Devoted to Him

by Sofia Tate

  His arms weakened, I release my legs and slide slowly down the wall, my head on his chest, our breaths matching in short rasps.

  He lifts my chin with his index finger so I can look into his eyes.

  “I love you, Allegra.”

  At the sound of those words, I finally let out what I didn’t even know I’d been holding inside, collapsing into tears that fall onto his chest. He holds me tightly as he repeats, “I love you. I love you. I love you.” At that moment, it’s what I need to hear the most.

  * * *

  Davison

  To get Allegra’s mind off her nightmare, I take her to see Mozart’s The Marriage of Figaro the following night. Seeing her reaction during the performance, I know I’ve made the right decision.

  Every time I glance over at Allegra, she’s smiling, mouthing along to the lyrics with the performers, even conducting the orchestra herself with quick gestures of her fingers. I do follow along with the action on the stage, but I am more interested in staring at my love, entranced by her visceral reaction. Watching her makes me feel like I’m alive.

  As thrilled as I am for her apprenticeship in Italy, I don’t know what it’ll be like for me when I won’t be able to feel her, touch her, smell her, kiss her, be buried inside her.

  Actually, I do know.

  It’ll hurt like fucking hell, as if I were missing a limb.

  A loud round of applause rises from the audience.

  “That was wonderful,” she exclaims. “But I’m dying for the restroom. Meet you at the bar?”

  I lean over and kiss her softly on the lips. “A glass of champagne will be waiting for you, baby.”

  After Allegra dashes away, I make my way out with the other patrons. As I wait for her with our drinks at the bar, a grating voice assaults my right ear. “Dump the charity case already, Davis?”

  Fuck.

  I turn to face my ex-girlfriend. “What the hell do you want, Ashton?”

  “I saw you in your family box and just wanted to say hello. You didn’t answer my question.”

  “Usually I’d say it’s none of your goddamned business, but I’m pleased to tell you that we’re still together. She’s moving in with me.”

  “Oh, really? That’s going to be interesting, seeing as she’s going to Italy.”

  I can’t believe her fucking nerve. I decide to feign ignorance just to suss her out.

  “What are you talking about?”

  “Oh, please,” she purrs like a lioness about to eat her young, wiping imaginary dust off my shoulder. “Give me a little credit. I heard from a friend of a friend that your little Maria Callas is going to Italy in July. What on earth are you going to do without her for all that time?”

  A familiar arm wraps around my waist. “We’re going to have a lot of Skype sex,” Allegra announces.

  I fucking love this woman.

  Ashton’s lips purse together, her eyes furious with anger aimed at Allegra.

  “Honey, would you pass me my drink, please?” my Venus asks of me, her voice dripping with a mixture of possession, lust, and total contempt for the blonde shrew standing across from us.

  “With pleasure, baby,” I reply, smirking back at Ashton.

  I hand her one of the flutes, clinking our glasses together. We each take a sip, then bring our lips closer to each other and shut up Ashton instantly with our long, hot kiss.

  When we come up for air, we see the back of Ashton, storming away.

  “Did I miss anything?” Allegra asks, leaning in closer to me.

  “She knows about Italy.”

  “How?” she asks worriedly. “I know you didn’t tell her.”

  “Probably my mom,” I sigh. “She must’ve told a friend, who told someone else.”

  “Sounds like your mother needs to vet her friends better.”

  “Agreed.”

  A set of chimes sounds to signal the impending start of the next act.

  I take our glasses, placing them on the bar. I grab Allegra by the waist and lean into her ear.

  “And for your information, we are taking the scenic route home tonight. With stoplights.”

  “That’s my favorite way home,” she whispers in return. Hidden from sight, her right hand cups my crotch, rubbing it slowly back and forth. “But since nobody is sharing the box with us tonight, I think we can start even sooner.”

  Could I possibly love this woman more?

  I give her a wicked look, then Allegra simply grins at me with her eyes lit up, knowing I’m about to take her up on her idea.

  With my right hand on her lower back, I steer her back to our box. Shutting the door behind us, I take our chairs and shift them farther back from the edge overlooking the orchestra seats below. We take our seats, and I pull Allegra closer to me. I glance over at her, and she’s staring back at me, biting her lower lip, anxious as I am for the second act to start. The signature lights hanging from the Met ceiling are hoisted up. We are now hidden in the shadows.

  The audience starts to applaud as the maestro takes his place at the conductor’s podium. We clap our hands politely, but when the applause dies down, Allegra shifts her right hand to me, placing it over my crotch. Her face is impassive as she looks straight forward. I put my hand on her right leg, slowly traveling up her stockinged leg to her thigh, where my fingers are stopped by a silk garter. We listen as the overture begins. The curtain is raised. All eyes are now on the stage.

  I lean into Allegra’s right shoulder. I tilt my head to her ear, sweeping my tongue around the tender flesh of her lobe. She tastes so damn sweet. I can sense her shivering as her breath increases, coming out short and fast from her mouth. “I would give anything right now for you to straddle me and ride me hard until we both scream at the top of our fucking lungs. But we’ll have to settle for this, baby,” I murmur to her with a rasp, moving my hand across her warm belly south to her pussy.

  While I sit back and begin to finger her cunt, Allegra’s right hand unzips my trousers and immediately burrows under the flap of my boxers. She reaches my hardened cock and starts to gently caress it, using her thumb to spread the moisture around the head. I grit my teeth as my heartbeat begins to race.

  I insert another finger into her cleft, thrusting them in and out, over and over. I find her clit and rub it between my thumb and index finger. I can hear her moaning softly, and when I look at her, her eyes are shut, with her teeth clamped over her lower lip, trying to hold everything in, and I know she’s dying to cry out in release.

  Allegra’s hold on my cock begins to lessen as her orgasm overcomes her, spilling over my fingers. Her head falls back on the chair as she pants for oxygen. I slowly remove my fingers. She smiles at the feel of my touch on her, as I grin at her release, the sated look on her face making me shift in my seat.

  When I adjust myself, my love sits up, returning to the task at hand—my engorged dick. Her right shoulder bumps into me as her warm breath breezes across my ear. “So sorry. I’m neglecting you.”

  “Totally okay, baby,” I whisper in return. “I know you’ll take care of me.”

  She laughs under her breath. “Always, Harvard.”

  I groan hearing the lilt in her voice…so beautiful, so sweet, my Venus.

  Her right hand starts to pump my shaft faster. I close my eyes, knowing I’m about to explode. My hands grip the sides of my chair. I’m going to come so fucking hard.

  It builds and builds when finally, my essence shoots out, and I suppress a growl as deeply as I can into my gut. From out of nowhere, I feel a tissue being used to wipe me off. My Allegra is always prepared, another reason why I fucking love this woman.

  Once my breathing regulates and I put myself back together, I wrap my left arm around her shoulders to get her as close to me as I can. She turns to look at me, and we kiss quickly but deeply.

  “I fucking love the opera,” I murmur into her ear.

  “I have a feeling you’ll want to come more often,” she replies huskily.

  “
Yes. And to see the opera, of course.”

  “Oh, of course,” she replies, nuzzling my neck.

  I lean back into the chair with a huge smile on my face, tucking my goddess as tightly into me as I can.

  Oh yeah, I fucking love the opera.

  Chapter Six

  Allegra

  Cara?”

  Sitting at my kitchen table, I’m mentally replaying the scene with Davison and the blonde shrew the night before at the Met.

  “Allegra?”

  I don’t even notice that my father has been trying to get my attention until he taps me on the wrist.

  “Oh, scusa mi, Papa. What is it? Is something wrong?”

  His eyebrows furrow as he points at the untouched dessert on my plate. “That is what’s wrong.”

  I sigh, knowing I can’t put it off any longer. I sit up in my chair. “I need to tell you something.”

  He shifts his chair closer to me, giving me his full attention.

  “I had a meeting with Signora Pavoni and Signora Ventura.”

  “Do you mean La Diva?” he asks, his eyes widening in surprise.

  “Sì, Papa,” I nod. “They wanted to speak to me about something.”

  “What?”

  “I still can’t believe this myself,” I reply incredulously. “Signora Ventura offered me one of her apprenticeships to study opera with her at her home in Italy.”

  “Daverro?”

  I can’t help but smile at him. “Yes, Papa, really!”

  I watch as he springs from his chair, dragging me up with him.

  “Cara mia! I am so proud of you!” he shouts, hugging me tightly and kissing me on my head.

  “Thank you, Papa,” I murmur through my tears.

  He pulls me back down to our seats, my hands still grasped in his.

  “So, tell me everything! When do you leave?”

  “July.”

  “That’s very soon. Have you told Davison? He must be so excited for you.”

  “I did, but that’s not what I’m worried about.”

  “What is it, then?”

  I take a deep breath. “Last night at the opera, Davison and I ran into Ashton.”

  “You don’t mean—”

  “Sì, Papa. Her.”

  His eyes open wide in surprise. “Dio mio! Go on.”

  “I caught the end of what she was saying to him, asking what he was going to do without me. And as much as I know that he loves me, I’ll be away and she’ll be here, doing whatever she can to get him back. I’m just afraid of what could happen.”

  My father shakes his head.

  “You know, cara, sometimes you can be so…”

  “What, Papa?”

  “Pazza!” he spits out, using the universal Italian hand gesture for “crazy,” indicating how insane he thought I was being. He takes my hand in his.

  “I’m not crazy.”

  “I know. Just listen, per favore,” he asks calmly.

  I settle into my chair. “Go on.”

  “You need to know what Davison was like when you were missing,” he begins to recall for me in a steady manner. “He stayed here in the apartment almost the entire time because he knew if someone was going to call with a ransom demand, they would’ve called me. He barely slept or ate anything that I gave him. He was on his phone all the time, using every connection he had to track you down.”

  I don’t stop the tears that start running down my face as he continues.

  “I couldn’t sleep either, of course. When I woke up in the middle of the night and came into the living room to check on him, he would be sitting up on the couch, either staring into space or holding his head in his hands.”

  My fists clench in reaction to my father’s confession.

  “The worst happened right before they found you. I was lying in bed, and I thought I heard a noise coming from your room. When I went in, I saw Davison lying on your bed crying his eyes out.”

  I clamp my hand over my mouth in shock, grabbing his arm with the other. “What did you do?”

  “Being the man he is, he was embarrassed, of course. I sat down on the bed and patted his arm, just to tell him it was okay. But then he sat up, and just started saying all these things. ‘Where is she, Mr. Orsini? I need her. I love her so much. I feel so helpless. I can’t live without her.’ I put my arm around him, and before I knew it, he was leaning into me, crying on my shoulder. So I just held him like that, letting him cry as much as he needed to.”

  I choke on my tears at his revelation. “Oh, Papa, do you know that you were probably more of a father to him in that moment than his father ever was in his whole life?” I tell him gratefully, now holding his hands in mine.

  “That’s funny,” he says, smiling.

  “What do you mean?”

  “He said the exact same thing to me when he thanked me for doing that.”

  My heart melts. “Really?”

  “Sì. Allegra, I may have been suspicious of him at first, but now I know he is perfect for you. He loves you so much, as much as I loved your beautiful mamma. I know he will always take care of you and would never do anything to hurt you.”

  I lean in to hug him. “I know, Papa. Grazie. And now, I think I’m going to have that tiramisu after all.” I pull the plate toward me.

  “Bene. Always remember, no matter how old you get, your papa will still be the wisest man you know.”

  “Yes, Papa. Sempre. Always,” I say to him with a peck on his cheek.

  * * *

  Davison

  The pop of a champagne cork blends with the laughter and uplifted voices coming from my living room. Frank Sinatra’s cool voice singing the best of Cole Porter contributes to the celebratory vibe of the evening.

  I’m standing in my kitchen, watching the festive activity in my apartment through the open space. My cocktail party to celebrate Allegra’s apprenticeship in Italy is in full swing. I spared no expense, hiring a caterer, a bartender…nothing but the best for my Venus. I only invited her father, my mother, and her close friends. I’m watching Tomas and Lucy staring at the view of the Hudson River from my window, their arms wrapped around each other. Allegra’s father is in deep conversation with her mentor, Signora Pavoni.

  But my favorite sound is hearing Allegra laughing out loud. I glance over at her talking with Derek Fisher, her accompanist, and his husband, Aaron. Wearing a tight black dress that emphasizes her sumptuous curves that make me hard from the sight of them, her long, silky brown hair falling around her face, she’s laughing so hard, holding her hand over her stomach to keep herself in check.

  Suddenly, an emotion comes over me that I’d never experienced before. It’s foreign to me, but I realize what it is.

  I’m happy.

  And I’m going to be even happier once everyone leaves and I can fuck my beloved on every surface in my apartment.

  I shake my head and smile when this realization hits me. I’d never felt like this when I was dating Ashton. When she made me throw a party, the screeching sound of her girlfriends’ voices grated on my nerves, and their boyfriends measured each other’s dicks by bragging whose investment portfolio or summer yacht rental was bigger. Being with Ashton brought me no joy or warmth. My life was empty, dull, and mundane.

  But now, thanks to one lost glove, I’ve never been happier in my life because of Allegra. And tomorrow, she’s leaving to study with La Diva in Italy for an entire month, and I’ll be back here in New York, missing her as if one of my limbs has been removed from my body with a fucking chainsaw. That’s how deep I know the ache will be.

  A tap on my arm snaps me from my melancholic state.

  “Darling, are you all right?”

  I look down into the soft eyes of my mother.

  “Yeah, Mom,” I murmur.

  She frowns. “You’re missing her already, aren’t you?”

  “How’d you know?”

  “Sweetheart, I’m your mother. A mother knows these things.” She smiles at me compassionate
ly. “So why are you in here while she’s out there?”

  “I was just checking on the food. But now that you mention it…”

  I peck my mom on the cheek, grabbing my empty champagne glass and heading out to the bar for a refill. The flute now full, I make my way to my gorgeous girlfriend, tugging her away apologetically from Derek and Aaron with a wide smile. “I’m sorry, gentlemen, but I need to borrow my woman for a minute.”

  The two men grin widely at me.

  “Borrow away, sir,” Derek declares, raising his eyebrow at me.

  I pull Allegra with me, her grip growing tighter on my hand.

  “For crying out loud, baby, would you ease up?” I shake our clasped hands to indicate that I’m close to losing circulation.

  “No, I won’t ease up. And I was talking to them, Harvard,” she mutters through her teeth.

  “I know, but I want you by my side when I say a few words to our guests,” I whisper into her ear as I lead her to the center of the room.

  “Oh, for chrissakes,” I hear her murmur under her breath. I don’t even have to look at her to know she’s rolling her eyes at me.

  I reach for the remote to my sound system that’s sitting on the mantel, pausing the music. The guests turn to see why Old Blue Eyes stopped singing.

  My heart is pounding in my chest, the way I always get whenever I’m thinking, speaking, basically doing anything related to the amazing woman who I know now is the love of my life, which makes me feel like the luckiest SOB on the planet.

  I clear my throat. “Good evening, friends and family. I just wanted to take a moment to acknowledge why you’re all here tonight. I asked you here to celebrate the beautiful woman standing to my right. My Allegra.”

  A flutter of claps and cheers bounces around the walls of my living room. Her delicate palm starts to sweat slightly in my grasp. I stroke my thumb over her hand to soothe her. I hear her take a breath and exhale as I continue.

  “Tomorrow, she’s leaving for Italy for a month to study opera from La Diva herself, Ginevra Ventura, thanks to Signora Pavoni.”