Chapter 51
MARLENA
The ride-share driver pulls up to the front gate and lets me out. I see the guard come around, looking like he’s seen a ghost. He tries to talk to the driver, but the car is already pulling away. I show the guard my app, as I select five stars, and the man just shakes his head.
“The boss is looking for you,” he says.
I check my texts and see that Francisco has answered. I wonder why I didn’t see the notification earlier, but then realize that the phone is set to silent. I know I’m in trouble now. Francisco didn’t explicitly tell me not to go wandering around, but the plethora of bodyguards is a good clue.
I hurry into the compound with the guard at my heels.
I’m trying to think of all the excuses I can muster, that seeing Dad’s grave was important, that Brandon needed to get away, that I couldn’t find Francisco to ask for his permission, but they all seem to pale in comparison to the threat of death at Carlo Andretti’s hands.
I walk up the front porch steps, and every eye I meet is simultaneously relieved and afraid. I’ve never seen anything like it. I don’t know what to expect, but then I see my personal guard on the sofa, nursing a broken nose. He doesn’t meet my eyes, and I know that he’s in trouble because of me.
“I’m sorry,” I say.
He doesn’t respond.
“I know I shouldn’t have left. I realize that now,” I try.
I actually like the guy. His whole job is keeping me safe, and I’ve made that extremely difficult for him.
I feel bad, and that only compounds the guilt that’s burrowing into my stomach.
I’m not used to this, having security following me around, but that’s no excuse either.
Francisco comes in the front door and catches sight of me. We stand there for a heartbeat, gazing at each other from across the room. It seems like neither of us are prepared for this reunion.
“I’m sorry,” I begin.
Francisco grabs me by the arm and leads me back to his office.
I half expect him to yell at me, but he doesn’t.
Instead, he locks the door and positions me in the middle of the room.
The place is trashed. There are books lying all over the place and broken glass scattered between them.
I wonder what happened, and if it had anything to do with me saying I was leaving.
I want to make things right, so I open my mouth to ask him if I can stay. But he interrupts me.
“Where did you go?” he asks.
“To visit my father’s grave,” I say.
“You know that was dangerous,” he says. I can’t read his emotions, and that makes me nervous.
“I know,” I agree. “I’m sorry, but I felt that it was important.”
“Marlena—” he begins.
“Francisco—” I try.
“I can’t say this plainly enough,” he says. I can hear an edge in his voice this time, and it’s frightening. I can see his emotions brimming beneath the surface now when he’s usually so contained. He’s giving me a glimpse behind the tough mafia boss persona no one gets to see. “You can’t run away.”
“I know,” I attempt to placate him, but it does no good.
“I don’t want you to feel like a prisoner here.” He turns away, pacing slowly to the corner of the room before turning to face me again. “You are free to ask for an escort to go anywhere you want. But you have to tell me.”
“I—” I open my mouth to say ‘I know,’ again, but he surges toward me with a speed I’m not expecting.
“Don’t,” he commands. “Just don’t do it again.”
“I won’t,” I promise.
“Ever,” he demands.
“I won’t,” I swear. My heart is beating in my throat.
“I know that this isn’t the kind of life that you wanted. I know that I’m not the kind of husband you envisioned yourself being with,” he says, moving on to the next topic now that my repeated escape attempts have been addressed.
“But—” I attempt to smooth things over, eager to tell him that I’ve reconsidered.
“Just let me finish,” he begs.
“Okay,” I say on an exhale.
“This is hard for me. I love you,” he stops, as if he’s just dropped a bomb and is waiting for me to defuse it.
But I don’t. In fact, I pile on the fuel. “I love you too.”
“Then don’t leave,” he pleads, coming toward me with desperation in his eyes. “Stay with me. I promise I can fix this. I can make it all go away. We could be happy.”
“I want to stay,” I assure him. “I spoke with Brandon, and he agrees. He actually left. I don’t know where he went, but I promised him I would text him when it’s safe to come back.”
Francisco looks at me as if I’ve just given him a winning lottery ticket. He doesn’t believe me at first, but then the words sink in and he realizes that I’m serious. “You want to stay?”
“I do,” I insist, tears in my throat.
“Oh, Marlena,” he whispers, picking up both my hands and placing them on his chest.
“I love you,” I repeat, pulling my hands free so that I can wrap him up in a hug. Tears slide down my cheeks as I hold him tight.
He feels so solid, so masculine, so alive in my arms. This is all I’ve ever wanted. I don’t care about propriety, or what anyone else thinks. I may not have fallen into the best situation with Francisco being the Dom, but this is my life, and I cherish it.
We kiss, and in that moment, all of the boundaries between us dissolve.
He pulls me tight, knowing that we’re always going to be together.
Forget Brandon, forget Andretti, forget everyone who has ever tried to keep us apart.
We are two lost souls who have found each other, and that is all that matters.
Francisco doesn’t have to clear the desk this time. There’s nothing on it; all its contents litter the floor already. He shrugs his way out of his jacket, tossing it to the floor.
He grabs my thigh, hauling me up to the desktop.
I straddle him, digging my fingers into his tie to undo the knot.
He tugs it off, casting it away before reaching for my shirt.
I’m wearing pants this time, not a skirt that would be easy to push aside.
But he deals with that easily, undoing the clasp at my waist with nimble fingers.
I find a gun holster on his hip. He puts a hand over mine to protect me before unhooking his belt and carefully removing the weapon. He sets it down on the floor, not wanting to leave me for long enough to put it in a drawer. Then he pops back up to kiss me again.
We work our way out of our clothes, every moment we have to spend shedding fabric feels like a lifetime. He kisses me again and again until I finally let go of my guilt. We’re here together. All is forgiven. What’s left is a lifetime of happiness that we’re both eager to begin.
I spread my legs, pulling him against me. He cups my ass in one hand, using the other to caress my jawline. I reach behind my back to undo my bra, dangling it over the side of the desk seductively.
We’re several days into our marriage and we’ve yet to make love in a bed. The thought amuses me, and I laugh. He doesn’t even ask me what I’m laughing about before joining me. We pause for a moment to allow the desire to peak before coming back together with even more passion.
With only our underwear remaining, we press ourselves together, glorying in the sensations.
I drag my fingernails up his back, the muscles taut.
He slides my panties to the floor before shedding his own boxers.
Now we’re naked and starving for each other.
There’s almost no foreplay before he guides me down onto my back.
I gaze up at him between my legs, satisfied at long last. This has been a whirlwind few days, and I’m thrilled to finally put them to rest. Nothing matters anymore, as long as we’re together. And I want to be as fully and completely close to him as possible.
He fits himself inside me, sending my eyes rolling toward the ceiling. It feels so good, I can hardly stand it. I want to come, but at the same time, I never want this to stop. Francisco completes me in a way that no other man has.
In the midst of his ransacked office, we pour our hearts out to each other.
He thrusts into me with the energy of a much younger man.
I can’t get over how strong he is, and how terrified all the bodyguards are to cross him.
That kind of thing shouldn’t make me wet, but it does. It turns me on like nothing else.
Here I am screwing him on his desk again, while everyone else is walking on eggshells.
I can feel my body rising toward a climax.
The thoughts that stick with me are of strength and power, of a messy kind of love that transcends all else.
I want him deeper, so I wrap my legs around his ass and push up against his cock.
He reaches the core of my body, that bright spot that no one else is allowed to touch. I can feel him dig and recede, dig and recede, again and again until I’m left with nothing but pleasure.
Francisco owns me, and I own him. We’re forging a bond between us that will outlast everything else. I don’t know how I ever thought I could leave him. The man is a part of me, the best part of me.
We come together at the same moment, our bodies convulsing. He collapses on top of me, wrapping his fingers in my hair. His dick tightens and then pulses inside me rhythmically. Waves of ecstasy wash over me from head to toe. The lights dim. The world spins a little faster on its axis.
I grab his hair and hold on tight until the magic dies down.
This is it. We have nowhere else we have to be.
He extracts himself delicately, as if he’s afraid of hurting me.
His cock slides out and I’m left feeling empty, but I promise myself that it won’t be long until I get him to fill me again.
This isn’t a one-off like it was last time.
We’re married now, and there are an endless number of days and nights we can spend together.
I relax into the desk for a moment, my naked body shimmering with the after effects. He kisses my navel and each of my thighs. I smile up at him, reading a depth of love in his eyes so great that it scares me.
He begins to gather his clothing, pulling his pants on one leg at a time. I come up on my elbows to study him without looking for my own pants. Damn, he’s beautiful. I think I might turn into one of those possessive mafia wives who won’t let any other woman even look at her man.
“I think it’s time for me to move my things into your room,” I say.
“We can move them now,” he replies.
“Or we could forget our things for the moment, and just go to bed,” I suggest.
“Even better,” he answers.
We only put on enough clothes so that we can make it through the house without alarming people, before collapsing into Francisco’s bed to start our lovemaking all over again.