CHAPTER NINETEEN
I sla quickly turned away, and I froze.
“What’s going on?” Rocco’s voice was calm, though abrupt, as he cinched the towel around his waist.
“I asked Isla to pick something up for me,” I answered, clutching the box.
He peered at it and said, “Thank you, Isla, you can go now.”
She immediately walked out, closing the door behind her.
I frowned. “You’re mad at her?”
“I’m not mad, Adelina. I’m just naked.”
“Ohh.” My eyes scanned over him with the towel low on his waist. His firm, muscular body was positively mouthwatering and so incredibly sexy.
Rocco waved his hand to regain my attention with an amused glint in his expression. “What did Isla pick up for you?”
I flicked my eyes at him and hunched my shoulders. “I-I asked her to replace my birth control pills. I might’ve missed a day or so. Uhm, I’m taking one right now. I would have gone to pick it up myself, but I said something dumb to the press, and now they think I’m hiding a pregnancy and are showing a clip of me stuttering and stumbling like an idiot.”
The room went quiet, and I peered over at Rocco, hoping he wasn’t too upset that I hadn’t been careful. He turned away from me, his shoulders shaking.
“Are you okay?” I asked, alarmed.
He turned his head back, laughing. “You’re so weird, Adelina.”
My brows furrowed. It wasn’t the response I expected. “Because I’m upset I humiliated myself, or because I tried to replace the pills? That’s weird?”
“It’s weird that you think I’m a tyrant,” he said, walking over and cupping my face. The touch of his large hands sent a warm, tingling sensation to my skin. His expression was so compassionate that my heart skipped.
“I merely asked. I’m not mad at Isla or you. Deep breaths, and yes, please take the birth-control pills, Bella.”
My stomach fluttered, loving his deep, affectionate tone when he called me Bella. However, taking the birth control was not as straightforward as before. If we had a baby, Rocco would have money to use toward his film studio. So, I had to ask. “What if I don’t take them?”
“Adelina,” he drawled out.
“Wait, hear me out. If we have a child, you’ll have the money. We’re having children anyway. Right?” Children were an essential part of our arranged marriage agreement.
Rocco sighed in frustration and shook his head. “A child shouldn’t be a solution to a problem. It’s a human being that deserves to be born in love.” He sounded so romantic, but I didn’t want him to give up on his dream.
My eyes met his and held. “I won’t resent you for asking me to have a child right now, Rocco. Children were always part of my life’s plan. If Jacob can’t have kids, I’m the last in my grandmother’s line, and my grandfather needs a legacy.”
He placed his hands on my shoulders, smiling. “That’s the Adelina I’ve come to know and like. My world shakes, and you’re ready to stand at my side to hold it up. You don’t know how rare that is, and I appreciate it immensely. But truly, what do you want right now? No limits. Say what comes to mind.”
I squinted. Have I ever been asked that question? Sadly, I’ve never felt I had options, so I have no clue. How sad is that? “What do I want? Nothing. I have so much.”
“Aside from that, what life do you see for the two of us? Say the first thing that comes to your mind,” he asked with the confidence and excitement that heroes determined to take up a quest in fantasy books had. It was one of the many things I most admired about him.
I bit my smile and said what I had always dreamed of, but in the images now, Rocco was with me. “I see us traveling the world together, seeing more, doing more. I’d paint and illustrate…You’d create many films, and I’d get to see your creative process. Having sex, eating well. I don’t know.” I covered my warm face and peeped at him through the gaps of my fingers as I laughed.
He grinned broadly and took my hands. “You do know.”
My pulse sped up, but I shrugged. “I know dreams. Living is much more complicated than that.”
He scoffed and shook his head. “That belief will hold you back forever. Nothing you said is impossible for the two of us, and you didn’t mention children.”
I opened and closed my mouth. “I don’t know what to say about kids.” I never actually fantasized about having children.
“Then that’s our answer. We’re not ready.” Rocco picked up the box, and we went into the bathroom. He handed me a cup of water, and I took the pill.
“Even with a bunch of staff on hand, children change priorities. My grandfather knew that. Life…Life’s about faith, Adelina. My grandfather lost his faith in me. It’s like he reverted back to years ago when I left the company. We fought about it. I don’t know why he went back on his promise with this last-minute will, but he won’t get his way.”
I followed him out of the bathroom. My jaw tightened. “He shouldn’t. I can’t believe he tried to take your succession. I thought he loved you.” I thought he loved me.
Rocco took my waist. “Actually, that part I understand. He did it for me.”
I broke away and snorted, “For you? Come on, Rocco. He’s taken away your succession as head of your family and given it to a committee. He even took away how you can use your inheritance. It’s diabolical.” I plopped on the edge of the bed, simpering.
He came over and brushed the pucker between my brows. “Sweet. I like you defending me, but my grandpa was helping me. It might look cruel, but this is the game. He wanted me to show everyone what kind of man I am. He loved me, but he didn’t want me to become like my father.”
“What do you mean?”
“My father expected it all to go easy after he married a wealthy heiress. He had three children he didn’t want so that he could receive my grandfather’s money. That’s the deal he took, and the same one grandfather offered to me today. No one stopped my dad from becoming a movie director but himself. He refused to work for it. He instead lived in the houses my mother inherited and spent millions on a lavish lifestyle, leaving his kids to be raised in boarding school. Dad may resent my mother, but he failed the test of a man who can head the Marini Empire.”
It was clear Nico resented having children at the meeting.
I grimaced. “I didn’t like how he spoke to your mother.”
“I had a word with him after you left,” he said, snarling. “He blames her for choosing to do nothing. I’m not him. I’m not afraid to fight for my future. Grandpa did it after his father made poor investments. So he wants to see what I can do and do it in front of our whole family. I already overruled some of his power grab at the emergency board meeting tonight. Gunnar says we will crush the estate in court. I will win. That’s it. There’s no other answer.”
Rocco was the most confident man I’d ever known. It was remarkable how much he believed in himself. Still, I couldn’t help but ask.
“What if you lose?” I chewed my lip.
He jutted his chin. “‘What ifs’ are not definitive.”
“Seriously, Rocco. Losing happens. You can’t win everything,” I pointed out.
“Our shipping company employs thousands of people all over the world. They count on a confident, steady hand. That’s what my grandpa instilled in me. I spent time at every job, worked as Chief Executive Officer, and I know what we need.” He believed in himself. Failure wasn’t something he’d been allowed to consider. However, I had experienced it. And I didn’t understand why we should make things more complicated with everything on his plate.
I sighed. “Having a child earlier than planned doesn’t mean you’re giving up.”
He tightened his jaw. “No. My children must come from love, or I won’t have them. That’s what I learned from my dad. I won’t resent my offspring. I need them to feel loved.” His voice caught, and his Adam’s apple bobbed.
This was the Rocco I held all night after his grandfather passed. He finally broke the armor that his family expected him to carry all the time.
I went to him and wrapped my arms around him without a thought, only the desire to soothe him because he was hurting. He sighed approvingly and closed his arms around me, holding me tight. I snuggled in with the visceral urge to curl up in his arms like when we slept together. Rocco had also become my comfort and safety. He stayed in my arms for a long while, and I silently held him. When I felt his tension ease, I shared my own thoughts about what happened.
“Luca didn’t lose faith in you. He was experiencing the weight of death, and he wanted to control what was beyond his reach. It was selfish, but I was there for that dinner. He loved you dearly and was so proud. Yes, he did say he wanted you to have children, but he was also fascinated by your work and your dream. And, for whatever reason, wanted us together.”
He pressed a kiss to my forehead. “That’s the easy part of it, Bella. He adored you. He said if I had your heart, I’d have all I’d ever need.”
“He had a way with words,” I mused and laughed, but my laughter turned into a sob. I missed him.
“Oh, mia bella , Adelina,” Rocco murmured. He pulled me tighter against his broad chest and held me, kissing the top of my head and whispering soothing words. “The only thing he got right was giving me you. With you, I can be.” He didn’t explain, but I could understand. His family, colleagues, and employees needed him to be a powerful, charismatic leader, but with me, he didn’t have to put on all the charm. That feeling of being special to him rose. My whole life, I wanted to feel like I mattered and not just for what I could do. It terrified me how much I needed it. I tried to push away and stop my feelings. But Rocco hugged me tighter and kissed my face and cheeks. He moved us to sit on the edge of the bed, pulled me to straddle his lap, and held on. Awareness shifted to our bare bodies touching, and everything shifted.
“Mmm, Adelina,” Rocco kissed me, and I parted my lips.
My hand moved over his chest, feeling the strength and power in his broad, solid shoulders down to his defined abs. It was bolder than anything I’d ever done: the branding of my touch on his skin. But I felt possessive; I wanted to own him, take more of him as my own. He moaned and shuddered under my hands, his cock thickening between us.
“I love the feel of your hands on me,” he whispered. He kissed me deeply, then down my neck; I clutched his hair, fingers sinking into the thick strands, then pulled his head back, bringing his full lips to my mouth, and we kissed. His tongue teased mine, then slid down my chin to the hollow at my throat. He kissed down my arms and across my stomach; his soft presses on my skin lingered, marking me.
He flipped me over and pressed kisses down my back, then over my ass, and I finally groaned. “Rocco….” It seemed too personal, but then he flipped me over again, and the softness in his gaze dissolved my protest. “I crave the feel of your beautiful, sexy body in my hands…trembling on my lips. Your deep blue eyes haunt my dreams…Let me take pleasure in you, my Bella.” I melted hearing his charming words. There was no denying anything to him. His hands reached my breasts. “Mmm… your skin’s so soft.” He caressed my nipples that had already stiffened to his touch. He moved me down on the bed, sucking a nipple into his mouth. “I love your tits.”
I breathed harder with my mouth open.
“I love it when you kiss me,” I whispered.
“I can’t get enough of you,” he whispered back.
He got me to stand and moved down to his knees, kissing my stomach and moving lower to nudge his nose against my sex; he moaned and then licked up my slit. It was so intimate. Heat surged through me, and I shuddered. “Ohh, my God.”
He grabbed my hips and dug in a tight grip, keeping me close.
“Ohh,” I sighed heavily.
“Take me where you want me, Bella,” he commanded.
I grabbed his head and pushed my hips forward, and pulled him to my pussy. He groaned and lapped me with his tongue, using hot, long licks, determined and oh-so-familiar strokes of my clit, making me wetter. “You taste so good.”
“Mmm,” I moaned heavy.
Rocco kept teasing, gripping my thighs tight as he rubbed his tongue through my hot folds and on my clit so passionately. My body throbbed and ached to come. I felt weak. “Ohh, Rocco, I’m going to come….”
He suddenly stopped and pulled back.
My chest heaved with a loud groan of frustration.
“I felt it too, Bella. You’ll come when I’m inside of you,” he said in a demanding, low tone. He stood, and I went down on my knees and took his cock in my fist, eager to make him lose control. I ran my tongue over my lips.
His jaw sharpened. “You want it, suck it,” he said in a low tone.
I opened my mouth, and he pushed it in, and I started noisily sucking on it hard.
Rocco let out a loud moan. “Fuck, that’s the fire I want.” He wrapped my hair around his hand and pulled. I gagged, then swallowed him to the back of my throat. His breath was heavy as he held me there, and I inhaled hard through my nostrils. I kept bobbing on his cock, running my tongue over it.
“Fuck, yeah,” he groaned.
My hands took over, holding it, and I sucked harder, hollowing my cheeks until he moaned loud. “Oh fuck…that’s so fucking good.”
Rocco yanked a fist full of my hair, forcing my head upward. Our gazes locked as he moved deeper into my throat. I struggled, and he eased back, pulling his dick out, and pulled me to my feet. He grunted. “Get on the bed.”
I sat down on the edge of the bed, still panting hard to refill my lungs. But Rocco was so eager. “I need to fuck you.”He placed my legs on his shoulders. “Mmm,” he grunted, then rubbed the head of his cock over my opening. “You ready for me?”
“Ohh, yes,” I moaned. “Fuck me, please fuck me.”
Rocco thrust in, and we both moaned at the drag of his cock pushing in and out of me. “Ohh, fuck, Adelina,” he said reverently. He rolled his hips slowly, and it was pure agony and pleasure. I moved my hips for more, and he started to move faster, finding a rhythm and pushing deeper with every thrust. The scent of our sweat and arousal in the air heated me more. He opened my legs and kept himself in as he laid down on top of me.
“Ohh, yes,” I moaned between heavy breaths, my legs wrapping around his waist. He squeezed my legs, and I lifted my hips to meet his strokes as he ground his cock in, sending bursts of pleasure in every hot drive through my body. Our eyes connected, and our gazes locked. There was so much feeling in his gaze that I fell into it; it was a surrender, and my body tightened. I could see his face, so beautiful, in lust and desire, so completely lost. It was too intense.
It’s too much . My conscience warned me. But I couldn’t look away. I writhed underneath him as he moved inside of me. I kept my gaze fused with his, locked in desire. My orgasm tore through me, and I cried out, my body shaking hard underneath him. I felt tears in my eyes and a rise of panic. It was like falling into oblivion; I convulsed, sobbing, losing complete control of myself.I wanted to shrink away, but Rocco called out. “Don’t hide, Adelina. Those tears are mine; I want them.”
My heart beat harder and too full; it swelled, and I couldn’t speak.
We stayed locked as he rolled his hips, sliding in and out of me, and tears rolled down my cheeks. Then he came, roaring, his whole body shuddering on top of me. It was beautiful chaos, and I absorbed it all. He gave that to me.
Rocco collapsed on top of me, my heart soared, and my arms closed around him to keep his weight and hot skin. The smell of his cologne, even his sweat, I wanted to possess all of him.
Our hearts beat wildly together.
“Let me see you,” he whispered as he lifted me up, and our eyes connected again—his bore in with a soul-deep intensity.
“This is who we really are, Adelina. Remember that. Remember us.”