33
The Gift
W e arrived home exhausted.
I was increasingly convinced that Yuri was behind the explosion, and I didn't know where that left me.
Ana María had the foresight to leave us some containers with dinner, which we only had to heat up. That woman was worth her weight in gold.
I poured a couple of glasses of wine and noticed the distant expression on my husband's face; I could almost hear the speed at which his thoughts were traveling.
"Drink, it will do you good. You need to disconnect, even if just for a while."
Romeo exhaled with worry. "It's hard to disconnect when everything is falling apart."
"Yes, but even when things are at their worst, it's necessary. It gives you perspective." My husband nodded in agreement.
"Tell me something that has nothing to do with now," he murmured, catching me off guard.
"What do you mean?"
"If I have to stop thinking for a while, I need a different stimulus, a funny anecdote from your childhood, for example."
"Let me think." I turned over a few memories while I went to the microwave and arranged the reheated food on the plates. I found one that was quite embarrassing and debated whether to tell it or not. "I have one, but I'm going to feel pretty ridiculous if I tell you."
R pouted.
"I need it."
His eyes pleaded with me, and I steeled myself.
"Okay, fine, but you have to swear it won't leave this room."
"I'll lay down my life for your secret," he swore playfully. That was enough for me to proceed.
"It was during a school trip. I remember there was an area with giant grass, and the boy I liked wanted us to separate from the group."
"Did he want to steal a kiss? Or find a barn?"
"I suppose both, although that’s not what happened. My parents had bought me a new phone with a camera that, back then, was the best. And he suggested I take some artistic photos of him."
"I can imagine the artistic part."
"He was the captain of the gymnastics team, so he started doing impossible poses without his shirt."
"A full-fledged show-off."
"Yeah, I remember it was incredibly hot. I was focusing the camera very intently while he did a handstand on a rock, and I felt something splashing on my legs. I didn’t pay much attention because there was a stream in the area, and I thought I had gotten too close without realizing it. Besides, with that heat, it was a 'how nice, a bit of water' moment. Anyway, I turned to see the water and came face to face with the backside of a huge cow that was very comfortably creating its own stream at my feet. The water wasn't water, but cow piss! I had just been peed on by a giant cow!"
My husband started laughing like crazy.
"That's what you get for taking sexy photos of a guy."
"They weren't sexy, just a little risqué! The poor guy kept asking if he could stop doing the handstand because the blood was rushing to his head, and I was dying of embarrassment."
"He probably didn't mind. With your face and body, the cow's golden shower would be the least of it."
"I didn't stay to find out. I left him there and ran to find the real stream to wash myself."
My anecdote led to one from Romeo. We nibbled on the vegetable lasagna and kept a light conversation filled with trivial situations that brought more than one smile to our faces.
"I'm curious. What did you do to get Adriano to tell you the origin of his nightmares?" he asked, putting the plates in the dishwasher.
"Let's just say your sister gave him a version of your accident that didn't match reality, and I offered him a truth exchange. Adriano is a kid, but not an idiot."
"Agreed."
"What I never expected was that Adriano's grandfather was the source of the nightmares."
"Adriana's father?" I nodded and took the opportunity to tell him what I had discovered.
I told him what the boy had explained to me, how I went to his parents' house to impart justice and fulfill the promise I made to my nephew.
"Did you kill him?"
"What do you think?"
"If you didn't, I'll go finish the job myself," he said very seriously.
"I promised Adriano I’d deal with the demon, and that's what I did. But not before making sure he felt the pain he inflicted on his daughter."
"And his wife?"
"Anyone who condones an atrocity like the one Adriana suffered is as guilty as the one who raised the hand."
"I agree."
"Andrey took care of the bodies. I didn’t tell you because you were bedridden. We were very careful, they’ll never find the bodies, and my man cleaned everything thoroughly. You don’t have to worry about anything."
Romeo stood up from the chair and took my face in his hands.
"The only thing I fear is you leaving my life, amore ." He gave me a sweet kiss. "You have no idea how much I admire you. You know I think I couldn’t have a more perfect woman by my side."
"Even the apple that the witch offered to Snow White was perfect, and it turned out to be poisoned."
"Then I’ll devour your poison, bite by bite."
"Maybe one day, I’ll have to remind you of your own words," I declared before offering him a sly smile. R had no idea how much truth was hidden in what I had just said.
He gazed at me absorbed for a few seconds and raised his index finger.
"Give me a few seconds, I think the time has come to give you the gift I couldn’t give you in Santorini. It will only be a moment."
"Now?"
"Do you have other plans?" I shook my head.
My husband was only gone for a few minutes. When he returned, I had already refilled the wine glasses, and he was shaking a dossier, looking excited.
He spread the folder over my hands and urged me to open it.
When I saw the contents, I was in disbelief.
"Bu-but this is..."
"The divorce papers," he declared firmly.
"I don’t understand, the deal I made with your father..."
"It’s nullified with the annex."
"You want a divorce?" The question came choked from my vocal cords. I should be happy, that agreement, or what I had briefly seen, gave me a freedom I currently didn’t have, and yet, I didn’t feel that way. "Is it because of Irene?" I asked hesitantly.
"No! Don’t you get it?" he inquired with emotion. "It’s just the opposite. If I offer you a divorce, it’s because I love you. I love you, Nikita Koroleva, and what I want most in this life is for you to be with me by your own will, not because of an imposed agreement. If you sign these documents, you’ll regain control of your company, of your empire, with the advantage that your accounts will be in order. Nothing will tie you to me, unless you also want me..."
His brown pupils sparkled.
He pulled a small red velvet box from his pocket and opened it in front of my astonishment. Inside was the ring I had fallen in love with in a jewelry store in Santorini. It had a gigantic diamond in the center and several smaller ones around the band.
I remained speechless until Romeo finished his previous sentence.
"And wish to be my wife."
"I... I don’t know what to say," I responded, agitated.
What R was offering me was freedom, a life without him, or the option to choose him above everything and everyone.
"Then say yes, or at least that you’ll think about it."
"What does your father think of this?" I doubted Massimo Capulet would accept something like what his son had just proposed to me.
"He knows nothing, it’s my own doing, in fact, if he knew, I think he would never forgive me." I thought the same. "It’s a leap of faith, I believe in us, and I couldn’t think of a better way to show it."
My pulse raced. R closed the box, took the folder from my hands, and placed it on the counter. His fingers sought my chin to explore my lips with his.
Our tongues intertwined to the rhythm of our hearts.
I couldn't even describe what was going on inside me. I parked my thoughts because all I wanted was to rip my husband's clothes off and show him how happy his act had made me. I paused, panting, almost overlooking his injuries.
"What's wrong?" he asked, his eyes clouded with desire.
"You're still recovering..." His wicked smile electrified me.
"Not from the waist down. Besides, when you kiss me like that, the pain stops."
I licked my lips in anticipation. Even injured, he seemed like the sexiest man on the planet. I had him lean on the bar, and he looked at me with bravado.
"What do you want?"
"Your turn," I murmured, planting small kisses on the areas not covered by bandages.
My lust-filled eyes gave him a clue about where my lips aimed to go next. I asked him to rest his elbows on the stone and relax. The moisture of my tongue traced a path, matched only by the dampness between my thighs.
I caressed his masculine hips to unbutton his jeans and pulled them down to his ankles. Fortunately, as he had pointed out, the central area of his body was unharmed.
I licked the firm flesh just above the elastic of his underwear. R grunted and arched his head back. I loved exciting him and having him surrender in my arms.
I moistened the fabric, saturating it with saliva and lips; offering small bites on the rigid flesh. R roared, mimicking his hungry erection.
"You're killing me," he gasped, soaked in saliva.
I traversed his powerful thighs, torturing the skin and its covering. I wanted to drive him mad.
"Damn, Nikita, end this torture."
"Be thankful you're not driving," I mumbled as I pulled down his underwear. His cock nearly hit me in the eye. "Careful, amore , I want to see you well when I swallow it."
"You're wicked."
"And you're too damn hot."
I grabbed the shaft and traced the tearful slit of the glans. I enjoyed tasting him, seeing the desire flow through that small gap. I wasn't in a hurry; I wanted to pay him back with the same coin he used on me on the road and then in the forest.
"Nikita," he warned after I had worshipped every vein, when I had him full of attention and begging for release.
"What? Don't you like it?" I teased, running my nails over his balls.
"Are you fucking kidding me? My balls are trembling. Either finish this now or the safety switch is going to flip, and it's going to be faucet mode."
"Well, hold on, because this is just the beginning." There was a snort of frustration. "Didn't you ask me to hold back my orgasm? Well, I want the same."
"You're not a guy." His hand greedily grabbed my hair.
"And what does that have to do with anything?"
"Because I can't control myself with you between my legs. It's a fucking torment."
I looked at him challengingly and sunk his manhood deep into my throat. Romeo roared with relief, and I felt the triumph shaking inside me. I sucked and swallowed eagerly, reveling in the pressure his hips offered. I liked when he moved them, fucked my mouth, and held my head.
I relaxed my neck to accommodate him. I adored from my knees each lust-drunk thrust while my pupils drowned in his.
"Mother fucker!" he growled, pulling me up by my hair.
He pressed me against the bar, pulled down my leggings and underwear to the floor, and penetrated me, pulling my hair.
I was soaked, ready to receive him, and ravenous. I clung to the bar and let his flesh delve into mine. I couldn't spread my legs very wide, which made the penetration more intense.
I craved each of his thrusts, yearned for them devotedly, and when I felt his release followed by his scream, it was pride that bathed me.
His right hand found my folds and masturbated me fervently until I reached the climax of pleasure in my husband's arms.