Wedding Night With Her Enemy

Allegra licked her lips, then realised what a blatant giveaway that was—the primary signal of attraction. It was as if her body was acting of its own accord. Her will, her determination to resist him, was overridden by a primal need to touch him, to have him touch her. To have him kiss her until she forgot about everything but how those firm, male lips felt on hers.

What are you doing?

The alarm bell of her conscience shattered the moment and she pushed against his chest and stepped back to create some distance between them. ‘Don’t even think about it, buddy.’

His mouth tilted in a knowing smile. ‘I’m a patient man. The longer I wait, the better the satisfaction.’

Allegra had a feeling there would be a heck of a lot of satisfaction going on if she were to submit to his passion. The sort of satisfaction that had mostly eluded her in her previous encounters. She wasn’t good at sex, or at least not with a partner. She could get things working fairly well on her own, but with a partner she found it too distracting to orgasm. Dead embarrassing, but at least she had been able to fudge her way through it. So far.

But she suspected Draco wouldn’t be fooled.

Not for a minute.

Allegra refilled her glass for something to do with her hands. She was conscious of him watching her every move, his dark gaze resting on her like a caress. Her skin tingled, her pulse raced, her insides coiled tight with need. A need awakened by him. ‘I think it’s best if we forget we had this conversation. I don’t want anything to spoil Nico’s christening tomorrow.’

‘What will spoil it will be you refusing to marry me to save your father’s skin,’ Draco said. ‘You haven’t got a choice, Allegra. He needs you like he’s never needed you before.’

It was far more tempting than she wanted to admit. Not just because of how it would make her father finally appreciate her, but because she couldn’t stop thinking about what it would be like to be Draco’s wife. Sharing his life with him, sharing his luxury villa on his own private island. Sharing his body. Being pleasured by him, experiencing the full gamut of human passion. It was a dream come true for the gauche teenager she had once been.

However, she wasn’t that girl any more.

But then a thought dropped into her head. Had her father and Elena only asked her to be godmother to Nico because of Draco and his offer? Would they have asked her without the merger and the marriage condition? Wasn’t she good enough on her own to be Nico’s godmother? Why did she have to partner with her enemy? A man she loathed with the same passion she desired him.

Allegra twirled her glass and placed it back down on the tray next to the champagne bottle. ‘Here’s a hypothetical question for you. If I were to marry you then how long would you expect the marriage to last?’

‘For as long as I want it to.’

And how long would that be? Allegra turned to look at the view from the window to give herself more time to think. The sunlight was so bright it was almost violent. The intense blue of the Aegean Sea, and the equally vivid blue domes in contrast to the stark white of the houses, never failed to snatch her breath. It was picture-postcard perfect, especially from her father’s luxury villa in Oia, where the best sunsets in the world were occurred.

It was home and yet it wasn’t.

She’d always felt like she had a foot in both countries and it added to her sense of not really belonging anywhere.

If she married Draco to save her father from financial disgrace, where would that leave her when it was time to call an end to their marriage? Few marriages ended with a mutual agreement to part. There was nearly always one party who wasn’t happy about the break-up. Would that be her? And—if he wasn’t joking about the heir he said he wanted—there was no way she would have a child under such circumstances, with the knowledge that the marriage had no guarantee, no promise of full and lasting commitment.

Allegra turned back to look at Draco. ‘Still speaking hypothetically here. What about my career? Or do you expect me to give that up?’

‘No, of course not,’ he said. ‘But there will have to be compromises occasionally. I have business interests in London, as you know, but most of my time is spent in Greece. I think the fact you have your own career will enhance our marriage rather than complicate it.’

‘And you would expect me to be with you most of the time?’ Allegra said it as though it was the most unreasonable request in the world. As though she’d be committing to daily root-canal treatment.

His expression flickered with amusement. ‘Isn’t that what husbands and wives do?’

Allegra sent him a speaking look. ‘Ones that are in love with each other, maybe. But that hardly applies in our case.’

One side of his smile went a little higher. ‘You’ve been in love with me since you were a teenager. Go on—admit it. That’s why you haven’t got married yet or dated with any regularity. You can’t find anyone that does it for you like I do it for you.’

Allegra affected a laugh. ‘Seriously? That’s what you think?’ What signals had she been giving off to make him think she was still that clumsy teenage girl? She wasn’t that infatuated fool any more. She was all grown up and she hated him. Hated. Hated. Hated him.

His eyes gleamed like wet paint. ‘When was the last time you slept with a man?’

She folded her arms across her body and pursed her lips like she was a schoolmistress staring down an impertinent child. ‘I’m not going to give you details of my sex life. It’s none of your damn business who I sleep with.’

‘It will be my business once we’re married. I expect you to be faithful.’

Allegra unfolded her arms and planted her hands on her hips instead. ‘And what about you? Will you be faithful or will I have to turn a blind eye to your little dalliances like my mother did for my father?’

Something hardened around his mouth, making it appear flatter, less mobile. ‘I am not your father, Allegra. I take the institution of marriage very seriously.’

‘So seriously you’re prepared to marry a woman you don’t love, for a short period of time, just so you can acquire a flagging business?’ She made a scoffing noise. ‘Don’t make me laugh. I know why you want to marry me, Draco. You want a trophy wife. A wife who knows which knife and fork to use. A wife you can take anywhere without worrying she might embarrass you. Then, when you’ve got me to pop out an heir, you’ll get bored, send me on my way and keep the kid. I’m not doing it. No way. Find some other puppet.’

She pushed past him to leave the room but he snagged her wrist on her way past, bringing her around to face him. Her skin burned where his fingers gripped her, but not a painful burn, more of a sizzling, tingling burn that sent heat rushing through her body and pooling in her core. He had rarely touched her since that kiss other than by accident. The contact of his flesh on hers was like being zapped with a lightning bolt. It made every nerve beneath her skin pirouette. His thumb found her thrumming pulse and soothed it with slow, measured strokes while his eyes held hers prisoner.

‘I was only teasing about the heir,’ he told her. ‘But think carefully, Allegra. Yes, I am in the market for a suitable wife, and you fit the bill. But this is also your chance to get your father to finally notice you. You won’t just be helping him, but Elena and little Nico, by providing them with security. If the business goes under, it will take them down with it.’

He had found another weak spot. Elena and Nico. They were the innocents in this situation and their future would be compromised if she didn’t do something. Allegra could offer her father a loan but the sort of money Draco was talking about was in the millions. Many millions. She was wealthy, but not wealthy enough to float a multi-million-euro corporation. She let out a rattling breath and looked down at their joined hands. How could she turn her back on her father’s financial plight when she was the only person who could do something? If her father went down, Elena and darling little Nico would be collateral damage. She couldn’t stand back and let that happen. Not when she could help it. She would have to marry Draco. Gulp. ‘It seems I don’t have any choice.’

Draco brought her chin up so her gaze meshed with his. ‘You won’t regret it. I can guarantee it.’

You think? Allegra brushed his hand away from her chin and took a step backwards. ‘I’m not agreeing to this for any other reason than to save my family. Are you absolutely clear on that?’

His eyes shone with a triumphant gleam that made the backs of her knees tingle. ‘But of course.’

She disguised a swallow, trying not to notice the way his eyes kept glancing at her mouth. ‘When are you thinking of...doing it? I mean, getting married?’

‘I have already taken the liberty to make all the arrangements. We’ll be married next weekend. I would have done it this one but I didn’t want to steal little Nico’s limelight.’

Allegra’s eyes bulged in alarm. ‘So soon?’

‘It is a little rushed, but it will be a relatively simple affair. Just a handful of close friends and family.’

‘But what if I want the whole shebang?’

‘Do you?’

She blew out another breath and averted her gaze. ‘No...’

‘You’d be surprised at what can be done in a short period of time when you have money. If you want a white wedding, then that’s what you will have.’

Allegra had never been the sort of girl to hanker after the fairy-tale wedding. She had rarely even thought of getting married. Her career had always been her top priority. She normally avoided bridal shops and didn’t drool at jewellers’ windows. But ever since she’d been a bridesmaid at a friend’s wedding a couple of months ago she had started to think about what it would be like to be a bride. To be loved by someone so much they would promise to spend the rest of their life with her. It was indeed a fairy tale, one she saw turn to ashes and heartache every day of her working life.

‘We’ll be married on my island retreat,’ Draco said. ‘It will be easier to keep the press away.’

Allegra had never been to Draco’s private retreat but she had seen photos. He had a villa in Oia, an apartment in Athens and other homes on Kefalonia and Mykonos. But his secluded retreat on his private island had the most amazing gardens and an infinity pool that was perched on the edge of a vertiginous cliff. It would make a stunning wedding location.

And a perfect spot for a honeymoon.

Do not even think about the honeymoon.