Chapter 13
Mario
Non c'è niente oltre te. — There is nothing beyond you.
The familiar scents of dry wood, aged stone, and the ever-present tang of ocean air pleased my senses as I breathed in the crisp morning air.
Last night’s meal was tense. Much of the conversation with my father and grandfather centered around the price on my head and the last few days. A few times they’d mention Allie, who pretended to ignore the conversation. But with her quick mind, she understood far more than she could translate.
And astute as she was, she insisted we retire immediately after a late meal and our even later hasty travel to my grandfather’s villa on the coast between Zoagli and Chiavari. The first and last thing she did was check my damaged side and order rest.
Luckily, the wound stayed closed despite everyone’s best efforts to maim me. And the solid sleep I got did wonders. When I stretched to greet the sun, my wound didn’t pinch. It only felt tight.
Allie rolled to her side so she could blink the sleep out of her eyes and stare at my nakedness.
“Good morning, my beautiful wife.”
“You look… good.” Her eyes dipped to my semi-hard cock and her cheeks flushed pink.
I smiled. I felt good. Strong for the first time in possibly three days. Grounded instead of hunted. And best of all, I had the most beautiful of women captive in my soft, warm bed. I shut the cold out and rejoined her.
“And you look beautiful,” I said as I crawled onto the bed to join her.
“My hair is a mess, and I have no makeup on. You’re delusional.”
“No. I’m quite sane.” I tugged on one of her twisted blonde locks in order to tease her. “Kiss me.”
“You’re going to strain yourself again.”
“Only in the best ways.” I leaned against her and stole a kiss.
“Your skin is cold.” She pushed against my shirtless chest.
“Perhaps you can warm it up?” I slipped under the heavy quilt.
A sly smile worked across her face. “You must be feeling a lot better.”
I nibbled on the curve of her ear where she was ticklish. The time for talk was over.
She dodged my teeth the second time I tried, but moved closer to me instead of away. Her hands caressed my skin. I returned the favor by sweeping my palms down the delicate negligee she wore.
“Another of your sister’s indulgences?” I had been in too much pain recently to notice.
“Maybe?”
I snuck a glance at the lace covering her. The fine camisole was transparent. The virginal white pattern of roses and interlocking leaves, exposed her breasts indecently with tantalizing glimpses of the peachy rose surrounding her peaked nipples. I licked one tip to taste her skin.
She sucked air in through her teeth.
I opened my mouth wider and flattened my tongue against the lace, letting it soak the fabric until it the fibers turned translucent. Then I closed my mouth over her breast.
Her fingers tightened in my hair. “Mario.” The slight stutter of her breath betrayed her. I repeated my actions on the other side, then ran my teeth on the protruding nipple.
But the lace was in the way. I wanted nothing between us.
I lifted up to take in the outfit. The lace continued all the way to the hem. The sheerness of the fabric leaving little to the imagination.
The matching panties were just as sheer. “Wife,” I growled.
“You like?”
“I want you naked.”
She pretended to pout. “This is the only pretty nightgown I’ve ever worn, and he doesn’t like it.” She chanced a glance at me through her eyelashes.
“I never said I didn’t like it. I said, I. Want. You. Naked.” This time, the warmth dropped from my tone and was replaced by demand.
Her eyes went wider.
But she didn’t move. I slipped a hand under the hem and cupped it around her breast. The fabric strained. “I might damage this. And then, you’ll have to explain to your sister what happened to this beautiful garment.”
She sat up, pulling the top off as quickly as she could.
That was better. I returned to the damp nipple I’d tasted.
This time, it was sweet with a subtle flavor that was natural and intoxicating.
And when I sucked the peak into my mouth, there was no fabric foiling my tongue.
I rolled it in in my mouth, swirling around the tip, and taking it deeper until Allie gasped and arched into me.
Her fingers curled into my scalp and the words spilling from her mouth slurred in ecstasy.
But I wasn’t done. The other side needed as much attention if not more because it had been forgotten for too long.
“Mario. Please?” Please-please-please more. I heard her begging in my head as much as through my ears.
The lace between her legs was wet. My fingertips ran across the panel searching for the forbidden and once again, was denied access.
Screw that. I gripped the tiny bands holding the garment in place.
“Don’t. Don’t tear it, please?”
A guttural sound emanated from my chest. I didn’t slide the panties off gently, but they remained intact when I tossed them as far as I could from the bed.
It was only me and my wife now.
She stroked my cock timidly. I curled my hand over hers and tugged it down the length the way I liked it.
Her eyes met mine.
I nodded and led her actions. She mimicked them, getting bolder with each stroke. I groaned out loud. Much more of that, and I’d embarrass myself.
With effort, I pulled free and slid down her body until my mouth aligned with her beautiful pussy. It tasted like perfection. Slick and ready, but not thoroughly debauched. Yet.
I dragged the tip of my tongue through the valleys and around the tiny crown of her clit. With each gasp and jolt, I learned her weaknesses and the magical combination of pressure and circling that fluttered her eyelids shut, or caught her breath.
She was complex, my bride. A tasty puzzle I longed to unravel, savor, and enjoy many times over.
Her cry of satisfaction bounced off the low farmhouse ceiling and the stucco walls. With one final sweep of my tongue, I abandoned her for a moment to reach for a condom.
But I wasn’t at home, nor in a hotel I’d thoroughly planned in advance to seduce her in. And knew I’d come up empty in the sterile nightstand placed for aesthetics rather than function.
“Allie?”
Her unfocused eyes met mine.
I wanted this woman. She could be bound to me forever, if only I was as conniving as my father. “I don’t have a condom,” I confessed.
“Oh! My sister packed dozens in her bag, hang on.” She scrambled out of bed and returned quickly with a box.
I took it from her and retrieved a foil-wrapped packet from inside but hesitated.
Our eyes met. She was on her knees, facing me.
This was my wife.
Mine. To have, hold, cherish, protect, and treasure. “Mi Amore…”
“I know that one.” Her lips met mine. When our kiss broke, she held my face in her hands. “Do not strain yourself.”
“I won’t.” I lied. Despite my best intentions, I couldn’t help but don protection and lift her with the intent of getting her on her back as soon as humanly possible.
Her mumbled words against my lips were ignored as I slid inside. The warmth of the welcome sent a shock wave from my scalp to my toes and I clung to her for a moment to savor the bliss.
“My wife, my love, my life. I will be your servant always.” With effort, I backed out, leaving only the tip of my cock notched in her cunt, then slowly pressed my way inward until I seated against her again. “I’m undone by you.”
She blinked, not understanding my words. “Mario…” her mouth worked, trying to voice silent desires.
“Say you want this.” I was clear, direct. Being careful to get her full permission.
“I want you. It’s such a bad idea, but I do. I can’t not want you.”
The words were balm to my heart. I poured myself into each thrust, each foreign utterance of my joy.
The whispers of my desires confessed into her untrained ear.
Was it wrong to yearn for a future where she’d understand?
Would we be blessed with the years it would take for her to understand the language of my heart?
I knew some of it sank in because her eyes were wide-open, trusting, and reflecting the passion I felt. “My love,” I spoke in English so she’d understand me.
“You’re a dream. A fantasy I didn’t know I had. Please?”
“Non c'è niente oltre te.” I could see nothing in my life without her. My passion flared and I forgot gentility. Our bodies danced irresistibly, unerringly, and most importantly, honestly. My walls were gone, and she was the only thing I knew in that moment.
Her shuddering orgasm pulsed around me. It undid me. I came. The rush of pleasing her released the final bonds of control.
And with the finality, joy filled my heart.
I possessed a heart. The marvel of it made me pause as I caught my breath.
Allie’s hand stroked down my spine. “Are you okay?” She was as breathless as I was.
In that last fragment of honesty, I felt a twinge at my side. “I tried.”
“And?”
How to say it? “I did not damage myself.”
Her face crumbled a little. “Slow movements. Please?”
“For you, anything.”
Yet it wasn’t enough. I ended up on my back, drained and remembering a betrayal that shouldn’t have happened. My hand held the bandage in place.
“Do I dare look?” she asked.
“No.” I sighed.
She brushed away a curl of hair that clung to my forehead. The cool air of the ocean replaced it and calmed me. “I’m going to check.”
“You can’t help it, can you?”
Her expression spoke for her. She curled into the same non-threatening kneel she’d adopted on the plane. The silence, while comforting in ways I didn’t understand also put a barrier between us. And that would not do. She needed to know that in everything, she was perfection.
“Your compassion toward wounded creatures doesn’t change the fact that I am hopelessly in love with you. Not because you care for me when I’m like this, but because I’ve found my heart. You’ve found my heart.”
“Oh, Mario, I—”
A knock on the door interrupted what she was going to say. Despite my state of undress and the sacredness of this moment, I had to answer it. And preferably without exposing my lovely bride to scrutiny.
I rolled out of bed and dragged a robe off the chair. Allie scrambled to cover herself up to her chin with the comforter. I answered the door. Firenze was behind it, attempting to look anywhere but inside the room. In rapid-fire words he summarized the situation.
“Ringo has surfaced. He is at the cliff house. There’s a woman with him.”
I lowered my volume. “Does this woman look like my wife?”
“Sì, Don Valentini.”
“Do not take him there, especially in front of the woman. He’ll come to us. Prepare. I want him alive.”
“Mario?” Allie called from the bed.
I thanked Firenze for his warning and rejoined my wife.
“Is everything okay?”
“It is fine. Have you heard from your sister lately?”
Allie frowned. “No. I’m worried about her.”
“There may have been progress on that front.”
“Really? Did you find her? Is she okay? Can I see her?” She scrambled out of bed and began to grab lingerie from her sister’s suitcase. She picked a bright blue pairing that reminded me of spring flowers.
“Allie, it was only a sighting. They wanted me to know.”
Her shoulders deflated. “Oh. Did they say where she was?”
I smiled. “Did your itinerary include Pisa?”
It only took a moment for her to recall the plans she’d memorized. “No, we opted out of it because of the travel and Cinque Terra being off-season, and…She’s there?”
“Perhaps.”
Allie’s hope slowly drained from her face.
“What is wrong, my love?”
“She hasn’t even tried to call me.”
Ah. In a small way, I understood her disappointment. Ringo hadn’t made contact, either. Of course, I expected him not to, except in the most violent of ways, but that didn’t change my disappointment.
“She will call.” She’d better. Or else I’d send Firenze and Loppa, and perhaps a dozen more men with them to extract her from my very dead friend’s clutches.