Bargain Bride, Billionaire Groom Page 11

  And shifted yet again…

  “Push hard now, Golden! Your baby is in distress.”

  Grave looks were being exchanged between the nurse and the doctor. Forceps were being readied. Oh, no. If she couldn’t push the baby out, those forceps would be used to clasp around her baby’s head to force-ease her baby out from her body.

  Naomi, the third year college student she’d hired to help her with her baby had been in the room, and asked, “Should I get your brother in here?”

  “No!” she’d groaned then, a powerful contraction racking her with pain.

  “Jio is here now, too. He’s in the waiting room. Shall I get him, instead?”

  If having her brother in the room was a bad idea, Jio seeing her spread-eagled and sweaty was a horrible one! But she needed to tell him something. Minutes later she felt his hand squeeze her shoulder.

  “Hi there, lovely.” He spoke softly in her ear just before he took his seat on a stool behind the head of the hospital bed.

  She’d reached up and placed her hand over his hand. Angling her head, she peered up at him. “If anything happens to me, will you help my brother take care of the baby?”

  He’d brushed her bangs from her forehead. The stroke of his fingers soothed her damp skin. “Nothing will happen to you. I promise.”

  “That’s what we told Enzo-aaargh!”

  “Shhh. Sweetheart, it’s time. Grab hold of my hands—just like that—and when doctor tells you to push, I want you to squeeze my hands as hard as you can, and push.”

  As the next contraction wrenched through her body, she did as he instructed and was rewarded for her efforts with the sound of her baby’s tiny cry…

  ~~*~~

  Jio glanced at his watch. His stressed-out frown deepened.

  She was late.

  In a private room at the lodge, the fireplace mantel was swagged with fragrant cedar garlands and large ruby bows. Inside the fireplace, seasoned logs spit and crackled with orange-gold flames. Everything was ready. Where was she?

  He closed his eyes, able to see every feature of Golden’s face, her vibrant smile and wonderful eyes. Even now he could hear those lovely little ‘mmm’ sounds she made when his lips touched hers, and feel the instant coil of his body’s response just thinking about her.

  The white-flower fragrance she favored, so delicate and so her teased his senses—and she wasn’t even in the room.

  He stalked over to the windows and stared out at the stands of evergreens with worried eyes, unable to shake his mind of the possibility…

  She might have changed her mind.

  A reluctant groom wasn’t any woman’s wedding fantasy, after all. But after tonight, nobody else could lay claim to her body, or her kisses. Not Marcus, and not that damned playboy prince, Sebastiano, whose eyes had locked her in his sights. No doubt he’d pursue her, seduce her and hurt her.

  More than you will?

  Jio shrugged his thoughts free of the voice of reason. His success didn’t always come by making popular choices, but Golden chose him. Never could she say he hadn’t given her fair warning. Still, he wanted to make her happy. Very much so! He just hoped the things he could give her would make up for what he couldn’t.

  “They’re here.”

  Gado spoke the words his mind and heart were desperate to hear. He exhaled, relieved. Yet, he couldn’t relax. Not until he saw his wife walk down the aisle to him.

  When she stepped into the room, he wondered if he would ever relax again.

  The violinist played something romantic. Pachelbel’s Canon, but all he heard was the blood sizzling in his ears. Their gazes linked. The sounds around them faded until all that remained were his crashing heartbeats.

  Dressed in ivory chiffon, she looked like an exotic winter princess, and she stole his breath away. In her long, gossamer halter-necked gown, she gleamed like a jewel in pure moonlight. Jio blinked, his eyes begging for more.

  A black velvet cloak lay draped around her shoulders. The slit in the front of her gown spiked up to mid-thigh, and the flash of her thighs had the effect of high-octane fuel frying up his lungs.

  When her brother removed her cloak, Jio’s mouth tingled to see the halter-style neckline, woven with lace and crystals, curve around the base of her neck. Panels of the gown’s fabric were pleated snugly around her breasts, interweaving along her waist, then segueing to that damnably delicious slit in her gown.

  Tonight, he’d kiss her neck, her honey-gold shoulders, her mouth, her legs… Every inch of her. Tonight…

  Where is everybody? Golden wondered as she stared back at Jio, unable to see anyone around her. There had to be people around somewhere, even though he looked like he’d stepped out of a dream himself in his black formal suit, his chest encased in a crisp white shirt.

  A black bow was tied at the base of his neck, and a red rose with a spray of baby’s breath had been pinned to his lapel. The rose matched the bouquet he’d had waiting for her at the lodge—along with a tiara, winking throughout with crimson rubies, fiery opals, and glittering crystals!

  Naomi had set the tiara on her head only minutes before, careful not to muss the glamorous up-do that Naomi herself had taken two hours to curl and pile atop her head.

  Lily had gone into the care of a nanny while Golden and Naomi were chauffeured around town to find dresses, get mani-pedied, then showered and dressed. Both Lily and her caregiver now waited in the standing crowd.

  “Momma!” Lily piped, and clapped.

  Golden and Jio smiled at each other. He reached out a hand to her and she gave her hand into the safe keeping of his. She squeezed his hand, as much to reassure him as an outlet for her rattled nerves. His sharp exhale felt strangely comforting. It let her know he was just as affected.

  “I can’t breathe, darling,” he whispered. “You’re breathtaking.”

  “I don’t know how to thank you for today,” she whispered back, looking up at him. “For the limousine, the shopping, the roses. This…” She touched her hair, and the tiara.

  His sultry gaze caressed her earnest one, then drank in her face, her dress, her body—everything about her. He met her eyes once more. “I’ll think of something.”

  She lifted her bouquet up to her nose, giving herself an excuse to break his hot stare.

  The ceremony was sweet, short, and tailored to a simple renewal of vows—with the exception of the awkward moment when Jio was asked to present Golden with her ring. She nearly fainted. She’d forgotten to get him a ring!

  Her heartbeats quickened when Jio presented her with her sunflower yellow diamond, and a new matching gold band, speckled with purple and yellow diamonds!

  A tear plopped down her cheek when he slid them both on. “I-I didn’t get you a ring.”

  Brushing her tear away with his thumb, he said, “You’re all that I want.” He tried to keep the words soft and low, but the hushed audience heard him. Their guests clapped. The sound of sighing women swept throughout the room.

  She took his hands and clasped them in her unsteady ones. Gazing into his eyes, she said, “I forgot to get you a ring, but I promise I’ll never forget my vows, Jio.”

  “Sweetheart…” Without waiting for permission, he kissed her right then and there as their guests cheered on.

  Afterward they strolled, hand-in-hand, under the outdoor pergola that attached the main lodge to a reception hall, built alongside a cascading waterfall. As they greeted guests, it delighted her to know that Jio also invited lodge staff to the event.

  His interaction with his employees opened the door for her to see a different side to the man she married—a caring man beneath the dynamic, financial power-house persona that was also a big part of him.

  After greeting and visiting with their guests, they sat down to a formal dinner served on tables with golden-yellow, red and light blue tea-roses for centerpieces. Jio’s efforts to give her an unforgettable wedding experience showed. That he’d planned all this in twenty four hours reminded her she
married a mover and shaker.

  Among other appetites stirred while gazing at her vibrant husband, she found herself quite hungry for the prime rib of beef and the savory lobster tail that went with it.

  Her brother kept the conversation moving right along while Jio personally kept her wine glass full. The floor was soon cleared for dancing. A deejay had been hired for the evening’s entertainment, and when she and Jio were called up for their first dance, Jio guided her to the center of the dance floor, flooding now with soft, ambient light.

  She turned to him, unsure. They didn’t have a song song, but as the first tender strains of Time After Time began to play, he took her in his arms and whispered, “This is for Enzo.”

  Her eyes widened in awe. She hugged him, then slipped into his arms and laid her head against his chest, so grateful that they could share this moment of their lives with a man they both loved.

  They held together, floating on their own memories of Enzo that they’d both keep forever. In the middle of the song, Lily tugged on Jio’s jacket. He scooped her up, too, completing the moment that honored her father’s memory.

  When the song was over, another one began to play. Naomi whisked Lily away so that they could have this dance all to themselves.

  Jio took Golden into his arms once more as Journey’s romantic and poignant When You Love a Woman began to play. Drawing her deep into his embrace, he bent his head and murmured, “And this one’s for me.”

  She smiled up at him, knowing she would treasure this dance for the rest of her life. It meant a fresh new day for them. His eyes gleamed with desire just before his lips draped over hers in the sweetest of kisses. They swayed on that dance floor, lost in each other, in the intensity of the moment and the lyrics that helped define it.

  His kiss, the vows he’d repeated, the lengths he’d gone to for Lily, and even the hurt he’d put her through—assured her there’d been a sense of caring behind his motives.

  She ran her hand over the width of his shoulders appreciatively, and trailed her fingertips up and down the back of his neck. Breathing in his night scent of dark cocoa and musk, she swayed in her groom’s arms and kissed him back, vowing to bring light and love to whatever shadows his heart couldn’t shake.

  As the song ended on a tender note, their guests stood up and gave them a standing ovation.

  Suddenly the speakers began pumping out a sexy romp of a top-forty number.

  “Time for the happy couple to break the ice!” announced the DJ.

  Jio obliged by strolling around Golden on the dance floor like some Latin stud-muffin, folding his arms across his chest as he checked out her blushing body from her pink cheeks to her painted toenails, and then back up again.

  He took her hand. “Let’s dance,” he growled, and dragged her body up close to his. When her groom shamelessly slid one leg between her thighs, she just as boldly rubbed and rocked against him to a wild, steamy beat.

  Her excited gaze locked with his while they launched into some dirty dancing on the floor. She felt everything provocative about him, from his seam pressing against the moistening knot between her legs to the scandalous flames licking in his eyes, warning her she’d be in a world of steamy loving later on tonight.

  Time drifted. The last of their guests began to leave. Lily’s caregiver had long since said goodnight and taken Lily to Gado and Naomi’s room to wait their arrival. The four of them—Jio, Golden, Gado and Naomi—braved the cold for a breath of fresh air, and stepped out on to the balcony to admire the falls.

  While the staff cleaned up inside, the men fell into a lively discussion about growing grapes on Lani Kai soil.

  “A vineyard?” Golden protested Jio’s suggestion.

  “Why not? A cross of Muscat and Grenache Gris is being marketed on the Big Island.”

  Gado stroked his chin. “Lani Kai could grow grapes and market its own estate wines.”

  “I’m intrigued at the thought,” Jio readily admitted.

  Golden smacked Gado lightly on the arm. “Who is going to work all these crops? Between the vegetable plots, pineapple fields, coffee orchards, papayas, bananas, flowers and now grapes—who?”

  “You and Jio better get cracking at making more little Falcones to help out!” Gado teased.

  Her breath locked in her lungs. She glanced at Jio and watched his cheeks darken in the low-lit night. They hadn’t discussed having children, yet.

  Well, she’d discussed having another child with another man, but if Jio knew her wishes, surely he wouldn’t be opposed…?

  “Gado, I think it’s time the oldyweds go off and enjoy what’s left of the night,” Naomi joked, easing the tension. “It’s been a long day.”

  A long day indeed, but it was the night to come that made Golden’s heart quake with anticipation.

  “Don’t worry about Lily. We’ll return her in two days’ time,” Naomi whispered to her with a wink, and after a round of goodnight hugs, she and Gado were gone.

  “Are you ready?” Jio asked when they were back inside reception hall. He held her cloak open, and his smoky blue eyes invited her to come on in.

  She slid into the velvet heat that his arms wrapped her in. Had she imagined his hands trembling as he tucked her cloak around her shoulders? She didn’t have time to wonder. He took her hand in his and ushered her outside to where a horse-drawn sleigh waited on them.

  “Jio, you didn’t!” she cried, delighted.

  “I most certainly did.” Grinning, Jio scooped her up in his arms and carried her over to the luxuriant, curved bench.

  The sleigh’s polished wood accents gleamed the color of toasted spice beneath the moonlight. One of the two white horses waiting patiently snuffled and neighed so cutely that Golden couldn’t stop smiling.

  The heat from coils hidden under the upholstery surrounded her with warmth. After Jio climbed in and settled himself next to her on the bench, she was grateful the driver came along and buried them in more warmth, tucking several thick faux mink blankets around their shoulders. The blankets draped down past their feet and sealed out the cold.

  As the carriage swept across the snow, sleigh bells jingled in the dark to the clop-clop-clop of horses hooves hitting the snow-covered ground.

  Jio’s gaze settled on her lips. “Are you warm enough, darling?”

  “Yes,” Golden whispered, sensing it was about to get hotter in that sleigh. “You did all of this for me…?” Her heart and mind spilled over with wonder at all he’d done. All he was doing to fill this night with magic.

  Jio snuggled up to her. “I did it for me, too. I was married once before, you see. And, I hope I’ve done a better job at wedding planning this time.” He leaned in and nuzzled her ear, his breath dancing with the scent of chocolate mints.

  She reached up and touched his cheek with her gloved hand. “You get an A-plus for effort.”

  He smiled and curled his black-gloved hand around hers. “And a treat?”

  “And a treat,” she promised, breathless.

  With his other hand, he tugged her glove off and then pressed tender kisses on each one of her knuckles. “Are you happy?”

  Her hand shook. “Are you?”

  He laughed and wrapped her up inside the cradle of his arms. “I have what I need…” He dipped his head. Her mouth parted and the fusing of their lips was made more piquant by the flutter of snowflakes that landed on their cheeks and clung to eyelashes.

  She sank into the kiss, loving the silky glide of his tongue and the probing manner he used it to taste her mouth. Her tongue tasted his desire. It was juicy as a steak and she couldn’t get enough of him! If it felt this good to kiss him, she could only imagine the love they’d make when they were finally in bed.

  He stroked her arms, his hand sliding beneath her cloak to brush her nipple through her dress with his thumb. In a bid for attention, her nipple puffed out. He gave each nipple a light pinch, squeezing and fondling her breast while his mouth deepened the intensity of their kiss.


  She sighed to feel his other hand slide over her bottom and scoop her closer to him.

  So eager to melt into him, she slung her legs across his hard thighs and knew he approved when his fingers stroked along her calf. His lips and tongue continued their sensual exploration of her mouth.

  “How’s your leg?” he inquired between lazy kisses.

  “Your touch is making it all better.”

  “Is that so?” His warm breath drifted along her skin. Desire oozed between her legs. She squirmed in an effort to tamp down the feelings shooting through her body like fireworks, ignited by the caress of his fingers, his mouth—the idolizing sweep of his hands on her thighs.

  “Mm-hmm.”

  “Then I have the best medicine, darling,” he murmured, and licked her ear.

  She shivered in a way that had nothing to do with the cold, and everything to do with the body heat they were generating beneath the blankets.

  Chapter Ten

  If it was cold Jio couldn’t feel it, for the woman tangling her fingers in his hair as his mouth locked on hers burned hot as a lit torch.

  Her sleek legs strewn across his lap fueled the fire licking through his veins, his body primed and ready for their wedding bed. The sleigh, with its built-in warming coils, and he with his arms full of Golden and blankets piled on top of them, made him anxious to get his wedding night rolling.

  Jio’s hand agreed with his brain and skimmed up under her dress, its slit giving him access to her thighs. Threading the line between her panties and her skin, his fingers created their own point of entry in seeking out her essence. When they located her silken center, she groaned his name against his lips and the earthy sound of it tangled up his breath and made his skin prickle with anticipation.

  He wrenched his mouth away and stared into her face. His gaze sank into the excitement that glittered in her eyes beneath the high-country moon. “How are we doing?”

  “We’re doing fine…” she said with a little laugh, then made a soft whimpering sound as his fingers spread apart her lady lips and circled her clitoris’s peak in a skilled, knowing pattern. She rocked her hips to a sinful beat against the workings of his hand.