Mr. Mysterious In Black

by S. Ann Cole

  Clamping his mouth down on mine, he kissed me, thrusting his tongue in and out. I was taken off guard when he slammed into me, and I bit his lip and gripped his biceps, clenching at the sudden intrusion. He filled me to the brim and didn’t move… And then he did. In slow leisured strokes at first, which incremented to long, hard strokes that went all the way home. I squeezed my muscles around him which elicited a winding groan from him. “Christ, Sadie. You’re so sweet. I don’t want this to end…but I can’t slow down.”

  As I felt my orgasm rocking on, I squeezed my muscles again. And again.

  “So cruel,” he growled, and picked up momentum, slamming deathly into me. Taking me there. My eyes pinched closed, and I could no longer focus on anything but the sensation that roiled at that place where we were joined together. Natalio’s slick, heated body against mine, the mixture of ragged sounds, harsh groans and soft mewls as we breathed each other’s air.

  Soon, I was there at the zenith, and I spread my arms and let myself fall off the edge of nothingness. My body vibrating, my muscles contracting, my tonsils shaking at the loud screams that rushed past it. A pearl of sweat tipped off Natalio’s nose and fell onto mine as he slammed violently into me with a garbled version of my name, and stilled. His shaft pulsating inside me, draining him.

  He sagged against me and we slid down the glass with a squeak, down onto the floor. Debilitated.

  There’s only darkness, and the almost imperceptible humming of air conditioner. My lids rose to sight as I stretched out my tired limbs. A smile crept across my face when I realized I was in Natalio’s bed. My smile widened into a grin and I was positive that at that moment I resembled the Cheshire cat. I got my Natalio back.

  The room did not withhold Natalio, though. Glancing over at the bedside clock I noted it was after midnight. My smile melted and my heart pounded in my ears as the thought that this might be déjá vu attacked me.

  I scrambled out of bed, grabbed the sheet, draped it around my nude body and rushed into the bathroom; no, he wasn’t there. Darted out on the balcony; no, he wasn’t there. I sprinted downstairs and my heart sagged in relief, wiping a worry sweat away, when I saw Natalio crouched in the living area, humming to the words of Morgan Heritage’s She’s Still Loving Me that played softly over the integrated speakers while cleaning up shards of the vase he’d broken earlier.

  He looked up when he sensed me and smiled, which quickly morphed into a frown. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” he asked in concern. “Shit, you don’t want to leave, do you? Please stay.”

  My teeth sank into my lip and I shook my head, willing myself not to cry at the heart-faltering panic I’d felt a minute ago. He hadn’t left me again. He was here. “No. I just thought…I thought…” words failed me as a single tear escaped and trickled down my cheek.

  Natalio dropped the dust pan with a clatter and rushed over to me, encapsulating me in his arms. “You thought I’d leave you again?”

  An involuntary dry heave lifted my chest and I nodded.

  “No, Sadie. No. Never. I’d never leave you again,” he soothed. “I’m sorry. I was stupid back then. I should’ve never left you, not even for a second. And I’ve learned my lesson the hard way. Never, baby. Never. I love you. I’ll never leave you. Trust me.”

  I tightened my arms around him. Relieved that he was still here.

  He cradled me in his arms and carried me over to the breakfast bar, seating me on the counter. “You’re barefooted and there might still be splinters around. I don’t want you to hurt yourself,” he said, tucking a lock of hair behind my ears. “My cleaner will sort that out tomorrow. I’ve done enough domestic activities for the day. Washing dishes and cleaning up my messes. My mother would never believe me if I told her.”

  “Is your cleaner young and attractive?”

  Natalio gazed at me with a straight face and pressed lips. “Stop.”

  Departing from my side, he rounded the kitchen counter, abluted his hands at the sink before pouring me a cold glass of water. “Here. Drink.”

  I gulped it down, quenching a thirst I wasn’t aware I had. How did he know?

  Natalio came back in front of me and pulled a barstool beneath his sit-upon, settling himself between my thighs while he nibbled on almonds from a small container. “I want you to accompany me to our monthly family dinner on Sunday.”

  “San Fran?”

  “Yes. I came up with an excuse for my absence last month and I would’ve had an excuse for this month, had you not stopped my trip to Tokyo. So now I have no choice but to attend this dreadful family dinner. And for your punishment, I’m taking you with me.”

  I frowned. “How is having dinner with your family a punishment?”

  “You’ll know when you meet my father,” he deadpanned.

  “So do—”

  Natalio cut me off as he tossed an almond in his mouth.”I’ll call my cousin, Lori, over tomorrow—she’s a stylist—so you can pick a gown. And other stuff. I want you to stay here. I don’t want you to leave.”

  “I can make my ow—”

  “Okay, if Lori has nothing that you like—which is highly unlikely—then you can call Kelsy over and you two can go shopping. No sewing for you this weekend.”

  Is he going to give me a chance to speak? He’s asking me but, at the same time, it’s like he’s telling me.

  “And I love your hair like that,” he commented, gently slipping his fingers through the lengthy strands. “It’s so…long. Keep it that way for the dinner. You are my Aphrodite.”

  I raised an eyebrow at him, silently asking if I could speak now and he grinned at me. Something that he rarely did. He looked delightful, and happy.

  “If it’s just a family dinner, why do I need a gown? Can’t I just wear a normal spring dress?” I asked.

  “No. My father is very archaic.” He grimaced. “We, the men, have to wear bow ties and tuxes.”

  My effort to stifle a laugh was a failure. And Natalio nodded, assuring me, then tossed an almond in the air and caught it in his mouth. “Do you know proper table manners? Like distinguishing a salad fork from a fish fork and all that shit?”

  I sent my eyes to the heavens. “I can identify a fork from a spoon and a knife from a toothpick. I know not to burp or talk with food in my mouth at the table. That’s as far as my table manners go.”

  Natalio smiled as he peeled away the sheet from my body and kissed my inner thighs. Heat pooled at once. “I’ll arrange a lesson for you on Saturday morning then. We’ll leave for San Fran in the evening.”

  “Why do I need to do all that?” I whispered, trying to focus through the smaze I’d fallen into, all on account of Natalio dripping hot kisses along my inner thighs.

  “To please a man who survives off being pleased,” he said between kisses.

  “What if I don—”

  “Trust me, Sadie. It will make everyone’s life a whole lot easier. The man’s a pain in the ass.”

  “Just like you…” All sense of thought got lost when his warm tongue brushed my folds. I tossed my head back and arched into his mouth. His tongue swirled around my bud, around and around, over, up, down and across, transforming me into a slithering snake. He slid a finger inside me, and then another, thrusting slowly in and out.

  “Ah…god…Na…” I mumbled, swept away in pure pleasure.

  “You’ll come…” Natalio whispered. “…To the dinner. And you’ll come…now.”

  Thrusting his fingers hard inside me, he pressed his thumb down on my bud. There I was on his kitchen counter with my legs eagled, Natalio between them, working me into a frenzy. It was my nirvana. “Hey,” he said, forcing me to open me eyes, panting as if I’d just run a marathon. “Watch. My tongue against your rich nerve end. Look and see how I’ll send you off.”

  With his eyes never leaving mine, he flicked my bud with his tongue. Once, twice, three times. And then he covered it with his mouth and sucked me. Instantly, I spiraled off with a squall. Stiffening and bucking in his
mouth as I juddered with my orgasm. He kept his mouth on me until I settled back limply on planet Earth.

  Natalio’s smothering blue eyes peeked up at me through his dark lashes. “Have you anything you want to say now, Sadie? Anything to object to? I’m all ears.”

  I shook my head, because I’d kind of forgotten what our conversation was about.

  He revealed a smug smile and whispered, “I thought so,” before cradling me in his arms. “Come, let’s go to bed.”

  Chapter Twenty Two

  The waterfall cascaded with meditating gushes that flowed away down the river stream. I’ve been here before. In my dreams, clad in pure white while the cool water caressed my feet. But isn’t this a dream also? Yes. Only this time I was not alone. On the other side of the river was a great, protruding rock, and upon it perched a pristine deity. His hair was darker than it had any right to be, dangling loosely about his neck. And his smile was as white as his garments. His bare feet glistened under the brilliance of the sun and the more I gazed at him, the more he scintillated. Coruscating as his smile widened. “Come,” said he.

  The leaves of the trees vibrated at his strong, commanding voice.

  And like a creation of his, my feet moved at his call and waded through the river, taking me to the other side. I accepted his proffered hand as I gazed in eyes that were as blue as the sky supra. “Here now, my Goddess. My love. A heart returned.”

  Into his arms he cradled me and then stepped onto the river, allowing it to drift us smoothly away…

  My eyes whispered open and I found myself staring into the dreamy blue eyes of Natalio. He was lying on his side, his hands clasped and tucked between his cheek and the pillow. I blinked at him. Waking up next to him was heavenly. Unkempt hair, stubble shadowing his squared jaws, and still he looked glorious as ever. A ray of sun sneaking through the blinds lased across his features. No one should be allowed to look this good in the morning.

  His lips curved up. “Hi.”

  I mirrored his actions—even though I knew I didn’t look half as good as he did. “Hi.”

  “It’s relaxing to watch you sleep, you know. It’s become a preoccupation of mine,” he whispered.

  Simpered I did. “It’s quite unfair. I don’t get to watch you sleep.”

  “How can you, when you dwell in your dreams for such long hours? You sleep like an Olympian.”

  A giggle escaped as I stretched. “And it feels pretty darn good.”

  He edged closer to me but didn’t touch me. Just the heat of our bodies mingled. “You have no idea how happy I am, Sadie. To have you back in my life, in my arms, in my bed. I’ve waited so long for this I almost thought it would never happen.”

  “At the moment, I’m not in your arms,” I pouted. “And I think I have an inkling of your felicity, because I feel the same way.”

  “When?” he asked.

  Bemused, I frowned. “When?”

  “Yes. When shall we fulfill our promises?” He edged closer, but still didn’t touch me. “I want to be sure we don’t lose each other again. I’m ready. I’ve always been ready.”

  My heart rocket launched. So fast? “I don’t think we are.”

  His brows furrowed. “Why not?”

  “We just got back together. There are a lot of things we still need to get around. I knew Nelly back then. Now, you are Natalio—an ever-angry, raging bull. Now you are, Natalio Nelson—some top shot billionaire.”

  “I’m the same person, Sadie. I haven’t been anyone different with you. You were merely benighted of my background. That’s all. As for my anger, it only manifests when I don’t have you. You have the power to make me happy, angry or anguished. You hold the key to me. I’m yours.”

  Savior, he knew exactly when and how to push my make-me-melt button. Hold firm, Sadie, hold firm. “You are like two persons in one and I need to get used to you, Natalio. You need to know what I will and will not tolerate. As I need to know about you. It’s been seven years.”

  “Like what?” Before I could speak, he beat me to it, saying, “Whatever you’re dubious about, it won’t stop us.”

  I huffed through petulance. “You’re an overlooking, mollycoddling, peremptory ass who never lets me speak!”

  Natalio reached his hand under the duvet and fingered my pubis. “Too early for arguments, Sadie.” He leaned in and planted a chaste kiss on my lips before saying, “And I’m none of those things. I think you’ve just delineated my father.”

  My head bopped back on the pillow in exasperation. “Can’t you see that you’re everything like him? If you are disgusted with him, then you should be disgusted with yourself, too, because that’s who you are.”

  He placed his forefinger against my lips. “Shh.”

  Arrgggh! His equanimity was irritating the shit out of me. My chest heaved with a huff and I set my lips in a mulish pout. I was always forced to act like an adolescent when I was with him. The man was frustrating.

  Natalio laughed aloud, his eyes crinkling at the corners, his lips stretching tight in his smile. “Okay, then. I’ll execute an introspection and modification.”

  “Thank you.”

  “It’s far too early to be mad at me, Sadie. Can’t you at least wait until noon?” His fingers whispered along my hip bone. “Or…not at all?”

  “I’m not mad…now that you’re touching me,” I rasped.

  Natalio’s eyes darkened with concupiscence. “If I show you a good morning with my tongue, will you say yes?”

  My thighs squeezed together involuntarily. How could he disarm me so easily?

  “You promised me, Sadie.” He frowned. “What did you do with the ring?”

  My lids fluttered down as he ran his hand up my side and curled his fingers around my right breast, brushing his thumb over my nipple. “I have no idea. My father probably took it…”

  He shifted closer to me so that his body brushed against mine. “I shall pretend not to be wounded. It was worth almost two hundred thou, which, back then, was a lot of money.”

  What the hell? That’s still a lot of money. “I’m sorry. I have no doubt my father took it during his assault on me. He’s good for it.”

  His tongue licked between my breasts, and desire pooled between my legs as something unfurled internally. As usual, I was helpless whenever he touched me.

  “How shall I punish you, Sadie?” he whispered as he feathered kisses about my belly.

  “I don’t know. With your tongue?”

  Tearing away the duvet, he edged down my body with steaming kisses. I was so hot, I just might’ve burned a hole in the mattress.

  “Pleasure unto thee, thy tongue shall bestow,” he whispered in that poetic voice that he used to tease me with as Nelly. I would’ve rolled my eyes at him, had they not already been so far back in my head on account of his roaming tongue. He pushed up my legs and then licked, nipped and kissed my inner thighs, while I bucked up my hips imploring him to taste me there—all done to no avail. He kissed around my folds, kissed my lips, my mound, kissed everywhere except where I desired him the most.

  “Oh, please,” I begged.

  “I love it when you beg,” he moaned. He resumed the torture, never conceding to my pleas. “You know what I want, Sadie. And I know what you want. So let’s barter.”

  My hips bucked up again but it touched nothing, just thin air. I wanted to scream in frustration. My hands reached for his head but he grabbed them and pinned them to my sides.

  Just once, he kissed my folds, and I sighed in gratification at the much-anticipated gesture. “Will.” Kiss. “You.” Kiss. “Marry.” Kiss. “Me?”

  Oh sweet lord, how could he be so cruel? “This is not playing fair,” I whimpered.

  “I hate rules. So I break them…like dry twigs in a forest.”

  “Please, Natalio.”

  “Will.” Kiss. “You.” Kiss. “Be.” Kiss. “My.” Long swipe. “Wife?”

  Hell, I couldn’t bear it any longer. “Yes. Yes. Yes!!!! Anything! Now suc
k me you bloody hellion,” I screamed.

  Natalio grinned smugly. “Thank you.” And the moment his mouth covered my folds, the fireworks blasted and I detonated.

  “So will you be at the family dinner, too?”

  My question was directed to the svelte, effervescent, brown-haired, brown-eyed Lori who was trying to stuff me into a lime-green gown, as we made a mess of Natalio’s apartment. I liked her, because she wasn’t uppity. Neither did she bombard me with questions or try to pry into her cousin’s privacy. Kelsy, who had popped in an hour ago with the intention of us going shopping, believing that Lori wouldn’t have anything I’d like, was rummaging sparkly-eyed through Lori’s racks. She hadn’t anywhere to attend that needed formal wear, yet she’d set aside four gowns that she decided she had to have. I, on the other hand, was yet to find a gown I liked.

  “God, no!” Lori shrieked in horror. “I can’t stand Uncle Nelson.”

  “Is he that bad?”

  “Yes.” She added a slow nod to emphasize. “But it’s not just him. It’s the whole setting and requirements for the dinner. I mean, all we go to do is eat and catch up with family. I don’t see why all this formality is needed, gowns and tux and all that nonsense.”

  “I was wondering the same thing,” Kelsy jumped in, her voice muffled by the racks of clothes her head was stuck between.

  Lori scoffed. “No one likes to go. We’ll skip from time to time, drafting the lamest excuses. But three consecutive months of absence and Uncle Nelson will be on your doorstep with a tirade of how much of an ingrate you are.”

  We snickered. Then I glanced down at the gown. “I don’t like it,” I told her. “Let me try that blue one with the studs.”

  Without disputation, she lurched for the blue dress while I shuffled out of the suffocating lime gown. I wondered if she was terrified of Natalio, also. He could be such a scare sometimes.

  A smile visited my face as my mind catapulted back to our crazy lovemaking this morning. All over the bedroom. I could never get tired of his touch, his kisses, his warm embrace. I could never get tired of him.