REGENCY: Loved by the Duke (Historical Billionaire Military Romance) (19th Century Victorian Short Stories)

by Tencia Winters

  Ric had to laugh.

  “Well, my plane sure will wait for Mrs. Drago!”

  They stepped out of the building. In front of them parked the planes waiting for the passengers to enter.

  “What do you mean with your plane?” Bliss asked.

  Ricardo grabbed her hand. Bliss stopped moving forward. He pointed towards a smaller jet on the side. It had red carpet rolling down on the boarding stairs. Balloons and bouquets of flowers were attached around its door.

  “I mean that it is my private jet,” he said softly. “Bliss,” he added, “will you marry me for real?”

  Bliss felt tears accumulating in her eyes.

  “Ric,” she said, “you are sure not one hundred percent normal.”

  A guy with a camera appeared in front of them.

  “Smile for the picture,” Ric whispered to her. Then she kissed Bliss on her lips.

  Now, that was also something new. They had kissed before on previous Christmas days but those kisses were nothing like this. As if Ricardo had lost his self-control, as if he forgot about this all being just a show. He kissed with a demanding mouth, he kissed her as if there was a chance of going forward. Bliss could not control her own mouth and kissed Ricardo back with her full heart. The guy with the camera kept on clicking. Time had lost its meaning.

  They departed from New York and landed in Vegas.

  The ceremony was swift and simple. Before Bliss knew she had become officially Mrs. Ricardo Drago.

  Her husband rented a villa for them in MGM Resort’s Mansion.

  It had been a long day and Bliss attempted to say goodbye at the door of her room.

  “Are you saying I cannot even enter my own wife’s room?” Ricardo demanded with a playful voice.

  Bliss could not decide whether he was serious or not. Part of her wanted this to happen, but another part warned her of falling for a friend who had such an illustrious record as a womanizing bachelor. Maybe it was nothing more just his habits. True men had to keep on pushing while worthy women had to keep on denying their advances.

  “Ric, I’m sleepy,” she protested.

  “Right,” Ric answered. His voice turned back to normal as if he realized that sex was no part of their deal at any point. “We are going to have a long day tomorrow,” he added.

  “Good night,” Bliss said.

  Ricardo bent ahead and kissed her on the cheek.

  “And good night to you,” he said.

  Bliss pushed her door in and stepped inside her room. She shut it behind her not even caring whether Ricardo was still standing there.

  High life sure was beautiful but it tested her endurance to its limit.

  She undressed hastily and slipped under the blankets on her bed.

  She fell asleep even before she had a chance to realize that gifts of all kinds in neat wrapping were piled up on the carpet in the middle of the room.

  Chapter 3

  A series of urgent knocking on her door woke Bliss in the morning. She got out of the bed drowsily. Her hair was messed up and she did not even dare to think about the state of her makeup. The series of knockings continued and she had no choice but to answer immediately to the early intruder.

  “Yes,” she yawned with one hand on the doorknob.

  “It is your darling husband, my dear,” she heard Ricardo from the corridor.

  Her husband, right. She had to smile over the thought. She opened the door.

  “You know I need a certain amount of sleep in order to maintain my beauty,” she said half-jokingly. But Ricardo was not in a funny mood. He stepped into her room in a shipshape outfit and shook his head in disappointment.

  “We have so much to do,” he said, “and you have not even checked your gifts yet.”

  Bliss blinked around sleepily. There was indeed a huge heap of boxes in fancy wrappings waiting for her in the middle of the room.

  “Oh, Ric,” she muttered, “this is only the first day of our marriage but you are already spoiling me.”

  Ricardo teared one of the boxes open and took out a winter dress, the most beautiful dress Bliss had ever seen. Maybe the weather was a bit too cold at this time of the year to actually wear it, but even so it was something that popped Bliss’s eyes wide open.

  “Is that for me?” she asked.

  “Yes,” Ricardo answered, tearing up one box after the other, “all of it.”

  Bliss stepped next to him and kissed his cheek. Ricardo’s skin was so soft and silky, her lips wanted more. Her kisses slowly advanced upwards from his sharp jawline towards the corner of his mouth.

  Ricardo knew very well what wonders a couple of new clothes could initiate in a woman’s soul. For a second he considered that maybe this was the right occasion to cross that line separating him and Bliss from the very beginning. But, shameful as it was, they simply did not have time for indulging in pleasures.

  “Please,” he stopped Bliss, “choose a couple of sets that you were going to wear today.”

  Bliss felt a bit disappointed that he turned her down. Last night it seemed that Ricardo was the one hitting on her. Anyway, with all those brand new luxurious garments laying around, she could not feel low longer than a second. Kneeling down she started to inspect from up close one piece of cloth after the other.

  “They are all beautiful,” she sighed.

  “You can keep them all,” Ricardo assured her, “but please, you should choose maybe four sets, wear the first one and pack the rest in a bag. You will have to keep changing clothes on our way through the city.”

  “On the streets?” Bliss asked not even paying attention. She was occupied with the clothes, already trying to find pieces that matched well to each other.

  “Not on the streets,” Ricardo said impatiently, “you can do it in the car, or in restaurants. I do not care, just pack them up. How long you need?”

  “About an hour.”

  “An hour?” he surely expected less. Bliss did not even answer.

  “Okay,” Ricardo said, “I will be waiting downstairs in the restaurant.”

  “Do that,” Bliss agreed.

  She met him in the restaurant in minutes less than the full hour. Ricardo was impressed. Not only because of her punctuality which was not one of the chief virtue of the other women who he usually dated. That combination of black cotton pants, a tight woolen shirt, and a dark brown woolen cloak with a hood just transformed Bliss into the perfect woman. Bliss came in and spun around on her heels, celebrating her newly found seductive power.

  The thought of how come he never really tried anything seriously with Bliss crossed Ricardo’s mind.

  No time for it right now, he realized immediately.

  “You are beautiful,” he complimented.

  “You are not such a bad catch either, Mr. Drago.” Bliss really meant it. She had often thought about Ricardo as sensual, handsome, dominating, mysterious, confident, and many other attractive things. But by now she also knew that spending time with him was pure fun, every second from the beginning of this last day together.

  People sitting at other tables also complimented. That was too much for Ricardo. He got up, grabbed her gently by the arm, and walked out of the restaurant.

  “You have the other sets my amazing wife?” he asked teasingly.

  Bliss showed him a bag that she held in her other hand.

  “All has been done according to your instructions my darling,” she answered. This continuous teasing, the complimenting, the ‘darlings’ and ‘dears’ – the line separating the lie from reality started to slowly disappear.

  Ricardo kissed her on the lips. It was invigorating.

  “Let’s go then,” he said with a smile on his face that suggested he just knew exactly how that kiss felt.

  “Okay,” Bliss agreed.

  They walked up to the entrance of the hotel complex. A grey Rolls Phantom was waiting for them. Behind the wheel sat Jake.

  “Giacomo,” Bliss greeted him.

  “Mrs. Drago,” he
sent a polite smile in return.

  “Take this,” Ricardo pointed at the bag Bliss was holding, “and let’s get moving. Where is the photographer?”

  That guy had the instincts of a natural born paparazzi. He just showed up at the right place at the right time again. Took a couple of shots from different angles and then without a word got in the car on the front seat. Jake opened the door for Bliss first. Then for Ricardo. He paid his respect to both of them with his little bows.

  “What is this guy doing here?” Bliss asked Ricardo.

  “He is my driver,” Ricardo said.

  “No, the other.”

  “Ah, he is a photographer.”

  “I can see that,” Bliss said and elbowed Ricardo in the ribs. Touching each other felt so satisfying. Unlike earlier times, it was pure, passionate excitement to sit so close to Ric. He might have been thinking along the same lines, because he grabbed her poking arm and drew Bliss closer.

  “He is going to help us to make up for years of nonexistent memories of our happy marriage.” Ricardo said mysteriously. “Smile for the picture,” he whispered into her ear.

  The photographer turned around and started clicking his machine. Bliss smiled, it came easily. She had never felt happier.

  They drove up and down in the city, taking pictures. Ricardo’s grand plan was to change clothes every time before they arrived to the next themed casino. They went to Paris, they went to Egypt, they went to Venice, and they went to Hollywood. All that happened in less than twelve hours. The photographer was a genius – Bliss had her doubts first but taking those pictures from the right angle, the whole scheme just became very plausible.

  They ended up in a casino.

  “You remember we went to Vegas four years ago on our honeymoon,” Ricardo told Bliss when the Phantom stopped in front of the Bellagio. “I think you insisted on the Bellagio, just because you love Italian. Italian like your husband and his family, right sweetheart?” he asked. By that time they both had a couple of drinks. A beautiful day was about to end at the most glamorous place possible. The closest Bliss had ever got to the famous hotel before was when she watched Ocean’s Eleven.

  “You think we should?” she asked Ricardo timidly.

  “Oh, my love,” Ricardo answered, “I’m afraid we absolutely must. We must produce evidence of our honeymoon.”

  Among a thousand light beams, among elegantly dressed men and women, among gamblers, pushers, other billionaires, and other honeymoon travelers, they entered the Bellagio arm in arm and on high spirits. The photographer followed them like a shadow that would refuse to disappear even in complete darkness.

  Ricardo bought a couple of grands worth of chips. They sat down at the nearest roulette table.

  “What should we bet on?” he asked Bliss.

  “I really do not know,” she answered. “This is my first time in a casino,” she confessed.

  “That only makes your pick luckier,” Ricardo encouraged her.

  “What about eleven black?” she asked.

  “Yeah eleven black is always a good bet,” he agreed with sparks of attraction igniting in his eyes. “I love the way you fill out that dress!”

  “It is all yours,” Bliss laughed, “the dress and everything in it.”

  “That’s plenty,” Ricardo said and placed his bet.

  It won.

  The room exploded around them. People from all around gathered just to congratulate them.

  “We are on our honeymoon,” Ricardo shouted, “a round of drinks for everyone on my account.”

  He swiftly became popular.

  When they had enough of the gambling, they decided that it was time to dance. Finding a club at four in the morning was more than easy. After all they were in Vegas.

  The last thing Bliss consciously registered was Ricardo’s strong hand grabbing her buttocks. Their bodies stuck together and they swayed away the night following the eternal rhythm…

  Chapter 4

  Sensual lighting. Moans. Throbs. Rhythmic pulsation. Pure pleasure of the sexual kind. Bliss reached the peak for the second time in Ricardo’s arms. But there was no sign of a pause just yet.

  She was laying on her back, her long black silky hair spread all over the sheets under her head, back, and shoulders. Like an angel of voluptuary with a glorifying hairpiece that shimmered in an appealing halo. Stroke after stroke, Ricardo pushed her higher and higher. Bliss had never even believed that there was a place on Earth for such heavenly pleasure. Just before she came for the third time, Ricardo stopped and pulled himself out. His still hard private part touched the inner side of her thigh, driving her even madder with excitement.

  “Do not stop,” she whispered.

  Ricardo answered her plea with a long, passionate kiss. He had a smart tongue. He kept kissing her, moving downwards inch by inch. When he reached her ripe nipple, Bliss’s body stiffened in a bent position because of that overwhelming rush of joy that spread all over her.

  “I can take no more,” she moaned.

  Ricardo turned her over. She buried her head among the pillows. Ricardo held a couple of strands of her hair together in one of his hands. With the other he guided himself back into her.

  “You are amazing,” he panted on the back of her.

  Ricardo intensified the rhythm. Bliss could not remain silent any longer. Her voice pierced through the pillows. She was screaming with joy, then seconds later, moaning with satisfaction. This time Ricardo also came.

  She could feel the throbs on her buttocks. Also the streams of something cold dripping down between her thighs. Ricardo lay down on the top of her body and kissed the nape of her neck.

  “My pleasure Mrs. Drago,” he said in a very low voice.

  Bliss turned her head sideways. Ricardo breathed a kiss onto the corner of her mouth.

  “Like in a dream,” he whispered into her ear.

  This was something Bliss never even dared to dream about before.

  Ricardo slipped next to her on the bed.

  “Why have we never done this before?” he asked. His eyes were narrow and tired.

  Bliss felt the exact same way. She kissed him on the mouth for the last time and fell into a deep slumber.

  The sensual lighting faded into complete darkness. Good, Bliss thought, sleep tight my brand new husband.

  She closed her eyes but they popped open in what felt mere seconds. The sun was up, bright rays of cold light filled the room.

  The first thing that run through Bliss’s mind was that what on Earth had just happened. She sat up in the bed, covering her naked body with her blanket.

  Ricardo was nowhere.

  Thanks God, she thought.

  Just a dream.

  But what a dream, she reminded herself. What a stupid little dream of a drunk girl.

  Although for a dream it was especially vivid. She felt the memory of his body against hers. She could recall every odd, little detail: starting with the shape of Ricardo’s dong and ending with the way he bit her nipple. She realized with a dreamy smile that even thinking about her dream made her excited again. Or for the first time. What happens in dreams stays in dreams, in real life they did not matter. She could keep her secret.

  She sighed in relief.

  It is certainly better this way. After such a night, if Ricardo was even closely as good in real life as she imagined him being, how they could ever stop. How could they remain friends if the passion linking them burned with such high flames?

  She closed her eyes again.

  A little beauty nap never hurt.

  The noise of someone flushing her toilet froze the blood circulating in her veins. It felt as if someone had dropped a huge weight on her chest. The door of the bathroom opened up and Ricardo walked out of it stark naked.

  “Hey sunshine,” he laughed, “what a night.”

  Bliss blushed.

  He slipped back into the bed. Bliss turned away and curled up under her blanket. She was confused and scared. How did this hap
pen, she kept silently asking herself.

  “What’s the matter?” Ricardo inquired.

  “I’m fine,” Bliss said.

  “Would you care to enjoy the little time we have left here?” Ricardo asked and slipped one of his hands under her blanket.

  Was this for real, Bliss marveled. Maybe she was still dreaming. But by now this had turned into a nightmare.

  “Hey, Bliss,” Ricardo asked, “what is the matter with you? What happens in Vegas stays in Vegas. This is what we agreed upon yesterday night. Is it not so?”

  Bliss did not remember.

  “Yes, but the night is over,” she said defensively. “Listen, Ric, would you mind leaving me alone for a little?”

  Ricardo’s exploring hand stopped.

  “Sure,” he said.

  He picked up his clothes and left without any further comments.

  When the door closed behind him Bliss felt relieved. Her tears started to pour, wetting the sheets all over.

  Chapter 5

  It was on the second day that Bliss spent alone inside her flat back in New York when she finally picked up the phone. He kept calling but never visited her. What was wrong with man in general?

  “Hey, Bliss,” it was Ricardo.

  “Hey, Ric” she answered.

  A long silent interval broke their conversation. Bliss stood by the window, staring out at the cold streets, trying to recall the days when she roamed them happily, wading through the thick layers of white snow. By now the dirt of the city painted it grey under the hard coat of ice that froze over its surface everywhere.

  “Bliss,” Ricardo demanded, “just tell me please what the matter is!”

  Bliss felt that ice from outside creeping up inside her throat. Her voice was frozen, she could not have answered even if she wanted.

  “Are you coming over?” Ricardo asked impatiently. “They will arrive tomorrow in the morning and we should be ready with everything. I need you!”

  Bliss found her voice.

  “You need your wife?”

  “I need my wife immediately,” Ricardo assured her. “And of course I have your money.”

  That hurt. It felt like an unexpected stab in her chest – the fact that Ricardo did not even seem to sense how painful it was made it only more treacherous.