Blackmailed Merger by Marie Kelly

both soaking in the afterglow of their lovemaking, both still panting for breath he had smiled down at her .
     
    “ Let's do it next week..... let’s go away somewhere and come back married” .
     
    Giggling she had looked back, growing quieter seeing the determination on his face .
     
    “You’re serious?”
     
    She had managed seeing as he had nodded softly .
     
    “I don’t want the big wedding with people I hardly know.....I just want it to be us...you and me” .
     
    Pausing he had added more warily .
     
    “Unless there are people you want to be there.  Your mother, father maybe” .
     
    Biting her lip she had looked back at him, her sweet face so open as she had shaken her head.
     
    “I never talk about them Dante...for good reason.  I know that you wonder, and I really appreciate that you have never pushed me” smiling lovingly at him
     
    “But the truth is that my father has little or no time for me.  He has never really got over the disappointment of my not being a boy” .
     
    Weaving his fingers into her s , he had chuckled .
     
    “Well I have to say that I am VERY glad that you were not a boy” .
     
    Still holding his hand she had flipped over onto her stomach to look into his eyes.
     
    “My father is very rich Dante, perhaps even richer than you, very rich and very cruel.  I have not spoken to him since I was sixteen...since he and my mother split up” .
     
    She had seen the wary look rise into his eyes .
     
    “You told me that we came from different worlds, as I recall you were quite nervous about my having money” .
     
    He had said softly , seeing as she had nodded .
     
    “That is true, but I have not lived with either of my parents since I was ten , and I have not taken a penny from them either” .
     
    Her voice had been proud of this fact .
     
    “ I lived with my grandmother.  S he is the only person who has ever really cared for me Dante, and I would do anything for her” .
     
    Frowning in concentration she had continued .
     
    “ Sadly it has been my experience that rich men have little time for people or their feelings.  They use them to further their own agenda” her eyes once more glassing over with love .
     
    “ That is...until I met you ” she had whispered softly, bending her head to kiss his fingers, missing the look that had crossed his eyes .
     
    “You are the kindest, most wonderful man I have ever met...I love you so much ” .
     
    With that she had moved further up the bed, to lie half over him kissing him again, the fires once more igniting between the two.
     
    The next morning, she had awoken to him leaning over her, his hand flicking a piece of her hair playfully across her nose to wake her.
     
    “Good morning sleepyhead” he had drawled sensually, as she had grinned up at him, happiness stamped over her features .
     
    “Good morning yourself” she had chuckled, seeing as his mouth had curved into a soft grin .
     
    “I thought that we could go shopping” .
     
    Sam raising an eyebrow in surprise .
     
    “You... ” she had chuckled in disbelief “ you want to go shopping with me ? ” seeing as he had laughed, Samantha being the first woman he had met who had not expected him to spend his free time trailing around clothes stores with him, preferring to spend their little time together in more pleasant pursuits .
     
    “Well” he had whispered huskily, lifting her hand and kissing her finger .
     
    “This kind of shopping is more sparkly and definitely more pleasant” .
     
    Understanding had fallen on Sam, who had smiled widely, her eyes sparkling with such happiness .
     
    “I know I said that I didn’t want a long engagement Sam...but I still think that you should have a ring” , seeing as she has nodded softly, her eyes once more growing larger with tears, as she had moved her hands to gently hold his cheeks .
     
    “Have I told you how much I love you today” she had whispered softly, her expression suddenly so