The Tycoon's Red Hot Marriage Merger (14 page)

Marco exited the bathroom and moved across the floor, the sunlight highlighting streaks of gold in his hair. He stopped short of the four-poster bed and pointed. “What is that?” he asked.

“A bathing suit.”

Cassandra scrunched it into a ball. She’d sworn never to wear one like it again, but the scandalous bikinis Marco had purchased for her would draw too much attention. And here, in Key West, with old hurts and fears resurfacing, she didn’t want to risk exposing herself to the extra scrutiny.

“It’s ugly.” Marco shuddered. “Please tell me it will be burned immediately.”

She loosened her grip and stood, dangling it from her fingertips. “It’s more appropriate for the yacht club.”

“You’re too sexy to wear something this horrific.” Marco scooped the offending suit from her hand, crossed the floor to the bathroom, and dumped it into the trashcan. “There. It’s no longer an option.” He shot her a devilish grin and a light sparked in his emerald eyes.

Her heartbeat rang in her ears and every nerve ending tingled with awareness. There was no mistaking the intent in his gaze, especially when she had a full-on view of the outline of his shaft bulging his underwear.

“You’re the only man who has ever considered me irresistible.” Cassandra gripped the post at the foot of the bed while Marco made his way back to her. “None of the men at my club even looked at me twice. I doubt they will now even if I show up one of the bikinis you gave me.”

He wrapped his arms around her waist, then swept her hair from her forehead. “You’re a strong, beautiful, smart woman. The guys at the club are idiots.”

“I can’t blame them,” Cassandra said. “After all, it’s not like I’m model thin or a drop-dead gorgeous. And you can’t deny that I’m a geek.”

“No.” Marco kissed her neck, flicking his tongue across her skin. “But you’re a very sexy geek who has given me much more than I bargained for when we got married. And I’m glad.”

An electrical current shot through her, making her clit pulse with tiny tingles of pleasure. Marco’s desire no longer surprised her. But the fact that he liked Cassandra, that he appreciated her brains and accepted her quirky take on the world, flooded her with warmth. “I’m glad I proposed,” she said, undulating her hips against his pelvis. “Though I never expected to feel this close to anyone. You make me happy.” And he made her feel cherished, and adored. So much so that deep down a seed of hope had sprouted in Cassandra’s heart.

Though love had never been promised, in her heart she already knew it existed.

“Happy is good,” Marco said, turning her in his arms until she faced the mirrored closet doors opposite the bed. “But what will it take for you to see yourself the way I do?”

His breath was hot in her ear, bringing a rush of awareness to every erogenous zone she possessed. Confident, bold, and incredibly turned on, Cassandra held Marco’s gleaming emerald gaze in the reflection. “Why don’t you show me?” she asked.

His cock hardened and pushed into her backside. “You have an amazing, hot body.” Marco stroked his hand over her hip and higher until he cupped her breast.

Her nipples pebbled and exquisite sensations thrummed along her nerve endings. “What else?” she asked.

“I love the way your voice sounds when you get turned on—it makes me want you even more.”

Heat pooled between her thighs and she arched her back, still holding his molten eyes with hers. “You make me feel alive. Free.” She undulated her hips against his shaft, wanting to ease the ache building in her sex.

Marco circled her sensitized nipple, touching her through the fabric. “So pretty. So responsive,” he said. “I love watching you when you get aroused. Look at yourself, Cassandra. Does seeing me touch you make you want to come?”

“God. Yes.”

Her heartbeat thundered in her ears, blood rushed through her veins and painted crimson on her cheeks, the swell of her breasts. Oh, how much she wanted to feel him push his cock inside her and take him all the way. Because with Marco she had become more than she had ever expected and she loved the transformation.

And she loved Marco. So much so that emotion welled in her throat, pricked behind her black as night eyes. “I want you to touch me everywhere,” Cassandra said, taking in the passion reflecting in the planes of his handsome face.

He slid her dress zipper down, and pushed it off her shoulders. When he had her naked but for her matching satin red bra and panties, Marco inhaled a sharp breath. “I love your addiction to sexy lingerie,” Marco said, then cupped her breasts, sweeping his thumb pads across her elongated nipples.

Her legs trembled and her knees buckled. Every nerve ending fired charges of electricity to her sex. Wet heat slicked her inner folds and she shimmied her bottom against his length. “You got me hooked,” she said.

His cockhead twitched while he circled one hand down her torso, slipped it into the top of her panties, and stroked through the trimmed hair until he reached her throbbing clitoris. “Hold onto the post, look at yourself when we come together,” he commanded, pushing her panties off and unsnapping the front closure of her bra to release her breasts to the room’s cool air.

She grabbed onto the post with both hands, bending in front of him. “I want you inside me, with me, when we do.” Excited beyond belief, eager to see him take her and claim her fully as his, she caught the look of raw hunger in his eyes and heard it in his guttural groan. And in that moment, a surge of power coursed through her.

Within seconds, Marco shed his briefs and held his large shaft in one hand, guiding it to her entrance from behind. “I can’t wait to see the look on your face when I make love to you.”

The sunlight went hazy, and her heartbeat accelerated. She’d never heard Marco express love when like this when they were together. But she’d known he cared by the complete and utter attention he had on her during their heated encounters. Now she believed something more had grown between them.

Love was possible.

Her heart joined her body and she wanted to give them the connection they desired. Cassandra lifted her bottom and watched the mirror, looking at the erotic and beautiful picture of Marco becoming one with her in the mirror.

He moved his length into her all the way to the hilt, and then pulled out slowly, then drove into her again, filling her. Over and over he stroked his cock into her, and she could feel his balls tighten, the throbbing of his cockhead as he neared his release.

Her orgasm began to build, tiny waves of pleasure growing into an avalanche of thrilling sensations. He shut his eyes and she could see him straining to hold back, bring her to the edge of reason with the power of his taking, refusing to lose control. Even now he only thought of her. Even now he intended to bring her to the peak of ecstasy before allowing himself to take the pleasure first. But this time, though her orgasm threatened to rock through her, she wanted to give him that gift.

“Marco, let yourself go.” She released one hand from the post and slipped it between her legs, touching herself and letting him feel her fingers dance at the base of his shaft when he buried himself into her again. “Come with me.”

His gaze locked on hers, dark and fathomless. “I won’t go without you,” he said, holding her hips and driving into her again.

“I’m right here with you.”

And her orgasm waved through her, sending her into the stratosphere, stars bursting while his release pulsed through his length and into her, his voice echoing her cries of ecstasy.

###

Two hours later, Cassandra looked at a different reflection. The women at the club wouldn’t recognize her, she thought while she turned to examine the way the shimmering rose gold gown’s low slung fabric caressed the top of her bottom.

Marco had chosen this for her.

He’d transformed her from a plain Jane geek into a gorgeous sensual woman.

A surge of feminine pride and power had her twirling mentally. The tide of their relationship had changed. He claimed that love was overrated, but now she knew that that he used sex to hide the depth of his feeling. And that made her press for more. More about the history that fueled Marco’s drive to conquer the world financially. Yet, he insisted on becoming become part of a society that had never welcomed him.

“We could just stay home,” she said, testing the waters to see if he would agree. “Not play this dumb game. After all, you don’t need anyone’s approval, Marco. You’re better than all of them.”

“Tempting.” He put on his tuxedo jacket. “But this is why we’re married, Cassandra. Or have you forgotten?”

The words stung, but they were delivered in a gentle tone. Marco was yielding his heart even though he denied the possibility. She clung to that belief because her future was brighter than she had imagined it would be three weeks ago. She had hope.

Not only that, but she had no doubt her former high school nemesis and her coven of friends would regret treating Marco like a pariah after the accident. In addition to being drop-dead gorgeous, in a tuxedo that fit him to perfection, which hugged his broad shoulders, Marco had a stock portfolio that would the greedy women drool.

But Cassandra’s heart beat for the lost soul beneath Marco’s suave sophisticated veneer and not for the gobs of money he had in his stock portfolio. She cared for the boy who had been hidden like a crime by his mother, the adolescent who hadn’t been accepted by his father’s people, and the man who desperately wanted to become a part of her community.

If only he could see that she was his ticket to a lifetime of true happiness if he’d let her into his heart. Because hers was already committed. And, if her calculations were right, there might be a little one along the way before the year ended. Not that she could be sure yet. But if she didn’t start her period by next week, she’d be late. And Cassandra had always been regular as clockwork.

Casually, Cassandra picked up her glasses from the nightstand. “I don’t care about why we got married, but I’m glad I proposed,” she said.

“You don’t need your glasses.” Marco walked toward her, then wrapped his arms around her waist. “You can see without them.”

His tender gesture meant more to her than his blunt statement moments earlier. That he was proud of her warmed her heart.

“Yes, but I might need them to read something,” she teased.

“You don’t need to hide behind your glasses anymore,” he said before removing them from her fingers and placing them back on the nightstand. “I want everyone to see how beautiful you are tonight.”

“I’ll leave them here, but you’re in charge of making sure I don’t make a fool of myself.”

“You could never be a fool,” he said. “You’re a genius, remember?”

“Perhaps.” But had she miscalculated when she’d fallen in love with Marco? She tucked her concerns into the far reaches of her mind and locked them away for the night. With Marco by her side a world of possibilities had opened up.

One day he’d understand how much she meant to him, too. After all, she had years to change his thinking—and she could see the results in his slips of compassion and generosity on a daily basis.

Soon he’d forget the original reason for their marriage and focus on the future they could build together.

Chapter Twelve

Cassandra walked beside Marco across the palm tree lined pathway that lead to the Yacht Club’s Palladian doors. She heard the call of a seagull and watched it fly over the club’s terra cotta tiled roof, which contrasted brightly against the sapphire skyline. A light breeze carrying the scent of sea lifted a curling strand of hair from her cheek. Ahead she could see her parents waiting by the entry, standing side-by-side. Her mother resplendent in a cream colored Chanel suit that accented her slim build and her father handsome in his dove-gray tuxedo despite the slight paunch around his middle.

Her stomach filled with fluttering wings, and trepidation slithered up her spine. Though she had dressed for the part of high society wife in a figure hugging rose-gold designer floor length gown, her inner geek feared the scrutiny of her peers. Now she wished she could rewind the clock thirty minutes and be back at the penthouse. Safe and alone with Marco.

She stumbled over her renewed clumsy feet, but Marco steadied her before she fell and made a total goofball of herself. “Sorry about that.”

“Nothing to be sorry about.”

“To be honest, I’m a bit nervous,” she admitted.

“You’ve got nothing to worry about.” He traced a line down her bare arm and caught her cold fingers in his hand. “The arrangements are perfect. The guest list is perfect. And you’re perfect.”

She heard the pride in his voice, read the passion in his glimmering green eyes, and warmth flowed through her veins. His attraction gave her more confidence than she had ever thought possible. But more than that, his faith in her gave her the courage to attend this party with her head held high.

“You’re right,” she said, raising her chin. “It’s our reception. People are here to celebrate and congratulate us. Plus, we’re recruiting crew members to race the
Barracuda.
” How ironic that he needed their marriage to regain entry into the very world that she had wanted to escape.