Chapter 23 Caterina
Caterina
Sunshine is creeping in around the bedroom curtains when I wake very late in the morning.
Like the music last night, my head is pounding.
A shot and two cocktails, I was so sick last night by the time Armando drove us home.
I’m a lightweight. It takes me a moment to place the sound I’m hearing.
It’s Alessio and he’s… humming? I’ve never heard him so cheerful. It makes me smile.
“She lives,” Alessio drawls, carrying over a tray when he notices I’m awake. Such an incongruous image, my scary mafia man carrying a silver tray instead of a gun. How long has he been watching me sleep?
“Alessio, I’m glad you’re safe. I was worried last night.” He’s trying not to smirk. He was one man against two, but Alessio was the one holding a gun. “What happened after we left with Armando?”
“Lots of talking, nothing to worry about.” I’m not sure why he’s lying to me. Probably trying to protect me from things I wouldn’t truly wish to know.
“Did you get sick?” Embarrassed, I nod. “I’m sorry I wasn’t there to hold back your pretty hair. Better now?” Another nod. “Good. You should eat,” he says, uncovering the tray. There are eight pieces of toast covered in butter and strawberry jam along with coffee. The coffee is still hot.
“Is that my knife?” I ask, noticing the gift from my brothers tucked under the plate.
“Had to use something to spread the jam,” he answers, seemingly amused by my question.
I could point out there are proper butter knives for that but my knife is spotless regardless. “Did you prepare this for me?” I ask, touched by the gesture.
“Well, the cook made it. I carried it upstairs.”
It still counts in my book. “Where is that poor girl they had with them?”
“She’s resting in a guest room on the main floor last I checked.”
“I should go see her,” I say, starting to rise. “She’s bound to be frightened and-”
“You will eat and drink some coffee, Caterina. It will help with the hangover. You can visit Matilde later.”
Matilde, such a pretty name for a girl trapped in a horror story.
An exchange student from Sicily, she was nabbed by traffickers last week.
I can’t imagine what she’s gone through.
If those men were preparing to do what I think they were, I hope Alessio did kill them whether he’ll admit it to me or not.
Sipping coffee, I agree to my husband’s orders, not wanting to quarrel.
I can go see her in a little while. Who would’ve thought I could feel so happy experiencing my first hangover?
Who would’ve thought he’d bring me breakfast in bed?
After taking a couple of bites of toast, I return to the coffee.
The caffeine will hopefully give my brain a kick-start, and it’s not like I’m hungry enough to eat eight slices of toast. I study my husband as I sip. “You look tired.”
“Many late nights lately. I’m used to it,” he replies, sitting on the bed beside me and taking a slice of the toast for himself.
Embarrassed that Bibi’s taunting got to me, I hate that I made it another late night for him though I was enjoying our first date.
Wearing my new sexy dress, I was surprised how empowered I felt.
It was a thrill seeing the way his eyes drank me in when we arrived.
Perhaps his strength helps me find my own.
I still can’t believe what he did to me in that back office or how bold I felt preparing to return the favor.
The interruption wasn’t exactly welcome but helping Matilde was far more important.
My brow furrows when I note the black velvet jewelry box hiding under a folded napkin on the tray. I didn’t notice it what with being preoccupied by toast and coffee and Alessio. “What’s this?”
“A gift.”
“For me?”
“Who else?”
My heart speeds up. Alessio has given me many pieces of jewelry since our betrothal, but this is the first time he’s here beside me when he gives it. It makes it extra special and, for once, I’m eager to see what he’s chosen for me.
The hinge swings back, and there's a gold chain inside with an unusual charm attached, a perfect facsimile of a human canine dipped in gold. “It’s, um… why a fake tooth?”
“Because my kitten has teeth. And it’s not fake,” he says, selecting another slice of toast.
“Who…”
Something dark and disturbing flashes in his eyes and my words dry up.
What had he said the night of our betrothal?
‘An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth, a bride for a brother.’ It had made me supremely uneasy then, but Alessio stuffs the toast in his mouth, licking jam off his thumb, and his dark look passes.
I know who I married but, perhaps for this morning, I’d rather let it be.
He’s assigned sentiment to it which makes the gift a thousand times more meaningful than any previous gift he’s given me.
“I love it,” I declare, pulling my hair to the side and wordlessly indicating that I wish for him to fasten it.
He does, softly kissing my bare shoulder when it’s done, and I know it’s not just the gift I love.
He is a monster but nothing like what I feared when I learned of our arranged marriage either.
He’s been patient - patient for a man like Alessio - and gentler with me than I could’ve even dreamt of.
He’s protected me at every turn. He’s waited weeks for me to be ready when I expected to be raped on our wedding night.
I’m sure he’s tired of waiting and I am, too.
“Alessio…” I whisper, setting down my coffee on the tray and lying back upon the bed. “I’m ready now.”
“Ready for wha-oh! Shit!” I giggle helplessly as he hurries to right the half-empty coffee cup after understanding dawned and had him tipping it over.
Gazing up at him, I toy with the necklace. “I don’t want more coffee or toast this morning. I want you. All of you.”
His momentary clumsiness vanishes as he quickly sets aside the tray and crawls over my body, leaning down to capture my mouth. “You’re certain?”
I nod, afraid to open my mouth in case my courage might flee.
It’s enough of a response for him and he kisses me, slow and deep, igniting a hunger inside me no breakfast can satisfy.
I sink deeper into the mattress, loving how strong and warm his body feels above mine.
My hands explore yet again, all those muscles and scars I’m learning by heart.
Soon, my breath grows short with excitement, and I pull his shirt over his head.
He rucks up my nightgown, helping to slip my panties off.
He’s still in his pants. They’re a different pair from the ones he was wearing at the club last night.
I decide not to focus on that. His erection grinds against my pussy, the friction driving me mad. I focus on the desire he awakens in me.
Slipping a hand between us, Alessio tests my readiness for more. He chuckles. “You’re soaked. Not with period blood this time, I hope.”
I should smack him. Instead, I helplessly writhe beneath him. “More, Alessio. I want it.”
“Have you been taking your pill every morning like a good girl?” All the exploring we’ve done and he can still make me flush so easily.
I nod, and he gives me a dark grin. “That’s good because I’m going to come inside this tight little pussy soon.
I can’t wait.” My flush deepens as I spread my legs in welcome.
The hiss of his zipper is followed by the rustling of clothes and then he’s pulling my nightgown over my head. “These sweet tits are all mine, aren’t they?” he rasps before covering a nipple with his mouth, giving it the perfect amount of suction to have me moaning.
“All yours,” I whimper, trailing my fingers through his thick hair. I feel like I might implode with this need I have for him. With both of us naked, he works his way down from my breasts to my belly and then lower. “No, I want you to…”
“Let me give you pleasure first, Caterina. I’m not sure what the rest will be like for you. I’m not sure how well my restraint will hold when I sink into you at last. Please, let me give you this.”
He’s actually pleading to do it and how can I say no to that?
As he starts licking my pussy and teasing my clit, hurtling me toward a release, I know I’ve made the right choice this morning, giving in to what we both have been building toward.
Even if it hurts, I won’t regret taking this step with Alessio.
But, after I come with a loud cry as he laps at my sex and my hands nearly rip the hair from his scalp, my body still tenses for what’s next.
“Relax if you can,” he murmurs, kissing my throat and sucking lightly until a fresh wave of lust crashes through my apprehension.
His blue eyes shine hotly as he stares down at me, spreading my legs so he can settle fully between them.
I feel the head of his cock nudging my folds.
The piercing at his tip is cool and unyielding, but his flesh is like molten fire.
“Deep breath and try to relax your muscles, Caterina.”
I obey his command as he pushes forward. I’ve become accustomed to his fingers inside me, but there’s no denying his cock is longer and thicker. “Alessio…” I squeak, squirming away from the relentless, driving possession but wanting it all the same.
“So good. I’m almost in, kitten. That’s my girl.”
No, it’s nowhere near ‘almost in’ but his tender words make it better, and I can see the concentration in his features as his body invades mine and claims it as his territory.
He’s trying hard to be gentle, and I am stronger than either of us knows.
Biting back the urge to cry out, I take the pain and take all of him.
“Oh, fucking hell,” he groans once I suspect he’s fully in. “So goddamn tight and perfect.” But, when he glances up at me, his beautiful eyes fill with worry as he assesses my expression. “Fuck. How bad is it?”
“Not bad.”
“Don’t lie.”
“Fine, it’s bad,” I admit. “But it’s also good.”
“That makes no sense unless you get off on pain which you don’t.”
No, I don’t. “Stay still for me. Let me get used to you. Did your first time hurt?” I wonder aloud. He shakes his head, trying not to laugh at my na?ve question. “Well, this hurts but it’s… nice.”
He gives me a quizzical look, but it’s true.
I tentatively rock my hips as Alessio stays perfectly still.
An erotic jolt rockets through my veins.
I rub my hands along his strong arms and shift my hips, and it sends tendrils of excitement streaking to my center.
A huff of disbelief escapes me, and I flick my eyes up to meet his. “You can move now.”
He does but oh-so-carefully at first. I bury my face in his neck, fighting the strange urge to giggle over his concerned countenance in spite of the pain.
The mechanics of it are what they are, but there’s something so bewitching about this, the way our bodies are joined as one and our hearts beat so close.
Before long, his gentle thrusts no longer signal pain for me. They’re pleasant, but I know I’m not going to come. The experience is too new, the possession too raw. Based on what he prefers when I take him in my hand, I suspect he’s not close to coming either. “Go at your pace now so you can come.”
“Are you sure?” he grunts. If my heart hadn’t already melted for him, his agonized expression would finish the job.
“Yes, I want you to… fuck me, Alessio. Fuck your wife. Make me yours.” I’ve heard that word all my life but rarely said it or even thought it. The way it clearly stirs my husband makes me decide I’ll say it more often when we’re in bed together.
“Fuck, yes. Fuck-fuck-fuck…” he chants as his hips start moving faster. “Tell me this is okay, Caterina.”
“Okay,” I gasp, unable to say more. Drawing another deep breath, I close my eyes, expecting agony.
It’s not agony exactly. In fact, it’s kind of…
hot. The feel of him sliding along my inner walls, the slickness of our bodies, the slapping noise of flesh meeting flesh and the scent of sex in the air, it turns me on just as he has from the start.
And the way he talks in bed, it’s another thrill, another discovery I hadn’t expected.
“So fucking tight, the way your pussy swallows my cock, Caterina. You’re such a good girl taking me so well.
I love knowing this pussy is all mine. I’m going to come in you so deep and you’re going to fucking take it all.
Fuck, the way you feel is fucking amazing. You’re mine… mine… mine!”
With an answering moan, I find myself bucking my hips to meet his thrusts, not minding the pain, wanting to chase down every ounce of this moment and savor it.
A switch is flipped and Alessio responds to my wild abandon with his own.
He slams into me harder, pushing me up the bed, robbing me of my breath while growling hot and filthy things in my ear in between biting and sucking on my nipples and throat.
God, he’s like the three-headed wolf, a fierce animal marking every inch of my flesh. And I love it.
But, when my head bangs against the headboard, his hand is instantly there, cradling my skull and taking the abuse instead. The rough and the tender, a surprisingly intoxicating combination. I love every bit of this even as my poor pounded pussy whimpers in protest.
Just when I begin to wonder if I can take anymore, he stiffens above me, and there’s a telling jerk deep inside as I feel the odd sensation of him coming inside me.
He grunts my name savagely, but it’s somehow sweet to my ears, and there is nothing between us at this moment.
As we float back to reality, his harsh breathing slows, and he’s careful not to crush me.
His brow is sweaty and so is mine. I can’t stop smiling even though I know simply walking is going to hurt for the rest of the day. “Caterina?” he whispers, concernedly.
“We did it,” I whisper back, laughing like a lunatic with relief.
“We’re going to do it again,” he assures me with a devilish grin. My mouth falls open, and he amends his words. “Not now. You’ll be sore for a day or two at least. Let’s shower.”
I am sore, and there’s blood on the sheets, but it’s easy to forget that when he carries me to the shower just as he did yesterday morning and washes me from head to toe. I relax under the hot water, trusting his powerful hands to take care of me, not to hurt me.
And, as he continues, the unspoken words rise up in me - I love you.
“Don’t,” he says, harshly.
My eyes fly open to see him staring at me, gauging my mood and thoughts. “Don’t what?” I ask, feigning ignorance.
He shakes his head and doesn’t reply, and I know he’s not ready to hear those words from me. And, him saying them back to me? I’m as likely to travel to the moon as hear those words from him.