4. Carlo
Carlo
“ U h, uh. Where do you think you’re going?” I snake my arms around her. Pulling Olivia back into the nook she’d created in my arms. Was she really trying to sneak out of bed? What the fuck was that?
“I have to go home.” She sweeps her eyes to the sun, waking up the Chicago skyline with strokes of gold.
“Why?” I could have made the question fancier and beat around a polite bush, but I am not that guy. I need the answer to one question. Her forehead wrinkles so I cut even deeper to the chase. “Is someone waiting for you?”
“No, it’s nothing like that.” When I exhale, she narrows her eyes at my relief. “Seriously. Do you really believe I would have spent the night with you if I had someone waiting for me at home? Waiting on Christmas?”
“Maybe not. But people do things for strange reasons. So, why are you trying to leave before breakfast? And don’t tell me it’s because you have somewhere to be.”
Olivia sighs. “I don’t. And I have no plans today.” She cuts her eyes away again. “I just thought you might.”
“I do. Made them the moment we met. They involve getting to know you.”
She nibbles on her bottom lip. “Look, you don’t have to do all of this.”
I take her chin and angle it up until her eyes meet mine. “Do all of what?”
Her eyes drop again. “We both know that this was just a one-night stand. I didn’t expect it to go this far, but we had a good time.”
“And?”
“And now, Christmas is over, and I need to get going. You don’t have to worry about feeding me. I don’t expect you to take me out today. I just need to get my stuff, and I’ll get out of your hair.”
I take her wrist in my hand and place her palm over my heart. “Feel that?”
“Carlo, please.”
“No. Feel it. I’m not joking. Tell me if my heart is racing.”
She sighs and leans her forehead against mine. “I can’t tell.”
“Then feel this.” I take her hand and put it over my cock. “It’s as hard as the first time we met. Just because you’re in my arms. Not because you’re naked in my bed.”
Her hand squeezes me involuntarily. She pulls it away and smacks my chest. “Stop that. It’s not funny.”
I raise a brow. “Does it look like I’m laughing?”
“Carlo, last night was amazing. I can’t deny that. But this isn’t my life. This isn’t a place for me.” She waves her hand around the room, nodding at the view of the city from my floor to ceiling windows that some people would kill for. Hell, I’d killed for it. “This isn’t how I live. I’m a simple girl living a normal and very boring life.”
“Ah, now I understand. It’s not about my money. It’s about how I earn it.”
Olivia frowns. “What are you talking about? I never said anything about your money.”
“No, you didn’t. But it’s there. The same way the mafia is. So, let’s get it out and over with. I work for Nicos Gataki—”
“—and I’m not judging you for that. Yesterday, I worked for him, too.”
“Right.” I kiss her forehead. She is defending me and doesn’t realize it. We both know what she did was a far cry from my work. “Working for him, for my family, means I do what they ask and when they ask. And sometimes, the job gets bloody. It’s who I am. I can’t change it, and I wouldn’t want to. I didn’t choose this life; it was dumped in my lap by my father’s choices. But that doesn’t mean I’d walk away from it.”
“I didn’t ask you to. But it’s not a life I want—”
“Because you’re afraid. I get it. But I would stand between you and danger. I would never let anything happen to you. The only reason I’m bringing it up is because I want us to get this shit over with. You have a right to know what I’m asking you to sign up for. After today, we won’t be discussing this life. I don’t bring my work home and this shit will never touch you. As far as you or the world knows, you’re involved with the head of security for the Lionsbridge shipping company.”
Her hand cups my cheek and the softness in her eyes nearly unravels the barbed wire twisted around my heart. “I don’t want that.”
No, instead of unwrapping it, her words twist the barbs deeper into the flesh. I nod. Shrugging out of her hand, I sit up and lean against the headboard. “I understand.”
“Do you? Then understand this. I don’t want you coming to me, pretending to be something you’re not. If your hands are bloody,” she wraps hers around mine. “Then we’ll wash them together. If you have cuts when you come home, then I’ll help you bandage them. My fear is about the day when you won’t come home.” She looks down at our entwined hands. “My mother was a workaholic who spent most of her time consumed by her job. I’m used to being alone. But I don’t want that anymore. I also don’t want to get used to having someone in my life and then having him violently ripped away.”
“We had one night. Do you really want to throw it away before we even give it a chance to see where we could go from here?” Olivia looks away but I don’t release her hands because I am not letting them go. I am not letting her go. So, I use our fists to raise her chin. “I can’t promise you that my life will be long or short. But then neither could a teacher or an accountant. That decision is not in any of our hands. The only promise I can make is that if you give me a chance, give us a chance, I will make sure that our life together is beautiful and exciting. I won’t be a nine-to-five husband. But I will be an all the time lover. And I’ll be yours.”
Olivia rolls her eyes. “O.M.G., I did not expect you to be so corny. You constantly surprise me.”
I shrug. “I’m not a poet. I’m just a man who knows who he wants.”
“Carlo,” she gasps.
“I want you. Wanted you the first moment I saw you. I opened the door to show you into the office, but then you looked up and smiled. And that was it. I was done. And that’s not corny.” I pinch her ass for that snub but make sure to rub the spot, cupping it for good measure. “There’s nothing corny about a man being knocked to his knees.”
“It absolutely is, but in the best way.” She grins up at me and damn it all, my corny ass heart melts.
Her brown eyes darken with worry. Taking a deep breath she adds, “I’m sorry, Carlo I’m not there yet.” Oh God, is this what love is? She could lift me higher than a skyscraper and then let me plummet. “But,” she cups my cheek again, and I nuzzle into her palm like a cat getting stroked. “I’ve never felt a connection like this before. I’ve never, ever jumped into a man’s bed like this. Never had a one-night fling—”
“—It’s not just one night.” I correct her.
She nods. “But I didn’t know that before I came with you. Like you, from the moment I saw you, something pulled at me and wouldn’t let go. I don’t want to let go. I know I should. I know why I should, but…”
I lift her off my shoulder, roll on top of her, and say, “I’m not letting go.”
“I know,” she sighs. “And I’m not either. I can’t walk away from something that feels so right. Not without giving it a chance. Giving us a chance.”
My heart thumps, and my dick twitches. “What about your rules?” I ask.
Olivia’s eyes widen. “Fuck the rules,” she whispers before wrapping her arms around me and pulling me down for a kiss.
I kiss her slowly, savoring the taste of her lips. Her tongue dances with mine as her fingers travel over my shoulders and down my back. “You’ll stay?”
“Yes.” She lifts her head and presses a kiss against my neck.
I groan into her hair. “Fuck, Olivia. You don’t know what you’re doing to me.”
“Show me,” she whispers.
I draw back. “You don’t have to ask me twice.” I don’t waste a single second. I kiss her and slide inside her again. Her soft body welcomes me, wrapping around me like a warm blanket. Her warmth lassoes me as her muscles grip me.
“Carlo.” She moans as I thrust inside her.
“My name on your lips is the sexiest sound I’ve ever heard,” I growl against her neck. Thrusting deeper and pulling back only to plunge in again.
“You feel so good.”
“Wait, it gets better,” I hiss.
“Promises, promises,” she pants.
“You’re right, I promised to show you how it feels to be with me. How it feels to have me inside you, stretching you, owning your pussy.”
Olivia moans, and her eyes roll back in her head.
“That’s right, I own this pussy now.” I curl my fingers into her hair, and tug, tilting her face back, baring her neck. I bite down on her exposed skin, branding her. “This pussy belongs to me, and I will take it when I want. Have it however I want. It’s mine now.”
“Carlo!” she screams as her pussy quivers around me.
“Fuck yeah, I like that. Scream my name.” I order, filling her to the hilt and adding a corkscrew to taunt her clit.
“Carlo, please.”
“Please? You want more?” I slow down and pull out.
“No,” she cries.
“No? You don’t want me to take you?”
“I want you.” She arches her back, lifting her ass higher, and I tease her with the tip of my cock.
“Do you want me, Olivia?”
“Yes, I want you,” she answers, her breathy voice seductive in the early morning light.
I plunge back in, filling her, and she moans. “You have me, baby. I’m inside you. Deep inside you.” I thrust inside her again, and she moans. “Can you feel me, Olivia?”
“Yes.” She writhes underneath me, and I capture her hands in mine. Pushing them above her head and into the mattress. “Yes,” she repeats.
“Then tell me, Olivia. Tell me what you feel.”
“ You , filling me,” she whispers. “ You, taking me, Carlo.”
“Who do you belong to?”
“You.”
“You’re fucking right.” I kiss her hard. Then, there is no more talking. The only sounds are those of flesh meeting flesh and her moans as I claim her. She might not think this is love, but her body says otherwise.
A few hours later, we shower and dress. We go to her apartment to get some more of her things. She has pictures to edit and more work to follow up on, but I’m not letting her out of my sight. I’m not a caveman. I’m not opposed to her working. I know how much her business means to her, and I want her to have it. I just want her to be safe while she does it. My security system is the best, and it is all linked to my phone. If anyone touches a hair on her head, I’ll know, and they’ll pay.
I keep her in my bed or in my arms for the next two weeks. We fuck, and talk. We laugh, and fuck some more. I share more than I should. But when she asks a question, I answer it. She doesn’t want secrets between us, she wants to get to know me. The real Carlo Gataki, not the one I have to hide from the world. There is no hiding from my woman. My woman. Shit feels good to feel, to think, to say . Feels even better to have. Being her man makes me even taller than my six foot four inches. I love everything about her. Each new revelation is a coal into diamond discovery.
The only drawback, the only fucking one, is she still hasn’t told me she loves me too. How much fucking longer? How much more of my heart do I have to bleed out? I could tell myself it’s enough. Enough for me to have her. I’ve fallen so deep that I’ll never be able to claw my way out. But that doesn’t make it easy to let go of my dreams.
I dream of her saying she loves me, of us marrying and starting a family. Of a future. But if that doesn’t happen, then at least I have her. I have my woman. That’s all that matters. I am determined to show her that I can make her happy. That she’ll be safe and loved with me.
“Olivia,” I call out as I enter our place. She’s taken over much of my space in the Sindicate Towers even though she still hasn’t moved in. Still fucking holding back. “I’m home. Where are you?”
“In here,” she yells out.
I find her in my office. “What are you doing?”
“Finishing up some editing for the day.” She stands up as I make my way over to her. “How was your day?”
“Better now.” I sit down in my leather chair and pull her onto my lap. “Did you miss me?” I ask, rubbing my hands up and down her back as she straddles me.
“Maybe.” She leans into me, her arms wrapping around my neck as her mouth brushes against my ear. “How much?” I growl, my fingers digging into her hips.
Olivia giggles. “A lot.”
My cock jerks, and I flex my hips to alleviate some of the pressure. Olivia rises, and my fingers flex, my hands trying to keep her in place.
She drops to her knees in front of my desk. “You always take care of me. I want to take care of you.”
She unbuckles my belt and pulls my pants down to my ankles. My dick springs free. Olivia takes me in her hand and licks her lips. I shudder. “Olivia,” I groan.
She swirls her tongue around the tip, before licking down one side of my shaft and up the other. “Tease,” I grunt.
She smiles up at me, her brown eyes dancing. “Is it teasing if I plan to deliver?”
“Let’s find out.” I thread my fingers through her hair and draw her to me. “Suck me.”
Her tongue darts out, and she licks the tip before drawing me into her mouth. Her eyes never leave mine as she sucks me deep. I tighten my grip on her hair and thrust my hips, filling her mouth. She takes it all, her lips stretching around me. “That’s it, Olivia,” I growl. “Love me.” I mean the lovemaking, but the deeper meaning leaks out with my precum.
She freezes. Releasing me with a pop. Lifting her eyes, she holds mine and says, “I do.”
The words so simple, so soft are a shot gun blast in the quiet office. I jerk out of the chair so fast it slams into the windowed wall behind it. Pulling her to her feet, I demand. “Say it again.”
“I love you, Carlo.”
“Oh fuck.” I crush her against my chest. “Baby, I love you so much.”
“I love you, Carlo. You make me so happy.”
“I promise I will do that every day,” I whisper into her hair.
“I’m counting on it.”
“Good, now let’s get married.”
She pulls back and searches my face before rolling her eyes and slapping my chest. “Carlo Gataki, do you know how to go slow with anything?”
“What the fuck for?”
I raise a brow and wait for her answer. She stands there, her mouth opened, and then she grins. “Okay.”
“Okay, what?” I ask, wanting to hear the words.
“I’ll marry you.”
“Thank fuck…” I wrap my arms around her again. “Thank you for not making me wait. I would have waited forever, but this is amazing.”
She chuckles and shakes her head. “How could I say no, to a man who’s so excited to marry me that he forgets to pull up his pants.” We both look down at my dick, standing and celebrating between us while my pants cover the floor.
“Just one of many reasons why you can’t say no to me. I’m crazy about you, Olivia. And I’m not ashamed to say it. I’m also not ashamed to say it while my pants are down.”
Olivia laughs as I pull my pants up, buttoning and zipping them. “Now, let’s go—” I tug her behind me.
“Where are we going?” Olivia laughs.
“To get your ring. I would have had it ready, but I figured you’d want to pick it yourself. Plus, I had no clue.”
“Carlo, we don’t have to get it right now.” She waggles her brows, “We could, you know, um celebrate first.”
It is tempting. So tempting. I want nothing more than to slide into her body and take the gift she is offering. “You know I’d love to bury myself inside you, but I won’t be satisfied until I have the whole package.”
“Are you sure?” she asks with a smile.
“Olivia, I’m dead serious. I’ll be damned if you don’t walk out of there with a ring on your finger and a license in my pocket. It’s been too long already.”
“It’s only been two months,” she protests.
“Exactly,” I agree. “Too fucking long.”
Taking her hand, we leave the apartment. Has it only been two months? Two months that have changed everything. Taken me from a restless lonely life to a life full of meaning and hope. With someone to love and be loved by. Shit, she was right, I am corny as fuck. But sometimes, there are no other ways to describe our feelings. Feelings I never thought would bubble up inside me like a shaken bottle of Champagne. Looking at my woman’s face, I see the same effervescent emotions brimming in her eyes. I squeeze her hand. I don’t need to be corny. Don’t need words at all. We love each other. Some people might think it is fast or unwise, but we know our hearts.
The elevator doors open, and we step out and into our future.