IMMAGINARIO

by C. L. Monaghan

  “Let me clean that up first?”

  “No, it’s OK. Leave it. This is more important.” She said without looking back. I had no choice but to follow. We sat on the sofa and she took my hand in hers.

  “Tell me how we met.”

  “In Florence.” I responded.

  “More,” she demanded, “what else?”

  “We met in Florence, in my bar The Magnificent Medici, it’s where we got the idea for the Imp.”

  “The Imp?” She looked confused.

  “Our book bar Naomi!” I laughed. “Are you sure you’re alright?”

  “Oh. Right. Erm, yes…I’m fine. Tired, I guess. Keep going please.” I shook my head a little and gave her a half smile.

  “I first saw you in my bar in Florence. You were alone and reading a book and I thought you looked so beautiful, like someone I wanted to get to know.” I squeezed her hand and lifted it to my lips to kiss it.

  “What book?” She breathed as my lips touched the smooth skin on her hand.

  “One of my favourite’s bella, Stranger in a Strange land by Robert Heinlein.” Her sharp gasp cut through my words and I examined her face, the smallest hint of a tear accompanied her disbelieving look.

  “Impossible.” It was barely a whisper but I heard it.

  “Maybe you thought so at one time my love but see? I’m back, I remember things. I’m all better and I remember you, us…our love…the sex.” I wiggled my eyebrows at her and bent forward to kiss the tip of her nose, a small laugh or half sob, I couldn’t tell which, came from her mouth.

  “I can’t believe it. Joe, you’re really here? I just don’t understand. I feel like I’ve lost my mind. How can this be happening? I always dreamed of this, always but it’s...”

  “Impossible?” I finished her sentence and she just nodded. “Nothing is impossible mia cara, our love is strong and you never lost faith in me. I’m almost sure that’s what brought me back.”

  “Back? Oh…yes…your accident. Joe, we need to talk about that.”

  “Not now bella, now is not the time to discuss what happened. To be honest, I’ve no recollection of it and I’m sure it must’ve been horrible for you but right now, I’d rather not know what happened. Being in that strange dream state or whatever it was, was bad enough. Every time I saw you I was confused. I knew that I knew you but I couldn’t remember it all. It was not an experience I wish to repeat or discuss. Not yet anyway. Right now, I just want to hold you. I remember us Naomi. Let’s just be happy that we are together today OK?” I stroked her cheek and leaned in for a kiss, her chin rose and our mouths met. I adored the feel of her soft lips and savoured the kiss, immediately missing it when we eventually broke it off.

  “I should go clean up that coffee.” She said in a dazed tone.

  “Really? I thought you said this was more important?” I teased.

  “It is. I just need a moment to…gather my thoughts. It’ll leave a stain anyway if I don’t clean it up.”

  “Well then let’s both do it.” I offered.

  “Thanks. I’ll get a cloth you get the dustpan under…”

  “Under the sink. I know where it is.” I chuckled. Naomi shook her head and almost giggled. That look of disbelief had still not left her beautiful face.

  After we’d cleaned up the bits of the two broken coffee mugs and moped up the puddle of coffee from the floor, I took the bag of broken crockery and dumped it in the bin while Naomi rinsed out the floor cloth in the sink. I watched her, her back facing me, still in her sleep shorts and vest top, her hair all messy and uncombed. Seeing her like that reminded me of earlier when I had awoken in our bed, alive and with her again. I had no idea how long it had been since we had woken up together but it felt like forever and I had a sudden desire to pick her up in my arms and carry her off back to bed, just so I could lay down next to her again and look at her. I stepped up behind her and slowly slid my arms around her waist, pulling her into me. Her neck was exposed and my lips brushed the soft skin just where her shoulders met the curve of it. Naomi shuddered and her head fell back against my chest, she moaned softly. I kissed her neck again and followed the kiss with a swift sweep of my tongue eliciting another, harder moan.

  “Do you like that?” I asked her, my voice husky against her skin. I could feel the stirring heat of desire in my groin again.

  “Yes.” She whispered breathlessly

  “Want more?” I asked, my mouth already poised and ready at her shoulder. After a brief hesitation, which felt like an age, she replied,

  “Yes.” Her hands braced against the rim of the stainless steel sink as I lavished attention on her neck finishing with a teasing nibble of her earlobe. The sounds she made were driving me wild. I was already fully hard and Naomi wasn’t being shy either, she had pushed her body tight against me so that my cock now rested at the small of her back. She was practically panting in response to my kisses on her skin. My arms still encircled her waist but the hem of her vest top had risen slightly and my thumb touched bare flesh. I began moving it in slow, soft circles on her stomach, my other hand slipped down and grabbed her hip, pulling her even tighter against me. Naomi’s breathing was becoming more rapid and her eyes were closed, her head still rested on my chest and was slightly tilted to the right, giving me a perfect view of her cleavage. The way her nipples stood out against the thin cotton fabric reminded me that she wasn’t wearing a bra. A distant flash of a memory came to my mind of bare breasts bouncing as she rode me and I wanted that again, now.

  I moved my hand up and under her vest cupping the warm, firm flesh. Tweaking the little hard nub as I playfully bit down on her exposed neck, she writhed against me. Encouraged, I let my other hand slide around her hip and down over her shorts between her legs. I could feel the heat from her radiating through the fabric. I imagined how wet she would be and my fingers itched to explore further. I began gently rubbing her through her shorts and she shifted her feet slightly so that her legs opened wider. My cock, pushed tight against her back, pulsed with the need to be inside her. Her chest heaved with each ragged breath and suddenly her hands were in my hair. She tugged on my hair and rasped,

  “Please Joe! Please!”

  “What do you want mia cara? Tell me.” I demanded teasingly. Her hips thrust forward in response, grinding herself on my fingers. The crotch of her shorts felt damp and I knew damned well what she wanted but I wanted to hear her say it. I needed to know she desired me as much as I did her. I needed to know that she was mine. She swallowed and spoke in a whispered rush,

  “Touch me.”

  “Anything you say bella.” I responded in a low growl and did as she demanded. Hooking my fingers under the leg of her tiny sleep shorts, I found her centre and slid my finger into her silky heat. The affect was instantaneous as she cried out, gripping fistfuls of my hair and grinding down on my finger.

  “Jesus Christ, Naomi! You’re soaking.” I worked my finger slowly in and out of her, relishing the feel of her and the way her pelvic muscles clamped around my finger. “Kiss me Naomi.” She tipped her head right back and to the side offering me her mouth, her green eyes were half open and slightly glazed over. There was no doubt that she wanted me now. The hand that had been playfully squeezing her breast now slid up her throat and I held her chin in place while my mouth explored hers. That seemed to push her up a gear. The thought that she liked that, that she trusted me enough to have my hand on her throat, excited me beyond belief. She moved her hips back and forth, fucking my fingers,

  “Ohhhh bella, you are truly spectacular!” I murmured against her mouth, “I want to be inside you, Naomi. Now.”

  “Mmm.” She moaned.

  “Say it.” I demanded. “Tell me to make you come.” Her breath hitched and she gasped,

  “I want you to fuck me, Joe. Fuck me and make me come.”

  That was all I needed to hear. I pulled down her shorts and she stepped out of them as I took off my own and flung them aside. She was standing, bent slightly but st
ill gripping on to the kitchen sink. I sank down on my knees so my face was level with her beautiful peachy bottom. Starting at her ankles, I ran my hands slowly, teasingly up her legs until a hand rested on each cheek. Parting her gently I took in the sight and scent of her, a sweet tangy mix of vanilla-scented Jasmine,

  “Beautiful.” I murmured. I couldn’t resist tasting her and plunged my tongue deep into her centre. She bucked backwards and I buried my face between her legs licking, sucking and kissing her flesh. Reaching my hand around to tease her from the front, she continued to eagerly grind herself against my face. I could tell she wouldn’t last long if I carried on and my inner wickedness took over. I wanted to prolong her pleasure for as long as I could so I pulled away, wiping my hand across my mouth as I rose to stand behind her.

  “Don’t stop.” She pleaded.

  “Oh I have no intention of stopping bella, I am going to make you come I just don’t want it to be yet.” I let the tip of my cock slide over her entrance and she moaned again, harder this time.

  “Joe!”

  “Spread your legs for me, Naomi.” I positioned myself and teased her with the tip of my cock, sliding it slowly up and down her centre, coating it with her silkiness. Her legs shook with anticipation and several times she tried to take me inside of her by pushing backwards whenever I neared her opening. I grinned, enjoying the tease,

  “Joe, please! I want you, please? I’ve waited so long.” She begged and I could resist her no more. Grabbing her hip with my left hand, I steadied her. My right hand clasped around the base of my length, I guided myself into her. I had only pushed forward a few inches when she took matters into her own hands and thrust her hips backwards, impaling herself on me. A guttural cry forming on her lips as she took me to the hilt. A multitude of Italian expletives came pouring from my mouth and I had to take a second to gather my senses. The baseness of her act was pure and raw and it drove me to the edge.

  “You little beast! Is that how you want it? Hard?” She didn’t verbalise her answer but began rocking back and forth quite forcefully, soft, animalistic grunts accompanied each thrust of her hips. I stood still for a few minutes and watched, enthralled as she rode my length. She was a fucking goddess! I felt like the luckiest man on the planet. It was truly a wondrous sight to watch a beautiful woman lose herself in a moment of raw, unadulterated passion. Especially when it was your dick she was losing herself on. God, I could’ve watched her ride me right till the end but some innate sense of chivalric masculinity told me I should be the one making her come and so I reached down and pulled her right leg up and to the side, hooking my arm underneath her knee and opening her wide. My other arm slipped around so my hand rested on her throat again. She twisted her head towards me, wild desire flashed in her eyes, her cheeks flushed. A little wry smile touched her lips and I knew this was how she wanted it. I knew my woman, every beautiful inch of her even though fucking her now felt like the first time. I revelled in the glory of her, wanting only to pleasure her. My own pleasure driven on by the knowledge that any minute now she would fall apart in my arms. The force of my thrusts caused her hip and the top of her thigh to bang into the kitchen counter,

  “Ahh!” She cried and I momentarily slowed. “Don’t you dare stop!” She said and I grinned but lowered her leg and shifted her position. I pulled her a few steps away from the sink and pushed down on her back,

  “Bend over Naomi.” She didn’t hesitate and I guided myself inside her again, slipping in easily despite how tight she was. Placing my hands on those pert cheeks, I pulled my thumbs apart so I could watch my cock glide in and out of her. I fucked her slowly at first, sliding all the way out then driving back in to the hilt. As I gathered pace she grasped the edges of the sink, her knuckles white with the strain. She was so verbal and loud with her responses I struggled to maintain self-control. The cries of ‘Oh god yes!’ and ‘fuck, harder!’ that sprang from that filthy mouth of hers almost caused the gathering knot of heat in my groin to erupt. I needed to make her come before that happened. I gathered up a handful of her hair and gently pulled, causing her head to tilt back. She was breathing rapidly, her mouth open. I wanted to kiss her and leaned forwards, encircling her waist with my free arm and pulling her to me, I managed to reach her mouth, handfuls of her silken brown hair still clamped in my fist, and I kissed her deeply. I kept kissing her, biting her bottom lip and soothing it with my tongue, all the while continuing a steady pace of hard thrusts until I sensed she was close to coming.

  “Ti amo, Naomi.” I whispered against her lips and I meant it. “My beautiful woman. Ti amo.” Her lips pressed against mine and smothered the sound of her orgasm, her body shook and I felt her muscles clamp hard around my cock. Her knees buckled and I gripped her waist tighter to hold her up. I let myself go and allowed the burgeoning sensations to overcome me. My own body responded to hers and I came hard- grunting against her mouth.

  As the waves of pleasure subsided, I held her gently and rained kisses down on her face and back as we waited for our breathing to slow. We stayed like that for a minute or two in happy, sated silence until she pushed away from the sink. Pulling herself off me, Naomi turned and placed both palms on my chest. She raised her eyes to mine, olive green penetrating my very soul and said,

  “I love you too Joseph Ferrantino.” She planted a kiss on my chest and turned her head to rest it against me. I kissed the top of her head while I held her and heard her utter the tiniest whisper, “My Joe.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Naomi

  What in the actual bloody hell was going on? I’d been asking myself the same question for the entire day and I still had no answer, no logical one anyway. Joe- my Joe was real! No matter how many times I told myself it was a physical impossibility, there was no denying a sexy silver-haired Italian man, named Joseph Ferrantino, lay fast asleep in my bed. I had lain next to him for quite some time and listened to him fall asleep but there was no way in a million years I could sleep.

  For the last few hours I had convinced myself I’d finally flipped and was having full blown hallucinations. Then I remembered some quote about ‘if you thought you were crazy, you definitely weren’t’ or something like that. I’d thought maybe it was some kind of chemical imbalance in my brain that was causing it. But then dismissed that theory on the basis that I’d had sex with him today, twice! As much as I had given in to those fantasies previously, they’d never left my lips raw from kissing or made my lady parts throb from the blissfully heavy pounding it had gotten. Ohhhh no, that was most definitely real, so it stood to reason that Joe was too. I just couldn’t for the life of me work out how? Google had been utterly useless, every hit that came back implied I was undeniably bonkers and should probably be wearing a straitjacket as part of my daily attire. As illogical as it sounded, the only possible thing left to do was read my manuscript.

  I held the folder, containing the ninety-eight pages of A4 that I had written and printed off so far, on my lap. The story was nowhere near finished and I had read over it many times but now, I sat on my sofa daring myself to open it. I argued with myself that I didn’t need to read it because I already knew what it said, I’d written it after all. But I knew I had to see it for myself, I had to confirm it. Tentatively I opened the file and began reading the first page. My heart did a little skip when I got to the part about how Joe and I had met, the part I had stolen from Laney Marsh’s original manuscript. It was all there in black and white, the scene in Joe’s book bar, The Magnificent Medici and how he came over to talk to me at my table. Every little detail was there right down to the title of the book I had been reading. It was exactly the same as he’d described it to me this morning. Moreover, Joe looked exactly how Laney had described him and just how I had always imagined him. I skipped forward a few pages to the part where we had fallen in love and Joe had moved to England to open our own book bar- The Imp. We’d decided to name it that because of the infamous Lincoln Imp associated with the city. I skipped forward again and
read a sex scene, I couldn’t fathom how accurate the intimate details were. I had described exactly how Joe liked to make love, the names he liked to call me and how he loved to hear me ask him for what I wanted. I closed the folder and hugged it to my chest. I don’t know why I was in shock because I knew that reading it would only confirm what I had already knew. Granted, the concept of what had happened remained within the boundaries of the impossible but it was here, right in front of me in print and it was happening to me in real life. The laws of science should render this an inconceivable possibility, but the blatant reality of it was undeniable- I had woken up this morning smack bang in the middle of my own novel!

  “What have you got there?” Came a sultry, sleepy voice behind me. Startled, I jumped up from my seat, the folder falling to the floor.

  “Shit! Joe! You scared me. Don’t go sneaking up on me like that!” I scolded and bent to retrieve the folder. I had no intention of telling him what it was. Not yet anyway, not until I’d worked out how to handle it. He chuckled,

  “Aww I’m sorry bella, I didn’t mean to frighten you and I didn’t sneak, you were just a million miles away. Why are you awake?”

  “Well you made me jump!” I said and then immediately melted because he gave me puppy eyes and stuck out his bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. I giggled, “That is very unfair, Joseph.”

  “Hmmm Joseph? I like it when you use my full name, it makes me feel like I’ve been naughty.” He grinned at me and wiggled his brows suggestively.

  “Well maybe you have. It’s not nice to scare a lady you know.” I put the folder back in my drawer and made my way around the sofa towards him. He looked stunningly dishevelled in his boxers, hair all mussed up and a wicked little glint in his eyes.

  “A lady? Are you sure bella? Because what you did in our bed earlier was not very ladylike.” He teased. I reached the welcome of his open arms and stepped eagerly into his warm embrace. He smelled deliciously of sex and of me and in that moment, I went past caring about the how’s or the why’s of Joe sudden manifestation and just embraced it. He was real and he was mine. I had a million questions rattling around in my head but they could wait. I had no idea how long this…thing would last, for all I knew I could wake up tomorrow and find him gone. But, for the rest of the night, it was just me and him so when he murmured in my ear that he’d missed me and to come back to bed, that’s exactly what I did.