14. Mario
14
MARIO
I t’s late. I sit on the sofa in the rectory’s living room listening to the silence of the moment. Father Thomas is already in bed. Alice mentioned a shower before bed then went into the bedroom. I rest my head on the back of the couch and let my eyes shut for a moment, but I can’t sleep. I’m so close to having things in order for my plan to work.
We’ve been at this for a month now, slowly infiltrating my brother’s organization to see who might be pliable and easily drawn away. With Ervine’s help, I’ve organized nearly forty men who will fight with me to take Paolo down. It’s nothing compared to the force he’ll bring when this goes down, but my hope is that the few who are strictly loyal to him will be fewer than those whose loyalty may be drawn to me when they see my efforts.
My body carries the stress of what I’m attempting to do, causing tension in my shoulders and neck that I haven’t experienced in a long time. My mind is tense too, constantly weighed down by intrusive thoughts. I’m realizing more and more that the “me” I used to be was never truly put to bed. There are demons I’m fighting that no one knows about, monsters lurking in the shadowy places in my heart and mind who want to come out and exact vengeance, not only upon my brother for what he’s done to Alice, but upon anyone else who stands in my way, for all the wretched things Paolo has done and they’ve silently allowed.
This darkness inside me has never seen the light of day, not even when I was in the thick of things. I won’t allow it out. I control it, cage it within myself so it doesn’t escape, but I tap into its strength when I need to. This mission to remove Paolo’s authority in this city and beyond may very well break my resolve, and that beast may roam the streets. Heaven help us if it does because I know if that happens, I’ll be more ruthless than Paolo ever was.
A loud crash in the bedroom startles me as I almost doze off, and I am on my feet instantly. With my gun in hand, I run into the bedroom, ready to fight. We’ve been here long enough to begin leaving a trail of evidence. I move like Alice’s life depends on it because if they’ve found us again, it does. There is no sign of her in the bathroom, but the whimpers I hear lead me right to the bathroom where I throw the door back and see her.
“My God, what happened?” I bark, but the clues come together quickly for me. She’s naked, her clothing neatly piled on the closed toilet lid. She holds her hand in the air and blood drips from it. The handheld mirror lies on the floor in pieces.
“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.” She’s trembling, pinching the laceration across her finger to keep the blood from flowing, and I let my defensive reaction fizzle out.
Setting my gun on the vanity, I use the toe of my boot to push the broken glass out of the way and then lead her to the sink to see how bad the cut is.
“I thought something was….” I let my words trail off. I don’t want to frighten her. She’s been through enough .
“No… I’m okay. I’m just clumsy.” She lets me guide her hand to the sink where the flow of water washes away the blood and I see it’s only a tiny cut.
“You know, breaking a mirror is seven years of bad luck…” With playfulness in my tone, I cleanse the wound while stealing glances at her naked form. It’s rousing me, making me want to have her body as a means of relieving stress.
“I think I’ve had a few years of that already.” She grabs a towel off the shelf above the toilet, and when I’m finished cleaning the cut, she dries her hand.
“I don’t know where the bandages are,” I tell her. I pull open the medicine cabinet, but it’s bare, evidence that this bed is largely vacant. While I busy myself looking in the cupboard under the sink for the hand broom to sweep up the glass, Alice turns on the shower. I glance up at her. Her back is turned. Her ass is round and full, and it makes me want to do very bad things to her. I have to pry my eyes away as my dick starts to swell up. I grab the hand broom and sweep up the glass shards, then dump them in the trash bin and put the broom back.
I’m about to leave the room when she says, “Mario.”
I turn to see her standing in the shower with the door open. Water sluices across her creamy skin, her nipples hard and erect from the chill of the air.
“Yeah?” I hover in the doorway, watching her as she moves to stand in the open shower door.
“What’s going on between us?”
The only thing that’s going on for me right now is some major swelling in my nether region that she’s going to have to take care of if she keeps talking to me while she stands there naked .
“What do you mean?” I lean against the door jamb and wait for her to continue. Damn, she is so beautiful, and it’s not just because she’s the only naked woman I’ve seen in years.
“I mean, the sex, the way we talk, the fact that you’re willing to risk life and limb for me, but we only met like six weeks ago.”
“Do we have to define it? Or can we just let happen what will?” I’m moving now, closer to her, thinking maybe I have time to slip in a quick romp before I have to leave tonight.
“And what do you think should happen right now?” she asks, and she doesn’t back away when I approach her. She’s hungry for it too, but she’ll never ask. She lets me initiate each time we do this, and I’m more than willing to take that role.
“I think we should fuck like it’s the last day of Earth’s existence and let things work themselves out.” I reach for her, and she leans into my touch as I lean forward and claim a kiss.
Her skin is cool, dampened by the water and chilled by the air. I bite down on her lip as I kick my boots off, and before I can react, she pulls me into the shower with her. I manage to reach into my pocket and snatch my phone, tossing it into one of my boots before I give her my undivided attention.
The water is steamy and soaks my clothes as I pin her against the shower wall. I growl in her ear as I move my hand down her stomach and between her thighs. The moisture pooling there is inviting, enticing me to come and drink my fill. Alice works the buttons on my shirt until my chest is exposed to her touch. Her nails leave behind a trail of goosebumps as she wraps her lithe arms around my neck, bringing me lower to her height.
Our lips meet again, igniting a fire that burns bright and hot between us. She tastes like the sweetest nectar, a blend of Heaven and home that I can never resist. Every touch, every kiss, sends sparks through my body like a drug I can't get enough of. My slacks slide down my legs, and I step out of them. She eagerly tugs my shirt off, her hands exploring every inch of my exposed skin with an insatiable hunger. We are consumed by our passion, lost in the intoxicating dance of lust for one another.
“Is it working out the way you hope it will?” she asks, and I return my lips to hers again. Her body grinds against mine, pushing my arousal further. I’m so hard my dick feels like it will tear open if any more blood pumps into it. I need to be inside her.
“Mmm, better,” I breathe between kisses. I thrust forward, grinding on her and wishing I could fuck her for hours.
Alice trails her nails down my abs, and I groan. Her touch is magic when it’s done right, just as potent as her words. I growl and roughly pull her hips to mine. She whimpers, but I know she loves the game we play. I put my cock against her wet folds and begin to rock against her, slowly at first, savoring the feel of her slick heat against me.
“You have no idea what you do to me.”
She arches her back, tilting her head back as I kiss along her collarbone and up to her earlobe. “Tell me,” she pants against my skin.
“You make me want to fill every hole in your body with my seed,” I confess, getting harder just thinking about it. She blushes and moans louder, her hands fisting the wet hair on the back of my head.
“You’re such a pervert, you know that?” she says between gasps for air.
“And this is a bad thing, why?” I ask before slamming inside her needy sex with force. The water beats down on us in a torrent, fueling our lust-driven need. Her pussy is intoxicating, coating me with thick moisture that the water doesn’t seem to wash away. When she clamps around me, it makes my cock twitch.
“God, no, it’s not…” She pants, and I fuck her harder, my hips slapping against her thighs. Her nails rake down my back, but I don’t care. Pain has never felt so good. I put my back into it, fucking her so hard her hi ps bump into the shower wall and make a noise, but I don’t care who hears us.
“I want to fill you up,” I growl into her ear before biting her softly. “Leave my mark on you forever.” If I could brand her, I would, but this will have to do.
Alice’s pussy clenches around me, and I know she’s close. “God, yes, fuck me harder, please.” Her wish is my command, but I want her to work for it. I want to hear her begging like she did when I fucked her ass last time.
“Beg me for it,” I say, enjoying the power I have over her. I slow my thrusts down just enough to tease her. She tries to replicate my previous thrusting, but I pin her hips against the shower wall.
“Fuck me, hard! Harder!” She clings to me and whimpers, and I drive into her harder, obliging her pleas. “I’m going to come,” she says, her voice muffled against my neck. I bite down on her shoulder, and she screams in ecstasy. Her pussy clenches around me, the tightest fist I’ve ever felt.
“Jesus, woman…” The way she milks me makes me weak in the knees. I can’t get enough. She feels incredible wrapped around my cock. I caress her ass, squeezing each cheek as she bounces up and down, her moans filling the room. She throws her head back, her eyes rolled back in pleasure. Her nape glistens, and I’m entranced by the way the light bounces off it. “That’s it, baby,” I groan as she grinds herself against me. “Fuck that pussy on my cock.”
Her heat is like a vise around me, and I can feel myself reaching my breaking point. “I’m close,” I warn her, but she only squeezes me harder. Her panting and moaning egg me on.
“Yes,” I growl, all control vanishing. I slam my cock as deep as possible before I erupt inside her. “Christ almighty…” I breathe out as I unload inside her. The orgasm is hard and fast, forcing me to lean into her and the shower wall to hold myself up. “You fucking destroy me, you kn ow that?” I say, kissing her moist forehead as she snickers at my choice of words.
“I’ll take that as a compliment.” She smirks, but there is something in her eyes I don’t like, something that feels like she’s pulling away from me. Call it intuition or a trauma response—hypervigilance—but I think Alice is planning something, a plan I won’t like.
“Let me wash you,” I tell her as I slide out of her body. Years of my life spent interacting with people have helped me hone my skill of reading people. I know I will have to keep a closer eye on her now, or maybe she’ll do something stupid. Her plan of trying to disappear on her own will fail, and I’ll end up having to rescue her, anyway.
Alice turns obediently, letting me take the soap and wash her every nook and cranny, and I take my time. I have to figure out what she’s planning before she goes through with it and puts herself in danger. The only way I can do that is if I spend more time around her. I’ll have to let Ervine take more of a lead on this business of assembling my soldiers. Starting tomorrow, I have to accelerate the plan.