Chapter Nine-Nico
CHAPTER NINE-NICO
M y entire body is vibrating as I watch Anna sign her name to the marriage license.
It’s brash and reckless. Stupid? Maybe. But I don’t give a fuck what anyone thinks.
That’s my baby she’s carrying beneath her breast, and I want it. I won’t acknowledge the part where I want Anna just as much.
I haven’t touched another woman since New Year’s Eve. Haven’t wanted to, and yeah, there’ve been offers.
Blatant ones.
I’m the king of the fucking Vipers. Bodies are cheap in my world.
I hesitated the last time I had her in my grasp, and I refuse to make the same mistake now that she’s back.
Six fucking months without a word, but it doesn’t matter. My body reacts to her like it does to no other.
My dick is painfully hard beneath my tailored pants, and I want her with a need I can barely contain.
Her face is tear-stained, free of makeup, and the loose sundress she has on is crumpled.
Still, she looks beautiful.
There’s a glow in her skin that might have something to do with hormones, but I like to think maybe it’s the same thing that caused her breath to catch when we exchanged vows.
I don’t have a ring for her, but I’ll rectify that in the morning.
“I now pronounce you man and wife,” Preacher says.
He’s a Roman Catholic priest now, but I know him as Preacher. He’s a little older than me and was just another punk roaming the streets of Jersey City when I was coming up.
Preacher is over at St. Al’s now. But he comes when I call. He still owes me for a little something I helped him out with before he went to seminary school.
“Is that it?” Anna asks him. “Are we married?”
“Yes. You’re married now. Um, congratulations, Mrs. Fury. If you ever need anything, the doors at St. Aloysius are always open to you, my child,” he says, and looks a little concerned.
Fuck that.
I frown.
“You’re dismissed.”
Luc nods towards the door and Preacher dips his chin, collects his things and leaves.
I turn to Anna.
My wife.
She’s staring at nothing. Her big brown eyes look dull, and a feeling of unease creeps up my spine.
“Let’s go,” I say, noting it’s past midnight and I’m sure she could use some sleep.
“What? Oh.”
She gets up and I stare, watching her gracefully lift herself from the chair despite being off balance with her growing belly.
I never thought of pregnant women in sexual terms. But knowing Anna is swollen with my child does something to me .
It stirs something in my loins, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say in my heart as well.
But I’m not a touchy feely guy. The fuck did I know about feelings?
I touch my hand to the small of her back and I guide her out of my office, trusting the biometric security system I have in place to do its job.
“The car is in the back. Need anything else, Boss?” Luc asks.
“No.”
I steer Anna down another small hallway. It’s easy to miss, and purposely designed that way.
No one uses this exit besides me, Angel, and Luc.
I lift my hand to the scanner and the door unlocks, and I take Anna by her elbow. Carefully, I keep her by my side as we walk to the big SUV.
My driver has the door open, and I glare at him until he steps back.
I don’t know why I’m acting like this, but suddenly I feel fiercely possessive of the curvy woman who was now my wife.
I hold her door open for her. Then I let go when I see her contemplating her next move, her small hands on her swollen tummy. Stepping behind her, I lift Anna by her hips onto the seat .
“Thanks,” she mutters, and I grunt my response, making a note to have a runner installed.
She’s at least a foot shorter than me and in her condition, it’s not easy to climb into the truck.
The ride to my place takes about twenty minutes with all the lights and traffic. Anna is quiet for the duration.
When we pull up outside the building I own under my corporation, Viper Enterprises, her mouth drops open.
“You live here?”
“ We live here,” I correct her.
I help her out of the back seat, tuck her hand into the crux of my arm and walk to the private elevator behind the security desk just inside the lobby.
“Good evening, Mr. Fury,” Albert, the night watchman greets me.
“Albert, this is my wife, Mrs. Fury. Let everyone know.”
“Yes, sir. Congratulations, ma’am.”
“Thank you,” Anna replies, but I can still feel her surprise.
Situated right on the Hudson River with a spectacular view of Manhattan, I hate to admit I’m a little desensitized to the ritz and glitter of this complex .
Sure, it was designed by top architects and the aesthetic is industrial meets sophisticate. Simplistic, minimal designs using concrete, steel, and glass.
I prefer things black and white, so when I feel Anna shiver beside me I ask her if she’s okay.
“Not really. Um, my brother is dead. I’m pregnant. And I’m married to a complete stranger. How on earth can I be okay?” she asks, and she sounds so lost.
I hate it.
And I’m mad for her.
It’s not fair to feel this way, I know. But we’re not strangers. If we were, she wouldn’t be pregnant.
I want to tell her that. To reassure her.
Maybe Anna doesn’t know about the snooping I did or the way I planned and arranged to get her in my bed. But that doesn’t matter. She is mine now and she will never be alone again.
“Are you hungry?” I change the subject.
“No, thank you. I’m tired. But I have so much to do.”
“It’s the middle of the night,” I say surprised.
“Yeah, but I have to call the hospital and make arrangements for Sammy’s remains. Then I have to meet Javi. ”
“Who?” I ask, tensing at the mention of another man.
“He’s the guy Sammy found to manage the bakers,” she explains, and I notice her shoulders get stiff when she talks about him.
“I’ll deal with it.”
I clench my jaw. She won’t be talking to this man again. She won’t be talking to any man who makes her feel like whatever the fuck that was.
I know it wasn’t good. And suddenly, I want to hurt this Javi.
“You don’t have to do that,” she says and shakes her head.
“Anna,” I say her name, the warning clear in my tone. “What’s the matter with the bakers? Talk to me.”
“They, uh, they’re pissed I stayed away so long. They’ve been trying to bully me into giving them the business for years, and now that I’m back in town, they’re giving me an ultimatum. Sign the business over or they walk out.”
“Can’t you just hire another crew?” he asks.
“Yes, but it takes time to find a crew and a manager and to break them in. In the meantime, I would lose customers we’ve had for decades. ”
“Okay. I’ll deal with them, too. Now, what else?”
“What do you mean you’ll deal with them?”
“Anna, you’re dead on your feet. You look like shit.”
“Thanks.”
“I just mean you need to sleep,” I say, biting my tongue. “Look, I don’t want you to worry about anything but resting, okay?”
She just stares at me, but she nods. That’s a win and I’ll take it.
I know Anna doesn’t trust me.
Not yet.
But she will.
I give her a very brief tour of the condo, showing her the living room, kitchen, and last, the bedroom.
“Is this my room?” she asks as she steps over the threshold.
“It’s our bedroom.”
Her shoulders tense again. Only this time it’s because of me, and I don’t like it.
“B-but?—”
“You’re my wife and you’ll sleep next to me. Every night. In my bed. Understand?”
She looks shocked, but nods. Really, she can’t be feeling any more surprised than I am .
Even when we were saying our vows, I had every intention of showing her the guest bedroom at least for tonight. But not now.
Now, I want Anna in my bed. More than ever.
I already know I’m not the wooing kind. Giving orders is more my speed, and she seems to accept my decree.
Or maybe it’s just weariness that won out. Either way, I’ll take it.
“I don’t have any clothes,” she whispers.
I frown.
She’s right.
“Tomorrow we’ll get your stuff from your apartment. You can wear these tonight,” I say and grab a pair of soft cotton boxers and a plain t-shirt from my drawer.
Ana moves to the restroom and uses the facilities. She comes out dressed in my clothes and my heart starts to pound steadily.
Now, I’ve been with all kinds of women. Stunning women with porn star bodies. But none of them could hold a candle to sweet, soft Anna as she walks slowly to my bed wearing my clothes.
Fuck.
That elusive feeling of peace teases the periphery of my senses. It’s a feeling I haven’t seen hide nor hair of since the last time I saw her.
It makes no sense. I haven’t known her long enough, even if I watched her from afar for weeks before we met.
Somehow, someway I feel a rightness when I am with her.
Like just having her near brings light to the constant darkness that is my life. And knowing she’s mine now, well, that does something else to me.
I watch her run her small hand over the covers on my bed with a fierce, rapacious hunger. I know she needs time, so I won’t touch her tonight.
Well, I won’t touch her much.
I stand and walk to her side of the bed. She freezes in the act of pulling the covers to her waist. Her whiskey-colored eyes flick to mine.
“Is it okay if I sleep on this side?”
“Yeah, Rosebud. Sleep on any side you want.”
Then I bend down and cup the back of her head, my fingers gripping her hair, her scalp, and I tilt her towards me. Next, I bring my lips down on hers in a claiming kiss I feel all the way to my soul.
I expected her to duck away or maybe even slap me. But she doesn’t. Anna surprises me, lifting her face, angling it the rest of the way all the better to kiss me back.
And I love it. I love feeling her need. Knowing she wants me. That I’m not alone in this crazy pull I feel towards her.
My blood hums in my veins, and my cock is so hard it’s almost painful.
I slow the kiss, ending it with a loud, plucking sound, then I press my wife’s chest until she lays back her eyes on me while I tuck her in.
“Go to sleep, Wife.”
She nods.
“Goodnight, Nico.”
Her eyelids droop, closing on their own, and I stay there, my hand on her chest until I feel her breathing even out.
I scrub that same hand over my face as I head to the bathroom and strip. The sight of her clothes in my hamper catches my attention and before I step into the shower, I pick up her cotton panties.
My lips quirk.
They’re simple. Little pink bikinis with red hearts sketched across them. I bite my lip and lift them to my face. The scent of my wife’s sweet pussy invades my nostrils, and just like that my hard on is back .
I haven’t felt that in months. Not since she ran from my bed.
Resisting my urges isn’t something I regularly do, so instead of dropping her panties, I take them into the steaming shower with me.
Warm water hits my back and I turn, shoving Anna’s panties in my mouth.
Fuck, I wish I was feasting on her cunt. But this will do for now.
Groaning, I cup my aching balls, releasing them to squeeze my dick. And all the while I picture her.
Anna. My wife.
The image of her tear-stained face as she asks for my protection in my office fills my head. The surprised gasp she makes when I order her to marry me is next.
Her submission.
Her swollen belly.
Her whiskey eyes.
And her flower scent.
I stroke faster, squeezing my cock as the first twinges of my orgasm find me.
I think about the way she felt when I fucked her.
How wet her pussy got for me.
How soft and warm she felt.
I can’t wait to fuck her again .
She thinks this is only about the baby, but it’s not. It’s about her.
A primordial wave of possession takes root and I revel in it. I allow it to grow unhindered.
I encourage it to wrap around every rotten inch of my soul as I come, my release splashing across the shower wall.
Anna is mine now. And I’m never letting go.