Marcello & Grace (Royals of Valleria #2) (16 page)

“Marcello,” she said in agony. He pushed his fingers inside and she groaned. “Please.”

“What do you need, fair Grace? Tell me.” His thumb moved to her nub and circled it in slow steady movements.

“You,” she said as she gripped his shoulders. “Please. Please.”

“Not yet,” he said, though she could tell it cost him to do it. He gave her a desperate kiss before his mouth once again shifted down her body. When he sucked and licked her nipple, her body tensed, her back arched, and she exploded. Marcello shifted up and swallowed her cry of release.

As her body pulsed, his fingers continued to move within her for a few moments before he pulled them out, causing her to shudder. She watched as he licked his fingers, then kissed her.

“You taste fucking amazing,” he said. “Can you see how wonderful you are?”

“Yes,” she said. It was, perhaps, the first time in her life she felt truly beautiful. His cock teased her entrance and she gasped again.

“Relax,” he said and kissed her soft and slow until she was putty in his arms. He slowly inched his way inside, every movement a delicious agony for Grace, who had never felt things so acutely before.

“Shit,” Marcello said and pulled out.

“What is it?” Had she done something wrong?

“Condom. I don’t have one. I wasn’t expecting this, Grace.”

This time, she kissed the protest off his lips. “I’m on the pill. It helped me after, well, anyway, the doctor recommended it.” She had been about to mention the baby, but stopped herself. There just wasn’t room in her head for past experiences at the moment.

“Are you sure, Grace?” he said. “I’m clean, just so you know, but you can stop this if you want to.”

“No,” she said quickly. “Please don’t stop,” she pleaded. “Please.” She had to feel him inside her again, she just had to. This was pleasure as she’d never experienced it before, and she wanted more.

“Grace,” he groaned as he entered her once more. Her hips moved against his, encouraging him to move faster. When he still moved too slowly, she ran her hands down his back to his ass and pulled him against her.

“Oh my God,” Marcello said when he was fully inside her. “Are you all right, Grace?”

“Yes. God, yes,” she said and pleaded with him to move.

He shifted inside her, the delicious friction of their bodies against each other sending her entire body tingling with anticipation. She felt it coming, and he must have, too. He pressed his whole body against hers, and devoured her mouth again while the orgasm ripped her apart. Her body shifted against his, her nipples, now peaked, rubbed against the wiry hair of his chest and heightened her climax. Never before had she felt so intimate, so connected with another man.

What the hell had she been missing her whole life?

He continued to thrust inside her, faster and faster until, a few moments later, his own orgasm tore through him on a cry of his own, and she felt the warmth of his release flood her.

Afterwards, both of them were gasping for air. Their bodies, hot and sticky against each other, felt like a badge of honor. She had lost control with him but then, he had also lost control because of her. A loss of control like this was beautiful. Who knew sex could be so beautiful?

When Marcello had somewhat recovered, he dropped a soft kiss against her neck, then cheek, then lips. He pushed her damp hair away from her forehead and asked, “Are you all right?”

Her heart stuttered at the depth of love and concern in his eyes. She shifted her hand to his cheek. “I’m wonderful.”

“Are you sure? If I did anything to upset you, you need to let me know.”

“It was perfect. Honestly. How are you?”

“How am I? Well, I may never recover but I can live with that,” he said with a smile.

“It was good for you?” She felt embarrassed for asking, but simply had to know if the experience had meant as much to him.

“Grace, fair Grace. This was the most explosive experience I’ve ever had. I’ve never felt anything like this before. What I have with you, what I feel for you, I’ve never felt for anyone else before.”

“Really?”

“Really.” After a moment’s pause, he asked, “Grace, will you come with me?”

“I thought I just did.”

“Funny. I meant will you come with me to Valleria? I want to see you before I leave for the mission, and I want to see you when I get back.”

“I don’t know, Marcello. Won’t I just be a distraction? You need to focus or you could get hurt.”

“You’ll be a distraction whether you come with me or not. Listen,” he said as he rested his forehead against hers. “I’m not trying to pressure you, and you don’t need to give me an answer now. I don’t leave for another few hours anyway.”

Only a few hours to decide her life. She laughed. Only he could make her laugh at a moment like this. “I don’t know. I want to be with you, Marcello, do you believe that?”

“Yes, of course I do. After what we just shared, how could I not?”

“Then give me some more time. I want to see you again, but there’s just too much going on with the estate and I still need to speak to the police about what happened last night.”

“Then come later. Just come, if you want to.”

“I do want to.”
I love you
, she thought but didn’t quite have the courage to say.

“Good,” he said as he kissed her sweetly. “Are you ready to get up?”

“I think we need a shower before we head back,” she said as an idea formed in her mind.

“Does this place have a shower?”

“No, but it does have a rainstorm at the moment.”

His brows lifted high on his face. “You want to go out naked in the rain?”

“That’s half of it,” she said as she wove her fingers through his damp hair. “After we’re out there, I want to make love to you again.”

He groaned. “You’re going to kill me, I just know it.”

She giggled. “Does that mean you don’t want to?”

With a quirk of his brow, he sat up, keeping their bodies joined together. “Wrap your legs around me, sweetheart,” he said as he carefully stood up.

“Use the back door. It’s more private.” She wasn’t sure what she had just gotten herself into, but she needed more of him before he left; that much was certain.

Marcello deftly made it to the backdoor, and the movement of their bodies caused both of them to bloom with fresh arousal. God, he wanted her, as he had wanted no other before. There was no one else for him now, he knew. Even if he waited years for her, he would do it, because she was absolutely worth it.

She was so strong. That she could even want him like this, or any man, was a testament to her strength. He’d been terrified that something he had said or done during their lovemaking would cause her to remember something painful, but nothing had. It was a miracle. She was a miracle.

As they stepped outside, Grace tilted her head back and let the rain flow down her lithe body. She had a light smile on her face, and he knew in that moment he would do anything to make her smile.

He spotted a plush, outdoor chair and went towards it, carefully navigating the slim, stone path. Making love in the rain was a great idea, until you had to think about the mechanics of it all.

As he sat down, she straddled him and he somehow pushed even deeper inside her. They both groaned.

“Grace,” he said, his voice a pleading whisper as his erection became almost painful.

Grace rolled her hips slowly, drawing out each moment of pleasure between them. Wanting her, needing her to hurry, his mouth descended on her breast. Though it may have seemed small to some, it was perfect for his hands and his lips.

He sucked, drinking in her unique flavor and the crisp, clean rainwater that covered her body. Thunder boomed overhead as she let out a moan and began to shift against him faster. Unable to hold back, Marcello thrust against her, claiming her the only way he could.

Her small breasts jiggled with the movements they made and the sight had him gripping her hips and thrusting harder.
More
, was all he could think.
More of this, more of her, more of everything
.

“Now, Grace,” he said through clenched teeth, holding back for her. “Now.”

As another round of thunder boomed overhead, her cry of release was drowned out by the storm. Her back arched, thrusting her peaked nipples close to his lips, and he took advantage of the feast before him.

He nipped and licked them through her orgasm, which went on, and on, and on. With a gasp, she collapsed against him, burying her head against his neck, her hair creating a curtain around them.

With a final few thrusts, he roared out his own release against another round of booming thunder. Spurts of his hot seed filled her and he had never felt so much like a man in his life. Filling her, pleasing her, holding her. Nothing had ever compared to this. Nothing.

The rain continued to coat every inch of their bodies, except where they remained joined. After a few minutes, Marcello lifted her head and drew her swollen lips to his for a long, slow kiss.

“I didn’t think we could top the first time, but it looks like we did,” he said.

“It was amazing.”

“To say the least. Are you all right?”

She nodded. “You don’t need to ask every time.”

“Yes, I do. I’ll always want to make sure you’re all right, in bed or out of it.”

“Well, we’re certainly not in bed right now.”

He smiled broadly then kissed her cheek. He took a moment to easily lift her away from his body. She gasped when he pulled out and the sound had him hardening all over again. Christ, was he ever going to be erection-free near her again?

As he set her down, his eyes narrowed on her hips, where his hands had left a mark. “Jesus, Grace, I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to hurt you.”

Grace looked bewildered for a moment until she looked down where he was gently caressing the impression of his hand that remained. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s all right, Marcello,” she said in a soft tone.

“No, it’s not,” he said as he stood and began to pace. “I hurt you. Holy hell, I hurt you.”

“You didn’t.”

“The evidence is right there,” he said in a loud voice. The rain still poured over them, this time it felt like cold water on a hot fire.

“Marcello.” When he didn’t answer her, she said more firmly. “Marcello, look at me.”

He stopped and turned. She looked like an ancient goddess, with tendrils of her long hair covering her breasts and ending at her waist. Her slim, succulent body held itself firm while her blue eyes flashed with ice.

“Do you regret what we just did?” she asked.

“No. Hell, no. But, Grace -.”

“No, ‘buts’. I know what it means to be physically hurt, Marcello,” she said as she walked over to him, a siren leading him to his fate. “I know what it means to bruise and bleed at the hands of a man.” His eyes roamed down her body, taking in the puckered skin of scars left behind from her old life.

“This is nothing like that,” she continued as she put a hand over his heart. “Please don’t turn this into something ugly. It was beautiful. I’m glad you were able to give yourself to me. I may be a little bruised, but these are scars of love, not hate. There’s a big difference.”

He put a hand over hers on his heart. “I should have been more careful. I promised you I would never hurt you.”

“You’ve kept that promise,” she said as she gave him a light kiss on the lips. “Look at this way. If I had, say, marked you in some way because of our lovemaking, would you consider that to be abuse?”

“No, of course not.”

“So why is the reverse true? Is it true because I’ve been beaten before? Hurt before? I know what true pain is, Marcello, and this wasn’t it.”

“You’re amazing,” he said as he squeezed their joined hands over his heart. “I don’t deserve you.” He would still be more careful in the future, but as long as she was all right, so was he.

“Yes, you do,” she said simply. “What we shared was pleasure, and I quite enjoyed it, if you must know.”

He put his free arm around her and drew her near. “Enjoyed it, did you?” She nodded.

Just as Marcello was about to reply, the thunder boomed overhead again and they both looked up. The rain was falling harder now. It wasn’t the soft, steady, gentle drops that had covered them during lovemaking, but harder, colder pellets.

“Come on,” he said as he turned back to the temple. “Let’s get dressed and go home. I don’t want you catching a cold.”

“And you’ve got to pack,” she said as they entered the building again. He kissed her hand before letting go of it to dress.

“I do have to pack but my main concern is you, Grace.”

“You could also catch a cold, you know,” she said as also began to dress, shivering when her soggy clothes hit wet skin.

“Wear my shirt, at least. It’s dry,” he said as he walked over to her.

“I couldn’t. What would people think?”

“All manner of things, I assume. Look, if you don’t want people to know about us, I understand.”

“Marcello.”

“No, I’m not going to push you, damn it. No matter how much I may want to.”

As he turned away, Grace put a hand on his back. “Wait.” She walked around to face him. “I’m not ashamed of you, Marcello, or of what we did.”

“Are you sure about that?”

“Yes,” she said and caressed his cheek. Though her hand was cool, something warm and lovely bloomed in his chest at the feel of it. “I suppose I’m just more reserved as you.”

Marcello couldn’t help but laugh. “You? Reserved? The same woman who suggested we make love in the rain?”

Her brows furrowed. “I know it must seem confusing.”

“Well, you are a complicated woman,” he reminded her. His hands gripped the edge of her shirt and pulled it off. He just as quickly whipped his shirt over her body.

“It’ll be fine,” he said as he gave her forehead a kiss and then finished dressing. He caught her fingering his shirt for a few moments before she finished dressing as well.

Hiding underneath a useless umbrella, they ran most of the way back to the house, dodging the now slanted rain and falling leaves. When they arrived at the house, it was to find the kitchen miraculously empty. They did not run into any servants as they meandered through the house, either.

As they reached Grace’s door, Marcello paused to give her a quick kiss. “I’d like to have some more time with you before I leave.”

“So would I,” Grace said as she rested her forehead against his bare chest. After a moment, she dropped a kiss just above his nipple and said, “How about lunch? You’ll have a long drive ahead of you.”

Marcello ignored the arousal beginning to stir within him at her innocent kiss. “We’re not driving back to London. I’ll need to arrange for a helicopter. Besides, with all this rain, some of the roads may still be washed out.”

“I hadn’t thought of that.”

“Our drivers will stay on and take Cat back when the roads are safe. You’re welcome to go along with her, if you like. No pressure.”

“I’ll think about it.” When she sneezed a moment later - and Marcello even found her sneeze sexy - he decided it was time to take care of her.

“Go in and change. Have something hot to drink. I’ll meet you for lunch in about an hour.”

“You’re ordering me around again.”

“Yes, and this time I won’t take ‘no’ for an answer.” He patted her small derriere lightly and she jumped. He was pleased to see not fear but lust, flit across her face.

“Well, all right, but only because I had already planned to do the same thing.” As she opened the door, she stopped. “Your shirt. I should give it back to you.”

His eyes narrowed. “Give it back to me later.” She smiled shyly and fingered the hem. “Grace. Don’t you dare take that off here. At least get behind the door.” His eyes darted around but the floor and the stairwell were empty.

With a broad smile, she lifted the shirt up slowly, revealing her stomach. Marcello swallowed, then shook his head. He stepped forward, forcing her to step back and away from the door. She gasped as he took her into his arms and gave her a hard kiss.

When Marcello stepped back, he was pleased to see a dazed look on her face. “See you in an hour,” he said and stepped out of the room, closing the door shut behind him. That woman was going to be the death of him, and he could think of no better way to go.

***

Lunch was mostly a somber, frustrating affair for Grace. She was sad to see Marcello leave, as was his sister, but she was more frustrated that she couldn’t hold his hand or caress his cheek as she longed to do. Marcello was waiting for her to make the first move, she knew it. She just hadn’t found the courage for it yet.

Marcello tried to keep the conversation light but everyone knew he was leaving to go on a terribly risky mission, even if he was scant with the details of it all. Cat, who was apparently more used to situations like these, was more relaxed than Grace, at least on the surface. There was, however, enough worry in Cat’s face to make Grace’s stomach churn at the thought of what he must be facing.

“Can you tell us how long you’ll be gone?” Cat asked.

“I don’t know,” he said, though Grace was sure he did. He wasn’t being evasive, just protective of the details.

“Does Alex know?” Cat asked.

“Alex knows a great many things,” Marcello said.

“I could get it out of him, you know,” Cat said assuredly. Knowing the bond she shared with her twin brother, Grace didn’t doubt it. Neither, apparently, did Marcello.