Shadow Flight

by Christine Feehan

  “Don’t be such a baby. The heat will take the soreness of the shadows out of your muscles—or if I was just a little too enthusiastic there at the end.”

  She caught the note of worry in his voice and immediately turned back to him, looping her arms around his neck. “Baby, you didn’t hurt me, it was wonderful. Everything we did was perfect. I’m hoping the next time you’ll be able to be the one to—” She broke off, unsure how to tell him what she wanted.

  Taviano brushed kisses down the side of her cheek. “The one to what? Tell me what you want, Nicoletta. Next time what?”

  She took a deep breath. They’d promised each other they’d talk things out, including about sex. Especially anything sexual. They were man and wife, and shouldn’t that be every bit as important as any other subject? Maybe more so because it was the most intimate between them? The way they expressed physical love?

  “I’m afraid to lie on the bed. I’m afraid I’ll have a panic attack if you’re on top of me, but I hope I’ll get there one day soon. But I really want to try on my hands and knees, with you behind me. The idea is really hot every time I think about it. A little scary, but still, I think I could do it without panicking.”

  He nibbled on her shoulder. “I like that idea. It is hot. But you know what’s even hotter?” His hands came up under her breasts and just stayed there, holding the weight casually, as if she belonged to him. As if he claimed her body. She loved the way he did that. He made her feel as if she were a part of him.

  That voice. It got to her every single time. Excitement coursed through her. “What?” She could barely breathe all over again.

  “I’ll show you when we get out of here. We’ll go down to the entrance hall, where the thick carpet is.”

  She licked her lips, trying to think why down there. Their bedroom had privacy screens, making the room at least a little darker. It would be very light in the wide foyer. The entrance was round and very wide, almost like a turret might be, the carpet very thick and rich, with a mirror curving from floor to ceiling along the entire foyer.

  Her head jerked up and her eyes met his. The mirror. She would be able to see him if she looked up. She touched her tongue to her lips. His heavy cock stirred against her bottom.

  He grinned wickedly. “Now you’ve got me hot all over again. Just the thought of watching me disappearing into you is too much to think about. Can’t wait.” He stood up, her in his arms, water pouring off of both of them. “And I can see your face.”

  It seemed so easy for him, his strength so casual as he caught up a large bath towel and pulled it around both of them.

  “We’re dripping everywhere, Taviano,” she reprimanded, but she couldn’t help laughing.

  “It’s our damn house,” he pointed out, uncaring, hurrying down the hall, leaving behind a path of wet footprints.

  She didn’t care, either. Already the heat had started. He was nipping and kissing her shoulder. Her neck. She was doing the same. She licked at the drops of water on his chest. The moment he put her feet on the floor she went to her knees, surrounding his narrow hips with her arms and licking at his cock with her tongue, sweeping up his shaft and over his velvety crown.

  Taviano’s body was already hot. So hot. She loved that about him. The heat poured off his skin, and when she took him in her mouth, she felt as if he lit her on fire. The addicting taste of him nearly drove her out of her mind. She wanted more. Cupping his heavy sac, she stroked and caressed while she sucked and laved with her tongue.

  “Want you on your hands and knees, Nicoletta. I need to be in you again.”

  There was a growl to his voice that had her gaze jumping to his. He looked the same, but different. Definitely hers, but most definitely Taviano Ferraro. He tugged on her hair, and she reluctantly let him slip from her mouth.

  “Crawl over there, right in front of the mirror where it curves, so you can see anything coming at you from any direction.”

  The way he said it was almost an order, yet it was sexy as hell. That voice again. Low. His eyes blazing with heat. With carnal desire. With passion. At the same time, he was giving her a sense of safety. She could see anything coming at her in the mirrors.

  “You’ll be able to see my cock disappear deep. Your body rocking forward when I drive into you. Your breasts swinging with every thrust. It’s so sexy, amore mio. So damn sexy. Your face. I want you to see your face, that beauty when I take you there. And the way we look together. There’s nothing like it, Nicoletta.”

  Taviano could distract her so easily from fear. She put one hand and then one knee into the thick carpet, looking at herself in the mirror. Her breasts did sway. Her nipples peaked. Taviano’s hand dropped to her left cheek, caressing and kneading the muscle as she moved into position.

  “Look how sexy you are.” He knelt behind her, his hand sliding between her thighs, spreading her legs apart farther. “I love how slick you get for me.”

  She watched in the mirror as his head lowered slowly. Her breath hissed out of her lungs and she couldn’t breathe as his tongue ran up her inner thigh and then licked at her swollen lips. His teeth nipped, teased and then scraped at her clit. She moaned and tried to look away but was mesmerized by the sight of him as he moved to the other thigh and repeated the action. His dark hair spilled around her lighter skin. She not only felt it, soft and silky, brushing against her cheeks and thighs, but saw it, looking so erotic in the mirror.

  The burning in her core seemed to increase beyond what she’d felt earlier, and that was a little scary. He licked at her, plunged his tongue into her, stabbing deep and then licking along the seam between her cheeks and thighs before straightening. She saw his fist clamp around his cock and he began to pump. He looked so sexy in the mirror. She pushed back into him.

  “Taviano. What are you doing?”

  “Waiting.”

  “For what?” She glared at him in the mirror. Or she tried to. Her gaze was on his cock. She couldn’t help it. He looked huge and still growing and she was burning, her hips bucking, trying to push into him, trying to capture his slowly pumping cock.

  “I’m a gentleman, piccola. I wouldn’t want to just take advantage of your position without your consent.”

  She licked her lips again. “Taviano, I would very much like you to put your cock in me.”

  “How would you like that done? Hard? Gently?”

  “Any damn way you like, just get it the hell moving.”

  He didn’t wait. One moment he had his fist pumping his heavy erection, the next he had pressed the broad head to her slick entrance and thrust hard, burying himself deep. Lightning seemed to streak through her body as he drove her forward. She went to her elbows, her bottom up in the air, her head to one side, gaze fixed on the mirror, watching.

  There was no way she could have looked away from the sight of his body moving in and out of hers. It was the sexiest thing she’d ever witnessed. He pulled nearly all the way out, and she could see his thick shaft glistening wet in the sunshine, gleaming in the mirror, and then disappearing again into her body.

  She looked small and even delicate with Taviano’s larger body looming over hers. His hands were at her hips, dragging her back into him, over and over. Each time he thrust into her, he buried himself harder and deeper, his fingers digging into her hips, jerking her into him. She couldn’t take her gaze from the sight.

  Every muscle in his body was defined. His face was carved with a kind of carnal lust mixed with passionate worship. He was a blend of sensuality and dominance that merged so perfectly, it only added to the fire sweeping through her. She could see her own body moving with his, thrusting back in rhythm, and he was right, it was sexy, the rippling of her muscles, the swaying of her breasts, the way he suddenly caught her hair and pulled her head back so her back arched and the line was extremely sensual.

  Her breath sawed out of her lungs, turned ragged.
Tension coiled. She didn’t want it to end. She wanted him in her, filling her like this. It was beautiful. She felt triumphant. She felt exhilarated. She felt powerful. Most of all she felt loved and loving. This was a rougher sex, but no less loving, and she recognized that immediately. Every stroke, Taviano made certain, was for her pleasure. She pushed back, squeezing her muscles, making certain that everything she did was for his.

  She felt him thickening, stretching her more, one hand stroking her clit, then her back, then her cheeks, soothing her, so that the flames banked just enough to keep her from flying apart. She found air and whispered his name.

  “Taviano.” Velvet soft. A whisper of love. So intense.

  “You’re my magic, tesoro,” he said. “Look at you. Look at us. So damn beautiful, you make my heart ache.”

  He started all over again. A slow buildup, pulling almost all the way out until she could once more see the very edge of that thick, broad head. She wanted to hurry him, wanting the flames licking over her skin again. Desperate for him to send those fiery forks of lightning streaking through her body to every nerve ending. She wanted fast and hard. She got slow and easy. She got that smoldering burn that built and built until it was on her, and then it was crashing through her like a runaway train. Only then did Taviano go back to his furious pace, this one hard and deep, dragging her body into his all over again.

  Nicoletta managed to match his rhythm only because she was so tuned to him, but it was a desperate tango, her mind telling her that she wasn’t going to survive the wash of this next orgasm. It was too strong. Too big. Too everything. She was terrified to let go. She’d gone too high with him and didn’t know how to come back from it.

  “Look at me, Nicoletta.”

  His voice. Soft. Firm. Always there. Always her safety net. Her eyes met his in the mirror. Those dark blue Ferraro eyes. So turbulent, like a dark summer storm. He was right about the mirror. About how sexy, how sensual, they were together.

  “Let yourself fall. I’m right here. I’ll always catch you.”

  He had. Her nightmares. In the shadows. Here. Where there was pleasure. Her gaze safe in his, she gave herself up to the beauty and love between them. Dio. Dio. It truly was a firestorm of perfection, flinging them both outward, sending them soaring. She felt the jerk of his cock, sending jet after jet of his hot semen deep, triggering more massive quakes. They just seemed to roll through her entire body, one after another.

  Nicoletta pressed her face into the carpet, grateful it was so thick and comfortable. Taviano wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from totally collapsing forward. He rubbed his face on the small of her back.

  “The mirror worked,” he whispered.

  “The mirror totally worked,” she agreed and lay flat, closing her eyes. She intended to go back to sleep until they were absolutely forced to get up again and go out. Maybe, just maybe, they could someday make love in front of the mirror with Taviano on top of her, and she could stare at him the entire time, knowing she was safe. That would be heaven. Right now, she was happy, sated, and so in love she knew it would be all right if she never got there.

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  Taviano made certain he appeared calm and relaxed when he was anything but. Stefano had called a family meeting. He knew that prior to having dinner with Francesca and the rest of the family, the riders would be gathering to discuss whether or not Stefano felt that Nicoletta could officially train as a shadow rider and actually take rotations with Taviano on the roster. They would have no choice but to abide by his brother’s decision. Even if they tried to appeal his decision to the council, he knew the council would never go against Stefano’s judgment.

  Nicoletta sent him several speculative glances, letting him know she knew he hadn’t told her everything, but she didn’t push him. They were already there. The moment they walked into the penthouse, Taviano’s stomach dropped; Eloisa was present. She was no longer a rider and she had no vote, no say in whether or not Nicoletta could be trained. That he could—and would—protest.

  The room was full. Stefano had invited the cousins from New York, Geno, Lucca and Salvatore. That was unusual. Taviano took Nicoletta’s hand and pulled her close to him, wrapping his arm around her waist. He no longer had any idea what was going on. Whatever it was, this wasn’t about Nicoletta, unless Benito Valdez had been spotted. If he had, surely Stefano would have said something.

  His brothers were all there. Ricco with Mariko. Giovanni had returned, and both Vittorio and Emmanuelle were present. Of his seven LA cousins, the four that had come earlier—Severino, Tore, Marzio, and Velia—were still present. They sat as if they’d been waiting for everyone, although he could see by Velia’s face that she wasn’t nearly as comfortable as she’d like everyone to think with Eloisa in the room.

  “Now that Taviano and Nicoletta have arrived, we can get down to business,” Stefano said. “Before I go into the reason I’ve brought Eloisa here, I want to let all of you know that everyone did their job and the Demons heading this way were stopped. Unfortunately, Benito Valdez turned around before we could get a lock on his exact location, although our investigators have narrowed it down and I expect we’ll have that very soon.”

  “He’s aware his army coming this way is dead?” Giovanni asked.

  “It appears so,” Stefano said. “I doubt he would have turned around for any other reason. The cops were called to one of the locations. The bodies were discovered. It was bound to happen. We coordinated very well, but there were just too many of them.”

  Eloisa stirred and looked pointedly at Nicoletta, as if she shouldn’t be there. “We are discussing rider business, aren’t we, Stefano? Technically, we shouldn’t be talking about anything that has to do with shadow riding if we aren’t all riders.” She sounded very stiff and annoyed.

  Taviano tightened his arm around Nicoletta, drawing her beneath the protection of his shoulder. Damn his mother. He should have known she would continue her attack on Nicoletta, no matter how subtle or blatant. Given the opportunity, she was going to do it every time. His one consolation was that his older brother didn’t make mistakes. He had deliberately included Nicoletta in the circle of riders. Francesca, Grace and Sasha were in another room with Crispino. If Stefano hadn’t wanted Nicoletta there, she would have been asked to stay with the other family members in the sitting room or den, and she would have done so and probably been a hell of a lot more comfortable.

  Nicoletta ran her hand up and down his thigh, and he realized she was attempting to comfort him. He was more upset by his mother’s statement than she was.

  Stefano regarded Eloisa steadily with his dark blue eyes. “If you would feel more comfortable waiting somewhere else while we have this discussion, Eloisa, you’re welcome to wait in another room. I believe no one is using the den at the moment. I can check for you if this is too boring. I thought you would want to have this information, and I included you as a courtesy.”

  There was silence following his comments. Eloisa looked shocked and then color swept into her face. She glanced toward Nicoletta again, opened her mouth and then pressed her lips tightly together as her gaze swept around the room. She clenched both hands into fists as she shook her head.

  “I presume that means you wish to stay,” Stefano said, in the same low tone he used when discussing any business with the riders. It was a voice they were all very familiar with. He was in charge at all times, and he expected them to listen to what he was saying and remember it because it was important.

  Eloisa nodded her head. This time she sent Nicoletta a poisonous glare.

  Taviano threaded his fingers through his woman’s and brought her hand up to his mouth, deliberately kissing her knuckles while meeting his mother’s eyes. If she wanted a fight, he let her know it was with him or with both of them. If she came at Nicoletta, his woman wasn’t going to be alone. Not ever.

  “Benito Valdez has four b
rothers. They aren’t as enamored with Benito as it first appeared. It seems as if he’s been bleeding them dry for some time. They make money, and he takes it away from them, claiming they have to pay their dues to him. A few times he’s gone in and taken some of their women, actual wives or partners to some of the men. That hasn’t gone over very well, especially when those women were later sold into a trafficking ring.”

  Beside him, Nicoletta went very still. Taviano could feel her heartbeat hammering in her inner wrist. He rubbed very gently over that pulse, pounding so hard. Anything to do with Valdez was distressing. She’d witnessed firsthand how he’d treated the women.

  Stefano noticed because nothing escaped his eyes. “Nicoletta, I’m sorry we have to talk about this man, but I feel it’s important for you to hear this. If it becomes too much for you, Taviano can fill you in later.”

  She shook her head. “He’s vile, Stefano. Everything he does to women is vile.”

  Taviano felt the shudder that ran through her, and he wanted to pick her up and carry her out of the room. He wished she didn’t ever have to think about Benito Valdez again.

  “He has to be stopped. No one seems to be able to do it. He’s sold so many women and children into virtual slavery it’s unbelievable. Girls as young as eight or nine.” There were tears in Nicoletta’s voice. Her eyes swam with them, but she didn’t shed them. “If anything you say helps anyone in this room stop him, then I’ll sit through listening a thousand times.”

  Emmanuelle looked up from where she was seated between Vittorio and Elie. She looked as if she might cry. “Well said, sorellina, we’ll get him. There is no way he’ll escape.”

  Stefano nodded. “He can’t hide forever, Nicoletta. His brothers want him dead as well, he just is unaware of it. They sent the men they were certain were loyal to him and kept back the ones that are loyal to them. The brother that seems to be the appointed leader is in Los Angeles. His name is Tonio. His big dream is to have a reality television show and bring in all of his brothers from their locations. He thinks he can hobnob with the rich and famous and get a very wealthy celebrity to fall for him. He’s got his eyes on Velia.” He indicated his cousin.