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23

ADRIANO

I want to tear my ribcage open.

Reach inside and grasp my broken, rotten heart, and throw it as far from me as I can. Burn it. Stomp on it.

Anything would be better than the earth-shattering pain of seeing Gloria’s face, seeing her crumple before me. Crushed under my words.

Crushed under my world.

I just had to know, didn’t I?

I had to see who she really was.

Even if it destroyed both of us in the process.

Yet in that surreal, awful moment, I unleashed everything, opened myself to her, to the truth. And I see the sun break through the clouds, a single beam of spectacular, blazing glory as her eyes light up, only a fraction.

And we’re rushing one another, crashing into each other’s arms, our lips colliding.

The weight of that kiss blasts the burden from my shoulders. Frees me, if only for an instant, from the chains of my prison, my sentence stayed.

Our abandon loses all sense of time. There’s only Gloria.

Her lips. Her body wrapped in my arms.

Until it’s not enough.

As if I could ever get enough of her.

Her hands clutch at me, at my shirt, tearing the buttons, popping a few to the floor. My own hands match her need for need, ripping her jacket back over her shoulders, tugging it down to the floor. Her loose tank top is next, my shirt slinging free of my arms in the process, launched into oblivion, along with every care for anything I could ever have outside this room.

A pause.

A breath.

A second to look into her eyes.

“I don’t want to go on…”

“With this?” I ask, instantly confused. “Cause you’re giving me mixed signals.”

“No! I mean, with this…mistrust. Will we, won’t we?—”

“What?! I thought I covered that.”

“I just…Adriano. I need you. So badly. You have no idea.”

“Oh, but I do,” I whisper just before I claim her mouth again, our tongues intertwining our hands seeking every inch of each other’s exposed skin. With a flick of my fingers, I unclasp her bra, throw it behind me.

And just to prove to her that I mean what I said, I kiss my way from her lips, down her neck, scooping her up into my arms to reach her chest, devouring each of her perfectly sculpted breasts.

Her nipples harden on my tongue, the supple skin pebbling to my touch.

Fingernails graze my back muscles, trace my spine. It’s a caress, so shiveringly gentle.

Until I bite down, just hard enough to make her gasp and she responds in kind. That tingling scrape becomes an expression of pure desire as she digs in, dragging ten sumptuous daggers down my back.

It’s raw. Visceral.

Like we’re tearing not only our clothes off but digging into the reality of who we are.

No facade. No pretenses.

My pants drop to the floor next, then her skirt.

With nothing but our underwear between us, we’re back together, pressing the heat of our bodies together, every synapse firing a million miles per hour, feeling her skin against my skin.

Laying back on the bed, I let Gloria fall on top of me, dropping over me in a shower of fiery curls and a smile that promises incredible things.

She’s the only person I’ve ever wanted like this.

Which is what terrified me more than anything. Releasing my control, giving in.

It’s never been an option for me.

But Gloria doesn’t just unlock who I really am. She draws me out.

Through nothing but the thin silk of her thong and the sleek fabric of my boxers she drags her center over my bulging sex, sending an automatic flex through the lower half of my body. Her movements persist, grinding back and forth over me, satiating only briefly the need building in my core.

Our lips never stop meeting, teasing, nibbling.

Another blistering, mind-blowing kiss, and she pulls back, looking into my eyes. It’s an avid stare, a question.

But when she starts to speak, I shake my head softly, dragging the tip of my thumb over her bottom lip.

“Don’t say a word, unless it’s my name on your lips.”

“Adri…” she whispers in shock, her pupils flaring with passion. “Adriano…”

She repeats it, so softly, leaving me breathless as she works her way down my middle, kissing along the crease of my chest, lower, down my abdomen. My fingers brush along her forehead, down her cheek. When they reach her chin, she takes one digit in her mouth, sucking softly, looking right up at me. Shivers rush up my spine as she grins devilishly, toying with my waistband.

Lips and fingertips play along the fabric, along my clenching stomach muscles. Only when I’m arching my back in anticipation does she finally hook her thumbs into my boxers, dragging them down an inch.

“I need these gone…” she moans, gripping the elastic.

“Only if you lose yours too.”

“Fair’s fair.”

Rocking back on her knees, Gloria thrusts her butt back, her tongue trailing her movement down, her hands taking the last vestige of my clothing with her. And as she does it, backing off the bed, she takes the tip of me in her puckered lips, swirling once and leaving me groaning.

Her tongue trails down my length and she’s gone, standing and stretching, her arms rising above her head, poking out her magnificent chest and casting my boxers aside.

She watches me, watching her, tracing up my body from my toes to my rock-hard center to my chest and finally, as I prop myself up on my elbows, my eyes.

All while swaying sensually from side to side, her hips drawing my gaze down.

I’ve never been hypnotized before.

“I could look at you for hours…” I hum, a grin pulling at my lips.

“It was pretty dark the last time.”

“Definitely too dark. I feel like I missed out on so much.”

“Then let me show you.” Gloria runs her hands up her sides, down into the crooks just inside her still-swaying hips, playing with the double straps of her thong, running up and around. It leaves a hint of skin between the two bands, guiding the eye down, down, into a deep V accented with a complex pattern that has my imagination going wild.

Such a tiny swatch of fabric, and yet I’m sweating to see her take them off, to see all of her.

Gloria licks her top lip, her mouth as entrancing as the rest of her, twisting side to side, turning to show me the way the straps meet in the back, just above the divide of her round, curvaceous cheeks, joining in a little diamond, leaving a gap of skin right at the base of her spine.

Fucking. Sexy.

Following that line as it disappears into a mass of molten, golden red, my eyes find her looking over her shoulder at me, her eyebrows arched.

“Having trouble deciding what to look at?” At that she lowers her panties a fraction, then another, wiggling her ass for me.

Without thinking I encircle my shaft with my fist, stroking gently to the sight of her, unable to resist. Gloria’s eyes drop to watch me, right before her mouth drops open, a little sound escaping.

Satisfaction, or disbelief?

Regardless, it gets me what I want.

Gloria spins, cupping her tits, pinching her nipples, one hand tracing down her middle and dipping between her legs, pulling the front of them down almost enough for me to see.

“You’re a tease …”

“Says the guy taking his pleasure from me,” she snips back, sauntering to the bedside, never taking her eyes from me. She bends over me planting her hands on the mattress, leaning in close enough that I could almost crane my neck to kiss her, or take one of her spectacular orbs, squeezed between her arms. “I have wanted to do this ever since I first felt your cock.”

I’m dumbstruck as she swats my hand away, turning and bending over me, her butt flaunted right in front of my face, hinting at everything under her thong, tucked so sweetly between her thighs.

Even more so the second I feel her succulent lips take my tip, that tongue, and then suddenly, my entire length into her mouth.

“Fuuuuck, Gloria!”

I savor the feeling for a moment, thrusting my hips up and down gently to the rhythm of her unbelievably sensual sucking, licking, sensations that I can’t even wrap my head around.

But I’m quickly drawn back to the round perfection wagging back and forth in front of my face.

My hand slides up her legs, around her curves, slipping under the elastic, playing with it for a moment, tugging it aside, dragging one finger down the slippery hint of skin and glistening pink.

Right before I drag them down around her knees.

The view is mind-shattering.

Utterly exciting and fucking irresistible.

All because she is irresistible to me. Everything about her.

And I let her know it in no uncertain terms.

Her deep moan of sheer bliss as I glide my finger along her, teasing her entrance ever so lightly and back down to toy with the button that I know will eventually drive her wild.

Soon.

Like she could read my mind, she licks all the way to my tip, gripping my cock as she releases me for a moment, and running her thumb over the head, making me throw my head back with a shock of sensitivity.

She’s toying with me. Taunting me.

And I fucking love it.

The second her lips take me again, I’m gripping the sheets in my free hand.

Slick lips and tongue caress down my shaft, exhilarating, thrilling, and enthralling. Another swirl of her tongue and my brain erupts in starbursts, tingling down my legs.

Right in time with the movement of my hips, she slows down, dragging her lips inch by inch along my length.

Every time she starts to go lower, she pulls back, forcing me to flex and clench involuntarily. Then she tightens her grip, sucking a bit harder, a bit deeper.

A few seconds in and my heart’s pounding in my chest. She’s all-consuming. And it’s all I can do not to grab the back of her head and thrust myself as deep as I can inside her.

So I fight back in the only way I can.

Building toward that incredible release, there’s so much fun to be had along the way.

Slipping the tip of my finger into her, I play along her folds, reveling in the feeling of her sex, remembering our first time together, and how amazing it will feel when we join together again shortly.

If she doesn’t send me over the edge with another flick of?—

“Oh!” I shout, sitting up halfway, trying to escape her.

“Mpm!” She protests, doubling down.

It takes every ounce of self-control, clamping down on my urge to let go.

Even so, the aura of absolute pleasure that rolls up through my shaft sends me back to the bed, flopping back. That first wave has me panting, disconnecting from reality.

“Not yet…” I growl, rising up again and dragging the flat of my tongue across Gloria’s center, shocking her from her attentiveness on my throbbing manhood.

“Adriano, you are cruel to tease me like that.”

“Dangle such a delicious snack in front of me…what did you expect?” I chuckle, scooping my arm under her to flip her onto her back, basking in the husky, carefree laugh that escapes her sweet lips.

Lips that I claim again and again.

I explore every section of skin I can reach.

“I need to taste every inch of you.”

“Start here…” She tips her head back, exposing her neck, right at the crook above her collarbone.

I plant one soft kiss there, sucking softly.

“Where else? I want more .”

“You can have all of it. Forever.” Her lips curl in a sultry smile. But it’s her eyes, those bottomless pools of honey, that speak to her words. To the risk she’s taking.

“Let’s start with tonight.” I hum, flipping my bottom lip up along her chin.

“Like nothing else matters out there.”

Without another word, I drag my fingertips down her face, closing her eyes, closing mine and kissing her with all my focus.

Savoring every touch of our lips, of her skin.

The flat of her stomach is satin, sliding lower, to slick, soaked velvet.

“Adriano,” she whispers again, her insistence growing.

Turning in my arms, she arches back against me, the curve of her ass cradling me as my arms wrap around her, the twist of her torso letting me taste her lips while she grinds against me. All it takes is a tilt of my hips to find myself nestled between her thighs, her desire enveloping me.

A gentle thrust back and forth and I’m right there, poised at her entrance.

That tiny, open-mouthed gasp that slips between our kiss is the sexiest thing I’ve ever heard.

And then I’m gliding into her, easing her apart, luxuriating in the sensation of her closing in all around me.

“Adriano…” her hands reach back, gripping my hips hard, desperately.

And I thrust deep, the two of us moaning softly with the effort, the first sampling of our deeper joining. Gloria’s eyes roll back and I lose all sense of time.

Our rhythm increases, powerful, deep strokes.

All the while, my hands find their way from her milky thighs to her taut belly, her firm breasts, her entire body flushed with the warmth of the Italian dusk just outside the open veranda doors. Before long, Gloria’s writhing against me, taking me to the hilt and staying close, rolling her hips.

This is the most singular ecstasy.

But it’s only the beginning.

We roll, Gloria flipping on top, riding me until we’re both moaning, gripping each other, holding on for dear life. The strain and ache of our muscles only makes the pleasure build higher.

Her body above me is utterly devastating, the sole focal point of my entire existence. Every touch from her is fire, raw desire.

I buck my hips and she replies with one of her own, roiling in a tantalizing gyration above me. The motion escalates into harder, faster rocking, her body sawing across me, rising then falling in a rapid beat of her thighs on my hips. Another moment and she’s up on her toes, crouched above me, bouncing like her life depends on it.

“Oh my God, Adri, I’m gonna?—”

I brace against the onslaught of her first climax, her inner walls around me clutching me so tight. Reaching up I plant my hand on her chest, my fingers splaying around the base of her throat.

“Harder…” she moans and I flex my fingers, just slightly. At the same time, she drops down, rolling her entire figure in a spiral, driving me as deep as I can possibly go. A wordless scream is torn from her mouth, her head falling back with the shuddering waves of her sensuous rush.

And all around me, seated within her, I feel the silken release.

She never stops riding me, even as her eyes drift back to mine, glazed with passion, her cheeks flushed with lust.

“I want more.”

“Your wish is my command…”

“Adri,” Gloria breathes, dropping to the sheets beside me, reaching over to clasp the girth of my slick, rigid column. “Will you do something for me?”

“Anything,” I groan, her fist pumping.

“Don’t hold back.” And she’s flipping over, stretching like a cat, pressing her breasts into the sheets, arching her back and thrusting her ass up into the air.

Immediately, I’m up and on my knees behind her, running my palms along her sides, the muscles of her butt and lower.

The sway of those hips starts again, just like before, but this time, it doesn’t just turn me on. It ignites a blaze within me that I’ve never experienced. A carnal need that floods my mind with energy, popping like fireworks along my synapses.

Easing back once, Gloria goads me, tucking her knees a bit to lower herself before pulling away, then back again.

“Gloria…” I start, unsure of the emotions intertwining with lust and love, the swell of animal demand that I take her, that I unleash myself.

“Do it…” she begs, her face buried in the covers, her hands scraping back along her, spreading herself for me. “Don’t. Hold. Back.”

Does she know what she’s asking?

And can I say no?

It’s a microsecond conflict that only has one answer.

Gripping my pillar I set myself to her, not bothering to wait before plummeting into her depths. As if she would give me the choice.

Her hips slam back into me, her ass slapping hard against my thighs.

That first collision explodes in showers of sparks and heat, flooding through me. And it’s the last hammer strike against my self-control. The wall burst inward, tearing my defenses down completely and I surge forward, out into her light.

The glow of her body under my fingers melts my consciousness, blending like ink in water, swirling through my being. I’m lost in the fray, lost in her rapture.

I slam home once, and again, then I lose count, pistoning into heaven over and over, our cries rising together to fill the room, the night, and out into oblivion.

All I can feel is her drenched embrace, the scorching heat of her skin every time we meet.

She’s the only drug to satisfy my craving.

And each dose floods me with bliss, leaving me thirsting for more.

In the torrent of deliciously rough abandon, I hear her say my name again, right before she comes again. A grin spreads across my face at the sound, to the undulating spasm of her inner muscles around me.

And my chest blossoms with pride and exhilarating delight.

Giving her enjoyment, fulfilling her desires, is the pinnacle of my life now.

My only purpose is to make her scream.

“Again! Come again, Gloria!” I command, clinging to her hips with a vise grip.

“I’m going to … yes, yes … fuck me!”

“Yes!” I shout, my breathing coming in heaving gasps, my body glistening in a blush of sweat and gloriously tensed muscles. The tension mounts in my core, stacking as I start to come undone. But I have to hold out, to see her unwind.

Every plunge seats me to the hilt, just to drag myself out again, my muscles burning with exertion and my own inevitable liberation.

Gloria quakes, the arch in her back snapping down and back like a whip crack, her sheath contacting around me. Instead of screaming, all I hear is an unbridled howl, muffled by her teeth biting down on the bed, her ragged cries forced from her lungs with every breath and every driving thrust.

“Adri…” she whimpers, her body quivering. “I?—”

“I know…” I grit out, feeling the onset of my deliverance coalesce, the deepest shiver running along my bones like the pulse of electric current. “Just one more time, one more time with me!”

All the confirmation I get is the flexing of her legs, the clenching of her fists into the sheets.

The tremors take her fully this time, from head to toe, the ripples of her unraveling, jiggling her ass and thighs in a way that makes my head spin.

There’s no holding back.

Especially when I hear those words, barely intelligible between her cries.

“I love you!”

The pleasure intensifies to that buzzing roar, rocketing through every part of me. My head drops back, my mouth opens in an endless roar, launching me into orbit.

And we are one, soaring off the edge and into a fall that I hope never ends.

When the rush subsides, I’m laying on my back. Collapsed on the bed, Gloria laying sprawled across me.

“Adriano, you’re shaking…” Gloria mutters, biting into my chest.

A little laugh escapes my lips at the sting of her teeth and she looks up at me, almost startled.

“What’s so funny?”

“Not funny. Just …”

“Happy.”

“Yes.”

Her fingernails send chills along my arms and legs as she titillates my stomach, my sides, contracting with the warmth of her breath on my skin. It’s magnificent. It’s pure euphoria.

And I could lay in this haven forever.

Gloria’s eyes droop, her breathing slows.

But she never lets go of me.

I’ve never felt this before.

And for the first time, I finally understand what it means to fall completely in love.