Chapter Forty One

Come on you can do this just follow my words, in one, two.’                                                                         His voice was soft and hypnotic making her fight through her panic and slowly bring her breathing under control, when he was sure she was okay Khalid said softly,                                                                                ‘Please don’t be afraid of us Juliette, we only came to apologise. It was never our intention to hurt or frighten you and I know we did both. We are truly sorry and promise you it will never happen again.’            She could see the sincerity in his eyes, they genuinely had not meant to hurt her and it was partly her fault, she had responded to their kisses so she had to take some of the blame.                                                    ‘It’s okay.’                                                                                                                                                        She began looking up and meeting Khalid’s gentle brown eyes,                                                                     ‘It wasn’t all your fault.’                                                                                                                                        He stroked his finger across her bottom lip,                                                                                                 ‘You are very beautiful Juliette, very hard to resist.’                                                                                          He tilted her chin up his eyes dropping to her plump pink lips,                                                                        ‘I won’t deny it, I want you Juliette and I would even take you as my wife but it is not what you want is it?’    She blinked staring at him in shock this was not what she had expected but he was right she did not want him, her heart belonged to a blue-eyed Mafia Don back in Sicily.                                                                ‘Thank you for your apology and I am really not afraid of you, things they, well, I guess they got a little out of hand, so let’s draw a line under it and put it behind us. Maybe we can be friends.’                                      She asked hesitantly and Khalid bent his head brushing his lips very gently over hers,                                    ‘I can never be friends with you beautiful girl, I want you too much, I want to possess you and keep you for myself. I know this is a selfish little one.’                                                                                                            He smiled down at her and then he and his brother got out of the car and left her alone, a few minutes later a flushed Carlotta got in beside her and the car set off. They did not speak for the first hour of the drive, Juliette dozed off the rhythm of the car soothing her troubled mind,                                                ‘Are you awake Juliette?’                                                                                                                         Carlotta asked quietly  turning toward her and the younger woman smiled back at her,                                   ‘I haven’t been to sleep I was hoping you would chat but I did not want to disturb you.’                                 Carlotta huffed and settled herself back in the fine leather upholstery,                                                           ‘I don’t know what to do.’                                                                                                                              She said slowly,                                                                                                                                               ‘The Prince, Abdullah, has asked me to marry him, his first wife died about seven or eight years ago and he says he is ready to take another wife.’                                                                                                                  Juliette raised an eyebrow,                                                                                                                           ‘How very kind of him.’                                                                                                                                  She replied sarcastically but Carlotta sighed and shook her head,                                                               ‘No, you don’t understand, that’s not how we are. Oh, it doesn’t matter I can’t marry him, I have no wish to go and live in a country that has even worse ways of treating women than the bloody Mafia.’                    She did not say anymore and closed her eyes so Juliette could not ask the multitude of questions on her lips, when the car pulled up outside a gorgeous huge ranch-style house she could only gasp when they were greeted by dozens of people. Carlotta was hugged and kissed and everyone seemed to talk at once, it was clear they were pleased to see her and the invitations came thick and fast,                                             ‘Hey Sweetie, you must come and spend a few days with us.’                                                                    'Darling, it’s so good to see you in the flesh, I have your old room waiting for you.’                                         ‘Don’t forget to come visit us while you are over here.’                                                                              They were all kind and friendly, Carlotta introduced her as her ‘niece’ and when they found out who her mother was she was welcomed like an old friend. They opened their large homes to them, they were the cream of Chicago society billionaires and everything they did was on a grand scale. She was wined and dined by every family, they were fascinated by the stunningly beautiful Italian girl who had been brought up in an English noble family. They took her to the theatre, to Broadway, to Las Vegas, and she went to parties and Grand Balls even one at the White House it was a whirlwind of sights and sounds and she loved every minute. Then there were the American guys, she lost track of how many times they hit on her, as she told Carlotta one evening, American guys were very confident of themselves but unlike the Mafia men they were courteous and kind, they did not want to control and own her they did however want to bed her. Carlotta made sure she stayed safe, chaperoning her closely at all the events but they were in Chicago, home of the American Mafia most of whom were descendants of the original Italian Mafia Leaders. It was the last Grand Ball they would be attending before they flew to England so she could visit her fragile Aunt and as soon as they arrived they both knew they had been set up. It was a Mafia Ball and Don Luciano caught Carlotta's arm as soon as they walked into the huge ballroom,

‘Ahh, my guest of honour has arrived.’                                                                                                          ‘You are going nowhere.’                                                                                                                                Her startled cry alerted Carlotta who spun around and stormed back inside shoving the tall man who had grabbed her,                                                                                                                                                         ‘Let her go, this is nothing to do with her.’    

The man chuckled his arm going tightly around her slender waist,                                                                   ‘I am making it about her Carlotta, you think I don’t know who she is? This little temptress will bring that brat running, he won’t want her sullied by my hands. Although if I had known how beautiful she is I just may decide to keep her for myself.                                                                                                                She struggled as he pressed his hard length against her thigh nuzzling her neck he hissed,                           ‘I bet you make a nice little bedwarmer.’