by Marian Tee
Looking down at her bare feet, Vivian mumbled, “When he practically threatened me about my IOU, he probably thought I’d get mad, but I didn’t really care. At the back of my mind, I was thinking, at least he was doing something about what he wanted. I know it’s bad, but I couldn’t help comparing him to my dad, who blamed everyone but himself for how his life turned out.”
When Vivian fell silent, Maggie was at a loss for what to say. “Viv...” She knew the kind of childhood Vivian had, with her on-off father, who had acted more like an overgrown child than anything else. She could see where the attraction lay because of that, but was that enough reason for Vivian to risk everything on a marriage?
“Did he get you to sign a pre-nup?” Maggie asked abruptly.
Vivian’s lips quirked. “Did you really believe there was a possibility he wouldn’t?”
Maggie sighed. “You’re right, that was a stupid question. And of course you signed it, but were the terms fair at least? I mean, what if he—-” She caught herself in time before saying anything negative.
“It’s okay, Mags. I know ours isn’t exactly the template for the perfect marriage, and to answer your question, yes, the terms were fair. More than fair, actually. It was more like an employment contract, and I get a financial incentive—-” Vivian rolled her eyes. “That was the term they used, for every year I stayed married to him. I had his lawyer change that. It was pretty insulting.” She paused. “Other than that, I only asked for one other change, and that was that I’d have the right to see Eula—-”
“His daughter?” Maggie asked, surprised.
Vivian nodded. “If for whatever reason we had to file for a divorce or whatever, I wanted visitation rights. I just...I just wanted to make sure she would never have any reason to think I’d abandon her—-”
“Like your father did,” Maggie finished, “when he left you and your mother.” With a heavy sigh, she crossed her arms over her chest and looked at Vivian square in the eyes. “Well, that’s enough drama for now. I just have one last question for you. Are you certain this is what you want to do? Because if you feel you need to get out of it, you still can.”
Vivian slowly shook her head. “I know what I’m doing is insane. But Mags, it’s just that – ever since he came into my life, he gave me a reason to look forward to the next day. Even before I found out who he was, he made me happy and excited to wake up because I knew my life wouldn’t just be all about going from one cleaning job to another. I don’t want to let that feeling go.”
Watching Vivian speak, Maggie realized she had never seen her friend this happy, and it was both an incredibly touching...and terrifying sight. “If this is what you want,” she said gruffly, “then we need to hurry up.” Pushing Vivian towards the marble bath at the center, she said, “If your guy’s the control freak you say he is—-”
“He is,” Vivian confirmed.
“Then you need to take your bath now because we’ve just under two hours to make you pretty.”
THE WEDDING WAS A PRIVATE ceremony held at the banquet hall of the hotel where Vivian and Maggie had stayed overnight. The reception area outside the hall was crawling with paparazzi, everyone hoping to be the first to introduce to the world the woman who had been able to bring Luca Valencia back to the altar.
A red carpet had been rolled out over the banquet hall’s mosaic floor, and although it was just a short walk to make it to where the officiating judge and Luca waited, her knees still quaked under her skirt, and Vivian’s face felt like it was about to crack.
It didn’t help that among the small group of individuals invited to attend, Vivian only knew Eula and Maggie. Everyone else at the wedding were Luca’s closest friends, all of them billionaires with their respective wives in tow.
Luca had asked her if she wanted to invite anyone else, and she had shaken her head, too shy and even somewhat ashamed to let him know that aside from her roommate, she had no one else. Making friends was not easy when one was too busy earning a living.
Whatever you do, just don’t trip, she whispered fiercely to herself. She took a deep breath and tried to take a step forward, but she couldn’t.
Her panicked gaze flew towards where Luca stood, and as if her fear had somehow communicated itself to him, the billionaire slowly turned to face her.
Oh!
Today, Luca was dressed more elegantly than usual, replacing his dark suits with a white formal jacket and a silk dress shirt. But what really stunned Vivian was his oh-so-handsome face, where it appeared Eula had drawn a crooked mustache over his upper lip using lipstick.
She remembered the last time they had talked and what she had asked.
Can you do me a favor? Can you please make yourself, I don’t know, a bit uglier?
When she gazed at Luca’s handsome face again, his somber expression had not changed, but the gleam in his eyes had her swallowing back a laugh. Oh, oh, dear, he had really done it. He was a far cry from ugly still, but he was also just a little bit less than perfect.
More than that, she knew he had done something so ridiculously silly – something utterly unusual for someone like him – for her.
Her fears were washed away, all her doubts and anxiety – they disappeared completely and Vivian took one step forward.
What she was doing might be crazy—-
She took another step forward.
But it also felt right.
Luca reached for her hand and drew Vivian close to him. He smiled down at her, and she smiled back dazedly.
His hand squeezed hers. “Ready?”
She squeezed his hand back. “Yes.”
The rest of the ceremony proceeded in a colorful, heart-thumping blur, and Vivian was privately thankful that Maggie was there to record everything on her phone. The only thing she could remember was the part they exchange ‘I dos’ and, of course, the kiss.
She had expected him to give her a conservative peck on the cheek, but instead he had cupped her face and given her an amazingly deep, scorching-hot kiss—-
With tongue!
The mere memory had Vivian blushing, and at that moment Luca joined her inside the master’s bedroom of his private plane. He took one look at her face and asked, “Anything wrong?”
“N-nothing?”
Luca grinned. “Liar.”
“I’m n-not.” But she could feel her cheeks reddening even more as she spoke.
Moving forward, he watched his bride fidget in front of the vanity mirror and repressed a smile at how obviously nervous she was. Vivian was still in her wedding dress, a long-sleeved lace and silk concoction that he had personally picked for her. It had emphasized her generous curves to perfection, and with her roommate artfully styling her hair in a twist of curls, the sight of her had Eula whispering to him that ‘Vivi looked like a princess.’
He agreed, and right now looking at her, Luca thought, Mi principesa.
My princess.
Vivian held her breath when Luca came to a stop behind her, and she tensed when she felt his fingers graze the back of her neck. Their eyes meeting through the mirror, she heard him ask huskily, “May I?”
Chapter Ten
At Vivian’s nervous nod, Luca carefully undid the row of buttons of the dress, his blood heating with every added inch of skin revealed. He touched her elbow, and Vivian understood his cue, moving up from the chair. She was trembling under his touch, and while it did make Luca want to be gentle, it also whetted his desire for her. The baser, more primitive side of him responded to it, making him want to devour her even more.
Slowly, Luca peeled the dress from her body and down her arms, and Vivian shivered as the dress caressed her skin on its way to the floor. When he took her hand and drew her towards the bed, she followed him in a sensual daze. Her heart was beating madly again, and she could barely breathe as Luca made her lie back on the bed.
He loomed over her for a moment, one knee bent on the bed, staring down at her with fiercely possessive eyes.
“Mi pr
incipesa.” His voice was rough and velvety at the same time, and another tremor racked her body.
As he slowly unclipped the front clasp of her bra, Vivian remained still while her mind raced with thoughts of what would follow. It was sweet torture, knowing what would happen but not knowing how it would feel. When she felt the cups of her bra fall to the sides, revealing her breasts, she couldn’t help gasping—-
“Beautiful,” Luca breathed. Her embarrassment heightening his arousal, he moved down and took one pouting pink nipple into his mouth. He began to suck, tenderly at first then hungrily. Her whimpers, soft at first, gradually became louder, filling the room, and he growled, moving to her other breast and doing the same. He felt her arch against his mouth, her fingers driving through his hair.
“Luca.”
He rose up, kissing her full in the mouth, and his blood burned as she kissed him back with untutored passion. He undressed himself without breaking the kiss, and although it took longer than usual, he managed it.
And just in time because he wanted her so badly by now, all he could hear were her cries of need—-
Vivian moaned in protest when Luca tore his mouth away, but then she felt him kissing his way down her body, and she gasped instead. Down and down his mouth went, pausing on her belly, and she jerked. His hand settled on her upper thighs, clasping them tightly before pushing her legs open, and she stiffened. “L-Luca?”
His head lifted. “Trust me?”
She swallowed. “Y-yes.”
His head lowered back down, and she closed her eyes, consciously making an effort to relax herself. But then his tongue lined her sensitive flesh, and she buckled with a moan, the piercing pleasure completely taking her by surprise.
“Luca. Oh God, Luca.” Her head began to toss and turn on the pillow, her fingers clutching the silky sheets as Luca’s intimate kiss continued to play havoc with her senses. When his tongue entered her, she cried out, unable to believe that she was really experiencing this kind of kiss. She couldn’t help looking down, her gaze seeking his, a part of her wanting to be sure that it was truly happening—-
Another gasp escaped her as she stared down at his dark head between her legs, all the while feeling his tongue thrust in and out of her—-
It was really Luca, kissing that part of her body.
Her senses reeled, and she fell back down on the bed as something imploded inside of her. The feeling was indescribable, overwhelming to the point that for one moment it defined everything that she was and would be.
And then she felt him sucking her as she came, drinking her cum, taking it all in, and her nails dug deep into his skin as her pleasure reached its peak.
“Lucaaaaaaa!”
As Vivian came against his mouth with a scream, Luca licked her one last time, moving his tongue leisurely against her flesh before moving up. Bracing his arms on the bed, he settled himself between her trembling legs and gazing down at her, he grated out, “I’m going to take you now, Vivi.” Brushing the wet strands of her hair away from her face, he asked in a rough undertone, “Si?”
She stared up at him, lips still swollen from his kisses, green eyes clouded with desire, and whispered, “Yes.” He didn’t say anymore after that, his jaw only hardening as he slowly nudged his length against the sensitive triangle between her legs. Vivian tensed and caught her breath as she felt the tip of his erection enter her.
Inch by inch, he filled her, and her nails dug deeper into his back with every movement. She could feel him filling her, and when he finally penetrated her completely, breaking through the barrier of her innocence, a cry of hurt escaped her—-
“I’m sorry, cara,” Luca gritted out, the sound of her pain wrenching something inside him. He forced himself to keep still, knowing she needed to adjust to the way their bodies were now joined. While Vivian didn’t know the kind of pleasure that awaited them, he did, and the knowledge made the waiting even more tortuous, causing beads of sweat to appear on his forehead.
When Luca finally felt the tension gradually leave her body, he tested it by withdrawing an inch, and Vivian reacted immediately, her eyes flying up to him. “L-Luca?” Instead of answering, he kept her gaze pinned on her as he plunged back in. He saw her eyes widen and her lips part.
“Luca.” But this time, she breathed it with a tinge of shock and wonder, and Luca knew it was time.
Vivian couldn’t help clutching his shoulders when Luca began to move in and out of her at a steady pace. She had always wondered why some people were able to throw their lives away just for the pleasures of sex, and now she knew. Every time Luca sank his length into her, it was like she had a taste of heaven, and as his movements became faster and wilder, it was like heaven had also become much, much closer.
Luca’s hands moved under her body, clasping the cheeks of her bottom as he angled his thrusts. This time, he went so much deeper into her, and with every plunge of his length, it would rub against the sensitive nub of her flesh, making Vivian gasp.
She had thought that there would be no greater pleasure than what his thrusts were already giving her, but this—-
Oh God, this—-
And then she could feel it again, those feelings that had once taken over her body, rising and rising, and Vivian moaned.
“L-Luca!”
The way her voice caught told Luca that she was close to coming for the second time, and wanting to experience the same thing with her, he moved even faster, and their bodies began to rock against each other. Taking a grip of her hair, he kissed Vivian, his tongue thrusting inside her mouth the same time he plunged his length into her.
The simultaneous possession of her mouth and body was too much for Vivian, and she cried against Luca’s mouth as she shattered at the strength of her orgasm.
“Luca, Luca.”
The way she sobbed his name triggered his own release, and with a growl against her lips, he came inside of her, filling Vivian’s core with his heat. Her arms wrapped around him, tightening, and he kissed her harder even as he reached for her legs, wrapping them around his waist so he could spill all of his seed into her.
When she opened her eyes, it was to realize he had carried her into the shower, which – for something that was in a private plane – was still bigger than what she shared back at home with Maggie.
After making sure the water was just the right amount of hot, he gently lowered her to her feet under the pulsing jets of water. He began soaping her and she closed her eyes, savoring the tender caress of his hands.
Luca was surprised when Vivian took the soap from him, her eyes telling him she wanted to return the favor. Seeing the way her cheeks burned, he told her in amusement, “You don’t have to, cara.”
She said stubbornly, “But I want to.” And so she did, starting with the sexy, muscular panes of his back and chest, which were easy and even exciting enough to clean. But when it was turn to touch his length, she hesitated—-
“You don’t have to force yourself,” Luca said teasingly, seeing her fingers freeze mid-air.
She lifted her chin. “I’m not.” Her fingers circled him, and to her shock, she heard Luca hiss. Her fingers tightened reflexively, and his body tensed.
When her gaze flew to his in question, Luca managed a strained smile. “I can’t help it, Vivi. I still want you very much.”
Oh.
Swallowing, she whispered, “I w-want you, too.”
The words fed his arousal, but Luca forcibly stomped it down. “I appreciate hearing that, cara, but you’re still too sore.” He reached for between her legs, stroking her lightly, and she tensed. “See?”
“But—-” Her gaze moved to the rigid proof of his need. “What about you?”
He raised a brow. “What about me?”
Biting her lip, she said awkwardly, determinedly, “I want to please you.” Her gaze rose up to meet his. “Please?’ Her hand touched his chest, and Luca breathed hard. “Teach me?”
Ah.
In one moment, the seduce
r became the seduced, and Luca found himself surrendering to her sweet command. Taking her small hand into his, he made Vivian wrap her fingers around his length. He taught her how to stroke him, how to caress him, and she did so eagerly and passionately. The combination was too much, and with a rough growl he came in her hand like a schoolboy.
There was no feeling like it, seeing the way his gaze glittered with need at her touch, and when his large, powerful body shuddered against hers as he came, Vivian almost felt heady with power.
How could someone like her give someone like him such pleasure?
Maybe it was nothing extraordinary, maybe it was simply chemistry or she was being too naïve, but for Vivian, it wasn’t just sex. It wasn’t just physical pleasure. It was...a promise, a reason to hope despite the truth.
The truth that she had always known, despite everyone thinking she didn’t.
Even Maggie thought she couldn’t see there was a catch, but she did.
Luca had turned off the shower and was toweling her dry now. After, he carried her out of the shower, and she closed her eyes and snuggled against his strong chest. He laid her down the bed, pulling the covers over both of them after closing the lights.
Drawing his new wife into his arms, Luca reflected broodingly on the fact that after his ex-wife, he had never experienced the inclination to spend the night with another woman.
And yet here he was...
She shifted in his arms at that moment, and Luca glanced down at her in the dark.
Vivian turned towards him, whispering, “What are you thinking about?”
“Nothing,” he lied.
She nodded against his chest.
“And you?”
The truth, Vivian thought, which was that when one was too used to being disappointed, it was far, far easier to understand motives that weren’t all too pure.
The truth, and that was Luca Valencia had always been searching for the right woman to marry—-
