CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
R occo lifted me off the sand and carried me back into the house. I snuggled against his neck and closed my eyes. Was being in love like being a newborn? I felt a need to be held and soothed. He lowered me onto the floor near the sunken bathtub when I opened them again. The dark wood panels beneath me were heated and kept me warm while he ran the water. The smell of lavender and herbs filtered over, and I turned my head to watch him add mousses that brought foam to the surface.
I let out a staggered breath, and his head lifted, his blue eyes piercing in and capturing me. The rush to my pulse and the tumbling of my heart into the unknown should have frightened me, but it didn’t.
His stare was absorbed and knowing as if he understood me in a way I didn’t. And to my surprise, no desire to escape came. Have I surrendered?
Lana Del Rey’s “Video Games” came on, and her ethereal voice filled the room. He came over and lifted me and carried me down into the tub, setting me between his muscular thighs. A warm wand moved over my hair, massaging it wet, and Rocco followed it with a cooling shampoo that his large hands rubbed into my long hair. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath. Who’d have thought a powerful man of an empire would want to do something so mundane? Glancing back over my shoulder, I peered at him. His happiness radiated, his gaze was soft, and a seductive smile appeared on his lips.
“I love this,” he said, as if he had plucked the thought from my head.
My heart skipped a beat. “What? Washing my hair?”
“You let me have you, Bella. That’s all I want.”
I shivered at his words and warmed in his pleasure. It was another submission, another surrender.
He rinsed my hair, lathered a sponge, and washed my back and arms. He moved his arms around me to my breasts and stomach, then dragged his lips down the back of my neck.
“Mmm, my sweet Adelina,” he purred and cuddled me and cupped me between my legs, opening me wider to stroke my clit.
“Ahhhh.” I moaned. It wasn’t only the pleasure from his intimate touches but his possessive claim of me.
“Mmm, I like that. Make that sound again,” he whispered deeply, kissing the back of my neck. I lifted my palm to rub the stubble on his jaw, humming at the feel of his hard body behind me, the soft hairs on his chest, and the erection growing between his thighs. I turned around and took the sponge, and he watched me intensely as I washed over him. I was still in awe that he was with me and my husband. It seemed like a dream, and I didn’t want to wake up.
Rocco took the sponge and finished up, then we both climbed out. He handed me a towel and wrapped another around my hair before drying himself off. I suddenly felt so weary and I was sure the adrenaline rush was subsiding. He’s fine. But danger had been near.
I touched my churning stomach and lowered my head. Did he think of me as he dove into that boat? But then I realized how selfish that thought was and felt annoyed at myself.
“Hey…what’s wrong?” He clasped my face, using his other hand to trail his fingers tenderly down the side. It fascinated me how attentive he was to my every emotion. It had me dropping my guard, telling him how much I worried.
“You scared me when you left. What if you were hurt—”
“I wasn’t going to get hurt—”
“You could have.”
He lifted my chin, his eyes glittering. “But I didn’t. I don’t live in fear of what-ifs. I’m sorry I worried you, Adelina. It wasn’t my intent.” I could see that he was being genuine, so I wrapped my arms around him and hugged his waist. This is my happy place. He kissed my lips and forehead—my favorite kiss.
“We should dry this hair of mine,” I said, reaching for the brush as he did. He tugged off the towel as I grabbed the blow dryer. Having him brush through my hair felt decadent, and it was definitely something I could get used to. As was this view back inside the bedroom.
The floor-to-ceiling windows had a full view of the beach and sea. The sun had fallen below the horizon, but the rays were still shimmering on the water, rippling on the azure surface. The final scene before the light lowered below the horizon. A silk brush down my arm made me shiver, and I looked up at Rocco, holding a black scarf in his hands. I eyed it, curious. “What’s that for?”
“Your eyes,” he said, then padded over to a drawer and removed four black silk wraps. “These will tie you down to the bed. I want to wrap you up like my present.” His words were playful and light, but this was new territory. My wrists and legs would be bound, and I wouldn’t be able to see. I’d be entirely at his mercy. I’d seen bondage used in movies and online. It had me curious as I had been before when he dominated me.
Rocco brought out cords with hooks that could attach to the cloud bed, but he stopped before putting anything in place. He’d only do it with my consent.
I slid the soft satin over my skin and tingled. “What will you do?”
“Whatever I want for as long as I want.” His low, authoritative tone sent a thrill down my spine.
My head turned to look at him, and his expression was dark, carnal. It was a part of Rocco he rarely showed, and the tension in his body charged the air between us. He used the term ‘present.’ “You think of me as a gift, Rocco?”
“I think of you as mine. Binding you is a fantasy I’ve had about you for a while. But it’s up to you. We try it. If you say a safe word, I’ll stop immediately. We go back to our new routine: we fuck. Eat. Fuck again until we fall asleep.”
I grinned and rubbed the fabric between my fingertips. The eye sockets had extra padding. “So complex, this calendar of yours.”
“Honeymoon calendar.”
Rocco wasn’t hiding anything, but what surprised me was my next thought: He won’t hurt me .
I stepped back and gasped. My free hand touched my chest, where my heart seized and then hammered. I felt Rocco’s hand on my back.
“What’s wrong?” His voice rose in alarm and concern.
“Nothing, I mean.” I flicked my eyes up to his. “I never thought I’d trust a man, but I trust you. You told me the truth even though it could have ruined things between us.”
“Lies ruin more.”
His gaze filled with sympathy, and that encouraged me to go on.
I nodded affirmingly. “I…I was born in violence and lived without control. There were times when I never thought I’d never make it past it. Sometimes I wished I didn’t.”
He took my hand.
“I’ve had therapy and healed some of my old wounds, but…sometimes I still struggle.”
He let go and rubbed my back. “Your nightmares,” he whispered, and I nodded. “I wish I could take them away, Bella.”
I exhaled long. “I know…I thought I’d never get close to anyone, even my husband. But I feel differently with you.” My words weren’t as straightforward because my mind was trying to process this change, but for me, it was huge.
“Can I hold you?” Rocco asked in a gentle tone, even though I could feel his visceral pull to take hold of me. His self-control brought on a feeling of calm.
I nodded, and he took my hand, sat on the edge of the bed, and took my waist to straddle his lap. He held me, letting my head rest against his warm body and heart. I felt safe.
“No one will ever hurt you again. I promise,” he whispered soothingly and kissed the top of my head. When I relaxed in his arms, Rocco suggested, “Let’s go have dinner.”
I lifted my head. “No. I want you to bind me.”
I felt the pulse of his hard cock against my stomach. It excited him, but I knew he was still reluctant.
My hand clasped his and I met his eyes. “I need this too. I’ve lived in fear of men most of my life, that they’d control or hurt me, like my father. My brother and Luca were the only male friends I ever had or I let myself get close to. I don’t want to live in that fear with you or keep having it myself. I want to know if I let go….”
“That I’ll be there to catch you.”
I bobbed my head. “Yes. That’s what I need to feel. I need to trust you.” Love could only come from true trust and I needed to know if I could be so vulnerable with my body to be able to surrender my heart.
Our gazes connected and fused. A smile appeared on Rocco’s lips, and my pulse sped. He was so gorgeous. “All right. We’ll try. If you need to stop, we stop…Can you give me a safe word?”
I gave him a nod. “Red.”
His eyes darted over my face, then returned to my eyes. “Good thinking, and thank you for trusting me.” He squeezed my waist, kissed me, and lifted me to my feet. “You should stretch; it’ll make your body relax faster.”
I followed his instruction, stretching my arms and legs like I did before a run. Then he came close and gestured for me to turn and face away from him. I felt the brush of his cock against my ass as the satin fabric went around my eyes. He lined up the eyepieces, and everything went black. “I can’t see anything.”
Anticipation spiked in my veins, and a flutter went through me. I felt Rocco’s hand on mine and my elbows as he guided me to the bed. He lifted me and placed me down on the mattress. I stretched my arms out, but I couldn’t reach the sides. He slid the fabric against my ankle, and I shivered.Then he tied it.
His hand heated the top of my foot as he held it. “How does that feel?”
What came to mind was different but not scary. I told him, “Uhm. Not bad.”
He moved over to my other ankle and bound it in place. “Is that all right?”
“Yes, It’s fine.”
“Good. Let’s see what’s more comfortable: hands over your head or outstretched.” He bound my arms to test how comfortable I was in both positions. I tensed more with my arms over my head but outstretched felt less confining.
“Outstretched,” I murmured.
I heard him let out a rough breath. Then I felt the silk on both my wrists. I was completely tied to the bed, and I couldn’t see. My legs were so wide open, so exposed. I tried to move and couldn’t.
“Damn, I’ve got to calm down. You’re so fucking hot naked.” His voice was hoarse.The binding wasn’t just about my control, but both of ours.
My body started shaking, and my breathing changed to pants.
I felt his hand clasp the side of my face. “I’m here, Bella. Take some deep breaths.”
I took a few, and slowly calmed as Rocco massaged my arms and legs down to my feet. I noticed he didn’t touch my breasts or pussy, where I wanted to feel him the most.
The room filled with Sisters of Mercy’s haunting, seductive croons of “Lucretia My Reflection.” Rocco was a man who loved to set a stage and cast me as his muse. He left me nude, spread wide and tied for him to use how he wanted. My body heated just thinking about it, and I shifted under the restraints in a way to test my limits. I could move my fingers and toes and arch my back, but I couldn’t move my arms or close my legs. My heart pounded against my ribs, and my breath rushed into my lungs as panic rose.
“Breathe, Adelina,” Rocco called, and I felt the heat of his hand on my ankle.
I sucked in the air to regain control of my breathing. Rocco waited, giving me silent support. I didn’t want to stop; I was too curious. Once I relaxed again, my awareness shifted to my other senses, heightened. I swore I could feel the weight of his stare all over my body, and a part of me wanted to hide. Then, I felt the mattress dip near my head, the heat of his breath on my neck.
“You’re so damn beautiful.” His voice was rough with lust.
My body heated, and my pulse and breath sped up as his tongue slid along my jaw to my ear. Then, I winced, feeling a sting. It was his teeth nibbling my earlobe. He licked over the shell and sucked the lobe between his lips.
“Soo fucking sexy,” he whispered and groaned.
I shuddered and moaned. “Mmm. Touch me.”
“I’m touching you, Bella.” But he knew where I wanted him to touch. My body ached already for more, and he’d only just started.
The mattress moved next to me, and I flinched at the brush of ice on my skin. I let out a loud gasp, shivering as Rocco moved it on my collarbone. He trailed it with his hot tongue, heating the cold.
“Mmm,” I moaned. My skin tingled, and I shivered; my hands tugged at the binding. His tongue trailed down between my breasts and circled my nipple, making it tighter.
“Mmm, Bella,” he groaned and closed his mouth on my breast, his tongue pressing over the hard tip.
I moaned and sucked in a fast breath; my legs and arms tensed, and I attempted to twist in the binds.
His fingers closed on a nipple and tugged, sending a sharp jolt to my throbbing clit.
My back arched, and I let out a whimper.
His mouth covered a nipple, and he sucked on it hard. The sensation coursed down to my clit. My inner walls clenched empty, and I bucked in the bindings, trying to lift under the intensity of his suckling, but I couldn’t. He kept sucking on one nipple and then the other. They began to swell and ache, and I squirmed. “Rocco. Come on…please.”
“Say your safe word, Bella.”
But I didn’t.
I felt his hands on my hips, and they squeezed.
“Stop moving,” he commanded. But how?
“Rocco,” I whimpered, shivering.
The cold of the ice and the heat of his tongue ran down to my belly button. His lips brushed a tease on my mound.
“Your skin is so pretty flushed, your pussy so wet, it makes me want to eat it,” he said darkly.
My heart lifted in his praise—I loved how he made me feel so desirable—then I felt his thumb press around the lips of my sex. I squirmed and moaned. “Ohh, ohh.” My breath came faster as he traced again, his breath heavy on my clit, and all I could think of was how badly I wanted him to touch it. I tried to move, but Rocco’s hands held me firmly, making it impossible.
His hands tightened on my thighs as his tongue stroked through my slick folds. The slippery, wet sounds made me hotter.
“Ohh my God,” I cried out. Then he tunneled his tongue inside, and I yelled and quivered, “Ohh fuck.”
I could come, and Rocco sensed it. He slowed down his pace, swirling his tongue around my clit, over and over. It was all too much, yet not enough.
I moaned loud, as I felt my pussy swell and ache in need. “Rocco, please,” I begged tugging hard on the bindings on my wrists.
He moaned. “Mmm. You taste so sweet when you beg.” He flicked his tongue against my clit and I moaned.
“Do you want me to stop?”
Yes. But I chewed on my lip.
He traced his tongue over my clit, over and over, lapping one side and then the other. I ached and swelled; it was painful, yet I’d die if he stopped.
“Ohh, my God, please, please, let me come… please Rocco.”
“You’re driving me crazy,” he got out between heavy breaths.
I squirmed, my hips straining for more. “I am? You’re torturing me,” I hissed.
He swatted my thigh. “Stay still, Bella,” he said in a deep, authoritative tone. And I felt another jolt in my clit. Holy shit.
He stopped, and I gulped air. “Please don’t stop.”
I groaned but could only lie there as he kept teasing me. Rocco stroked me gently, building the intensity with soft, teasing strokes of his tongue, adding fingers to trace my opening and stroke inside as he played. “You’re doing so good, Adelina.”
It felt good, but I wanted more so much more. My body warmed in his praise, and he didn’t stop. His pace slowed down, his tongue stroking through my saturated folds and on the sides of my clit.
Sweat broke across my skin, and my body strained as he kept up his light laps on my pussy, over and over, and all I could do was moan, shake, and pant. This is madness.
Tears stung my eyes, but he didn’t stop. He’s ruthless.
My inner muscles clenched and spasmed as I quivered.
I’m here to use as he wants. The thought came, and I trembled but stopped trying to break free. I lay there, my body vibrating as I panted and sobbed. “Please, Rocco.”
Rocco kept sliding his tongue as he stroked and sucked my clit. But he had possessed me fully. My inner muscles clenched and spasmed as I quivered.
“Fuck, that’s it, Bella,” he said with pure satisfaction in his voice.
I felt his hands on my ass and his mouth on my clit. He dragged his tongue back and forth, then sucked, and the climax coursed through me. It was so intense it felt painful. My body convulsed in his hands and the restraints, and I let out a loud scream in pleasure.
“Ohh, Bella,” Rocco said reverently. I felt the weight of his body as it covered me, the sweet soft head of his cock as it entered my soaked opening.
“Fuck me,” I begged.
He pushed his cock to the hilt, and my inner walls squeezed around him.
His moan was deep as he plunged his cock in. I could feel him hit my end as he pumped hard inside me.
“Rocco. Rocco. I don’t. Know. Ohh. Ohh, my God.”
The sensation was so overwhelming, and I was still coming; my climax shattered me. I shook and trembled as he kept on fucking me. His body was heavy, his breathing hard as he thrust in and out. I could still feel my inner walls clenching.
“Rocco, ohh,” I moaned his name over and over.
He roared between jagged pants, “Fuck, you make me come so damn hard.” His body shuddered above me as he pounded, and then he pushed in hard as he came. He rested on me for a few minutes, breathing as heavily as me. His body was drenched in sweat, his heart as fast as mine beneath him. Then, he pulled out, and we both moaned in ecstasy.
He climbed off the bed, removed my ankle binds first, and rubbed them.
I couldn’t move. Every muscle felt strained, and my body was still spasming.
Rocco’s fingertips dragged over my skin, keeping our contact as he removed the bindings on my wrists, then, at last, the blindfold. I blinked. My hand shook as I rubbed my eyes. His face was in view, and his pleasure blatant. However, I was a trembling mess. It wasn’t only from the intense climax. It had to do with all the feelings, they overwhelmed me.
Rocco cuddled me and rubbed my back. “It’s going to be all right.”
“Is this normal?” I rasped.
“What do you mean?”
“Crying and shaking like this after. I honestly enjoyed it, but….”
“It’s a mental and physical adrenaline release. It can feel overwhelming when you turn over control after holding on to it so tight.” He kissed my forehead.
It surprised me how well Rocco understood what I was feeling after. It was like I’d gone through a battle with my body and him. But in the end, I surrendered, and that was when he gave me what I wanted. “You were hard on me.”
“I can be so much harder, Adelina.” His deep voice sent a shiver down my spine, and he rubbed a hand down my back, leaving it on my ass.
“Do you do bondage often?” I cringed inside. Rocco touching someone else so intimately made me feel sick. And I wasn’t sure I wanted to know or if I wanted him to think of me as special.
“No. Bondage’s intimate. It’s a place in my relationships I rarely reached.”
I lifted my head to peer at him. “Seriously? That’s hard to believe.”
“Why would you think that?” He wasn’t smiling but serious. I inadvertently offended him.
“Please don’t get me wrong. I’m not asking you about all your past partners. I don’t care about them. You never hold yourself back from anything. That’s what surprises me.”
He exhaled long. “Sex takes trust. I had to consider my public image first with every partner. What they’d tell the press.”
I hadn’t thought of him as trapped in his fame. That he had to worry his partner would sell his sex life to a tabloid. “I’m sorry, Rocco.”
He smiled. “I’m not. My partners shouldn’t have trusted me. I see that now.”
“Why not?”
“Because I didn’t care about them. I care about your feelings and loved watching you surrender to me.”
My heart swelled in my throat, and I snuggled against him, and he held me tighter. “I’m happy we did this.”
“That’s all I want, Bella. For you to be happy with me.”
I am happy with you, Rocco . I even think I’m falling in love with you.