Chapter 21
It’s been a week since the wedding. A week of fires I’ve been incessantly putting out while trying to enjoy downtime away from professional business. A week where being underboss has halted plans. A week of exhausting, harsh memories.
When I originally had the stroke of a genius idea to bring Echo to my family’s commune in Italy, it was just because I wanted her to experience the same love I had all those years ago. I’d thought that the instant we stepped onto the grounds, we would be enveloped with a sense of magic, ease, and love. We would feel swept away by something I couldn’t quite put my finger on but thought we deserved.
A vacation?
Now I realize how much of a lie it was. How everything had been a lie when I’d been a child. How fragile my bubble had been, and how much I had hated it. The majority of my happiness had come from my mother being there. That when she had passed, there had been nothing but brutal honesty. My uncle and aunt tried their best to help me as often as possible. I had usually been with them because my father was Capo, but it would only take a few minutes with my father, and all gentleness would be ripped from me.
I could never understand why my father had hated me as a child, then hadn’t given a shit when I was older. I’d been counting down his days, and he hadn’t known it.
We’d been two strangers who hated each other, forced to reside in the same scenario.
To ensure this trip was uninterrupted, I had to clear my schedule, finish some last minute business deals, meet with the mayor early, and other things. One of them included calling the treatment center where my uncle was. I’d demanded they contact me before going forth with anything we hadn’t agreed on, especially since my uncle was slowly slipping away. Seeing him during the wedding and after cemented our situation's finality. I had clarified that I wanted to research anything new they presented.
They knew that no matter the hour, they should contact me first.
Sure, they were a research and treatment center, but at this point, they were solely running on donations from the families and council. This hospital was considered neutral soil, and no matter the grudge or anger you held, there was no excuse to endanger multiple people.
As for our honeymoon, we arrived late last night and were too tired to explore anything. The house had been cleaned and set up for our visit. The master suite had looked every bit as luxurious as it had when I’d been a kid. While the house was a bit outdated, and my mother’s style had stayed here long enough to come back into fashion, it wasn’t mine.
Or Echo’s.
The updated, dimly lit halls and interior made that clear. Some things will have to change if we plan to be here for weeks. I’m hopeful that this trip will open an avenue for more visits in the future.
Possibly visits with children.
It gives me an idea. One I’m not entirely sure of, but I am going to go with it anyway.
Quietly, I place my phone that I’m using as a distraction down on the massive nightstand. My body shifts onto my right side, and I align it with Echo’s sleeping body, my arm draping over her midsection as my hand splays across her stomach. While I know that she’s not pregnant, I can’t wait for her to carry my child and familiarize myself with the swell that will happen. Not because it will secure anything for me, though there’s that benefit, but because I hope it will help her heal from her losses.
As long as she doesn’t discover how she got pregnant while on birth control.
Seeing her in the bathroom with Aldo braced against the wall, a razor on his throat, his face consumed with uncertainty, the pride that had swelled in me had been a shock that I had quickly tamed. Though I had been happy that she’d managed to protect herself and been smart enough to carry protection - Something I had failed to do for her, I’d been petrified to see Aldo in the bathroom with her. I instantly noticed she had made one wrong utterance or movement from spilling Aldo’s blood and causing an actual war.
Especially since Tommaso is looking for any reason to fight with a family.
Mine is the main one.
Yet, at the same time, hearing her being questioned about a baby that she’d lost and witnessing her tears was heartbreaking. She’s right; she deserves to be happy and left alone by the Rossis, but we both know that they won’t stop.
They’re looking for that baby.
They believe he’s still alive, and nothing will stop them from looking. And that somehow proves my theory from earlier on.
Tommaso and Aldo don’t care about Echo. They’ve only been interested in her to prove her baby is alive. And though my intuition screams at me, I believe her. I hadn't sensed any deception when she told me about her son in my office. But that didn’t mean that she hadn’t perfected being able to manipulate her story to ring true.
If someone practiced something enough and claimed it was true, it became just that to them.
Was my Echo an expert at deception?
Of course.
The thought should turn me off, but I already know it doesn't anymore. All of her secrets will come out, and when they do, I will figure out how to handle them.
Her breathing is still deep and even, her breaths sounding like the beginning of a tune I wish I could join in on. My left hand on her stomach moves lower, and I inch my way under the shirt she's wearing until I reach her center. Without any type of preparation and as if they have a mind of their own, my fingers press into her, applying pressure to her clit, then move in a circular motion coaxing her body awake before her eyes even begin to open.
My right hand maneuvers upwards between our bodies and moves her hair out of her face that isn’t wrapped in the silk bonnet that she usually wears to bed. Teased by the exposed skin that beckons me, I press my lips to her neck just below her earlobe, sucking while I take the skin gently between my teeth. Below, my middle finger snakes around her thong’s seam and enters her, using her slickness that builds with each thrust to wet her bud as my thumb caresses it.
Against my hand, she moves, her hips picking up a steady pace as she chases a quick release. A deep, breathy moan escapes her mouth, and her head angles back more, giving me better access to her throat, though her eyes are still closed.
I look down at her from my position. She’s gorgeous right now. With her half-conscious body aware of what it wants and not taking any prisoners to claim it, she’s ethereal. The shutters we forgot to close fully when we arrived last night allow for a slither of sun to peek through. I'm jealous of how it bathes over her body so early in the morning, warming and bestowing her with a golden glow contrasting with her gorgeous brown complexion.
She moans again, her head falls back against my shoulder that’s braced on the pillow, and her left arm lifts to fall over my neck, pulling me in closer to her. Her fingers inch upwards, curling up into my hair and gripping it. She continues to ride my hand, her hips moving at a set pace.
“Fuck, Dami.”
Her words are panted. “Don’t stop, baby.”
Her moan turns into more husky breaths that force my already solid erection to jut against the back of her thigh, wishing it were buried deep inside her.
The endearment, though it shouldn’t, fills me with pride. “You’re so close, Bellissima.”
Her insides clench around my fingers, keeping up with gyrating. Thrusting in faster, my free arm snakes around her, and my hand molds it around her throat, inching her head back more. Our lips meet hungrily. Teeth clashing in desperation like we didn’t just fuck hours ago on the plane ride here.
She moans, crying out into my mouth. As her insides tighten, I apply more pressure, ignoring her whines to escape the inevitable. This happens a lot. She fights her release, not wanting to relinquish herself to the ecstasy that she wants to overcome her body.
In the end, she always does.
She knows that I won’t allow anything less.
“Fuck.”
She moans, exhaling a deep breath before she continues to kiss me. “I’m coming.”
Our tongues that are tangled with each other don’t relent as she squirms on my hand. Her insides constricting, small noises exit her mouth in hurried noises that would sound painful if I didn’t know that she’s giving into her orgasm, and it’s claiming her more harshly than my fingers.
“Dami, please,”
she cries on my lips, “fuck me.”
My cock juts in approval, wanting to please her, but I stop. My grip around her neck tightens, and my fingers continue
“Come for me.”
I encourage her. “Let go.”
Teasing, my tongue lashes out on her lips, and she takes it between her teeth. For a quick second, she applies a tiny bit of pressure, and when I pinch her clit, she releases me, a groan escaping her. Her hips move erratically, and the sudden spray that I feel unleash makes her cry out loudly.
Her breathing is rough and ragged as if she’s trying to calm down, but the tightening around my fingers proves that she’s still coming. That, and the random spurts of squirting I get from her.
“Fuck.”
We both come down from her high. Breathing rapidly as if she’s run a relay race or a marathon, Echo lets out an exhausted moan. Her head grows heavy, and she lays it back against me. Her hips still gyrate on my hand due to my fingers being deep inside her, but the movements are calm, just drawing out the last bit of the orgasm that she has inside her.
When I think she’s done, her fingers clenched in my hair open, and her arm falls to drape around my neck. Gently, far more gentle than I’ve ever been, I kiss her vulnerable, exposed neck.
She sighs. “I’ve never squirted before.”
I bite her, my teeth nipping her skin and making her squeal. She can’t move because I still have her trapped in front of me, but she’s not trying. My fingers are still buried in her, and my hand is still wrapped around her neck in a light grip, my thumb running up and down the side.
I want to keep her right here forever- Keep her protected from things I cannot control, but I know that’s impossible. We must live outside this bedroom, no matter how much I hate the idea.
My breath teases her neck, her pulse thumping against my lips that are still pressed against it. “Sounds like I have to outdo myself now.”
Echo chuckles. “Or maybe fuck me more often when I’m half asleep and horny?”
“Is that what you want? To be woken up by my fingers?”
I tease her by pushing my fingers in, and she responds with a false, disgruntled sound of forced displeasure.
“Fingers.”
Her hand closes over mine. “Mouth.”
She gyrates against my palm. “Your solid cock.”
I chuckle at the inside joke. “I will mix it up for you, Bellissima.”
She smiles over her shoulder at me.
A quiet moment passes between us. One that has never occurred before, and I return the smile. I kiss her neck one final time, pull my fingers out of her, and bring them to my mouth. As I taste her, her smell is fucking intoxicating. It smells sweeter and less earthy than it has in the past.
Either way, I relish her sweet scent on my fingers.
“Let’s shower. Then we have things to do.”
Nestled into me, Echo sighs. “You mean we aren’t going to stay in bed fucking, having food delivered, and sleeping?”
“No.”
I disentangle myself from around her, standing up. My body feels taut and bedraggled from last week’s events, making me feel older than my thirty-six years. “I want to give you a tour of the house, then go shopping.”
Stretching, I look over my shoulder and see Echo staring at me in confusion. Her curly hair presses up against her scalp from how she slept in an unkempt, wild way that makes me want to run my hands through. Since we’ve been together, I’ve watched her do her hair a few times. It seems like she spends most of it spraying her hair and then rubbing creams through it just for her curls to look lively and luscious. Other times, she wears a wrap and has her hair sticking out the top in a high bun.
Regardless, I enjoy watching her.
“What?”
I question her. She hasn’t stopped staring at me like I have horns.
Seated in the middle of the massive bed, swimming in the oversized shirt, she shrugs. “Just surprised that you want to spend time with me.”
I look at her. I wish that I could see any reflection of surprise in her eyes, but I am not in shock that I don’t. “Why would I not want to?”
“This farce only needs one thing from us. Once I’m pregnant, then we’ll be good. You’ll do your business, and I’ll go about mine.”
She’s so sorely fucking mistaken.
If she thinks that I only need to be around her to fuck her. Plus, once she’s pregnant with my child, I’ll disappear and leave her to her own devices. What bewilders me the most is that she would believe I would allow that after what she declared the other day.
It's just another way she's proving to be an enigma—an annoying one.
“Oh, wife, this has never been a farce.”
I tease her. “We’ve told each other from the start what it is. Now, yes, I do have to fuck you to keep up with this elaborate scheme we concocted, but contrary to what you believe, I do enjoy your time.”
She frowns. It's not quite the response I’m expecting from her. “I’m flattered.”
“You should be.”
I turn, heading towards the ensuite. “We said this was for life. There are no outs, nobody else, no games. You're Bianchi. Now, act like it.
I don’t look back at her as I enter the bathroom. The tension that courses through my body from weeks of stress, exhaustion, and burning the candle at both ends collides with my want to be argumentative, but I push it away. I’m not trying to argue with Echo, but the instant she opens up to me, she runs and slams two doors shut.
She’s my wife, but still an enemy.
I know that she’d rather slit my throat than give up this conquest for revenge against Aldo. I also know that I promised her revenge. So, expecting her to give it up is a failure to meet my end of the bargain. I’ve never failed at anything and won’t start now.
In no time, I’m in the shower, my back facing the entrance, and I’ve submerged myself underneath the above shower head. I close my eyes as the warm water drips down my face, and my hands plant themselves on the wall. It’s nothing like my upgraded shower panel at the house in the States, but it's not horrible. The entire bathroom and the house could be renovated, but that’s a problem for another time.
One I plan to take care of before our next trip here.
Consumed by my thoughts, I’m brought back to the present when arms snake around my front. I don’t turn around immediately when I feel Echo’s chest press into my back. Her face buries just below my shoulder blades, and she rubs against my back as if she’s trying to burrow inside of me.
“I’m sorry.”
She plants a kiss on my back. “I don’t know why it’s so hard not to be facetious.”
I chuckle. “It’s in your nature, Bellissima. You’ve been through a lot and are still coping with the drastic changes you’ve endured the last few months.”
She sighs loudly. “True, but I have no reason to take it out on you.”
While I agree with her, I don’t admit that to her. I’m not ready to die just yet, despite the life that I've been blessed to have. “Thank you.”
Those two words must mean a lot to her. Gingerly, Echo releases my back, stepping under my arm that’s braced on the wall to stand in front of me. Her dark brown eyes call to me simultaneously as she lifts on her tiptoes to touch her lips to mine. The kiss she gives me isn’t tender like I expect it to be, but hungry. Her front molds entirely to mine, and I’m able to feel every naked part of her body.
Ravenous, she takes control of our kiss. Beneath the downpour of water, she snakes her arms around my neck, pulling me into her more. My hand etches down her side to her front, where it expands, teasing her already sensitive mound. Her hips rock forward against me, pressuring my fingers to touch her– Play with her more.
And I give in.
I flick at her nub, eliciting a moan from her that is swallowed by my mouth, devouring hers, then press on it. My finger circles her swollen bud, and when she jerks, I can’t help the smile that takes over my face. I love that she’s so responsive when it comes to my touch. That despite the start of our relationship she has never turned away from me when it comes to pleasing her.
Something that I enjoy.
“Wait.”
She pulls away from me.
So consumed in my thoughts, I look at her in confusion. I reach out, and Echo steps away. Her dark eyes meet mine from under her lashes, making my cock jump in an eagerness I hadn’t felt until her. It springs to life more when I watch her lower to her knees.
“Are you sure?”
I ask her if she’s never wrapped her gorgeous lips around me.
I don’t want her to feel like she has to do this because she feels guilty about how she spoke to me.
She doesn't answer me, doesn’t say anything in response. Her eyes still bearing into mine, I inhale sharply when she takes the head of my cock into her mouth. The warmth envelopes me, and my head falls back, my eyes closing.
“Fuck.” I mutter.
My tongue runs over my lips, my teeth taking my bottom lip into my mouth briefly as I give in to my raw emotions. Beneath me, Echo moves faster. Sounds she’s making emit loudly and bounce off the glass of the deep walk-in shower. She works her tongue down my shaft, then back up again. Taking me into her mouth, she swirls her tongue around me as she edges me in deeper. My genitals beg me to release quickly from already being exhausted, but I don’t.
I watch her mouth cover the head of my cock, and her tongue slicks over it. Instinctively, my hand falls on the top of her head, which is wet from the shower, and my fingers thread through her thick, lustrous hair.
She moans on me, her hand fondling my balls in a soft massage as my hips set their own pace. Gently, at first, I thrust into her mouth, allowing her to become accustomed to the feel of me even though she doesn’t need it.
She’s had me plenty of times.
My eyes stay on hers as she takes me in again, her breath hitches as she pulls back, and I suck in a breath. Below me, echo uses her lips as she pushes back on my length. When I touch the back of her throat, she doesn’t gag, doesn’t retract, or make a sound. I watch in hazy awe as it feels like her throat widens to take me down more, and I almost come when she hums against me.
The pure looks of lust and yearning in her eyes continue to be my undoing. I force myself to step back, pulling her to her feet without saying anything. Her arms go around my neck, our lips unite in another harsh meeting, our tongues clash, and our gruff, animalistic reverberations surround us, filling the shower. After a moment, I lift Echo by her thighs, my forearms bracing her entrance right above my cock she’s starving for her.
It feels like I haven't had her in days, though it’s only been hours.
She’s an addiction.
One that I’m aware I’ll never have enough of. I’ll die before I live without her essence around me forever.
Our eyes lock as Echo’s hand skims between us. Her wet hand grasps me, encircling my girth as best as she can, and she centers me to enter her directly. With her slick and ready for me, I slowly press inside her, then stop and pull out. The gasp on her lips dies, her eyes narrow at my actions, and she knows she’s at my mercy.
“Now what was that you said about this being a farce?”
I test her.
I push into her a second time, stopping a little ways further in than I was before, then removing myself from her.
Echo groans.
With her legs spread wide, my arms holding her up, she attempts to rock her hips forward to sheath her body onto mine, but I distance her from me. A smile spreads on my face at the stare of death she graces me with, but she doesn’t say anything.
Smart girl.
My cock teases her. Pressing into her, edging her, I provoke sounds of pleasure out of her, then stop. “Does this look fake to you, Bellissima?”
I ask her.
Again, I thrust only slightly into her. She tries to move on me more, and I stop her. I turn us, pinning her back against the wall. A startled gasp exits as her naked body meets the wet, cold tile, but she breathes out and meets my gaze. In her eyes, I see the stubborn woman I’m falling for but also the lust-thirsty fiend I’ve been fucking relentlessly since we exchanged vows.
She’s so fucking beautiful.
Nudging myself inside of her more, I look down at her. Her hooded eyes glaze over, and she releases a low moan at the feel of me. I adjust her in my arms, an enthralling sensation for both of us as she’s jostled against me.
My gaze lowers to look between us, and she follows suit. Her eyes cloud over, and her breathing hitches when I rock my hips towards her. “Do you like that? Watching the way I fuck you?”
My tongue skirts across her lips, begging her to open them, and when she does, I pull away.
I repeat the action twice more before she catches on. A deep frown mars her beauty. She snaps at me, her teeth sink into my bottom lip, and I snarl. Angling my hips, I slam into her, ramming her back on the tile again, and she shrieks, releasing my bottom lip. I consider giving her a second to familiarize her body with my sudden intrusion, but I don’t.
I continue my onslaught, driving into her over and over. It doesn’t bother us that the water in the shower is getting colder by the second or that we aren’t even getting clean anymore. All that matters is this moment that we’re trapped in.
That we both receive what we want besides release.
With nothing to do, her arms tighten around my shoulders, locking behind my neck, and she pulls herself up some, relieving my arms of some pressure from holding her for a second.
A smirk spreads on my face. “Don’t run.”
I coax a moan from her by maneuvering my hands inward. My fingers grasp onto her ass, digging into her skin deeply. She clenches around me, contracts intentionally, and I bite my lip. Our breathing has turned ragged, and our bodies are both weary, but for whatever reason, we’ve mentally engaged in an orgasmic war.
Both are holding out as long as we can.
She moves up and down on me as much as I allow her due to her more petite frame being crushed between me and the wall, but that doesn’t stop her. Her tongue snakes out, taking my lobe in her mouth. Pain sears through me when she bites down, but I don’t pull away. Instead, I mark her ass with my fingers, embedding them into her skin more, making moon-shaped artificial cuts. Only when she releases my ear and then gently licks over the indents I’m sure she made do I relax my grip.
She knows that I won’t last long. She’s discovered that my ears are a sensitive spot for me and has used it time and time again as a ploy. I pull back from her mouth and attack her lips with mine. The intensity of the kiss while I’m buried inside her is almost too much.
“Behave, Bellissima.”
I take back control. Unconcerned with what position is comfortable for her, I situate her to where my elbows crook beneath her knee and her legs stretch outwards. Giving me better access to enter her as deep as I want, I drive into her. Her ass slaps against the tile from the force, and I inhale deeply to control myself as her core tightens around me.
“Fuck.”
Her head falls back on the wall. Her eyes close.
She continues to grip me, and I growl through clenched teeth. “Open your eyes.”
She obeys, a dark look crossing her face as she lets out a long moan. Panting breaths come out in rasps that rack her body, and she starts to jerk in convulsing movements as her pussy clenches around me. The sound of her coming spurs me on, and I thrust faster– Harder into her, reaching my own peak at the same time as her moan turns into a low groan that vibrates through her.
Our eyes meet, and my hips continue to crash into hers, riding out the last of my release. She leans towards me, her lips touching mine, kissing me softly between shallow, spent breaths. Her hips buck on me, one lost squeeze is given, and I put her down. Though her feet touch the ground, her legs give out for a quick second, and I hold her up for a moment longer.
Staring down at her, her hands gripping my forearms, her hair wet, and her body glowing, I smile. I lean forward, my lips hovering by her ear. “The way you came for me wasn’t fake.”
Her head turns towards me, and a glimmer of something crosses her face before she chuckles. “Dick.”