The Scandal Behind the Wedding

by Bella Frances

  ‘Georgia?’

  She hesitated then walked out to see what he wanted. After all, it wasn’t as if she needed to protect herself from bad luck.

  He was distracted—the fingers of one hand whirring across his tablet keys, a cup of coffee in the other hand. He glanced up.

  ‘We need to step on it.’

  ‘Okay,’ she said simply, and turned to go.

  ‘Wait.’

  She stilled at his voice—the tone was less a command than an entreaty.

  When she turned back to see what he wanted he was moving to his feet.

  She was used to men looking at her—mostly across the bar in The Tavern or on the soccer pitch at her after-school training. She didn’t really mind and she never reciprocated. But the lick of lust she suddenly saw in Danny’s eyes startled her. He clattered down his coffee cup. So he wasn’t in complete control... She was glad. Suddenly she realised she wanted him to want her. She badly wanted him to want her. She felt her power, felt less like a pawn in his game. He needed her to pull this off, and right now he looked as if he needed her at some much more primal level too.

  She dropped her arms.

  He swallowed.

  ‘You look...beautiful.’

  She dipped her eyes and smiled her thanks. Retreated back into the changing room, turned and faced the freestanding mirror. He came up behind her, as she had known he would. Her eyes and his met in the mirror. Then his hands were on her shoulders. Lightly skimming down her bare arms. Up, down...gentle, caressing.

  He stepped a little closer. She knew he was going to dip and kiss the stretch of skin from collarbone to earlobe and she ached for it. Her belly contracted and her nipples hardened. From her mouth came a hushed, sensual sigh. Back tipped her head...heavy. His lips and then his teeth found the most sensitive, aching spot and licked...and bit. She sank back into him and his arms engulfed her.

  ‘Georgia. You drive me wild.’

  Those words...those arms...that mouth. Had she known how those few simple things could utterly transport her she would never, ever have agreed to marry Nick. She would have known how lacking he was. Worlds apart.

  She wanted more than anything to feel Danny turn her in his arms and make love to her. She twisted round. He was strong, unyielding. He moulded her to him. Hands swooped and worked her just where she needed them.

  Then he stopped and stepped back. Drew a heavy breath in, then out. ‘Not yet. We can’t.’

  She stared with glazed eyes.

  ‘I know. I get it. We have to be married first.’

  How crazy was that? He hitched half a smile and she turned away—but he grabbed her. Cupped her face and pulled her so close to him the breath in her chest was forced out. He covered her mouth, thrust in his tongue as if in a claim and took her with absolute mastery.

  As quickly he released her, and she staggered back.

  ‘Buy that dress. It’s perfect.’

  He looked at her, painting desire all over her. She stared back at him, almost breathless, taking in every inch of his tall, broad-shouldered body. Three buttons undone at his neck, shirtsleeves loosened...muscle, power and total control. But her eye caught the pulse at his throat—and it hammered just like hers.

  It was like a stand-off of desire.

  ‘Have you got lingerie? You’ll need that too.’ His eyes never left hers as he growled out the words.

  Scenes played out in her mind. Kept her rooted, staring, longing.

  ‘Have we got time? The shops will shut at midnight. And then what do we do? Where do we go?’

  It brought him back to business. He started to rub his face. ‘This is going to work. It is. Right... Let’s think it through.’

  He turned to her.

  ‘Get dressed—quickly. We need an engagement ring. The rest can wait. I’ll get stuff sent to my home. No, not my home—we can’t go there. We need to be out. We need to court the paparazzi and give this story some legs.’

  Story. That was all it was. For a moment she’d been caught up in the glamour and excitement. For a moment she’d felt as if he really had feelings for her. He’d seemed almost out of control before he’d called it back in check. But he was tense—as tense as she’d seen him. She wanted to soothe him this time. Tell him it was all going to be all right.

  But this was a simple business deal. She was being project-managed. All she was was a factor. A factor he had to dress up and parade about to lend his project some kudos. But a factor that he didn’t have the ultimate say over—she was her own boss. And she mustn’t forget it.

  She joined him moments later in the uncrushable Alaïa dress. She could have stepped out in some of the new stuff. But she needed something to remind her of who she was in all this crazy maelstrom of shopping and weddings and trips to meet a sheikh. And a twenty-year-old stretchy dress from a market in Notting Hill was about as grounded as it got.

  Credit cards swiped and bright smiles exchanged with the sales staff she left the boutique and tripped alongside him to the jewellers. Just when she’d thought Dubai couldn’t get any more surreal they were off to shop for a diamond.

  They strode across polished marble, past miniature fountains and embellished pillared entrances. Every click of her scarlet slingbacks reminded her just how much her life had changed since she’d slipped out of the complex a few hours earlier.

  She hadn’t answered the messages from her friends that had started piling in. What would she say? The only one she’d opened had been from Kirsty, apologising profusely for suggesting the Al-Jafar party. It had been a social media invite she’d seen and passed on. A social media disaster that Georgia was now living.

  In the velvety hush of De Beers she stared at the trays he’d commanded be spread out for her. Her eyes widened at the blinding rainbow beauty. Dazzling. To die for. But her heart was just a tiny bit crushed. Her once treasured solitaire was like a speck of glitter compared to these. But at least she had received it in good faith. That moment when she had opened the ring box had been so full of hope and promise. As if all her dreams were contained within it.

  She knew now that her instincts had warned her then that the marriage should not be more important than the man. A dark little voice had whispered that marriage might bring her the dream life of husband, children and the security she craved, but what was she trading in return?

  Still, even that had seemed much more real than this.

  ‘You must be so happy, madam,’ the dreamy-eyed salesgirl gushed.

  Danny had walked away on a call. Georgia’s eyes had followed him, as they always did—as all women’s eyes did.

  Tall, proud, commanding. His low lilting burr issued instructions and seduced her senses, made her feel drowsy with lust. She was drawn to listen in awe, just wondering at how easily he could own words and fill space. And then he turned and she saw those eyes and she was even more tangled up in him than ever.

  This was going from dangerous to treacherous. She was choosing a ring to wear that would tell the world he was hers and she was his. And, though they were both clear on their motivations, her soft little heart had just felt a pop of hope that this might actually be real.

  She smiled back at the salesgirl. It would be real for Babs when she gave her a cheque to clear the black hole of debt.

  ‘Yes, you’re right—I’m over the moon.’

  CHAPTER FOUR

  AFTER A NIGHT in another luxury hotel, during which Georgia had barely slept despite the f
act that her husband-to-be was in the neighbouring room, she now found herself on his company’s private jet. In the air. Heading to be married. The Irish Embassy in Abu Dhabi the venue.

  Nothing seemed to be a problem. Passports, forms, ambassadorial staff. All had been ticked off the rapidly growing list. Questions posed—answers given, all in that low, calm, composed burr.

  The only question she didn’t have an answer for was how she was going to manage her rapidly growing attraction to him. Every move he made, small or large, drew her eye. And he knew it. He’d caught her. And every time he had he’d flashed her a glimpse of that sinful smile.

  But this was new territory for her. She’d never been very physical with anyone before. She certainly didn’t do half the stuff her girlfriends got up to, and with every passing moment in his company she was getting bolder and bolder. She really needed to find her limit—and soon. Danny didn’t seem to have any difficulty managing his attraction. Even in modest Dubai he’d held her hand, draped a casual arm over her and, when he’d been sure they were totally unobserved, had kissed her.

  Kissed her. And she knew in her heart that she’d never experience kisses like them again. He simply shook her apart every time he put his lips on hers. Supplication. Then payback. She learned his way and she gave it right back. And he took it and loved it. Stared into her eyes for long moments while the world righted itself and then smiled at her. That smile. Oh, boy, she was going to get herself into a lot more trouble than jail-time if she didn’t stop thinking this was real.

  ‘Ready?’

  He’d just caught her again. It was possible she’d actually had drool spilling from her mouth. She really needed to get a hold of herself.

  ‘’Course I’m ready.’

  Though that was a downright lie. They’d been up in the air for about ten seconds, it seemed, on the one-hundred-and-fifty-kilometre flight between the two cities. And she’d needed every second to settle her head and her nerves.

  It was still incredible. Usually on a Saturday afternoon she’d be looking forward to a night out with the girls. She’d be finishing a coaching session, hanging back at the end to soothe the anxieties of rich parents who worried that their children might not become world-class soccer players. The parents were the hardest part of her job. They had no idea how much they let their worries influence their children. When she had children she’d do her utmost to nurture them for who they were—not who she wanted them to be.

  When she had children...

  The plane dipped in a little pocket of turbulence and with it her stomach as she suddenly thought of herself as a parent. Another look at Danny. And a swell of sadness that it wouldn’t be with him.

  No. He was most definitely not the marrying type, ironically. He was the lifetime-commitment-to-winning type. She’d already realised that his quietly composed manner hid a power furnace of energy and drive. Even in the elevator she’d felt it, seen it. Immediate deferral to his will by...everybody. Even by her in agreeing to this marriage.

  And, though he’d had to drag that agreement out of her, with each moment she spent in his company more and more tiny little bubbles of happiness were forming all by themselves, and she was struggling to keep on top of popping them.

  Oh, yes, she was in trouble.

  They exited into a waiting car. As soon as they were inside he reached across the leather for her hand and squeezed. Then the smile. Another bubble. Pop!

  She turned away and looked out of the window at the searing blue that Kitemarked every day in the United Arab Emirates. But not as searing a blue as the eyes that pinned her now as he turned her cheek with a soft, firm touch.

  ‘Are you all right?’

  He still hadn’t shaved, so the stubble was even thicker—almost a beard now. Meaning that his wine-dark lips and gleaming teeth were shown in even greater contrast. There was nowhere to turn. She might as well give in.

  ‘I’m good. Thanks. You?’

  He nodded. ‘I know it’s not how you imagined your wedding would be, but please don’t think of it like that. It’s just a step forward. And you’ll be doing so much more good than you even realise.’

  He leaned forward. She ached to kiss him.

  ‘And you’ll be shot of me in no time.’

  She smiled. ‘The sooner the better,’ she said. And she meant it. She really did.

  * * *

  Danny was finding this hard. She was the sweetest girl, and he was using her so badly. All her little-girl fairytales were caught up in weddings and husbands and all that jazz. And here they were performing a business transaction. But a very necessary business transaction. Salim’s people had been in touch asking questions already. He’d done his homework and he knew they really were going to have to pull this off.

  He’d waited a while, to see just how much media interest there was in the Al-Jafar party story. One word: plenty. At least he’d managed to cultivate some distance between himself and the other guys who’d got themselves lifted by the cops. Thankfully none of his boys—though that was down to Sarwar, for sure. So far the only comments he’d seen surrounding him and Georgia were speculation.

  What was one of Dubai’s most eligible bachelors doing with a mystery woman, near the scene of a busted party?

  Looking for his sanity, he felt like posting, after losing it to an auburn-haired temptress. He was sure he’d have been more on the ball if his sense hadn’t been kicked to the kerb the minute he saw her.

  But he’d lost it for sure. And now he’d reaped the consequences. That’s what happens, Ryan, when you chase women ahead of business. But at least he had an out—and a rapidly forming plan. Beginning with planting a few comments via his PR department. ‘Secret romance for Dubai’s engineering mogul’ and ‘Rumours of an imminent announcement’ ought to do the trick.

  The only downside was that his family were going to be reading them along with the rest of the world. He’d emailed his sister Frankie to forewarn her and she’d responded in typical Frankie style with a launch at his judgement, values, intelligence, wit and appearance. She was nothing if not consistent. God, he missed her.

  The thought of any guy using Frankie the way he was about to use Georgia twisted at his gut. He felt bad about it—he really did. But she was going to be well rewarded, and the only damage she should suffer was a wrecking ball through another fairytale castle. She’d meet a nice guy and the fact that she’d chalked up one failed engagement and one annulled marriage wouldn’t matter—not if he loved her.

  Now there were some words that tasted bad. Acidic.

  He leaned over. Only one way to get sweetness back in his mouth. He pulled her close.

  He was rapidly growing to need one of these kisses every five or ten minutes. He closed his lips over hers. Slowly touched, then sleekly tasted. Beautiful. Another. She just knocked him out. Every time. He was almost permanently aroused around her.

  Annulling the marriage...? That would be on the assumption that it wasn’t consummated. And that seemed less and less likely by the second.

  Not for the first time he counted his blessings that this whole unfortunate incident had happened with Georgia and not some other woman he’d taken a momentary interest in. At least she’d played it straight so far. He instinctively felt he could trust her, as well as lust after her. And he had no doubt whatsoever that she would be as happy to say goodbye to him as he would to her.

  And who was to say they couldn’t use this time for fun? Like ri
ght now—the ride to the Embassy would take longer than the flight had, and they were shielded from the world here in the back of the limo. Tinted glass and muted sound.

  That thought ran through his head as he leaned in for another kiss. Might be ages until they were completely in private again...

  It was like a breaking wave—the way his desire for her crashed through him. Even when he could feel it coming he was powerless against it when he got so close to her. His mouth moved over hers again. And again. The soft wet heat of her...the way her tongue meshed and melded with his. The way she melted into him and then sparred with him.

  His hands just had to be full of her. That silken hair...those supple arms. And although he was trying—he really was—not to slip his hands beneath her silk T-shirt, he just had to unhook her bra. Had to. He knew what was going to happen next, but they were on fire for each other and there was no one here to see them.

  ‘Georgia...’

  He pulled up her T-shirt and shifted her bra. Such perfect full breasts. He stroked and touched and palmed. Felt her nipples harden sharply. He wanted everything—he dragged his head to her soft sweet flesh and suckled hard.

  ‘Danny! Oh—that’s perfect!’ She held his head against her nakedness, ran her fingers through his hair and began to moan her pleasure.

  He wanted to give her more. Could they make love in the car and get away with it? He tried hard to get the heavy sensual fog to clear but he was still drowning in her.

  ‘I want to touch you. Danny...I need to....’

  She ran her hands down and over his chest and abs. Her fingers flew to his belt. She was going for it. Another surge of lust and he swelled even more. He felt her fingers unbuckle, unzip, and finally close around him. She looked up, those eyes full of shade and light, trust and promise. He couldn’t hold her gaze. Had to let his head fall back, adore her touch. She was incredible. She gripped him and stroked him and inflamed the sweet heat in him. Closer and closer.