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Dio, he loved her breathy moans. Loved the way she rode him with such abandon. Loved the exquisite feel of being bare inside her slick tightness... Dio, he didn’t think he could ever get enough of that feeling.
And he loved her.
He’d known it since the impulse to punch his brother in the mouth for that flash of cold anger at Clara’s mad dancing had found him clenching his fists and then avoiding him for the rest of the evening lest he give in to it.
Her moans deepened. Her fingers bit deeper into his flesh.
Dio, he loved her. He wanted her, wanted this, for the rest of his life.
She was his.
And he was hers.
Sensing Clara was nearing her peak, he gripped her hip as she threw her head back, her hair falling like a waterfall. She stiffened and ground down and then the spasms tightened around him and pulled him deeper inside her, so deep that Marcelo let himself go with the mindless abandonment he’d never allowed himself before.
Two days later, Marcelo waited until his family were seated before launching into the speech he’d mentally prepared. ‘We need to delay Clara becoming a full-time working royal. I know this will add pressure to your workloads, but I need our engagements to be closed house for the immediate future.’ His and Clara’s royal diaries were already filling with engagements. They were due to hit the ground running as soon as they returned from their honeymoon. ‘Clara and I have decided our marriage is going to be permanent, and that is why I’ve made this decision. She’s going to be a permanent member of our family and I need her to be comfortable and happy in the role she plays in it, and she’s—’
Amadeo rose from his chair, his face taut with anger. ‘Are you trying to ruin us? We can mask her inadequacies for a year but for life?’
‘If you could see past your own snobbery you’d see Clara has the potential to be the greatest asset this family ever had.’
‘Never.’
Marcelo spread his hands flat on the table and leaned forward. ‘Did you not see everyone’s reaction to her last night when she was dancing? How they responded to her? She’s a breath of fresh air. Our people will love her, but for now she needs more time and space to adjust to this life, and to learn to relax into it. I will not have her feeling that she can’t breathe when we’re working, when this is going to be her life for the rest of her life. I will not have her feeling that she’s not good enough when she is good enough. She just needs to believe it in herself.’
He was met with silence.
‘Let me make this clear. Clara is going to be one of us for good and you all need to learn to accept this if you want me to stay a part of this family.’
‘Don’t say such things,’ his mother said, visibly upset.
‘Then give me your support. Give Clara your support.’
‘Of course we’ll support—’
‘How can you ask us to support you in a marriage that might see you taking a back seat from most of your duties indefinitely?’ Amadeo demanded, interrupting their mother.
‘If the doctors hadn’t saved my life, I would have taken a back seat from all of my duties permanently,’ he reminded him icily. ‘Clara is determined to be an asset to this family. With help and support she can do it, but, and I reiterate this, it will take time. She is the only woman who will make marriage tolerable for me so if you want me to live up to your expectations and breed the next generation it will be with her or no one. Now, do I have your blessing or not?’
‘You have mine,’ Alessia said with a rueful smile. ‘And I agree with your reasoning. Anything I can do to help, just let me know. Congratulations by the way.’
One by one, the others, even a reluctant Amadeo, gave their blessings too.
‘Thank you,’ Marcelo said. ‘One last thing—I would appreciate if this discussion stays within these walls until after our honeymoon. Clara doesn’t need to know about this meeting or the reduced number of engagements. She’s had no involvement in setting them up. I will not have her hurt for anything.’
Clara couldn’t stop smiling. So utterly delicious did she feel that for the first time in possibly her whole life she wished she had a friend she could share these feelings with. Alessia couldn’t count because she didn’t think Alessia would appreciate Clara raving about what a wonderful lover her brother was and how making love to him without protection had brought a whole new closeness to them. Of course, it wasn’t the act itself as the meaning behind it, but it all merged together and represented the same thing. They’d committed themselves to each other. Their marriage would be real. They would have a family.
Oh, she could hug herself.
A real family? Her?
And soon she would have Samson and Delilah with her too. Her life really would be complete!
Needing to let the joy out, she did three cartwheels in a row. Bob, who she was currently training to walk off-lead in the field off the back of their private garden, found this very exciting and ran around in circles to show his admiration. She wondered if she should bow for the castle’s security team, who would no doubt be observing her from their monitors. Their private quarters were private and that included their garden. Everything else was under surveillance.
Marcelo was worth the intrusion she one day hoped to become used to.
Her phone beeped. Indicating first for Bob to sit, she pulled it out of her back pocket. Her good mood plummeted.
