Page 11 of The Italian's Marriage Bargain

‘Why?’ she asked rudely. ‘Why would you possibly care about my career?’

‘I don’t know.’ The bemusement in his voice was genuine, and a frown crinkled his brow. Felicity found herself smiling as he carried on talking. ‘I confess that diminutive talk is not a skill I nurture.’

It was Felicity frowning now—frowning and then smiling at his accent and choice of words.

‘It’ssmalltalk, Luca,’ she corrected. ‘So, in other words, you generally roll over and pretend to be asleep?’

‘Oh, I don’t pretend.’ Luca laughed. ‘If eighteen-hour days have taught me anything, it is how to fall asleep at a second’s notice.’

‘But not this morning?’ There was a slight hesitancy in her voice, a questioning ring that both confused and excited her.

‘Not this morning.’ And this time when his hand reached and gently cupped her face she didn’t push it away, just rested her cheek there, let him hold her in the palm of his hand as his deep voice washed over her. ‘This morning I have no intention of sleeping, so tell me why you have taken a year off a job you clearly enjoy to study. Is your work sponsoring you?’

Felicity shook her head. ‘Not financially. I’ve had to take out a loan to fund it.’

‘That sounds expensive?’

‘It is,’ Felicity agreed, ‘but it will be worth it in the long run. I could have done it part time, but this should fast track my career. Once I’ve finished my studies I’ll be in line for a big promotion.’

‘Which means more money?’

Felicity nodded. ‘It would also have meant goodbye Matthew. You see, I never intended to stay married to him indefinitely. Just long enough to ensure I could take care of my parents—financially, at least.’

‘Isn’t it their job to take care of you?’ Luca suggested gently, ignoring her sharp intake of breath and the fiery response in her eyes. ‘Shouldn’t it be the other way around? Did they know?’ he asked softly. ‘About Matthew, I mean? Did they know how much you hated him, the sacrifice you were prepared to make?’

‘Of course not.’ She shook her head fiercely, blindly, pushing the preposterous truth aside, but again Luca begged to differ. Cupping her face in his strong hands, he left her no choice but to look at him, no choice but to stare into those clear sapphire pools as he asked the question that for so long had haunted her, tapping into her Achilles’ heel with such accuracy it had her reeling.

‘They knew, Felice. Deep down they must have known.’

She bristled in his hands, bristled at such a cruel portrayal of her parents when there was more to them, so very much more to them. ‘You don’t understand—’

‘No, I don’t!’ he responded arrogantly. ‘I don’t understand how they could have let this continue. The second I laid eyes on you last night I could tell that you were not happy. I could tell and I didn’t even know you!’ he rasped. ‘Surely over the months they must have sensed your feelings? When I think of that lizard touching you, making love to you…’ She could feel the hatred emanating from him, the anger behind each and every word, and she jumped in quickly, desperate to halt him, to redirect the fury away from the two people she loved most in the world.

‘We never made love.’ She saw the start of confusion in his eyes, and the hands that had been holding her dropped to his side as she continued. ‘Last night would have been the first time—that’s why I was so upset. So, you see, my parents really didn’t know how much I loathed him.’

‘But you were about to get engaged. He was going to propose. And you ask me to believe that you had never made love?’

‘I’m not asking you to believe anything,’ Felicity replied tartly. ‘But it is the truth, Luca. That was how I kept him at arm’s length. I told Matthew I wouldn’t consider sleeping with a man unless I was engaged to him, and for a while it worked. I could cope with dating him—I didn’t enjoy it, of course, but I just treated it as business.’ She gave a tight smile. ‘With absolutely no trace of pleasure.’

‘But Matthew wanted more?’ Luca checked slowly, and Felicity gave a resigned nod.

‘He made it very clear that the dating game was over.’

‘So last night wasn’t just about getting engaged? It would have been the first time you’d slept with him…’

‘Hence the two vodkas. I needed all the courage I could get!’ Her vague attempt at humour passed without comment, and to her dismay she realised he looked far from convinced. He still believed her parents must somehow have known, have turned a blind eye to the appalling facts. ‘Look, Luca, my parents really didn’t have a clue what was going on. Matthew only made the threats to me, and it’s not as if I’ve spent the past few months walking around in a state of nervous dread. Until last night I really thought I was in control, that I could deal with it, but when it came down to it I just couldn’t go through with it. You were right to interfere. The truth is that I’m glad that you did. I may not be the world’s most romantic person, but even I can see that losing…’ Her voice trailed off as he stared, his eyes widening, a stunned, incredulous look paling the olive of his skin.

‘Go on.’ His voice was raw, and his hands were back now, but there was nothing similar to the gentle way he had cupped her face. His fingers bit into her, the tension in his body translating until he was practically shaking her, with an urgency in his eyes she had never seen.

‘Luca, you’re hurting me.’ Her wail of protest, the tremble of fear in her voice reached him, and instantly he let her go, but his stance remained the same—blue eyes boring into her, every muscle in his body taut, his breath coming short and rapid, as if he had just finished a morning run. ‘Are you telling me that last night wouldn’t only have been your first time with Matthew, but your first time full stop? That you had never made love before? That you were a virgin?’

She almost laughed. A hysterical reaction, perhaps, but one that clearly wouldn’t have gone down well with Luca in his volatile state. ‘You make it sound as I’ve committed a crime!’

‘You might not have, but I have!’ Jumping off the bed, he swung around to face her and she reeled back, pulling the sheet around her, confusion drenching her as he gibbered on, fury making his accent more pronounced, tripping over the words in his haste to get them out. ‘Where I come from it would be a crime for me to walk away from you now.’

‘That’s archaic,’ Felicity shouted. ‘This is the twenty-first century, Luca. You don’t have to marry a woman just because you sleep with her. I would have thought you of all people would know that!’

‘What is that supposed to mean?’

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