Chapter 24
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
“How are you feeling?” Marco asked as they sat side by side on the bed, still in their wedding clothes. Although they were a little more wrinkled than when the day had started and much less formal.
Marco had removed his boots, stockings, and cravat.
His shirt sleeves were rolled up to reveal his muscular, olive-toned forearms. Alice had taken off her stockings and kicked her slippers off long ago.
She had Marco's frock coat draped over her shoulders.
She sipped from a glass of wine as Marco finished off his brandy.
“Well, I believe I am much soberer than Giovanni was,” Alice said drily.
Giovanni and Beatrice had danced and celebrated Marco and Alice's wedding with unabashed delight, as did Beatrice's brother and his wife, Anna.
Marco and Silas developed an unexpected rapport in the days since Alice's kidnapping.
Their kinship was born of mutual fear and love for their wives.
Alice did not mind, even though she secretly thought Silas Klane was a bit terrifying.
But she did enjoy the company of his sister and wife immensely.
She took another sip of wine and continued, "My feet are somewhat sore from dancing, but otherwise, I am well.”
“I meant; how do you feel to be married?” Marco said with a chortle, reaching a hand out to her knee.
“I think it suits me greatly,” Alice said with a grin. “I much prefer being Alice Alegria, wife of Marco Alegria, to being Miss Fitzroy, heir to the Duke of Fitzroy.”
"The name does suit you," Marco grinned, reaching down to stroke her bare calf where her knees were pulled up towards her as she leaned against the headboard. “As does this beautiful gown.”
“Thank you, husband,” Alice said, unable to stop herself from blushing.
Hackman ruined her previous wedding dress, so she had to choose a simpler gown as there was no time to have another elaborate one made up.
It was a classically cut cream-colored satin with pearls along the neckline and hem.
The color suited her skin tone, which was now glowing in the low light of the candles and fire.
“Will you take down your hair for me?” Marco asked softly, his eyes on her tawny locks.
They were again piled up on her head in curls, but there were no other ornaments this time.
Alice had elected to skip the flowers and just had a simple veil to match her dress, which she discarded along with her slippers.
She wordlessly complied with Marco's request, reaching up to remove the pins securing her hair. She withdrew them and set them on the bedside table one by one until, finally, her curls tumbled down over her shoulders. Marco’s dark eyes fixed upon them hungrily. “You are so lovely.”
“Thank you,” Alice whispered. Emboldened by a few glasses of wine and the growing need she had for Marco's touch, she added, "Perhaps you shall find me more lovely when I am… undressed.”
Alice set aside her glass of wine and shrugged off his coat.
Then she reached behind her to unbutton her gown.
She requested the fastenings be easy to undo when she purchased the dress, even though she blushed fiercely when she did so.
When she had enough undone, she moved onto her knees and drew the dress up over her head, dropping it onto the floor beside the bed.
She sat back down and looked at Marco expectantly to find him sitting as still as a statue.
“Do you not wish to... consummate our marriage?” Alice asked, unnerved by his silent, still perusal.
“Of course, I want to. I have barely been able to think of anything else," Marco said, smiling tightly and grasping her hand.
“I am only trying to exercise self-control and respect your decision about not having children.
I know you said you might change your mind, but I do not want to pressure you in any way. "
“I appreciate that. But I am tired of living my life angry about the past and fearful of the future. I need to get over the things and cannot control the future. I would rather focus on what is here now."
"And what is the here and now?” Marco asked hoarsely. Alice smiled; glad he had asked.
“Only us,” she said softly, squeezing his hand. “The love we share now. I know that you will keep me safe no matter what the future holds, and we will face whatever comes together."
“That is what we promised,” Marco said quietly.
“And I want you,” Alice added, her voice soft with desire. “I want to give you the same kind of pleasure you have given me. Will you show me how, Marco?"
He looked at her for a long moment. Then he leaned over her and set his glass next to hers. When he was done, he moved back until he was kneeling between her legs.
“Lean forward,” he whispered softly, and she complied.
He reached around her and tugged on the ties of her corset before lifting it over her head.
He then eased the hem of her shift up and whisked it off too, throwing it onto the growing pile of garments on the floor.
"Lie back." Alice again did as he asked.
She was bare before him for the first time, but she felt no shame as he gazed at her body with hunger. "Now, let me taste you."
“Oh god, yes,” Alice gasped, throwing her head back.
Hearing him speak such words sparked her already needy senses, and her skin tingled for his touch.
Marco shuffled down the bed and used both hands to spread her legs wide.
He nuzzled her private curls while directing her to put her thighs over his shoulders, effectively wiping any coherent thought out of her mind.
She squeezed her eyes closed and stilled when she felt his hot breath against her sensitive flesh, willing him to touch her.
After a moment that felt like hours, his tongue parted her folds, and he began to lick her pearl.
She could not suppress the unladylike sounds and words that fell from her lips as he devoured her.
“Who am I?” he panted, his words hot against her as he licked and kissed and gently bit, stoking the fire growing inside her core.
“Please,” she chanted when he started paying close attention to her most sensitive nub.
He drew it between his lips and sucked before rasping his tongue around it.
She had never been as aware of her body as when she was with Marco.
Every touch or lick fanned the flames of her arousal.
He growled and shoved a finger into her, causing her to beg even more.
“Who am I, Alice?” he asked darkly, and she could hear a familiar chuckle in his tone.
She choked on a cry when his tongue replaced the fingers at her opening, and he thrust it into her as far as he could.
Shivering with need, she nearly cried when he stopped touching her.
She looked down and saw his brows quirked, waiting for her answer.
“My husband!” she gasped and felt his growl of agreement reverberate through her as he put his mouth back to her sex. “You are my husband.”
Her answer spurred him on. He redoubled his efforts to pleasure her, sending her to soaring heights within moments, his tongue relentless as she came apart for him.
She tried to quiet her cries of bliss but realized she didn't need to.
They were married, and she never needed to hide her passion again.
“I love you so much,” Alice said when she returned to herself.
Marco simply kissed her sex in response.
She sighed as he kept moving his fingers against her encouraging her to feel every last ripple of her climax.
He was building her up for yet another, and Alice wondered how much of his ardent warfare she could take.
“You are the only reason I have a mouth,” Marco rasped, his Italian accent more pronounced with passion.
Alice’s muscles trembled with excitement as he kissed each of her thighs before moving upwards over her belly.
“You are the only reason I have a body,” he continued advancing to her ribcage and playfully licking her.
"You are the only reason I have a heart. You are mine. My love, my wife, my family, my life.”
His words were like balm to Alice’s very soul, and they unraveled a deep pain inside her that she had been carrying ever since she learned who her father was. She could not contain what came out of her mouth next.
“You are my husband, my family, my everything,” she whispered, stroking back damp tendrils of dark hair from his forehead. “I have no doubts now. I want to build a family with you. I want to bear your children.”
His face came up, and then his body stilled. His eyes studied her with a flicker of vulnerability. She held his gaze steady even though her heart was racing, letting him see every facet of the truth down to her soul.
“I’m ready, Marco,” she whispered, trying to encourage him. “I promise.”
Marco’s nostrils flared, and his glistering lips parted on a deep inhale before he struck. His lips seized hers in a brutal kiss that she met readily.
He broke away and slid off of her to stand next to the bed.
He unbuttoned his waistcoat and threw it over his shoulder.
His shirt soon followed. It was the work of a moment for him to unbutton his falls and shuck his breeches off his body.
He stood before her gloriously naked, his manhood hard and jutting proudly.
Alice licked her lips at the sight of him. Her eyes lingered on his shaft as he reached down and stroked it. Then her eyes traveled up his toned abdomen and muscled chest, sprinkled with dark curling hair. She met his eyes, and her breath caught on the pure desire she saw in them.
He moved back to the bed, still gripping himself, and confessed, "I have wanted this for so long."