Unspoken Betrayal (Casino King)

14. Nicki

When I wake up, stiff from sleeping in a car seat, I can immediately feel that we are moving. I sit up so fast, in fright, that I knock my head on the side window of the car.

"Hey, hey, it's ok, everything is ok." Vitorio reaches out towards me and places his hand over my forehead.

"Where are we going?" I grumble, pulling my seat into an upright position again, as Vitorio's hand slips down to my thigh.

I slept terribly. I kept waking up thinking I heard someone outside the car. My head is pounding from the stress of everything, and I feel sick with worry.

"My father had a vacation home out of the city, not too far from here. It's just been sitting there for years. I'm sure it's a total mess, but I wanted to see if it was a safe place for us to hide. We can't sleep in the car again."

"Did you sleep at all?" I ask, seeing how tired he looks.

"No, I kept watch."

A warm smile traces onto my lips, and I can't take my eyes off him. I reach out and run my hand over his leg, as a sense of need begins to grow in me. "Thank you," I say softly.

"For what?" he glances at me, then back at the road.

"For not leaving me alone in all of this."

He smiles, just as warmly as I am. He threads his fingers over mine, against his leg.

"I don't think you know how much you mean to me." He says, without looking in my direction.

I am not sure how to respond to that, without confessing that he means more to me than he knows as well. The smile on my face grows wider as we turn off the road, onto a gravel path that leads into the woods.

We drive for about fifteen minutes down a long, quiet stretch of road. We are so far from the city, and any other people, that I am beginning to feel a sense of safety. It is a relief, to be hidden in these trees.

"That's the main house," Vitorio says, as we pass a massive house, which must have once been incredibly beautiful. Right now though, it is thick with overgrown weeds, and creepers have covered the windows and doors. It has been overtaken by nature and looks as though no one has been near it in years.

"We aren't going there?"

"No." He carries on driving, for another five minutes, until we reach a small stone cottage, also covered in vines and greenery.

"This was the groundskeeper's cottage." He says, pulling to a stop around the back of it.

He has to cut away the thick knotted threads of vines before we can pull the door open, and then I follow him inside.

The cottage is covered in dust, but it looks neat and cozy. He starts grabbing the old white sheets covering the furniture and pulling them off, tossing them into the corner and out of our way. Beneath the sheets, the furniture is clean and even though it is old, when I sit down on the sofa I breathe a sigh of relief at the comfort.

He chuckles. "I'll light a fire, get some warmth into these stone walls, and then I'll get some water boiling. I'm sure there is some tea tucked away in one of these cupboards."

"I'll look around in the kitchen while you start that fire." I stand up and begin searching through the cupboards.

A little mouse jumps out of one and I scream in fright. Vitorio is by my side in a split second, but when he sees me giggling at my own reaction, he realizes what has happened.

I find a little pantry, stocked with canned foods, tea and coffee, and powdered milk.

Working together we prepare a little meal of vegetables, spaghetti, coffee, and lentils. We carry our plates through to the small living room and sit on a big blanket in front of the fire.

To both of our surprise, the food is really tasty. "It's just like camping." I laugh.

"I never did much camping." He replies.

"I bet you've never eaten canned food before either." I can't hide the wide grin on my face.

"I don't think I ever have." He agrees.

We finish our meal and push our plates to the side, then Vitorio pulls me into his arms, laying me on his chest as he rests his back on the blanket, using one of the couch pillows to get comfortable.

The heat from the fire soaks into my skin and begins to relax me.

We are so isolated out here, and I know the city is infected with people wanting us dead, but just for now, I feel completely safe.

Vitorio brushes his fingers across my cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear.

"Nicki - "

"Mm?" I respond lazily, my eyes feeling heavy.

"- I am falling for you." He whispers against my ear.

My eyes spring open, and my heart summersaults.

I shift my body so that I look up at him. He is grinning.

I tilt my head.

"It's true. I've been drawn to you from the moment I first laid eyes on you that night. You are the most beautiful, most graceful, and smartest woman I have ever met. I am falling deep for you."

I bite my lower lip, shifting again, this time so that my face is close to his. My lips hovering just inches from his as I lay with my body against his. This man has been protecting me from the first day I met him. He has put himself in danger and is on the run from his own family - all for me.

"I am falling for you too, Vitorio."

A deep moan escapes his lips, as he wraps his hand around the back of my head and pulls my mouth against his.

He lifts me onto his body so that I am laying entirely on top of him, and immediately I feel how hard his cock is.

In feverish urgency, our kiss deepens, and I wrap my legs around his body, gently rocking my hips to push my pussy up against his cock.

His hands travel down my back, sliding beneath my shirt, and onto my skin.

Electricity tingles through me.

He lifts my shirt over my head, and then unclips my bra, pulling it off.

My fingers dance over the buttons of his shirt as I pull them loose, while he continues to kiss me. I sit up, straddling him, as I run my hands over his defined abs.

I bite my lip. Not with nervous tension, and not lost in thought - I bite it seductively - because all I can think about right now is that I want to feel Vitorio inside me.

His eyes darken as he watches me, the flames of the fire dancing, and casting warm shadows over our bodies.

He lifts me off him and starts pulling his pants off as I kick my own to the side, then naked, I sit on top of him again.

He growls, as his hands roam my body, caressing my breasts, and sliding over the curve of my waist, I raise myself up and grip his cock in my hands.

His breathing grows faster, and heavier, as I rub it over my pussy.

He grabs my ass in his hands and squeezes as I lower my weight onto him, letting his cock slide into me, filling me up, slowly, and stretching my pussy open. The pleasure that rushes through me is wild and intense.

A small gasp falls from my mouth, and then Vitorio takes control. He starts moving my body, controlling it, rocking me up and down on his cock.

My hands are pressed against his chest and my head is tilted backward as he moves inside me. Each time his cock slides into me I gasp, and the sound of our pleasure begins to fill the small cabin.

Suddenly Vitorio rolls me off him and onto my back. He lays over me with his hips pressing my legs wide open. He thrusts hard into me, with his sculpted muscular arm wrapped around my back, arching my body towards him.

He grabs my thigh with one hand and pushes my legs wider and begins to fuck me harder.

The heat from the fire begins to cause little beads of perspiration on my body and his, causing it to glitter in the golden-red glow of the flames.

I reach up and wrap my hands around his neck, as his cock penetrates me, deeper and deeper each time.

My fingers dig into his skin, and my cries become louder, my legs are beginning to shake with pleasure.

Vitorio's cock seems to be getting bigger, the more he fucks me, the harder it grows and pushes up against my insides. I can barely handle it.

"You are so beautiful, baby." He growls. "You are driving me crazy."

He thrusts into me again and my body jolts as his cock is buried inside me.

I can barely control my breathing; everything about this moment is so perfect. His arms so safely wrapped around me, as he towers over me, and his cock fills me up.

I cry out again, this time even louder, and my pussy begins to pulse.

"Mm." He breathes against my ear. "I can feel how close you are to coming."

I lift my hips towards him, thrusting each time he does, and soon it overwhelms me.

With my fingers in his hair, and my entire body starts to shake.

An orgasm explodes through me, and he carries on fucking me, making it last even longer.

Then with one final thrust of his hips, I feel his cock swell and release his own pleasure into me.

He stares down at me, sweat glistening on his forehead.

Outside the cottage a branch snaps, and in a second, Vitorio is standing with his Glock in his hand, motioning for me to stay on the ground.

I grab my clothes and hurriedly pull them back onto my body, as I duck against the wooden floor.

Vitorio yanks the cottage door open and I wince, waiting for something terrible to happen.

Hooves thunder as a small deer runs away from the cottage.

Vitorio breathes a sigh of relief and pulls the door closed again.

"It was an animal." He says, taking another breath.

He gets dressed quickly and then comes to lie next to me.

"We should try and get some sleep while we can. Tomorrow we need to start deciding how we can find out what is going on, and who is behind it all."

I snuggle against his chest again, and he moves, getting comfortable, with the gun right next to his hand.

"Try and sleep too," I say, closing my eyes.

"I will." His fingers brush over my back, and before I know it, I am fast asleep, plagued by fitful nightmares of people who break into the cottage, dressed as wild bears, ready to tear us apart.