Neal Patchett had been right in that at least. The pill was not bitter to swallow, but the water it had gone down with had been rancid. The only way to rid his pride of the aftereffects of the blackmail was to plan a suitable measure of justice for the  man.Dash did not want to ruin him completely. Neal was now family, but he would learn a necessary lesson about pride.As Tess took the first step forward, all thoughts of vendettas and lessons faded from Dash's mind. It filled with the primitive need to mate with his woman.This woman.Tess. Her eyes were dark with conflicting emotions. It was the fear that kept him rooted, waiting for her to come to him. She was so beautiful in her cobalt blue silk gown. It swept the floor as she walked and it pleased him she had not opted for the traditional white for their wedding night.He liked this indication of the fire within her. The h

She rubbed her face against his chest, adjusting herself against his body with a movement that unbelievably teased his recently satisfied flesh. “And you belong to me.” She said. He did not deny it. The bitter pill had turned out sweeter than nectar and he reveled in his possession of a woman so sweet, so passionate and so completely lacking in artifice. She was everything her father was not.Everything women like Olivia could never hope to be. Tenderness he had never known toward a lover washed over him and he caressed her back, wanting to soothe her to sleep in his arms.A soft butterfly kiss landed near his left nipple. “I love you, Dash,” she whispered against his skin.The words did strange things to his insides and he could almost thank Neal Patchett for giving him the gift of such a woman.------------------------They spent their honeymoon in Naples. Dash kept his prom

She was a coward, but it was the cold, hard truth that fear was what held her back. Not pride. Not anything else. She knew that if he didn’t believe her this time they could never be together. Not wanting the weight of anxiety to bear down on her today, she shook the bleak thoughts from her mind and crawled out of bed. She padded into the living room to see that Matt had turned the fire on for her. To her further surprise, she found a breakfast tray waiting for her on the table with bagels, cheese and an assortment of fruit. She sank into the seat, her eyes stinging with tears. “I shouldn’t love you this much,” she whispered. God, but she couldn’t help herself. She craved him. He was her other half. She didn’t feel whole without him. Tonight was the dinner with his friends and his mother, but even that couldn’t dim her excitement or her happiness. And maybe t

Matt's first thought was to go after Savannah, but he was furious, and this had to be ended now. Like hell he’d ever allow anyone to make Savannah feel the way she’d obviously felt tonight. He bolted to his feet, palms smacking the table as he lunged toward his brother.“What the hell was that?” he shouted. He included his mother in his furious gaze, not backing down when she recoiled from his anger.Enzo looked taken aback, his face pale. He looked sick, but at this point Matt didn’t care. He’d had enough. This was a huge mistake and he wasn’t going to let it go this time. He never should have let it go. Never should have played down the obvious discord between Savannah and his family.Their mother leaned forward, her expression tight. “Don’t be angry with him, Matt. I invited him. If you insist on a relationship with this woman we’re going to have to sit down together at some point. Or do you plan never to s

She turned back to him, sadness so deep in her gaze that it hurt him to look at her.“Don’t you see, Matt? It can never work for us. You don’t trust me. Your family and friends hate me. What kind of life will that be for me? I deserve more than that. It’s taken me long enough to figure that out. I settled again, when I swore I’d never do it. I agreed to marry you. Again. Because I was so in love with you and I believed that we could move forward. But I was a fool. Some obstacles are insurmountable.”She closed her eyes as another spasm of pain crossed her face. And she swayed, her hand flying out to brace herself against the dresser.“Savvie, what’s wrong?” he demanded.She rubbed her hand across her brow and opened her eyes, but her stare was unfocused. “My head.” She said. A sound like a whimper escaped her and he knew that something was wrong. Something beyond the emotional distress she was experiencing.