by Sofia Tate
Allegra’s body is a work of art. So soft, with her sumptuous curves. I love watching her when I thrust my cock inside her, the way her eyes shut tightly, her lush mouth forming Os with each drive, that angelic voice of hers that turns raw and primal when she yells my name right before coming.
She’s getting closer as her muscles tighten, going rigid, grinding the heels of her feet into my lower back. I do this to her.
“That’s it, my love. You’re so fucking beautiful. Come for me,” I pant.
Her entire body shudders as her orgasm sweeps over her, yelling my name. I can feel her milking my cock harder and harder until I explode inside her, my entire body shaking from the release.
I collapse next to her, immediately reaching for her and wrapping myself around her, our bodies both slick with sweat.
Her brown eyes open, searing into mine. I love looking into them after I make her come, completely softened. Her full lips are swollen from kissing me.
“Mmmm. Thank you, Harvard,” she murmurs, her head resting on my chest. “I know you probably wanted to do other stuff first.”
My baby never ceases to amaze me. She knows me so damn well.
“Hey, I was just following orders. But don’t worry. It was good for me too,” I reply.
“Was it? I couldn’t tell.” She smirks.
I grin back at her, but then I become concerned when she turns her head away for a moment, slowly shifting back to me after a pause so she can look at me in the eyes.
“Davison, tonight…” she starts.
“Yeah?”
“It meant so much to me that you were there.”
“Where else would I have been?” I tell her, astonished that she’d even think I wouldn’t have been there for her.
She roams her right hand over my chest. “It’s just…tonight was so important, and seeing you there in the front row—”
“Center.”
“Yes, center,” she says with a lift in her voice, “you are everything to me, and I can’t imagine not—”
“Stop, Allegra. Don’t even think anything like that.”
I hate it when her mind goes to that dark place. But after everything she’s been through, I’m not surprised she’s still afraid that something could happen to us.
“But you didn’t even know what I was going to say,” she counters.
“Doesn’t matter. I’m here with you, in my bed, in my home, and that’s all that matters. Oh, except for one thing.”
“What?” she asks nervously.
“I love you.”
She lifts up her gorgeous face to look into my eyes. “I love you too.”
I kiss her gently on the lips as I tighten my hold on her.
Nothing will ever keep us apart, baby. I promise.
* * *
Allegra
At precisely eleven o’clock on Monday morning, I knock on the door of Signora Pavoni’s office.
“Come in,” her voice instructs me behind the polished wood.
When I walk in, Signora Ginevra Ventura, “La Diva,” is sitting opposite my professor. Both women are holding dainty espresso cups in their hands.
“Good morning,” I greet them with a slight bow of nervousness. They’re not titled royals, but for me, both women hold just as much prestige.
“Buongiorno, Allegra. Please have a seat,” Signora Pavoni says, directing me to the other guest chair. “You remember my friend Ginevra.”
I take La Diva’s hand in mine to greet her. “Certo. Buongiorno, Signora.”
“Signorina Orsini, a pleasure to see you. Thank you for meeting us this morning,” she replies in a polished cosmopolitan accent.
I settle into the chair as both women place their cups on the desk. Signora Pavoni leans forward to address me. “Allegra, I would like to speak with you about your career goals, specifically what you envision yourself doing after graduation.”
“Oh. Well, I suppose what every aspiring opera singer would do,” I stammer. “Audition for roles, try to get accepted into a festival or post-grad program for young singers with a prominent opera house.”
La Diva clears her throat. “Signorina Orsini, do you know that I apprentice two young opera singers every summer at my villa outside Milano?”
“Of course. Some of the greatest talents studied under your tutelage.”
“Yes, this is true,” she replies in a somewhat modest tone. “I have already chosen one singer to teach in June, and now I need to fill the month of July.”
Was she going to…
“When I choose a singer, I not only listen for the potential in the voice, but also in the personality, if the singer is able to convey the role with the body and the mind. What I heard at your recital moved me greatly. I saw great potential in you, Allegra, and I would be honored to have you serve as my apprentice in July.”
Oh my God.
I start to shake, placing my trembling hand over my heart as my eyes instantly fill with tears. I’m completely overwhelmed.
“I…I’m so honored, Signora Ventura. This is so unexpected. Grazie mille! But I don’t have the money—”
“All of your expenses are covered,” she informs me. “I pay for everything. Tutto. Your flights, transportation from the airport, and your stay in my home.”
“I don’t know what to say.”
“The word you’re looking for is ‘sì,’ Allegra,” my professor interjects, rather insistently.
I wipe my eyes and take a deep breath. “Before I give you my answer, Signora Ventura, I need to tell you something. A few months ago, something happened to me, and I would never want what happened to me to affect you in any way. I was the victim of a crime that received high-profile coverage in the media. I don’t want the attention that I received to tarnish your reputation or your program if you took me on as an apprentice. I wouldn’t—”
The two women quickly glance at each other knowingly, and Signora Pavoni holds up her palm to me, signaling that she wishes to say something.
“Allegra, I told Ginevra about everything you’ve been through. And I think I speak for both of us when I say that your honesty and selflessness only reassure us that we made the right choice.”
A warm hand takes my right one. I turn to La Diva, who nods and looks at me with caring eyes.
“Cara, do you know how many incidents I have been involved in, both voluntarily and involuntarily?”
I shake my head.
“More than I can count with both hands. Among many things, I’ve supposedly ruined marriages, had an opera director fired, and seduced a young prince under the roof of his father’s castle. I find you to be a strong, caring woman who has a great future ahead of her. And more importantly, I can teach you how to use that pain to your advantage in your performance.”
I smile at her reassurance, tightening my grip on her hand. “Then…I…I…Sì! I don’t know how to thank you. I am so honored.”
“Eccellente, Allegra. I am thrilled that you will be joining me. I will get your information from Signora Pavoni, and I shall contact you shortly to discuss the arrangements.”
The three of us stand as I shake both women’s hands, telling them “Thank you” and “Grazie” again and again.
Before I step through the door, La Diva calls out my name.
“Sì, Signora?”
“You recall those three scandalous situations I mentioned to you?”
I nod.
“One of them is true,” she confesses with a wicked glint in her eyes.
I smile in return before I walk out.
As I make my way to the subway, a thought stops me in my tracks.
Davison.
We’re going to be apart for a month. An entire month.
Chapter Three
Davison
It’s on the left, Charles,” Allegra directs him.
I smile listening to Allegra. My heart warms, seeing how comfortable she’s become around him.
Charles pulls over to the curb. I take in the appe
arance of the tall four-level Chelsea brownstone with a red front door and small, well-manicured courtyard. My palms start to sweat from the anxiety, my heartbeat increasing with each breath.
My smile hides my nervousness. I hold Allegra’s hand tightly in mine. This is going to be our first session together with Allegra’s therapist. I’ve never thought much of therapy. In my family, you just keep everything inside and soothe the pain with three fingers of Glenlivet. But she’s assured me again and again that Dr. Ophelia Turner is a qualified therapist, how she’d helped her all those years after the trauma of seeing her mother murdered when she was five. So I need to keep an open mind. This is for Allegra, my love.
I open the door of the Maybach for Allegra. Still holding hands, we take the three steps down into the courtyard of Dr. Turner’s basement office. Allegra rings the doorbell, and we’re buzzed in.
Dr. Turner stands in the foyer, dressed in some kind of gauzy blouse with a black peasant skirt and a pair of taupe Birkenstocks on her feet, her silver hair done in a braid that runs down her back.
She steps forward and hugs my girlfriend. “Allegra, lovely to see you, as always.” Then she turns to me, hand outstretched. “Mr. Berkeley, I’m pleased to finally meet you. I’m Dr. Ophelia Turner.”
I nod. “Davison Berkeley. Pleasure.”
“Let’s get started, shall we?”
I follow the women into a small room that’s covered in bookshelves and thick velvet drapes, a Persian rug on the floor, and a Tiffany lamp on a side table. I begin to understand why Allegra feels comfortable here. I have to admit it’s very cozy. Sinking into a couch upholstered in fabric that matches the drapes, I settle in and immediately take Allegra’s hand, more for my reassurance than hers.
Once we’re all settled in, Dr. Turner speaks.
“Where would you like to start today?”
Allegra opens her mouth, but I beat her to it. “Allegra asked me to join her for a session.”
“Why did you feel that was necessary?” Dr. Turner asks, turning to her.
I quickly glance over at Allegra, watching as she clears her throat. “A lot of feelings came out after I was rescued…Well, he admitted to certain things that I wasn’t expecting him to say.”
“Like what?” Dr. Turner inquires.
Allegra bends her head in embarrassment, while I shake mine in frustration.
I reply for her. “I told her I was angry with her because I wished she would’ve told me about the man who was following her before she was taken.”
“It was the accomplice, yes?” Dr. Turner confirms.
Allegra and I both nod in reply.
“So you thought she was to blame for being taken?” she asks me pointedly.
“Of course not!” I roar.
This is going to go nowhere.
My face begins to heat up from my frustration. “Why are we even rehashing this?”
“Good,” Dr. Turner says, writing something down in her notebook.
I stare at the good doctor like she has two heads. “Excuse me?”
“Davison, you must have been incredibly frustrated and upset when Allegra was kidnapped.”
“Well, that’s stating the obvious.”
“Davison, be nice,” Allegra admonishes me.
“No, it’s all right, Allegra,” Dr. Turner counters before she turns back to me. “Davison, you needed an outlet, someone to blame for what happened.”
Is she fucking kidding me?
“For crying out loud, I don’t blame Allegra!”
“Of course you don’t. But you felt helpless, and you wish that you could’ve stopped it from happening. You probably even blamed yourself.”
I’m frozen. There’s nothing to discuss. I don’t even notice Allegra has unclasped my left hand, which had formed a fist, now firmly gripping it in hers.
“Allegra, what happened after he told you?”
I look back at her, now tightening my hold to maintain the connection to her.
“The thing is…” she begins with a whisper, “he also told me that he knew about Carlo’s plans to make me his sex slave when he took me back to Italy. He overheard me when I was telling Detective Leary about it.”
I take a few deep breaths, shuddering as I exhale, remembering the shock of those words when I first heard them.
“What happened then?” Dr. Turner asks.
“I threw a fucking vase at the wall, okay?” I snap back at her.
“Davison, please.”
When I look again at Allegra, her eyes are moist, begging me to stop. I release my hand, trailing my fingertips over her soft cheeks.
She leans her head into my palm, closing her eyes.
“Davison, Allegra, please listen to what I’m going to tell you.”
We both shift back to Dr. Turner, my left hand now holding Allegra’s right one.
“Neither one of you is to blame for what happened. The ones to blame are the perpetrators who committed the crime. I can tell how much you care for each other—”
“I love her,” I blurt out, interrupting her, not giving a shit. “Just so we’re clear.”
The doctor smiles patiently at me. “Yes, Davison, I can see that. Despite the time that’s passed, you’re still healing from the incident. And you will overcome this because of the love and trust I can sense you have established with each other. As long as you keep communicating and are honest with one another, I don’t see why you won’t be able to build a strong, healthy relationship.”
I squeeze Allegra’s hand while she’s nodding her head, her eyes shut, a small smile across her lips.
Dr. Turner glances at her watch and looks back at us, clasping her hands together in her lap. “That was an excellent first session. We’re done for today.” She rises from her chair, and Allegra and I follow suit.
We walk to the foyer, where Dr. Turner shakes my hand. “A pleasure, Mr. Berkeley.”
“Likewise, Dr. Turner. Thank you.”
She then turns to Allegra and hugs her. “We’ll be in touch,” she says warmly.
“Thank you for everything, Dr. Turner,” my love answers graciously.
As they embrace, I can’t help but smile to myself.
I agree, Venus. I’m thankful you have Dr. Turner. You’re in very good hands.
* * *
“Thank you for coming with me,” she says to me in a whisper.
We’re now sitting in the Maybach in front of Allegra’s building.
“Anything for you, you know that by now, don’t you?” I reassure her, running my index finger along her tender cheeks.
She nods. “I do.”
“Are you okay, baby? You’re being very quiet.”
“Therapy sessions take a lot out of me,” she replies.
“Is that all?”
“Mmm-hmm.”
She’s totally lying. But I don’t push.
“Well, okay, if you’re sure. I need to get back to the office. Dinner tomorrow at my place?”
“It’s a date, Harvard.”
I lean in and kiss her soft lips. She opens her mouth wider, taking my tongue into her mouth, her hands gripping my hair in a tight hold. She starts to moan, and my cock hardens instantly at that sound, growing larger under the fabric of my trousers. As much as I want to tell Charles to take us around the block a few more times, I know that in front of her father’s shop is not the best place to have sex with her, despite the tinted windows.
I reluctantly pull away from her mouth. “Baby, you’re killing me. Not here,” I plead.
She looks at me sheepishly, and nods after a few seconds. “Okay.”
“Hey, listen to me,” I command, lifting up her chin with my hands to make sure she’s listening to me. “I want you so fucking much right now, but I’m afraid that your father has X-ray vision and would be able to see through the window.”
She laughs.
The sweetest sound in the world.
“We’ll pick this up later,” I tell her.
�
�Promise?”
“What do you think?”
She flashes that wicked smile at me, the smile I adore.
* * *
As the Maybach heads down the FDR to my office in the Financial District, what was unspoken between us bothers me. I know there was something she wasn’t telling me. After what she’s been through, she needs to know that I would never leave her, no matter what.
We finally reach the Berkeley Holdings building.
“The usual time this evening, sir?” Charles asks me when I step out of the car.
“Yes. But before you go, I need you to do me a favor.”
Chapter Four
Allegra
Oh my God, you’re such a slob.”
“Give me a break, will you?” Davison snaps back at me in frustration. “Noodles are hard to navigate with chopsticks.”
“You’re getting sesame sauce all over yourself.”
“So? You know what to do.”
I shake my head in exasperation, but smiling simultaneously because it’s just like what happened on our first public date, seeing one of Manhattan’s most powerful businessmen who’s always in control looking a total mess with sauce all over his face. As I wipe the sauce off his chin with my thumb, he smirks.
“Closer, please.”
I roll my eyes as I inch my thumb toward his mouth. Once I reach his lips, I watch as they open, immediately taking it in, sucking on it as his tongue swirls around and around.
My eyes are mesmerized by the look in his own, hooded with hunger. It’s probably not just because of the sauce on my thumb.
He moans, instantly shooting electric pulses throughout my entire body.
“Davison?”
“Hmm?” he asks innocently.
“I need my hand back if I’m going to eat.”
A groan vibrates through his throat, and he releases my thumb.
“Mood killer,” he complains.
“I’m starving, okay?” I laugh in response.
He smiles at me as he picks up his chopsticks, but throws them down within seconds. “So am I,” he huffs. He pushes his chair back and heads for the kitchen, returning with a fork.
“Dig in, honey,” I tease him.