His Dirty Bargain

by Fiona Murphy

  Huffing, she folds her arms across her breasts. “Don’t answer my question with a question. It’s rude.”

  It’s wrong to have missed fighting with her, the way she makes me so damn hard when she argues back at me. I’m positive it’s because no one else but my family dares to. “I didn’t tell you because our introduction, while it was because of you, it had nothing to do with you. I wanted to allay any concerns she might have, and I was under the impression you’d already informed her of our engagement. When I realized you had not, I didn’t think there was a need to. It was a brief conversation; she wasn’t as opposed as I first believed she would be.”

  A little wrinkle appears between her eyes. I cross the room to her, intent on brushing it away. As I step in front of her it disappears, and her whole face lights up the way it does whenever she first sees me. Seeing it, my chest becomes tight, air is harder to take in. My hands go down on her legs, pulling her body against mine. Her breathy moan of my name soothes the savage hunger building inside me. Then she’s shaking her head as she presses a hand against my chest. “Enzo, I mean it. You said it yourself—we need to communicate. This was important. You should have asked first or at the very least told me so I knew when I called her.”

  “Communicate? Like you telling me we’re having dinner with your best friend and his boyfriend tomorrow?”

  Those gray eyes go wide. I can’t fight my smile. “Oh my god. I forgot, not even kind of, I completely fucking forgot. I’m so sorry, Enzo.” Her head goes down on my chest. “I wrote it down when we talked then didn’t even put it in any of my calendars.”

  Running my hands through her hair, I tug her face up to look at me. “I tell you what, I’ll forgive you this one time if you promise to take next Friday off and we’ll take a long weekend and spend it on the boat. No dinners, no wedding plans, no house errands, no phones, nothing, not even clothes, just the two of us.”

  “You without your phone and not working?” Her wide-eyed, exaggerated astonishment causes the laughter she wanted. I only nod. “Hmm...I don’t know how I could possibly say no to such an attractive offer. Unless I know what’s behind door number two. What happens if I say no?”

  God, I love the way she loves to push my buttons. My hands go down to her soft, round cheeks, squeezing just short of pain. Damn, she’s soaking wet. Without the usual lust that overtakes me the moment I get my hands on her, I can focus enough to know it’s not wishful thinking: she likes when I get rough. A few times I let my control slip, becoming rougher, harder than I intended. Instead of the moan of pain I expected, Chloe’s reaction had seemed to invite more. Yet I was already backing off, fearful of hurting her—she is so damn small compared to me.

  “Well, it was a bad thing you did not telling me,” I mutter. “Last time I checked, bad girls get spanked.” Her breath hitches; ah, she likes that idea. Fuck, my cock jumps. Another tight squeeze has her rubbing her tits with her nipples hard and tight against my chest.

  “I don’t know. It was wrong of me. Better I learn my lesson now than later.” She moans into my chest.

  There can be no miscommunication; I wrap her hair around my hand and yank back for her eyes to meet mine. She moans. Damn good start. “Are you sure?”

  A blink and her eyes cloud with apprehension. Then she’s biting that lush lower lip of hers. “I think so. I...um, I really like when you get rough. Then Bethany said something about spanking and it made me wet, but I’ve never done anything like it before. Is it bad to want to try it?”

  Covering her mouth, I allow a small taste of her before sucking on her bottom lip, soothing the tender flesh as I tighten my hand in her hair. I guide her off the bed with her hair. Panting, she scrambles off and without any prodding she’s undoing my pants. Fuck, the way she loves sucking my cock always makes it even harder not to come in only seconds. She’s getting better at taking my cock deeper into her mouth, despite me telling her over and over she doesn’t need to, except the moment my cock hits the back of her throat I fight to stay standing. Every damn time, I come faster than I want to. Her hum of satisfaction as she swallows flips my switch. Chloe is so fucking sexy, greedy for my body. The way she revels in the way I want her always turns me into a fucking savage, desperate to claim her as mine.

  I fight to rein myself in; the way she sags into me helps calm me. Every time her body is against mine, something deep inside me that I didn’t even realize was raw and aching becomes soothed. Then the witch rubs her tits across my chest. Pulling her back with her hair, I spin her around, pressing her against the tall bed. Chloe is so small the bed comes up to her chest. Gripping her hips, I place her on the bed so her bottom half hangs off. Perfect.

  With one finger I trace down her spine, enjoying the way she shivers. I slow as I trail down the crack of her ass. I’ve been dying to fuck her here and I will soon, once she’s ready. Her breath hitches when I go past her ass to play in the hot, wet, sticky juices of her pussy leaking down her thighs, then back up again to press into her ass. “Enzo?” she whispers shakily. “Um...I don’t know, I’ve never, ever oh—fuck.” She moans as I press slowly into her. Her head goes down, her ass moves against me in invitation, and her pussy leaks faster, juice glistening sweetly around those lips I can’t wait to feast on. Perfect. She is so fucking perfect.

  “Not yet, angel. Soon, but not tonight. First we have to make sure you learn your lesson.” I run one hand over a ripe, round cheek. “Ten smacks, count them off like a good girl.”

  The crack is loud in the room. “Ouch, Enzo I changed my mind.” I bite my lip to keep from laughing.

  I smack her pussy, hard. “You’ll complete your punishment. Count them off or I add another.”

  Another smack of her cheek. “One,” she shouts.

  “Good girl.” I switch to her other cheek.

  “Two, Enzo, please.”

  “Bad girl,” is all I say as I smack her still red pussy.

  “Oh god, oh god,” she mutters as she tries to grind her pussy against the bed.

  Christ, my cock is dripping as I watch her pussy leak down her ankle. She might not love her spanking, but she loves me smacking her pussy. Interesting. “Count it off,” I bark as I go back to her first cheek.

  “Three.”

  Alternating now, she makes it to seven before she’s grinding on the edge of the bed. I pause to enjoy watching her work those internal pussy muscles. “Enzo, please.” She pants.

  “Since you say it so nicely.” I laugh as I squeeze her ass before delivering another smack.

  “Eight.” She moans

  Faster now, “Nine.”

  Last one, “Ten,” she shouts.

  I smack her pussy and she goes fucking crazy. Goddamn, I can’t resist. I lift her pussy up and eat like a starving man. Chloe is sobbing above me but I can’t, not yet. I’m already drowning, but I need more of her before she comes. Better than any liquor, sweeter than any candy, I can never get enough of her pussy. If this is all I could have of her, I would gladly live off this alone. Aw damn, she’s hoarse in her pleas, poor baby. Answering her begging, I suck hard on the sweet pearl of her, and she comes hard in body-quaking shudders.

  Thank fuck I had her suck me off to start. If I don’t, I almost embarrass myself; I’m no two-pump chump, but closer than I feel comfortable with when I’m inside her. Watching her ease down from her high, I marvel at her beautiful gray eyes, now a shiny silver.

  A hand comes up to touch my cheek. “Thank you. Now I need you home inside me.”

  Air is trapped in my chest. Have I said it out loud? How did she know it’s what I thought every time I entered her; my only thought was I was home? Then her mouth is against mine and all thought fades. Mine, it doesn’t matter if she knew, because it is the truth. Opening her legs wide around my hips, I sheath myself in her body. Home; nothing has ever felt so utterly right and true, so complete. Everything I was missing and didn’t know I wanted I have in this moment.

  Once I can catch my breath I move inside he
r, and we find our rhythm. I feel it building inside her, hear her trying to catch her breath, see the flush in her cheeks. Nails dig into my back as I take over now, pounding into her, forcing her to the edge. Damn it, her body squeezes me tight from inside. Fuck what the feeling does to me. No, angel, in bed I’m in charge, always. I grip her thighs tight, find that spot and slam into her tight pussy for all I’m worth. There we go: she screams as she comes. I can’t hold back and let go; three pumps are all I can take before I come inside her. A shaky hand keeps me from falling onto her. I get weaker, though, as she moans and her pussy milks me for every drop of come. If it weren’t for the fact I just came, the bliss on her face would have me coming all over again.

  I know I should move but don’t even bother trying. Chloe hates when I try to pull out of her. Instead, I lean heavily on an elbow, worried I’m still too heavy for her as I fight to keep my eyes open.

  “We are going to have absolutely stunning babies.”

  A hand traces my jaw. “I told you Sophia was a stunner.”

  “She’s gorgeous. Then again, so are Matteo and Nicky. I don’t even care anymore if they’re all boys or girls.”

  “Considering how many you want, I think we’re good. If you change your mind on wanting those six, I’m okay with that. Nothing is set in stone.”

  She blinks. “What? Why?”

  I shrug as I remember what Che told me. “Things happen. We can plan all we want, but things can change whether we want them to or not.”

  “What’s the matter?”

  “Alicia won’t be able to have any more kids. They have no idea what happened, but there was excessive bleeding. It was a good thing they were going to insert a copper IUD, a compromise she and Che came to because Alicia wanted more kids but Che didn’t think they should, or they might have missed the bleeding. The doctors couldn’t get it under control, they had to do a hysterectomy.”

  “Oh my god, poor Alicia.”

  “Yeah, she had a hard time with it.”

  “What the hell? Did you just find out today?”

  I nod, remembering the shock of realizing neither Cesare or even Dante had said anything over the last two weeks.

  “Enzo, what’s up between you and Cesare?”

  Sighing, I roll off her, pulling her into my arms. “All kinds of crap that’s all my fault. We were close growing up but when my dad died, Che went all in on Dad mode. I couldn’t deal with it. Half the time we were working on houses, I imagined taking the hammer I was usually holding to his face when he got bossy. There was no way I was going to work with them when I came home. I had a few ideas, but I wasn’t sure. Without any real intention, I started loaning money to a few smaller businesses who couldn’t get loans by the typical route while I was going to school. For a while there I was doubling and tripling my money. I considered keeping it going, but I got into trading and saw what the hedge funds were doing, then decided that was exactly what I wanted to do. Che tried to talk me out of it, told me I would fail and could lose everything.

  “I didn’t though. It took a while before I finally let that go. Once I hit multimillion, he apologized and we moved past it. But with the whole Sheila bullshit, he went all Dad mode again trying to talk me out of it. It just made me dig my heels in more. After it went to shit.” Shaking my head, I shrug. “I didn’t want to see the I-told-you-so and he didn’t say it, but I heard it over and over again as he tried to reassure me I’d find someone special. I couldn’t take it anymore. All those women, they were an excuse to avoid all the invitations to Che’s and Dante’s. I even missed Matteo’s birthday, I spent it out of the country.”

  “Enzo, I’m sorry,” she murmurs against my chest.

  “Chloe, don’t feel sorry for me I was an asshole. I got what I wanted, I pushed them away.”

  “That’s bullshit. You were going through a hard time, and you needed your family more than ever. Just because you pushed them away doesn’t mean they had to stay away.” Her arms tighten around me.

  “They haven’t stayed, they keep trying. What Che and Alicia were going through is rough; it’s understandable.”

  “I guess.” She’s sleepy, melting into me.

  “Angel?”

  “Hmm?”

  “Why didn’t you talk to your grandmother until today?”

  Her sigh is heavy. “I didn’t want her to try and talk me out of marrying you. She can be pretty stubborn when she gets something into her head.”

  “You can too.” I can’t not say it.

  “Yeah, which was why I wouldn’t have let her. I didn’t want to deal with there being distance between us leading up to getting married. I figured I’d wait until the last week or so in case we did become estranged; that way I would have the wedding coming up to focus on, instead of being miserable she wasn’t going to be there.”

  “She was that much against marriage?”

  “Yeah, I just wanted to enjoy these next few weeks. Is that wrong?”

  Squeezing her tight, I kiss the top of her head. “No.”

  “Thank you for my spanking. Can we do it again?”

  “Now?” I’m willing but I don’t think my body is able.

  Her laughter fills my chest, making it light enough I feel like I could float. “No, silly. Another time. I’m just trying to remember to do the whole communicating thing.”

  “Yes, we can. And tomorrow we’re having dinner at Goldfinches with Adam and Russell at seven.”

  “Thank you, thank you. I really am sorry I forgot. Friday to Sunday no phones, no clothes, just you and me on your boat. Heaven.”

  Heaven indeed.

  20

  Chloe

  Rolling over, I reach out to find Enzo already out of bed. It’s how I usually wake up since he’s a morning person, but it doesn’t mean I’ve gotten used to it. I check the clock, almost ten, stretching, I smile at all the ways I ache. Okay, I get all the hype about sex now that always sailed right over my head. Enzo makes every time better than the last. Even when I’m sure it couldn’t possibly be, it is. I’m pretty sure I should be ashamed or at least blushing at how much I loved the spanking I asked for, but I can’t dredge up an ounce of shame.

  Pressing my setting for the shower from the future, I step under the hot water then sigh as the body jets hit me. A little sigh escapes as I think of last night. Is it weird I’m pretty sure last night was it? It’s crazy to know so quickly. I don’t know how to explain it; last night felt different, I feel different from yesterday. I shake my head as I run the sponge over my body. Don’t be silly, don’t get your hopes up, it can take months to get pregnant.

  When I walk out of the bathroom I find Enzo in the walk-in closet. The way his eyes light up when he sees me makes my heart flutter, then his arms are around me. “Good morning.”

  His kiss is slow. “A very good morning. I missed you in the shower, darn.”

  “I’m not dressed yet.” I love the way he prefers to roam shirtless around the condo. He’s constantly asking me to do the same, but the place is all windows. I’m still too shy to go shirtless, but I do go braless the way he likes.

  “I wish. Don’t be mad, I need to run into the office to check on two things. Just two and I’ll be right back.”

  I pout; I hate how much he works. “Enzo—” He cheats by kissing me silly.

  “I know, I know. I’m sorry. An hour, two tops. Next weekend, all weekend I’m all yours, I promise.”

  “Fine.” I hate fighting with him. “Come home soon, please.”

  “I promise. When I get back we’ll go have lunch.”

  “Okay.” With another kiss he lets me go to get dressed. I lean back against the island to watch him. God, he’s so damn sexy. A little thrill goes through me at how sleek, sophisticated, civilized he looks in his suit yet when he’s out of it, he becomes downright dirty and demanding. I’m pretty sure it’s why I love how rough he gets, the way he’s always in control and how with me, because of me, his control slips.

  His eyes me
et mine as he knots his silky gray tie. “Do I pass?”

  “I like you better naked, but I guess you’ll do.”

  Laughing, his hand goes into my hair, holding me still. Every single time he makes me so fucking wet when he does it. “I’ll make it up to you.”

  Oh god, my legs go weak at the way he invades my mouth. I moan and try to put my arms around his neck, but he doesn’t let me. “I have to go.”

  “Then don’t kiss me like that, you brute.”

  “Sorry, couldn’t resist.” A smack goes down on my ass, making me yelp. We both smile at the memory of last night, then he’s gone.

  Cranky, I get dressed in yoga pants and one of Enzo’s plain white T-shirts.

  Ah, he left me breakfast. An omelet, still fluffy and warm, is under another plate with a note telling me it’s a goat cheese, pancetta, and tomato omelet. Yummy, my favorite.

  Done with breakfast, I wonder if my cats love me anymore as I roam the condo looking for them but figure out they’re on the other side with Bethany and Dante. I’m not sure if they are home, but I think I hear the television. For a minute I consider going over to hang out, but I’m not in a television mood. It’s been a while since I read the day away. Usually on the weekends we’ve still been going to check out the house, picking paint colors, small finishes and last Sunday it was furniture. Only three more days and Ray is positive they’ll be done. I’m excited to finally be moving into our own home. Not that I don’t love spending time with Bethany and Dante, but Enzo and I still need to find our own equilibrium as a couple.

  I snuggle into the couch with my ereader, looking for a quick read, then I blink and Enzo is shaking me awake. “Hey, sleepy.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry. I wasn’t expecting to fall asleep.”

  “I can see. Have you been asleep the whole time I’ve been gone?”

  “What time is it?”

  “Ten past one.”

  “You said an hour, two max,” I remind him. Dang, three hours after

  a full night of sleep, maybe—stop it, don’t even go there.