The Duke's Willful Wife (13 page)

“Really,” he said and kissed her fingers.  “You’re one of the most strikingly beautiful women I’ve ever met and I thought that from the moment we first met and that
reaction
has never gone away.”

She took a shaky breath, and smiled her thanks.  “I appreciate that.”

Dante sat back against the leather seat and watched her try and pull herself together.  Guilt over what he’d witnessed tore at his gut, making him feel as if he’d missed something. 
Something
very important. 

“I’m sorry,” he said into the darkness.

She laughed softly and squeezed the hand that was still holding hers.  “You’ve already said that.”

“No.  I’m sorry for not listening to you.  You said that she was like that before but I ignored you.  I wasn’t willing to listen to you say
negative
things about my mother but I was wrong.”

Sasha couldn’t believe her ears.  Was he really apologizing for everything from a year ago?  Was he admitting he was wrong? 

“
H
ow often?” he asked grimly.

She was concentrating on how wonderful it felt to be with him, with the silence around them and his sincere apology so she wasn’t sure what he meant by the question. 
“How often what?”

“How often did she say things like that to you?”

Sasha considered telling him something to just make him feel better, but the hurt was too deep for fabrications.  “A lot.”  She sighed and felt his hand tighten.  “All the time actually.”

“And I wasn’t there to protect you.”

Sasha felt the anger in his voice and his body as he tensed with the fury riding him.  “I was a big girl.  I should have been more adamant in my needs.  I certainly told you other things I needed.”

He turned his head.  “And did I listen”

She laughed and smiled.  “Of course.  I guess I just said
them
at the right time.”

He laughed as well, his deep chuckle making her feel sweet and cared for.  “You had good timing at certain moments,” he repli
ed, thinking of the demands she made of him in bed.  Her cries for more, or faster, slower, more, were always met with great enthusiasm. 
“Or maybe the requests were just what
I
wanted to hear.”

She smiled despite the blush that was creeping up her neck and suffusing h
er face.  “You’re incorrigible,”
she finally said.

“And you’re
beautiful when you’re blushing.”

She turned her head sharply, her eyes trying to see into the darkness.  “How did you…?”

“Perhaps
it’s
just experience but I knew you were blushing.  And your question just confirmed it,” he said, chuckling and squeezing her hand.  “We’re here,” he said softly. 

Sasha looked around, admiring the beautiful house.  “So we are,” she sighed, almost wishing they could just drive around for a while, enjoying the friendly camaraderie
and intimacy of the dark vehicle. 
It had been so long since she’d had a conversation with him that didn’t involve yelling or hurt feelings, accusations of one kind or another.  Tonight felt special and it was probably at an end now that they were going to rejoin the world. 

As the car
pulled up to the house, a servant was already stepping
out to the curb
and opening the door for them so Sasha sighed and stepped out
of the limousine
smoothly, careful that her dress didn’t ride up too high. 

The house was already filled with about a dozen other guests by the time Sasha and Dante strolled in.  As soon as
Jenna
saw her, she rushed over and gave her a huge hug.  “I’m so glad you came!” she said and embraced her friend.  “I thought you would back out at the last minute,” Jenna whispered in Sasha’s ear.  Stepping back, she smiled at her friend a
nd looked over her shoulder.  “A
nd now I can introduce you to the most handsome man in the world.  This is Hector
Christophe
,” she said and pulled a tall, dark haired man forward who smiled indulgently at his wife, wrapping his arms around Jenna’s waist while extending one to Sasha.  “It’s a pleasure
to
meet you.  Jenna has told me all about you.”

Sasha was a bit embarrassed, hoping that Jenna hadn’t told her husband everything.  Especially under the circumstances.  “Jenna,” she said quickly, bracing herself as her friend began gearing up to say something that might be embarrassing.  “
This
is my husband, Dante Fuitello,” she said quickly.

Dante stepped forward, his hand already extending to Hector’s.  “Good to see you again, old friend,” he said and clasped the man on his back.  Jenna and
Sasha
stared at the two men who were almost equal in height and breadth, and both impressive fig
ures in the financial world.  

Jenna looked from Sasha to the man with his arm protectively around her waist, then back to her friend.  “Is this…?” she started to say, then stopped herself.  “Of course he is.  Hector, I’d like you to meet Sasha
Will
…I mean Fuitello.  I was in Greece at the time of their wedding so I missed the nuptials,” she said, her eyes still flitting back and forth
in a not-so-subtle attempt to reconcile the body language of her friend with the story she’d heard yesterday over coffee
. 
Sasha had told her of a difficult marriage and a husband who didn’t trust her, had made accusations of infidelity and lies.  The man standing beside Sasha didn’t look like someone who didn’t trust his wife, but he could be presenting a different face to the world when in public. 

Jenna turned to her husband and looked up at him with a smile in her eyes. 
“Hector, would you mind getting Dante a drink while I introduce Sasha to some of the others here?”

“Of course,” he said, and kissed her gently on the head before waving Dante in the direction of the bar.  “This way my man.  Apparently our wives want to gossip about us but they’re too polite to be subtle about it,” he joked. 

Dante forced a laugh and followed his friend, but Sasha could tell that he wasn’t
very amused
. 

“Okay, so that was awkward,” Jenna said and moved back
to Sasha’s side
.  “But forget about the men for a moment.  You have to come meet my son.  He’s already down for the night, but if you’ll ooh and aah about him, I’ll forgive you anything, even that story about how you and your husband weren’t an item any longer,” she said and pulled Sasha down the hallway, the music and conversational noise drifting away as they went deeper into the house.

The little boy asleep in the toddler bed was indeed an adorable little guy.  He was about a year and a half old, holding a stuffed bunny tightly in his arms.  “Isn’t he the most perfect little
man
you’ve ever seen?” Jenna said, smoothing a curl on the little boy’s forehead. 

Sasha smiled down at the boy, nodding her head. “He really is the cutest little guy,” she said, sighing with longing. 

Jenna heard it and hugged her friend briefly.  “
D
on’t worry.  The way that man
out there was
looking at you, you’ll have your own in no time at all.”  She laughed and waved for Sasha to head back out.  “And maybe you’ll have a little girl and our kids can marry!”

Sasha laughed but looked a bit horrified.  “I’ve heard of arranged marriages but good grief, how about if I at least get pregnant before you marry off my daughter.”

Jenna
closed the door once again then
clapped her hands excitedly. “Deal.  So get pregnant already!”

Sasha shook her head. “Not going to happen. 
It might not appear to be the case, but e
verything I told you over coffee yesterday was true.  Dante and I still aren’t
working
things out.  We just
didn’t
realize that we were heading to the same place tonight
until we were in the hallway and about to leave the house
.  Our being together
here
was a total accident.”

Jenna smiled secretively.  “Then seduce the man and make him believe you.  The best way to a man’s heart isn’t through his
stomach,”
she said with a knowing look.

Sasha laughed as they re-entered the dining room.  Jenna stopped a passing waiter and took two glasses of champagne from him, smiling her thanks.  “Okay, so if that’s the guy you were talking about yesterday, why is he looking at you like he’d like to have you for dessert?” she asked, looking in the opposite direction and smiling at a group of people in the corner. 

“He’s
not,” she
interjected.

Jenna smiled and took a sip of her champagne.  “If you say so.  Come along.  I need to introduce you to some people before my husband starts to get suspicious.  We wouldn’t want him asking questions, now would we?”

“No, that would be a bad thing,”
Sasha
agree
d half heartedly
, but not
exactly
sure why that would be bad. 
“What kinds of questions would he ask?”

Jenna laughed delightedly.  “Hector has the most curious mind.  I never know what he’s going to come up with next.  It’s almost like being in a mystery that keeps coming up with new twists.  I don’t mind though.  He makes life pretty fun.”

Sasha endured being introduced to several groups of people, but Jenna had been right on target when she’d explained that most of these people w
ere of the financial world and the two women with creative minds
didn’t have a whole lot in common.  Only a few people knew of
Sasha’s
art work so Jenna and Sasha hung together, grouping together with the other wives who weren’t as in tune with the business
or financial markets.  She actually had a very good time, but only because Jenna and some of the other wives laughed at the problems of being married to their men.  Unfortunately, Sasha didn’t have the
privilege
of knowing all the ins and outs of being married to a financial genius since they’d only been married for a few weeks before the problems started.  But it was nice to know that others had their issues with their mates, even though they hadn’t been
accused
of cheating. 

During dinner, there were several moments when she felt as if Dante were looking at her
, watching her for some reason
.  But when she glanced in his direction, she found him deep in conversation with the people to his right or left.  She tried to ignore the feeling and laughed delightedly with some of the antics a mother was describing with her twin daughters, but the feeling persisted. 

“Want to head out?” Dante
whispered in her ear
as coffee was being served. 

Sasha lo
oked up at him and felt as if that
friendship
from earlier in the evening
had somehow
increased
.  She felt closer to him but wasn’t sure why. 
Perhaps it was just sharing the evening together, or maybe the issue with Riasa coming to a head made him look at her in a different light.  It didn’t matter why anymore.  It was just really nice. 
“Sure,” she finally said.

They got their coats and said goodbye to Jenna and Hector, but as soon as they were out on the street, Dante suggested they walk down by the river a short ways.  “
T
hat would be lovely,” Sasha replied, feeling the cool air on her skin and enjoying the breeze. 

“How do you know Hector and Jenna?” he asked softly, his voice deep and husky in the cool night air. 

“I hadn’t met Hector until tonight although Jenna told me a great deal about him yesterday over coffee.  But Jenna and I go way back.  We were in school together.”

“I thought Jenna was some sort of writer.”

“She is.”

“How did you two meet?  A writer and an artist don’t really run in the same circles.”

Sasha had to laugh at that observation.  “Jenna doesn’t really have a circle.  She’s the kind of person who brings everyone
into her circle, then changes
it to a triangle or a square.  She gathers friends like bees gather honey.  It’s just natural for her.”

“You two seem like more than just casual friends.”

She nodded and pulled her shawl closer as a cool breeze passed by them.  “We are.  She’s more of a sister than a friend.  She and Dana, another room mate, we got each other through school and have been friends ever since.”

“I don’t think I’ve heard about Dana either.”

Sasha’s eyes turned worried.  “Dana is in some trouble.  She witnessed something a few months ago, now she’s fallen out of sight.  I don’t know where she is and she hasn’t contacted me for help.”

“Do you need someone to look for her?” he asked softly.