Chapter 35
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ENZO
A warmth spreads through my body, settling against my aching muscles after three uninterrupted days of pure fucking. Sicily is sticky and hot this time of year, but nothing compares to the heat that expands between our bodies as they collide.
We eat sporadically throughout the day — whenever our stomachs growl and our bodies edge upon exhaustion. I barely made it through finishing my pasta last night before I lifted her onto the table, spread her legs wide and buried my face between her thighs.
Dessert will always be my favorite course .
It took a while to get here.
She didn’t let me in the bedroom until she felt comfortable enough and we decided to try starting anew, even if we were on our honeymoon.
Small dates which lead to hours of talking and laughing, walks on the beach and shopping in the villages. We’ve only recently begun to fuck again after the plane of course, and personally I’m glad for the wait.
It was like experiencing our first times together all over again and now she’s begun to trust me again like before and this time I’m not going to let anything jeopardize our love.
I lay awake, staring at the ceiling fan whilst her soft snores fill the air. A few hours ago, we both crashed into bed. Exhausted from the heat and our physical activities but now it was approaching sunrise and there was someplace I wanted to show Anastasia
Gently I try to stir her awake, massaging her tight muscles and scattering kisses over her bare skin. She groans, rolling over to face me and blinks sleepily, rubbing her eyes. “What time is it?”
To my surprise, there are still things we have to learn about each other — like how her voice always sounds a little deeper when she’s just woken up.
“Almost six.” Her eyes grow wide and she shoots across from me, grabbing the clock on the bedsid e
“I don’t think I’ve ever slept this much in my life.”
My arms fold around her waist and I lean back against the headboard, pulling her into my chest. “Well, you work hard. You deserve a little rest.”
Rolling her eyes, she sinks into my touch. As much as she may deny it, there’s nothing that calms her more than being in my arms. “Only one more week, remember?”
I was trying to get her to stretch it to two. Mostly because I like having her here all to myself but also to protect her from the monster that still lurks outside of the oasis we’ve created. My lips meet her neck. “I know, but I can find ways to persuade you otherwise.”
She laughs and now I can barely remember a time when that sound was a rarity. “We can come back. Maybe even move here when we’re old and wrinkly.”
I clutch her tighter, brushing her temple with my lips and trying to ignore the warmth that spreads through my body at her words. She’s imagining our future.
“I want to show you something.” I murmur.
“What is it?” Those big blue eyes fill with curiosity as she gazes back at me
“It’s a surprise. Just put something thin on.”
“Thin? ”
I smirk, running my hands over her soft curves. “So it won’t be hard to rip off when I get tired of looking at the sunset and want something more beautiful to set my sights on.”
***
It takes my wife two hours before she’s finally ready — though it may partially be my fault since I joined her in the shower and distracted her with my tongue.
When she walks in, I’m forced to swallow hard as I take in the tiny white dress she’s decided to wear. It flares at the waist, just grazing her ass, making me glad that there will be no-one else there but me to worship her.
“You look stunning.”
She scoffs. “Predictable. I thought you Italians were supposed to be romantic.”
There’s my little brat.
We need the fire between us. The fire is what keeps us alive.
Smirking, I push her hair behind her ear and lean in to catch her waist. “Fatto il provvedimento, guarderò il suo posto di posizione. E, toccando la sua, benedici la mia mano maleducata. Il mio cuore ha amato fino ad ora? Dimenticalo, vista! Perché io non ho visto la vera bellezza fino a questa notte.” The measure done, I'll watch her place of stand. And, touching hers, make blessed my rude hand. Did my heart love till now? forswear it, sight! For I ne'er saw true beauty till this night.
A pretty laugh vibrates from her chest and she shoves me lightly, before grabbing my hair to yank me down for a kiss. My eyes grow wide as her tongue meets mine, half-expecting a slap for that soliloquy.
“Reciting Shakespeare in Italian is probably the hottest thing you’ve ever done.” She murmurs, pulling back. “Although no points for originality, the thought counts.”
Romeo and Juliet — still her favorite.
I tap her ass, fisting the keys in my hand. “Come on. We’re already late.”
She follows, having no trouble in her four-inch heels. “It’s not even dark yet. Any restaurant we go to won’t—”
“Who said we’re going to a restaurant? I plan on keeping you to myself for as long as possible.” She frowns but I can see the excitement bubbling away in her eyes and this time she follows me without discussion.
It’s a familiar fifteen-minute drive to the groves. The entire time Anastasia has her face practically pressed against the window, her curiosity electrifying the air around us. “Everything is so beautiful here. ”
“It is. This is the unscathed part of town. The part free from drugs and crime and guns and—”
“Us. Free of us.” It’s the first time I’ve heard a hint of malice in her voice about who we are.
“Hey,” I squeeze her thigh. “We’re just Anastasia and Enzo here. Just a couple enjoying their honeymoon. Even when I used to live here, I was the same sweet kid that played football in the street. Our dark tendencies stay where we leave them.”
“If only it was that easy.” I hear her murmur just as the car comes to a rolling stop.
Unbuckling my belt, I quickly move around to help her out. She cringes at the wet grass beneath her heels that sink into the mud. “Take them off.” She stares at me like I’ve just slapped her. Chuckling, I kick mine off and throw them into the car, peeling my socks off too. Her mouth remains wide open, eyes laced with subtle disgust. “Trust me. You’ll feel free.”
Huffing, she reaches down to unbuckle them but I lower to my knees instead and raise one of her legs up. Kissing her calf, I slip off the shoe and help her with the other. Her chest rises and falls in hurried beats, staring at me as I take her hand. She frowns at the sogginess of the mud beneath our feet.
Reaching into my pocket, I pull out the silver key to unlock the gate. Nostalgia whips inside of my chest at the familiar creak and the sudden sweet floral scent that almost tackles me to the floor. “Wow.” My wife breathes out, letting go of my hand to touch the first tree.
Her fingers dust the leaves and then she notices them. Digging her hand inside, she plucks one off its branch and turns it over in her hand. “Is this all yours?”
I smile as I walk over to her, settling my chin on her shoulder as we both gaze at the orange. “Technically yes but really, they’re my mother’s. This was her entire life before my father fell ill and then it became her escape from the dark sins she was forced to commit in his name.”
I pull the dagger from my pocket and slice through the fruit easily, revealing its bright core. She gasps, a smile pulling at her lips as she looks back at me. “Blood oranges.”
“That’s the lie masking over our family’s true legacy. We earn from farming and selling them but nothing compared to what the drugs bring in. To the public eye, the Mancini name is tied to citrus production.” She knew that but I think it’s the beauty of such a complex fruit that’s captivating her mind.
“Try it.” I slice into the orange again, the succulent red juices leaking out all over our hands. She doesn’t dispute but instead opens her mouth for me so I can nestle it between her teeth.
Watching her suck and slurp the juices, the stickiness clinging to her chin and liquid dripping everywhere, staining that devastatingly white dress, pulls at a dark twisted desire inside of me that remained dormant until now.
“What?” She murmurs.
It’s amazing how innocent a sinner can look in white.
Pulling the peel away from her mouth — the fruit now wrinkled and drained of its essence — I take in the red stains ruining her dress. It’s the kind of red that imitates something else I want to stain her skin with.
She throws the peel in the compost and reaches for another slice resting in my palm. Closing my fist over the fruit, I shield it from her grasp. Her lips draw into a frown as she studies me and I’m equally taking her in.
The sunset acts as a halo behind her, framing an angel when I know a devil lurks beneath.
I twirl the dagger in my hand, a smirk lifting on my lips. “What are you doing Enzo?” Her dirty feet crunch on fallen leaves as she creeps back, apprehension filling her gaze.
Hesitation stops me for a moment. She might think I’m disgusting, strange, depraved. She could run, although I would catch her in an instant.
And yet desire overtakes reason. “How do you feel about a little blood?”