I stare at her in fascination as she sips the champagne and try to push down the direction my thoughts are heading. Reaching for the plate of oysters, I hold one to her lips and say firmly, “Open your mouth.”
She looks a little disgusted and I laugh to myself and then say sternly, “I said open your mouth.”
She rolls her eyes and does as I say, and I tip the delicacy down her throat and love the way her eyes widen as she samples the treat.
“What did you think?”
“I’m not sure.”
I take another and slip it down my throat and feel the pleasure it gives my taste buds. “Another one then.”
She looks a little doubtful but to her credit, opens her mouth to allow me to pour another one down her throat and this time she nods. “Better.”
“It always is when you get used to it.” I grin and she giggles adorably and I feel my cock throbbing. How does she do it? I’ve been with hundreds of women and none of them have affected me in the slightest, yet this woman, an inexperienced virgin, has done the unthinkable.
Snapping out of it, I reach for a spoon of caviar and hold it to her lips. “Open.”
She pulls a face and says shortly, “Are you really going to feed me all night?”
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“Because it gives me pleasure.”
“What about me? Don’t I get a say in it?”
I wink. “No.”
I hold out the spoon and she opens her mouth and I watch her taste the expensive delicacy and her eyes shine. “That I like.”
She takes a swig of the champagne and leans back, her robe falling open just a little, exposing the swell of her breast.
Once again, my cock begs to reach her and I say gruffly, “Come with me.”
She looks up in surprise and I take her hand and place her champagne in the other one. “Come, we will drink this at the water’s edge.”
We walk hand in hand along the beach, sipping our champagne as the moon rises and there is nothing but the crash of the waves to disturb the peace. When we reach the edge of the waves, I place the glasses on the sand and stand before her. Then I ease her robe from her shoulders until she is standing naked before me, looking like a goddess in the moonlight. To her credit she stands tall and without shame, and I allow my robe to join hers on the sand at my feet. Then I pull her close and kiss her like a lover would and relish the fact she melts into me and moans her pleasure.
Then I pull back and say gently, “Tell me.”
“What?” Her voice is but a whisper.
“What do you want me to do?”
Without hesitation, she says, “Fuck me, Tobias.”
I shake my head. “No.”
She steps back and looks at me with a worried expression and I run my thumb over those lips that appear to have been created for my pleasure and say huskily, “Ask me to make love to you.”
Her eyes fill with tears and she blinks them away and says softly, “Make love to me, Tobias.”
Her words make my heart lift this time because they are what I want to hear. Yes, I must practice what I preach and face my fear because I am fast realizing that love is a vital ingredient in any relationship and that is what will bind her to my side forever. I could have all the riches in the world, but they would count for nothing if love wasn’t a part of that.
So, I kiss my wife with love in my heart and the feelings inside me are intensified. As I press her body to the sand, I savor the woman who feels as if she was sent from God to be by my side. Then I kiss her all over and worship her like she deserves and when she can’t take anymore, I inch inside her for the second time and wish I could stay here forever.
Chapter 29
Anastasia
Once again, Tobias has surprised me. When he made love to me on the sand under the moonlight, I gave him more than just my body. He now owns my heart. I am starting to understand him a little more because when he apologized; I saw him struggling, like me, in an unknown place. Maybe there is hope for us after all and I am now determined to try at least.
When I wake in the morning, it’s wrapped in his arms. The sunlight replaces the moonlight and streams through the window, signifying the start of a glorious new day. Tobias is sleeping soundly and I smile to myself. He is so handsome and all mine. I know that now because he told me again and again as we made love for most of the night. Now I know what it’s like to have it all. He is everything and I will make it my life’s work to make him happy.
He stirs and I trace the contours of his face softly and he opens his eyes and smiles. “That feels nice.”
I say nothing and just lean in and kiss his lips softly and lightly and he tenses under my touch. I feel him hard against me and smile.
He pulls me closer and growls, “Time for lesson number four.”
“Only four, I thought surely we must be on lesson ten or eleven by now.”
He grins wickedly and shakes his head.
“No, I’m pretty sure we were just going over it again and again. If I remember rightly, we never reached lesson number four.”
Immediately the desire grips me and I feel the wetness between my legs. How my body craves this man and he appears insatiable. Sophia was right. He has a sexual appetite that could keep me busy all day, but I’m happy about that.
He rolls me on top of him and I look into his eyes and smile, loving the way his breath hitches. Reaching up, he strokes my face reverently and whispers, “So beautiful. My goddess.”
Then he growls, “I want you to sit on me, all the way in.”
He pushes me up so I straddle his body and lifts me slightly, bringing me down onto his hard cock, and as it slides in, I gasp with pure pleasure. Then he growls, “Now ride my cock and own it, it’s yours.”
Feeling empowered, I start to move slowly at first and watch his expression change to one of pure pleasure as I squeeze his cock between my thighs. The friction builds as I drag my clit against his hard shaft and I close my eyes, allowing the waves of ecstasy to build.
He growls, “Look at me.”
Snapping my eyes open, I stare into the dark eyes filled with desire that give me power and I speed up until my breasts bounce and he groans. “Harder.”
I do as he says and move like a woman possessed by the devil as I buck on top of him and feel him invade me completely.
He grabs my arms and hold me firmly as he thrusts inside me and his grunts of pleasure spur me on even faster. The pressure is too intense and I scream as my orgasm is torn from me by one powerful thrust and as his roar of release joins mine, I feel him throb inside me as he coats me with his seed.
I am out of breath and out of my mind as I look him in the eye and whisper, “I love you.”
He freezes and looks at me in shock, and I know I’ve made a terrible mistake when he shuts down before my eyes.
Lifting me off him, he swings his legs to the side of the bed and growls, “Wait there.”
Feeling confused and so mortified, I lean back and wonder what part of my crazy brain thought that was a good idea. He doesn’t love me; it was in his eyes and now I’ve ruined what we were building. He immediately withdrew from me mentally and physically and I feel like such a fool.
Wrapping the sheet around me, I walk across to the window and stare emotionless at the waves crashing to the shore. Way to go Anastasia, ruin a good thing with one sentence.
I can see his reflection in the glass as he heads into the room, wearing a towel slung around his waist and looking as if someone just died. My heart is in my mouth as I sense change coming and know I won’t like what I hear.
He moves behind me and wraps his arms around me and says huskily, “I’m sorry, you took me by surprise.”
I say nothing and just let him talk because the fact I can’t see his eyes is probably a good thing for both of us.
“I’m sorry, my darling, but I told you that being married to me would mean a life without love. I will give you the world and everythin
g you could want, but I won’t give you that.”
A lone tear falls from my eye as I feel my own heart breaking. He did warn me, I suppose, but I thought…
He nuzzles my neck and whispers, “It’s not that I don’t want to, I can’t. You see, I made a vow to myself years ago that I would never allow myself to love another person. You see, my love destroys. It taints what’s good and like a cancer eats away at it until it’s dead. Sophia is my blood and we are two of a kind. We don’t feel anymore—we have learned not to because when you love someone, when you allow them inside your head and your heart, they destroy you. Trust me, you will not want me to love you because my love is the devil’s love and you will burn in hell with me. Understand that my little bird because I will not allow myself to love another as long as I live.”
His words do not comfort me. They destroy the last shred of hope I had in me for a normal life.
Turning to face him, I say sadly, “Then I feel sorry for you, Tobias. You are missing out on the only thing in life that can bring you great happiness. You may have it all, good looks, wealth and a life no normal person could ever understand, but you are poorer for it because you won’t allow yourself to open up and let someone in. You asked me if I could live without love because you could. I said I had lived without it all my life and now I’m not so sure.”
His expression hardens as I shake my head sadly. “It’s ok, we made a deal and I’m not one to go back on my word. Just maybe we should go back to how it was before either of us gets hurt.”
I see a flash of pain in his eyes as he hisses, “Is that what you want?”
Turning away, I say sadly, “No, it’s not but like you, I must do what’s best for me and I can’t allow myself to fall more in love with you because as you said, it would destroy me. What happened here, on this magical island, will always be special to me because you showed me how amazing love can be if you let it. Thanks for that, but I must protect myself from allowing myself to hope for more. So, I will be your wife in public and in private under the terms of our contract, but I will not allow myself to love you.”
I walk away with the tears streaming down my face as my world ends. Once again, I am chained to a relationship where the other person doesn’t want me for the person I am inside and only for what I can give them. When will I ever learn because I’m a grade A fool? I owe it to myself to shut any feelings down I have for my new husband because it’s obvious he has none for me, anyway.
Chapter 30
Tobias
I know she’s right, but it hurts just the same. Things were moving too fast and she has rightly applied the brakes.
Why am I such a fucking bastard? If she knew my past, she would run for cover like Carlos obviously has because the bastard just won’t let me kill him.
My mood has now changed and I need to get my head back in business, so I leave Anastasia to shower and deal with what just happened and head off to find Matteo.
I find him working in the office building to the rear of the house and note the surprise in his eyes as I head inside. “Mr. Moretti.”
He nods and stands, and I say irritably. “We’re leaving. Arrange it.”
“Consider it done.”
“Any word on Carlos?”
His eyes light up and I sense a change in him which immediately gets my attention. “I just had word that he may be in Chicago. I’m having it checked out now and should hear by the end of the day.”
“Who’s on it?”
“Salvatore.”
My fists ball and I feel the murderous rage taking hold of my reasoning. “Call him, find out what he knows and arrange our journey home. Then I want you to arrange a trip to Chicago, we leave as soon as we touch down and offload Mrs. Moretti.”
He nods and I leave him to the arrangements and growl inside. Carlos Toledo. The little sniveling piece of shit who is the last man standing. I know it was him who brought my world to an end and it will be my greatest pleasure to end his. I need to return and take care of the final piece of the puzzle of my past, and I’m impatient to deal with it.
I head back to my suite and see Anastasia brushing her freshly showered hair and snap, “We’re leaving.”
I don’t even look at her because I can’t deal with what is surely on her face right now. She probably hates me and thinks this is something to do with what just happened. It’s not. I will deal with that when Carlos is dead and six feet under because that’s all I can think of right now.
The journey home is very different to the one we took before. I am cold, distant and plotting the blackest revenge. Anastasia is withdrawn and keeps her tongue well-hidden which I’m grateful for and we don’t speak, which is in direct contrast to how things were before.
She closes her eyes on the plane, but I know she’s not sleeping. She is tight, tense, and is in the process of building a wall around her that keeps me out. It bothers me—a lot, but I don’t have time to let it get to me. I’ll deal with that later because the only thing on my mind right now is Carlos Toledo.
A soon as we touch down, I turn to her and say in an emotionless voice, “You will travel the last part on your own.”
She looks at me in shock as the doors open and the steps are brought to the aircraft. Outside are three cars as usual, containing my reserve guards that don’t travel with me. She gasps, “You’re not coming home.”
I push aside the pain I feel when she looks at me with hurt in those gorgeous blue eyes and say firmly, “No, I have business to attend to. Salvatore will make sure you arrive safely back to the house. Sophia will keep you company for however long it takes. There will be no visitors, no phone calls and no leaving the premises even to visit the garden. Do I make myself clear?”
“But?”
Leaning in, I hiss, “Do I make myself clear—answer me?”
She lowers her eyes. “Yes.”
“Then go.”
I give her a gentle push and she shrugs off my hand and heads outside the aircraft without looking back and I hate the feeling inside me as she leaves. It’s as if someone is ripping a band aid off my most tender part and it burns.
Then the door closes and I watch her safely settled in the middle car and as they ease away, I feel like roaring with frustration and anger. Why now, why her and why the fuck am I such a fucking bastard?
Chapter 31
Anastasia
I can’t even cry. I sit like a statue in the back of another black car and grieve for the one moment I actually loved. Then it was cruelly taken away, leaving me with nothing left to live for. This is it. My life. A prized possession of Satan himself. He has shown me in one hand the pleasure that two people in love can share and then ripped it away with no antiseptic to take the burn away.
Now I’m to remain a prisoner in his home along with his sister until he decides it’s ok. Well, maybe now is the time to make a stand, so I knock on the glass partition and as it slides down, say to the man beside the driver.
“I want to go to my mother’s home.”
He shakes his head.
“I’m sorry, Mrs. Moretti, but no can do. Mr. Moretti was very specific that you are to remain on lockdown at the mansion.”
“But?”
The partition slides back up and I feel the frustration growing. What the fuck? I don’t even get a say in my own life anymore.
I feel so angry I could rip the leather off the seats with my bare hands as I suddenly hate Tobias Moretti with a passion. Love and hate are so mixed up right now, and hate appears to be winning the battle.
As we sweep through the large electric gates, I hear them close behind me and feel trapped. I have gone from feeling so free and happy to chained and despairing.
As soon as the door opens, I smack away the hand offered to me and head inside angrily. Bloody bastard. I should have known it was all too good to be true.
I slam the door behind me and Mrs. Billings comes running and by the look in her eye, my anger is not uncommon in this house and she nods resp
ectfully. “Welcome home, Mrs. Moretti, would you like me to fetch you anything?”
“Good afternoon, Mrs. Billings, please can you arrange a decanter of whiskey to be delivered to the blue room with one glass?”
She raises her eyes and then I hear a soft laugh coming from the entrance to the West wing.
Looking up, I see Sophia standing watching me, shaking her head. “It figures.”
“What?” I stare at her irritably as she shares a look with Mrs. Billings and says gently, “Change that order to two coffees with whiskey chasers and have it delivered to my room.”
Then she turns to me and says softly, “We need to have a chat.”
Mrs. Billings heads off and I am curious so follow Sophia toward her own suite of rooms. The decoration in this wing is completely different to the rest of the house. She appears to like modern things and her space is minimalist with a style that wouldn’t look out of place in a magazine spread. It’s light, airy and uncomplicated, and the only color is provided by the tasteful canvases on the walls and the lamps that are resting on chrome and glass tables. Deep pile scatter rugs provide warmth to a large loft space, and I stare around in amazement as I learn a little more about my sister-in-law.
She points to a large, white leather sofa and says sweetly, “Please sit and make yourself at home. I hope you don’t mind me interfering but I recognized myself in you and know just how you’re feeling right now.”
She leans forward as she sits with her legs tucked up beside her and grins. “My brother is the biggest asshole that ever lived and I am so done with his moods.”
Despite myself, I laugh softly. “He is.”
We hear movement and see Mrs. Billings carrying a tray of coffee with a couple of glasses of whiskey and Sophia smiles her thanks. “We will be down for dinner, Mrs. Billings and will take it in the drawing room.”
Mrs. Billings nods and Sophia hands me a cup of hot coffee.
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