Chapter Fourty Nine

Pleasure in her appearance, yes. Also a flash of triumphant satisfaction, possibly in having carried through what he’d decided was right, even to holding off having any intimate connection with her until their wedding night. But mostly, she saw a simmering desire, revelling in the promise that she was his, to have and to hold from this day forth.

Sweet relief. At least he did want sex with her. At least they had this attraction to each other.

He kissed her with a slow, seductive sensuality, his mouth certainly seeming to suggest that passion was just lying in wait for the privacy of their honeymoon.

No problems in bed, Kelly assured herself. Maybe her pregnancy actually made her more desirable to him. She hoped so, acutely conscious of the more rounded tummy hidden by the clever design of her wedding gown.

He steered her to the table where they were to sign the marriage certificate.

Once that was done, everyone came up to congratulate them, wishing them a long and happy life together.

It amazed Kelly how genuinely given these sentiments were, as though no doubts about the success of this marriage were being harboured. They knew she was pregnant. Neither she nor Dimitri had tried to keep that a secret. There was no need to anymore. Yet it seemed irrelevant to them. It was as though they had all decided that this match had been made in heaven and it met with their heartfelt approval. Even her father seemed to have come to terms with it.

Whether his friends had raised any questions with Dimitri, she didn’t know.

They gave no sign of it. They seemed to think it was marvellous that Dimitri wanted to marry her. Not one hint of criticism from them. Apparently they were perfectly confident that a workable future could be achieved between the two of them, probably on the principle that love conquers all.

Except the only love Kelly was sure of was Dimitri’s love for their unborn child.

A huge barbecue dinner had been organised. Fairy lights had been strung around the pepper trees, just as they always were for Christmas, and the mood was just as merry. Speeches were made.

At some point Dimitri squeezed her hands, instantly imparting warmth and strength, almost as if he knew the doubts and worries in her mind.

She looked up into eyes that blazed their searing message into her heart…believe in me. She didn’t hear the camera click that captured her own surge of emotion, the huge welling of need and desire to believe their marriage would survive anything life threw at them. Survive and thrive, because this was where she belonged, where she wanted Dimitri to feel he belonged, with her and the children they would have.

And that overwhelming wave of feeling was still sweeping through her when they were finally alone together. She was still a little nervous, and apprehensive, and she tried so hard to convince herself that everything would be fine.

They were married now. She had to stop worrying. At least for now... On this—their wedding night—she wanted to to leave all other realities.... At least until when they had to be met.

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Dimitri stood in the shower, letting the warm water run down his head.

He almost couldn't believe it, but he was married to Kelly Darcy, and she was pregnant.

They were having a child. His chest clutched and he slammed his eyes closed, the taste of adrenalin filling his mouth. A thousand and one memories tormented him from the inside out, like acid rushing through his veins.

Kelly, finding out she was pregnant. Kelly, swelling with his child. Kelly, uncomfortable. Kelly, in labour.

Kelly, nursing their infant. Kelly, watching the child learn to walk. Kelly, patiently reading to the child, loving him, laughing at him.

And of course he would be there with her every step of the way. He wanted to be there for her. Wanted to share this with her.

His eyes opened, bleakness in the depths of their obsidian centres. He was creating a whole new family....something he never planned.

He grunted, shaking his head. Theirs was a marriage born of necessity, a marriage born of a need to protect his child, and the woman he’d made pregnant. It was a mar-riage of duty, that was all.

But he knew it wasn't just that... Maybe for her it was, but It wasn't just duty for him.

Flint formed in his eyes, his resolution hardening. Whatever it was, their child deserved to grow up in a family. Kelly deserved to have support and assistance.

And what else?

Happiness.... Love..... Sex.

His body tightened as he flashed back to the way she responded to him, the way desire engulfed him like a tidal wave whenever he was with her, drowning him in his need for her.

The way he kissed her, his mouth taking possession of hers, his whole body firing with a desperate need to possess her

Their affair had been a mistake. It should never have happened, but it had, and, looking back, he didn’t think he could have stopped it. Not for anything or all the money in all the world.

There had been a force pulling him to her... It was still there, although it was almost two months since he had touched her. Every time their bodies had collided he’d felt as though he’d been jolted back to life. He’d looked at her and felt a surge of need that had gone beyond logic and sense. It had been an ancient, incessant beating of a drum and ignoring it had not been an option.

Perhaps it still wasn’t…

He was taking too much time in this damn bathroom. It was their wedding night for God's sake, and he had to find a way to get rid of this awkward silence between them.

He turned off the shower and grabbed a towel, wrapped it around his waist, then grabbed another which he used to dry off the rest of his body. Towel in hand, he went back into his bedroom, but Kelly wasn't in there as he expected.

After he had dried himself completely, he pulled on his pyjama bottoms, then he grabbed the shirt, and pulled it on as well. Leaving it unbottoned, he went in search of Kelly.