Virgin On Her Wedding Night

Headily conscious of the power Valente had given back to her, and convinced that no man who had been ‘playing away’ behind her back could possibly be so hot for her, Caroline found herself gurgling with appreciative laughter when he virtually dragged her into the sleeping compartment. Never had she felt so desirable, and yet at that moment, as they sought out the only privacy available to them, she felt more like a teenager than a grown-up. She was a willing partner when they shed their clothes in a heap and somehow synchronised into a heated, twisting, yearning tumble of bodies on the bed in urgent pursuit of the same elemental satisfaction. The excitement he generated with his first driving thrust never dropped for so much as a second of their fevered lovemaking. When her release came it was explosive, and Valente stifled her noisy cries with his mouth and a deep sense of sweetness possessed her heart.

Drifting back from that ecstatic reunion of the senses, Caroline never wanted to move again, and marvelled that she had contrived to live without Valente for two weeks. She was finding an extraordinary peace in lying within the circle of his arms, for he was so rarely still and quiet. She could rejoice covertly in the wonderful smell of his damp bronzed skin and the glorious intimacy of being with him again when, five years ago, she had truly believed that hope and joy were gone for ever. And if it was different now, because he didn’t want her love, was anything perfect? Was she planning to give up what they had for a life in which she would be bereft without him? In that moment, she thought not.

‘We’ll be landing in less than an hour, belezza mia. We need to move.’ Valente shifted away from her with a sigh that she wanted to believe signified disappointment at that restricted time-frame.

Before he could leave her side, however, Caroline was determined to satisfy her curiosity on certain issues. ‘There are a couple of thin

gs I want to ask you about.’

‘Agnese?’ Valente guessed with alarming accuracy, turning his tousled curly dark head to shoot her an infuriatingly knowing glance. ‘Yes, we were lovers-and now it’s over because I have you.’

‘So why was she coming to see you?’

‘She was hoping that a month of marriage would have changed my mind and that I would be ready to take her back. Agnese doesn’t lack self-belief.’

‘Oh…’ His candour surprised her, for put under pressure Matthew had lied and lied and lied again, so that it had become hard for her to accept anything at face value. ‘Were you in love with her?’

‘It was more a convenient arrangement than a love affair.’

‘You’re saying that she was your mistress?’

‘Yes, I paid her bills, and she… Surely you don’t need me to explain any more?’

Involuntarily, Carole was shocked. ‘But it sounds so cold-blooded!’

‘It suited us both. Not everyone wants emotional ties and promises, Caroline,’ he imparted with sardonic cool.

‘I have just one more question,’ Caroline continued, half under her breath, studiously ignoring that wounding gibe. ‘What’s your involvement with Bomark Logistics back home?’

Valente went as still as a man who had been told a ticking time bomb was attached to him. ‘We’ll talk about that in depth when we get home,’ he responded with measured cool.

Caroline was bewildered by that response. In depth? What was he suggesting? Of the two issues, she had ironically considered the topic of Agnese Brunetti the more controversial and the least likely to lead to a satisfactory conclusion. She had even thought he might refuse to satisfy her inquisitiveness. After all, his relationship with Agnese before their marriage was really none of her business. The question about Bomark Logistics had only been asked out of casual curiosity. Why was he holding back on giving her an immediate explanation?

As they completed their trip back to the Palazzo Barbieri, Caroline became increasingly disturbed by Valente’s preoccupation. The tight lines of his bold profile and the grim set of his mouth made her tense, and uneasy as well. It was an anti-climax when Koko darted out of the shadows in the entrance hall and leapt at Caroline in welcome, only to struggle to be set down again so that she could enact the same welcome for Valente as well.

‘How on earth did you manage to persuade her into liking you?’ Caroline exclaimed, astounded to see her formerly hostile pet now winding round Valente’s trouser legs with a purr as loud as a steam engine.

‘You were gone. I had no competition. She was lonely,’ Valente pointed out, lifting the little Siamese and stroking her in reward for her enthusiastic greeting.

In the glorious drawing room, with the crimson light of the dying sun filtering in through the balcony doors across the muted antique colours of the beautiful Persian rug, he finally faced her. ‘How did you find out that I had a connection with Bomark Logistics?’

Caroline explained, and it transpired that Valente had not even noticed the tiny incident in which she had picked up the revealing document when the wind dropped it at her feet.

‘So, you don’t know anything,’ Valente pronounced, his ebony brows drawing together, the angles of his lean hard features saturnine in the dusk light. ‘I could lie. And I am tempted to lie, because I know you won’t like the truth. But in terms of business I did nothing wrong. It’s a dog-eat-dog world out there.’

‘What on earth are you talking about?’ Caroline pressed in growing bewilderment. ‘Have you bought out Bomark Logistics, or something? Did you think I would be annoyed at that because the firm put Hales out of business? I’m not that foolish…’

Valente surveyed her levelly. ‘I set up Bomark from scratch three years ago. I own it, and I am responsible for every move the firm has made since then.’

The blankness of shock had wiped all expression from Caroline’s face. ‘But that’s not possible. You own it? Have always owned it? I mean why…three years ago?’

‘I opened another haulage business in order to compete with Hales and had your manager, Sweetman, head-hunted into a London position,’ Valente clarified with reluctance.

‘But why?’ Caroline demanded again. ‘You actually wanted to put my family out of business?’

Valente nodded confirmation in silence. He had not expected her to be quite so shocked. A devious woman would have recognised the strings he had pulled and understood why without asking. Caroline, however, clearly did not comprehend what he was trying to explain.

‘I don’t understand. I know you must have been very angry and bitter when I didn’t turn up to marry you five years ago,’ she murmured tightly. ‘But why would you go to such appalling lengths to target a small family business?’