Revenge (55 page)

“It is all right. I just want us to be equals
when we make love.”

She smiled. “Is that
really
what you
want? For us to be equals?”

He held her gaze, going utterly still,
something about the look on his face making Kate hold her breath.
She waited, but he only watched her, saying nothing. What was
troubling him? Had she hit the truth with her wisecrack? She
stroked his jaw. “You’ve been my slave more than once. Perhaps it’s
time I was yours?”

He grinned then and relaxed. “I did not know
you could read minds.”

“You have but to ask.” She traced a hand from
his shoulder down his back to his waist, feeling the cords of
muscles beneath her hands. He was so strong, this man of hers, and
yet he’d been so completely at her mercy. So afraid of losing her,
he’d held himself back, even in this one place where there should
be no secrets. That ended today. “So tell me, is there anything in
particular you want?”

He hesitated. “I don’t know the word for it
in English.”

“Describe it.”

His face flushed with color again. “That
first time, you put your mouth on me.”

She laughed at his blush. He was such a good
Catholic boy. “You want a blow job?”

He looked a little puzzled. “I do not recall
you blowing on it.”

“No. But that’s what it’s called. I’ll show
you.”

“I’d like to stand while you do it.” He
rolled off her and met her eyes. Still looking for approval.

“Rico, I’m your slave. Tell me and I’ll do
it. I trust you.”

A glint came into his eyes then. He stood up,
pulled a pillow off the bed, and dropped it at his feet. “On your
knees.”

Kate grinned at the obvious delight on his
face. She took her time getting up, enjoying the heat of his gaze
upon her. Standing before him, she rose up on her toes and brushed
her mouth against his, then she moved her lips to his jaw, kissing
along the edge of it until she reached his ear. She breathed into
it, a little moan that made him clutch her waist, his hard cock
jutting into her belly. Smiling to herself, she continued lower,
kissing down the side of his neck, her lips at last reaching the
smooth skin below the stubble of his beard. There she kissed and
licked him, nuzzling his tanned skin for a moment, breathing in his
scent.

She stepped back, breaking his hold, and
pulled the negligee off. He tweaked the nipple of her right breast,
then leaned down to suckle it. Fire tore through her at his touch,
and she had to close her eyes. She savored the feeling, enjoying it
when he cupped her left breast in his other hand and gave it
attention too. Then she pulled away. “This is about you,
remember?”

He smiled. “Having your breasts in my mouth
is one of my favorite things.”

“You’ll have plenty of time to enjoy them in
the future.” She kissed and licked his firm flat pecs, her tongue
tracing around his nipples. He inhaled at the contact and she made
a mental note to do that again next time.

Continuing her exploration, she sank to her
knees and kissed his belly, her tongue tracing the ridges of his
abs. She avoided the bruising on his left side. Had they ever made
love when neither one was injured? She smiled against his skin,
kissing him just above the swirl of his navel. Their course to true
love certainly hadn’t run smooth.

She brushed her hand over his cock, running
her fingers up and down its length as he shuddered. Looking up at
him, she took the root of it in her hand, her thumb teasing the
underside of his hard flesh.

When he met her eyes, she took him in her
mouth, just the tip, her tongue swirling around the head. Hearing
him moan, she would have grinned if she could have. Widening her
mouth, she eased down, swallowing more of his length. She couldn’t
take it all, but she’d make sure he enjoyed what she could do.

Popping him out of her mouth, she ignored his
little sounds of protest, and instead ran the flat of her tongue up
and down the vein along the underside of his cock. He moaned and
thrust up a little. He certainly liked that. She made another
mental note. There was much about Rico she had yet to learn.

Taking him in her mouth again, she lavished
attention on the head, giving him all the gratification he’d given
her so many times before. Then she began a slow descent, engulfing
as much of him as she could, pleased by his groans and the feel of
his fingers twining in her hair. How could she have neglected his
pleasure for so long? She had a lot of catching up to do.

The feel of her mouth, her tongue, was pure
heaven as she resumed working on him, speeding up her movements.
After what had happened with Vincenzo, he’d feared asking Kate for
anything, he’d feared making any demands on her at all. He’d feared
reminding her that he had needs too. But if he trusted her, he had
to be honest. Fear was not the heart of love; trust was. Honesty
was. Faith was.

When he was getting close to the peak, he
took her head in his hands, resisting the urge to thrust the way
his cock urged him to. He didn’t want to come in her mouth, not
this time. “Enough.” He was breathing hard, each inhale and exhale
reminding him of the cracked ribs, though the pain was but a dull
ache compared to the pleasure she was giving him. He’d endure it,
he’d endure anything to have her. To be with her. To love her.

She sat back on her heels and stroked her
fingers along his thighs. “What now?”

“I want to take you from behind.”

“Like this?” She got down on her hands and
knees.

“Yes, but on the bed.”

She crawled up on the mattress and presented
herself to him, feeling how wet she was from sucking him. She
looked at him over her shoulder, her discomfort at being in this
position making her seek eye contact, reassurance.

He stood behind her, his hands kneading her
hips, then one slipped down between her legs and investigated her
dripping pussy, two fingers sliding into her easily. “So wet,” he
murmured, leaning down and kissing her just above the crack of her
buttocks.

She pushed back onto his hand, biting her lip
to keep from groaning. “It’s been too long.”

“And whose fault is that?” he asked, his tone
light. His hand moved up to her clit, and he massaged it between
two fingers, making her groan.

“Mine, all mine. I admit it.”

He laughed, then kissed her again at the base
of her spine, his breath warm on her skin. His hand left her and
his erection nudged at her opening. She pressed herself onto him,
arching to give him the best angle. He sank into her, both of them
catching their breath at the sensation.

He worked in and out of her, withdrawing to
his tip before diving back in, but his movements were slow,
frustratingly so. Kate soundlessly begged him to speed up, to
satisfy the need deep within her for something raw and urgent, but
his movements remained teasing, taunting. She clenched her muscles
around him, even urging him out loud to fuck her, but his only
answer was a sharp smack on her buttocks. He was going to kill her
with this. Every plunge of his cock was a sweet torture.

Her climax was building, but she would need
something faster to reach her release. They both would. Finally, it
came to her. What he wanted, what he needed to hear. What she
needed to say. “I love you, Rico.”

Hearing those words unleashed something
inside him. “
Ti amo
,
cara
.” The words tore out of him
as he gave himself over to the silent pleading of her hips, to the
contractions of her inner walls as she gripped and released him. He
could feel she was lost like he was, utterly lost to this, to their
pleasure, to the joy of being together.

He pulled her hips more firmly against him
and delved deeper, abandoning himself to his desire to pound into
her flat out, his breathing growing ragged with the effort to
prolong their pleasure, to make the experience last. He never
wanted to forget this moment. When she stopped fighting them both.
When he started trusting her not to run.

She rocked beneath him, enjoying the searing
pleasure of each thrust, each plunge he made into the very core of
her. They were joined. They were one. And she would never leave him
again.

Enrico and Kate had been home for a week, and
after burying his father, he’d somehow managed to put up a
grief-stricken front through Dom’s funeral. It wasn’t as hard to do
as he’d imagined; even though he’d pulled the trigger, the reality
of what he’d done hadn’t quite sunk in. He kept thinking of things
he should talk to Dom about or that Dom would find funny, and he’d
pick up the phone to call him and then abruptly remember all over
again.

Enrico was looking through the
cosca’
s
financial reports, although he wasn’t in the mood to attend to
business. His eyes fell on the picture of Toni by his computer, the
reports completely losing his attention. He picked up the picture
and went in search of Kate. He found her in the solarium, working
on her laptop, transcribing records for the orphanage. She looked
up when he approached. “What is it?”

He showed her the photo. “It is time I deal
with this.”

“Are you sure? I understand if it’s not.”

“I still love her. I always will. But she
wanted me to carry on with my life, and I have.” His voice
thickened. “You own my heart now.”

Kate set the laptop aside and popped up out
of the chair. She was in his arms in an instant. “
Mio caro
,
you don’t have to say that. I know your heart is big enough for
both of us.” She took his hand and placed it on her belly. “For all
three of us.”

He smiled, tears pricking his eyes. “My heart
is no longer divided. It belongs to you now. You and our baby. I
hope you know that.”

She slipped her hands into his hair and drew
him down for a kiss. “I am so very lucky to be loved by you.”

He couldn’t speak, his throat was so tight.
Instead he kissed her. How he loved her. More than he’d ever
thought possible. More than he’d ever hoped for. When they parted,
he wiped his eyes. He looked down at the picture in his hand. “I
would like to leave one photo on display, if you do not mind.”

“Not at all.”

He took her hand. “Will you help me box up
her things?”

She nodded and followed him down the hall
toward the stairs.

Enrico surprised himself by not shedding any
tears while they worked. Instead he told Kate stories about Toni as
they came to mind, mostly funny or romantic things. She’d had a
good life with him. They’d had a good life together. It had been
too short, but now he had Kate. “I feel like I have been given an
incredible gift,
mia cara
. This chance with you.” He touched
his chest. “I used to have this horrible aching hole here. But now
it is gone.”

He stroked a few hairs out of her face. How
he’d once longed to do such a simple thing. Now this precious
creature was finally his. And she knew him, knew who he was. What
he was. And still she loved him.

Kate smiled, her eyes blurring with tears.
She took his hand and pulled him close, then leaned against him,
listening to him breathe. For the first time in a long time, she
felt at home.

He held her for quite a while. When he
released her, he got down on one knee and produced a small black
velvet box from his pants pocket. He opened it, revealing a ring
inside, its diamonds sparkling. “I have been carrying this around
with me since just after we got out of the hospital. I was going to
do this someplace romantic, but now…” He gestured around the
closet. “For some reason, this feels right. Marry me, Kate.”

Her chest filled with warmth. “Of course I
will.” She held out her hand, watching as he slipped the ring on
her finger. Then he stood and took her in his arms, kissing her.
“You didn’t have to ask me again,” she said when they parted. “I
already agreed. In fact, I believe I asked you.”

He looked down at her, amusement on his face.
“I know. But I wanted to do it right this time. With neither one of
us bleeding or drugged. Or recovering from surgery.”

She smiled. “Traditionalist.”

He laughed. “Nothing about the two of us has
ever been, or will ever be, entirely traditional.”

“And isn’t that what you like about us?”

He grinned and pulled her into a kiss.
“That’s what I love about us.”

Dario Andretti leaned against the windowsill,
looking at what was now his view of the lake. Turning his eyes to
the west, he spotted the Lucchesi villa. How should he proceed?

His father had failed spectacularly and
nearly gotten them both killed.

But Carlo had proved to be a father to him in
the end. He could have revealed Dario’s role in Rinaldo’s death,
could have condemned him and ruined everything. But he hadn’t.