by Annie West
‘It’s not enough.’ She forced the words through stiff lips. It was the hardest thing she’d ever said.
‘What?’ The single syllable boomed in her ears. He drew himself up to his full, imposing height and stared down his long, perfect, aristocratic nose at her. ‘What more do you want? I offer you my name, my honour. I promise you luxury, a life of comfort and ease. The children I know you want.’ He scowled.
‘Is there nothing else, Dario? No other reason to remain married?’
He was silent so long Alissa couldn’t repress a rising bubble of hope. Was it possible he loved her? That he just couldn’t say the words? She remembered how he’d cut himself off from emotion, converting his loss and pain into a drive to succeed and an aloofness that set him apart from everyone. Could it be...?
Slowly he nodded, his expression reluctant. She waited, rigid with expectation.
‘You must know I feel responsible.’ He paused, breathing heavily through flared nostrils. His gaze was brilliant, pinioning hers. ‘I misjudged you. I pressured you. I forced you to give me your virginity and—’
‘No!’ She stumbled back, a palm to her racing heart. She didn’t want to hear she should marry him because of some antiquated nonsense about him soiling her ‘innocence’. If his strongest feeling for her was guilt, what sort of marriage would it be? Her heart plummeted, her hopes splintered into fragments. ‘Don’t say any more.’
He closed the gap between them. His scent, his heat, his presence undermined her resolve to remain aloof.
‘We’re good together,’ he purred in the bedroom voice that made her traitorous body tingle even now. ‘Admit it, Alissa. You want me as much as I want you.’
He lifted a hand and she jerked back. ‘No!’ She summoned all the defiance she could muster and glared into his heavy-lidded eyes. ‘No,’ she said again more quietly. ‘I agreed to stay for six months, that’s all. I want my freedom when the time’s up.’
Dario’s face was grim, taut skin over jutting bone. Slashing frown lines scarred his forehead and bracketed his mouth. Defiantly she met his eyes. She read doubt there and determination too. Dario wasn’t the sort to give up anything he wanted and right now he wanted her. The irony of it appalled her.
‘You’re lying,’ he murmured, eyes narrowing. ‘I know you want me. Your body tells me so.’ He wrapped an arm around her, hauled her close and claimed her mouth. His kiss was short and hard. It turned her world upside down and sent desire corkscrewing through her trembling body. Her knees were jelly, her breathing ragged as he pulled back and scrutinised her hot face.
‘You can’t hide the truth, Alissa. You’re mine.’
For one crazy instant she revelled in his proprietorial mastery.
She stumbled back till a wall blocked her escape. ‘We’re good in bed.’ Her voice cracked. ‘But I’m sure there’s no shortage of women who could satisfy you.’ She hid a wince at the idea of Dario with another woman.
He was hers, a silent voice screamed. But Alissa had to stop fooling herself. He could never be hers. Not in the way that counted.
‘Once our divorce comes through you can take your pick of women. No doubt you’ll find one more suitable than me.’ Excruciating pain stabbed her chest as she said it.
‘You don’t mean that.’ There was arrogant certainty in his face. What did she have to do to make him release her?
‘I’ve never been more serious in my life. Staying here would...’ Her voice wobbled and she stopped, trying to shore up her defences. She swung round, pretending to stare out the window so he couldn’t see the tears brimming.
‘You know I never wanted to come here, Dario. You know I didn’t want marriage. I was manoeuvred into it. Now you think it’s convenient to stay married and you’re trying to force me again, telling Donna I’m staying. But I’m not a pawn on a chess board. I’m a woman with thoughts and feelings of my own. I make my own decisions.’
‘You believe I’m manipulating you?’
‘Aren’t you? It feels like it.’ Her voice was dull. Pain blunted the sharp edge of her indignation. She wanted to hide somewhere and grieve in peace.
‘You believe I’m trying to control you. Like your grandfather did.’ His voice seemed to come from a distance. ‘That’s what you’re saying. That I’m like him.’
Miserably she shook her head. Dario and Gianfranco were poles apart. Dario was an honourable, caring man, though proud and blind to love. He stood head and shoulders above scum like her grandfather.
‘I just—’
‘Stop.’ The single word cracked like a gunshot, jerking her to a halt. ‘Don’t say any more. You’ve made your feelings abundantly clear.’ His voice was as cold and haughty as on the day so long ago when he’d hijacked her wedding. She cringed inside, grateful she couldn’t see his face.
‘I won’t detain you. You can consider our arrangement at an end.’ Stupidly she held her breath as if that might stop the pain that lanced her chest. ‘There will be a car waiting as soon as you’re ready to leave and a ticket on the first flight out.’
Silence. Thick, accusing silence. Then the sound of the door opening and closing as he exited the room.
He’d taken her at her word and left her alone.
It was over.
Alissa drew a raw breath as tears slid down her cheeks and her knees crumpled. She huddled on the floor as grief engulfed her.
She had her freedom.
It was a hollow victory.
* * *
Half an hour later she sat on the wide back seat of the limousine as it purred along the coast road.
Through a glaze of tears she saw the forbidding outline of Castello Parisi on the next headland. It mocked her. It would be here, a permanent part of Dario’s life long after he’d forgotten her.
The past had triumphed. She’d met her match in a crumbling pile of ancient masonry.
It was only after they’d passed it that Alissa’s numbed brain began to function. Shock clawed her as she realised what Dario had done. He’d sent her away before they’d been married six months. They couldn’t inherit the castello.
He’d deprived himself of his one chance to acquire the prize he’d worked all his life to win.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
DARIO STOOD ON the beach, hands jammed in his pockets, staring at the restless sea. It reminded him of Alissa, the way her eyes danced with pleasure, her quicksilver quality, the energy she brought to everyday living. The passion she’d bestowed on him.
His chest constricted at the idea of never seeing her again. Never holding her or watching her eyes light with passion. Never sharing those silent moments when the world faded and there were just the two of them, connected by a force so strong it defied everything he’d ever known.
He’d fooled himself into hoping she felt it too, the well-spring of emotion and need that drew him to her. It had been a false hope.
A tide of despair swamped him.
She’d broken the seals on emotions he’d buried a lifetime ago. Emotions he’d forgotten and new feelings he’d never before experienced.
If he hadn’t met Alissa he’d still be that remote, diffident man, isolated by pride and lack of emotion.
She’d left him raw and wounded, horrified by the man she’d revealed. Her absolute refusal to countenance a permanent relationship forced him to take stock of who he was. It wasn’t a pretty sight.
He’d treated her like a whore, demanding she sleep with him for payment. He’d stolen her virginity then not had the decency to release her. He’d used her to sate his lust, regardless of her own needs. He hadn’t stopped to find out what she wanted, had just assumed what they had was as good for her as it was for him.
He’d learned nothing. In the end he’d been so desperate to keep her he’d tried to bulldoze her into staying. Manipulate her into agreeing. She, who’d fought most of her life against her domineering grandfather.
His shoulders slumped as the truth pummelled him, like waves on a high sea.
She’d been right to leave. Yet already he found himself planning to follow and fight for her. He had no notion how he’d convince her to return, no leverage he could use, but he couldn’t give up. He—
‘Dario.’
Hairs prickled his nape as he imagined her voice on the surging waves. By now she’d be halfway to the airport, eager to be gone.
He should give her time before he pursued her, time for her righteous anger to abate. Time for him to develop a plan. But his desperation was too great. He spun round and almost slammed into the figure blocking the path to the villa.
‘Alissa.’
Was that his voice? That raw, hungry gasp? He was beyond caring how much that revealed. He cared only that she was here.
Her hands were small, capable and real in his grasp. He felt her warmth, looked down into her cornflower-blue eyes and still couldn’t believe. She was here.
It was all he could do not to drag her into his arms and kiss her doubts away, blotting out the world.
But that hadn’t worked before. He had to make this work between them. There was no other alternative.
* * *
‘Dario.’ His name tasted perfect on her lips. She wanted him to tug her close and kiss her doubts and questions away, take her to that special place they alone shared. But he held back.
Suddenly her idea seemed too crazy even for words. Had she made a terrible mistake? She shivered as ice covered her heart. Her tongue froze as she looked up into his set features.
‘I came back because I realised...’
‘Yes?’ His tone gave nothing away. Only the hammering pulse at the base of his throat gave her hope. That and his grip, tight enough to make her blood pulse hard and slow in her fingers.
But he had himself in hand. Dario Parisi, careful and in control. His expression was unreadable.
She hesitated, hearing her blood pound in her ears. She was afraid to lay herself bare but she had to know. She couldn’t leave him while there was even the remotest possibility...
‘I realised you wouldn’t get the castello if I left.’
His iron-hard grip on her fingers slackened and her hands slipped free, falling to her sides.
‘You came back because of the castello?’
His eyes turned gun-metal grey, blank and devoid of light. The sight doused her last hope. Suddenly she wished she was in the limo, cocooned from everything by the tinted glass that concealed her misery.
She’d made an awful mistake. The realisation numbed her brain.
‘I said you were free to go. I do not hold you to our agreement. I forced you into that bargain unfairly. I won’t do it again.’
He raised a hand to spear through his sleek, perfect hair. Was it imagination or did his fingers tremble?
‘But you need the castello. I understand what it means to you.’ She paused, horrified to realise how badly she wanted to stay. If acquiring the place would bring him peace after a lifetime of pain she was prepared to swallow her pride and help him. And it would give her a few more precious weeks with him. ‘It’s only for a short while. I could move into a guest room and...’
‘No! It’s impossible. Do not even suggest it.’
Alissa’s eyes prickled and her throat jammed as roiling emotion engulfed her. He wouldn’t even let her help him achieve his dream. She really had destroyed whatever affection he’d had for her. Desperately she told herself it was for the best. She swung round to leave.
‘Alissa.’ His voice stopped her. It wasn’t a command but a hoarse plea. ‘Please understand that I will not dishonour you any more.’
Dishonour! What did she care for honour when her heart was breaking? The blue Sicilian sky dimmed as despair pressed down on her. She lifted one leaden foot to walk away.
‘If you had come back for any reason but the castello...’
She stumbled and strong arms wrapped round her before she could find her feet. Dario hauled her back against him and she shut her eyes at the exquisite sensation of their bodies locked together.
To be held by the man she loved, feel his heart beating behind her, his arms like warm steel, supporting her...
It was delicious torture, pleasure so poignant her poor heart welled and overflowed.
‘But the castello means everything to you,’ she whispered when at last she found her voice.
‘You’re wrong, tesoro.’ His words were muffled in her hair as he nuzzled her scalp. Tremors of reaction vibrated through her and she arched back against him. ‘Once it did. But not now, not for a long time. Not since I fell in love.’
Alissa heard the words but couldn’t take them in. He can’t have said—
She turned so swiftly she bumped her nose on his chin. She tried to back away to see his expression but his arms locked relentlessly round her. He hauled her close and she heard the thunder of his heart pound against her, matching her own galloping pulse.
‘The castello is just a place.’ His voice rumbled up from deep in his chest. She felt every word. ‘A special place, but not nearly as important to me as you, carissima. That’s why I had to let you go. It isn’t worth the pain you were suffering, being here with me. I’ve abided by my promise to my father, but he wouldn’t expect me to destroy the woman I adore to get it.’
‘You love me?’ Had he really said it?
‘I love you, Alissa. I’ve never known anything like this feeling.’ He grasped her hand and pressed it to his heart. The pulse of his life force beneath her palm, his words a hot caress against her forehead, made the unbelievable real. Excitement sheared through her.
‘For months I told myself it was lust, but from the first it was far more. You are such a woman, my sort of woman. Strong, independent, but caring and gentle.’
He put his hands on her shoulders and stepped back till at last she could see his face. His silvery eyes shone overbright. She’d never seen that expression before, of joy and fear mixed together. Hope sang in her breast.
‘Dario.’ Her voice was choked as she reached up to cup his jaw. ‘I can’t believe it. You’re so—’
‘Stubborn? Unwilling to see what’s under my nose?’
‘Of course not.’ A smile broke on her lips as she met his eyes and saw the tenderness there. An expression of love so real, so honest, for a moment words were beyond her. ‘I never guessed. You never hinted...’
‘That’s because I didn’t know myself till I’d sent you away.’ He turned his face into her palm and pressed feverish kisses there, sending her body into meltdown. ‘I thought it was my pride you’d injured, till I realised the truth. I’d become like the man I hated most in the world. I’d become as ruthless as he, desperate to get what I wanted no matter what the cost. When I saw how deeply I’d hurt you I knew I’d do anything to make it better, even let you go.’
Regret shimmered in his eyes. An agony of self-hate that evoked all her protective instincts.
‘Shh, Dario. You’re not like him at all. You could never be. You’re honourable and generous. You genuinely care.’ She drew a shaky breath and bared her soul. ‘I love you too. But I thought you’d never feel the same. That’s why I had to leave—’
His plundering mouth stopped her confession. He snagged her close and tilted her head to accommodate his sweet invasion. It was all there in his kiss, the heady emotion, the shared passion, the trust and promise for the future. Everything she’d ever dreamt of. And more.
‘Tell me again,’ he whispered against her lips. Heaven was in his hoarse command. In the way he held her, as if she was the most precious treasure in all the world.
‘I love you, Dario. I’d trust you with my life.’
He crushed her so close she could barely breathe, yet she smiled as she looked up into the earnest features of the man she adored. He was as handsome as ever. But nev
er had he looked so gorgeous as now, with love shining clear and bright in his eyes.
‘Bella Alissa. Will you marry me? A proper wedding this time. In a church with all your friends and family. A wedding with all the trimmings and a reception in the town square for everyone to join in.’ His voice resonated with the depth of his feelings. ‘I want everyone to hear when I promise to love and honour my darling wife.’
Alissa knew no hesitation at all as she leaned close and murmured, ‘Yes, Dario. I will.’
* * * * *
Keep reading for an excerpt from Playing the Royal Game by Carol Marinelli!
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CHAPTER ONE
SHE was better off without the job, Allegra told herself.
No one should have to put up with that.
Except that walking in the rain along grey London streets, taking the underground to various employment agencies, the anger that her boss could make such a blatant a pass at her and then fire her for not succumbing started to be replaced with something that felt close to fear.
She needed that job.
Needed it.
Her savings had been obliterated by the bottomless pit that was her family’s excess spending. At times it felt as if her lowly publishing wage supported half the Jackson family. Yes, she was the boring reliable one, but they didn’t mind her dependability when their erratic ways found them in trouble. Just last week she had lent her stepmother, Chantelle, close to five thousand pounds in cash for credit card debts that her father didn’t know about. It was laughable to think that she might now have to have her family support her.
