by N J Adel
“Evasion by sex is my technique, Mike. Just tell me.”
“You grew tired of me that fast?” he whispered on her neck as he squeezed her ass.
She sighed, her body surrendering, warming up, her palm stroking him. “I can never grow tired of you. But I wanna know.”
“Leave it to me, Carolina.” His lips caressed her throat.
She swallowed. “So it’s already started.”
“Now that we really are together, there’s nothing to worry about.”
A line appeared between her brows as she tightened her eyes.
His hands stilled. “I mean we are together?” His heart thrashed when he couldn’t read her expression.
She looked away. “Mike, I’m very happy to know that you’re in love with me, too, and I’m gonna remember last night for the rest of my life, but…”
Dizzy, he could feel the blood running away from his face.
“God, look at you.” She glanced back at him, snickering. “I scared your cock flat.”
“What?”
“I was kidding. Of course, we’re together.”
He winced, burying his head in her arms. “Merda! Don’t ever do that again.”
She pulled away. “Don’t use that tone with me, Gennaro.”
“I’m serious. Don’t joke about us again.”
“Jesus. Okay. I’m sorry.”
His arms folded around her in a tight embrace. Then he put his hands on either side of her face and mashed his lips into hers.
She rolled and nestled into his lap. “Why are you so scared?”
He just stared at her.
She gave him a reassuring smile. “I will not change my mind. You’re the only thing I can’t change my mind about. Believe me, I’ve tried for years. It didn’t work.”
“Good. That’s one reason out of the way.”
“What else?” she pressed on.
Escaping her gaze, he sighed, his chest heavy with secrets. “The past.”
“We all have pasts, Mike.” Her hand lifted to her scar, a grimace on her face. “The question is, are we gonna let it dictate our present? Our future?”
“What if it does either way?”
“Then we’re gonna need to be strong enough to accept it as it is and still follow our dreams.”
His eyes lingered on her face for a while as he struggled with the two prominent voices in his head. One screaming at him to tell her everything, every secret, the other warning him to never utter a word.
“Maggie, I… I have to tell you something.”
She shook her head quickly. “I don’t wanna hear anything about your past.”
“Maggie…”
She hushed him with her finger. “If you open up about it, then I’ll have to tell you about the scar across my heart, and I don’t wanna do that. Not now, not ever.”
“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to.”
“Same applies to you.”
He lowered his head in defeat. The past would ruin everything. Perhaps it was better to remain untold. He should keep his secret because, now that they were together, he owed her whatever sacrifice would keep her safe. Unhurt. Protected.
Even from himself.
“Unless you are or have been gay, a pimp, or have whored for money,” she added.
He pursed his lips. “The last two make sense, but gay, seriously? Last night isn’t enough proof for you?”
“You might be bisexual, who knows? You’re so obsessed with my ass I’m starting to worry.”
His stomach shook with laughter. “Well, I’ve never been a pimp or a whore. And yes, I’ve been a huge fan of your ass to the point of obsession, but I’m, beyond doubt, not gay or bisexual.” He squinted at her. “Are you?”
“You’d love it if I were bisexual, wouldn’t you?”
He coughed a laugh. “It doesn’t hurt to ask.”
Her knee shifted to his balls. “Fuck you.”
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry!”
“Okay,” she mused.
He heard something in her tone. “You know I’m joking, right?”
“Yeah. It’s just…”
“What is it?”
Her fingertips glided on his chest, making his skin tingle. “If you’re scared of the past, I’m scared of the future.”
“Meaning?”
“You’re Mike Gennaro.” She said it as if it were the worst thing in the world.
He rubbed a thumb over his eyebrow. “You think I’ll…cheat on you?”
“You have issues, babe, and without serious therapy, yes, I think you will.”
“Cazzo.” He glowered. “No, Maggie. I will never cheat on you.”
“We’re not going public, and women are gonna continue hitting on you, and you have quite a reputation—”
“I’m not gonna listen to this shit,” he interrupted. “Look, if you want me to see a fuckin’ shrink to ease your mind, I will, but you clearly have no idea how I feel about you.”
She crossed her arms, a slight smile in place. “Oh? And how does the great Mike Gennaro feel?”
He might not tell her the truth about his past, but he would tell her the truth that mattered.
“Since you returned from college, every time I’ve been on a date, I didn’t see the girl. I only saw you. And in bed, no woman has made me come. Not a single one. I had to come on my own, thinking of you. For the past three months, I haven’t been able to get it up unless I pretended it was you I was with. And I haven’t been with anyone but you since that talk show, when I told the whole country I was hopelessly in love with you, hoping that you’d fucking listen.”
She gaped at him for long moments. “You really are a creep.”
He snorted angrily. She wasn’t entirely wrong, though. This shit he’d just confessed did make him sound like a creep. Fantasizing about his much younger best friend, fucking her in his mind until he did for real. A girl he helped raise.
Maybe I shouldn’t have said any of that.
“And I’m so fucking wet right now,” she added.
His cock jerked, and her lips bent to his in a kiss. “I love you,” she whispered.
My heart rocketed. “Damn. I can’t even stay mad at you.”
Her lips curved into a cocky smirk. She shifted on his lap, her hand adjusting his dick to her opening. “Good to know.”
“Stop. I’m not gonna fuck you now.”
Her teeth teased his earlobe. “You sure about that?” She licked his neck, her tongue sliding down to his nipples.
Oh, not the lick on the neck, please. It’d always driven him crazy. He closed his eyes as his erection hardened, and then he snapped them open. “You can’t just do that.”
She smirked again, her tits in his face, her hand stroking him.
He groaned, fighting the urge to suck those nipples. “Shit. I’m gonna come in your fist like that.” He grabbed her wrist, yanking her hand off him. “Listen—”
“I don’t wanna listen.” She rubbed her face with both her hands, leaving his lap. “I know what you’re gonna ask, and I don’t wanna do it.”
“Why? I want the whole world to know that you’re mine. Don’t you want the whole world to know that I’m yours?” He got on top of her. “To keep away other girls, at least?” he teased.
“Amore mio, you’re not thinking straight.”
Everything in him throbbed. “Hell yeah. How could I when you’ve just called me that? Say it again.”
She smiled. “C’mon, I’m serious. Have you forgotten about Andrea? She doesn’t even approve of our friendship. If she knows, your partnership with her will be in danger.”
He sighed, wishing he could tell her he’d already fired Andrea. Don’t. That’s a can of worms if she asks why. “Why don’t you let me worry about that? I know how to handle her.”
“Even if that’s true, what about our movies?”
“What about them?”
“I already told you. I don’t want anyone to say I hooked up with you
for them. Why can’t you understand?”
He filled his lungs with air. “Fine. Come vuoi. We won’t go public till we finish shooting the movies. We’ll sit with our managers today to agree on a story to tell the press. I’ll arrange for some interviews, tell my publicist to sit with you for some coaching, and we’re good. But are the movies really the only reason for this shit?”
Her lips twitched as she looked away.
She never cared what people thought or said as long as she knew the truth, and she knew her success would be all hers. She already said she was certain about their relationship, what else could it be? He narrowed his eyes, his head spinning in circles. “Do you still…have feelings for…”
“What? No. Mike!” She glared at him, kicking him off her.
“Then what is it?” he asked, beyond irritated now.
“I’m not…strong enough for this.”
Something in her tone told him strong wasn’t her first word choice. “For what?”
“The hype,” she answered. “I’m a director. I work behind cameras. I don’t like to be looked at.” She brought the sheets up to cover herself, as if suddenly aware she was naked.
He frowned incredulously. “You do realize there’s already a lot of hype on you?”
She glowered at the sheets. “No. Since when people care about whoever is behind the cameras?”
“Since you’re one of the youngest female directors in the industry who makes that kind of movie.”
“That kind of movie?”
“The ballsy kind that actually says something.”
“Even if that’s true, it will wear off in a minute. Besides, directors don’t have to be hot.” Her voice dropped at the end.
“But you’re hot.”
“Please. You think I’m hot because you love me. There’s a big difference.”
“Un-fucking-believable.” He slowly shook his head. “Come with me.”
“Come with you where?”
“There’s something you need to see. Something someone should have shown you a long time ago.”
Scene 37
Mike
Mike took Maggie’s hand and marched to a full-length mirror on the other side of the room, next to the password-protected walk-in closet.
“You’ve got a pin code for your closet?” She snickered.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he pointed at the mirror. “Look at yourself.”
She stood there fidgeting, her arms moving nervously, veiling her body. Then she looked away. “What are you doing?”
He made her look, holding her arms still. “I want you to see yourself for what it really is, not according to what someone else had told you.”
“Mike…”
“Just look and tell me what you like.”
She blew out a breath. “Well…I like my eyes.”
“Even though they’re Andrea’s?”
“Yes.”
“Good. Continue.”
“My nose and cheekbones are okay, I guess. I think my lips are beautiful.”
“What if some expert told you that your cheekbones are perfect, would that make any difference in how you see them?”
“I don’t think so.”
“Why not?”
“Because it only matters what I think, and I know what I see.”
Holding her tight, he moved his head closer next to hers. “Is this really what you see? Or is it what Andrea has been telling you?”
She swallowed, her expression dark, her eyes glistening. “I don’t know. There isn’t a way to know for sure.”
The muscles around his heart squeezed. “What about your body?”
“What about it?”
“Tell me what you see.”
Her breath shook on her lips. “I don’t want to. I know what you’re doing, but it’s not working.”
“You are beautiful, Maggie, and super sexy. I don’t say it because I love you. I say it because it’s true. You once told me you finally realized those facts about yourself, but I don’t think you truly feel it. You need to remove that cloud over your eyes and start seeing your beauty for real.”
“Maybe one day,” she whispered, looking away again. “But I’m not ready now. The question is, can you wait?”
“This is not about me, vita mia. You know I’ll do anything for you. If you tell me to quit now so you won’t ever have to deal with any of that madness, I will, without a second thought.”
She started to laugh, but then she must have seen something convincing in his expression because she cropped the laughter short. “You can’t do that. Not for me. Not for anyone.”
“Yes, I can. For you,” he said. “If I have to choose between you and anything else, I’ll choose you. Every fucking time.”
“I will never ask you to quit. But at the same time, I don’t understand why we’re fighting over,” she gestured at the mirror, “this.”
“Because it hurts.” It did. It really did. “It hurts me to see you like this. Living a lie.” He wrapped his arms around her waist, his lips brushing softly over the back of her neck. “Wait here.”
He went to the bed and grabbed the duvet and some pillows, arranged them on the floor, and then he took the mirror and placed it on its side.
“What are you doing?” she asked.
“Lie down on your stomach and tilt your head toward the mirror.”
“What?”
“Do it, Carolina.”
“Okay.” She sighed as she did as he asked, her eyes reluctant. “Do you mind telling me what we’re doing?”
He settled behind her, their bodies not touching. “I’m gonna make you see and hear exactly what every part of your body does to a man.”
Scene 38
Maggie
This is fucked up. I stared at my naked self in the mirror. Tense. Uncomfortable.
“Relax. You’re gonna enjoy this,” Mike said.
“Seriously? You’re using your cocky superstar tone? Like I’m not intimidated enough right now?”
“Intimidated? I’m about to show you how much power you have on me. I’m the one who should be intimidated.”
“I know how much power I have over a man, Mike. I have the parts that do the trick.” I glanced at him over my shoulder. “But you’re not just any man. You’re a movie star. The Italian Heartthrob. You hold the record for the Sexiest Man Alive for fuck’s sake.”
“Even better. Now you’ll know how much power you have on the Sexiest Man Alive.”
I snorted, my eyes raking his naked body. “You lie next to me looking like this, as if you were fuckin’ Photoshopped, and say I have some sort of power over you?”
He turned my head toward the mirror. “You’ll see for yourself.”
I took a deep breath as I focused on the image of his face. “Fine. At least we’ll fuck in the end, right?”
“Guaranteed.”
“Okay.” I breathed in deeply and then out. “Show me.”
His chest puffed with a slow inhale. “When I look at you, I’m instantly drawn to your lips. My first instinct is to touch you there. I wanna feel how soft they are.” He did just that, running his index finger across my bottom lip. “Then I lose focus to that little dimple, dying to let my tongue touch it.” His eyelids dropped slowly, and I swallowed. “My cock starts to move.” He inhaled. “I breathe to make it stop, and I force my gaze up to your eyes.”
His cock will move just by kissing? By imagining a kiss? I followed with my eyes the same path his just did, my heart beating a little faster than it should.
“I take my time to figure out the exact shade of brown they are. I can’t. Instead,” he shifted behind me, making his upper body visible in the mirror, “I fantasize about them looking back at me when I’m naked, with admiration I hope, even a little lust. A guy can dream.”
I stared.
With more than admiration, and a lot more than a little lust.
“My cock stirs again, this time harder. I wanna look away, but I don’t. Your eyes
are too beautiful. Dangerous. I like to stay there a bit longer…picturing how they roll back.” His voice hushed in the end, at the last word, sending a shudder all over my skin.
I smiled as he bit his lip, my muscles relaxing, growing…I’d have liked to say confident but no… I was growing horny. Very.
“I make myself stop before my erection is full. I try to stay away from you, but your smell holds me in. I take a deliberate breath.” He inhaled…me, his eyes closing. “It makes my skin tingle and sends a pulse down my cock. I draw closer, sniffing your hair.” He did as he said. “And I think about how your pussy smells right now.”
My pussy clenched. Hard.
“I distract myself by touching your hair. I like short hair, especially on you. It lets me see your neck. I wanna draw my thumb along it, then kiss you there.” His eyes followed his thumb as it moved along my neck. Then a little moan accompanied his kiss. “I wanna turn you and suck your lips between mine. I want to know if my kiss can make you wet like you are making me so fucking hard right now.”
I stared with full attention now, monitoring Mike’s every blink, every lash flutter, every lip twitch, every tremble. My arm stretched behind me to touch him, but he forced it back, shaking his head. I sighed, noticing my face; my eyes were hooded with arousal, my cheeks flushed, my lips apart.
“I want to press myself to your front to make you feel how much I want you, and I wanna see the look in your eyes when I do. But I don’t ‘cause I know I won’t be able to stop myself from fucking you.” He took a moment to even his breath. “I let my hand touch your shoulders like this.” He gripped them. “Grab them, squeeze them, and I wanna touch your tits the same way. I wanna see them. Have to see them.”
I turned on my side, my breasts fully visible in the mirror.
He was on his knees behind me now, his eyes pinned to my breasts. “Now that I do, I shake, my cock as hard as a rock.” Flames burned in his gaze as his hands pushed down from my shoulders. “Your tits are killing me. I want them in my hands and in my mouth at the same time. I wanna swirl my tongue around your nipples, feel them harden for me.” His breaths became short as he fondled my breasts. “They’re very soft. Not round. Teardrop. Very real.” He groaned. “Heavy in my palms as I press them.”