Captive in His Castle(29)

It was his words “our baby” that wrecked Jess. Unlike during her first pregnancy, she was not alone this time. This baby had a father who clearly would be devoted to his child. The knowledge made her glad, but also desperately sad that she had been unable to be a mother to her first child.

‘Of course I want our baby,’ she told Drago thickly. Tears blinded her and she felt a pain inside as though her heart had cracked. ‘You have no idea how much I want to be a mother.’

The storm had been building for a long time, and now it broke. She buried her face in her hands and her shoulders shook as sobs tore through her slender frame.

‘Jess?’ Shaken to the core to see her sobbing so uncontrollably, Drago strode over to the bed and lifted her into his arms. ‘Cara, don’t cry. I’m sorry I upset you. I just wasn’t sure how you felt about being pregnant.’

Once again he had misjudged her, he thought grimly. There was so much about this woman he was about to marry that he did not understand—so many secrets that she kept from him. He could only hope that one day she would learn to trust him. For now all he could do was cradle her in his lap and wrap his arms tightly around her while she wept.

It was a long time before Jess regained a fragile hold on her emotions. She had never allowed herself to cry like that before, and now she felt drained. Glancing at Drago from beneath her lashes, she felt her heart clench when she saw the bleak expression in his eyes. She wondered if he was thinking about the baby he and his fiancée had lost. He was clearly still haunted by the tragedy, and he must have found it hard to talk about the circumstances that had led to the ending of his engagement to Vittoria.

Jess was touched that he obviously trusted her enough to confide in her about his painful memories. Trust was an important element in a relationship. She knew Drago was curious about the dreams that troubled her and caused her to cry out in her sleep. He had asked her several times who Katie was, and lately she had been tempted to tell him. But something held her back. Her troubled childhood and teenage years had left her wary of revealing her feelings, and deep down she was afraid that Drago would judge her badly for what she had done. She could not bear to see disgust or condemnation in his eyes. No one could understand the utter devastation she had felt when she had given her child away, and it was just too agonising for her to talk about.

She closed her eyes, as if she could banish the heartbreaking memories of her past, and slowly became aware of how comforting it felt to be held close to Drago’s chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart beneath her ear. She could feel the warmth of his body through his silk shirt, and the scent of his aftershave teased her senses.

He was stroking her hair, threading his fingers through its length in a rhythmic motion that was soothing but also sensual. A tremor ran through her as he cupped her chin and tilted her face to his dark gaze. Jess’s heart missed a beat when he gently brushed away the tears from her cheeks. Something was unfurling inside her, and she knew from the sultry gleam in his eyes that he felt it too. Desire beat a slow but insistent drum in her veins.

‘Cara?’ His breath whispered across her lips before he covered them with his own and kissed her long and sweet and with increasing passion until she trembled. ‘Do you want this?’ he asked in a voice roughened with need as he trailed his mouth down her throat.

‘Yes,’ she said honestly. ‘But do you?’ She gave him a troubled look. ‘You haven’t touched me since you found out I’m pregnant. I thought…I assumed you no longer found me attractive.’

Drago lay back on the bed, still holding her in his arms, and rolled over so that she was beneath him. ‘Does this feel like I’m not turned on by you?’ he said wryly as the solid ridge of his arousal straining beneath his trousers pushed against her pelvis. ‘I have not dared sleep in the same bed as you because I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist making love to you.’ He frowned. ‘I read that sex in the early days of pregnancy carries a small risk of causing a miscarriage.’

‘Well, Dr Marellis told me that it was perfectly safe to make love while I’m pregnant,’ Jess murmured. She caught her breath when Drago slid his hand beneath her tee shirt and skimmed it over her ribcage to curl his fingers possessively around one breast.

‘In that case, do you think it’s okay for me to do this…?’ he said softly, smiling at her reaction when he stroked his thumb-pad across her nipple and it immediately hardened.

‘Perfectly okay,’ she gasped as he whipped her tee shirt over her head and closed his mouth around the taut peaks he had exposed. Pregnancy had made her breasts incredibly sensitive, and starbursts of pleasure shot through her as he flicked his tongue across one nipple and then its twin. After weeks of being denied him she was instantly aroused, and she gave a tiny embarrassed laugh when he tugged off her skirt and panties and dipped his finger into her honeyed sweetness.

Eagerly she helped him strip, and when he stretched his bronzed, naked body next to her she clung to him and tried to pull him on top of her.

‘Not yet, tesoro,’ he said softly and, moving down the bed, he eased her legs apart and lowered his head so that his mouth found the sensitive heart of her femininity.

Jess whimpered with delight at his skilled foreplay and the dedication with which he used his tongue to bring her to the edge of heaven. After her emotional breakdown she needed him to restore her, and she trembled with desire when the fierce glitter in his eyes told her the moment had come. But instead of entering her he rolled onto his back, taking her with him, and lifted her above him.

‘This way you’re in control,’ he murmured, and groaned as she slowly took his swollen length inside her. ‘I always knew that with those amazing green eyes you had to be a sorceress,’ he said thickly.

And then there were no more words—just the sound of their quickening breaths and moans of pleasure as together they set a driving rhythm that quickly took them higher and higher, until with a sharp cry Jess shuddered with the sweet ecstasy of her climax. Seconds later Drago lost his battle to hold back the tidal wave of his need for this one unique woman, and he buried his face in Jess’s fragrant hair as his big body shook with the force of his release.

She was the mother of his child, and soon she would be his wife. Those two things brought Drago a level of contentment he had not expected, and he felt a curious tug on his heart as he placed his hand possessively on Jess’s flat stomach. Her pregnancy was unplanned but he had no regrets. He wanted his baby, and he wanted to marry his flame-haired firebrand.

He tensed as the realisation hit him. But after a moment he relaxed, and his mouth curved into a smile when he saw that Jess had fallen asleep with her head resting on his shoulder. She was so beautiful she made his insides ache. But as he watched a tear seeped from beneath her lashes and slid down her cheek, and she whispered a name. Katie.

They married in a small, pretty church tucked away down a narrow side street that few tourists had discovered. Jess was surprised, for she had expected the wedding to take place in a register office, and she was even more surprised when Drago’s mother met her at the door of the church and handed her an exquisite bouquet of cream roses.

‘I had no idea that my son is such an incurable romantic,’ Luisa said drily. ‘He said to tell you that he chose these to complement your dress.’

Jess swallowed the lump that had formed in her throat. ‘They’re perfect.’ Her ivory silk wedding dress was a fairy-tale creation that had been made for her by the designer Torre Umberto. The fluid lines of the gown suited her slender figure, and the crystal-covered bodice sparkled in the sunshine of a Venetian summer’s day.

But the biggest surprise came when she walked into the church with Fico, who was to give her away, and saw Mike, Gaz and the rest of her workforce from T&J Decorators gathered in the pews.

‘Drago arrange for your friends to come,’ Fico told her in a gruff whisper. ‘He say it make you happy.’

As she reached the altar and lifted her eyes to Drago’s handsome face Jess knew she was happier than she had ever been in her life—and the thought terrified her. In all the bleak years of her childhood she had not imagined happiness like this, and she felt she did not deserve it.

Drago did not love her, she reminded herself. He was only marrying her because she was expecting his baby. But the gentle expression in his eyes as he took her hand and the marriage service began filled her with hope that they could make their marriage work.

Remember how Seb betrayed you, she told herself sternly. She had fooled herself into believing that he cared for her, and the legacy of that mistake would haunt her for ever. But she could not prevent the frantic leap of her heart when Drago slid a gold wedding band onto her finger and followed it with an exquisite emerald and diamond ring in the shape of a flower.

‘The solitaire ring was too big and showy for you,’ he murmured. ‘This suits your small hand much better, and the emeralds match the colour of your eyes.’