The Marriage Ultimatum (Contemporary Romance) Read online

  He stroked again, drawing out of her and then plunging in all the way to the hilt. She moved in tandem with him, holding him closer, urging him to quicken his pace with each rise and fall of her hips. He rammed into her again and again, his cock growing harder than he’d ever experienced. Her muscles clenched around him, spasming.

  “Stefano, I’m coming,” she cried.

  When she shouted her final release, he pulsed into her, emptying himself until he collapsed on top of her, panting. Weak. Completely spent. He was exactly where he belonged and where he wanted to stay forever.

  Chapter 12

  Gradually, Stefano’s breathing returned to normal and Roxy cupped his cheek, then feathered her fingers along his stubbled jaw line. “That was worth the wait… really worth it,” she said, shifting ever so slightly to toe off her mile-high stilettos and kick them away.

  The shoes clunkety-clunked to the marble floor and Stefano suddenly pulled out of her. “Shit. Damn it. I can’t believe I did this.” He rolled over to the other side of the gargantuan bed.

  Her heart plummeted to her now bare toes and quite possibly through the room’s floor all the way to the basement. Had she completely misjudged her instincts again? Did he already regret being with her? Hell no. Not if she had anything to say about it.

  “What do you mean you can’t believe you did this? You’re the one who’s been taking cold showers for weeks because you wanted to do this,” she said, lifting herself up on one elbow to glare.

  “I don’t regret this, but tesoro, but I didn’t use a condom.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “I fucked up.”

  Relief coursed through her. “No worries,” Roxy said. “I learned my lesson where you’re concerned. No amount of male protection would stop one of your alpha sperms. I started taking birth control after I finished nursing Matthew.” No way would she risk another unplanned pregnancy, though the pills hadn’t been necessary up until her surprise reunion with Stefano.

  Every worry line furrowing Stefano’s brow erased. He turned to face her, his forehead mere inches from hers. “So there’s no chance you can get pregnant?”

  “Nothing’s a 100 percent guarantee, but I think you can relax,” she said. “Trust me. I love being Matthew’s mother, but I’m not ready to give him a little brother or sister.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “Neither am I, but I wish I’d known about Matthew a lot sooner. I’m sorrier for that than you’ll ever know.”

  “Me, too. But at least you didn’t turn your back on him when you finally discovered he existed.”

  “It was a shock, especially considering how careful we were back then.” Stefano stroked her hair from her cheeks and held her gaze. “But you had to shoulder the consequences on your own for too long because of me. At least you didn’t lie about being pregnant.”

  The apology, and the tenderness in his eyes, undid her. As did his confession, particularly after meeting his ex-fiancée. “I take it you’ve been bullshitted about this in the past.”

  He paused, his blue-green eyes clouded for a moment. She could tell by the way they narrowed that he was considering his reply very carefully. She rested his head on his broad shoulder while he wove his fingers through her hair.

  Roxy heard him take in a big breath and release it slowly. She felt the tension in his muscles as they contracted. Still, she waited, refusing to press for more while praying he would confide to her what had happened to make him so wary of women and their motivations.

  “Filomena and I met when I was in my third year of university,” Stefano said, his voice devoid of emotion. “She was beautiful, vivacious, fun. She was always attentive, and I idiotically confided everything that had happened to me after my father died.”

  Her heart stilled in her chest. “What did you tell her?” Roxy asked.

  His pulse accelerated against her cheek. “My mother never wanted me, but she made damn sure Nonno paid a high price for the privilege of taking me off her narcissistic hands after my father died.”

  A sudden coldness filled her lungs and she lifted her face to look into Stefano’s. A vein popped in his temples. “She sounds beyond redemption.” She caressed his brow and the lines furrowing it relaxed. “I mean, I would have loved a little financial assistance when I first learned I was pregnant with Matthew, but no way would I ever give him up. And certainly not for a cash payout.”

  “You’re nothing like Viviana,” Stefano said. “Sometimes I wish Nonno had done a background check on her before my father married that woman.”

  Her blood ran cold and she curled into him even more. “I’m glad he didn’t.”

  Stefano looked at her. “She manipulated my father, and used him for financial gain. In the end he became a criminal to satisfy her ongoing greed.”

  “But then you wouldn’t be here, and we wouldn’t have Matthew,” she said, unable to contemplate a world without either of her men in it. “You said you were a fool for telling Filomena about your past. Why?”

  “She knew my greatest vulnerability. And then…”

  His arm tightened around her, and Roxy moved her left leg over his. “And then what?” she asked, looking up at his stark profile.

  “She got pregnant.”

  Her heartbeat slowed. “I see.” Really, she didn’t. Why wasn’t Stefano with Filomena if they had been so madly in love? And what happened to the baby?

  “I proposed immediately,” Stefano said. “No way would I allow a child of mine to be raised without both his parents. Not after what I went through as a kid.”

  And now she wondered if he’d want to try for more with her after they were free from faking their commitment. “Totally understand. So why am I here in this bed instead of Filomena?” she asked. But after meeting his ex at the party, Roxy was extremely glad he’d gotten out of that commitment. “Did she say no? Or…” Her voice trailed off. God, while she was in no position to judge anyone for their decisions, she couldn’t imagine not having her own precious boy.

  “Oh, she said yes,” Stefano said, his voice gruff. “She started coordinating the most elaborate wedding my famiglia’s money could buy. But there was a little problem that put a wrench in her plans.”

  Her throat felt tight, raw, as she thought about the possibilities. None of them good. “Did she lose the baby?” Even as she asked the question, Roxy knew in her heart that Stefano would never reject someone he truly loved. She’d seen it in the way he’d treated his Nonno, his multitude of cousins—even Elena and Donatello despite their duplicity. And he’d shielded her and Matthew from her brother’s blackmail plot. Not just for his own sake, but for theirs.

  “In a way.” Stefano gave a hollow laugh. “There was never a baby to begin with.”

  She shot him a shocked look. “But that’s crazy. How did you discover the truth?”

  “One of her friends warned me about her plans, and Gian confirmed it after doing some digging,” Stefano said. “To top it off, she was stringing along a lot of other guys. I was just the first sucker who fell for her lies.”

  Her nose itched and her vision blurred. His mother had shattered his trust on more than one occasion, which was horrific enough. But Filomena had driven a stake into his heart by lying about her pregnancy and hitting him in his most vulnerable spot. No wonder Stefano had spent the remainder of his adult years avoiding that kind of pain.

  “I’m sorry she deceived you.” She stroked her palm down the length of his torso. “But I’m glad you didn’t get married to someone who wanted to use you. Everyone deserves to be loved for who they are, not for what they can offer a person.”

  Oh, how she loved Stefano in that moment. She couldn’t tell him. Not yet. She desperately wanted to express her feelings, and share with Stefano how being with him—not just physically, but day after day with him as her partner—how all that had filled her heart with hope for more. But he might freak like he did the first time she’d uttered the words I love you. And she didn’t want to risk losing a
second chance with him as a result.

  Roxy feathered her fingers through the downy hair that trailed beneath his waist. Stefano stirred under her touch and groaned when she clasped the length of his cock. “How about we check the most notorious playboy of Italy’s staying power?” she asked.

  She knew the right way to keep Stefano’s mind off of the past and refocus it on the possibilities for their future.

  * * *

  Sunlight streamed through the floor-to-ceiling window and Stefano rolled over to hold Roxy. She wasn’t there, and the sight of the empty bed left him feeling strangely bereft and at odds. They’d spent the entire night rediscovering each other. Now he couldn’t get enough.

  He heard the sound of her moving in the bathroom and got out of bed, not bothering to dress, and walked to the bathroom.

  “Buongiormo. Good morning.” Stefano stepped into the expansive room with top-of-the-line silver fixtures, a marble Jacuzzi built for two, and a floor-to-ceiling glass-encased shower stall. “Did you sleep well?”

  “Sure did,” she said, whipping her head around to look at him and arching a brow when she took in his naked torso. “You?”

  He raked his fingers through his hair. “Best night I’ve had in weeks.” Stefano grinned. “It’s a lot easier to fall asleep after a few rounds of amazing sex than after working out with weights and taking a cold shower.”

  Roxy lowered her gaze to his fully erect cock, then snapped it back to the mirror. “Good grief. You’re insatiable.” She stroked the brush through her unruly waves once more and fastened her hair into a high ponytail. “However, we’ll have to wait until after breakfast because I’m starving.”

  “I’m only hungry for you.”

  She closed the distance between them, stood on her tiptoes, and kissed his cheek. “If we keep going on like we did last night, I’ll need sustenance.”

  He pulled her into his arms. “You sure you don’t want to take a shower with me?” He trailed open-mouthed kisses along her throat, loving the way her breath quickened and how her pulse rate fluttered against his lips.

  “I might be persuaded,” she said, dropping her brush. “But I do want to see more of Naples. Not that the king sized bed in the other room doesn’t have its perks.”

  His pulse accelerated and his cock grew hard as granite. “I can’t get enough of you.” He tugged her robe’s tie free and slid his warm palms inside. “I want to make love to you all day and night.” He wanted to lose himself in her, stay in this cocoon and never return to the villa. And he sure as hell didn’t want to play tourist guide in Naples, Italy.

  The only thing he wanted to explore was Roxy. Her body. Her mind. Her soul. Everything about her turned him on.

  “The feeling’s mutual,” she said.

  She swayed against his body, and her soft sighs fueled his yearning to show her how much he cherished her. He caressed her waist and slowly moved his hands higher to her breasts to circle the sensitized tips with his thumb pads.

  She trembled in his arms, and her body relaxed, molding to him as if she were made exclusively for him alone.

  He lowered his head to lock his mouth onto hers and kissed her, teasing her with his fingers and stroking the length of her satin skin until he reached her hot, wet sex. Heat pulsed through him. She was at once stronger than the stone she carved, yet as vulnerable as a delicate flower petal.

  She was aroused, and ready for way more than a scrub down. “Shower. Now,” he said after wrenching his mouth from hers.

  “The sooner the better.”

  She shimmied out of her robe while Stefano stepped over to the spacious shower and turned it on. Water streamed from the rain style head and soon the glass walls fogged with steam. Stefano caught sight of their reflection in the mirror. He paused several beats to drink her in. The flush of passion staining her cheeks pink brought more heat into his blood. And the tips of her rosy nipples begged for his touch and the expression in her sultry, silver eyes promised more than passion.

  They didn’t just look like they belonged together. They looked like they had been made for each other and that was far, far more than he’d anticipated.

  Moments later, they added their heat to the cascading spray. “You’re incredible,” he said, slipping his finger between the folds of her sex and stroking deep. Not only that, but she delighted him. And for the first time in months he felt as if the world had been lifted from his shoulders.

  Being with Roxy again was like coming home.

  He pressed her against the shower wall and raised one leg high, then replaced his finger with his cock, nudging it into her slick heat. She shuddered around him and her hot honey flowed over the tip making him harder.

  Bracing himself, Stefano held her silver eyes with his, then he rocked into her with a long thrust, filling her to the hilt.

  She gasped and clenched around him, drawing him deeper, taking him farther than he could have imagined. “Tesoro, you’re mine,” he said.

  “And you’re mine.” Roxy clutched his shoulders, holding onto him while he plunged into her welcoming body.

  His mind whirled, and he couldn’t think. He could only feel. Over and over, Stefano withdrew and drove into Roxy until he no longer cared where he began or where he ended. Skin-to-skin, body-to-body, breath-to-intensifying breath, they became one.

  Chapter 13

  “Anderson’s people are meeting with ours now that the final contract is signed. Make sure they get the latest financials along with the projected profit margin no later than Friday morning,” Stefano said during what seemed to be the millionth telecom with his cousin about the merger

  that would modernize Durante Enterprises’ steel factories and production—putting them ahead of their competitors and eliminating a takeover bid.

  “Donatello’s pissed,” Gian said.

  “Too damn bad.” Stefano tunneled his fingers through his hair. “The merger is a go with grandfather’s blessing. I’ll make sure it succeeds and guarantee my ascension to CEO by the end of the fiscal year. Now get out of your office and blow off some steam before our new office building’s grand opening in September.”

  “No can do,” Gian said. “One of us has to supervise the day-to-day administration of Durante Enterprises for the rest of the week.”

  “Everyone deserves a vacation. Even you,” Stefano said, though he’d worked without breaking for lunch today. He’d make up for it later with Roxy and Matthew. In the two and half weeks since they’d made love in Naples, his life had taken a new turn. One he liked more than he’d thought possible. “When’s the last time you went out? Dated someone? Done something besides pushing papers, drawing up legal contracts, and counting numbers?”

  “My social life kind of took a nose dive after you got married.”

  “Missing your wing man?” Stefano asked with a laugh, then looked through his office window and watched Matthew playing with his cousins.

  “Cruising the night club scene isn’t what it used to be,” Gian said. “Plus, I’m keeping an ear to the ground just in case Roxy’s brother resurfaces.”

  Pain pinged in Stefano’s temples and the muscles at the top of his spine knotted. “He can’t fuck up my plans with Anderson, but the man might be an ongoing threat.”

  “Exactly,” Gian said. “You know, Roxy, she’s not who I expected her to be at all.”

  “No. She’s just…” Special. Loving. Someone who’ll have my back no matter what. Stefano looked around his office, noted the box of toys he’d stashed in one corner for Matthew to play with whenever he came to visit during the day. His little boy would soon be three years old. He wanted to share that day with Roxy as her husband, not as her ex. “She’s famiglia.”

  “Understood.”

  “Keep me posted.”

  “Will do,” Gian said. “I’ll talk to you after I consult with our American counterparts.”

  “Eccellente,” Stefano said, then ended their call.

  Standing, he crossed the hardwood floor
and paused by the window. Though his cousin Elena didn’t agree with Stefano’s plans for their family’s empire, she’d continued to build a relationship with Matthew.

  He heard his son laughing, the shouts of the other boys, and his chest swelled with pride and something more as he continued to gaze through the window that overlooked the villa’s gardens. He’d almost lost his chance to know his son. And Roxy. Memories of their passionate nights along with their days together as parents along with sharing his concerns about the Durante Enterprises flashed.

  He couldn’t imagine his life without her in it, and a sense of peace settled over him. Unfortunately, the calm didn’t last long.

  “A finable! What the hell?” a familiar voice screeched. “You have no right to stop me from seeing my son.”

  He turned around to see his mother marching through the doorway into his office. Behind her, Carlotta stood wide-eyed and shaking her head. Stefano shot his former nanny an I-can-handle-this-look and she nodded before stepping out of view.

  “Viviana, what an unpleasant surprise.”

  “Cazza. You need to get better help, Stefano.” She brushed nonexistent lint from her designer dress’s sleeve. “Carlotta is impossible. She always was.”

  “Watch your insults.” Stefano laced his voice with contempt. “Carlotta is a valued member of the Durante household. You, however, are an unwelcome guest.”

  Her lower lip trembled and a sheen glazed her hazel eyes. “I gave you life. How can you treat me this way?”

  Ah, the tears. Classic ploy. Stefano refused to be influenced by the phony waterworks Viviana turned on and off on command like a faucet. He tracked his gaze from the top of her flawlessly knotted blonde chignon to the bottom of her pointy, red shoes. Shoes that had scuff marks, and worn rubber nubs at the tips of the stiletto heels.

  “You need money again?” he asked calmly though the muscles at the base of his neck bundled again making his head ache.

  She blinked, her false eyelashes longer than a black widow’s legs and sniffed. “Si. I only need a short term loan until I can get back on my feet again.”