Stefan (The Marquette Family Book Three)

by Lockwood, Tressie

  “Make sure of what?” He strode over and grasped her hand to tug her to him. Talicia tumbled against his chest and found she wanted to stay there forever. She shut her eyes as her fingers with a will of their own began exploring his body. The buttons on his shirt were a barrier, so she leaned back to finish undoing them. Stefan’s warm skin drew her lips. She rained soft kisses on his chest, and he moaned.

  If she could just turn down the attraction for a minute, she could think clearly when it came to him. Maybe that was the problem. This was a lust problem, and the long periods between seeing him made it harder to move on. If she got his cooperation, everything would be fine.

  Talicia moved out of his embrace, but he caught her and drew her back. His big arms came around her from behind, and he held her in place with a gentle but firm hold. She wiggled just enough to feel his solid erection against her ass. She bit her lip.

  “Let me go a minute, Stefan.”

  Right away, she found herself freed, and she could have wept. Talicia willed herself to move away from him and kicked off her shoes.

  “You’ve cut your hair,” he said.

  She started. A hand went up to her head, and she smoothed the hair that was gelled close. Anger, sadness, and a slew of other emotions had hit her the other day, and she had whacked off most of her hair. Now it wasn’t more than an inch long. She and Tyjon must look like identical twins.

  “Yeah, I did. You don’t have to like it,” she snapped.

  His eyebrows went up at her meanness. She regretted it. Most of the time she kept the attitude bottled when it came to him, but it wasn’t easy. Not that she pretended, but Stefan didn’t deserve a bitch for his lover.

  Well, he’s got one, so that’s a moot point.

  “You would be beautiful even if you were bald.”

  She rolled her eyes. “Whatever. I mean thanks, I guess.”

  “Talicia, come here, please.” He held out his hand. She swayed in his direction but locked her heels to the floor. “Please.”

  “Stefan, we need to talk.”

  “We can talk after we make love. I’ve been dreaming about your body, and I can’t wait to get you under me.”

  She panted. Taking in Stefan’s size as he said stuff like that was killing her. Six foot two, built like a truck, and gentle as a lamb, he made her feel tiny under him. Most men did because she had a slender build, but with the others, she had to prove her strength. With Stefan, from the first night he produced a different emotion in her. One of being protected. The feeling was so at odds that when he flashed that ridiculously bright smile at her the next morning and said, “Let’s get married, see what it’s like,” she had agreed on the spot.

  She needed to be firm with him. “If we talk after we have sex—”

  “Make love.”

  “—then we’ll do it the rest of the night like usual. You’ll get called home or to your restaurant or whatever. Or I’ll have to get to the club to stop my fool partner from doing something dumb. Then I won’t get to see you for…”

  She trailed off because she heard the ache in her tone at the end. No matter what, she didn’t want him to know how much she loved him. Damn, it was love after all. Whenever he left, the thought of not having sex didn’t enter her mind but that face, that voice, his gentle embrace and kindness did.

  Let it go, Talicia!

  “I’m sorry, honey,” he said.

  “Don’t call me honey,” she groused. That hurt too much. “Listen, we made a mistake.”

  “It wasn’t a mistake.”

  She blinked at him. Could he care about her the way she loved him?

  “Nothing in life is a mistake, even if everything goes wrong. It’s a learning experience. It’s living, and I never apologize for it.”

  Her hopes fell. “Okay, then. Now it’s better if we both experience divorce.”

  “Is that what you want?”

  “We’ve been married almost a year, and we’ve never lived together. We haven’t truly experienced marriage. We have a piece of paper. That’s all. So, let’s stop pretending and just dissolve it. What is it called? I think annulment?”

  “We’ve been lovers all throughout. Annulment isn’t possible.”

  “Then divorce.”

  His eyes went dull. The light almost never disappeared in his gaze, and it about killed her to see it now, especially since she didn’t understand why. All she knew was she was causing it, and she wanted to put it back. Her response to Stefan was the same way she worked to make sure Tyjon was happy and had everything he needed.

  “Stefan, I don’t understand why you’re hesitating.” She moved up to him as he turned his back. He had slipped his shirt off, and she couldn’t help exploring the tight muscles. His male scent, a mixture of sandalwood and soap, tantalized her nose. Their conversation was serious, but she had to press close and breathe him in. The crown of her head didn’t reach the top of his shoulders. “We have to.”

  He rotated his shoulders, and she sensed an increase in his tension. “The only thing we have to do, Licia, is find our happiness. Currently, we’re happy with being lovers.”

  She sighed and straightened. “What if I’m not happy?”

  He whirled to face her and touched her waist. Her body lit on fire. “You’re not? I don’t please you? Tell me what you want, and I’ll work harder to satisfy you. Or is it…”

  An odd expression came over his face. She frowned. “What?”

  “Is there another man you prefer? Someone you want to be with instead?”

  She couldn’t let him believe that ridiculous lie. Another man who could make her body feel the way he did? Who went to such lengths to make her come and looked the way he did? Hell no. She was twenty-nine and had a handful of lovers over the years. Every one of them insulted her figure straight out or they hinted around that they wished she had more meat on her bones and her breasts were bigger. One asshole, whose tooth she had knocked out with a punch to his jaw, had said she looked like a boy, and it grossed him out to have sex with her. Why the hell did he sleep with her then?

  Thinking about the past brought a fresh bout of shame and hurt, and she spun away from Stefan before he could see it. Maybe this was why she had clung to him and said yes to his proposal—because she didn’t think anyone else would want her.

  I’m a woman like any other one. I deserve a man who loves me just like I am.

  She spoke the words in her head, but she already knew they were hard to believe and accept. Talicia hugged herself, and Stefan’s arms came around her to cover her own. His hard body met hers, and she sank into his embrace.

  “There’s no other man,” she said.

  He kissed along the side of her throat, and she turned her head to invite one on the lips. Stefan’s tongue slid into her mouth, and she moaned. He captured her chin to raise it higher and took the kiss deeper. Every nerve ending tingled, and her pussy clenched. He brought one big hand around to flatten on her belly and slid it lower. She didn’t mean to give in, but she spread her thighs a little to let him cup her heat.

  Stefan took his time raising his head, and he stared into her gaze. “The attraction between us is still too hot to let go. I thought it would burn down, and then we could walk away. Every time I touch you, I have to have you. I have to make you come, and I have to come inside you.”

  “Stefan,” she whimpered. “Don’t say that.”

  “It’s true, isn’t it?”

  Of course it was true, damn it. “It’s true that you’re insane. I mean you’re a billionaire, Stefan. Do you know what you’re risking being married to me, having sex with me without a condom, and all the risks you’re taking? You’re too trusting.”

  “Do you want my money?”

  She frowned and broke away from his hold again to face him. “Excuse me?”

  He held up his hands. “To divorce me means you get a portion of my money.”

  “I—” She was too pissed to speak.

  “You could also demand I take you
to my house so you can move in and live as my wife in the open.”

  She stiffened. “You’re not saying you want that.”

  “No, I’m not.”

  A knife stabbed her heart. “I don’t want it either. I’m not living in your world. I have my own reasons for never wanting anyone to know about us being married.”

  “That’s why I can come in you.”

  “Stefan! It could be a plot.”

  “Sure. I’ll take the risk.”

  “You take too many risks.”

  He grinned. “What would life be without risks, and I’m not so protective over my money that I care about a wife taking half of it. It’s just money. Someone else manages the boring parts. I was once poor, and I can be again. I don’t care. All I care about is enjoying every breath I’m given. Life is a gift, and it’s short. It should be spent doing the things I love, not worrying about who’s going to fleece me.”

  “You seriously irritate me.”

  He grinned. “You turn me on.”

  “You’re impossible to deal with.” She paced. “So what you’re saying is you want things to continue as they are? We stay married and continue as sometime lovers?”

  “Yes, as long as we please each other.”

  “But when we don’t and one or the other isn’t satisfied anymore? What about then?”

  “Then we deal with it at that time.”

  “Divorce?”

  “Licia.” His voice took on a firm tone she rarely heard from him. “Let’s not mention that term anymore. You want me. I hear your body crying out for me, and mine is vibrating it aches for yours so bad. That’s all that matters. I’m living for right now, tonight. I’m living to be inside you and nowhere else.”

  She shook from head to toe. Leave it to Stefan to make sex sound like love. He had to know his words produced that effect. There was no way he didn’t see it. No, of course he saw it. He knew she wanted him and would kill a bastard to get to Stefan. She just hoped he put her emotions down to physical and not those of the heart.

  “Can I have you?” he asked gently, holding out his hand. “My wife. Can I lie between your legs and take you until neither of us can move?”

  She stopped pacing. There wasn’t a chance in hell she would turn him down.

  Chapter Three

  Talicia moved to her closet and began unbuttoning her blouse. She kept her back to Stefan as she shed her clothes and soon stood in just her panties with no bra. A glance down reminded her of the smallness of her breasts and the narrowness of her hips. She looked like she didn’t have a waistline.

  The tiniest of curves along her middle and over her ass gave her a feminine appearance. She had spent a lot of time in a local gym training in self-defense, but she had learned to throw a solid punch in school.

  Stefan’s fingers wrapped around her upper arms, covering the defined muscle there. He drew her toward him, and her ass brushed his thigh. His cock had gone hard, and she felt it against her back. Stefan had never said she turned him off or reminded him of a man. He looked at her with such desire from day one, she responded to it and couldn’t help herself.

  “Licia,” he whispered, his lips at her nape, “why do you turn away from me when you take your clothes off? I want to see you.”

  “You see me when we’re in bed.”

  “I can’t wait.” He spun her around and tipped her chin up. “What’s wrong? Didn’t we settle things earlier?”

  “You’re such a man.”

  He gazed at his cock, straining toward her through the gap where he had opened his pants but hadn’t removed them yet. “Last time I checked.”

  Talicia slipped around him, but she let his shaft brush against her side as she moved. “There were a lot of beautiful women in the club tonight. You could have had your pick of any of them. Every woman loves a musician.”

  “Is that what you’re worried about? Me cheating?”

  She ground her teeth with regret. Never let a man think she was jealous or hurt over him. That was her motto, and she had stuck to it from as far back as high school. Her response to their stupidity had always been anger. Now here she was whimpering about Stefan and those women. This was what she got for falling in love.

  “No, I don’t care what you do. You’re a free agent.”

  He tugged her around at the edge of the bed and then lifted her onto it. She thought he’d toss her, but he placed her gently down and followed with his massive body. Her heart thundered at his delicious size and weight coming down on her. He tapped his knee against hers, and she spread her legs. Then he settled half on top of her and a good portion of his weight on the mattress.

  “I’m not a free agent. I’m your husband.”

  “It’s just an arrangement. Like I said, a piece of paper.”

  “A serious piece of paper.”

  She looked away. “Stefan, I’m not expecting anything from you.”

  He leaned down and teased her lips for a kiss. She gave into him and then winced when his belt buckle rubbed a bit too hard against her belly. He sprung away like he’d been stung. “I’m sorry. Are you okay?”

  Talicia shoved his hands off her stomach. “I’m fine. The buckle scraped a little.”

  “Did it cut your skin?” He tried to look, but she smacked his hand.

  “Just take it off.”

  He stripped in seconds. Her mouth watered as she took him in, loving every sinew and plane. She had never asked him, but she assumed Stefan worked out. The tone of his body seemed so incongruent with his personality, but she liked it. Just as that woman had said earlier, she could eat him up. In fact, she’d done so plenty of times. Talicia agreed with Stefan that their attraction hadn’t lessened. If anything it burned hotter. Every time she saw him all she could think about was getting her hands on him. When he wasn’t in her bed, her body went unsatisfied.

  The mattress sagged under Stefan’s weight, and Talicia rolled to face him. She brought her hands up to rest on his chest and nuzzled her lips against the base of his throat. He ran a hand along her arm and stopped at her elbow.

  “Kiss me, Licia. I can’t get enough of your mouth.”

  She raised her head and parted her lips. Stefan claimed them and stuck his tongue into her mouth. They moaned together as their tongues intertwined. A good ten minutes passed before he leaned back, and she struggled to catch her breath.

  “In answer to your comment, there were a lot of women there. They don’t matter. I like putting smiles on people’s faces, male or female. It makes it more fun to know they’re having a good time. At the end of the night, I know where I want to be, and that’s here.”

  He punctuated his words by raising one of her legs and thrusting forward. The tip of his cock sliced between her folds and eased inside. She was already wet and ready for him. Stefan knew her body like no man before him. His thick cock sank deeper, and a tremor shook her to her core.

  She clung to his arms, whining in pleasure. Stefan’s dick was huge, and the first time he took her she thought he would kill her. She loved it because he stretched her walls and gave her such pleasure despite the pain.

  Stefan had been funny too. He’d fallen on the floor, scared out of his mind. “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry,” he’d chanted, face red hot. “You’re so tiny. I hurt you. I never meant to. Please, forgive me.”

  Talicia had sat up, staring at this white man that was so worried about how she felt. She’d grown hotter for him, aching to get him inside her pussy. “It’s okay. Come here. I want it.”

  “No.” He looked so cute and embarrassed, trying to cover that massive tool he had lying between his legs. At first she began to think it was a ploy because he was turned off. Then she saw how it seemed to throb and was so tight. Stefan was sorry for hurting her, but as she leaned toward him he was looking from her breasts to her pussy and trying his best to calm down. “Maybe you should get dressed. We’ll um…”

  “You’re not leaving this room before I come.” She had lain on her bac
k and spread her legs. Running a finger over her clit, she’d played with herself and squirmed while moaning.

  The big man had sprung up from the floor and landed above her, staring. “That’s not fair, Licia.”

  “I want to come.” She pushed her fingers into her heat and pulled them out wet. He’d lost it then and had to finish what he’d started.

  Tonight, when Stefan entered her, there was nothing but pleasure for both of them. He raised her legs high and climbed atop her. She knew being on top of her was his favorite position, but she liked to ride him just as much. Stefan was always gentle, but sometimes she liked it a tad bit rougher. She got that wildness when she took control. He was sweet enough to let her.

  Stefan hiked her legs high enough that her ass rose off the bed. He leaned back so he could watch as his cock glided into her pussy and slid out. She whimpered his name and moaned, wiggling and arching to get all of him. Their bodies met and drew apart again. Even as Talicia’s orgasm began to build, she wanted a steeper incline that meant a harder crash.

  “I want to get up,” she panted.

  His eyes were shut, but he forced them open so he could keep staring at her naked body. “Not yet, honey.”

  He pumped faster. She scratched at the sheets and shook her ass as much as she could. Air hissed between his teeth. Talicia pushed at his chest. “Stefan.”

  He gave in and pulled his cock out of her. They switched positions, and she climbed atop him. He was so much bigger than her that her knees didn’t touch the mattress when she straddled his waist. She braced herself on his chest, arched, and brought her pussy down on the head of his cock. He sank to the hilt, and she cried out in pleasure.

  “Easy, my love,” he whispered, but Talicia refused to take it slow. When she was on top, she ran things. Stefan could hold on for the ride.

  Talicia leaned as far forward as she dared and braced herself on his chest. Then she came down fast on his cock, driving it deep into her pussy. Stefan’s fingers squeezed her hips to keep control of how far he sank. No matter how much she tried to make him pound her, he wouldn’t allow her to hurt herself. Still, she moved like lightning on his shaft, riding fast and grinding hard. Her orgasm skyrocketed, and her core muscles contracted until she had to clench her jaw not to scream her head off.