The day outside was pleasant enough, but inside this rather old church the air was crisp and cold.
The first bridesmaid reached the end of the aisle and turned away to the side, giving Reece an even better view of his wife, especially her face.
And what an exquisite face it was. Classically sculptured, with a delicately pointed chin, high cheekbones and a fine, fair complexion. Her eyes were a smoky green, almond-shaped and lushly lashed. Her nose was small and straight with an elegant tip. Her mouth was full, her lips looking even fuller painted scarlet.
Reece’s gaze moved down further, his mind stripping her of that dress and seeing her as he liked seeing her best of all.
Alanna had the kind of body that had always attracted and aroused him. Slender and firm, with long legs, a tight butt and small, high-set breasts.
Body-wise, she was very similar to Kristine.
That was one of the reasons Reece has chosen Alanna for his wife. He would never have considered marriage to a woman he wasn’t physically attracted to, regardless of his motivations. The other, more vengeful reason for choosing Alanna was that she was even more beautiful than his ex-fiancée.
Her willingness to have his children was merely a bonus.
As these thoughts tumbled through Reece’s head he tried to revive the vengeful feelings that had inspired his marriage to Alanna last year.
But astonishingly, they just weren’t there!
Reece’s shock was soon replaced by an overwhelming sense of relief as he realised he didn’t give a damn about Kristine any more.
Let the devil take her, which he would.
The only woman he cared about these days was the woman in red, coming down the aisle. His wife. The stunningly beautiful, extremely enigmatic, very intriguing Alanna.
A few years ago, Reece might have believed his uncharacteristic jealousy a minute ago meant he’d fallen in love with Alanna.
But Reece had turned thirty-six this year, past the age when an intelligent man mistook male possessiveness for love. He did like and respect Alanna. A lot. But love?
No. Love wasn’t what he felt when he looked at her.
Which was just as well, because love hadn’t been part of their deal. In fact, it had been the one thing Alanna had been very adamant about. No love.
She’d been madly in love before, she’d explained. With her dead husband. The love of her life, killed in a tragic road accident.
She didn’t want to tread that path again.
During their first dinner date Alanna had confided that she’d once believed she would never marry again, but as she’d approached thirty she’d realised she still wanted a family. What she didn’t want, she insisted repeatedly, was romantic love, and all the emotional torment that went with it.
Which was why she’d become a client of Wives Wanted, an introduction agency that specialised in matching professional men of substance with attractive, intelligent women who were happy to be career wives. Although falling in love sometimes happened—according to the woman who ran the agency—on the whole, these were marriages made with heads and not hearts. Marriages of convenience, they were called in the old days.
A marriage of convenience was exactly what Reece had in mind when he had become a client of Wives Wanted a year ago. Love hadn’t been on his agenda, either.
At the time, he’d got exactly what he’d wanted in Alanna. The ultimate trophy wife for him to display on his arm. The perfect salve for his bruised male ego. A visible token of his professional survival as well as a none-too-subtle weapon of personal revenge.
To this end, he’d made sure that photographs of his wedding had been printed in every paper and glossy magazine in Australia.
Not a difficult thing to arrange. He was a high-profile property developer, after all. What he did and whom he married made the news. Photos of every glamorous party he’d held since his wedding—and there were many—had found their way into the media as well, with Alanna always dressed to show off her physical assets.
For quite some time it had given Reece perverse pleasure to think of Kristine thinking of him with his beautiful blonde wife whilst she was having to service her ageing sugar-daddy, the one she’d dumped him for. He liked imagining his ex-fiancée feeling regret that she’d bailed out of their relationship prematurely. No doubt she hadn’t expected him to go from near bankruptcy to billionaire status within three short years of her desertion.
Poor Kristine, came the caustic thought. If only she’d had some faith and loyalty, she could have had her cake and eaten it too. Instead, she’d thrown her lot in with an ageing playboy film producer who had a reputation for replacing his starlet girlfriends every year or so.
There’d been a time when Reece had waited to hear such news with baited breath. Somewhere along the line, however, he’d stopped thinking about—and caring about—what happened to Kristine.
In hindsight, Reece could not put a date on this miracle. But it had to be some months ago. He supposed it was difficult to keep pining for another woman when you were married to someone as fascinating as Alanna.
Aside from her breathtaking beauty, Alanna was an amazing woman to live with. She never nagged at him or questioned him. There were never any scenes when he came home late, or had to go away unexpectedly on business. She kept his house beautifully, was an accomplished hostess and never said no in bed. What more could a man in his position want? When you thought about it, their marriage was perfect.
Frankly, falling in love would have spoilt it.
But as he continued to gaze at his beautiful wife Reece recognised that he had fallen in lust with her.
He’d always desired Alanna. Right from the moment he’d set eyes on her. But his desire seemed to have taken a darker, more intense turning today.
It was that damned dress’s fault, he decided.
Not the style. The colour. It had to be the colour. Red was the devil’s colour. The colour of desire, and danger.
Whatever, Reece could not wait for Richard’s wedding to be over. Could not wait to get that dress off her.
What a pity he was the best man and she was the chief bridesmaid. They would have to attend the reception afterwards, plus stay till it was finished. There was no excuse they could give to leave early.
Not that Alanna would. She would think him mad to suggest such a thing. She’d been helping Holly with the wedding preparations for weeks and had been very excited this morning.
Another dark thought intruded. Maybe he’d be able to persuade her to slip away with him somewhere for a few minutes. A powder room perhaps?
Reece had never done anything like that with her before. Their lovemaking had always been confined to the house. Actually, now that he came to think of it, it had also been confined to their bedroom.
Time to widen their sexual horizons, Reece decided with a rush of blood. Before she got pregnant.
They’d been trying for a baby for three months now. Surprisingly, with no success. But sooner or later, he’d strike a home run.
Reece imagined that once Alanna was having a baby, she might not be overly keen on having sexual adventures.
Suddenly, Reece became aware of Alanna frowning at him as she approached the end of the aisle.
Had his darker thoughts been reflected in his face?
Probably.
He swiftly summoned up one of his warmly winning smiles, the kind he used at work every day and which had become second nature to him.
‘You look incredible,’