Chapter 21
Chapter Twenty-One
Liliana
“Give those to me.”
I handed the keys to Nick. With a mischievous grin, he unlocked the door to our apartment. Before I could register his intention, I was lifted from the floor. I gasped as Nick cradled me against his wide chest.
“Carrying my bride over the threshold.”
Framing his cheeks with my palms, I kissed his lips.
Once inside the door, he gently lowered me to the floor.
It was then I realized someone had been in the apartment.
The tree lights were on, sending LED colorful illumination over the marble floor.
The disarray from José’s death and my sudden exit was gone.
I walked to the fireplace in awe of the stockings hanging there, one with my name and one with Nick’s. “How did you do this?”
“It wasn’t officially me.”
“Who?”
“Mom and Aunt Valentina. They asked what they could do. I knew I wanted to bring you back here, but things have been busy…they said they’d love to get our home arranged.”
Maria and Valentina.
I ran my fingers over the stockings. “What about José and Renata’s room?”
“Go look.”
Nick followed behind as I walked the hallway to the left to their suite. My chest ached as I opened the door, remembering José. When I turned on the light, the room flooded with illumination. The king-sized bed was made. Everything was clean.
“It’s ready for our new guards.”
My smile dimmed. “I wish I could tell Renata how much I appreciated them and let her know I’m married.”
Nick’s eyebrows quirked. “Yes, you are.” He reached for my hand. “There are fresh groceries in the kitchen. Mom even filled the refrigerator with some of Marcela’s specialties.” He tugged me closer. “We can honeymoon undisturbed for a day or two.”
“I can’t believe Maria and Valentina did this.” I leaned against his solid chest.
His arms encircled me. “What were the two of you talking about earlier tonight?”
“She asked if we could start over, this time as mother and daughter.”
“My dad must have—”
I nodded. “He told her about my parents, but it was more than that. When I married the first time, I was younger than their children. Gerardo expected me to fit in with them as a sister-in-law, but I didn’t.
I never felt welcomed. I was probably scared to talk to anyone, afraid they’d see how miserable I was. ”
He kissed my forehead. “He’s gone.”
My smile returned. “He is, but what Maria said tonight meant a lot to me. And as it happens, I’m currently empty in the mother department.”
“Mom sees that I’m happy with you. That makes her happy.”
I dropped my forehead to Nick’s chest and sighed. Inhaling, I took in his cedar scent and looked up. “I’m happy. I’m truly happy for the first time I can remember.”
“Come.” He reached for my hand.
We walked back to the living room and past the tree. The lights reflected in the tall windows that led to a small balcony. The city of San Diego twinkled all around us. He led me down the other hallway.
“The last time I walked into this bedroom…” he said.
“You saw me naked.”
“No, I didn’t. Tonight, I will.”
A dozen roses were on my bedside stand. Our blankets were turned back with rose pedals on the pillows and comforter. “Your mom thought of everything.”
Nick spun me around by my shoulders. “What am I supposed to do with these bows?”
“There are buttons.” A laugh bubbled from my throat. “And I believe there is a row of eye hooks beneath them.”
“What the fuck is an eye hook?”
Craning my neck, I saw the determination in his eyes. “You’re a smart man, a lieutenant, one of el Patrón’s best. I think you can figure it out.”
“Oh, they’re like the clasp on a bra.”
I shook my head. “See, I knew you could do it. You’re probably very experienced with bra clasps.”
He kissed my cheek, my neck, and my shoulder. “I’m not a virgin.”
“Neither am I.”
His kisses moved lower as he figured out how to undo the row of eye hooks and buttons. Each contact of his lips on my skin sent goose bumps over my arms and legs. Finally, he stood and spun me toward him.
Nick removed the pearl combs from my hair, allowing it to cascade over my shoulders. “This is what I’ve imagined as I beat off in the shower.” He gently teased the spaghetti straps from my shoulders. As with the night he walked in my bedroom, I wasn’t wearing a bra.
My silk dress fell to the white rug, a white puddle around my shoes, leaving me in white lace panties. I dropped my arms to my sides.
“You’re fucking gorgeous.”
My breasts moved as my breathing quickened.
I took a step forward. “You’ve seen me, but I haven’t seen you.
” I pushed the sleeves of his suit jacket from his wide shoulders.
Next, I tugged on his white silk tie. My fingers moved over the row of buttons on his shirt as I tugged it from his waist. My hands stilled on the buckle of his belt as memories of seeing the same belt on my desk set off detonations throughout my nervous system.
Looking up through my lashes, I smiled. “I’ve been following your rule.”
Nick reached for the belt and unbuckled it, pulling it from the pant loops, and dropping it to the floor. He kicked off his shoes and removed his pants. Soon we were both dressed accordingly: me in my lace panties and he in black silk boxer briefs.
I stepped out of my shoes, wiggling my toes on the shag rug.
“I want you so fucking bad,” he growled, his timbre reverberating through my circulation.
“I want you, too. What you said you did in the shower…”
His grin was back. “I masturbated, Liliana.”
I nodded. “I did too, thinking about you.” Warmth creeped up my décolletage to my cheeks. “I think I orgasmed.”
“You think?”
“I’ve never done it before.”
His dark orbs glistened. “Never?”
Shaking my head, I replied, “Just recently. I liked it.”
Nick’s smile grew as he backed me toward the large bed. “I promise you’ll have many, many more orgasms.”
“You sound sure of yourself.”
“I’m very sure of myself.” He jutted his chin. “Lie back.”
I did as he said, scooting from the end of the bed toward the pillows. Nick followed, crawling on all fours. He was a predator, and I was his willing prey. He reached for the waistband of my panties and slid them down my legs. Once in his grasp, he put them to his nose.
“You smell sweet. I knew you would.”
He moved up my body, his head dipping at my breasts, his lips capturing each nipple and his tongue teasing the hard buds.
Lower and lower his lips moved. I didn’t remember lifting my knees or spreading my legs.
I was too enthralled with the sensation of his masterful lips.
While I didn’t remember the movements, I’d done them because as his mouth reached my core, I screamed out.
The sensation was overwhelming. My hips bucked and my thighs tightened to a vise grip of his head. No matter what my movements, Nick continued with his lips and tongue. I reached for the sheets to keep myself from floating away as he wound my insides taut, ready to spin out of control.
“Oh God, Nick.”
He splayed his fingers over my pelvis, holding me in place.
It was as he licked and nipped my clit that I yelled out.
There weren’t words. It wasn’t a known language, yet the sounds filled the bedroom—Nick’s slurps and hums and my wanton sounds—until the winding snapped.
A tremor swept through my body as explosions like I’d never known detonated beneath my flesh.
Nick moved up, wedging himself between my legs. “One,” he said with a smirk.
I blinked trying to recover. “I’ve never…I feel like a ragdoll.”
“Oh, we’re not done.”
“I think…”
Nick reached lower, pulling down his boxer briefs. The weight and length of his penis probed my stomach.
I opened my eyes, staring into his.
“Tell me to stop and I’ll stop. I’ll go into the bathroom and beat this bad boy into submission.”
Shaking my head, I wiggled, lifting my knees higher. “Don’t stop.”
His expression morphed.
Relief.
Jubilation.
Elation.
“I love you, Liliana.”
Lifting my hands to his shoulders, I caressed his warm skin. “I love you, Nick. I want you inside me.”
As the head of his penis pushed between my folds, my body wanted to revolt, to keep him from doing what I’d just asked for him to do.
I kept my eyes open, staring at the man with me.
Seeing his handsome face, smelling his cedar scent, and feeling his heat and strength.
This was my new husband, a man I trusted completely. The man who believed in my worth.
“Are you all right?”
I nodded with a smile. “I am.”
A gasp came from my lips as he pressed inside me. Nick was definitely more man than my first husband.
He stilled. “Liliana.”
“You’re supposed to keep moving.”
His laugh filled the air. “I know what to do. I am checking on you.”
My eyes opened wide. “I’ve never felt so full.”
He kissed me as his hips began to thrust. No longer was the air filled with only my wanton noises, but Nick added the bass clef to our melody. Despite his obvious size, the sensation of him pulling nearly out and pushing deep inside was surprisingly pleasant. No, more than pleasant. It was erotic.
I ran my fingertips over his shoulders and back, feeling the way his muscles tightened and released, tightened and released.
The buildup to this orgasm was slower, the chugging of a freight train up a hill.
Tighter and tighter my body wound. The crest was nearby.
Nick’s thrusts came harder and longer. We reached the other side of the hill, and the train sped down the track.
His growl echoed throughout the air as he filled me to overflowing.
For a few moments, we lay there, together in the tangled sheets, waiting for our breathing to return to regular. Finally, Nick arched his back, looking down at me. “Are you…?”
Arching my neck, I kissed his lips. “Two.”
He grinned. “Never before?”
“Just the one time by myself. But honestly, it was something but nothing compared to these.”
He pulled out.
I immediately missed the closeness.
Nick rolled from the bed and stood. Our juices glistened on his still-erect cock.
Holy shit.
I stifled a laugh.
“What’s so funny, senora?”
“I’m glad I didn’t see you before…you’re…well, it would have scared me.”
Nick smirked. “I fit inside you perfectly. A puzzle meant to be together.” He disappeared into the bathroom. When he returned, he was wearing his boxer briefs, and he had a warm washcloth. “Let me.”
I flung back the sheet, revealing my nakedness. There was something about the way he was tending to me that made my heart swell. Soon, he was back in bed, his arm wrapped around me. My head was on his shoulder. I lifted my face to see him better. “Nick, I really am happy.”
“That’s all I want.”
“Jasmine asked if we’d go to her house on Christmas Eve. A feast of fishes.”
“Seven fishes.”
I playfully slapped his chest. “How does everyone know about this but me?”
“You haven’t had the honor of experiencing a Luciano Christmas tradition.” He rubbed gentle circles on my back. “If you don’t want to go to their house, I’ll tell el Patrón I’ll watch over our territory while he’s up north.”
“Does he need you to do that?”
“Why?”
I inhaled. “Because if you can go, I’d like to go.” My smile returned. “Like Maria said, we’re starting over.” I kissed his chest. “We’re making new memories.”