Chapter Six
MONIQUE
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What the hell am I doing?
With her ripped dress pressed against her chest, Monique rushed to the bathroom and closed the door. After locking it, she placed her ear against it, listening to make sure he hadn’t followed her.
She didn’t hear any footsteps. Once she was sure it was safe, she pressed her back to the door. Legs weak, she slowly sank to the floor of the dark room as her eyes filled with tears. What the hell am I doing?
Butt ass naked, seated on the floor of a stranger’s bathroom, crying – look at how far she’d fallen. The tears fell faster. She covered her mouth to keep her sobs from being heard by the man in the other room. The stranger.
The stranger whose face she’d just sat her big ass on. Ugh! Monique covered her face with her dress to muffle her sounds of frustration. She didn’t even know this man, yet he’d familiarized himself with every inch of her body.
She couldn’t blame her behavior on the alcohol. Her head was clear. She’d known exactly what she was doing. Perhaps it was temporary insanity. Or maybe she was having a mini breakdown. No matter what it was, it was no excuse to sit on some random guy’s face.
A random guy she’d known for less than two hours. Who the hell does that? Was she that desperate? Monique closed her eyes. She wished she could open them and realize all of this had been one bad dream.
Unfortunately, she was wide awake. This was reality. And she needed to face reality. Monique opened her eyes and pushed herself to her feet. After flipping the light switch on, she strode over to the sink and stared into the mirror above it.
She could only see herself from the waist up. But that was enough to know she looked a hot damn mess. Monique pushed her hair behind her ear. That didn’t help at all. After wiping her eyes, she turned the faucet on and splashed water on her face.
As she dried her face with a white towel, she prayed the tears would cease falling. But when she lowered the towel to resume staring in the mirror, more tears crept down her cheeks. She lowered her gaze to the sink, not even wanting to look at herself.
‘What the hell am I doing?’ she thought for the third time. Or was it the fourth? Either way, the answer was the same. She had no idea what she was doing. Maybe she was trying to find herself. Maybe she was just trying to enjoy life.
Or perhaps she was trying to show her friends that she was alright and they didn’t have to worry about her. Maybe she was trying to prove to herself that she wasn’t all those things her ex had called her before he’d left her. Her thoughts drifted back to the things he’d yelled at her.
You’re frigid. Fucking you is like fucking a damn ice box. What man in his right mind would want to fuck an ice box? Especially one as big as you. Be honest with yourself. Do you think you’re someone who could keep a man happy? Go look in the mirror and ask yourself that. Go. Hurry up. I’ll wait.
She stared at herself in the mirror, hoping the woman looking back at her would tell her that her ex-husband was wrong. Monique’s gaze dropped to the counter. Unable to look into the mirror, she watched her tears splash onto the counter space of a stranger’s hotel room.
What the hell am I doing here?
More of her ex’s hateful words drifted through her mind. That was the problem with words. Even after the person who uttered them was gone from your life, the things they said lingered.
Even when you no longer cared for that person, their words could still bring you to tears. They could still make you feel worthless. Sometimes, words could become a prison. And it could take years to break free of their shackles.
Monique was so damn tired of remembering Trevor’s disgusting words. She wished she could force them out of her mind. She wished she could forget everything about him. Why was his shadow still following her? Why couldn’t she be free of him?
Monique covered her face with her dress as another round of sobs escaped her, causing her shoulders to shake. She froze when she heard a loud knock on the door. Damn it! How could she have forgotten about Orazio? Monique used her dress to wipe her tears away. More loud knocks sounded.
“Just a second,” she called out.
She shook her dress out and was about to put it on when the door burst open. She spun around and came face to face with Orazio Cattaneo. She tried to cover up her nakedness with her dress. She didn’t want him to see her naked with the lights on. Before she could cover up, Orazio pulled the dress away and tossed it onto the ground.
“Hey!” she yelled.
“It’s ripped,” he reminded her. “Even if you wanted to wear it now, you wouldn’t be able to.”
“I have to wear something,” she argued. “I can’t leave naked.”
His gaze roamed over her. She swallowed, growing nervous as she waited for a look of disgust to fill his eyes. The same look her ex-husband had often worn whenever he’d walked in on her while she was dressing in their bedroom.
It had gotten so bad that she’d begun dressing in the guest bedroom or the bathroom with the door locked so he wouldn’t walk in on her. That look never entered Orazio’s eyes. In fact, the expression on his face was the exact opposite.
He still looked attracted to her. Did he not see the dimples in her thighs? Did he not see her fupa? Did he not see the stretch marks that no amount of cocoa butter could get rid of? He cleared his throat before returning his gaze to hers.
“I’ll have someone go out and get more clothes for you in the morning,” he told her.
The morning? She needed to leave now!
Folding her arms over her chest, she told him, “Don’t bother. I’ll just call my friends and...”
“I just checked with security. Your friends have already left.”
“They can come back and...”
“While I was waiting for you at the bar earlier, I had security call a driver for your friends. He waited out front for them. When they got ready to leave, the driver escorted them home.”
“But...”
“They were too drunk to drive.”
He was right. They had been too tipsy to drive. She couldn’t call them. Though she knew they’d come, she didn’t want them driving while intoxicated. She’d never forgive herself if they got hurt or if they hurt someone else. She was glad they’d gotten home safely. She was glad he’d looked out for them. Why had he looked out for them? Her gaze met his.
“Why did you call them a ride?” she asked.
“Because they’re your friends. Their safety is important to you. So, it’s important to me.”
More tears filled her eyes.
“What’s wrong?” he asked, rushing to her side.
She shook her head.
“Tell me if I did something,” he insisted.
“It’s not you. It’s me.”
“That’s a line no man wants to hear.”
“It’s the truth. I’m...” her gaze dropped to the floor. “I’m not able to do this.”
“Do what?”
“You know.”
“Sleep?”
“You know that’s not what I’m talking about.”
“But that’s all I’m asking for.”
Her eyes jerked to his. “What?”
“You look tired. It’s late. Let’s go to sleep.”
“I...” She didn’t know what to say. Why did he want her to sleep there? She could go home to sleep. Did he think she’d change her mind? “I’m not going to change my mind.”
“Good. Because I’ve eaten, I’m full and ready to sleep.”
A blush tinted her cheeks at his words. He was full of her. Despite the turmoil she was feeling, Rose chuckled. He smiled. She tensed when he reached for her. Raz grabbed her hand and squeezed it gently.
“Let’s go to sleep, la mia Rosa.”
She detected a bit of an accent when he said that. “What did you just say, and what language was that?”
“It’s Italian. My family is from Italy. And I called you my Rose .”
More tears came to her eyes. She blinked them back. Why was this stranger treating her better than the man who’d promised to cherish her for life? Monique wanted to thank Orazio for his sweet words and for not pressuring her or making her feel guilty. However, at the moment, she didn’t trust her voice not to shake. So, she remained silent.
“You ready for bed?” he asked.
Monique nodded, then allowed him to escort her back to bed. He lay down next to her and pulled the covers over them. Lying on her side, with her back to him, Monique held herself completely still, not wanting to move a muscle as she tried to process her thoughts.
Thinking became damn near impossible when he wrapped his arm around her. Was he seriously wanting to spoon? Monique tried not to move but ended up doing so as she attempted to get comfortable.
When she finally settled down, another problem arose. Her bottom was now pressed firmly against something hard. His cock throbbed against her ass.
“Ignore it,” Orazio told her, not sounding sleepy at all.
Ignoring his hard cock was going to be tough. It was even harder to ignore her racing heart and the fact that she was getting wet... again. Seriously, what the hell was wrong with her? After just having a mini meltdown, her body was now ready to play again. Had her twat not gotten the memo?
Did it not know that they weren’t ready for this? They still needed time to heal. They needed time to shake off the negative energy Trevor had left behind. As long as his hold over her was still present, she’d never be able to move on.
Monique shifted her position again. Doing so caused her to brush against his length. Her pussy purred. Apparently, her pussy had already moved on. It was just waiting for her brain and heart to catch up.
She squeezed her eyes shut, hoping to force herself into slumber. Yet, her mind decided to take a trip down memory lane. And it wasn’t remembering her lame ex and his hateful words. It was remembering Orazio’s kisses and the way he’d licked her moments ago.
She hadn’t known a tongue could feel that good or move the way Orazio’s had. She hadn’t known she could come that hard. It had definitely been a first for her. What other firsts could she experience with Orazio Cattaneo?
Her ass pushed back against him. His cock throbbed again. Monique gritted her teeth. She really hadn’t meant to push against him like that. It was like her body had a mind of its own. It was hungry, starving for dick.
And with a big one right behind her, it couldn’t resist getting close. But was she ready? What if she didn’t satisfy him? What if he thought her frigid? What if...
“It’s yours if you want it,” Orazio told her, voice low, deep, seductive. “You’re in charge. All you have to do is put it inside. And if you don’t want it, then forget I said anything. But you’ll have to be still. I can’t take much more of your sexy ass rubbing against my dick.”
Eyes closed, a smile crept across her face. She didn’t even know why she was smiling. Perhaps it was because his words were drowning out those of her ex. Or maybe it was her own thoughts that were overshadowing her ex’s words.
Maybe it was her thoughts of Orazio’s tongue. Or the thought of the perfectly good hard-on going to waste behind her. Monique shifted again, rubbing her ass against him.
“I’m warning you, Monique. There’s only so much I can...”
Before he could finish, she wiggled against him again. Within a blink of an eye, he had her flat on her back with her hands pinned above her head. The hungry look in his eyes made her want him even more.
“Don’t play with me,” he growled. “I can’t take it.”
“I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I keep talking myself out of doing this for... different reasons. But... the truth is, I really want you to fuck me.”
He lowered his head as a groan escaped him. Was he finally fed up with her? She couldn’t blame him if he was.
“But if you don’t want to, we can go to sleep,” she whispered.
He released one of her hands. Monique sighed. He didn’t want to. So, sleep it was. She closed her eyes. A shiver crept over her when he whispered three words in her ear.
“Put it in.”
Her eyes popped open. “Huh?”
He grabbed her hand and placed it on his cock. Her fingers wrapped around his rock-hard length. Damn, he’s big.
“I told you it’s yours, and you’re in charge. If you want it, put it in,” he told her.
He was leaving the choice in her hands, literally. She had a big decision to make. To put it in or to turn over and go to sleep? Sleep? That’s what she’d done every night for the past few months – sleep and cry.
Monique stared up at Orazio. His jaw was clenched as he awaited her decision. It was time to put him out of his misery. She stroked his cock. His eyes drifted shut as he pushed into her grasp.
With her decision made, she parted her legs wider and guided him toward her center. He trembled when she rubbed his tip between her wet lips. Then she poised him at her entrance before removing her hand.
They both gasped when Monique lifted her hips, causing his cock to slide into her. She lowered her hips, then raised them again, taking him in deeper. She dropped her hips again and was about to repeat her actions. However, Orazio had other plans.
He shoved into her with a force that caused the bed to rock. Another gasp escaped Monique as he filled her, stretching her in the most delicious way. He pressed a kiss to her shoulder before whispering the sexiest words she’d ever heard in her ear.
“I hope you’re ready, sweet Rose. Because I’m going to fuck you all night.”