12. Edward
Edward
I ’ve never been a fan of weddings.
There’s always too much pomp and circumstance and protocols to carry out. And if the slightest detail is missed, then it throws everyone into a tizzy. The brides are only a hair worse than their mothers from all the horror stories I’ve heard in the past. Weddings? Not for me.
But when Nicola insists on a big giant display, what the hell am I going to say? No?
Not in this lifetime.
She’s been through enough at this point to get her whatever unlimited genie wishes she desires. If it’s in my power to grant my little fox the massive lace-drenched ceremony of her dreams, then I’m going to fucking bend heaven and earth to my will. She’s got no father to walk her down the aisle and no brother to stand beside me as my best man.
If Scott is still alive, he’s so deep underground I wonder if he’ll ever resurface again.
Outside of a hysterical mother, Nicola is alone in this world, so I’ll paint the roads gold if she asks me to.
Luckily, gold paint isn’t on her sizable list of demands.
There are plenty of them, but nothing too unreasonable. By the time the day arrives, I’m standing underneath an arbor of red and white roses, the colors combined with some kind of meaning about unity, from what I understand. At my side are my cousins, all looking like fucking quelled beasts in their tuxes.
My father sits in the front row in that damn three-piece suit with his glinting gold pocket watch. His presence wasn’t desired or required but here he is to support us on the day. Or perhaps just to see what kind of mess my life will turn into now that I’ve chosen, in his words, “the most inappropriate woman for a bride.” Someone I’ll be sick of within a few months, he assured me.
“You sure you want to do this, buddy?” My cousin Elijah claps me on the shoulder with his blue eyes lit with mischief.
“Surer than I am of anything else in my wretched life.”
His lips go round. “Never thought I’d see you willingly accept the bit in your mouth.”
“Why the hell not?” I snap. “A man has to settle down at some point. When you find a queen, you don't let her go.”
Elijah scoffs at the word. “Lifelong bachelor.”
The words die at the swell of the first violin. Classy, understated, a sweetly gripping melody of strings.
Then Nicola rounds the garden path with Louisa escorting her down the aisle and I go mute.
I consider her the type of female who enjoys tasteful things. A cohesive design. Her dress is no expectation, and to say she looks beautiful is an understatement. The lace bodice emphasizes the smallness of her waist, while the full skirt conjures memories of what is hidden underneath.
Off the shoulders, the fabric drapes down to her mid-arm, her collarbone almost gilded by the afternoon light.
Christ, I’m a lucky bastard.
I’ve never done anything to deserve her, and as a warm, invisible hand wraps around my throat, I know I never will.
She’s high-spirited, and she knows how to get what she wants out of men, how to make them bow to her.
Her smile grows wider.
“This life is always going to be exciting, isn’t it?” I ask in an undertone once she’s reached me.
She’s not only a vision in white but glowing from within. A powerhouse, a supernova, ready to be unleashed on our enemies. Together.
Nicola nods emphatically, and a stray curl, as soft as a piece of velvet, brushes her blushed cheek. “As long as you learn to play nice with me. And keep those nasty little habits of yours in check.”
We step in front of the priest with her hand in mine. “Little fox, you know better. I’m not the kind who plays nice. But the rest? We’ll see.”
She squeezes my finger in a silent reprimand before the officiant launches into his speech.
The ceremony is nothing but a blur of words and meaning and feeling. My stomach muscles tighten when she slides the ring on my left ring finger in a binding more real than anything else in my life.
A tether to rock and stone and flesh and blood. Family. Nicola is my family, and I'll do whatever it takes to protect her from the rest of the monsters going bump in the night.
Then her lips are on mine and the people gathered to bear witness erupt in a dull roar.
Finally, the world narrows, sharpens, and there is only her with her sweet fucking mouth and her perfume. Flowers. It’s appropriate, especially the spicy undertone, speaking of black velvet and thorns.
“Congratulations, Mr. Balestra,” she whispers before nipping my lower lip.
Lust automatically zips right down to my cock. “And to you as well, Mrs. Balestra.”
I grip her hand hard enough to make her gasp.
I didn’t want to want her this way, to have her come into my world and fuck everything up. Flip the script on what my life was supposed to be. Yet here we stand as man and wife, and Nicola is all around me, inside of me, so clear when everything else turns to fog.
It didn’t matter what happened. If we lost our business or our home because my home is with her. And for the first time in my life, I feel like I actually belong somewhere.
To someone.
My best men and her bridesmaids hustle us into the waiting limo. The moment the door closes, Nicola is on my lap. She grinds against me, her arms loose on my shoulders as she leans forward to nip my chin.
“I knew you chose this skirt for some reason. To give me unfettered access to everything underneath. You want me to touch you.” I push the fabric on either side of her legs.
“You are correct, then,” she says through kisses. “Although not all of my decisions were made with you in mind. A girl has certain dreams she needs to accomplish, too.”
My hands settle on her waist, fingers grazing the underside of her breasts. “Oh, trust me. I know it. I never would have chosen a five-layer carrot cake over vanilla. And red and white roses? Heaven fucking forbid.”
“You love my design eye. I’m going to take over the entire house,” she assures me eagerly.
“My entire life, more like.” I shouldn’t be excited about it, but the second I say the words out loud, my stomach shifts, and my heart soars open.
An entirely new life with Nicola at my side. Not only did I get goddamn lucky to find the woman of my dreams, but it’s the first step out of my father’s thumb. Gio can’t control me anymore. I’m out of the house. My debts are paid, and the strings are snipped.
Soon, we’ll have the discussion about me taking over the organization.
Soon, but not today or even in the next week.
These next few days, I plan to spend in a fog of sex and sleep.
“Yes, that too,” Nicola agrees, tilting her head. “And I am going to help you build an empire so strong our enemies will cower.”
I know the glimmer of revenge when I see it. Revenge for her father, her brother, her mother, destroying everyone responsible and leaving behind scorched earth and a guarantee that we will get so big no one will dare touch us.
“If anyone can do it, little fox, then it’s you. I chose you for a reason.”
She arches her hips and circles them slowly against my hardened cock. “ I chose you .”
I grunt, digging my fingers into her hips. “Keep telling yourself that story. Either way, I am on board.” I reach past her to knock on the glass to grab the driver's attention. “Drive. No matter what you hear, drive.”
Nicola gawks at me when I turn back to her. Outraged. “You are not going to take me for the first time in the car.”
“Sweetheart, I’ve already taken you.” I cup her breasts, massaging lightly, but the thick fabric makes it impossible to feel her nipples. “This time, it will just happen on four wheels.”
“We have an audience,” she argues.
“He can’t hear anything up there.” I slide my hand from her breast to her calf and up the side of her leg. The softness of her skin has my cock hardening to the point of pain. She leans into me with her lips tantalizingly close and her chest heaving against mine.
A small push has her rolling onto her back, and her face too calm for what I plan to do to her.
She breaks out in a laugh when I grab and drag her underneath me, bunching her skirt up to her hips.
“Nicola, Christ.” The woman has on black panties, lace. Practically sheer enough for me to see the lips of her pussy beneath the material. “What the hell are these?”
“They’re a surprise for you.”
My fingers etch an entire story along her skin, racking up her thighs towards that lace. “It’s the best surprise of my life.” I grip her ass and lift her up, pressing a kiss to her overheated core. “Once again, you’ve put me in a position where I know I should go slow, but I can’t.”
I dream about her pussy in my face as she rides me to her own orgasm. I dream about taking every hole, from her mouth to her ass. Being separated until the wedding night has been a goddamn lesson in endurance.
Now I don’t have to wait anymore.
Nicola licks her lips, and I grind my aching cock against her ass.
“Eddie, please. Don’t go slow.
She wraps herself around me, melting with every turn of rubber against the road. I nod, and my lips peel back in a smile of sinister promise, holding my full weight off of her. The dress is a cloud of white puffy material, and I wrinkle it beyond repair before stealing her lips in a kiss. She nips my lower lip, and I grab a fistful of her perfect hair to hold her in place.
“You are such a good girl,” I purr.
She pants out my name again. “A good girl I might be, but I’m not always going to behave for you.”
Which is exactly the way I like it.
I’d love to take her on all fours, but I’m too hungry for her. I hook my index finger into the side of her panties and tug them down past her ankles. Palming her, I work her pussy with my hand, increasing the pressure on her clit.
It takes every ounce of self-possession I’ve got, and much I don’t, not to unzip right there and fuck her. I want to take it slower than our first time and draw out every bit of pleasure I can give to her before it’s my turn.
“Is this what you want?”
“Yes,” she mutters against my skin, then surprises me by reaching around to grip my ass and bring me closer to her. “Yes, this is what I want.”
I lift her leg to my shoulder, gliding my fingers through her arousal. She’s already wet and ready for me, groaning. I push a finger into her without warning, and her back arches, her pert breasts straining against the dress.
Pumping my finger until she cries out, I work her slowly, her moans getting me harder. Drawing us both into a frenzy. The relentless pace makes me hungrier for her. But I’m not going to let her get off until I’m ready for it.
Pulling my hand free, I grab her hips and switch our positions yet again.
“Eddie, what are you doing?”
She screeches a little as I position her on her knees, the dress still pushed up and her ass on display. I nip at her right cheek and give it a little slap before I slide my finger back inside of her. She glances over her shoulder and meets my gaze with wild eyes, panting in need.
“Take out your cock, Eddie,” she gasps.
“Is my finger not enough for you?” I continue to push in and out of her before adding a second finger to her pulsating channel.
“Stop teasing me. I’m the bride. It’s my day.”
I push my thumb to her clit. She’s about to come apart, clenching around me and dripping wetness.
“You’re right, baby, it’s your day.” I unzip with one hand and free myself, still fingering her. I’ve got my shaft in my hand. “And when we get through the reception, I’m going to make you suck me off and taste yourself on me.”
She shivers underneath me, close to getting off and panting heavily.
I guide myself between her legs and claim her with a powerful thrust that buries me to the hilt and makes her scream.
“Too much!” she protests.
“No, little fox, just enough. You’ll get used to my cock inside of you.” I drop my forehead to the small of her back for a brief second before I draw out, shoving my hips home again and again.
It’s a desperate coupling after too long spent apart. I slam into her again and again as the rest of the traffic outside continues on their way with no idea what’s happening behind the darkened windows.
“Please, please,” she cries out.
I know what she needs.
Despite my own hunger for her, I reach around to her front and finger her clit. Her body bucks with wild desperation for more. Fuck me, this woman.
I lean down and kiss her neck, dragging my teeth along her skin and shoving my cock inside of her, pleasuring her to the same tempo. She moans. Pants out my name, and I chuckle darkly.
Her pussy clamps down around me as she writhes in search of the same release.
I fuck my wife hard, thrusting in and out, dominating her until a bead of sweat plasters my shirt to my back. We find a rhythm together in sync. It’s fucking hot and everything I’ve been dreaming about since I proposed.
Her body starts to contract around my cock, and I’m not going to be able to last much longer. I thrust harder, taking her punishingly, growling out a curse when my balls go tight.
This time, there's no holding back as I spill myself, no holding back as she comes around my cock at the same time and clenches to keep me inside of her. The ecstasy is everything, everything in my body, and for the first time, I feel like her body is the same as mine, and somehow we've made magic together.
Waves of pleasure build me up instead of breaking me down.
I slowly pull out and Nicola shifts around to stare at me, the depths of her eyes saying everything she can’t find the words for yet.
I grab her for a kiss and fight to catch my breath.
This woman is the light of my life. For good or bad, for sweet or sour, we’re in it together. I don’t know what I’ve done to deserve this gift, but I’ll never be able to offer enough to pay god back for it.
Whatever I have to do, whatever it takes, we’re in this together.
Always.
THE END
Continue the series with Edward and Nicola’s daughters. His Deadly Lies is the first full length novel of the Balestra crime family.