Chapter 20
KARINA
“Karina.”
Opening my eyes, I find Marco crouching on the floor next to the bed, watching me.
“Mmm,” I moan, only half awake.
I reach for him. The bandage is gone from his head now and his hair is still damp. His skin is warm and solid and deliciously stubbled as I trace my fingers along the curve of his jaw.
“How was the shower?” I murmur.
“I feel a lot better. Maybe not as well as if you’d joined me, though,” he teases.
“Why didn’t you wake me up?”
“I tried. You were out cold. Thought I’d let you rest and recharge.”
“I don’t even remember falling asleep,” I admit.
He climbs into bed next to me, looking delicious in nothing but a pair of black boxers, and I roll onto my other side to face him.
Remarkably, he appears fine. Almost like nothing happened.
But that’s only what’s visible on the outside.
Is he devastated about Jessica? Does he blame himself for her being in the wrong place at the wrong time?
Does he feel guilty that she might have taken a bullet that was intended for him?
There’s definitely something going on in his mind. Something different about his expression. His eyes skitter away from mine, like he’s upset or a little ashamed. Has something else happened?
“Karina, I just wanted to say I—” He pauses as if he’s struggling for the right words. “I wanted to thank you. For being here with me and looking out for me and…for everything.”
The hard edge I’ve become used to hearing in his voice lately is gone. I notice it immediately. I’ve become so aware and resentful of the bitterness whenever he speaks to me that finding it gone is like a beam of warm sunlight on my face. I can’t help but feel it.
“You’re welcome, but of course I’d look out for you. You’re my husband.”
He trails his fingers over my shoulder, down my arm and back up again.
“I haven’t been acting like much of a husband lately. You didn’t have to rush to the hospital and then babysit me afterward. You could have easily left me to fend for myself.”
“Marco, I would never do that.”
“I know, because you’re a good person.”
Marco slides my hair away from my neck and kisses behind my ear.
A hard shiver goes through me. He kisses down my neck, over my collarbone, up to my lips.
All my fear and worry and relief well up in me, fueling my passion, and soon I’m climbing on top of him, pulling my shirt off, dropping my lips back to his as his warm palms cup my breasts.
He repositions a little and aligns his body to mine.
His hot erection presses hard against my sleep shorts.
I pull back, slightly out of breath. “Are you sure you’re up for this?”
“For what?”
Moving my hips, I grind myself carefully against his cock.
He groans. “Hell, yes.”
It’s all the confirmation I need. I lean over him, letting him suck my nipples into his hungry mouth one at a time as he tugs off his own shorts and then helps me out of mine.
My heart is pounding. My body is on fire for him.
Our mouths meet again, roughly, and his hand slides between my legs.
Moaning my affirmation, I let him palm my pussy and knead me gently, and when he slips a finger inside me I grind against it, needing more.
“I need you,” I whimper.
But instead of giving me what I want, he stays the course, gently working his finger, adding another, pumping and stroking, until I’m about to lose my mind.
He moves his thumb over my clit and traces circles around it, and as the pleasure swirls deeper, the tension in my center even tighter, I break the kiss to pant in his ear. I know I can’t hold out much longer.
“You like that?” he asks.
“Yes,” I breathe between moans. “Yes.”
A hum of satisfaction works from his throat. Pressing kisses along my neck and chest, he fingers me faster as I ride his hand.
“Oh God,” I gasp. “I can’t—Marco, I can’t—”
But the more I squirm, the more insistent his touch becomes. The orgasm builds higher and higher, and I give up, giving in to his touch, seeking more, needing more.
“I’m going to come,” I cry out desperately.
“Get over here,” he commands, pulling me higher up his body, positioning my pussy right over his mouth.
I’m too turned on to feel self-conscious, and I grab the headboard for support as his tongue plunges into me, replacing his fingers.
“Oh my God,” are the only words I can manage. “Oh my God, oh my God.”
He’s fucking me with his tongue, licking, sucking, stabbing into me.
All I feel now is hot, liquid pleasure pulsing through my entire body.
I’m squeezing the headboard as hard as I can to keep from flying away.
I’ve never felt anything like this before.
I moan louder as I ride his face, relishing the feel of his hands squeezing my ass, spreading my cheeks apart as he urges me back and forth over his mouth, the glide of his tongue, the vibrations of his moans against my clit.
“I’m coming,” I pant. “Marco, Marco, Marco.”
“Fuck,” he growls, tossing me onto my back.
He slams his cock straight into me just as the orgasm hits me full force, thrusting hard, both of us moaning and clinging to the other as we feel the power of our connection swell and contract.
I feel the shockwaves start to ebb right as Marco begins to tense up, and then he’s coming inside me, kissing me deep as he spills his seed.
“Karina,” he groans, somehow still rock hard, still pumping. “Karina, yes, amore mio.”
My love. He just called me his love.
Suddenly I feel like I’m about to climax again, right on the tail of the first one.
How is this possible? As surprised moans spill out of me, Marco thumbs my clit again, spurring me on.
The pleasure crests and crests and then crashes, the waves of ecstasy ramping up even higher.
I’m shattering. It’s like there is an entire ocean, a beautiful storm, releasing itself inside me.
“Marco!”
We are lost inside each other, and it is pure bliss. My mind is gone. I think about nothing except this moment, this pleasure, the sensation of Marco filling me. Loving me with his body. Fucking me senseless, making me come hard and so deep, again and again.
Once we catch our breath, still high on the afterglow, we take a quick shower together and then climb into bed, tangling our limbs.
I stroke his hair as he lays his head on my breast. I can feel his heart beating strongly against my naked side, and I know he can hear mine beating just as strong. We lay like this for a long time.
At some point I must drift off again, but when I come to, my body still pings with little aftershocks from the force of my orgasms. Marco breathes gently against my bare chest, and I lazily trail my hand down his back, reveling in his closeness, his warmth. But he’s not asleep.
“Karina,” he murmurs, shifting his body until he’s on top of me, kissing me gently.
He only stops when we’re both out of breath again, but when I reach for his cock, he takes my hand in his and kisses it.
“Wait. I need to tell you something,” he says quietly. “But promise you’ll hear me out.”
My heart drops. This can’t be good. And here I’d thought that I was done getting bad news from my new husband. “Okay…I’m listening…”
I’m on top of him now, and he strokes my hair as he looks me in the eyes and haltingly says, “I know Armani has been giving you a hard time since you moved in.”
“Yeah, that’s putting it mildly,” I say.
“And I’m sorry for that. But the truth is…I was starting to have my doubts about you, too. He pretty much had me convinced you really were a Bruno mole.”
That’s got my attention. “What?” Disappointment pangs the center of my chest. “No. Marco. I would never do that. I have no loyalty to them.”
“I know that now. I’ll never doubt you again, and if Armani comes for you, I’ll go to bat for you.
Just like I have been all along. But I wanted to tell you I’m sorry I didn’t trust you.
It’s just—after you told me about the cabin, I was so sure that was where we’d find Livvie.
But we didn’t. It seemed like you set us up, or you were purposely trying to throw us off the trail. ”
Pushing myself into a sitting position, I pull the covers up to keep the chill off my skin. Seconds ago, I’d been so content. And now? I feel like we’re back to the old us.
The us where Marco doesn’t trust me.
“It was just a guess. A vague memory. I only told you because I wanted to be completely upfront about everything and anything that seemed like it might be relevant,” I say vehemently.
“How the hell would I know, anyway? Nobody ever told me anything! All I have are bits and pieces of info that may or may not be helpful. I’ve given you every single thing I can. ”
Marco sits up and leans toward me. Slipping an arm around my shoulders, he pulls me tight against him and kisses the top of my head, trying to soothe me with soft shushing noises.
“I know you have. I know.”
“I wasn’t a player, Marco. I was nothing to them! Uncle Sergio was the boss, I was just a fucking doll to marry off. I was nothing,” I say. I’m breathing hard now, trying to fight the tears spilling over my cheeks.
“Shh, it’s okay,” Marco says, rocking me in his arms. “I was wrong. I never should have doubted you. But I promise I won’t second-guess you again, Karina. You’ve proven yourself to me, not that you ever had to. You’ve been loyal and kind, and brave, and strong.”
His words are like a balm to my broken heart, but I can’t stop crying into his chest.
“And hey,” he says, pulling back to cup my face in his hands, gently wiping my tears with his thumbs. “You’re not anyone’s doll. Not a Bruno pawn, either. You’re mine now—you’re everything to me. Okay?”
All I can do is nod.
“And I don’t share my toys,” he says, the look in his eyes turning fiercely protective.
Flipping me onto my back, he leans over me and plants a kiss on my lips.
“I’m done sharing you, too,” I tell him. “Are we…are we in this together now? Just you and me?”
It’s too soon to bring up Jessica’s name, and honestly, I hope I never have to—but I also hope he understands what I’m asking him.
Because I need to know if he’s all in with this marriage, or if he’ll be running off to find her replacement as soon as my back is turned. My heart can’t take that again.
Cupping my cheek, he kisses me again. “Just you and me. I belong to you and only you.”
“I love the sound of that.”
He presses me into the bed and moves over me. My pulse picks up at the feel of his cock against my hip, hard and hot and ready. I wrap my hand around him and guide him between my legs, sweet anticipation sparking in my blood.
“I’ve never belonged to anyone but you, Karina.”
Without warning, he slips inside me, and I arch my back at the rush of pleasure.
“Yes,” I whisper, happy to give myself up to him completely.
“Everything is going to be okay,” he says, pumping his reassurance into me. “We’re going to be okay. I promise.”
And for the first time in a very long time, I believe it.