Forbidden Marquis

by Victoria Pinder

  He stopped in the galley and took two water bottles, handing her one as he sat next to her. “Okay, let’s ask three personal questions that we both have to answer truthfully.”

  Yes. Yes. Yes. He was right. They needed to talk. She swallowed and capped her bottle. “That sounds good.”

  A flight attendant offered a dish of fruit and two crystal flutes. “Have some champagne. This is technically our honeymoon.”

  She crossed her legs and stiffened her muscles though she reached for the glass. “Thank you.”

  The flight attendant left and disappeared from sight. A moment later the plane’s engine turned on and they were moving down the runway. It was too late to run.

  Not that she intended to do that.

  She sipped her champagne and stayed absolutely still.

  As the plane gained speed, Stephano patted her knee and asked, “Do you want to ask one first or shall I?”

  Goodness. She needed to think. Her mind was a blank. She sipped her champagne and then put it down. The last thing she needed was a buzz. She turned and stared at Stephano, this time noticing his full lips that had made her ache earlier. Wow. She tried to ignore that reaction and said, “You go. I’m still thinking of a good question.”

  He drank his champagne and then put his glass down next to hers as the plane lifted into the air. He gave her a smile that would probably get a girl’s attention anywhere as he said, “I’ll start with family and prior commitments, as I’m going in the past, present and future type of questions for each of my three.”

  “That’s a good order.” She released a slow breath. She managed to relax her shoulders too as she said, “I like order.”

  He unbuckled his seat belt, clearly relaxed as he said, “You read the contract.”

  “Is that a question?” She raised her eyebrows.

  He shook his head and winked at her. Then he leaned closer. He smelled like a woodsy cologne that made her remember his earlier kiss. In total control, he said, “No, it’s a statement, as you signed on the dotted line. My first question is ‘tell me about your family and who you almost married yesterday.’”

  She clutched the side of her chair as she thought. This required opening up. If she didn’t open up, she’d never get to know him, either. She swallowed, and tilted her head. “That’s a two-part question.”

  “Fiancés and husbands count as family or almost family.” He shrugged. “We never discussed the size of the question.”

  “True.” She massaged her neck and tried to force herself to relax.

  Like he read her mind, he playfully nudged her shoulder. “Are you going to answer?”

  With a nod, she folded her hands in her lap and smiled at him. “Yeah. My mother is all I have left. Dad and mom divorced a few years ago, and he later died of a heart attack.”

  “I’m sorry,” he said in a low whisper.

  A huge wall around her heart crumbled. As she spoke, the words became easier. He seemed actually interested so she continued, “It’s okay. I’ve been supporting my mother financially for years, though, as she mortgaged her house to get me out of student loan debt I was in.”

  A slight smile warmed his face as he squeezed her hand. “Now you can pay her monthly without worry, from what we’d discussed. Or she can move into one of the homes on my estate.”

  “Yes.” The monthly allowance was more than she’d ever expected in her life and she’d not have to get up in the middle of the night to get makeup on herself before she ever showed up to work on a bride. She leaned into him. “And as for who I was going to marry, it was Alberto Navarro. He has his own business, but we both hired the same woman to help run our social media accounts.”

  Stephano chuckled and picked up the grapes, offering her one. She took one of the small pieces of fruit as he said, “So you were combining forces in business if you married him?”

  “No.” This time she saw her own stupidity. Alberto wasn’t going to help her with anything she valued. Agreeing to his proposal had meant she wasn’t horrible to others--it had given her acceptance. Now that she was with Stephano, her skinny ex was clearly Mr. Wrong. She finished the grape and said, “Not in business and not in my life.”

  He ate a grape and offered her more, which she ate. “What stopped the wedding?”

  Her eyes widened as she teased, “Is that the second question? I thought you were going with the past, present and then future.”

  His low chuckle sent a thrill right through her and she stared at his lips.

  “Right. Okay. Scratch that. My second question is, do you believe in happily-ever-after and true love?”

  Neither belief ever did her any good. But she put her hand to her hip and wiggled in her seat as she laughed, “I’ll answer both as I’m feeling generous right now.”

  He leaned back though his gaze went up and down her body, checking her out as he said, “Perfect.”

  Stephano had everything in his life to suit his tastes. He had no competition from her past as she said, “Alberto cheated on me with a bridesmaid he pushed to be in the wedding and introduced her as ‘his cousin.’”

  His expression wrinkled in surprise. “Never sleep with family. It’s not healthy.”

  Another laugh escaped her. Stephano was funny and seemed to get her humor. She swallowed to stop herself as she said, “True, but they weren’t actually related. While I don’t know about love and romance and happily-ever-after, I do know that I don’t want anyone to ever laugh at me or embarrass me at another church.”

  She removed one of the pins in her hair that was too tight so she didn’t get a headache. Her hair down wasn’t a bad thing, and with all the work the salon had done on it, she needed to let it loose and probably deep condition later. As she took out more and more bobby pins, she felt more comfortable.

  Stephano watched her like he was fascinated with hair. “Last of my three questions.”

  She removed the last few pins, and then shook her hair to loosen it out of the sprayed style. “Is what?”

  He rubbed his cheek and glanced down at her. “I’m thinking how to phrase it.”

  Rossie’s heart beat grew faster. “Okay. I’m feeling less nervous now.”

  He squeezed her hands. “Good. Are you ready?”

  The butterflies in her stomach danced. Her lips tingled. “Yes.”

  Stephano lowered his head so they were eye level as he said, “Last is the future. You read in the contract we are to have a child.”

  The butterflies sped up like they were about to escape a thunderstorm. Her eyes widened but she didn’t look away. “Yeah!”

  Stephano relaxed into his seat. “So, do you want a boy or a girl?”

  “Healthy and happy matter more than gender.” Every part of her body was ready and waiting for his touch. Was the kiss they’d shared real or was it blown up from her desire?

  As if he read her mind, he came closer. Her eyelids fluttered closed and her lips puckered.

  Then he kissed her and she wrapped her arms around his shoulders and held on.

  His kiss was definitely not just a dream. He was here and he tasted better than anyone else ever did. With him, she forgot the past and anything else that happened. Nothing mattered, except that she wanted more of Stefano.

  Stephano held back from taking Rosalind.

  At least on the plane.

  She was now his lady and not just a woman he’d use and forget in the morning.

  Her beautiful brown eyes would stare back at him until the day he died.

  It was better that he gave her time. So, as the plane landed and the tires of the plane screeched to a stop, he offered his arm to her and asked, “Are you ready to see my home?”

  Her lips were still pouty from his kisses. She accepted his assistance as they stood and then she said, “Yes, though I don’t know much about being a lady of the manor.”

  The flight attendant opened the door for them and ensured the staircase was attached. Rosalind was breathtaking with her hair down. She
seemed softer and more touchable. “You’ll learn.”

  “It sounds like a job,” she said while they took their first steps into Avce, together.

  The green trees in the distance were a far cry from Nadavče, the capital city where he needed to wash his face twice a day from the soot.

  In Avce, the air was clean, the sun warm, the grounds lushly green , even around the paved airport. They headed toward his personal family limo. His chauffeur opened and then closed the door once they were inside. Stephano took a seat and kept his tone businesslike and focused while not once glancing at Rosalind's breasts as he said, “It is. While it’s unpaid, we are expected to meet certain standards.”

  She folded her hands and sat across from him, accepting they were having a meeting as she asked, “What is it you expect me to do?”

  Fair. He ensured the partition wall was up for complete privacy. “As the contract read, we host three parties a year. Also, we need to make sure that our tenants have everything they need, which is mostly your responsibility.”

  They drove past the royal palace on their way to his family home. She looked out and he could see the enjoyment that played on her expression. Rosalind displayed her pleasure at every sight or sound she saw.

  She turned her attention back to him, smoothing her dress hem to her knees. “So I’m the landlord?”

  If she ran a business, then making sure that he didn’t buy two refrigerators in a year for one of his renters shouldn’t be too much trouble. “If you can handle the accounting aspects, then yes.”

  She lifted her chin like she was offended. “I know how to account for expenses in a ledger.”

  “Then we’ll get along swimmingly.” He moved to sit next to her in the limo rather than across. She took a deep breath but accepted his hand.

  This was better. Rosalind was sweeter than she let on and seemed to have a soft heart. She still hadn’t figured out her questions though their kisses on the plane stroked his need into flames.

  She inhaled, drawing his attention to the bodice of her white dress. “And while I’m running your rental business, what are you doing?”

  The image of her, naked, under that fabric played in his mind. He blinked when he realized she was staring at him and seemed to see through him. Stephano sat straighter and answered in a formal tone, “Ensuring that our family never lacks in finances.”

  Yes, his father would have approved of Rosalind. She truly was lovely and would make a beautiful lady, but he wasn’t sure how his mother would feel. Distant memories of childhood and his mother fixing his clothes surfaced like a nugget of a memory instead of a full-out thought.

  He shook off the reverie as Rosalind asked, “How?”

  Fair. And straight to the point, which was to Rosalind’s credit, even if the discussion of business made him cold. “I mostly buy businesses and make them more profitable.”

  She crossed her arms. “That matches what I read about you.”

  And this wasn’t a job interview. He needed to change the topic. He traced her arm and shoulder until she lowered her hands. “Unfortunately when I started, I used entailed money as my initial investment. This means that everything I created benefited the Marchese of Normanni and not myself.”

  Her confusion transformed to wonder as she looked over his shoulder.

  He realized they were on his property. They were home.

  As the limo stopped near the front door, Rosalind hopped out without waiting for the driver. “This is beautiful.”

  He followed her and looked up at his three-story property that expanded as far as the eye could see. This had been his home since he was a teenager and they'd returned from Venice to Avce to reclaim their title. After his mother died, his father had used this place as a gambling and prostitution house though he never exactly said that to him. Stephano said, “Yes, this is Haren Hall. Our home.”

  She hugged her waist as she walked up the three steps to the huge double-doored front entrance where she exclaimed, “It’s like Buckingham Palace but with more gardens.”

  Buckingham had soldiers in red that stormed around, though the walls were similar. “I suppose.” It was better she thought of this as a palace than possess his childhood memories, which weren't great. Staff opened the doors and they went inside. “We have outdoor and indoor pools.”

  He introduced her to his staff that had lined up to meet her and she shook hands and acted like a hostess.

  Good. She had management training even if she hadn’t been raised a titled lady. Once they were done, she turned toward him as he waved her to walk with him down the hall, opening doors. The clear blue waters of the outside Olympic-size pool underneath the glass roof was to the side. She pressed her hand to her heart and said, “You like to swim?”

  “When I get the chance, yes.” He showed her the main sitting room where he liked to have his coffee in the morning.

  Rosalind nodded and they headed back into the hall. This time he opened the door to the main dining hall that seated forty people. She went in and traced the polished mahogany table with matching chairs and red upholstered seats. As she stepped back toward him, she said, “Everything is well taken care of.”

  He placed his hand on her lower back and directed her toward an office that she could use for her own. As he opened it he said, “Which will be your job, if you can handle it. This will be your room to use for that.”

  She folded her arms and walked over to a desk with a laptop on it. She raised her head and met his gaze. “Which means I run the staff, not pick up a broom or a rake?”

  “Yes. Of course.” She walked back into his arms as he held her close. “You’re not Cinderella.”

  “Or Beauty in Beauty and the Beast,” she mumbled under her breath.

  He almost hadn’t heard her. He directed her to the library across from the office as he asked, “Do I remind you of a beast?”

  Her giggle sounded nervous. He opened the door and she walked into the library and glanced around as she said, “No, but she ran his house. Look, never mind. I can do all of this, but there are a few things not in the contracts we should have discussed before.”

  He closed the door to the library so no staff might hear them and took her hand. “Agreed, there is something we need to discuss.”

  A small smile greeted him. “Oh, good. What’s your priority?”

  “Loyalty and decorum.” He pressed his forehead against hers. Rosalind smelled of her namesake. Whatever perfume she wore, he’d buy her plenty so she never ran out. “I cannot have my wife caught in some affair. Not now. Not ever.”

  Her entire face went red. He wasn’t sure what she’d say, but he’d spent his life around nothing but loose morals and his father certainly hadn't been faithful to his mother’s memory. Now that he was the Marquese, he’d try to restore order. Honor. One day he’d have children with Rosalind and his past needed to never repeat.

  She squeezed his hand and her face was slightly less red when she nodded and said, “I see. Well, I agree and there is only one thing we can do to ensure this doesn’t happen.”

  His muscles contracted. It might have been his heart. Either way he was aware of Rosalind being very, very close. “What’s your suggestion then?”

  “Amendment.” She didn’t move at all.

  Now his hair stood on its ends. If she changed the contract, this deal they made might blow up before the papers even reached the palace. So he ignored the tingles in his chest as he asked, “What?”

  Her voice was clear. She touched his hand and heat washed through him as she said, “This isn’t a suggestion. It’s an oral amendment to our contract.”

  Until the next twenty-four hours settled, he’d still potentially lose everything if she wasn’t happy. His spine stiffened. “What is it you want?”

  “Weekly sex.” She bounced on her toes as if nervous.

  A tidal wave knocked him down as he heard her. His heart beat differently and his skin burned to take her, right here, right now even as he aske
d, “What?”

  She looked up at him with her big eyes as she said, “I’ve researched this a lot in all the stories I’ve read. So if we’re to not have affairs, needs are going to have to be met. So if we agree to weekly sex then we avoid long periods where we go without which then means we have no need to look elsewhere.”

  Somehow he’d gotten lucky. He let her hands go but placed his around her hips as he said, “Rosalind?”

  “Yes?” She closed her eyes and sucked in her lips.

  She shouldn’t be embarrassed. He tugged at her gently to come closer as he said, “You’re different than I expected from when we first met.”

  She glanced at him and let out her lips and a small laugh. “We hardly talked when we first met.”

  Now it was his turn to show her that her idea was fabulous. Weekly might not be enough for him, but it was a good start. For now their bodies touched though they were fully dressed as he traced her face. “Absolutely true. And I agree to your terms. Shall we start now?”

  “In a few more minutes.” Her laughter teased and she playfully pushed him back, sashaying into the hallway. He followed her, intent on the sway of her hips. She stopped at a locked door and asked, “What’s in this room?”

  He leaned against the wall, close enough to smell her perfume. “I don’t like going in there.”

  Still, this was to be her new home so he offered her the key. She took it from his raised hand and unlocked it. “What is this?”

  “The music room.” He followed her inside.

  The piano was exactly where he remembered it.

  She ran her hand over the top and blew at the dust particles. Rosalind wiped her hands together and glanced at him. “That explains the instruments but not the dust. Everything else is perfectly cleaned.”

  No one had asked about this room in years. If he hosted a party, it was in the other wing so no one bothered. He stood taller and braced for impact like he was joining a football game as defense. “My mother…”