Romancing The Mob (ON HOLD)

Chapter 16

The sprawling house laid out in front of Laura should have excited her, especially since it was exactly the kind of old, wonderful house that had always interested her, but it did not. She felt nothing looking at it, nothing but a sadness and a sense of regret. What had she done? She asked herself again, the same question she had been asking since she was forced to accept that her father wasn’t attending her wedding. She had thought that by now he would have come around to the idea of her marrying Alexei, but she was afraid she’d only succeeded in angering him even further.

            “You two must be famished! Dinner shall be served in a moment,” Laura heard Alexei’s housekeeper, Louis, telling him as they conversed at the foot of the stairs. Her housekeeper too, Laura corrected, and her stomach lurched with the realization. She was married, to Alexei Giovanni of all people.

            “Laura?” She looked up to see Alexei looking at her with a slight frown. “Are you alright? Would you like wine with dinner?” He asked, and Laura turned away.

            “I’m not very hungry, thank you. I believe I would just like to go to bed.”

            “Ah, yes,” Louis fussed, grinning widely at them both. “After all, it is your wedding night! Va, va!” She said, ushering them up the stairs with flicks of her wrists. “I shall send something up later, perhaps then you shall be hungry.” With a final wink at Laura, Louis shuffled away, leaving Alexei to lead Laura upstairs.

            The bedroom was the first door on the right of the hallway, and Alexei held the double doors open for her as Laura walked through. The aura in the room was infinitely male, and very dominant. The colors were deep burgundy, browns, golds, and blues. It was nice, if not a little bare, and Laura looked around. It had clearly been done by a decorator, but Alexei’s stamp was nearly everywhere in the room. There was an en suite to the right side of the room, as well as another door beside it and two more on left side of the room as well. She assumed they were closets, and made a mental note to find out where her luggage had gone. Laura had been trying not to look at the bed, but it was the only thing left to look at, and there it was, big and forbidding in the middle of the room. It was a huge bed, with a large cherry wood headboard and a rust colored comforter and cream colored sheets. Somehow Laura had manage to keep herself so busy with thoughts of planning the wedding so that she wouldn’t have time to think of the wedding night, but now ti was impossible for her not to think of it.

            “The bathroom is through there, your suitcase is by the sink.” Alexei said, even as he was moving towards the door to the left of the room. Laura wasn’t able to see what was behind the door before Alexei was shutting the door behind him. With a small sigh, Laura moved to the bathroom and found it lushly decorated, and she was glad for the warm spray on her tight shoulders and back. Now that she was more relaxed, Laura let her mind wander to Louis’s words, and Laura flushed deeply at the old woman’s wild assumptions. But perhaps her assumptions weren’t that wild, Laura thought as she washed her hair. This was her wedding night, and Alexei was a highly sexual man, according to the rumors and the media. It was perfectly normal for him to assume they would be taking part in that particular part of their “marriage”, especially if they were dating before hand….right? They were dating…weren’t they?

            With a suddenly nervous stomach, Laura dried off and looked through the luggage bag she had packed. She blushed when she remembered the lace nightgown Lizzie had given her, with strict instructions to seduce the pants off of Alexei. With a shiver, she shoved the nightgown aside and decided instead on a pair of silk shorts and a light camisole. She didn’t wear a bra, she never did when going to sleep, and she was more conscious then ever of how the material seemed to cling to her breasts, but she ignored it. Silently praying that Alexei would already be asleep, but a small part of her hoping he was awake and waiting, Laura slowly opened the door of the bathroom to find the bedroom and bed empty. With a small sigh of relief, Laura hurried to the bed, turning off the lamp and slipping between the sheets. They felt cool against her skin, and Laura felt the full weight of the day rest on her shoulders and mind again, despite her relaxing shower. Blinking back tears and the feeling of being abandoned, Laura nearly shouted with joy when she heard the door to her left close softly and Alexei moving around the room. But when she recognized the sounds of a belt being undone and clothes falling to the floor, Laura felt dread and nervousness. Not tonight, of all nights! She had so much on her mind! Now was not the time for this!