Royal Holiday Bride

by Brenda Harlen

  He captured those eager hands, cuffing her wrists and holding them over her head. She pouted, just a little, and he couldn’t resist nipping at the sexy fullness of her bottom lip. She moaned softly, her eyes closing as her back arched, pressing her torso more fully against his.

  “You are dangerous, woman.”

  Her lips curved now, the slow, sexy smile of a woman who knew she was in control.

  He was determined to change that.

  He shifted so that his knees were straddling her thighs, then lowered his head to her breast. He rubbed his lips over the peak of her nipple straining against the lace, and her breath hitched. He let his teeth scrape along the same path and felt the air shudder out of her lungs. Then her took the turgid peak in his mouth and suckled her through the delicate fabric, and her whole body shuddered.

  He shifted his attention to the other breast and repeated the pattern until she was breathless and trembling. Then he released the clasp at her back and slowly drew the straps down her arms, uncovering just a hint of her pale skin, then a little bit more and a little bit more again, until her breasts were completely bared to his hungry gaze.

  And then he used his lips and his tongue and his teeth again, to sample and savor the flavor of her naked flesh. While his mouth was busy with her breasts, his hands skimmed down her torso, following her curves and contours. Her quick, shallow breaths warned that she was close to the edge as he stripped away the garter, then slid a hand down the front of her bikinis. She gasped at the intimacy of the contact as his fingers sifted through the soft curls and flew apart when he found her center.

  He shifted away from her only long enough to yank off his briefs and tug her bikinis down over her hips. He didn’t wait for the aftershocks to fade, but eased into her while her body was still shuddering. Her second orgasm followed immediately on the heels of the first, her inner muscles clamping around him like a vice, and the rhythmic pulsing nearly pulled him over the edge with her.

  He fisted his hands in the sheet, waiting for the waves of her release to subside, as he was swamped by emotions far deeper than any he’d ever imagined.

  He’d already told her he loved her, because he knew that he did. But when he sank into her, when she opened up and took him inside, he felt a soul-deep connection he’d never known before.

  Because no one had ever bothered to look into his heart as Marissa had done. She’d taken the time to know him and understand him, and despite all of his flaws and faults, she’d accepted him and loved him. And because she did, the experience of making love with her was all the more intimate.

  It wasn’t just the physical joining of two bodies, but the mating of two hearts, the merging of two souls.

  It was a long time after before Marissa could move, not that she wanted to go anywhere. She was more than happy to be right where she was, tucked close to Dante’s body. Her head was on his shoulder and her hand was over his heart, absorbing the rhythm of each steady beat.

  “You were right,” she said when she finally summoned the energy to speak.

  He touched his lips to her forehead.

  “About?”

  “That was better.”

  “Told you.”

  She heard the smugness in his tone and suspected he was wearing the familiar cocky grin she’d come to know so well, but she was too lazy to tip her head back to confirm her suspicion.

  “Do me a favor?” she asked.

  “What’s that?”

  “Remind me never to challenge you to prove something again—I don’t think I could survive it.”

  “I bet you could.”

  Her breath caught in her throat when his hand closed over her breast.

  She’d honestly thought she was sated. Not just satisfied but completely spent. But all it had taken was one touch and desire coursed through her system anew.

  “Dante.” She wasn’t sure if it was a plea or a warning.

  His only response was to shift so that she was once again beneath him. Then he rubbed his lips against hers, nibbling, teasing.

  “I bet you could,” he repeated.

  And, once again, he was right.

  The headlines weren’t quite what she expected.

  Not just unexpected but disappointing. The people of Ardena should have been clamoring for the Casanova king to step down; instead, they were suddenly fascinated by the “obvious passion” between their ruler and his soon-to-be bride, turning the tawdry events of that night into a chapter in some great love story.

  Tears burned the back of her eyes.

  It wasn’t fair. He was supposed to pay for what he’d done to Fiona, for abandoning her and walking away from his own child.

  Her phone beeped. She opened the message:

  r u there? on my way home, big news 2 share

  She texted back: im here

  And waited to see what news her sister had now.

  Almost a month after the photos were first posted online, interest in the sexy pictures of the king and his fiancée had faded but not completely died. But there had been other scandals around the world and more important issues to deal with at home.

  Dante’s timely intervention had helped negotiate an agreement between the Minister of the Environment and the Fisheries Union that kept the fishermen on the water and had them singing their praises of the king. Dr. Kalidindi had been vocal in his appreciation of the princess’s help with the new volunteer-cuddler program at Mercy Medical Center, and the general consensus was that the king had made a good choice in his soon-to-be queen.

  Overall, Marissa felt confident that the storm had been weathered. And now the country was gearing up for the royal wedding, just two weeks away, and the Christmas holiday after that. As she waited for Dante, admiring the effect of the twinkling lights wrapped around the hedges that bordered the courtyard, the absolute last person on her mind was Naomi Breslin. She certainly didn’t think there was any possibility the girl would have the nerve to seek her out. Nor did she think there was any way Naomi would ever get past the front gates of the property. So she was both shocked and distressed to see her in the courtyard.

  “I sometimes worked as a server when extra help was needed for big events,” Naomi explained before Marissa could even ask, then voluntarily handed over her security pass.

  Marissa tucked it in her pocket. “What are you doing here?”

  “I wanted to apologize.”

  “An apology can’t undo what you did,” she told her.

  “I know, but—” The rest of the words seemed to get stuck in her throat when she saw Dante coming toward them.

  “I’ve called security,” he told Naomi. “You’re lucky I didn’t call the police.”

  She just nodded, her eyes filling with tears. “I needed to see you, to tell you how sorry I am.” Then she reached into the pocket of her jeans and pulled out a folded piece of paper. “And I wanted you to see this.”

  “If this is another photo—” Dante warned, taking the page from her.

  Her cheeks flushed. “No. It’s a copy of Siobhan’s paternity test.”

  He handed it back without even looking at it.

  “You don’t want to know who her father is?”

  “It has nothing to do with me, because there was never any possibility that she was mine.”

  “I know that now,” Naomi admitted. “My sister told me everything when Rico came back.”

  Marissa assumed Rico must be the baby’s father, and while the revelation of this information couldn’t change anything, it did give her hope that she and Dante might be able to move forward with their lives without always worrying that Naomi might be lurking around the next corner, trying to cause trouble for them.

  “I tried to ruin your life because I thought you’d ruined hers.” She glanced down at Dante’s and Marissa’s joined hands. “I’m glad I didn’t succeed.”

  Then she curtsied to the king and his fiancée and turned to meet the guards who had arrived to escort her off of the property.
/>   “Well, that was…surprising,” Marissa said.

  “And surprisingly insightful,” Dante said.

  “You could have her arrested.”

  “I could,” he agreed. “But it wouldn’t accomplish anything. Besides, she was right.”

  “About the fact that she tried to ruin your life?”

  He shook his head. “About the fact that she didn’t succeed. She wanted to create a scandal so huge, I would lose the throne. But when I saw those pictures, the only possibility that scared me was the possibility of losing you.”

  Marissa kissed him lightly. “That’s never going to happen.”

  “And that’s why she didn’t succeed. Because as long as I have you, I have everything that matters.”

  For Marissa, the final days leading up to the wedding were a frantic carousel of fittings and Christmas shopping and packing for the honeymoon and double-checking all the details for the big day. The nights in Dante’s arm were her respite—a chance for her to finally pause long enough to catch her breath and revel in the exquisite lovemaking of the man who would soon be her husband.

  But she spent the night of December twentieth alone in her own room, to uphold the tradition that the groom should not see his bride before the wedding. But she wasn’t completely alone. Dante’s sisters rounded up the girls—their mother, Marissa’s mother, Gabby and Hannah—who had come to Ardena with their families for the occasion and were also staying at the palace—and stopped by with a couple of bottles of champagne.

  Actually, they had two bottles of champagne and a bottle of sparkling grape juice, the nonalcoholic version intended for Hannah, who was in her fifth month of pregnancy, and Gabby, who was nursing seven-week-old Talisa. The children were also in attendance, of course, but Sierra was keeping an eye on the little ones in the guest wing.

  Francesca claimed the wine was part of a traditional celebration of a bride-to-be’s last night as a single woman. Leticia said she didn’t care about the tradition—any night was a good night for bubbly. Marissa discreetly tipped her champagne into the pot of the poinsettia tree in her sitting room and refilled her glass from the other bottle. Though she didn’t yet know for sure, she thought it was possible that the recent tenderness in her breasts and increased fatigue might be early signs of pregnancy and she didn’t want to take any chances if she was lucky enough to already have a new life growing inside of her.

  But even if she wasn’t yet pregnant, Marissa couldn’t help but feel as if she was the luckiest woman in the world. It was the night before her wedding to the man she loved with all of her heart, and she was fortunate enough to spend it with four friends who would all be her sisters by virtue of marriage, the soon-to-be mother-in-law who had graciously welcomed her into the family and her own mother. And if Elena’s presence wasn’t the highlight of her night, at least her mother did nothing to spoil the occasion.

  While Marissa faked drinking champagne with the girls, Dante was sipping brandy with the men—his father, his brothers and Marissa’s brothers. He’d had some apprehension about meeting Michael and Cameron—after all, he was indirectly responsible for scandalous pictures of their little sister being posted on the internet—but they’d reassured him that they wouldn’t put any visible bruises on him before the wedding since he was doing the honorable thing by marrying Marissa. Dante thought he scored some points, and saved himself some grief, by telling them that he wasn’t marrying Marissa because it was the right thing to do, but because he loved her with his whole heart.

  Before the brandy decanter was empty, Cameron excused himself for the night, eager to get back to his own room and check on his children. Michael followed his brother.

  “I remember what it was like to be a new father,” Benedicto mused. “The excitement, the nervousness and the indescribable joy of having a child who is the best parts of both parents.”

  “He’s talking about when I was born,” Matt teased his brothers. “Because I’m the only one who is a combination of all the best parts.”

  Van, because he was closest, cuffed the side of his brother’s head. Dante just chuckled.

  “You all inherited different characteristics and traits,” Benedicto said. “But when each of you is lucky enough to hold your own child in your arms, and hopefully that won’t be too far in the future—” he sent a pointed luck in Dante’s direction “—you’ll appreciate how a parent’s love for a child never falters, even when that child is exhibiting some of the not-so-good parts.”

  Dante didn’t say anything to encourage his father’s hopes, but he suspected that his parents weren’t going to have to wait much more than nine months for the grandchild they both coveted, if even that.

  And with those last words, the old king hugged his son and wished him a good-night. Van walked out with his father, leaving only Matt with the groom-to-be.

  “Last chance to make a break for it,” his little brother said, only half teasing. “If you go now, you’ve got quite a few hours before anyone would even notice you were gone.”

  Dante just shook his head, because he knew that a life with Marissa was his best chance for the happily-ever-after he never thought he would have.

  The morning of December twenty-first dawned clear and bright and unseasonably cold.

  But Marissa didn’t worry about the weather. She didn’t care about anything except that today was the day she was going to become Dante’s wife. Of course, their marriage would also elevate her status from that of princess to queen, but she decided she had enough butterflies in her stomach without thinking about that. Or maybe the slight queasiness was something more than butterflies.

  She was afraid to hope. Afraid to want anything more when she was already so incredibly blessed.

  But a baby…Dante’s baby. It was impossible to even think those words without a smile spreading across her face.

  She was still smiling when Gabriella snuck into her room and tucked a flat, narrow box into the pocket of her robe. Marissa didn’t ask why and her sister-in-law didn’t say. She just kissed the bride’s cheek and slipped out again.

  Marissa was grateful they’d opted for an early-afternoon ceremony, so that she didn’t have any time to sit around and wait. In fact, she barely had time to nibble on a piece of toast and sip a cup of tea before she was surrounded by people fussing over her hair and touching up her makeup.

  When she was finally groomed and polished and dressed, her mother came into her room. Her gaze moved from the pile of curls on top of Marissa’s head to the peep-toe sandals on her feet, and Marissa instinctively braced herself. But she was completely unprepared when Elena, her eyes shimmering with moisture, said, “You truly are the most beautiful bride I’ve ever seen.”

  It was the sincerity in her tone even more than the unexpected compliment that made Marissa’s throat tight. She managed a shaky smile. “And you’re the most beautiful mother of the bride.”

  Elena picked up Marissa’s bouquet of white calla lilies tied with a wide satin ribbon and handed it to her daughter. “I do want you to be happy.”

  Of course, the words sounded more like a royal command than a wish, but Marissa appreciated them nonetheless.

  “I already am,” she said and meant it.

  Her mother gave her a quick hug, the impulsive gesture of affection even more unexpected than the kind words.

  “In that case, we better get to the church. We don’t want to keep your groom waiting.”

  The church was decorated in royal fashion for the holiday wedding of Ardena’s king and the Tesorian princess. In addition to the enormous wreath over the arched entranceway, there were evergreen garlands wrapped around the balcony railings. Gold bows marked the ends of the pews and a mountain of Christmas flowers bordered the steps to the alter. But Dante had barely noticed any of the decorations. He was waiting for his bride, and not very patiently.

  Now that the day was finally here, he wanted it to be done. He wanted Marissa as his wife so they could officially start their life to
gether.

  Then, finally, she was there. The first glimpse of his bride at the back of the church simply took his breath away.

  He didn’t know enough about bridal fashions to recognize that the Roman-inspired asymmetrical dress was made of layers of snowy chiffon with a wide band of beading at the empire-style waist. He just knew that she was absolutely stunning. And with every step she took toward him, the joy in his heart continued to swell until it overflowed and filled every part of him.

  She was his bride. His goddess. His heart.

  And when he spoke his vows, he didn’t hesitate or falter. Although the words had been spoken by countless grooms before him, he felt as if they’d been written from his heart. And when it was Marissa’s turn, her gaze was just as steady, her voice as clear.

  Church bells were ringing in celebration of the union of Ardena’s king and his new queen as they exited the church…just in time to see the first flakes of snow begin to fall from the sky.

  “You told me it wouldn’t snow,” the bride said.

  “What I said was that the forecasters were probably wrong when they predicted snow because it hasn’t snowed in this part of the country in more than fifteen years,” her groom reminded her.

  “It’s snowing now.”

  “Which proves that today is a day of miracles.”

  “More than you probably know,” she murmured, a smile playing at the corners of her mouth.

  His gaze dipped to her belly as anticipation jumped in his own. “Baby?” He barely mouthed the word, wanting to ensure his question couldn’t possibly be overheard.

  She nodded, her eyes filled with both joy and uncertainty.

  He knew how eager she was to start a family, so he guessed that any hesitation she was experiencing was a result of not knowing how he would respond to the news. He was more than happy to reassure her. “That is absolutely the best Christmas present you could give me.”