the ball they could keep just to an intimate foursome without offending anybody.

  Nico had been genuinely thrilled with his present, kissing Cassie with affection. Miranda had bought him a small watercolour he had been coveting for some time, and Bernardo’s gift to his father was a beautiful antique firearm he had found, he told them, in a small shop in Brussels.

  Once the meal was over they sat chatting in the main salon until Cassie realised with a small start of surprise that it was well past midnight. Excusing herself she stood up.

  ‘Ah cara, if only I were your husband,’ Bernardo murmured irrepressibly, ‘My poor father would never get a report on my progress in Brussels.’

  ‘I think what he means is that were he married to you, he could use you as an excuse for not staying behind to give Nico his reports,’ Miranda interpreted. They all laughed, including Bernardo, but Cassie was aware of a glow of pleasure when she prepared for bed that night, that she could seldom remember experiencing before.

  Careful Cassie, she warned herself. He’s very attractive, but he’s also a flirt. So what, a tiny rebellious voice prompted dangerously. Why shouldn’t she enjoy Bernardo’s flirting; even respond to it a little. It was only a game after all, and so far there had been precious little opportunity for playing in her life. She was a married woman she reminded herself, feeling half guilty and half shocked by her own apparent metamorphosis of character. She had never imagined herself capable of such almost giddy behaviour before. Married yes, but married to a man who despised her; who was more than content to leave her completely alone, and who had already broken any vow of faithfulness he had made to her.

  The morning of the ball dawned fair and clear as all mornings in Florence appeared to do, and it passed in a confused bustle of organised chaos with deliveries seeming to arrive every few minutes, and caterers and other temporary staff milling around in the large villa kitchens and formal rooms.

  Carlo was coming to the villa in the late afternoon to do their hair, and Cassie now felt confident enough of her own ability to have no nervous fears about her make-up.

  Her gown was delivered shortly after lunch. Cassie had barely been able to eat, keyed up by an unanticipated sense of excitement she was loath to admit had anything to do with the admiring, amorous glances Bernardo kept giving her.

  ‘I told you he would fall for you didn’t I?’ Miranda murmured after lunch. ‘He’s very attractive isn’t he?’

  ‘Very,’ Cassie agreed. ‘I suspect it’s going to my head.’ She waited to see what her hostess would make of her admission but Miranda simply laughed and hugged her fondly. ‘Oh Cassie, I so much hoped it would. Bernardo is just what you need to provide the final touch of gloss…that air a beautiful woman glows with when she knows herself admired and desired. Tonight when Bernardo suggests the two of you walk through the gardens, as I am sure he will…go with him…’

  ‘And Joel?’ Cassie questioned cautiously. She knew what Miranda was saying to her; that she understood her suddenly emergent desire to try her new wings and that she was encouraging her to do so, but there was still Joel, Miranda’s son.

  ‘If my son chooses to neglect his wife, and another man tries to steal her from him, he only has himself to blame,’ Miranda told her softly. ‘Enjoy yourself tonight Cassie. Forget everything but the fact that you are young and beautiful.’

  Those words echoed in Cassie’s head as she stood in front of the mirror several hours later, trying to match the reflection of herself she now saw in the mirror with the one she remembered from before her visit to Florence. Gone was the dowdy plain girl she remembered and in her place stood a radiant woman, glowing with self-confidence, sure of herself and her femininity.

  Signora Tonli had excelled herself with the pale green dress. Tiny puffed sleeves slid artfully down Cassie’s arms in line with the discreetly low-cut bosom of her gown. From an almost impossibly small waist the fabric billowed out in a huge full skirt, made up of several layers of the soft green silk stiffened with further layers of stiff underskirts. The topmost layers of green silk were caught up at intervals with tiny bunches of white silk flowers, those same flowers threaded through Cassie’s hair, which for the occasion had been pinned up in a soft confusion of curls that emphasised the delicacy of her bone structure and the brilliance of her eyes. Eyes that gleamed almost as green as her dress, she noticed, checking her make-up anxiously. What would Miranda say when she saw her? Would she be pleased? Was she going to look over-dressed? A thousand tiny flutters of panic took flight in her stomach, and Cassie knew that if the door hadn’t opened to admit Miranda at that point she would have been in danger of losing all her confidence and refusing to go downstairs.

  ‘Let me look at you.’

  Dutifully Cassie twirled round on the delicate heels of the pale green silk sandals especially made to go with her gown, at the same time admiring Miranda’s elegant blue silk.

  ‘A visitation of youth,’ Miranda proclaimed half teasingly at last.

  ‘You don’t think it’s too young for me?’ Cassie asked anxiously. ‘Miranda I don’t…’

  ‘Shush, not a word more, it’s time we went down. Nico wants you to stand with us as we welcome our guests. That way we can introduce you to everyone.’

  It was Cassie’s first experience of a truly formal ball but after a while her nervousness disappeared and she found herself able to cope with the many introductions, smiling warmly at the guests, and agreeing that yes, it was a shame her husband could not be with them.

  It was eleven o’clock before the last guest arrived. A buffet supper was being served in the long gallery, and Cassie willingly accepted Bernardo’s escort there, trying not to blush too hard as he filled her ear with outrageous compliments—and suggestions.

  ‘Ah, to
night you look fresh and innocent enough to be unmarried…what a temptation you present… the look of innocence coupled with the knowledge of…’

  ‘A married woman,’ Cassie reminded him repressively. ‘I am married Bernardo.’

  ‘To a man who has not visited you once in nearly six weeks if my papa is to be believed. What manner of man is this husband of yours cara?’

  ‘A very busy one,’ Cassie told him dryly, trying not to let pain edge up under the words.

  ‘Too busy for his so lovely wife? When you think no one is looking you have an expression of great unhappiness. Why I wonder? Come,’ Bernardo added persuasively, ‘you cannot really be hungry—not after that lunch Maria made for us today. Let us walk through the gardens and you can whisper to me what makes you so unhappy.’

  On the point of refusing, of reminding him yet again that she was married, Cassie suddenly revolted. Why should she be at such pains to remember her vows; vows which she had given under duress. But she loved Joel, she reminded herself.

  ‘Come cara, before some other man steals you from me,’ Bernardo begged. ‘I am not blind, even if your husband is. You are a very desirable woman Cassie—more girl than woman tonight in that dress—and I do not intend to let one of my father’s guests steal you from me.’

  The garden had been transformed into a magical wonderland with what appeared to be thousands of coloured lanterns, and Cassie allowed herself to be caught up in the dreamy other-world quality the transformation evoked as Bernardo led her along rose scented paths in the direction of the small sunken garden at the far end of the rose walk.

  Private and secluded, Cassie had often reflected as she enjoyed the late afternoon sunshine in it, that the arbour must have been a trysting place for many pairs of lovers throughout the years. Now it was her turn.

  She knew that Bernardo was going to kiss her; might even make light love to her, but instead of shying away from him she went readily into his arms, suddenly marvellously soft and pliant, seeming to know with an instinct she hadn’t known she possessed, just what to do. His mouth feathered across hers, its warmth pleasant. Cassie closed her eyes automatically and then immediately wished she had not as Joel’s dark, hard features took possession of her mind. No matter how much she tried, she could not summon up Bernardo’s handsome, boyish face. She could not, she would not think about Joel while Bernardo was kissing her.

  ‘Cara… what is wrong? Where have you gone?’ Bernardo scolded against her mouth. ‘You…’ He broke off abruptly, his arms tensing round her and Cassie immediately opened her eyes. No wonder Bernardo was annoyed with her. There must indeed be something wrong with her, she thought blinking hard, because even with her eyes open all she could see was Joel’s hard angry face. It took several seconds for Cassie to realise that he wasn’t simply something conjured up by her over-active imagination, but there in the flesh, his eyes hard blue sapphires in the compelling darkness of his face as he watched her with thin-lipped anger.

  ‘Joel…what are you doing here?” Even as the words faltered into the tense silence Cassie realised the inanity of them. Bernardo had already released her, and taken a step away from her, as well he might, she thought distractedly gazing at Joel’s taller, harder frame.

  ‘I’m beginning to ask myself that same question,’ Joel responded in a grating voice. ‘I thought I’d come to collect my wife, and to attend a birthday party, but it seems I’ve only just arrived in time to…’

  ‘I shall leave you to your husband cara,’ Bernardo broke in hastily, ‘I must return to the house and my father’s guests…’

  ‘Yet another faint-hearted cavalier you chose for yourself,’ Joel mocked sarcastically when Bernardo had gone. ‘Again you’re left to face your husband’s wrath all alone.’

  ‘Perhaps because he knows there is no reason for you to feel anger,’ Cassie responded, thinking of the very brief caress she and Bernardo had shared, and how innocent and tentative it had been compared with Joel’s infidelities, but it seemed that Joel had misunderstood her because his mouth tightened, his fingers gripping her arms just below the pretty puff sleeves of her gown.

  ‘So you told him all about our marriage did you Cassie? About your husband, who is not your lover. What a pity I arrived before you had a chance to offer him your virginity, or have you already done so?’

  As he bent threateningly towards her Cassie caught the faint smell of alcohol on his breath. Panic beat fiercely inside her increasing the uneven thud of her heart. This was a Joel she did not recognise; his anger had been as cold and cutting as ice, now it possessed all the pent-up force of a volcano on the edge of eruption and she shivered despite the heat of the warm Italian night.

  ‘How did you know where to find me?’ she murmured, playing for time, wanting to steer him back to the comparative safety of the house before he unleashed against her the rage she could feel burning up inside him.

  ‘My mother told me,’ he told her, shocking her with his announcement. He laughed mirthlessly when he saw her face. ‘So you still possess some innocence then,’ he taunted. ‘No doubt she hoped to torment me with your infidelity the way she tormented my father with her own.’

  ‘No.’ Cassie’s denial was immediate and edged with pain. How could he be so bitter about his mother, so wrong in his assessment of her?

  ‘I see she has been busy in other directions as well,’ he added slowly, the fingers of one hand tangling in her soft curls while the other retained a punishing grip on her arm. The pressure of his fingers in her hair forced her head back so that he could inspect her face and body at leisure. Cassie’s skin burned under the explicit exploration of his glance as it slid slowly over her body.

  ‘Umm,’ he said at last. ‘It seems a pity to waste so much time and effort wouldn’t you say?’

  Not a word about her changed appearance Cassie thought furiously, not a single comment on how she looked, just that cold assessing scrutiny. She opened her mouth to give voice to her anger and almost reeled with shock as her parted lips were covered by the hard heat of Joel’s, his grip on her hair forcing her head back until she thought her neck would snap. It was no tentative, explorative kiss such as she had expected to share with Bernardo, but a fiercely sexual statement made by a man who wanted to stamp his mark of possession so clearly on her that it would stay with her all her life. Cassie swayed into his body, clutching the front of his jacket, too shocked to resist as his tongue probed the soft interior of her mouth, his teeth bruising the soft inner skin of her lips.

  Joel’s hand left her hair and slid down her back pressing her into him until her hands were trapped between their bodies, and she could feel the fierce beat of his heart. His mouth left her lips to explore the angle of her jaw, and the delicate curve of her throat. Fierce waves of pleasure exploded inside her, and unconsciously Cassie arched tentatively against him, her arms locking round him.

  ‘Cassie, Joel, are you there? We’re just about to cut the cake.’

  The sound of Miranda’s voice calling their names brought Cassie back down to earth. At the same moment as she tensed Joel released her, stepping back into the shadows so that she couldn’t read his expression.

  ‘Come on,’ he told her abruptly, ‘We’d better get back.’

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  ‘I STILL don’t understand how Joel knew it was Nico’s birthday,’ Cassie remarked in confusion, filling her coffee cup and wrapping her fingers round it.

  She and Miranda were alone in the villa. Nico had gone out with Bernardo, and Joel was staying at a hotel in Florence itself.

  ‘I wrote and told him,’ Miranda told her placidly. ‘Don’t you see, Cassie,’ she explained wryly, ‘I knew it would give him an excuse to come and get you without it being seen that he was giving in. Men are like that, my dear; very vulnerable through their pride. We women are far more practical.’

  ‘In other words you want to get rid of me,’ Cassie said half wondering if it was true.

  Miranda’s expression reassured h
er that it was not. ‘My dear girl you know that is not the case. Were it possible I would keep you here with me as long as I could, but that would be selfish of me. Your place is with Joel. He is your husband.’

  ‘For the next few months at least,’ Cassie agreed dryly. ‘He didn’t even comment on how I looked,’ she added thoughtfully, not aware that her eyes clouded as she spoke. ‘I don’t believe he even noticed.’

  ‘He noticed all right,’ Miranda assured her.

  ‘You sent him out into the garden deliberately, didn’t you?’ Cassie questioned her chidingly, ‘Knowing that I’d be with Bernardo?’

  Miranda smiled ruefully. ‘I thought the hint of a little competition might stir him up a little.’

  Cassie smiled sadly to herself. She knew that Miranda had hoped to make Joel jealous. Miranda still had hopes that somehow their mock marriage could be transformed into a real one, but Cassie had banished that foolish dream when she looked into Joel’s eyes in the garden and read nothing but contempt for her in them. True he had kissed her, but more as a punishment than anything else.

  ‘After all he is taking you home with him,’ Miranda pointed out.

  ‘Because he needs me as hostess for this party he is giving to celebrate the “merger” of our two companies,’ Cassie pointed out dryly.

  This had been something Joel had explained to her before leaving her the previous evening. Although the news of their marriage had done much to restore confidence in his own business venture, he had decided that a cocktail party to celebrate both their marriage and their ‘merger’ would help to further gild the lily, and he wanted Cassie there to act as his hostess.

  They were flying back to London later that afternoon. Joel had been curt with his mother and distant almost to the point of rudeness to Nico on the night of the party, and Cassie sighed, remembering the pain she had seen in Miranda’s eyes when she looked at him.