HIS LIPS WERE hot and yearning, burning through Hallie’s body and soul. This kiss was different from the hungry, demanding passion of their first night. This time he tempted rather than took. He lured rather than ravished.
His hands tangled in her dark hair, stroking slowly down her bare shoulders and back. Shivers of need cascaded through Hallie’s body. She could not resist his embrace, as wistful and tender as his whispered words, which still hung between them like mist.
When will you learn the truth?
What’s that?
I want only you.
Her mind scattered in a million different directions, the penthouse whirling around her. She felt his desire for her through his low-slung pajama pants. She gripped his naked, powerful shoulders, feeling that Cristiano was the only solid thing in a world spinning out of control. His skin felt warm, his body solid and strong. This kiss, the sweet dream of his lips on hers, was all that felt real.
He deepened the embrace, pushing her back against the white sofa, his hands running over her body—over her naked arms, the spaghetti straps of her sundress. As the kiss intensified, hunger built between them until she kissed him back desperately, her whole body on fire. She gripped his shoulders, his mouth hot and demanding against hers. Feeling the sweet weight of his body over hers, the hard warmth of his muscular chest, she would have done anything—agreed to anything—to make this moment last...
“Say you’ll marry me,” he whispered against her skin. “Say it—”
“Yes,” she choked out. She didn’t realize she’d spoken until he pulled back, searching her gaze.
“You won’t take it back? You won’t change your mind?”
She shook her head. “It’s what I want most. Loyalty. Family. Home.”
“And this.” And Cristiano kissed her, consuming her, until all that was left of her was fire and ash.
* * *
Cristiano had to take her to bed. Now.
If he didn’t have her, now that he knew she was going to be his wife, he thought he might explode.
“You’ve made me so happy, cara mia,” he whispered, kissing her forehead, her cheeks. The sweet intoxication of her lips. He started to lift her in his arms, intending to seal the deal immediately in his bedroom.
Then his baby son gave a low whimper.
“Jack,” Hallie said immediately, and the sensual spell was broken. Looking at each other, they both gave a rueful laugh. Moving back, he let her get off the sofa.
After hurrying across the room, she scooped Jack up from his play gym. The baby immediately brightened in his mother’s arms. “But I’m being greedy.” Walking with him back to where Cristiano stood, she gave him a shy smile. “Do you want to hold him?”
He shook his head. To be honest, the baby seemed happier with his mother. And he couldn’t blame Jack for preferring her. What experience did Cristiano have with children? He couldn’t bear the thought of his son crying. What if he held him wrong again and Hallie scorned him for being a clumsy fool?
“Are you sure?” Hallie said, looking disappointed. But she didn’t wait for an answer. She just smiled down at her son, crooning, “How are you, sweet boy?”
Cristiano’s heart expanded as he looked at them, his tiny baby son with the chubby cheeks, held by his incredibly loving, sexy bride-to-be. Reaching out, he put his hand on his son’s soft, downy hair. His eyes locked with Hallie’s and he felt a current of emotion.
It was too much. Feeling his heart in his throat, he abruptly turned away. “We’ve been stuck in this penthouse long enough. I want to buy you an engagement ring.”
“It’s not necessary.”
“But it is.” He’d buy her the most obscenely huge diamond that the world had ever seen. “And our wedding must be arranged quickly, before I leave for Italy.”
“You’re going to Italy?”
“Tomorrow night.”
“So soon!”
He turned to her with a frown. “I will visit my hotel in Rome. Also I’m building a new hotel on the Amalfi Coast and want to supervise the final preparations before the grand opening next month.”
“How long will you be gone?”
“It doesn’t matter, because you’re both coming with me.”
Hallie’s eyes became round as saucers. “You want to take me and Jack to Italy?”
“Is that a problem?”
“I don’t have a passport.”
“Something we’ll fix today, after we go to the jewelry store—and get our wedding license.”
“You want us to be married in Italy?”
“That would take too long. The laws there are complicated.”
Her lips parted. “You want us to be married before we leave?”
“Yes,” he said roughly.
“A wedding? In two days?”
“Tomorrow,” he said.
Hallie looked shocked. Coming forward, he took her in his arms and kissed her. “Everything will be perfect,” he whispered, cupping her cheek. “I swear to you.”
“All right.” Looking dazed, she gave him a crooked smile. “I’ll take your word for it. After all, you were right about the room service.”
He returned her grin. “I’ll go get dressed.” His body protested at the thought of putting on clothes instead of taking Hallie’s clothes off. Still, he could wait the few hours until they were alone, until they weren’t being watched so keenly by their three-month-old chaperone. Glancing down at his pajama pants, he turned toward his bedroom, intending to find a shirt and trousers. “We’ll leave in five minutes.”
Behind him, Hallie gave a laugh that came straight from her belly, deeper and more heartfelt than he’d ever heard from her before. “Oh, we will, will we?”
Frowning, he turned back.
“What’s so funny?” he said suspiciously.
“Nothing.” She gave him a grin. “Except you’re used to people always being ready whenever you want them to be, aren’t you?”
“I’m a busy man. Others wait for me. I don’t wait for them.”
“Not anymore.” She giggled. “Now you have a baby.”
She was right. It was, in fact, over an hour before they left the penthouse. In that time, the baby was fed, then he’d cried, and then they had to change his clothes when he spit up all over his onesie. He was burped a little more and cried some more. Then the real reason for Jack’s earlier fussiness was revealed—a blowout needing a diaper change and yet another new outfit. Hallie calmly repacked everything in her diaper bag. Finally, just as they were about to leave, the baby let out a whimper and needed to be fed again.
Through it all, Cristiano was impressed with Hallie’s infinite patience and skill. He wouldn’t have had a clue what to do. When she’d looked up at him with a gentle smile and asked if he wanted to help burp or change the baby, he had been filled with alarm. He’d shaken his head. What did he know? Better to leave it to the expert. Patient and loving, Hallie was clearly born to be a mother.
Once again Cristiano congratulated himself on securing his possession of her.
By the time they were out of the hotel and on the street, he took a big breath of fresh air. Yellow taxi cabs raced down the avenue as backpack-carrying tourists fought for space on the sidewalk with lawyers in suits and food carts selling everything from hot dogs to cupcakes to falafel. The summer morning was warm and fresh, and the sunlight spilled gold on the streets of New York.
But the brightest glow of all came from Hallie’s sparkling eyes as she snapped their baby’s carrier into his expensive new stroller.
“Thank you for this, by the way,” she said, nodding at the stroller.
He’d told Marcia to send the best one. “Does Jack like it?”
She turned it toward him. “See for yourself.”
Peeking down, he saw that his baby, who’d spent the past hour causing a fuss, was nestled in the stroller cozily, smiling.
Cristiano’s heart swelled in his chest as his son stretched up his chubby little hands, as if reaching for the towering hotel.
“All yours someday,” he told Jack softly in Italian. Then he looked at Hallie’s beautiful face as she pointed up at the top of the hotel in the clouds, talking tenderly to their son. Under his breath in the same language, he added, “All mine.”
Hallie turned to him quizzically. “Did you say something?”
“Just that our first stop this morning is to get our marriage license.” As they waited briefly outside the hotel, he took her hand. He felt it tremble at the intimacy of the gesture.
The black SUV with tinted windows pulled up. Matthews was at the wheel and Luther, the bodyguard, sat beside him in the front.
As Matthews folded the stroller into the trunk, Cristiano opened the door for Hallie. He snapped the baby carrier securely in the back seat, then followed her inside.
“Where to, sir?” Matthews said cheerfully as Hallie smiled down at the chattering baby.
“The city clerk’s office downtown.”
An hour later, they left with their marriage license. Cristiano exhaled deeply. One step closer. In twenty-four hours it would be permanent. He would give Jack his last name. And not just the baby...
His eyes lingered on Hallie as she climbed back into the waiting SUV, tucking their smiley baby into his car seat.
He could hardly wait to possess her in bed. Tonight. This afternoon. He paused. Or he could wait to make love until their wedding night, as Hallie had once wanted.
Could he give her that? Could he wait until she was legally his to bed her? Knowing that, after tomorrow, she would be his forever?
No. He couldn’t.
“Now where, sir?”
Leaning forward in the SUV, Cristiano named the most exclusive jewelry store on Fifth Avenue. He glanced at Hallie to see if it met with her approval, but she was busy playing peekaboo with the baby.
When they arrived, Hallie stared out of the window, wide-eyed at the sight of the luxury jewelry store. “Here?”
“Here,” he said firmly. He intended to woo her. Perhaps he couldn’t do love, but he knew about romance. Though he’d never shopped for an engagement ring before.
As Cristiano got out, he saw Hallie unbuckling their baby from the car seat. “You’re bringing him with us?” he asked in surprise.
“Of course I am.” As Matthews got the stroller from the back, she smiled down at her baby, tucking him inside it. “What would you expect me to do, leave him alone in the car?”
“He wouldn’t be alone,” Cristiano said, nonplussed. He’d intended to romance her, and even with his limited experience of babies, he’d already seen that they could be a distraction from romance. He’d told Luther to remain in the SUV, as bodyguards also could impinge on intimate moments. “Matthews and Luther could watch him.”
She glanced back at the two burly men, and her lips curved. “Not exactly trained baby professionals. No offense.”
“None taken, ma’am,” Matthews said.
“None whatsoever,” Luther said.
“Va bene.” Cristiano gave in with grace. Perhaps Hallie was right, anyway. The engagement ring wasn’t meant to cement just the two of them as a couple, but the three of them as a family. Still, he made a mental note that they should acquire a—what had she called it?—a trained baby professional as soon as possible. Because he had sensual plans for Hallie, and he knew she wouldn’t be able to linger in his bed unless she was certain Jack was being well tended.
“We won’t be here long,” he said, as they pushed the stroller past the doorman and security guard into the gilded jewelry store. Smiling down at Hallie, he said huskily, “I already know what I want.”
“I think you’ve made that clear,” she said, her cheeks a charming shade of pink. So were her lips.
Cristiano stopped abruptly inside the entrance, beneath the stained-glass cupola high overhead. Not caring who might see, he pulled Hallie into his arms, her pink sundress fluttering behind her.
Ruthlessly he lowered his mouth to hers, kissing her long and lingeringly. The stained-glass cupola dappled them with colored light. He heard whispers and romantic sighs as some customers walked by, as well as the irritated grumbling of men as their partners hissed, “Why do you never kiss me in public like that?”
When Cristiano finally pulled away, he looked down, relishing the dazzled look in Hallie’s brown eyes. Gently he traced her swollen bottom lip with his thumb.
“Soon,” he whispered. “Very soon.”
Hallie sucked in her breath as if still in a trance. Taking a step, she nearly stumbled. He felt a surge of supremely masculine satisfaction.
“Let me help.” With a wicked grin, he took the stroller with one arm and her hand with the other. “Let’s have some fun.”
He already knew exactly the ring he wanted: the biggest diamond in the store. Maybe Hallie didn’t care about luxuries like room service, but every woman wanted an amazing engagement ring. And Hallie would have the best.
The store manager’s face lit up upon seeing Cristiano, who, though he’d never bought a ring, had purchased expensive bracelets and necklaces for various mistresses in the past. The man took them swiftly to a private room, where he spread out a selection of diamond engagement rings across a black velvet tray.
“Which would the lady like to see first?” purred the manager, who was short and sophisticated in a designer suit.
“Which is the best?” Cristiano said.
With an approving smile, the manager pointed at a middle ring, an enormous emerald-cut canary diamond set in platinum. Cristiano nodded. “That’s the one.”
He was surprised to see Hallie frown, her eyebrows furrowed. “But it’s yellow.”
“A special type of diamond, very rare and beautiful,” the manager intoned, “for a rare and beautiful woman.”
Staring at him, Hallie burst into a laugh. “And here I was thinking that since the color’s off, we might get a discount.”
The manager’s smile froze in place. “It’s the most luxurious diamond we possess, with a cost that is, of course, commensurate with its rare beauty.”
“Try it on,” Cristiano said.
Biting her lip, Hallie allowed him to slide it over her finger. Her eyes were huge as she stared down at the ring. The rectangular yellow diamond was so huge it extended over her ring finger to partially cover the two adjacent fingers.
“Twenty and a half carats,” said the manager reverently.
Her hand shook visibly, and she yanked it off suddenly and placed it back on the black velvet tray.
“You don’t like it?” Cristiano asked, confused.
Hallie shook her head. “It weighs like a billion pounds! It’s cold! And the setting scratched my skin. What if I scratched the baby?”
“Hurt the baby?” he said incredulously. Any other woman he’d known would have grabbed the million-dollar ring with a fervent thank you.
Hallie shook her head. “I wouldn’t want to worry about gouging out someone’s eye with that thing.” She tilted her head. “And since we’re getting married tomorrow, why do we even need an engagement ring? It seems silly.”
There was a suppressed scream from the other side of the counter. The manager looked as if he might have the vapors.
Cristiano turned back to her with a frown. “You don’t want a ring?”
She put her hand in his.
“I’d rather just get a plain gold wedding band. For each of us.”
Now he was really confused. “Doesn’t a diamond symbolize forever? Exactly as you wanted?”
“It does,” agreed the manager, nodding vigorously.
“Not for me.” She entwined her smaller hand in his. “My parents just had gold bands. I don’t need a big diamond or a big wedding. It’s the commitment I care about. Knowing the baby’s safe. That I am, too.”
Her big, brown eyes were like pools to drown in. Cristiano could not argue with her. He turned to the manager.
“You heard the lady. Get her what she wants.”
The manager’s face fell at seeing his easy million-dollar sale slip through his fingers. Then he seemed to recall that a man such as Cristiano would be likely to buy other expensive trinkets for his wife over time, and he recovered.
“I know just the thing,” the man said.
Ten minutes later, Cristiano walked out of the jewelry store into the sunshine with his beautiful bride-to-be pushing the stroller. From her wrist dangled a small red bag, which held two simple wedding bands in shining gold.
Calling an enormous diamond ring silly? Cristiano shook his head with wonder. Truly, Hallie was one in a million. But, seeing her smile, he was glad he’d let her have her way.
He had another surprise for her, too.
“Now we need to get you some clothes,” he said after the SUV picked them up. He hid a smile. The surprise had taken some effort to arrange.
“Why?” Hallie looked puzzled. She looked down at her faded pink sundress and her slightly scuffed sandals. “What’s wrong with this?”
“You’ll need a wedding dress. We’ll get the rest of your trousseau in Rome.”
She gave a laugh. “Trousseau?”
Her expression made him feel old-fashioned, or at least old. “That is the word, is it not, for the traditional new wardrobe for a bride?”
Her grin widened. “That’s the dumbest thing I ever heard. Why would I need new clothes to be a wife?”
“Because you’re going to be my wife. There will be certain expectations.”
“What expectations?”
She was blushing, as if she assumed he was speaking of sex. But he would hardly talk dirty with his driver, his bodyguard and their innocent baby all listening in. His lips quirked. “I am the owner of twenty-two luxury hotels around the world. That makes me the advocate for my brand. As my wife, you will be, as well.”
“So?”
“So you need new clothes.”
“You mean sexy? Expensive?”
“Sleek. Cosmopolitan.” He ran his fingertips slowly down the side of her dress. The cotton fabric was rough and pilled from repeated washings. “I can’t have my wife’s clothes looking like they were bought at a discount shop. What would my shareholders think?”
“That I’m good with money and know how to get good value?” she replied archly.
He snorted. “In private, of course, you can wear whatever you want. I like the look of you in everything.” Leaning forward, he whispered for her ears alone, “Or nothing.”
He felt her shiver, felt his own body rise. He had to fight the urge to grab her and kiss her again. Soon, he promised himself hungrily. Tonight.
Cristiano leaned back against the SUV’s soft leather seat. “You will need clothes that you can wear to events where you will be photographed and appear in newspapers as a symbol of the Campania brand.”
“I didn’t sign up for that.”
“And yet it is so.” He tilted his head curiously. “Most women would not object so strenuously to a new wardrobe.”
“I’m remembering something I read in high school...that you should beware any relationship that requires new clothes.”
His lips lifted. “You’re talking about Thoreau. He didn’t say beware the new relationship, he said beware the new enterprise.”
“Marrying you, it doesn’t sound like there’s a difference,” she said grumpily. The SUV stopped, and she frowned. “What are we—”
Then Hallie turned, and her jaw dropped when she saw Cristiano’s surprise.