Letters to the Baumgarters (9 page)

“Who was that?”

“I had a study group at noon,” I lied. “They were wondering where I was.”

“Why did you take the phone into the bathroom.”

“I had to pee.” I lied. “You know me, as soon as I get up, I have to go.”
In fact, I had to go now. “Listen, I have to hop in the shower and get ready to
go. Will you be okay here for a few hours?”

He shrugged. “I’ll just go get myself some lunch.”

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?”

“I’ve got my English/Italian dictionary, don’t I?” He grinned. “And I can
say
hamburger e patatine fritte
.”

I laughed. “That will get you a hamburger and fries.”

“Then I’m all set.”

I rushed through my shower, put on jeans and a t-shirt and grabbed my
jacket, calling out to Mason, who was now in the shower himself, that I was
leaving.

“I left a key on the table,” I called, peeking behind the curtain. His
hair was all soapy, and the sight of the suds dripping down his chest, over the
flat, ridges muscles of his abdomen, made my breath catch. I didn’t dare let my
gaze dip lower.

“Thanks.” He rinsed, rubbing his eyes and blinking at me. He saw the way
I was looking at him and grinned. “Sure you can’t stay a while?”

I thought of Nico waiting for me at the café and sighed. “Later. I’ll be
back in a few hours. Can you feed Jezebel?”

“Sure.”

Nico was waiting already, although I was right on time. He smiled as I
approached, rising to kiss my cheek and pull out my chair.

“Don’t say anything.” He held up a finger as I opened my mouth, which was
probably a good thing, because I wasn’t sure what I was going to say anyway. “I
want to apologize.”

I just sat and ordered a vanilla Coke, waiting for Nico to continue.

“You’re right, this whole trying to find a place for us is crazy.” He
reached over and took my hand. “And you have become far more important to me
than my mother or my family. I want you to know that.”

“Nico…”

“No, wait.” He turned my hand over in his, tracing the lines of my palm
with his finger. “I’m going to look for a place. My own place. So we can stop
this sneaking around.”

I blinked at him, stunned. I probably would have jumped up and hugged him
if he’d delivered this news a few days ago. Now I could just sit and stare, a
growing pit of anxiety settling in my stomach.

“I…” What could I say? I’d come here with the intention of telling him
about Mason. I knew I should tell him the whole story, my entire history, strip
myself bare before him.

The waiter came and I sipped my Coke, grateful for the interruption. He
asked if we wanted to order food, but Nico paid for our drinks, telling him no.

“I’m hungry,” I protested.

“I have a surprise for you.” He smiled, standing and reaching for my
hand.

“Where are we going?”

The gondola was waiting and he helped me into it.

“Al Ponte Antico.”

I stared at him. “The… hotel?”

“I rented a suite for the night.”

“But…” I thought of Mason, waiting for me back at my flat. What in the
hell was I going to do now?

“It’s Saturday,” he reminded me. “You don’t have class.”

“No…” I swallowed, trying to think of something, anything.

“And I’m taking the day off.” He grinned down at me, triumphant. “Aren’t
you happy?”

“Yes.” I bit my lip, seeing the glint in his eyes. “Of course I am.”

And part of me was. The other part of me was panicking like a kid
realizing their winter sled was hurtling downhill off a cliff.

The hotel was one of the most expensive in Venice and I knew he must have
practically emptied his savings account to afford it. Nico remarked on my
suddenly quiet demeanor, but the truth was, I was overwhelmed with guilt. How
could I possibly tell him no? But if I didn’t… what in the world was I going to
do about Mason, back in my little room, with Cara Lucia patrolling the
hallways?

“Do you want to eat first?” Nico offered, carrying a bag over his
shoulder as we headed to the room.

Suddenly it occurred to me. “I don’t have a change of clothes.”

He smiled, taking out the key. “I took care of that.”

“How?” I followed him down the hallway.

“I bought you a few things.” He held up the bag as he worked the key in
the door lock.

“Nico!” I blinked at him, still shocked by his revelation, and even more
bowled over by the room when he opened the door. The suite was large, oriental
rugs on the floors and a gold, ornate headboard over the huge bed. I couldn’t
help rushing to the window, the sweeping view of the Grand Canal breathtaking
before us, as if we could just walk out onto the water.

“You belong here.” Nico’s breath against the nape of my neck made me
shiver.

“In Al Ponte Antico?”

“In Italy.” His arms went around my waist. “With me.”

And I knew he was right. My whole life I’d dreamed of this, living in the
city where the streets were made of water and the buildings held the secrets of
an ancient history like a pent up breath. There was no more beautiful, vibrant,
living place for me than Venice, and I couldn’t imagine myself living anywhere
else.

What was I going to do?

“Stay with me, Dani.” Nico nuzzled me, his words melting my heart. “I
can’t live here without you anymore.”

“Don’t say that.” I turned, twining my arms around his neck. “We hardly
know each other…”

He shook his head, his smile knowing and telling at the same time. “We
know everything we need to know. And you know it.”

I did.

He kissed me, soft and slow and sweet, breathing me in. What girl could
say no to him?

“I have something for you.” He went to his bag and dug through, holding a
brown package out to me. “My sister helped me gauge your size.”

I looked at him, smiling. “What is it?”

“Something for you.” He sat down in one of the chairs, looking up at me,
slowly unzipping his jeans. “And for me…”

“You want me to open it?”

“Go to the bathroom and put it on.”

I couldn’t resist. It was the finest, silkiest, sexiest lingerie I’d ever
seen, all black. The corset had straps on the bottom for the silk stockings,
the thong was black with two straps across each side and there were even a pair
of sexy black heels included—just my size.

I knew he was out there waiting for me, but I took the time to clean up a
bit once I had stripped down.  Then I tried it all on, looking at myself in the
full-length mirror on the back of the door, my breasts pushed up by the corset,
nipples pursed and hard, my legs long and shapely, the heels making them even
moreso.

When I opened the door, I found Nico still sitting in the chair still
mostly dressed, his cock out, hard in his hand, waiting for me. His eyes
darkened as I approached, his gaze sweeping over me in the outfit he’d chosen.

“You like what you see?” I cocked one hip, my hand resting there, smiling
down at him.

“You’re beautiful,” he said simply. “Turn around.”

I did as he asked, turning in a full, slow circle, facing him again.

“Bellisimo.”
His cock was fisted tightly in his hand and just the
sight of it made my knees weak. “I don’t know if I should fuck you or eat you.”

I grinned. “You can always do both.”

“Good idea.” He grabbed my hips, twisting me so my back was to him, using
the flat of his hand to bend me forward. “Grab your ankles.”

I did, the blood rushing to my head, making me dizzy, my long, dark hair
grazing the floor.

“You like the shoes?” His hands roamed over my ass, snapping the thong,
moving down the smooth silk stockings on my legs.

“Love them,” I admitted, and from this angle, I had a great view. They
were definitely Italian in design, and not cheap. “Nico, you spoil me.”

“I’ve only just begun.” His fingers moved my panties aside and he slipped
his tongue between my pussy lips from behind, spreading my ass with his palms.

I gasped at the sensation, the sweet press of his mouth against my flesh
so overwhelming I almost lost my balance. He steadied me, spreading my legs
wider, his tongue plunging, tasting me deeply. My thighs quivered and I gripped
my ankles more tightly, arching my back to give him better access. He chuckled,
running his tongue up and down my slit, making me moan and wiggle back against
him.

“Oh god, I’m gonna pass out.”

“We can’t have that.” He pulled me back to sit in his lap, the teeth on
the open zipper of his jeans biting my thighs, his hands tight on my hips. He
rocked me against his cock. I could feel it pressed against the crack of my
ass, riding along the string of the thong between my legs.

“You’re going to put a run in my stockings.”

He chuckled, reaching for the garter straps, undoing the front and then
the back on my left leg, his hand sliding under the material, down the inside
of my thigh. I shivered, closing my eyes, as his hand moved back up, cupping my
mound and rocking me. His cock was so hard it felt like granite between us.

Then he undid the other one, his hand moving down the smooth expanse of
my inner thigh to slide the stocking down, moving back up to nestle my mound in
the palm of his hand. I turned my head and found his mouth, kissing him deeply,
his tongue twining with mine. His hands moved up my waist, over the corset,
fondling my breasts, our hips grinding in the chair.

“You’re so beautiful,” he gasped when we broke our kiss, looking down at
me sprawled across his lap.

I lifted one of my legs, pulling my knee back so I could work the strap
on my left shoe. It dropped to the floor and I slid the stocking down my calf.
Then I did the other one, slowly sliding the stocking down to my ankle, Nico
watching it the whole way. Then he stood me up again, this time turning me to
face him, hands roaming over the length of my bare legs, up my hips to my
breasts and back down again.

“Put the shoes back on.”

I smiled, stepping back into them and buckling the straps, two on the
outside of each high heel.

“Spread your legs.”

I did, my hips jutting forward, watching his hand move up and down the
length of his shaft as he looked up at me. His eyes were dark with lust, his
lips slightly parted, so sexy sitting there with his jeans undone just enough
for his cock to escape, his white button-down shirt untucked. I couldn’t think
about anything else except how much I wanted him.

“Touch yourself.” His gaze fell between my legs to where the black
triangle of the thong barely covered the swell of my bare pussy lips. “I want
to watch.”

I slipped my hand under the elastic, my pussy already wet from his
tongue, slippery with my juices. I found the hard button of my clit with one
hand, nudging it back and forth, watching his eyes light up as I traced my
nipple with my fingernail, making it pucker. I teased my pussy, making my first
two fingers into a V and letting them ride down around the nub of my clit,
rubbing myself like that, my hips rocking.

“Let me see.” Nico pulled the thong aside, biting his lip when he saw how
my swollen pussy lips were parted for the press of my fingers. I slid the
panties down to my ankles, stepping out of them, spreading my legs even wider
this time. He groaned as I lifted my fingers to my mouth, licking my juices off
them, sucking on them before sliding my hand back down to pay more attention to
my pussy.

“Put your fingers inside,” he said, his breath coming in short pants, his
hand moving faster up and down the length of his cock.

I put one high heel up on the arm of his chair, giving him a full view.
“You do it.”

“Holy fuck.” He said this in English, his eyes glazed with hunger, on
eye-level with my pussy. He parted me with his fingers, working them slowly in
and then out, watching himself finger me. I rolled my hips forward, giving him
better access, my head going back, a low moan escaping my throat. He was
incredibly skilled, thumbing my clit as he rocked his hand against my pussy,
his fingers doing things inside of me that drove me crazy.

“Sit on my face, Dani.” He pulled me toward him. “I have to taste you.”

He positioned me, knees on the arm of the chair, hands gripping the back,
his mouth covering my slippery mound. His tongue worked its way to my clit, his
fingers finding their mark again inside of me, the other hand cupping my
breast, thumbing my nipple, a trifecta of sensation. My thighs quivered, my
belly undulating, coming so close to climax I could almost taste it.

“Please,” I begged, my whole body tense, rocking. “Oh god, please!
Please!”

Nico took me there, sucking my clit hard into his mouth, manipulating it
with his tongue, making my pussy spasm in release around his plunging fingers.
I cried out, my nails digging into the back of the chair, grinding my hips,
shoving my whole pussy against his greedy mouth.

“Oh god!” I cried, shuddering still, sinking to the floor between his
knees, now eye-level with his cock. I looked up to see his face glistening with
my juices, his cock jutting up like a mast with no sail, waiting to be taken
for a ride, and I couldn’t resist. Still dazed from my own orgasm, I took him
into my mouth, the head slick with precum.

His hand moved through my hair, guiding me up and down his length, his
hips beginning to thrust in rhythm. I made soft, happy noises in my throat, my
nipples grazing his jean-clad thighs as I took his cock between my lips again
and again, feeling the thick length of him sliding against my tongue. My pussy
was still throbbing for him. I couldn’t believe how much he made me want him.

“I want you inside me.” I slapped the head of his cock against my cheek,
teasing the tip with my tongue. “Fuck me. Please.”

“Your wish is my command,” he said in English. “Stand up.”

I did, and he stood with me, kissing me deeply, letting me taste my pussy
on his tongue. Then he turned me around, pushing me further into the room. I
thought he was taking me to the bed, but he walked me past it, toward the
windows. They were covered by filmy white curtains, but he opened them, making
me gasp and move to cover myself.