by James, Delta
She walked over and made to sit beside him.
“No, Catherine—on my lap.”
“Fine,” she said, sitting delicately and reaching for the trolley.
The light tap on her hand made her draw it back.
“No, Catherine. I will feed you.”
“I don’t want to be fed.”
“Then you can go back and stand in the corner until I have eaten. When I’m finished, I will give you your spanking, followed by having your mouth washed out with soap and perhaps, depending upon how you act from this point forward, another spanking.”
Catherine inhaled deeply. “No, Marco, please?” she cried forlornly.
“Yes, Catherine. Before I claim your beautiful body again, you will get your mouth washed out with soap and be spanked to tears again. And this time, my mate, I will ensure that your spanking is harsh enough that you remember that minding me and behaving is a much better choice. Here, try the bruschetta. It is especially good here.”
He held up the bread and offered her a bite. She was hungry and knew the only way she was going to get any food was to allow him to feed her. She took a bite and sighed with immense pleasure.
“Oh, my God, that’s good. Wait, I can say that without getting my mouth washed out, can’t I?”
Marco chuckled. “Yes, my Catherine. You can also appeal to the Gods when I am pleasuring you.”
He offered her another bite and then popped the rest in his mouth.
He fed her the rest of their meal, always offering her the first bite and insisting she take at least one bite of anything with which she was unfamiliar or said she didn’t like to eat. She was full before he was but was content just to sit curled up on his lap as he finished. They’d shared half a bottle of wine, DeMedici of course, but only used one glass.
She nuzzled the hollow of his throat.
“Marco, can’t you just accept my apology and take me back to bed?”
“I could if I was not the mate you need. If I did not care for you and wish to see you at your best, then I would simply let you do whatever you want and just fuck you when the mood suits me.”
“Sounds good,” she said and made to hop up off his lap and make a beeline for the bed.
His hand reached out to stay her and brought her back to his lap. The thought that at least she was sitting on it and not face down over it did occur to her.
“Catherine, you wound me. I am not such a man. You are my fated mate and I will see you at your best... always. You were not raised in a pack and therefore do not understand. I will make allowances for that, but there is a baseline I will insist you recognize and abide by. That includes the use of vulgar language, losing your temper in front of others, and being unclothed when we are alone in our chambers.”
She looked at him incredulously. “You’re serious, aren’t you? You just expect me to fall into line and do what you say or else you’ll beat my ass again.”
He smiled benevolently at her. “No, my Catherine, I do not expect to you do anything of the sort. Yours is a wild and free spirit—one which I will cherish and never see squelched, but that does not mean you will not submit to my authority over you. I am worthy of your love and respect and will keep you safe and loved. When your behavior requires correction, I will provide it.”
She shook his head. “Do you hear yourself? What did you just step out of, some time travel machine? I don’t need you to keep me safe and loved. I can take care of myself and I have a life I love waiting for me back in the United States.”
Marco looked at her, his dark eyes starting to glow. “You have no mate; in fact, there is no man who has ever made a claim on you.”
“Because I didn’t want one. I was perfectly fine living my life the way I wanted and when I wanted to get laid, I found someone suitable and we enjoyed each other’s company.”
“And is that what you think this is?”
“Well, I’ll admit it was a bit more intense... okay, a lot more intense than usual and I wouldn’t mind spending more time with you provided you don’t spank me again. My ass still hurts.”
“So, when you told me that you accepted you were my fated mate and as such understood that when you misbehaved, you would be punished, you were lying to me?”
Catherine realized that she may have just backed herself into a corner. Why was he able to throw her so off balance and why did she care?
“No, I just... I can’t do this, Marco.”
His body lost its angry tension as did the look on his face.
“What is it you feel you can’t do, my Catherine? Answer me truthfully.”
“I can’t do this... this whatever this is. You just make me feel unbalanced. You throw off my equilibrium. I don’t like it.”
“Ah,” he said, nodding. “That is to be expected. You have not had a man worthy of your submission and so have withheld it. That was wise of you. But I am your mate. I take my responsibility to and for you seriously and it will always be uppermost in my mind. It may take you a while to learn and to settle in as my mate, but I will help you. And when you go awry, I will help you modify your behavior so that you can embrace all that our life has to offer.”
“I’m not going to make a life with you.”
Marco laughed. “Of course you are.”
He brought her face to his and kissed her softly but with intense passion. She felt him coax her mouth to soften and yield and accept the sweet gift he gave to her.
“I must apologize to you. It would seem that I forgot that to you this must sound very strange. Like something you have longed for all your life but feared would forever be denied you. You will need time to learn to trust that our way of life is better. I will help you learn and try to be clear about what I expect of you. But I will also always answer your questions or ease your concerns. But you must be honest and open with me.”
“Marco,” she started.
He kissed her again. “No, my Catherine. I will accept that the greater part of the fault for this latest misbehavior lies at my doorstep. Had you been born to a pack, you would have understood. You would have been raised to see yourself in your proper light. That you were not is something of a mystery, but one that can be remedied. I fear I was not clear before we rested and then overreacted when you were attempting to sneak away. For the record, even had you gotten outside the hotel, I would have found you before you ever left Florence.”
“You can’t just keep me in your hotel room.”
“Of course not. As soon as I can conclude the last of my business here in Florence we will go home to the villa. But between now and then I am going to insist that you remain here in our room. I believe your proud spirit needs to be redirected, not eradicated. As I feel that your latest misbehavior is as much, if not more, my fault as it is yours, I will forego your punishment if you apologize for using foul language and acknowledge that you now understand that you are my mate.”
“You can’t just expect me to give up my life,” she said, feeling as though she were losing the argument and uncertain as to how she felt about that.
“Not giving up your life. You will simply be building a life here with me and with our pack.”
“What pack? What are you talking about?”
He chuckled, the sound rumbling from within his chest. “Ah, that may require a longer, more detailed conversation. But it can wait for a later time. Do you want to apologize to me and acknowledge what you know to be true... that you are my mate?”
She shook her head, not trusting her voice.
“Catherine, you know it is true. I have haunted your dreams as you have haunted mine. You have heard me call to you. And when I do so, you feel it deep within you and every part of you wants to respond and yield to me. Will you lie to me... to yourself?”
“No,” she whispered.
“No, what—that you will not yield or that you will not lie?”
“You... you weren’t supposed to be real. You were only supposed to exist in my dreams.”
“
Is it not better to have me be flesh and bone?”
“No.”
“Once again your mind is in conflict with your body. For I am quite sure when I possessed you earlier, your body was very glad I was not just an apparition. Explain to me why you believe you would choose me to remain a mere specter,” he said quietly.
“Because in my dreams I could wake and you’d be gone. I could go on with my life as before.”
“But did you not choose to change the course of your life when you were injured? You have great courage, my Catherine, you have shown that you have the ability to change your destiny. What if all you have come through was only leading you to this greater path before you? The path you will share with me.”
“But you expect me to be some subservient, meek woman who does your bidding.”
Catherine was surprised as Marco began to laugh out loud.
“It’s not funny, Marco. Not to me.”
He stifled his laughter, but his eyes retained their amused light. “I adore you and believe you are capable of accomplishing anything you choose to do. But it is not in your nature to be subservient or meek and I would never expect that of you. You are wild and free, proud and fierce and I love you all the more for it.”
“But you’ve said repeatedly that if I don’t mind you, you’ll spank me.”
“Which I will, but I expect to have to correct you. Can you imagine a woman such as you describe being happy with me? As you have pointed out on more than one occasion, I am an arrogant, overbearing what was it you called me? Ah, yes, either a prick or a jackass. Both of which are probably apt descriptions but inappropriate. I would never want my mate to be frightened of me. A meek and subservient woman would never suit me. Besides, as you have now experienced, a good spanking often leads to intensely pleasurable feelings.”
“But you said I was to be naked when we are in our bedroom.”
“Yes, at least for a while. You are extraordinarily beautiful, my Catherine. Gazing upon your naked body gives me great pleasure and arouses me. Besides it makes you a bit uncomfortable and I believe will serve to remind you that you are not the dominant one.”
“So you just expect me to wait around in our bedroom until you join me, get a hard-on and fuck me?”
She had become relaxed sitting on his lap and the swat he landed between her legs, catching her sensitive lips and inflicting more than a bit of heat and sting was unexpected.
“Mind how you speak to me, my Catherine. Are you in need of another taste of soap?”
“No.” She started to struggle to get off his lap.
The growl that accompanied her trying to extricate herself from him stopped her cold and she could feel the pool of her aroused state begin to drip on his leg.
“No, what?” he asked calmly.
“No, sir,” she said sullenly. “Then what do you expect?”
“I expect us to be happy. What had you planned to do with your degree from Cooper? Do you wish to paint? There is a salon at the villa that has excellent light that we could easily turn into a studio for you.”
“I don’t know that I’m good enough. I had really thought I might try my hand at restoration.”
“If that is what you want, you can easily do that at the villa. I’m sure there are environmental concerns and conditions you would need to institute but we can do that. It isn’t that I don’t want you to have what you want. I merely want you to share it with me.”
“Really? You don’t want me to give up my life?”
He chuckled and captured her mouth with his. “No, tesoro, I want you to be happy and fulfilled. There are things I will need for you to do for me, such as act as hostess when we need to entertain, but you will have a large staff and can delegate much of the mundane work. In addition, I sit on several boards that deal with the arts. I haven’t a clue most of the time what they are talking about. I believe both our interests and those of the institutions would be far better served were you to undertake those responsibilities.”
The life he described didn’t sound so bad... especially if having sex with Marco on a regular basis was part of the bargain. “Really?”
He nodded. “Really. But I don’t want you to give up painting. It has been a part of you for most of your life and if nothing else provides you with an outlet for your creativity and brings you joy, does it not?”
“But I don’t want to be spanked. My ass still hurts.”
“And probably will for another day or so. If you wish to avoid being spanked, then behave yourself. Let me be clear, when you misbehave, I will hold you accountable and you will get your pretty bottom spanked.”
“But you’ve decided that it’s your fault I didn’t wake you and tried to sneak out?”
He chuckled again. “I have decided that while the naughty behavior is yours, that my not being clear led you to act out and so I will forego spanking you this time.”
“And my language?”
“For that I should still give you a mouth full of soap suds.”
Catherine smiled seductively and rubbed her hardened nipples along his chest, tickling them with his chest hair.
“I can think of something we’d both prefer you fill my mouth with,” she said, nuzzling his neck.
Marco inhaled and growled low at her. This time though there was nothing angry or commanding about the sound. It was merely a reflection of his own growing arousal.
“Can you,” he said, running his hand up between her legs. He smiled as she parted her legs eagerly. “I believe, my Catherine, that we would both prefer that I fuck your pussy as opposed to your mouth.”
Marco stood, lifting her as he did so and carried her back to what she now thought of as their bed.
Chapter Eleven
Marco spent the rest of the night and the next few days weaving a web of seduction around Catherine. He made love to her repeatedly, each time bringing her to multiple orgasms before seeking and finding his own release. She fussed once or twice about not being protected, but he was able to soothe her protestations.
Catherine woke to find herself once more spooned in Marco’s strong embrace. She smiled as she recognized that he always had his arm wrapped around her, ensuring she could not leave their bed without his waking.
She felt him nuzzle her neck as he realized she was awake. She wiggled around so that she could roll over and face him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and molded herself to his body and smiled as she felt his cock becoming rigid and trying to poke between her legs.
“Good morning,” she purred at him.
“My Catherine,” he sighed. “I always fear when I wake in the morning I will find you were not real and that these last several days were merely an intense dream.”
She giggled. “Ask my ass or my pussy. They would be quick to tell you otherwise.”
“You did not complain so much about the latter.”
“No, you made sure that each and every time you mounted me I was screaming your name. You really don’t fight fair.”
“I have been a warrior too long. I always fight to keep what I hold dear.”
Catherine saw him smile as she hooked one of her legs over his and lined her sheath up with his hard, heated staff.
“Please?” she said softly. “What was it you said to me the last time? Ah, yes, I have need of you, mate.”
Marco smiled broadly. “Mate, is it?”
She nodded quietly. He kissed her.
“Then there is little I could deny you,” he said as he reached down to cup and lift her buttocks before sliding into her and groaning as her pussy contracted around him.
Marco rolled her onto her back and held her close as he gently thrust in and out of her. Catherine could feel his length and breadth. She clung to him with desperation and committed each movement and its resulting feeling to memory. As much as she desperately wanted to believe he was her mate, she didn’t believe they could make a life together. She knew she had to leave him as soon as she could.
If nothing
else, she had to find Shannon. Even though the private investigator would no longer take her money and had tried to tell her that her sister was dead, Catherine believed Shannon was still alive, that she could find her and that she could bring her home.
Catherine knew that Marco planned to leave her today to finish up some business and she had decided to take what she had with her, which included her passport, and flee the city, maybe even the country, while he was gone. At some point, she’d contact Seraphina and have her things shipped home. As much as she wanted to stay with Marco, she knew there was too large a gulf between them and her sister was depending on her.
Marco’s repetitive thrusting consisted of long, slow, powerful strokes that began at the entrance to her core and were stopped as the tip of his cock reached her cervix. As was his norm, he held her close while he fucked her, never allowing her to move her hips in rhythm to his. She had come to recognize and respond profoundly to this act of dominance on his part.
She came apart in his hands more than once before she began to rake his back with her nails. She didn’t want him to stop and seemed unable to keep herself from making him. He groaned each time she did so and then answered her moaning with a growl that would make her whole body come alive and respond even more fully to his possession.
When at last he whispered in her ear, “Come for me, my Catherine,” she was helpless to do anything but what he commanded.
Catherine could feel him continue to spurt his cum within her depths even after her pussy stopped contracting. As had become his habit, he settled deep inside her and kissed her with a soft and abiding passion.
She had tears in her eyes as he lifted his head. “What distresses you, mate?” he said with great concern.
“Nothing,” she lied. “I’m just going to miss you when you leave to sign that paperwork.”
Marco made a rumbling noise that was half sated growl and half self-satisfied chuckle. Catherine knew she would miss that when she was gone.
“We will have breakfast and then you should rest. I fear my need for you grows with every time you surrender to me.”
He nuzzled her one last time and allowed himself to slip from her body. Marco sat up and dialed room service, ordering them a hearty breakfast. He leaned over and kissed her and then went to take a shower. He was just coming out of the bath when room service knocked discreetly. Marco ensured that Catherine was covered up and allowed the boy in directing him to set up next to the bed.
