Sweet Temptation

His mouth pressed against my ear. “Didn’t I tell you to stop wearing those over-the-knee socks and ridiculous dresses?”

I met his gaze, grinding myself against him, chasing the pleasure even as my body fought to accommodate Cassio’s length. “Is this my punishment?” My lips teased up into a challenging smile.

Cassio’s grip on me tightened as he thrust up again, driving me against the wall. I dug my heels into his lower back. “No, honey,” he rasped, and that word warmed me like hot cocoa. “It’s a warning.”

I laughed. It wasn’t a good one. The words never left my lips because Cassio started pounding into me, harder and deeper than before, forcing my body to yield to him, and it did. Soon I was so slick around him, the wet sound of our bodies joining filled the hallway. Cassio’s harsh kiss swallowed my cries of release when I came in a violent shudder. He lowered me to the floor and my legs almost gave out. “Down,” he ordered.

My eyes flashed up in indignation at the demand, but his dominant expression and the primal hunger in his eyes spoke to a part of me that definitely didn’t mind his commanding attitude. I dropped to my knees.

His fingers tangled in my hair as he took my mouth.

I kept my eyes on his face, loving to watch him let loose.

Afterward, he pulled me up to my feet, tilting my head up. “Okay or too hard?”

I stood on my tiptoes and pressed my face into the crook of his neck, touched by the consideration in his voice. I was slightly sore and would probably continue to feel that way until tomorrow, but it felt good in a naughty way, as if Cassio had left his mark inside of me.

“Giulia?” The low rumble of his voice penetrated my thoughts. “Too hard?”

I shook my head with a small sigh. He cupped the back of my head then pressed a kiss to my crown. The gesture was so loving, it kindled emotions in me I was scared to allow. After all, this was a marriage of convenience before all else. I didn’t want to love him before he loved me.

What a silly thing to think. As if you could postpone your love until it was convenient. I pulled back and allowed him to lead me into the bedroom.

Later in bed, I snuggled against Cassio, my cheek on his chest, his fingers tracing my upper arm. We had already extinguished the lights and were trying to fall asleep. From the lingering alertness in Cassio’s body, I knew he wasn’t anywhere close to sleep. “You can’t with me in your arms, right?”

I didn’t want to sound hurt, but I did.

Cassio paused in his stroking, his ribcage expanding under my head in a sigh. “Let’s see. I promised you I’d try.”

“Okay. Like you’ll try to trust me.”

Silence followed. He was trying. I couldn’t ask for more.

“Did Daniele say anything yet?”

“No,” I said. “He communicates with nods. His birthday is in two weeks, right?”

“Yeah. Three years. I still remember when I first held him.”

“I saw a photo of a newborn. They don’t look very cute with all the grime on them.”

“He was already cleaned when I held him the first time a few hours after he was born.”

“Don’t the nurses hand the baby over to their parents right after birth?”

“I wasn’t there when Daniele was born.”

“Oh, work?” I guessed.

Tension radiated from Cassio, and I knew it hadn’t been that. “Gaia preferred to give birth alone.”

I was glad the darkness hid my expression. Why would a woman not want her husband with her when she gave birth to their child? “Oh.”

Silence filled the dark. “What about Simona?”

Cassio shook his head.

“Isn’t it unfair toward you not to let you experience the miracle of birth?” Wasn’t that what everyone called it, even though I couldn’t see the magic in squeezing something that big out of my vagina.

“I have a busy morning on Friday, but I want us to head out to my beach house in the afternoon, so we’ll have all of Saturday to enjoy our time there.”

“Why won’t you talk to me about the past?” I said softly.

Cassio shifted, his mouth hot against my ear. “Stop prying, Giulia. You won’t like what you’ll find. Now sleep.”

His words stung. I began to roll over to give him space so he could sleep, which obviously wasn’t going to happen with me close, but his arm around my waist tightened. He lodged me against his body once more. I swallowed.

“You’re young,” he said. “I worry about all the ways I’ll hurt you before you’ve grown into a jaded adult to survive in our world and at my side.”

“I don’t believe that.”

“I know, but eventually you will.”

I hadn’t been to my beach house in three months. The last time I went, I’d longed for peace and quiet after Gaia’s funeral. I’d come alone without Simona and Daniele because every look at them reminded me of the woman I wanted to forget.