ATONEMENT (24 page)

At the exit to the property she was halted, “
Excusi
, you cannot go off the grounds without an escort.” A guard informed
her when she got to the gate
.

A car rolled on side of Selange before she could respond. She turned and saw Nico.

“It’s alright, she’ll be with me.” He frowned at her, “Get in.”

The minute she slammed the door shut, the gates opened and
he
drove to freedom. “Where the hell were you going without me?”

“To the olive garden.”

“Alone?”

“Geez, of course.”

He shook his head, “Selange, seriously
you know better.”

She ignored him. Matter-of-fact, she pretended he wasn’t there when they reached the garden. Even when she entered the store off to the side and
she
purchased bottles of
the pure olive oil to take home and
she chatted with the farmer without his assistance
. She did all this without acknowledging his presence
and di
d quite splendidly. Until, Nico chuckled as he shadowed her and she stopped to find out the source of his laughter.

“What’s funny?”

“
Pagliaccio
means
buffoon
. You told
the man
h
ave
a nice
buffoon
.
Pomeriggio
is the word for
afternoon
, woman
.”

Selange was horrified, “Why didn’t you correct me
, you let me make an ass out of myself on purpose, didn’t you
?”

“Stop pouting,
he’ll get over it.”

She punched him and he grinned, “Your temper’s showing.”

“Oh, I think you’ve seen what happens when I really want to hurt someone.”

His grin widened, “That I have.”

She stopped as he held open the car door, turned to face him and asked, “Can we go somewhere private and talk?”

“
You’re ready to talk to me, now?”

“Yes, I am.”

Later, they were back at Nico’s hide-away. She sat cross-legged in front of the fireplace
and Nico
reclin
ed
on his side, propped up
on an
elbow
,
listening
.

“I’m
not
tell
ing
Alfonzo about us
.”

He kept quiet. She wasn’t finished, yet.

“Nico, I love him. I don’t want to crush him. If I tell him about us then he’ll question the baby and might get angry not knowing if it’
s
his or not.”

Nico s
coffed, “Of course, he’ll get angry.
”

“Nico, if this child is yours, I promise to tell you.”

“That’s admirable.”
He commented sarcastically.

“And we’ll arrange some way for you to visit, we’ll figure it out.”

“What’s to figure out
?
If I’m the father, I get to see my kid.”

Her hazel eyes came to rest on his face, “Nico,
I don’t want anything to happen to you
. I don’t think Alfonzo will stick around if he knows this isn’t his child
and he might do something to you
.
Are you really willing to destroy him
or get killed
?”

He thought about it.
He wasn’t concerned about getting killed for one thing and secondly, he wasn’t deliberately trying to hurt Alfonzo. He only wanted to see his child, from time to time.
“
I can handle your husband don’t concern
yourself
with that
.
”

“You wouldn’t
kill him
. You love him, like a brother
we both know it
.
I just want a chance to save my marriage.”

He found her amazing. “And I
want a promise.”

“Okay.”

“
My kid, you tell me
that’s
all the promise I want from you.”

“Okay, promise.”

“And if it doesn’t work out with Alfonzo then what?”

“I go on.”

“And us, now?”

“
Y
ou said it yourself you were a horrible husband, so it only leaves one
other
option.”

“Which is?”

“
I fell in love with you and I don’t know when it happened but it did and it’s hurting me because I love my husband just as much and…”
her long lashes covered her eyes as she looked down sadly, “this is me with my eyes open.” She
found the courage to
look directly into his dark pupils.
“
Have you ever tried to hold onto the wind, Nico?”

He was amused, “You read too much poetry beautiful.”

“Well, you’re similar to the wind. I need you but I can’t keep you,
you’re not meant to be kept,
does that make any sense?”

His amusement faded, “Your metaphor is weak. I’m not the
wind,
I’m flesh and blood not
some
translucent
form of matter
.”

“You’re both made up of matter.
In Hinduism all creations are made up of matter, including the human body.”
She
smiled, “I know, too deep.”

“You’re
deep,
it’s what I love about you.”

The words were said and her hands were on his broad shoulders, feeling the strength of him, wanting him. “I don’t want to let you go. I’m being selfish, but I want the now with you.
I want
you
in
my life. Be my lover Nico,
let’s live in the now. I don’t care how
short
it is
,
I’ll take
it
just to be with you
, I swear if it’s your child I’ll love him and keep him safe and
when the time comes, he’ll know who you are. I
promise. I’ll do anything you ask as long as you love me, now
!
”

His teeth flashed. They were sparkly, evenly aligned pearls,
“We can make as many now’s as you want
and I’ll hold you to that promise
.”

“I know,” she said grappling with his belt buckle, eager to consummate their agreement.

He helped her by stripping
hastily
out of his clothes then undressed her with equally hurried hands. He caressed the hourglass silhouette, smiling at how
her
skin glowed beneath the artificial light.
He
answer
ed
her
need
with a kiss, seeking to ward off ‘now’s’ demise.
H
e
kissed
her
thigh
s
, caressed the subtle slope of her belly, connecting to the life growing there, smiling
and loving her more
.
She breath
ed heavily, excited by his touch,
grabbing
impatiently
at his shoulders, sliding
her fingers through his rich black hair, wanting him so bad she cried as he orally
gave her pleasure
.

In time his
own desire peaked and he was
atop her, penetrating with care the cavernous depths where life
blossomed
.
She gripped his waist
and
a soft whimper
of joy
escap
ed
. His hands held the sides of her face
, their eyes met and what they both coveted g
ranted
. She welcomed him into the moist folds of her flesh with a seductive smile
of familiarity
.
His eyes closed
briefly
as she caressed his shoulders and
he questioned his selfish soul. H
e would do whatever she
asked
for this small piece of happiness. Yes, loving her was
ecstasy
and she was wrong about one thing, he would not hesitate to hurt Alfonzo if he ever harmed her, brother in spirit or not
.

He swelled inside of her
as the viscous juices of want clung to him.
H
er desire could not be hidden
and
spoke its truth
. I
t craved him fiendishly
and clamped him like a vice. If this were a sign, then the
possibility
of this child being his was a certainty. The thought
brought a selfish elation. He’d always be a part of her that way and their child would be the product of
their
ardent love, the strongest kind
between lovers.

He was in such
need
,
he
suck
l
ed her
lips,
her throat, her breasts and grinned at the
vanilla-
cinnamon
taste of her body.
He
squeezed her buttocks,
rolling them around to meet his thrusts,
t
a
k
ing
without guilt
what she eagerly gave
. The
responsive gyrations of her hips told him they were both
in the throes of a fiery passion.
S
elange
made her
choice;
she was not asleep or in the fits of a dream. S
he could have chosen
another
path;
instead
she entered
a course leading to
temptation
.
One night
of indiscretion
brought
them
here and they would journey the road together
.
Nico
became her
lover
, th
eir lust
ful chemistry
was
too strong
and
it
required
constant
fulfillment
.
The
natural
attraction of
their
bodies
result
ed in
an explosion upon fusion.
Their crime was desire and t
o slow it required
a neutral agent or
some form of interference for it to burn out.