“Well… yes. It’s not always expected in our circles to take a real one, I know.” The men in our world are never off-duty, except maybe the head men. But Alessio never passes his duties off to others from what I can tell. He’s studying me curiously, and I start to feel silly for what I said. “Never mind. Just let me pretend for a bit, alright?”
With a nod, he turns me back the way we came. “Let’s go back to the vehicle.”
I figure our date night must be over already, but he has another surprise in store for me.
***
“Wake up, kitten,” his deep voice rumbles before he starts unbuckling my seatbelt much later. I must’ve fallen asleep as we drove.
He helps me climb into the back of the SUV, pointing up at the panoramic view the moonroof presents. Blinking the sleep out of my eyes, my jaw drops. With the city lights nearly seventy miles away, the Mojave Desert’s night sky is a veritable canvas of stars.He drove me out here to see them.
“It’s like an entire galaxy is visiting this corner of the earth tonight.”
He pulls me into his lap, nuzzling my throat. “The stars are always there even when we can’t see them. You smell so fucking good.” His hand drops down between my knees, and I can feel him getting hard beneath me. More than astronomy or the wonders of space are on his mind.
“If you want to, we can,” I whisper, pushing past my trepidation at the thought of pain.
His eyes search my face until he shakes his head. “I always want you, but I’m not going to fuck you, Caterina. Not tonight. It might hurt as much as this morning, and I won’t take you in a backseat for your second time.”
I flush, strangely embarrassed that he’s holding back for me. “Maybe this is why the Seconda Notte came about, huh? The virgin bride couldn’t stand more so soon after the wedding night.”
“As if that would stop men like me from taking what we want,” he huffs.
“But you didn’t. You waited for me to be ready.” I place my hand to his chest, feeling his heart pounding under his shirt. He looks away uncomfortably.Is it such a bad thing to not alwaysbe so hard?“And you didn’t sleep with any of the women from Club Oasis the next night either.”
“I don’t use whores.”
“No, not now. You’re married now,” I joke, a very feeble jest born of my lingering insecurity that falls miserably flat.
Alessio cups my chin, forcing me to look him in the eye. “It’s not hard for me to be faithful to you. Just remember what you swore to me in return. And I’ve never fucked any of our whores.”
I’ll admit I’m stunned by his words. “I would’ve thought… Isn't it tradition for fathers to take their sons to one of the Trio’s establishments for their first time?”
“My first time in one of those places wasn’t a pleasurable experience. I had no interest in having my first sexual experience at one.”
Before I can ask what that means, he distracts me by kissing the spot behind my ear, making me squirm with sudden need. “I want to show you more stars tonight.” His hand glides up my thigh and under my skirt. He brushes the center of my panties and I know he must feel how they’re clinging to my skin. “I want to worship this sweet pussy with my tongue tonight. I want to make you come.”
I nod, wanting nothing more than his touch. For all his dirty words and deeds, there’s a sweetness growing between us, still tremulous but powerful. I feel it. Might he?
Soon enough, he buries his face between my legs, making me gasp and writhe and cry out on the leather seat as the stars twinkle up above us. This night is magical, like something out of one of my beloved books. Even when he’s being cold or scary or vengeful, my husband’s heart beats steadily just as the stars shine even when they’re not visible. I simply wish his heart might beat for me someday as certainly as mine beats for him.
25
Caterina
“So, it’s okay for you? With Alessio?” Gia asks curiously while Sofia’s busy applying sunscreen with her earbuds still in. “Not that I wish to know details.”
“It is. It’s… good.” Over the past couple of weeks, I’ve come to enjoy sex thoroughly with my husband, but I won’t rub it in knowing what Gia’s dealt with. At least with Ritchie’s ‘issues,’ he doesn’t bother her so frequently anymore.
“I’m glad it’s not a nightmare for you.” It’s the complete opposite of a nightmare but again I don’t say anything. “The whole time I was growing up, I looked forward to the day I would be out from under my mother and father’s rule. Now, I wish I could stay here,” she admits, wistfully.
“I do, too.”
A picture of us on the sidewalk outside of Chosen made it onto some pap website before Alessio could get them removed. Ritchie heard of it and has demanded his wife return to Chicago. It’s our last golden day of sunshine to be together in Las Vegas.
“It’s certainly a unique gift,” Sofia says after removing her earbuds. She points to the necklace I wear every day. The gold-dipped tooth is hard to miss when we’re all in bikinis beside the pool.
“Leave it to Alessio to be weird when it comes to romance,” Gia says, chuckling, before scowling at our audience. “If my brother sees them staring at you like that, he’ll set their balls on fire.”
