Free Dante's Honor-Bound Husband by Day Leclaire

thing.”
    â€œReally? There’s quite a bit about it that’s nagging me,” Constantine retorted.
    â€œWhy would David want to force me to the altar?”
    That stopped him and Constantine turned her question over in his mind, frowning. “What do you mean?”
    â€œHe said that he was…” Again the hesitation. “He was compromising me in order to force me into marriage. But I can’t figure out why he’d want to do that. What’s in it for him?”
    Constantine’s frown cleared. “That’s easy enough. I suspect it has to do with money.”
    Gianna shook her head. “That can’t be it. David has money coming out of his ears.”
    â€œDon’t be so sure. According to my father, there have been rumors circulating about the source of all that money.”
    â€œYou’re kidding. What sort of rumors?”
    â€œI don’t have all the details. But I intend to find out.”
    â€œFunny.”
    Constantine shot her a swift look. “You find something amusing in all this?”
    She yawned. “Just that if you’re right, David only wanted to marry me because I have money.” Her eyes fluttered closed. “And that’s the only reason you wouldn’t.”
    â€œNot the only reason, piccola, ” he said softly.
    But despite her decision to remain awake, she’d fallen asleep, fully relaxing for the first time. She remained curled in a ball, snuggled deep into the leather seat. Even with the shallow cuts marring her long legs, they were sleek and shapely beneath the trailing tails of his tux jacket. She’d slicked her damp hair behind her ears, but the humidity caused it to escape in a riot of soft brown and gold curls, framing her scratched face. She looked pale, drawn and exhausted.
    And Constantine had never seen a more beautiful sight.
    Another few miles down the road she jerked awake with a whimpered cry, bolting upright in her seat. “You’re fine,” he soothed. “You’re safe.”
    â€œSorry, sorry.” She shot a hand through her tousled hair. “Did I fall asleep?”
    â€œDo not apologize.” He struggled to temper the grittiness in his voice with only limited success. Just what she needed. Another male scaring the hell out of her. “Yes, you fell asleep.”
    â€œI didn’t mean to do that.”
    â€œYou probably needed it.” And she did, despite her residual fear. “We’re just coming into the city. I’ll have you home in a few more minutes.”
    She didn’t reply, but intense relief speared across her face.
    A short time later, Constantine pulled up outside of her row house. Gianna started to open the car door and he stopped her. “Will my Porsche fit in your garage or do you use the space for storage?”
    She stared at him blankly. “My garage?”
    â€œI’m staying the night and I don’t want to spend the next several hours searching for a legal place to park,” he explained patiently. “Will my car fit in your garage?”
    He could see the progression of her thoughts written in her expression. Confusion. Dawning comprehension. Stubborn refusal. “That’s not necessary.”
    â€œD’Angelo is still out there. I’m assuming he was seriously ticked off when he left you. I’m not going to take the chance that he may come by while you’re sleeping off the last of whatever he gave you. Your choices are…” He held up a finger. “One. We go to the emergency room and get you checked out. At the very least, they should look at the cuts on your feet.”
    She instantly shook her head. “There’s no need. I’m fine. Like I told you, I didn’t get a full dose of the drug.”
    He refused to let her get away with the lie. “What you mean is… If you tell the doctors what happened, they’ll call the police and you want to avoid that