Chapter One Drea
As you might’ve guessed, I’m that princess. And my knight in shining armor currently had his face buried in my pussy, which was a fairy tale ending if I do say so myself.
He’d slipped into my room at eight last night just as he was getting off post. Usually we weren’t so brazen to hook up in the house or on the property.
Just as he was about to get off duty, I’d sneak into his car and lay down under a blanket in the back.
Then he’d drive me to his apartment. It wasn’t ideal, but we’d been making it work for the last six months.
“Oh fuck!” I cried out as Marco’s tongue thrust deep inside me. My fingers gripped the headboard as I ground my hips against Marco’s face.
His oral skills were exemplary, and it didn’t take long before I was going over the edge.
After riding out my orgasm, I collapsed onto my back beside Marco. “Holy…shit,” I muttered, as my chest rose and fell in harsh pants.
Propping himself up on his elbow, Marco stared at me as he swiped my arousal off his mouth, causing me to shudder with desire. At what must’ve been the look in my eyes, Marco said, “I'd better get out of here.”
“No, stay and make me come again,” I protested as I swung a leg over his thigh.
Marco groaned. “But I’m supposed to be on post at eight this morning, and if I don’t shower, I’m going to smell like fuckery all day.”
“You can be late,” I replied, as I tip-toed my fingers up one of his thighs.
As I grew precariously close to his dick, Marco’s palm cracked playfully against one of my cheeks, causing me to hiss with pleasure, rather than pain. “You’ll be the death of me.”
I laughed. “Death by fucking. What a way to go.”
Cocking his brows, Marco asked, “Would you miss me?”
Surprise flooded me at the sudden seriousness of his tone. In the beginning, Marco had been the answer to my rebellious need. Then he became a fun way to pass the time.
And then in the last two months, he became something different.
Something at the moment, I was afraid to define.
“Of course I would.” With a tentative smile, I said, “More than you could ever imagine.”
Marco grinned. “You don’t give two fucks about me. Only my fabulous cock.”
“That’s not true!” I protested.
His agile fingers tickled along my ribcage, causing me to seize up. “Admit it, Caruso. You’re just using me for sex.”
Panting from his tickling, I huffed out, “No…I’m not.”
“Yes, you are.”
With a scowl, I countered, “Yeah, well, I haven’t heard any complaints from you.”
“Maybe I’m tired of being used as a sex object,” he teased.
Rolling my eyes, I replied, “That would be a first.”
“You know it was my lover status that attracted you.”
“You mean your manwhore status?”
Marco’s legendary bedroom skills were part of the allure of why I chose him. Wherever he went, women threw themselves at him, and he took advantage of that. That’s how I knew he would make losing my virginity legendary.
“Manwhores have feelings, too,” he argued.
“Oh really?” I giggled.
“Sometimes they want a woman to see them for more than their great body and pleasure skills.”
“Get over yourself, egomaniac,” I grunted.
“Can you really look me in the eyes and tell me that you feel nothing for me except horniness?”
“Marco–”
“I’m serious, Drea.”
Oh God. He was.
As I got caught in his hypnotic gaze, I couldn’t stop myself from blurting, “I’m falling for you!”
As my face grew warm from my declaration, Marco’s tickling abruptly ceased. His hands came to gently grip the sides of my face. “You are?”
Unable to respond with words, I merely bobbed my head.
“Well, fuck me,” he murmured.
Cocking my brows at him, I countered, “That’s what you have to say at this moment?”
“Excuse me for not being suave. You kinda jerked the rug out from under me.”
“Just forget I said anything,” I huffed before I started to roll away from him.
He rolled on top of me. Grabbing my arms, he pinned them above my head. I thrashed against him. “Let me go.”
“Not until we’re finished talking about this.”
“In my opinion, we’re done.”
Quirking his brow, Marco said, “You don’t have anything you want to ask me?”
My heart skipped a beat. “I…uh…” Swallowing hard, I finally asked, “Are you falling for me?”
When he shook his head, my heart clenched in agony. As I bit down on my lip, he dipped his head to lick a trail up my neck to my ear. “I’m already in love with you, Caruso,” he murmured into my ear.
Grabbing his neck, I jerked his head up to where I could meet his eyes.
“Seriously?”
“Oh yeah.”
“How long?”
“That day you asked for my help.”
My eyes bulged at his declaration. “Seriously?”
With a surprisingly shy grin, he said, “I’d had my eye on you for a long time.”
“I know. It’s just hard to imagine someone like you was interested in me.”
“Like you aren’t stunningly gorgeous.”
“Whatever.”
“It’s not your outside that hooked me, Caruso.”
“Is that right?”
Nodding, he tapped my chest. “It’s your heart.”
That aforementioned organ skipped another beat at his words. He was going to give me an arrhythmia if he kept it up.
With a goofy grin, I replied, “I like your heart, too.”
“That’s why I’ve been planning for our future.”
My smile faded. Hearing him speak of our future was almost more gut-wrenching than if he’d told me he didn’t love me. There was no future for us.
Not in my Father’s world.
“Marco, you know–”
Shaking his head, he countered, “I know what you’re going to say. That there’s no way Edoardo Caruso’s daughter can marry a lowly soldier.”
“You know I don’t think of you that way,” I protested.
“But everyone else does.”
“Then you should understand.”
“We can’t be together in Philadelphia, but that doesn’t mean we can’t be together somewhere else.”
I furrowed my brows at him. “What do you mean?”
“My father’s family is from Kansas City. My uncle said he could get me a job with the Dontelli family there. Maybe a job that’s higher ranking with more pay.”
Like his uncle, Marco’s father had been a Dontelli soldier until he’d been killed in the line of duty. His mother had sent him here to live with Vittoria because she feared for his safety in Kansas City.
After my silence, Marco gave me a sheepish look. “Look, I know it wouldn’t be easy for you to give up the way of life you’re used to, but we could be happy.”
“I don’t care about any of that.”
And that was the truth. My family’s wealth brought nothing but suffering. For a moment, I imagined actually being able to obtain Marco’s fantasy. He knew how much I adored art and wanted me to pursue a future with it. I could paint and maybe work in a gallery.
We could be happy.
A knock at the door sent me shrieking in horror and Marco diving under the duvet. I’d barely tugged the sheet over my breasts before the door unceremoniously flew open.
My heart sank at the sight of my mother’s perfectly coiffed form striding through the doorway.
Of course, it would be her and not Vittoria.
Since I was born, Vittoria shielded me from my father’s wrath and my mother’s indifference.
Although she would’ve given me a piece of her mind, she would’ve gotten Marco out without detection.
Disapproval reigned on her face at the sight of my unkempt form. “Andrea, why aren’t you getting ready?”
As I tried taming my sex hair with my hand, I countered, “Was I supposed to?”
“Didn’t Vittoria tell you last night?”
Shit. I’m sure she would have if I hadn’t put a Do Not Disturb on my phone and door. I froze as I debated about how to answer.
At my blank look, Mother rolled her eyes. “Your father requests to speak to you.”
Immediately, my stomach twisted. Nothing good ever came from my father requesting to speak with me or any of my siblings for that matter. “About what?”
“At your age, I would imagine it’s about your future husband.”
The mention of my arranged marriage caused my stomach to twist even tighter, making it difficult to breathe.
Just like I’d always known I’d have an arranged marriage, I’d also known it would be sooner than later.
Twenty-one was usually the sweet spot, and I was three months from my twentieth birthday.
“I’ll be down in thirty minutes.”
“I’d suggest making it as soon as possible,” Mother replied.
“Yes, ma’am.”
“And wear something demure, Andrea. Today is not a day for you to be headstrong.”
As Mother stormed out, Vittoria rushed in to help get me ready. With just one look at me, she narrowed her dark eyes. Stomping over to the bed, she wagged a finger at me. “While your mama might be oblivious, don’t you dare think I’m not aware of what you’ve been doing!”
“Vittoria–”
She shook her head wildly at me. “I agreed to look the other way as long as you didn’t bring it in the house.”
“I know.”
“Do you want to get me killed?”
“Of course not. I just–”
“Wasn’t thinking?”
“Maybe.”
Without warning, she started repeatedly smacking Marco under the duvet while a string of Italian curses rang from her lips. Flailing wildly in the tangled fabric, Marco ended up falling off the bed.
When he popped his head over the mattress’s edge, Vittoria gasped in horror. “Marco?” She whirled around to face me. “Marco is the man you’ve been seeing?”
“Yes, ma’am.”
After quickly making the sign of the cross, she murmured, “Dios mio.”
Although it was the worst possible time to do it, Marco gave her his signature smirk. “Aunt Vittoria, how nice to see you.”
Her expression turned lethal. “You wipe that fucking smirk off your face right now, young man! Do you have a death wish?”
“Not exactly.”
“If you’re fucking the boss’s daughter, you sure as hell do.”
When I started to open my mouth to protest, she jabbed a finger at me. “Don’t you dare say a word right now. Get in the bathroom and get ready as fast as you can.”
She then turned her wrath on Marco. “And you get dressed and get the hell out of here.”
Even though we were both adults, Marco and I obediently said, “Yes, ma’am.”
Before I could escape to the bathroom, Marco balled the comforter in front of his crotch and came over to me. “See you later, mi bellissima angela.”