Page 45 of Bought For The Marriage Bed

‘She said she would call back some other time.’

‘Grazie.’

There was another small pause.

‘Signore Marcello has instructed me to help you pack for your trip.’

‘It’s all right, Lucia. I can manage. I haven’t got much to pack anyway.’

The housekeeper gave her one last thoughtful look before moving away to complete her tasks. ‘If I can help you with anything, Signora Marcello, you have only to ask. It will be my pleasure, I assure you.’

‘Grazie, Lucia.’

Nina waited until the housekeeper had left the room before she released her breath. She sighed as she looked down at the chortling baby, muttering in an undertone, ‘I’m in over my head, Georgia, and drowning fast.’

Georgia gave her a toothless grin and stuck her fist back in her mouth.

Marc was well aware of Nina’s reluctance to establish eye contact with him as they prepared to leave for the airport later that day. She spoke politely to Lucia and was openly affectionate to Georgia as she settled her into the car, but each time her gaze swung to him it just as quickly shifted away, her cheeks turning a delicate shade of pink.

He slanted his gaze her way as they drove to the airport, frowning when he saw her hands moving restlessly in her lap and her bottom lip being nibbled by her teeth as she stared anxiously, almost fixedly, in front of her.

The memory of the intimacy they had shared the night before gnawed at him constantly, the feel of her body against his, her soft mouth feeding off his, her flinching cries when he had gone too deep for her.

He had been so confident he would be able to resist her but in the end he had not stood a chance. Even though his brother had walked away from her, Marc knew he was not going to find doing so as easy as Andre had. In spite of everything he knew about her, he still couldn’t get her out of his mind. His every waking thought was of her and only her; even his restless slumber was haunted by his out of control need for her.

For years he had actively avoided becoming emotionally entangled with anyone. He didn’t like feeling so vulnerable. It made him uneasy that the power balance had subtly shifted, leaving him open to the sort of hurt he had sworn he would never expose himself to again.

He couldn’t make her out. If she was truly the sort of woman his brother had described why was she avoiding his eyes all the time? Andre had described her as a wanton witch who would do anything for his money or his attention. But after last night he was totally confused. It didn’t make sense. She’d supposedly had numerous affairs since the birth of Georgia; the papers had been full of her exploits. Yes, he had rushed things a bit, but she had not given him any indication she wasn’t with him all the way. Unless someone had got their wires very crossed, the Nina Selbourne he was married to was nothing like the woman who had pursued and subsequently destroyed his brother. He was the first to admit that people could change, but the sort of change Nina had supposedly undergone defied all reasonable belief.

‘I am assuming from your continued silence that you are not looking forward to the flight,’ he said after another lengthy silence.

Nina unlocked her hands and, searching in the bag at her feet, silently handed him the cheque he’d left that morning, her eyes communicating her anger.

Marc looked down at the cheque for a moment. Was this a trick?

He met her resentful gaze. ‘I apologised for what happened last night. This trip will become even more unpleasant than it needs to be if you do not accept my remorse.’

‘It’s not your remorse I won’t accept,’ she bit out. ‘It’s your money.’

‘I fail to see what you are so angry about. It was a bet, fair and square. I lost it and have paid up accordingly—or perhaps you are regretting settling for such a small amount.’ His lip curled slightly. ‘Would you like me to treble it to soothe your ire?’

Nina swung her head away from his hateful cynicism, her eyes smarting with angry tears.

‘Come now, Nina,’ he chided her softly. ‘You have been paid for your charms before. Andre told me how much you enjoyed receiving gifts of jewellery and the like for your favours. That is, after all, the universal currency of mistresses. There is no point playing the affronted victim; it is just not you.’

No, Nina thought with a deep pang inside. It certainly wasn’t.

A short time later their luggage was checked in and their documentation dealt with efficiently. Nina stood by Marc’s side, wondering when the axe of officialdom was going to fall. She’d ‘forgotten’ Georgia’s birth certificate, and if anyone asked for additional papers she was not quite sure what she would do, but to her immense relief no one did. They were waved through as if they were a normal, happily married couple travelling with their small child.

Marc’s private jet was nothing like the aircraft Nina had travelled on previously. She settled into the luxurious seat as Marc dealt with Georgia beside her, his staff politely offering assistance and ensuring everything was to their liking.

As the jet taxied along the runway she sat with her fingers curled into her palms, her stomach churning in fear as the roar of gunned engines sent her backwards in her seat as the aircraft lifted off. She squeezed her eyes shut, panic making her skin break out in tiny beads of perspiration.

She felt Marc’s hand reach for one of hers, the warm grasp of his long fingers incredibly soothing. She opened her eyes and encountered his deep dark gaze. She gave him a sheepish look and then looked down at their joined hands.

‘I know it’s silly, but I just can’t help it.’

‘It is not silly,’ he said, giving her fingers a tiny squeeze. ‘Close your eyes and try to sleep. Before you know it we will be there.’

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