Chapter Nine
Chapter Nine
The last thing Adriano wanted was to attend a party with people he’d had no choice but to endure all his life. Especially since he and his family and Nyra had spent the last two weeks in the spotlight, while he took the necessary steps to make it clear to the press that his wife and her twin were in no way connected to the financial scandal their father had perpetrated.
Finally, when Nyra faced the cameras herself to give out a statement to that effect and also announced a charity trust for victims of financial scams that she would spearhead, the story lost its initial focus.
Once again, his quiet but fierce wife had shocked him.
But her resolve to create a new role for herself in his life was not a laughing matter. Hence the party.
Granted, he didn’t mind spending time with Bruno, or Fabi, or even Federico, who was showing signs of cleaning up his act, but his parents and their society friends were another matter.
Toxic backstabbing was the only phrase he would use to describe most relationships in that crowd. And now his wife had planted herself in the middle of it all.
Neither did he want to put on a performance of his marriage for a crowd of hungry vultures who, even a month ago, thought Nyra was trash he’d picked up from the back streets of Vegas. Or a week ago, believed she was the thieving daughter of a career criminal who should be discarded, even if she was pregnant.
In no more than two weeks, the announcement of their pregnancy and her reaching out to his circle had of course achieved a one-eighty among the same crowd.
The woman was on a mission. Even refusing to leave the penthouse without him, claiming he needed her at such a stressful time. Though he’d done no more than shower, shave and catch a couple of hours of sleep after that night with her.
Something had changed between them—for good, ostensibly, but he wasn’t sure. Then there was the fact that he wanted her out of the city and the easy clutches of the media. “To protect his reputation from the scandal you’ve caused,” Mama had said, thinking he was out of earshot. For a second, he’d seen the fear flash through Nyra, that he would tell his mother that she’d been the cause of it directly.
For all that she promised him fidelity and devotion and a fresh start, she still didn’t trust him. And he hated it with every breath in him.
Now, as he jumped off the chopper and walked the corridors through the main level of the yacht, curiosity began to overtake the exhaustion he’d felt on arrival. Soft jazz, from one of his favorite low-key artists, crooned through the speakers, instantly loosening the tension he felt in his shoulders. That she’d remembered the artist’s name from when he’d played it in their suite in Vegas…put a smile on his lips.
And this was a record he didn’t even own.
Grabbing a champagne from a passing waiter, he drank it in one gulp and grimaced. Before the staff could throw a second glance in his direction, he climbed the stairs to the upper deck.
Among the guests crowding the sky lounge, he noted his parents, on opposite ends.
HIs mother, as usual, was flirting with his father’s oldest colleague, and his father, on the other end, was entertaining a very eager, very young wannabe actress Adriano recognized from her various colorful media scandals. Then there were his sister and brother and friends…and colleagues he barely tolerated in work.
His gaze drifted through the crowd, considering and discarding people until it landed on…her. He’d initially whizzed past the figure in red. Something about the nervous way the woman pushed her hair behind her ear caught his attention instead.
It was his wife, with her thick curls straightened into wispy layers that barely touched her shoulders.
She had cut her hair.
Christo , why did the loss hit him as if he were a boy whose favorite toy had been donated to the shelter?
It is only hair , he told himself, fighting rising frustration.
The red silk dipped so low in the back—barely held together—that if one had the interest, one could simply catch a glimpse of her delicious bottom. Given the man she was dancing with was a scoundrel who thought making promises and debauching women, married or single alike, a sport, it would be no surprise if he pawed her.
Whatever it was the rogue said, leaning his mouth quite close to her ear, she laughed. It was a genuine sound, full of that huskiness that Adriano loved. Like the world’s richest miser, he wanted to hoard it all for himself.
The man grinned, pulled back and turned her in his arms.
Adriano got a glimpse of her front. And cursed low.
The dress dipped just as low in the front, almost baring her skin to her stomach. Then the fabric gathered and fell in thick folds, all the way to her ankles, with a thigh-high slit on the side.
Diamonds, large and flashy, winked from her throat, wrists and ears. Even her makeup was different, with subtle gold eyeshadow making her eyes pop like jewels, even viewed from this distance.
Finally, with a gracious smile, she pulled away from the man.
Adriano’s breath came just a little easier.
She flitted through the rest of the crowd, the red making her glitter among boring blacks and navy blues, laughing and entertaining whoever accosted her. And a lot of men did accost her. Some out of curiosity—this was after all their only chance to get a close eyeful of the scandal Adriano Cavalieri had willingly courted. Some because this Nyra, with flirty smiles and smart quips and subtle arm touches, was too stunning to resist.
Some because they wanted to test her, and him, through her.
She looked beautiful, sophisticated, like one of the numerous socialites and heiresses his mother had picked for him through the years.
I’ll be a perfect wife to you, Adriano.
She was perfect. This was what his parents had wanted for him. This was what his own lifestyle demanded. This was what society expected from him and his wife.
And it was all wrong.
This was not the Nyra he wanted, the Nyra he’d secretly married, away from the eyes of the world.
* * *
Nyra became aware of Adriano’s presence minutes before he made his actual appearance.
Every inch of her bare skin, and there was a lot on tasteful display tonight, prickled with warning and pleasure. The small hairs on her neck stood to attention, and a sweet hum thrummed through her, pooling low in her core.
The last time she and her husband had talked had been on the phone two nights ago, and it was to indulge in phone sex. Because she’d admitted that she was restless and horny, and Adriano was a man who viewed it as a challenge to his title, if he didn’t see to her satisfaction.
While his softly filthy words had pushed her to climax, the restlessness hadn’t quite left her. She’d still lain awake long into the night, wishing she could wrap herself around him. Wishing he would hold her.
Not that she’d admitted that part to him.
Now she could feel his gaze run down between her shoulders, following the deep cut of the gown. Her body, tired and socialized out, came alive with a thrumming buzz, as if he’d planted one of those erotic chips under her skin and activated it by remote.
Relief and anticipation were such strong currents running through her that she laughed a little too loudly at something her companion said. A snake charmer type if she’d ever seen one.
The handsy scoundrel grinned down at her, his extrawhite teeth making her retinas hurt. She sighed.
Her husband was more than an hour late, and for a few moments, she’d been worried that Adriano might not even show up. “Oh, you know how much Adriano hates this kind of fake schmoozing,” Fabi had said, in a throwaway comment upon arriving a couple of hours ago.
When Nyra had stared at her in shock, she had tangled her arm through hers. “But clearly, he let you throw this huge party for him, Nyra. It’s not like mother or father ever celebrated his birthday growing up.”
“They didn’t?” Nyra had asked, suddenly feeling as if she’d stepped in a minefield that was Adriano’s relationship with his parents. Blind, at that.
“Nope,” Fabi said, and drifted into the gathering.
All evening, doubts had crowded her mind. But she’d committed herself to this path and she would see it through.
Suddenly, the memory of her father throwing extravagant parties for big shots he was courting, with her mother playing happy hostess, came to her.
Adriano might not personally like parties—he was as much of an introvert as she was—but this kind of socializing and networking was necessary for his social standing. Wasn’t it? Especially since she’d called his loyalty, his dependability, his honor into question by mucking it through her own background.
Whatever harm she’d caused his standing, and it was a lot according to his mother, she was determined to do her part in smoothing it over.
“I think you’ve danced long enough with my wife,” a sudden voice said behind her, dislodging the snake charmer’s hand from around her waist.
Nyra blew out a sigh. Apparently, the fact that she was pregnant didn’t dissuade the man. But she hadn’t learned the sophistication of how to disentangle herself from him without causing a scene.
All evening, he’d flirted outrageously with her, even though Nigella said he was interested in Fabi and that she should encourage his pursuit of her sister-in-law. Not that she could see the spirited Fabi liking the smarmy fucker.
“You’re frowning, cara . Maybe you prefer your previous partner.”
The thin thread of irritation in those words made her head snap up. Adriano’s mouth was pursed in displeasure, that thick vein in his temple standing taut.
A slow, dizzying heat unspooled in her veins as she leaned back to better take in his thick brows, that blade of a nose and the sensuous mouth. The scent of him filled her lungs and it felt like the first free breath of her day.
Behind him, the lights from the lakes and cottages suddenly shimmered brighter. Everything around her felt more beautiful, more alive, now that he was here.
It took a few moments for his words to sink through the instant haze of desire he spun around her senses. “What? Of course not,” she said, laying a hand on his chest.
Unlike every other man here, he’d already discarded his jacket and tie and rolled the cuffs of his white shirt back. She clutched his wrist with her other hand, the contrast of thick muscle and hairy texture giving her the tactile pleasure she’d needed all day.
She wished he would pull her closer and let her feel the solid warmth from his body.
When he simply stared at her, she said, “The only reason I entertained that snake oil salesman is because Nigella said his family was important to yours.” She wisely left out the whole arrangement for Fabi thing, not wanting to start a mini family battle in the middle of her party.
His lips twitched, and the rigid tension with which he held himself broke. Although he didn’t fully smile. “That is an apt description of him.” His fingers tightened over her waist. “I thought you were taken in by him, the way you clung to his every word and laughed.”
“The only reason I laughed so much is to hide my shaking knees. I could sense you around, Adriano. And you still have the effect of making my knees quake just by landing your gaze on my flesh.”
The gray of his gaze shifted to a glorious dark green, like rain-washed leaves in the deep of autumn. Shock flickered there along with something else. Why did he always look so amazed when she admitted how his one glance could affect her? It was the one place where she’d always been honest with him.
Leaning in, not caring how tacky it might be to cling to her gorgeous husband in front of everyone, she kissed his cheek. His stubble met her lips and she had to rub her thighs compulsively. Remembering how he had inflamed her inner thighs with the same stubble. “Happy birthday, Adriano.”
“ Grazie , Nyra.”
He held still when she went on her toes and wiped at the smudge she had left. “Just so you know, I’m leaving a little behind.”
He frowned.
“So that all these women know that you’re taken. By me.”
He laughed then, and finally, it was one of the genuine things that he gave her. The sound burrowed into her, making a cozy nest in her chest. Something more than the ever-present thrum of desire uncoiled in her belly. A sweet sense of anticipation for more. An intense longing for something deeper than just desire.
“Shall we mingle and greet everyone?” she said, struggling to keep it out of her face. Her desire was something Adriano always wanted, but this…this neediness was different. “They’ve all been waiting for a while.”
“You look different,” he said, completely ignoring her request with that signature arrogance that she found both annoying and arresting. “I had hoped operation Nyra was done.”
Her nerves jangled. “Bad different or good different?”
“Different,” he repeated, some of that arrogance seeping into the way he scratched his brow and studied her. “The dress, the hair, even the makeup, it’s all different. It’s much more skin than I’ve ever seen you show in public.”
“Is that a problem?” she said, something of the survivor in her creeping into her words.
His chin tilted up, in equal challenge. As if he wanted that creature to come out. “Do you think so?”
She colored. Adriano was possessive but he’d never judged her for her choice of profession or her clothes or her lack of sophistication, ever.
So what was it about this exchange that was putting her on the back foot? She was exhausted from the week of planning this with his mother. “Nigella says everything I wear and say and do reflects on you and your reputation.”
His frown deepened. “And what statement is it that you want to make?”
“That I’m equal to anything they expect of your wife. Of the mother of future Cavalieri heirs.”
“You sound like her, bella . As taken with the legacy and legitimacy of things as this society is.” He didn’t quite mock her, but his contempt shone through each word.
“Is it wrong if I want to cultivate the good opinion and friendship of these people, some of whose children will grow up alongside ours?”
“You don’t need it. And our children certainly don’t.”
“But as your wife—”
“As my wife,” he said, pulling her impossibly closer. Their chests brushed and a breath shuddered out of her at the quick graze of his erection against her belly, “You could rule them all, cara . I would not have you pretzel yourself, courting their approval.”
“I don’t want to rule anyone, Adriano. I want to make friends in this world of yours. I want to wipe the stain I bring to this marriage, to our children’s lives. I want to use this power you talk about to do some good eventually. When I mentioned that charity, I wasn’t blowing hot air to look better.”
“I have nothing against that,” he murmured, his tight hold of her sending vibrations that pooled at her core. “And I knew that you meant it.”
With one sentence, he made everything between them a thousand times deeper and more real. She had to clear her throat to make words, to clear the wanting gripping her. “Fabi said you’re not a fan of parties. But you’re…not just bored or displeased. You’re almost angry. May I ask why?”
“I’m not angry.”
“And now you’re lying to me,” she said, exhaustion hitting her like a sledgehammer. She swayed and he caught her.
“You’re exhausted, bella .”
“Yes, arranging a party of this size takes energy. Especially in the way that pleases your family. Even if it means just sending minions on a hundred errands. The decision fatigue is real.”
“Forgive me for being a cranky bastard, cara . You clearly—”
Whatever he’d been about to say was cut off as Adriano’s parents joined them with another couple in tow.
From there, small talk ensued and the Adriano that accompanied her for the rest of the evening wasn’t the one she wanted.
* * *
“I’m glad to say there’s hope for her,” Mama said, coming to stand by him on the upper deck. “Her willingness to correct her past, and your own mistake, goes a long way.”
Adriano swallowed the biting retort that rose to his lips. The last thing he would do was to ruin Nyra’s hard work by getting into an argument with his mother at the tail end of the party. Bad enough he’d behaved like a grumpy bastard for most of it.
But her condescending tone grated on him. “You do know that she’s pregnant with twins, si ?”
Below them, under the glittering glass deck, Nyra was now surrounded by a group of women from the board of some charity foundation. Even from here, the exhaustion pinching the corners of her mouth were visible. But she wouldn’t listen to a word of his entreaty that it was okay to leave. “You’re running her ragged, having convinced her she needs to make reparations. My wife doesn’t owe anyone a thing.”
“She’s already beginning from a place of…weakness when it comes to our society. She needs to have her finger on everything before the babies come. Then there’s all the arrangements we need to make with nannies so that she can continue the work she’s started here. There were at least two charities that she showed interest in. I plan to get her on board immediately.”
He gritted his teeth. “She will need time to recover from the pregnancy. As for nannies, that is a decision she and I will make together. Your advice on all things parenting, while appreciated, is not required.”
She turned to stare at him, only now catching the growl in his words. “You will decide on nannies, Adriano?” A scornful laugh escaped her.
He straightened to his full height. “ Si. And all this…” he said, moving his hand over the guests and the yacht and the party. “I will indulge it only as long as Nyra wants it.”
“What does that mean?”
“It means our marriage is nothing like yours and Papa’s. And I will light this entire society on fire before I let you mold her into another version of you.”
“Adriano!” Mama said, paleness creeping in under her skin. “You dare to speak to me that way…”
“I think the question should be why I left it so long. All you and Papa did in your marriage is one-up each other. Affairs, lies, cheating, scandals…a parade of nannies for me and a cluster of illegitimate children spread along the coast. Papa didn’t even leave one of the nannies alone.” His gaze fell on Bruno, who had looked up at them just then. A shake of his head followed, because of course, his half brother could read Adriano’s tension from his body language. But this was something he should have done ages ago.
His parents had misunderstood his aversion for this kind of discussion—where he had to caution them for their behavior—as his apathy for how they treated his wife.
He faced his mother. “My children will not be raised by a string of strangers, will not be used as pawns in a game of drunken, cheating bluff. Will not be left alone at a cavernous suite at some luxury hotel at the age of five, for a whole day and night. Until Maria came back to look after me, I didn’t know what it was to be touched and hugged. And loved.” His voice broke at the last word and he felt…as if he’d been punched in the head. Never once had he admitted to himself the effects of his parents’ sheer negligence of him.
“Adriano—”
“No,” he said, cutting her off.
Even the glitter of tears in his mother’s eyes didn’t dissuade him. If she did feel regret, it was too late.
“Whatever Nyra wants to try and become, your job is to support her and walk her through it. You have no say, no power when it comes to my marriage, my wife or my children. If not, I know how to make you and Papa behave.”
“Adriano, please—”
“Now, let’s not drag this out into one of your drama specials, Mama,” he said, bending and kissing her cheek. “After all, my wife worked quite hard on this party, si ?”
The mild rose scent she’d always worn squeezed his heart. As a child, he’d adored her, craved her attention, cried for her deep into the night. He’d begged, and then bargained, with a God he didn’t even understand, for her to see him. For her to love him.
Until he had had no choice but to harden himself against that kind of dependence on her or his father. Or anyone else for that matter. It was only Maria’s presence, and later Bruno stubbornly pushing into his life, that had stopped him from becoming a complete island. Desolate, alone.
Suddenly, he could see the damage all of it had wrought on him.
His skin prickled and when he looked down, he caught the gaze of the woman who had paid the price for that damage. It was his own incapability of trusting her and himself and their bond that had damaged their relationship. He saw it now.
And yet Nyra stared at him with such faith in her eyes that he felt renewed hope for himself.
Maybe it was time to see his birthdays as something worth celebrating. For Nyra and for their future together, if not for himself.