I ventured into the kitchen, where I heard my parents making breakfast.
“Good morning,” my mother said, smiling. “Did you have a good night with your friends?”
My cheeks began to burn, and I suppressed a smile that would have surely revealed how my night had ended. “Yeah,” I said, trying to keep my voice steady.
“Good.”
Daddy turned toward me with a mug of coffee in his hands. “Well, I’ve spoken with the Romanos and—”
“Wait one second,” I said, cutting him off. “That’s actually what I want to talk to you both about…”
Daddy raised his eyebrows, and Mama turned away from the oven, where she’d been removing a batch of buttermilk biscuits.
I took a seat at the kitchen table. “Well, I don’t know how else to say this, so I guess I’ll just keep it short and sweet—Giovanni and I are going to get married. The wedding is back on, and we want to do it next week.”
Mama remained perfectly still, and Daddy set his coffee down on the table.
“What did you just say?” he asked after a prolonged pause.
“The wedding is back on. Me and Giovanni—we just had a terrible misunderstanding. It’s all been worked out now though. And we want to be married again.”
Daddy scratched his head. “Ari, how—?”
But with a swift motion of her hand, Mama silenced him. “Are you sure this is what you want, honey?”
I nodded and smiled. “Yes, it’s exactly what I want.”
“Well then—as long as you’re happy.” She came to the kitchen table and wrapped me in a hug.
“Are you doing anything today?” I asked. “I’d like to get a wedding dress.”
“Oh, you only had to say the word,” Mama said, unable to hide her excitement. “I’ll clear my entire schedule, although I don’t even think finding the perfect dress is going to take long.” She grinned and grabbed my hand, pulling me to my feet.
The two of us began running through the house, giggling in excitement like a pair of schoolgirls.
In a mere matter of hours, I was at a boutique, being sized for the dress I’d be wearing in a week to marry Giovanni. The dress had been hanging in my mother’s closet for over 20 years, waiting to be passed down to me. It had served my mother perfectly when she wed my father, and now it was perfect for me to wed Gio. Only slight alterations were needed around the waistline and shoulders.
I stared at my reflection, admiring the intricate lace designs covering the bodice of the dress, and loving the way it flared out at the bottom. Through the mirror, I could see my mother dabbing her eyes with the Kleenex she clutched in her hand and smiling at me. And I was struck by how much I suddenly favored her.
“Now, Ari—don’t feel pressured into using this dress if you don’t want to wear it, all right? I’ll understand if you want your own dress,” Mama said.
I turned toward the dressmaker of the boutique. “Can you have this dress altered and ready for me by next week?”
“I most certainly can,” she said with a smile.
Tears welled in my mother’s eyes all over again.
* * *
The rest of the week was the busiest, but one of the happiest of my life. We got my dress altered, Angela and Jessica planned a last-minute bridal shower and bachelorette party for me, we booked the church Giovanni’s parents had been married in. Before I knew it, the day of my wedding had arrived.
I woke to an empty house, for my mother had gone to pick up the wedding cake, and my father was likely at the church, making sure everything was in order.
I stretched and lied in bed for a moment, reflecting on the head-spinning romance Giovanni and I had embarked on. It hardly seemed plausible for us to have had so much turbulence only to fall so deeply in love so quickly. But that was precisely what had happened, and I wouldn’t change it for anything in the world.
Smiling to myself, feeling the nervous jitters I imagined all brides felt on the day of their wedding, I climbed out of bed and prepared to get into the shower so that I could hurry off to my appointments to get my hair and makeup done.
When I turned on the shower, and the doorbell rang.
I glanced at the time, knowing it was too early for my bridesmaids to be here already. Curiously, I threw on a robe headed downstairs and opened the door.
“What are you doing here? Don’t you know it’s bad luck for the groom to see the bride before the wedding?!”
Gio laughed and gathered me into his arms, lifting me clean off my feet and swinging me around in a circle. “But I wanted to see my fiancée for one last time, you now, before you officially become my, wife.”
He set me down and closed the door.
“You are really going to have to learn to be more patient,” I said, although I couldn’t deny how happy I was to see him. With all the wedding planning, we’d hardly seen each other since deciding to renew our engagement. “I don’t have much time. I’ve got a hair appointment to get too soon. I was just about to take a shower.”
Gio grinned. “Oh yeah? And I take it that your parents aren’t home?”
“No…”
He pulled his shirt over his head. “Well, let me join you.”
“Gio—you can’t be serious,” I said. “It’s the day of our wedding!”
“You already know I have little patience. I’m already ready to get to the honeymoon part.”
“Gio, no!” I turned around and ran upstairs to my room, my laughter filling the house. He chased me, easily catching me and wrapping his arms around me.
The temperature in the room skyrocketed. It was impossible to resist him, something powerful pulling me in. His fingers traced my arms slowly, creating goosebumps everywhere he touched, while his eyes swallowed me whole. The intensity of his lust matched my own, and I didn’t care about anything but getting this man inside of me.
“Gio, make love to me,” I whispered, already breathless.
“Yes, babe.”
He brought my leg around his waist and raised my robe, sliding his palm over my thigh slowly until he reached my thong. A moan slipped through my lips when his fingers pushed beneath the thin material, reaching my core.
“Already wet and ready for me,” he muttered and sucked my lower lip into his mouth, brushing my clit with his fingers.
“Gio...”
He pleasured me slowly, building the pressure in me gradually, and it only made me more impatient to get him deep inside of me. The walls of my pussy clenched around the emptiness, begging to be filled with his hard thickness. His tongue slid over mine when he lowered his middle finger and rewarded me with a deep thrust.
“More...,” I begged shamelessly. I was so wet that my thong was ruined, but I couldn’t care less about it.
“More, huh? You’re so naughty, and you’re only my naughty girl, Arianna. You got this?”
“Only yours.”
“Good. Now I’m going to reward my girl.” He removed his hand from my pussy, earning a glare from me. “Come.”
He led me across the room to the huge mirror and knelt in front of me. “I want you to see everything that I do to you.” He raised my robe and told me to keep it there. He growled when he saw my white lace thong that was now drenched with my desire. He licked his lips before he brought his fingers back to my mound, this time pulling my panties aside.
“Gio... Oh...”
The feather touch of his fingertips was almost non-existent, but it created a potent fire in me that permeated me swiftly. I was putty in his hands, overcome with want and need for this complex, yet handsome man.
Every sensation was doubled because I could see him in the mirror. I stared transfixed at his long fingers, anticipating his next move...
He turned his head to the side to see our reflection in the mirror and plunged two fingers inside of me.
“Ah!”
He tightened his jaw, his eyes growing darker with pure desire. “So, tight and hot. Spread your legs wider. I want to see your
pussy open around me each time I thrust inside of you.”
I moaned and complied, slightly bending my knees to allow him a better view.
“Too hot,” he murmured and sped up his pace, making my pussy gush with juices.
“Gio! Yes!”
“Tell me what you need, babe. Tell me exactly what you want me to do to you.”
“I want you to fuck me.”
“How?”
“With your fingers... With your tongue... And your cock...”
He raised his eyebrow, smirking. “My tongue? You’re going to get it, Arianna.”
He pulled out his fingers and replaced them with his tongue, probing me sharply.
“Oh God, Gio.” My eyes widened as I took in his reflection in the mirror—the way his head moved, the way my juices trickled down my thighs, the way my core contracted after each plunge of his hot tongue...
He grabbed my ass and pressed me against his face, increasing his tempo. My legs trembled hard, my muscles straining to keep me in this position as he devoured me. I couldn’t stop watching him in the mirror, growing tenser as the ripples of ecstasy grew larger, and I braced myself for the shattering orgasm that would consume me.
He moved his lips to my clit, taking it into his mouth, and the buildup doubled. I called his name again and again as he feasted on me, losing my mind when my pleasure reached its highest point.
“Gio! Yes!” I dug my fingers into my robe and pressed against him, completely delirious.
“So, fucking hot.” He wiped off his mouth and pushed his wet fingers into my mouth. “Suck it, baby. Taste your juices.”
The fire in his eyes burned stronger when my lips wrapped around his fingers. I sucked them clean, acting as if that was his cock I was sucking.
“Fuck! I can’t hold myself back anymore.” He stood up and came right behind me.
He released his cock and pressed it against my butt, grinding in between my butt cheeks. “You’re so wet for me, baby. Do you see how hard you make me?” He wrapped one arm around my waist. “I’m going to pound you hard, and I want you to drench my cock. Got it?”
“Yes. Please—” I couldn’t even finish my sentence since he slammed so fast inside of me that all the air left my lungs at once.
“You.” He slammed inside again. “Feel.” Again. “Amazing.” The next one came much harder, and I screamed, his thrusts causing me to drench us with my hot juices. Our eyes were locked in the mirror, the intensity of our passion shattering everything in me.
“You’re mine,” I told him, clenching my pussy around him. He growled, his eyes growing even darker.
He hit the wall of my womb, creating an over-consuming pleasure that grew stronger and stronger. “Only yours. And you’re mine, Arianna. Forever.” He emphasized his words with another strong plunge, which induced my next orgasm.
“Gio!”
“That’s it, Arianna. Look at me while you come. Look at me as your pussy squeezes me so hard that my cock is going to explode... Oh, fuck.”
He rushed out of me and pulled me to the lounge, urging me to sit on his lap. “Ride me, Arianna.”
I licked my lips and grabbed his shoulders as I straddled him. He held my robe up, his gaze filled with awe and love. “You look so beautiful and sexy in your robe. I’m so hard for you, babe.” I wasn’t gentle at all when I sat down on his cock, getting it fully inside in one move, and I cried out in another rush of ecstasy. “Oh fuck. That’s it. Fuck me.”
I lost every ounce of control I had, releasing all pent-up desire I’d bottled up so far. I fucked him like I’d never done before, moving without any inhibitions or thoughts. I just felt. I bit into my wrist to muffle my screams, slamming myself on him repeatedly. Everything was heightened—each sensation spreading from my core—and I was going to explode soon.
“That’s it, sweetie. Come on my cock.”
I arched my back and came hard, my walls convulsing forcefully around him, and a moment later, his orgasm followed. He roared and grabbed my waist, slamming me on him one last time before he emptied himself deep inside of me.
“Damn. This was something else.” His eyes devoured me, causing my heart to swell with love. “You’re amazing. The sexiest woman in the world.” I giggled and tried getting up, high on bliss that had perfused me. “Now I can’t wait to get the ceremony over with so I can have you all for myself…again.”
“Me too.” I kissed him, excited about the upcoming ceremony but even more about what would come afterward. “You have no idea how much.”
CHAPTER 24
Arianna
When I was a little girl, I’d dreamed about my wedding day more times than I could count. In fact, imagining myself at my wedding day had been one of my favorite pastimes. But I guess all little girls thought and wondered about what their life would be like to some extent. When you’re young, the mythical land of adulthood was forever fascinating, and you just couldn’t wait to get there.
The road getting there had been tough, but it was astounding to stand before the mirror in the church’s dressing room, eyeing my reflection and realizing that my childhood dreams had managed to more or less come true.
Someone knocked on the door.
“Who is it?” I asked.
“Not the groom, so open up.”
I smiled, recognizing the voice of my oldest brother. When I opened the door, all three of my brothers, Dante, Tony, and Lorenzo, stood on the other side.
“What’s up, sis?” Tony said, stepping inside with the other two following him. Lorenzo, bringing up the rear, closed the door behind him. One-by-one, they each gave me a hug.
“All right—I won’t say this every day,” Lorenzo teased, “but you look beautiful, Ari.”
Dante put an arm around me. “That’s because baby sis has always been the one who looked most like me. You two ugly ducklings can only wish you looked like us.”
“Whatever,” Tony said, punching Dante in the arm.
I laughed. Bickering aside, all three of my brothers looked extremely handsome in their tuxedos. I already knew women were going to be flocking to their sides all day long, which they would all thoroughly enjoy. In fact, the female attendees of my wedding were going to be treated to double dosages of eye-candy because it turned out that Gio had three younger brothers who were all quite handsome as well. His brothers and my brothers were both serving as groomsmen.
“What we really came here for though,” Dante said, his tone growing serious, “is to check on how you were doing.”
“I’m wonderful,” I said with a smile.
He, Tony, and Lorenzo had mostly formed a circle around me—the usual stance they tended to take whenever we were all out in public somewhere. For my whole life, these three had practically acted like my bodyguards. To say that they were protective of me, as the youngest, not to mention the only girl, was an understatement.
“This whole engagement and wedding happened so fast, we didn’t get a chance to check dude out like we wanted to, especially since we’ve all been so busy,” Tony said.
“Yeah,” Lorenzo chimed in. “We’re kind of pissed that Dad didn’t include us in the arrangement.”
“I’m sure he didn’t want you all the scare Gio away,” I said. Things between Gio and I had already been complicated enough. I didn’t even want to think about how much worse it would have been if he had to deal with my three brothers breathing down his back, threatening him at every move he made.
“But we’re your big brothers. That’s our job. And if he wasn’t scared away by us, that’s how we would have known dude was serious about you,” Dante said. “It’s too late for that anyway now, so just tell us—do you really like this guy, Ari? I know it’s the wedding day and all, but if you get cold feet about going through with this, we’ve got your back. We’ll shut this shit down immediately, and anyone who has a problem with it will have to answer to us.”
I shook my head and put an arm around Dante. “No, everything is fine. I love Giovanni, and
couldn’t be happier with this arrangement.”
“Does he treat you right?” Lorenzo asked. “Is he good to you? Does he have a mean streak? I know that pretty boy type. If he’s not loyal to you, I’ll make sure he’s not so pretty anymore.”
“I don’t think that will be necessary,” I said, once again grateful that my brothers hadn’t been around during our courtship phase.
Tony sighed. “All right then. But promise us that if anything is ever wrong, you’ll let us know.” He reached forward and hugged me again.
“I will, I promise.”
“Okay, baby girl,” Dante said, and then kissed my forehead.
“See you in a little bit, sis. And don’t trip down the aisle, all right?” Lorenzo said, kissing my cheek.
“Ha, ha,” I said. “Don’t even joke like that. If I trip, I’m coming after you.”
He laughed and followed behind Dante and Tony to the door. When they opened the door, my father was standing on the other side of it, just about to knock.
“Not you three knuckleheads,” he said. “Get out of here. Seeing the bride early is bad luck.”
“That’s for the groom, Dad,” Lorenzo said, coming to a halt even though Tony and Dante had disappeared down the hall. He looked at me. “You haven’t seen your lover-boy today, have you?”
I turned my head, trying to hide the blushing coming over my cheeks. “No,” I lied.
“Then it’s all good,” he said.
“Hey, Lorenzo.” We heard Angela’s voice first, and then she appeared beside him.
Lorenzo smirked. “How’s it going, Angela? You look wonderful today.”
She giggled. “Thank you.”
I shook my head. Even though Angela always took so much pride in claiming she knew how to not get played by men, I’m sure that she would have fallen for Lorenzo—or any of my brothers, for that matter—in a heartbeat.
Daddy sighed. “Renzo, go find your brothers,” he said, apparently just wanting to get him away from Angela.
Lorenzo nodded at her. “I’ll see you later. Save me a dance, all right?”
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