#Life after life book by kate how many pages free#

#Life after life book by kate how many pages free#

She was marrying in order to be free, and yet she was not free to cry off. Could she really do this? How could she not? To back out now would be to incur her fatherвЂ™s endless wrath.

Sierra bit her knuckles as a fresh wave of fear broke coldly over her. She would find out tomorrow, when the vows were said, when the bedroom door closed. She wasnвЂ™t in love with him she had no interest in that deceitful, dangerous emotion, but she wanted a way out of her fatherвЂ™s house and marriage to Marco Ferranti would provide it.if she could truly trust him. HeвЂ™d wooed her gently, always courteous, even tender. On that first evening heвЂ™d introduced himself, and then later he had asked her out to dinner. As much as was possible, sheвЂ™d controlled her own destiny. But sheвЂ™d encouraged Marco sheвЂ™d made a choice. She knew her father approved of the marriage between her and Marco she was not so naГЇve not to realise that it was his strong hand that had pushed Marco towards her. Seeing Marco exhibit a moment of unthinking kindness when he thought no one was looking had lit the spark of hope inside SierraвЂ™s heart. Her father would have kicked the cat away, insist its kittens be drowned. HeвЂ™d bent down and stroked the catвЂ™s ears and the animal had purred and rubbed against him. Did she really know Marco Ferranti? When sheвЂ™d first glimpsed him in the courtyard of her fatherвЂ™s palazzo, sheвЂ™d watched as one of the kitchen cats had wound its scrawny body around MarcoвЂ™s legs. SierraвЂ™s unfocused gaze rested on the darkened gardens as nerves leapt and writhed inside her and doubt crept into the dark corners of her heart, sly and insidious as that old serpent. SheвЂ™d chosen to believe him-an act of will, a step towards securing her future, her freedom. She was utterly inexperienced when it came to what happened in the bedroom, but Marco had told her, when heвЂ™d stopped his shockingly delicious onslaught under the plane tree, that he would be patient and gentle when it came to their wedding night. She was nineteen years old, and sheвЂ™d only been kissed by her fiancГ© a handful of times. Gentle and patient, never punishing or pushing, except perhaps for that one time, when theyвЂ™d gone for a walk in the gardens and heвЂ™d kissed her in the shadow of a plane tree, his mouth hard and insistent and surprisingly exciting on hers.ДЄnother leap in her belly, and this was a whole different kind of fear. HeвЂ™d been kind to her so far, in the three months of their courtship. In less than twenty-four hours she would promise to love, honour and obey him. She could trust this man, sheвЂ™d told herself. TheyвЂ™d chatted easily, and MarcoвЂ™s gaze had rested on her like a caress, a promise. The stillness felt expectant, even eerie, and she tried to shake off her nervousness sheвЂ™d chosen this.Д®arlier that night sheвЂ™d dined with her parents and Marco Ferranti, the man she was going to marry. The summer night was still and hot, without even a breath of wind to make the leaves of the plane trees in the garden rattle. Pressing one hand to her jumpy middle, she turned to look out of the window at the darkened gardens of her fatherвЂ™s villa on the Via Marinai Alliata in Palermo. Sierra Rocci gazed at the fluffy white meringue of a dress hanging from her wardrobe door and tried to suppress the rush of nerves that seethed in her stomach and fluttered up her throat. In addition to writing intensely emotional stories, she loves reading, baking and playing chess with her son-she has yet to win against him, but she continues to try. вЂSo why donвЂ™t you just tell me the truth?вЂ™ДЄfter spending three years as a die-hard New Yorker, KATE HEWITT now lives in a small village in the English Lake District with her husband, their five children and a golden retriever. DonвЂ™t you think I deserve an explanation? Your parents are no longer alive to hear why you abandoned them, but I am.вЂ™ His voice hardened, rose. вЂAnd you still havenвЂ™t given me a reason why. YouвЂ™re the one who chose to leave without so much as a note.вЂ™

вЂDamn it, Sierra, you have some nerve, asking me why I behaved the way I did. He didnвЂ™t want to feel anything for Sierra Rocci now. That memory had the power to stir the embers of his desire, and he turned away from her, willing the memories and the emotion back. He remembered the feel of them in his hands when heвЂ™d given his desire free rein for a few intensely exquisite moments. The belt sheвЂ™d cinched at her waist showed off its narrowness and the high, proud curve of her breasts. She looked utterly delectable wearing his too-big clothes. Sierra had moved closer to the fire, and the flames cast dancing shadows across her face. Damn it, how dared she ask him-accuse him-when she was the one who should be called to account? What did it matter why heвЂ™d married her when sheвЂ™d agreed? Marco stared at her for a moment, furious that he felt cornered.