Page 182 of Modern Romance June 2025 1-4

Then she was in front of him.

Angela placed Jasmine’s hand in his with a knowing smile, and that feeling every time he touched her was back. Flame licked up his skin, consuming him with her very presence. He wanted to kiss her, but he couldn’t. He wanted to touch every inch of her skin, but he couldn’t do that either.

‘Belleza,’he said instead, and she smiled at him. A smile that gripped his heart.

‘Shall we begin?’ the celebrant asked.

Emilio nodded without looking at him. Without looking at anyone but Jasmine. He had hoped that the two weeks they’d spent together would ease the effect she had on him. That he would develop some kind of immunity. But the opposite had happened. He was aware of her all the time, and when she left a room her perfume lingered to drive him insane instead.

So here he was, marrying the most beautiful woman he had ever encountered, barely able to keep his libido in check.

‘Marriage requires selflessness,’ the celebrant began. ‘The promise to trust and support one another. The promise to future children of raising, educating and supporting them in all aspects of life.’

That was exactly why Emilio was marrying Jasmine. He wondered then if his father had ever made such a promise to his mother and, if he had, why he had only kept it for his eldest son. Had Emilio not been worth his father’s time, his promises, from the moment of his birth? Or had he decided to cast Emilio aside even before then?

Unaware of the thoughts in Emilio’s head, the celebrant went on.

‘Now, I shall ask of the both of you: do you, Emilio Luciano De Luca, take Jasmine Sophia Hall to be your wife and partner, forsaking all others?’

‘I do.’ Emilio slid a platinum wedding band onto Jasmine’s slender finger, seating it firmly against the ring he had given her only two weeks ago.

‘And do you, Jasmine Sophia Hall, take Emilio Luciano De Luca to be your husband and partner, forsaking all others?’

‘I do.’

He watched her place the ring on his finger. His days of medicating with partying and one-night stands were over. This ring was a reminder to be what his family needed, what his child needed. Everything his father wasn’t. But it was also a symbol of irony. Marriage and love weren’t for him. Once upon a time, when he’d briefly thought maybe it would be possible with Gia, Emilio hadn’t considered a marriage to be anything like this, with ground rules and deliberate separation. That wasn’t what he’d wanted, yet look at him now.

‘I hereby pronounce you man and wife. You may now kiss the bride.’

Emilio hadn’t kissed Jasmine since that morning they’d run into Richard and Zara. He’d scrupulously adhered to their agreement to avoid physicality. But this kiss…there was no escaping it. There was no denying how much he wanted it. So he placed her hands on his chest, cradled her face and brushed his lips against hers in a desperate bid to make this last. This feeling of utter intoxication. He did it again and then took her lip between his, trying so hard not to lose control. Not to turn this into something hard and bruising like the passion inside him begged.

But, when Jasmine’s tongue met his, any control he had disappeared. She angled her head, allowing him to kiss her deeper. His heart was pounding against his rib cage. He could feel her rapid pulse in her neck. They were lost, lost to each other.

The only thing that brought them back was Angela clearing her throat with amusement.

Emilio looked at his wife. Her pupils were blown wide. A flush coloured her cheeks. The air around them was thick with want. Keeping his distance from her was going to be far harder than he could ever have anticipated.

CHAPTER TEN

Normally, when Jasmine travelled,Jenna booked her in business class. And, while she enjoyed the luxury, the priority status, she was still just another person.

Not Emilio.

A large private jet stood waiting for them on the airport tarmac. Their luggage was already loaded, without any instruction. When the driver opened Emilio’s door first, he stepped out and offered Jasmine his hand. She took it.

She had been the one to say there would be no physicality, but she found herself not minding his touches all that much. In fact, after each one she would only crave the next. It was frustrating. She kept reminding herself that they were only marrying because of the baby. They didn’t feel anything for each other—apart from an irresistible, devastating attraction. Like moths drawn to a flame.

But, with Emilio’s power and influence, she was likely to be the moth and she would not allow her wings to be singed by him.

Seeing him in front of his private plane now, in a dark suit and a pair of aviators, drove home just how far removed the two of them were, despite Jasmine’s success. It was confirmation that she had been right to marry him for the sake of their child, but that she could never trust or rely on him, because Emilio could destroy her more utterly than anyone else.

I shouldn’t be going on honeymoon,she thought as they climbed the stairs into the plane.I should stay here and build SOP.

But she couldn’t leave.

Emilio was still holding on to her hand. She understood why he’d done it outside: they needed to look like a real couple, a growing family. But in here, when it was just the two of them and his driver, all it did was needlessly torture them with a passion she wouldn’t allow.

She looked around her, taking in the smell of expensive leather and the vast array of seating. A polished wooden wall stood at the back, obscuring her view.

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