“Is that what you call this?” She hadn’t wanted to show up at his door only to be thrown over his shoulder and carried to his bed.
“Wouldn’t you? First, a lovely supper with good food and wonderful company. The emotions of watching a favorite person leave home, here for drinks. I’d say it was a good warm-up.” Her drink arrived and she sipped it, gladly holding the glass to her lips to stop herself from saying anything further, or smiling at catching him at his own game. Maybe she wasn’t so unworldly after all!
“Would you rather I’d have met you at the door, pulled you inside, stripped you down, and took you in the hallway?”
Her laughing wasn’t what he expected from the look in his eyes. “Maybe next time.” It was the only answer she gave him, changing the direction to keep him off-kilter. “Dance with me, Nico, one last time.”
He didn’t question her words, just stood and offered his hand. Danni fitted against him as if she’d been tailored for him. Her head just reached his shoulder, the rest of her fit against him in all the right places. He tugged her closer with his arm around her waist and pulled her against his erection. For several songs, they stayed that way, locked together with the music, the outside world not daring to enter. It was Danni who finally pulled back.
“Take me, Nico, now. I can’t stand the torture any longer.”
“Torture you? What about me? You’ve been stroking me all evening, one way or another.” His dark eyes sparkled in the candlelight, his lips falling into a lazy grin she’d seen before.
“Yes, and now I want to do it without clothing. Are we staying here, did you get a room?”
“No, we’re going back to Casa Maria. That’s where we both belong, bella.”
She didn’t cringe at the pet name, rather held his eye and wondered about the choice of his words. She slipped to the ladies’ lounge, more for time to breathe than to repair her lipstick, long kissed off on the dance floor. When she returned, he stood ready, the car waiting outside for them. This time, she sat on her side. Her only concession was to let her hand rest on the space between them. His hand dropped over hers, his thumb again making designs on her palm. He knew she was on the edge, and wanted to keep her there a bit longer. At least until they got home and out of the blasted car. The ride seemed to take forever, and she had little to say. Only when they reached the entrance of the Severino yard did she let out a breath.
“Which statue did you choose?” Danni asked as they wound their way around the fields toward the house.
“Missionary.”
Danni could visualize the statue vividly. A woman lay on her back, her weight supported on her elbows. The kimono she wore was a floral design, open in the front, its bright colors lying beside and under her. Her head was thrown back, showing the long column of her neck, her dark hair flowing with her eyes closed. Her knees were raised and spread wide. Over her, a well-endowed nude male figure rested his weight on his forearms, his mouth to the peak of her left breast, the tip of his erect penis just at her entrance. The workmanship was extraordinary, considering it started as one piece of ivory. Every muscle on the male’s body was tensed, his buttocks tight, his shoulders showing a slight strain from the position.
It was one of her favorites, the position one she’d thought about sharing with Nico through the years, though she’d never told him. Its erotic beauty was the basic design of how the figures fit together, their expressions pure bliss of acceptance without self-consciousness. Danni realized she’d turned the faces of the statues to resemble her and Nico. She heated from deep within and hoped he hadn’t noticed.
“Starting with the basics?”
“Something like that.” The driver was gone before Danni had time to rethink what she was about to do. Nico grabbed her around the waist and lowered her over his shoulder, as if she were a sack of feed or potatoes. When she started to protest, he lightly slapped her buttocks. She let out a gasp, refusing to stop fussing until they made their way inside and up the curved staircase. He didn’t turn on any lights, simply turned left at the top of the stairs, moving to the last door. The master suite, she knew, his room, his private domain.
Danni wasn’t prepared for what was inside. The last time she’d seen the room was years before, when his mother was still alive. Then it had been white with blue trim and accessories. This room was nothing like it. It screamed masculinity and permanence. The walls were padded and covered with a chocolate brown silk. The carpet was a few shades lighter. The bed, a massive thing, was covered in dark brown suede. The furniture was all light oak to offset the darkness. Nico carried her across the room, still looped over his shoulder, as he went to the French doors leading to a small balcony overlooking the vineyard. He opened the curtains and inner doors, leaving the screens to shield them from the bugs, letting in the fresh air and moonlight.
“Very nice,” she said, which earned her finally being slid to the floor, directly in front of his bed. She sat on the side of it, knowing her legs wouldn’t hold her. He reached inside a bedside drawer, pulling out several packages, laying them to the table top. She looked from the table to him and back to the packages. Only then did he drop down on his heels before her, the look of intensity on his face demanding her attention.
“Danni, are you sure? I’d much rather marry you.”
Please say it and mean it, she wished silently, only he didn’t add the “I love you” she needed. Reality slapped her across the face when his words disappointed her. “No changes, Nico. We have an arrangement.” Her eyes filled with tears, but she pulled them back. “I just need the bathroom for a moment.” She knew if she kept looking right now, she’d tell him yes, and she knew she couldn’t do it to him or herself. She slipped from beside him and took refuge in the en suite for only a few minutes. Danni brushed out her hair and took off the rest of her lipstick. Leaving the last refuge she’d know before she locked herself in, she found him at the balcony doorway opening a bottle of wine. A bottle from neither of their yards.
“Well done, Drago. No fights over labels tonight.” She accepted the glass, swirling and tasting before sipping it for enjoyment. They debated the blend easily while she unbuttoned her jacket, let it slip off her shoulders, and laid it across a large club chair near the doorway. His gasp was low but audible. The silk was for her, she reminded herself, but he seemed to appreciate it. Her skirt came next, dropping to the floor with ease after she let the side zipper down. Before him, she stood tall and proud. The slip matched the bra and undies, the ivory color a foil for her darker skin tone. Danni took a last sip of her wine and moved toward Nico.
He seemed suspended in time, his glass in hand, his mouth slightly agape. Danni smiled inwardly. She’d taken the first step and got his attention more than one way, bold and horny in a primal way she’d not experienced before. With her glass put aside, she pulled his jacket from his shoulders and placed it beside hers. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt as she kissed the newly exposed skin before her. She lowered her left hand to fondle him while with her right, she traced along his bare chest. He shuddered when her lips went to his nipple. All bets were off. Danni was getting an adrenaline rush from his passivity.
She had him on edge all week. Today he was a wreck, deciding to ease her into the act. Now she was making him feel antiquated. Nico was still slightly awed by her forwardness.
He figured he’d let Danni take the lead, but her lead was going to have him coming in her hand before he even dropped his pants. He drew a breath and took a step back. Danni was startled, but only for a second. His large fingers rose to pull the straps of her slip over her shoulders, tugging it over her breasts, letting it fall to the floor. Her bra and panties were still in place, along with the silk stockings, which needed no garters. Her feet were still soundly inside her shoes, but he knew she felt naked, her hands fidgeting not to cover herself, by instinct probably, he decided.
He noted that she focused on his face until he lowered his mouth to her shoulder, his lips to her skin as his hands slip
ped along her waist and back. She moved against him, accepted his caress and kisses, wanting more. A small groan escaped her throat when his hands palmed her buttocks, kneading her flesh until it felt hot to his touch. He slid her back and forth over his cock, long and hard, thick between her thighs. She wanted more. Writhing against him, leaving no doubt in either of their minds, she let him know she was ready. He paused for only a moment to toss the top layer of pillows onto the floor and pull back the spread. Crisp beige sheets awaited them.
From there, it was a blur of kisses and groans, of wants and needs, of clothing in the way and being shed. He pressed against her, laying her back. He slipped over her, between her thighs, and took her face between his hands. When he would have spoken, she stopped him with her finger to his lips.
“No more talking, Niccolo,” she whispered, moving under him, making him forget good intentions. He returned to feast on her pebbled nipple, hard from his fingers. She slid her hands along his shoulders and gasped when he let his hand ease between her thighs. She’d started to move away, but he didn’t let her, rather teased her thighs apart, missing the stroke he knew she needed, making her move with him to garner the elusive contact. Soon she forgot to be coy, forgot to be nervous, and let herself feel. Nico felt the moment she succumbed, letting him push her over the edge.
“Anything between us, Danielle, anything within these walls, it never leaves here, remember that.” She tried to respond, but his thumb stroking her through the thin cloth made her moisten further with her own heat, words unnecessary. Knowing she was ready, he drew back, slid her panties down her thighs, and relinquished his spot to take them the rest of the way off.
Nico reached to the table for the condom, and Danni closed her eyes. His fingers teased against her, his lips to her nipple. She held her breath waiting for him to enter her, obviously disappointed when he didn’t. Instead he moved, sliding down her body. She jolted away from him, realizing what he had in mind, but he held her tightly at the waist. “Anything between us, Danni,” he whispered just before he tasted her belly, ran his lips across her sides, making a damp path along her skin.
Nico took his time tasting the salty sheen of her body, feeling her move under him. When she relaxed, he continued, moving lower to nip her inner thighs, while changing the pattern, rhythm, and pressure of his thumb subtly. Her hips arched up to him in an unspoken plea for the touch he was holding back. Her outright sigh had him dropping his mouth to her core and holding her still against his lips while she calmed under him, accepting his offer, relinquishing control of her body and mind to him. He continued to tease her lower lips with his finger and tongue. Soon she was grabbing for him, her hand holding his head between her thighs until she climaxed.
He lifted over her, knowing she was wet and ready. With a single push, he slipped inside her, felt the hesitation, and pushed further. Only Danni couldn’t hold back her surprised outcry. He instantly felt anger and knew she saw the emotion cross his face as he drew back. Her hands went to his waist, holding him, not letting him pull back.
“Just wait a second,” she whispered, shifting under him, getting acquainted with his size and girth, and how he filled her.
Beyond his imagination, Nico had to steady himself against coming at the first stoke inside her. She opened her eyes to see him watching her, as he held his position over her.
“There, Nico, that’s better.” she managed to say, then drew his mouth to hers, tasting herself on his lips. It was more an aphrodisiac than any alcohol might have been, having Danni lick her own essence from his mouth. When she started to squirm under him, he slowly started to move above her, holding back, letting her get accustomed to his presence inside her.
Nico had accepted her words last week when she said she wasn’t as experienced as he might think. He’d never imagined she’d meant to this degree. He’d have gone slower if he’d realized, but knew the inevitable would have to happen. Better it was over now. She was still getting accustomed to him and he struggled not to push. Her inner muscle movement made him finally give up all restraint and start to pull back, her fingers digging into his shoulders. He pushed back and watched her; wordless as he taught her the push-pull that made her insides quiver around him. Soon she forgot to be embarrassed, forgot about the arrangement, and started to want him. It was her whispered words urging him to go faster, deeper, harder until he felt her flex around him and relax under him. He let himself go, taking only a few strokes more before dropping over the edge of reason himself.
“Damn it, Danni,” he whispered, while she used her hands to stroke his back, holding him to her, still inside her. He felt her insides flex against him and felt himself filling her a second time. They had no long conversation, rather gently renewed the act they’d started, finishing with him breathless in a sweat and Danni calling out his name, her fingers laced in his hair, holding him as if her life depended on him.
He moved away and disposed of the used condom before tucking her against his chest while he tried to get his breath back. She seemed stunned and speechless. She traced her fingers along his chest, but she hadn’t looked at him. Nico knew he should forget the subject, but couldn’t. Being her first only made his resolve to make her his wife stronger. Instantly, he understood not to verbalize his thoughts quite that way.
“Something we should talk about, Danielle?”
“Not any more, Niccolo,” she said. He shook his head, laughing at the absurdity of the whole situation. He offered her wine and water; she wanted him. Her hands traced along his body, felt him coming back to life yet she hadn’t touched his cock. It was as if she meant to avoid it. He didn’t care. He was semi-erect again, and Danni was kissing him with a new desire, as if all her pent-up needs were falling free around them in the afterglow.
An hour later found them in the kitchen, Nico in just a pair of old jeans, Danni with just her silk slip covering her nakedness. What should have felt awkward didn’t. They moved with an almost practiced rhythm while making sandwiches and pouring tall glasses of cold milk. Their conversation was mostly about food, wine being diplomatically left out. With her back to him as she filled the dishwasher, Danni never saw the look on Nico’s face. If she had, she probably never would have been able to face him again. Anger and lust boiled just beneath the surface, disappointment his proposal was again rejected not computing in his brain.
Nico sat in his kitchen, watching Danni wipe down the counter, continuing their conversations about restaurants and favorite meals. Her slip shifted with each movement, allowing him peeks at her thighs or the tops of her breasts. Her nipples were still hard and puckered; he longed to move behind her, to take her against the sink. Of course that wasn’t part of their arrangement. She’d be sore, he knew. Hell, he had aching muscles in places he didn’t know could ache. Once she became accustomed to his presence and size, she surprised him. Danni was no ice maiden. Once relaxed, she seemed to give herself to him freely.
There were moments when he felt the naivety to her touch. Now he knew he had to find a way to keep her here in the valley as his wife. He’d loved her from afar since before he should have thought about her. For years he’d been so careful not to push her further than was acceptable in his mind. Now he knew she was meant to be his. He didn’t propose again. Instead, he stood and quickly moved behind her. He used his fingers against the silk to tease her nipples, his lips to tease the back of her neck. Danni pushed against him, shifted her hips against his erection, giving him permission.
Nico had planned on taking her back to bed for sleep but his alter ego took over. One hand dropped from her breast to brush against her lower lips and she let out a sigh. From there it was a simple lift of her slip and a lowering of his zipper as he slipped inside her. She groaned, and he started to pull away, remembering she’d be irritated. Her hands reached behind her, holding his hips tight.
“Don’t stop,” she half whispered, half groaned. “You feel different without the condom.”
“Want me to stop? You sai
d you were on the pill?” His lips continued to nibble at her throat and earlobe as he slowly pulled from inside her.
“No, don’t stop. It was just an observation.” Danni leaned forward, using the counter to balance herself as Nico’s movements quickened. He felt her muscles clamp against him, holding his cock in a viselike grip while she climaxed. Her moist heat made his path slicker. He drove himself deeper several times before pulling the silk up over her buttocks, pulling from inside her. He let his cum spray against her skin, not thinking twice about watching it drip down her cheeks. Danni was still braced against the counter, her breathing returning to normal as his did. Nico wasn’t sure what to do after this last performance, so he simply lifted her into his arms and headed toward the staircase.
“Shower,” he whispered and she nodded against his shoulder.
The large glass enclosure was big enough for two even while they were soaping and rinsing. Danni exited the steamy enclosure first, wrapping a thick brown towel around her while using his hair dryer to take the moisture from her long curls. He noticed she didn’t use it to clear the mirror as he usually did. She slipped easily under the covers beside him and accepted the warmth of his body. Nico understood this was right. Danni belonged with him, in his life, bed, and business. Accepting he actually was in love with her, as opposed to the convenience of the situation, would take time.
Nico didn’t have words for Danni even if she asked, and was thankful she hadn’t. He was grateful when she slid beside him, cuddling against him. Sleep overtook her quickly, and he realized the stress lines were finally easing from her face. He didn’t sleep. He held her close while wondering how to get out of the mess he’d started. If only she’d accepted his proposal, but she hadn’t. He knew Danielle was the kind of woman who would not stay in the valley once her land was gone. His mind tangled with details of how to get Cirillo back for her, but nothing concrete came to mind. He finally drifted to sleep when she rolled on her side and pulled him with her to spoon against.
Her Dark Dragon Page 7
