Captive in His Castle(26)

‘But what if…?’ Jess’s voice faltered. ‘I’m very early in my pregnancy. What if something goes wrong and there is no baby? We will have married for no reason.’

Drago’s expression was hidden beneath his heavy lids. ‘Nothing will go wrong,’ he stated with fierce conviction, as if he dared fate to argue with him. ‘The doctor said after he examined you this morning that you are fit and healthy—although you need to put on a bit of weight. From now on I am going to make sure you eat properly,’ he added in a warning tone. ‘You also need to get plenty of rest—especially in the early months while the baby is developing. I don’t want you to do too much, or feel stressed. That’s why it is best for us to have the wedding soon. And you won’t have to worry about the arrangements. I’ll take care of everything.’

Drago was certainly taking his duties as a prospective father seriously, Jess thought with a sigh. It was rather nice to receive so much attention from him after a lifetime of fending for herself, but she knew his only concern was for the baby—which meant that while she was pregnant he was concerned for her well-being too. Of course she was glad that he was going to be a devoted father. After her own miserable experiences, growing up with her alcoholic father and then in the children’s home, she was relieved that her baby would have a very different childhood from the one she’d had. But it would be nice if Drago cared for her a little, rather than regarding her as an incubator, she thought wistfully.

From the sound of it she was not going to have much say regarding what sort of wedding she would like. She could imagine his reaction if she told him she had always dreamed of getting married on a white sandy beach, barefoot, with flowers in her hair. The huge, blindingly brilliant diamond engagement ring was an indication that the wedding would have no expense spared, and she assumed that the guest list would be made up of his sophisticated friends.

‘Are you ready to go down to dinner? You’re not feeling sick again, are you?’ Drago frowned when he saw how pale Jess was. ‘I thought morning sickness was called that for a reason,’ he said drily.

‘It can happen at any time of the day. I used to—’ She stopped abruptly.

‘Used to what?’ he demanded, puzzled by her sudden, palpable tension.

‘I…I used to have a friend who was sick at all times of the day when she was pregnant.’ Jess could feel herself blushing. She was not a natural liar, and she could tell from the speculative look Drago gave her that he was not convinced by her explanation. To her relief he did not pursue the matter.

‘I can arrange for your dinner to be served up here, if you would prefer it?’

‘No, I feel fine. Besides, I want to see Angelo on his first evening home from the hospital. He’s going to be surprised when he hears about us.’

‘My cousin is delighted—as are my mother and aunt.’

‘You mean you’ve told them already?’

Ever since she had agreed to marry Drago, Jess had suffered badly from pregnancy sickness and had not left his wing of the palazzo or seen Luisa and Dorotea. She had assumed that he would wait until she was with him to announce their engagement, but clearly that had not been the case. He was like a steamroller, driving forcefully towards his goal—which in this case was marriage to the mother of his child, Jess thought dismally. Once again she felt a sense of panic that she was trapped and powerless against his formidable strength of will.

‘Of course I informed my family of our intention to marry,’ he said coolly. ‘They are all delighted about the baby.’ He hesitated, and to Jess’s surprise streaks of colour flared along his sharp cheekbones. ‘My family are under the impression that our marriage is a love-match.’ The expression in his dark eyes was faintly challenging. ‘I don’t want them to be disappointed.’

Jess could not hide her confusion. ‘I don’t understand. Are you saying that they think we are…’ she stumbled over the words ‘…in love? Why don’t you tell them that we’re marrying for the baby’s sake?’

‘It is precisely for the baby’s sake that I haven’t explained the nature of our relationship.’ When Jess frowned, Drago continued coolly. ‘Babies do not stay babies for very long. They grow up fast. And children are very perceptive. Do you want our child to have the pressure of knowing that we married purely for their sake? If it is believed by everyone that we married for love then there will be no risk of our child feeling that we sacrificed our happiness for him or her.’

Jess bit her lip. Did Drago feel that by marrying her he was sacrificing his happiness? If so, how on earth were they going to give a convincing performance that they were in love? she wondered.

He drew back the cuff of his dinner jacket and glanced at the gold Rolex on his wrist. ‘We should go down for dinner. Before we go, I want to say how beautiful you look, mia bella,’ he murmured, his eyes darkening as he studied her. The emerald silk strapless dress revealed her slim white shoulders, she had piled her hair into a loose knot on top of her head and, unbeknown to Jess, she looked so exquisitely lovely that desire corkscrewed through Drago.

Still smarting from the idea that he viewed marriage to her as a sacrifice, she stalked over to the door with her head held high, and said coolly, ‘Presumably we don’t have to start the pretence that we are in love until we are in front of your family? Although, to be honest, I’m not sure I’m that good an actress.’

‘Perhaps this will help you get into character.’ He caught up with her and spun her round, stifling her angry protest with his mouth as he lowered his head and claimed her lips in a searing kiss that left her trembling and breathless.

It was over far too quickly, and to compound Jess’s shame Drago had to unfurl her fingers from the lapels of his jacket as he stepped away from her.

‘Keep responding to me like that and you’ll even convince me that I’m the love of your life, cara,’ he mocked gently, and without giving her a chance to reply he put his hand in the small of her back and steered her out of the room.

Jess’s face still felt hot when Drago ushered her into the dining room. Running her tongue over her lips, she felt their slight puffiness and knew she must look as though she had been thoroughly kissed by her fiancé.

Seeing Angelo, balanced on crutches and looking drawn but otherwise remarkably well, provided a welcome distraction—although his greeting, ‘Here are the two lovebirds,’ brought another flush to her cheeks.

Aunt Dorotea rushed up and enveloped her in a hug. Angelo’s mother was convinced that Jess had been responsible for her son regaining his memory and she congratulated the newly engaged couple effusively. Drago’s mother was more reserved with her congratulations, and not for the first time Jess was conscious of Luisa studying her speculatively.

After dinner she cornered Jess in the conservatory. ‘I’m surprised by your choice of engagement ring,’ she murmured, lifting Jess’s hand and studying the enormous diamond. ‘This bauble seems a little too ostentatious for your tastes.’

‘I didn’t choose it,’ Jess admitted. ‘Drago…surprised me when he gave it to me. And I think it’s absolutely lovely,’ she lied.

For some strange reason she found that she did not want to be disloyal to Drago. Luisa had been right to guess that the ring wasn’t her taste, but she certainly didn’t want to risk hurting Drago’s feelings by saying so.

Luisa looked at her closely. ‘So you really do love him?’ she murmured. For the first time that evening she smiled warmly at Jess, who had gone bright red. ‘I am very happy for both of you.’ Her voice became serious. ‘May I offer you a word of advice? I adore my son, but Drago is strong-willed—like his father—and you may find it necessary to stand up to him from time to time.’ She smiled again. ‘But don’t let him know I told you that.’

Jess was still reeling because Luisa had guessed how she felt about Drago. ‘I won’t,’ she promised. ‘I’m strong-willed myself, and we’ve already had a few clashes,’ she said ruefully.

‘It won’t do him any harm. Vittoria was too soft-natured for him, and had they married they would not have been happy. But I was sorry their relationship ended so tragically. It took Drago a long time to get over what happened. I expect he has told you—’ Luisa broke off as Drago entered the conservatory.

‘I’ve been looking for you,’ he said as he walked over to them and slid his arm around Jess’s waist. ‘I missed you, tesoro.’

His velvet-soft voice, and the gentle look in his eyes as he stared down at her caused Jess’s heart to lurch. His performance as an adoring fiancé was very convincing, and she had to remind herself sternly that it was an act for his family’s benefit. But she wished he had not interrupted her conversation with his mother, for she was none the wiser about why his engagement to Vittoria had ended.