The Tycoon's Virgin Bride - Part 1 (The Corskovi Dynasty) Read online

  THE TYCOON’S VIRGIN BRIDE – PART 1 (The Corskovi Dynasty)

  Ann King

  Copyright 2013 by Ann King

  All rights reserved; no part of this publication may be reproduced or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying or otherwise, without the prior permission of the publisher.

  This book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places, and incidents are products of the writer’s imagination or have been used fictitiously. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead is entirely coincidental.

  ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

  Thank you to my father and to my wonderful family, friends and readers for your unconditional love and endless support.

  What happens when the one you desire is minutes away from marrying someone else?

  She’s torn…

  Hannah Steeles is moments away from marrying a man she does not love, sexy Russian Gustav Kolodenko. The chapel is filled with a hundred guests and she’s ready to walk down the aisle but her heart is with hot, dripping with charm Andre Corskovi, the man who makes her pulse race and dominates her fantasy. The friend who is giving her away in place of her father. It’s too late to turn back now.

  He wants her…

  Andre Corskovi, sexy, young self-made billionaire is used to getting what he wants but this time may be a challenge. He’s never wanted any woman more than he wants beautiful, charming Hannah Steeles. It’s when he’s asked to give her away in place of his late mentor that he wrestles with his desires. He can’t get her out of his system but the chapel is decorated and filled with guests. Will he give away the one woman he desires or take her for himself?

  Chapter 1

  “She should be with me,” Andre Corskovi asserted as he fixed the French cuff on his white tuxedo shirt. A muscle in his jaw twitched as he finished getting dressed for Hannah Steeles’ wedding in less than two hours.

  “Whoa there,” his brother responded as he, too, got dressed in the hotel suite. “It’s a little too late for that don’t you think?” Dane asked. “I mean what are you going to do? Crash her wedding?”

  Andre’s jaw clenched. He was just not in the mood for his brother’s dry sense of humor this morning. But yes, that would be a plan, wouldn’t it?

  “You should have proposed to her when you had the chance,” Dane continued.

  “I’m not a marrying man, Dane. You should know that by now.”

  “Then why are you pissed that she’s getting married to someone else?”

  “Because she doesn’t love him. She just met him six weeks ago.” Andre’s stomach clenched at the thought. He had promised his mentor, the man who’d taken him from the streets of the Bronx to the boardroom of Wall Street and showed him everything he knew, that he’d take care of his beloved step-niece. Hannah had already experienced a rough time in life.

  She was a decent girl who had a genuine kind heart. Not to mention that the more he watched her blossom into a beautiful young woman, the more his feelings for her intensified. But he hadn’t slept with her because he wasn’t the stick-around-tied-down kind of guy. She deserved better. He didn’t want to jeopardize what they had—a good, solid friendship. But growing up illegitimate like himself, she’d always wanted to have a family of her own. He knew that. She’d confided in him about that.

  But what had he done about it?

  Nothing.

  But now that she was about to enter a loveless marriage for the sake of having a husband for her future child his body fired into action.

  But was it too late?

  Was Dane right? Had he just missed his chance?

  Andre was not a man who lost battles. If he wanted something, he always got it one way or the other. And right now he wanted Hannah. He wasn’t about to lose her.

  He’d already gone as far as to have his men check out the guy, Gustav, who proposed to her after just a few weeks of dating. The dude she was about to tie the knot with was slime—a womanizer. And that was only the tip of the iceberg.

  “You will protect her, won’t you? Watch over her for me? She’s so vulnerable.” Clive Steeles had told Andre just days before he suffered a massive heart attack which claimed his life.

  “I promise,” Andre had vowed. And that was what he was going to do.

  Gustav had so many aliases and Andre wondered what his real name was. He had also cheated on Hannah, not once but twice. Andre knew she didn’t have much experience with men. She was practically innocent. Yet, she’d ended up with this low-life. A vein throbbed in his temple as he pulled his tux jacket on. He was going to give Hannah away because her step-father had died recently Andre stepped in to give Hannah away. The trouble was—he didn’t want to give her away, he wanted to take her away. And he’d do it in front of one hundred guests.

  ***

  Hannah Steeles glanced into the full-length mirror of the Las Vegas hotel room where she was getting ready for her wedding in two hours. Her late uncle’s estate had given her the funds to hold a lavish wedding at one of his hotels. She was lucky.

  Her gown was white and satiny with a plunging neckline and a long train. She looked like a princess but she sure as hell didn’t feel like one.

  She breathed in a deep sigh. She was supposed to be the happiest woman alive. She was getting married. But to a man who she barely knew or loved. Now she was thinking only of her mother in her wheelchair, tears in her eyes that her daughter would have what she did not have. A husband. Hannah had never known her father and her mother was an immigrant who spoke little English.

  Her mother worked as a domestic and suffered periods of depression and isolation. She’d come to America to give her daughter the best life possible. How could she let her mother down? They’d come from a tiny principality in the Mediterranean where war and political uprising existed. She had fled when Hannah was only seven but Hannah remembered it, oh, so well. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to blink back tears. Her groom, Gustav, should be the one she wanted but another man dominated her thoughts, and her fantasies.

  Andre Corskovi.

  He’d always been there for her. Watching over her. Hooking her up with her first job. Encouraging her to pursue higher education. She was studying for her master’s degree and her doctorate at the same time in child psychology. She’d always loved children and craved to have her own. But only in marriage.

  Andre was a few years older than her but so mature. She watched how he made his first million and how he aggressively worked hard to build his own empire after her late uncle showed him the ropes.

  Truth was, he made her heart go pitter patter. She was on fire when she was in his presence. Andre was oh, so sexy—a delicious looking man with the body of an athlete—muscular and strong. So devilishly handsome and dripping with charm. Trouble was, the other ladies thought so, too. He’d moved back to New York and built his real estate empire, buying old buildings and selling them to the highest bidder after he’d fixed them up.

  But he was emotionally unreachable.

  She’d heard of his reputation in the office.

  He was a please ‘em and leave ‘em kind of guy. He could rock a woman’s world and make her head spin and pleasure her body in places she’d never known existed. Women lined up to date him. They stalked him. Wanted him so badly. They were addicted to his sexual prowess. His skill in the bedroom was known as well as his talent in the boardroom. She’d heard he was a great lover and secretly wished she could have experienced it. But he wasn’t a marrying man. That much she knew. She really didn’t want her heart broken. But now that she was marrying Gustav, she would never know the honor of being Andre’s woman.


  How unfair could life be?

  Hannah wanted Andre. She craved him. Her body desired him when he was in close proximity. The man certainly had a presence that could captivate even in a crowd. She’d was always been drawn to his dark penetrating eyes. His body drew her like a sexual magnet. She wished he’d made a move on her. She caught him glimpsing at her a few times whenever he was nearby or in the office but nothing ever came of it. Did he not desire her?

  Why couldn’t the one man she was interested in make a move on her?

  “What is it, dear?” her mother asked as she wheeled herself up to Hannah. It had been two years since she’d been confined to a wheelchair after developing Multiple Sclerosis.

  “Oh, nothing, Mom. I’m happy.” Liar.

  But how could she let her mother down and break her heart? Her mother so badly wanted to see her only child married and happy and giving her grandchildren while she was still alive. Her mother had done so much for her. Sacrificed so much for her.

  “Dear, you don’t seem happy. Are you sure you’re alright?”

  Before Hannah could answer, a knock on the door distracted her. It was her chief bridesmaid, Lucy.

  “Ooh, girl, you look so beautiful.” Lucy then turned to Esther, Hannah’s mother. “Mrs. Steeles, the limousine is waiting to take you to the church first. Are you ready?”

  Hannah’s mother turned to her daughter and hugged her tight. “I love you, Hannah. I’m so proud of you. You’ve made me the happiest mother alive.”

  Hannah leaned down to hug her mother and hot tears spilled over onto her cheeks.

  “I love you, too, Mom,” she whispered and kissed her mother on the forehead. Lucy then told Hannah she would see her soon as she wheeled Mrs. Steeles out of the room.

  Hannah was alone again. With her thoughts. And her guilt.

  It was too late to call off the wedding now, wasn’t it?

  Chapter 2

  Moments later, Hannah heard another knock at the door and assumed that Lucy had forgotten something. She quickly lifted up her dress that swept the floor and made her way over to the door. When she opened it, her heart stopped.

  It was sexy, dripping with charm, Andre Corskovi. There went her heart beat flip flopping in her chest again. Her skin tingled and her nipples tightened under her gown. Thank God he couldn’t see that. Why did he have that effect on her? Her inner thighs started to throb with want.

  Stop it, Hannah! Stop thinking about him.

  That was easier said than done. He was the man who would walk her down the aisle soon to give her away.

  His dark sexy eyes, framed with long lashes resembled a delicious shade of cinnamon and caused a reaction in her body when he gazed into her eyes. Her body tingled again as she observed the desire in his dark, sexy eyes. The temptation was so great it was overwhelming her.

  Stop looking at me like that.

  She was tormented by confusing emotions. A wave of doubt swept through her about marrying Gustav but it was too late. Her family and friends were waiting for her at the chapel to wed Gustav. She tried to throttle the dizzying current coursing through her veins but failed miserably. She was getting married in less than two hours to another man. How could she possibly have feelings for Andre? This was insane. None of it made any sense to her. But she could feel the sexual magnetism that lingered between them, it was undeniable. She had to fight the urgency to be with him.

  Andre looked irresistible in his tailored dark grey French cut tuxedo and his smooth silk tie. His dark short cropped hair and well groomed stubble, his broad shoulders and the sexy scent of his cologne made Hannah melt.

  This should be the man that I am marrying.

  As if she had a chance.

  “Andre,” she said almost breathless.

  “You look beautiful,” Andre said in a low silky voice, holding her gaze. He walked into the hotel room and closed the door behind him. His dark, irresistible eyes fixed on Hannah.

  For a moment Hannah said nothing. She was just enthralled by his presence.

  He regarded her and a grin of approval played on his full lips.

  “Th-thank you. So do you…I mean you look handsome.” He looked delicious enough to eat but a flicker of apprehension coursed through her veins. There was something about his healthy glow and his aura that made her feel so protected, so appreciated. She always felt secure in his presence. It was weird but she could not explain it any other way. “God, you’re so hot” was what she really wanted to say.

  Andre wanted to take Hannah then and there. Desire burned through his body. He had to have her. Just looking at her made him hard like a rock. She looked like a princess, a goddess in her white Cinderella wedding gown with the plunging neckline. His gaze drifted to her voluptuous cleavage. God, she looked hot. When had she grown so full and curvaceous? He was captivated by her overwhelming beauty and delicate charm. A surge of heat raced through him. The one woman who he hadn’t fucked senseless and yet he wanted her. He desired her like no other woman. His mouth watered to taste her sweetness.

  What a time to realize this was the woman he wanted. The thought of being deep inside her made him crazy. There was just something about her that pleased his body. There was no denying that.

  “I want you, Hannah,” he said as he inched closer to her. Why had he chosen that moment to blurt it out? To confess his love for her? Her fragrance was intoxicating. “I know this is not the right time but…”

  “Not the right time?” Hannah moved over to the bed where her bouquet rested, her ruffled white dress making a swishing sound. “Not the right time? Andre, I’m getting married in a couple hours! I…I don’t know what to say. You want me? Why are you telling me this now?”

  Hannah looked torn. Confused. Well, of course she would. He hadn’t up to that point told her how he truly felt about her.

  She was right, he should have made his feelings known sooner but he couldn’t let her go through with this wedding. He had to put a stop to it now.

  The truth was Hannah was right for him. Why in God’s name had he taken her for granted and not made a move when he had the chance? Because he’d thought she’d always be around. Available.

  Well, damn, he was wrong! Dead wrong. But this wedding thing had come out of the blue and slammed into him like a freight truck at full speed. Almost knocked the wind out of his lungs.

  No woman had ever had that effect on Andre. Ever. And he was not about to let her out of his life now.

  Hannah was not like the other women he dated. The opportunists, gold-diggers, vanity-driven, superficial. No, Hannah appreciated him not for his financial assets but him as a person. She’d known him before he struck it rich and became one of the wealthiest powerful businessmen of the millennium according to one business magazine.

  She’d taken a deep interest in him when he had nothing, when other women wouldn’t even give him the time of day. She’d been there as a support and encouraged him. They’d both practically grown up together but somehow drifted apart. Her well-off uncle took him in and she never judged him like everyone else because of where he was coming from. So now…

  “Do you love him?”

  “What?” Hannah felt breathless. Her heart hammered against her chest.

  “Do you love Gustav?” he said with coolness to his tone.

  “What do you mean by that?”

  “Well, it seems to me like a perfectly reasonable question since you are determined to exchange vows with the man, don’t you think?”

  Hannah stuttered. Why couldn’t she just say yes?

  “That’s none of your business.”

  “What?” Andre pulled Hannah close to him. “The hell it is. I’m supposed to be giving you away to this guy and you can’t even tell me that you love him?”

  His gaze fell again to her cleavage and she shivered, her pussy throbbed with want, her nipples hardened in response. No. This was wrong. He was wrong for her. But her body told her otherwise. He aroused her with just his penetrating sexual gaz
e. How could this man have that kind of effect on her? She was bewildered. Her head was spinning. But he was oh, so irresistible. Hannah didn’t struggle to release herself from his embrace. The sweet intoxicating scent of his cologne and his maleness overwhelmed her. Dulled her senses. She was tingling from head to toe. God, she wanted Andre.

  Damn you, Andre!

  Mixed feelings surged through her body as moisture pooled inside her silk and lace panties. Turned on was not the word.

  She was breathless. “Andre…I…”

  Before she could finish Andre’s tall six foot four inch frame leaned down and he pressed his soft lips to her exposed neckline.

  Hannah’s inner thighs throbbed harder with want. She thought she was going to go crazy, out of her mind. This was insane. She wanted Andre’s hardness inside her. Now. Her emotions were out of control now. She moaned as he continued to nibble on her neck.

  “Tell me that you don’t want me and I’ll leave you alone,” Andre murmured in a hoarse voice as his hand slid down her back causing her to shiver once more. How could something so wrong feel so right?

  This wasn’t Hannah.

  She didn’t recognize herself.

  Here she was, a virgin with a history of one or two boyfriends in her past and she was with the most eligible sought after bachelor around and he wanted her. But she was to wed someone else in just over an hour. She’d always played it careful all her life. Kept her nose in her books and away from boys. Growing up a mama’s girl, doing what was right only to have that all thrown away now. She was going straight to hell. She shouldn’t be making out with another man, accepting his intimate touch.

  “Mmm, Andre,” she could not help but moan.

  “Do you want me?” he asked in a low, seductive voice as his hand slowly unzipped her wedding gown from the back.

  “Mmm. Yes, Andre. Yes, please.”