Lust & Lies Box Set-Sexual Awakenings, Excess, Predator & Prey

The boy stomped his foot as his mother scolded him. “Daniello, this is Mia’s party. Let him be!”

The boy’s—who had my lover’s name—lips began to quiver. “You are never home, Uncle you promise me too many times!”

Daniello offered Mia to the woman next to him and pulled the boy to his hip while whispering in his ear as he kept his eyes fixed on me. The boy smiled and looked in my direction and nodded. “Okay!” He jumped from Daniello’s lap and made a beeline for me before he stopped and gripped my face, placing tiny hands on my cheeks before kissing me on the mouth. He pulled away with a whisper. “Ti amo, Taylor.” I love you. My chest exploded as I met Daniello’s gaze while his nephew looked back and squeaked. “Okay, Uncle?”

Daniello nodded, his eyes filled with emotion as I bottomed out. My breath hitched in my throat as I stifled a sob, and Tula gripped my hand under the table. She spoke to those sitting near her, keeping our moment in a cocoon as life moved on around us, as if we weren’t being torn apart. Unable to handle another second, I ripped myself away from the table with a curt, “Scuzie.”

I walked away slowly, as not to draw attention to myself, and then ran deep into a row of olive trees as I let my tears fall. I placed my hand on my chest, unable to breathe through the pain. Daniello appeared a few seconds later.

Raw and exposed, we crashed together before he took my mouth in a hungry kiss. Our tongues mingled as he tasted me for endless minutes, his touch turning carnal as he pulled up my dress. “I have to have you right now.” He snatched my panties from my body and pulled out his cock. He lifted me onto him, and we both cried out as soon as we connected. “I love you,” I whispered as he buried himself deep and reclaimed my lips. I wrapped my arms around his neck and ground into him as we kept our eyes locked, our bodies immersed. Lips parted, we lost ourselves in an alternate reality where we were possible, our souls and heart in sync. He whispered kisses along my jaw as he took me to the safest place I’d ever been. “Taylor,” he rasped out as he thrust himself deep. “Mio amore, mia sola vita.” My love, my only life, he murmured as he again took my mouth and absorbed everything between us.

“I’ll stay. I’ll stay with you. I’ll be with you, Daniello. I want to stay,” I pleaded as he kept us connected. The voice of a shrieking child brought us back to reality, and he reluctantly let go of me to pull up his slacks. His eyes never left mine.

“I cannot be both men.”

“You can, you have.”

“No, Taylor.”

I faced him head on, fighting for a different life. “It’s my decision.”

“I will make sure it is not. You will be a happy woman. You will live a long life. You do not deserve this one. I will not let my life taint yours again.”

I took a step forward and wrapped myself around him. “Please, don’t do this. We can leave.”

“You do not understand. He will not stop until I am his slave.”

“Then I’ll stay.” I looked up at him as he cupped my face. “I’ll stay. I won’t leave your side. I’ll make you happy.”

“You have made me very happy. You have brought me back from a dead man.”

“Please, Daniello.”

“You will leave tonight.” He whispered a kiss on my lips and grabbed my hand to lead us back to our end.

As the party wound down and guests began to say their goodbyes, Donato took his leave with Rocco, who only showed at the end of the party. The man I’d met a week before, who had disguised himself as a friend only to become my worst enemy, walked my way, kissed both of my cheeks, and before I could utter a word, turned his back to me. Rocco sneered my way before he nodded at Daniello, a warning in his callous eyes. Daniello remained silent as the guests trickled out of his villa. The wait staff cleaned up the table, and in less than twenty minutes, there wasn’t a trace of a celebration. Packing up her daughter’s toys, Tula and Daniello argued briefly as her Capo gathered their children. They spoke far too rapidly for me to catch any of it. Once alone, Daniello and I stood staring at the sun that threatened to set on the both of us.

“Daniello,” I whispered as I walked over and entwined my fingers with his. He stared at our clasped hands and then turned pain-filled eyes to me. I walked him into his bedroom and slipped out of my dress as he watched, his eyes murky. I undressed him slowly and stood bared to him. His chest heaved with rare emotion as I sank to my knees and wrapped my lips around his cock. He gripped my hair as I enveloped him in my ready mouth in worship.

“I need you,” I prayed as he looked down. “Fuck me.” He closed his eyes. and I could feel the rip as he broke and began to fuck my mouth. His hands gripped me as he pulled himself from my lips and brought me to stand. He pushed me gently onto the bed as he followed, our mouths colliding in need. With the first thrust, my body coiled tight as he branded me with his bite, and I screamed out a welcome. He wore through me, the ache radiating through his strokes and between both of us. He bruised us both and buried himself so his mark would never fade. “You will belong to me, Taylor.”

“I do.”

“Goddamnit.” He thrust harder, and we both fell apart, our body’s convulsing together. Our breathing erratic, he lifted me to a sitting position, my legs wrapped around him as our hearts pounded.

“Again,” I begged. “Take me away. This hurts too much. Please.” Daniello buried his head in my shoulder as he grew hard beneath me, and I began to move to keep us tangled in our fantasy. It was all we had.

Sometime later, fully exhausted, we lay tangled in his sheets, our fingers lazily exploring the other.

Daniello’s sudden chuckle broke the underlying tension.

“What?” I asked as I turned to study his face. A small smile played on his lips as he palmed my stomach.

“What would you do here?”

Hope rose in my chest, and he shook his head, stifling it. I ignored his dismissal in an attempt to convince him, to convince myself.

“I would figure it out.”