Chapter 22
TWENTY-TWO
Lissia
Why is Marchello always on to me? Am I that obvious? I needed to absolve myself for going to my father behind his back. Brownies and sex seemed like a great start.
He didn’t agree.
“Well?” Marchello released me from his strong hold. “Are you going to tell me what you’re up to this time?”
“Why do I have to be up to anything?” I inched closer to him. “Why can’t I just want to be with you? Do something nice for you?”
When I pushed his shirt from his shoulders and slipped it down his back, his gaze softened.
“I thought you said you missed me,” I whispered into his ear as I ran my palm over his growing erection. “It feels like you miss me.”
“Are you asking me if you can be in control tonight, princess?”
“Would you let me?”
“No.” He traced his finger over my nipple. “I don’t relinquish control.”
“Maybe that’s your problem?”
“I have a lot of problems. Don’t I?” He picked up his gun from the counter, glared at me, and strode to the back stairs. “I told you not to lie to me.”
“I’m not lying.” I’m withholding. That’s different, isn’t it?
“I’ll be upstairs,” he said. “When you’re ready to tell me what you’re hiding, you can join me.”
“Don’t go.”
“Don’t tell me what to do.”
He left me in the kitchen, alone and empty. He had foiled my seduction attempt in less than three minutes. I was the fool standing in her underwear trying to come up with a way to fix this.
How could I tell him what I was hiding? If he knew I asked my father for help when he didn’t even want help from me, he would never forgive me. Even worse, if he found out I gave my father information about Nico, he would throw me off the terrace.
The sad thing about this situation was I would rather be tossed off a New York City high-rise than know that Marchello wouldn’t forgive me.
Why did I get myself into this mess? Why didn’t I let the Accetti men handle their shit? They didn’t need my help, and now I had placed myself in the worst possible circumstance. I had to accept my father’s deal if I wanted to bring Nico home. But in doing so, I had to leave Marchello.
Stupid impulses! If I could learn to control them, maybe my life wouldn’t be so complicated.
Before going upstairs, I poured him a glass of vodka. If there was a way to Marchello’s heart, expensive vodka was it. I probably should have led with that.
When I crept into the bedroom, he was sitting in the chair by the window, staring out at the city skyline. He had removed his shoes, socks, and belt. His chest was still bare, and his pants were unbuttoned.
He was the picture of a perfect man. My man. Sexy, fierce, and frightening. I should have backed out of the room and left him with his grim thoughts, but I couldn’t resist him. That was the problem from day one. I craved his danger. I desired all of him. The good, the bad, and the very ugly.
Things were about to get ugly.
It was almost as if I couldn’t thrive without his fury. His rage was the one thing I would take if it meant he could forgive me for the mess I had made of his life. Being with me cost him more than he would ever admit. If I took my father up on his offer, all of the aggravation I caused Marchello would go away. But my hell would begin.
I would have to accept a life without him in it. Was that something I could do? Could I take my father up on his offer so Marchello could have his father back? Am I selfless enough to do that?
“Did you bring me a peace offering?” He nodded toward the vodka. “Now I know whatever you’ve done is going to cause me trouble.”
“You look like you could use a drink.” I slowly made my way to the chair, stopping in front of him. “Do you want to tell me about your day?”
“No.” He held out his hand. “But I’ll take the drink.”
His gaze followed the glass as I brought it to my lips, filling my mouth with the strong alcohol that needed cranberry juice. I straddled his lap and swept my lips along his until he parted them. As the vodka poured from my mouth into his, I kept my stare fixed on his.
“That’s the only time I’ll ever allow you not to swallow.” He took the glass from me and chugged the contents before setting it at his feet. “Speaking of which…”
“I thought you didn’t want that.”
“I always want my cock in your mouth.” He traced his fingers down my sides and to the edge of my tank top. “It’s the only way I can guarantee you won’t talk back to me.”
“That seems like a no-lose situation for you.” I raised my arms when he tugged the top over my head, exposing my breasts to him. If he occupied my mouth, he would stop pressing me for answers on what I was hiding.
He didn’t waste the opportunity. Gripping my hips, he brought my chest close to his face and skimmed his tongue around my nipple. I ran my fingers through his hair when he bit down.
“Ah…” I moaned through the pain, but he didn’t stop, even when I tugged on his hair. “Marchello, not so hard.”
He circled his tongue over my nipple before moving to the other side. His actions weren’t as harsh this time, but I could sense the aggression.
I had to come clean or his rage would only intensify.
“We should stop.” I pushed at his shoulder in a weak attempt to halt this encounter. “We need to talk.”
“I don’t want to talk.” He scooted me onto the floor and between his legs. “The time for talking has passed. Right now, you’re going to make me forget about this day and whatever it is you’ve done. I’ll deal with whatever it is later.”
I opened my mouth to speak, but he glared at me. It was probably better to use my mouth for something else.
“Now is not the time to defy me.” He looked down at me with fire in his stare. “Don’t challenge me.”
“I’ll listen.” What else could I do? For the first time since the auction, it was time to back down.
“You’ll listen?” He stroked his chin. “We really do have a problem.”
“Nothing this can’t solve.” I took his shaft in my hand and swirled my tongue around his tip.
“Fuck.” He exhaled. “Do you know how much easier my life would be if you were this obedient all the time?”
Something told me his question was rhetorical. I closed my eyes so I wouldn’t have to stare into his eyes. I couldn’t. Not now. Not knowing how I had betrayed him. Even if I did it to help him, he wouldn’t understand that.
I squeezed the base of his erection as I wrapped my lips around him and slid down as far as I could. I bobbed my head back and forth, covering his length with my saliva, tasting all of him.
He ran his fingers through my hair, but didn’t grip it like he usually did. I scraped my teeth along his length, eliciting low, guttural moans from deep inside his chest. His thigh tightened under my hand, then his legs shook in a spastic motion.
When I drew my head back in a long, slow pull, he got up from the chair and dragged me to my feet.
“I thought you wanted me to swallow.”
“Maybe later.” He yanked my boy shorts down my legs, tugged them from my ankles, and tossed them over his shoulder. “Right now, I want to fuck you. Fast and hard.”
He pushed me against the wall and spread my legs with his knee.
“Is there any other way with you?” I licked his lips. “Fuck all your aggression away. Use me to do it.”
“Is that what you want?” Once he shoved his pants down and kicked them off, he lifted me with one arm and held me against the wall. “Do you want me to release all of it?”
“If it will help.” I wrapped my legs around his hips. “I want to feel you. I want you to know I’m here and I can take whatever you give me.”
“I already know that.” He shifted his hips and entered me in one swift motion, taking my breath away. Grabbing my wrists in one hand, he pinned them above my head as he increased the pace. “You’re the toughest woman I’ve ever met. One of the most frustrating ones too.”
“You don’t want a submissive.” I strained my hold on his waist with my thighs. “You need me to challenge you.”
He attacked my neck—licking, sucking, and biting my tender flesh, scraping and burning me with his stubble. Marking all of me. There wasn’t an inch of my body, a part of my soul, or a piece of my heart he hadn’t already claimed.
“Marchello,” I moaned as I breathed in his masculine scent, clenching around his solid length. “I love you.”
He rocked his hips into me, slamming my back into the wall and pounding more violently with each thrust. His relentless hold on my wrists would leave bruises, but I didn’t care. They would only serve to remind me how he could use my body to release his frustration, and in the process, bring us both more pleasure than either of us could explain.
Being with such an intense man aroused me. Every time we were together, I didn’t think it could top the time before. I was always wrong. I craved his darker side. The one that couldn’t survive without me.
I wasn’t a flowers-and-candy kind of girl, and he knew it. He could let go with me because I was strong enough to withstand his beast. I would always accept him for who he was. What he was.
After a few minutes of solid, brutal sex, he slowed his pace and stared into my eyes. “Am I hurting you?”
“No.” I kissed him. “You’re loving me. The way you do. The way we both need you to.”
“I do love you.” He carried me over to the bed without breaking our connection and lowered me to the mattress, falling on top of me. “More than I ever thought possible.”
He entered me slowly, kissing me with tender lips. I loosely hooked my legs around him and lifted my hips to meet him. The swelling inside my core intensified, pulsing through me and shooting between my legs.
Every muscle in him tensed, and when I screamed out my climax, he pulled back and watched as I lost myself in him. In us. Seconds later, he joined me in mutual ecstasy, releasing his hot stream inside me, filling me with all he had, and making me more determined to protect him. The same way he would protect me.
I would make him see that my sacrifice would only serve to help us in the future. He needed Nico home, and if I could make that happen, I would.
He collapsed on top of me and held me in his arms. Once his breathing returned to normal, he propped himself on his forearm and traced his finger across my lips. When he narrowed his eyes, my heart raced.
“That was incredible.” I couldn’t hold his gaze, so I did the cowardly thing and looked away to avoid him seeing my fear. “Being with you is as essential as breathing.”
“I’m going to ask you this one time, and I want an honest answer.” His steady, menacing voice sent chills down my spine. “What did you go to your father for?”
“What?” How did he know? He couldn’t know that what I was hiding had to do with my dad.
“Don’t fucking play with me.”
Having him still buried inside me while he grilled me was a little unsettling. I was at his mercy in the most intimately terrifying way. He demanded total honesty from me, and he knew how to get it.
“I…” Swallowing hard, I tried to get the words out without them sounding as ridiculous as they were.
“I have too many things on my mind to fuck around with you.” He shifted his weight, pinning me with his legs. “Do you understand? You haven’t been right since I found you at your father’s house. Tell me what it is you’ve set in motion so I can undo it.”
“You might not want to undo what I’ve done.”
“Try me.”
“I did go to my father, and I asked him for a favor.” I squirmed underneath him. “He agreed.”
“What kind of favor? What did he agree to?” He trailed his hand along my throat. “What have you done?”
“I can get your father home.” I gazed into his lethal eyes, bracing myself for his wrath. “You just have to let me.”