24. Arianna
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
ARIANNA
I didn’t know how or when it happened exactly, but somewhere along the way, I’d fallen for the very same man who stole my first kiss as a boy. The very same man my sister wanted for herself.
Maybe the feelings were there all along, waiting, idling by. Or maybe a switch was flipped when faced with a life-or-death situation. I wasn’t sure.
All I knew as I drowned in Matteo’s hazel gaze was that this man was everything I’d never realized I was looking for.
My body trembled against his as he cupped the back of my head, kissed me lightly, and then brought his forehead to rest against mine.
I molded my lips to his, inhaling his scent deep into my lungs, letting the headiness of the moment weigh me down.
“Are you going to… make love to me now?” I breathed out.
“We don’t need to rush,” he murmured against my lips.
“Rush?” I let out a groan. “Matteo, I’m twenty-five.”
“I’m well aware.”
“I’m ready, and if you aren’t going to do it, I’ll find someone?—”
He silenced me with a deep, hard kiss. It wasn’t until he had me panting and writhing that he pulled away and said, “Never… fucking ever say that again, Ari.”
“Okay.” I peered at him from underneath my lashes, studying his tense expression, then brought my palm to his cheek. “Same goes for you.”
“Baby, I’ve been chasing away every male for almost two decades. Do you really think I’d let any woman touch me now that you’re mine?” A whisper of darkness laced through his voice as he showered my face with kisses. He pressed his mouth to my ear. “Does that scare you?”
I shook my head. It was the truth. I wouldn’t call it fear, not with how hot my body burned.
“Although it was very wrong of you to do that.”
“I protect what’s mine.”
I scrunched my nose and pouted my lips.
“Yeah, but did you protect what’s mine? Did you refrain yourself from being with other women?” He remained quiet, giving me my answer. “So typical of a man to be a hypocrite. How many women have you been with?”
He watched me with a burning gaze. “Zero.”
“Be serious, Matteo. I heard enough about double standards men have to know it cannot be the truth.”
“It’s the honest-to-God truth. I’ve fucked zero women. I’ve only ever fantasized about you. I’ve only ever wanted you. So I’ve waited until you were ready for me.” I scoffed, and he continued, “I would never hurt you by lying to you. I’m not saying I’m a saint and never experimented, but I’m saying I saved myself for you.”
At that very moment, I knew there was no coming back from Matteo. He’d forever be ingrained into my blood, my marrow, and into my soul.
“Tell me you believe me, Ari.”
“Yes.” I swallowed, the rasp of his voice sending shivers down my spine. “I believe you.”
“I’m yours and only yours.” It was a growl that lowered into a promise. “And you’re mine.”
My lips parted as he ran a thumb across them.
“Yours,” I vowed. “Now make me yours in every sense of the word.”
Matteo
My cock strained against my pants, and I quickly shed my clothes, discarding them soundlessly on the floor.
I stood in front of her, naked, satisfied by the hunger in her eyes. She perched up on her elbow, reaching a trembling finger out, and I stood still as it trailed over my abs.
“I’ve been thinking about these abs since that night,” she whispered.
“What night?”
Her fingers stopped on the tattoo over my ribs, close to my heart.
“After the shooting,” she murmured, resuming her exploration only to return to the tattoo. I covered her small hand with my own. “I can’t believe you tattooed this on your chest.”
“Better believe it, because I plan on tattooing every milestone.”
She let out a soft chuckle. “You’re crazy.”
“Crazy for you.” Then I claimed her lips, crawling up her body. She looked like my own fallen angel, her eyes shining like stars above us. “Don’t ever forget that you’re mine.”
“I won’t,” she vowed, her lust-filled eyes on me. “But don’t forget you’re mine too.”
And nothing was truer.
Her legs parted as the moonlit glow threw light onto her naked body. I’d never wanted or needed much, but she made me insatiable.
I shifted down her body and Ari arched her back, rubbing her slick pussy against my abs.
“Please,” she moaned as I hovered my mouth over her breasts.
I tugged her nipple between my teeth, relishing in her shudders and small noises. I trailed my hands down her ribs and slim waist. All the while, she writhed underneath me, whimpering with need.
I parted her thighs, taking in her pink, soaked pussy, and fuck, my mouth watered.
The scent of her arousal seeped into my lungs, getting me drunk.
“You’re so beautiful,” I hummed, pressing a soft kiss on her inner thigh.
“Matteo,” she gasped, arching up, twisting underneath me and grinding herself against me. “P-please.”
“Want me to kiss your pussy?” I asked, watching her body shudder in response.
“ Yes .”
“What else?” She watched me, her mouth slightly parted and her eyes sparkling with lust.
“Everything,” she panted.
I nodded and wedged my palms under her ass, lifting her pussy to my mouth and kissing her soaked folds.
“You like when I eat your pussy?” I murmured when her breath caught. Her scent was intoxicating. I parted her open with my thumb and lapped at her juices as she shook underneath me. “Tell me,” I demanded, then sucked her lips lightly.
“Yes,” she whimpered, grinding herself against my mouth. “I like everything you do to me.”
I circled her opening, then thrust my tongue inside her.
“Oh my God .” I lifted my head and she chased me with her hips. “Don’t stop, please.”
“What’s my name?”
Her brows furrowed in confusion. “Huh?”
“My name, Ari.”
“Matteo.”
I brushed her clit with my tongue, then growled, “That’s right. Remember that when you’re crying out.”
I closed my lips around her clit and began to suck, sliding my finger in and out of her. She was so fucking tight, and the thought of her gripping my cock with her walls had my dick throbbing with need. Another orgasm rolled through her as she quivered underneath me, her eyes hazed with pleasure.
“I need more of you, Matteo,” she pleaded, her face flushed, and I’d never seen anything more beautiful.
I pressed another kiss on her throbbing pussy before I moved up her body, nudging her legs farther apart. I lined my cock up with her hot entrance, her greedy pussy clenching already, and the feel of her nearly took me out.
“I’ve waited for this moment for so fucking long. Dreamt about it, too.”
I kissed the corner of her mouth as I shifted my hips so my tip teased her hot entrance. Angst flashed across her face, and I instantly froze.
“You okay?”
“Yes, but we should use a condom.” Fuck, I was so lost in the moment, it completely slipped my mind. “I’m on birth control, but it’s safer until we…”
I grinned. “Until you become my wife.”
“How about we have sex first?” She chuckled. “Now, for the love of God, get the condom before we both forget ourselves and forgo the protection.”
I quickly fished out a condom, her fingers wrapping around mine as I rolled it on, and fuck if that wasn’t the hottest thing I’d ever seen.
Positioning myself at her entrance, I kissed the tip of her nose. “You ready?”
“Yes.” My chest squeezed at the trust I found in her eyes.
“It might be painful,” I rasped. “Should I stop?”
“Don’t you dare,” she murmured, her hands wrapping around my neck. “I want this, Matteo.”
I kissed her temple, shifting my hips so the tip nudged barely an inch into her entrance.
“If it becomes too much, you tell me,” I said, my control hanging by a single thread. “Okay?”
She nodded, her legs wrapping around me as she gripped my biceps.
Kissing my lips, she murmured, “It’ll be exactly enough.”
I slid deeper, taking her mouth for a kiss, then thrust forward and swallowed her gasp. Her breathing turned ragged and her nails dug into my biceps, reminding me of her pain.
I drowned in her big blue eyes, worried I’d hurt her. “Still okay?”
“Yes.” She arched her back. “Don’t stop.”
My body obeyed before my brain even processed her words. In one swift thrust, I slid into her further, breaking her barrier, and groaned with pleasure. God, she felt incredible. The grip of her walls milking my cock was unlike anything I'd ever imagined or fantasized about before. It was because it was her. My Ari, in the flesh, and no longer a product of my dreams.
“You’re mine,” I whispered into her ear. “Nobody else’s.”
“Yours,” she whimpered, raising her hips. “Please, Matteo.”
The need to have her was consuming me. I began to move in small shallow thrusts. Her insides clenched me greedily, and I kept my eyes on her face, watching for any signs of pain or fear. There were none, and with every thrust, my control slowly slipped away.
“Fuck, you feel good,” I growled.
I pulled out slightly and then eased into her deeper, grinding my pelvis against her clit. Ari’s lips parted and flickers of pleasure danced across her face.
“More,” she demanded, her back arching off the floor.
My muscles quivered as I slid in and out of her, filling her to the hilt. My pleasure coiled, her moans grew louder, needy, and I pressed our mouths together, swallowing all her sounds like a greedy bastard.
“Oh my—” she panted. “Don’t stop.”
As if I could stop at this point. I was beyond control. Pleasure tingled at the bottom of my spine and my balls tightened. I reached between our bodies and rubbed circles over her clit as I pounded into her.
“Fuck,” I groaned, my thrusts becoming jerky.
“Oh… oh… ahhhhh…” Her back arched and I watched, mesmerized as pleasure crossed her face. She milked my cock with her pussy, leaving half-moon marks on my skin with the pressure of her grip, and it was enough. Too much. I shot my cum into her, my dick twitching.
“Mine,” I grunted as I buried my face into her nape, our breathing ragged.
We held each other, her warm breath fanning over my skin while her palms stroked my back.
Inhaling, I sighed at the feel of her soft body and our scents mixing together. I could stay like this forever with her and I’d die a happy man.
“Did I—” She tilted her face, looking at me. “Are you okay?”
She smiled, her cheeks flushed. “Never better. You?”
I slid out of her slowly, careful not to hurt her, and pressed my forehead against hers.
“Never better,” I echoed. “I love you, Arianna Carter Morrelli, and there’s nothing that will keep me from you now.”
She let out a soft chuckle. “Is that a threat?”
“Mmm,” I murmured, rolling over and tucking her into my side. I was floating ten feet above, weightless, untouchable.
If only I knew then how badly I’d soon fuck up.