He had been told very often about his almost insatiable libido.
What else can you expect from the son of a slutty whore, he had laughed, disparagingly.
But with this woman, Lucien wanted to stay, buried to the hilt in her. No one had managed to make him such a slave to his desire before. And he hated himself, hated her for her power, albeit unconscious, over him.
As he accepted the congratulations of his friend, James Schwartz, his mind was still on the previous night's events.
Proserpina Martinez. With her youthful body and lush softness, her masses of mahogany hair and those soft, plump lips, warm brown eyes which had glowed dully with loathing and revulsion as she met his eyes this morning.
F*ck, he swore and drained his whiskey in a gulp. He hated himself for having forced himself upon her.
But there was only so much that he could take; he wanted her and he wanted her exclusively for himself. He would not tolerate her being with other men, not even as simple as talking to them, laughing with them.
She was like a dr*g and he was addicted. And he hated her for having that hold on him.
***
James Schwartz looked at him in surprise. Lucien Delano was not behaving like a groom who was over the moon. He seemed hell-bent to get drunk. Schwartz had flown back in the wee hours of the morning from the West Coast when Delano had called to ask him crisply, to be his best man, at his ceremony in the Court of the Registrar.
Of course, Delano had been with too many women for him to not be cynical. But Schwartz had guessed at the depth of the Don's dark desire when he saw the young girl at the big house for the first time. Innocent and vulnerable, that was the image he had gathered when he saw her. Besides, he had never married a woman to keep her with him; this was a first. The Mafia Don usually used women and tossed them away indifferently when he tired of them. Yes, he had never even considered getting hitched to any one of them before! So what had changed?
Wisely, he stayed quiet but his green eyes narrowed thoughtfully.
****
Proserpina
I pulled on the dress indifferently. It was, thankfully, not white, I thought with a grimace. A pale shade of lilac, it was a solid three-quarters sheath dress that molded itself to my body. The high neck made me look like a nun, I thought as I rose to my feet.
Daniella emerged again and stood looking at me for a while.
Then she said, coolly, "Delano's waiting for you."
I bowed my head, enveloped by a pall of gloom and followed her out.
In the foyer of the club, I saw Lucien waiting impatiently. He was with another of his friends, a man I had been introduced to, James Schwartz. Lean and handsome, Schwartz's eyes were keenly observant and I knew that he had taken in the lacklustre air I had. It was hard to feign joy when one had been mauled and used like a sex slave all night long, I thought, mutinously. But as I looked at Lucien, the man who was my lover, the man who owned my heart and my body, the familiar fluttering arose in my belly.
Although Lucien stood looking down his nose at me disdainfully, like a king looking at a particularly objectionable servant, I thought caustically, the iciness in his eyes was replaced by a flash of hunger when he saw me, a look that disappeared as soon as it came.
Schwartz came forward, smiling warmly, and gave me a hug.
"Congratulations, young lady! You've done what no one ever managed to do to my old friend." he said smiling as he stepped back, his eyes moving appreciatively over me.
I felt the color rise in my cheeks at his admiring look and became aware of the displeasure radiating from Lucien. A devilish spark made me look up at Schwartz and I dimpled at him tiredly..
"Thank you," I murmured demurely, flashing him a brilliant smile and seeing the surprise in his eyes.
Lucien grabbed my arm in a painful grip and jerked me to his body, with a sharp oath.
"Schwartz, I'll see you at the court!" he growled at his friend as he turned and literally pulled me out, past the glass doors of the entrance onto the curb where the car waited.
Shoving me unceremoniously into the back seat, he got in beside me.
I glared at him but his cold blue eyes frightened me; it made me remember what he was capable of and I scuttled to the other end of the seat, turning my face to the window, staring sightlessly as the world sped past.
I hate you, Lucien Delano, I thought, my body trembling with my revulsion.
***
And so we were married.
A sign on a register; that was all that it took for me to become Mrs. Delano.
As we drove back, I leaned back in the luxurious upholstery of the car, weary beyond words. Exhaustion claimed me and I dozed off. My eyelids were burning, and my body ached all over. At the court, Lucien had signed with a flourish, his writing bold and dominating. I had hesitated for a minute but a warning rumble from the Don had made me sign, shakily.
The pretty outfit I had worn to the court covered the bruises on my body but the ache in my heart remained. And my entire body seemed to hurt.
The saddest part of it all, I thought, was that I was still deeply in love with the man who had taken me so brutally last night.
I came awake as the car slowed at the gates of the house. It was mid-afternoon and I realized that I was hungry. But I felt hot all over, feverish.
Lucien was speaking to me.
I closed my eyes, ignoring him.
He gripped my chin and turned my head to make me meet his eyes and I glared at him, my disgust evident on my face.
'I will be back; I need to go away for a few days.'
I made a small sound of assent; if he never came back, how would I feel, I wondered blankly.
Lucien had tried to kiss me after the formal signing, as the registrar nervously cleared his throat and looked at us expectantly. But I had turned my face away at the last minute and he had kissed my cheek.
I had seen the blaze of fury in his eyes, but I felt vindicated. A small victory.
***
There was no fanfare, no celebration when we returned. The staff stood at the entrance, smiling broadly. But Lucien strode away with a grunt and disappeared into his study with his men and James Schwartz who smiled apologetically at me.
So I was left to accept the good wishes. Weary beyond belief, after hugging my little ones, I closed the door of the room I was using and sat down on the soft bed. The tears came, slowly at first, then a torrent. I fell into a fitful sleep after a while.
****
When I rose, I was shivering with cold, my body hurting. The throbbing in my head was intense, and I felt cold-so terribly cold. And my poor, sore body ached so badly. I whimpered as I moved. I could barely walk and my womanhood felt tender. I realised that I was also bleeding...
Through the open windows, I could see that it was dusk. I tried to sit up and moaned in pain. My body ached, burning up. The lower limbs were stiff and painful.
The door opened a crack and Ria peeked in anxiously, Piers pushing his head over her shoulder to look at me The maids were, as always, hovering behind them.
'Mumma, Mumma?' Came their anxious voices.
I sat up tiredly and stretched out my arms to them. They toddled over, fear and worry on their darling faces, and I wrapped them in my arms, tears overflowing.
"Hush now,' said a kindly voice, patting my arm and then, exclaiming in panic,
"Jesus, Lord!!! The girl's burning up with fever.' And then, continuing her murmuring as she took the twins to the door,
"We were planning to have a celebratory dinner but looks like the doctor is the only guest we'll have now!' Said Beatrice.
Her voice held a note of concern, and I tried to stop my shivering. But the darkness seemed to gather me, and I fell asleep.
***
Through a cloud of weariness, I heard the doctor speaking, examining me; my children's anxious wails...
Once I heard someone ask about Lucien. The reply penetrated through my shroud of tiredness, I heard Beatrice murmuring,
'The Master's not here; he's gone. He left the country last afternoon after dropping the Missus home. Yes, they just got married and all, but he's left for South America... Urgent business, he said...'
'Great,' I thought.
I dozed off. Fitfully, between sleep and waking, I was dimly aware of drinking broth, juices, and the visits of the doctor.
***
Finally one evening, maybe weeks ago, I woke up slowly.
I felt weak but the fever was gone, I was better.
When my children entered, they ran to me on seeing the change in me, and I hugged them to my chest.
***
The doctor appeared the next morning as I sat up in bed against the pillows tiredly, listening to the chatter of my children, who were on the bed with me. He was a young man of Asian descent and introduced himself timidly as Dr. Manav Shukla.
Shooing the children out of the room, Beatrice disappeared.
The doctor seemed ill at ease as he completed his examination.
'You're fine now, Ma'am' he said, rather shyly, without meeting my eyes.
' But ...uh...the ...ummm...sex.... I mean, the love making..."
He blushed and I watched him, too tired to think where he was heading.
'It was too rough ...your body rebelled...' he finished, embarrassed and unhappy, looking at a point above my head as he said the words.
I felt sorry for him and smiling gently, I nodded solemnly and said I would be careful in the future.
After he had left, I lay, staring outside, wondering where Lucien was,
It was almost two weeks since Lucien Delano, my husband, had left after marrying me..
He was still not back.
Not a word from him either.
My heart sank to my feet.
Had he stopped even being interested in me now? I asked myself forlornly.