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Remo leaned back, eyebrows raised. “As if that would stop you.”
“It wouldn’t, but she feels safer, and that’s what this is about. She needs to feel comfortable around me.”
Remo narrowed his eyes. “So you still haven’t fucked her?”
I took a sip of the bourbon. “We didn’t progress beyond kissing, so no.”
Remo was quiet for a moment, and that was usually never a good sign. “You have the patience of a saint. Do you want me to call some entertainment over?”
“I agreed to not seek out other women anymore.”
Remo laughed. “Right.” And then sobered. “You are being serious?”
“I am.”
“Are you trying to become a straight-laced citizen?”
“I have no ambitions in that regard, no.”
Remo shook his head. “First Fabiano, now you. Why’s everyone becoming pussy-whipped?”
“Since I’m not getting any pussy, your term is misleading.”
“Oh, fuck you, Nino. Don’t be a fucking smartass. Do you really think you can make a marriage work? Even if you don’t fuck other women, you won’t be a caring husband and you know it.”
I shrugged. “I know, but for now I’m going to give this a try and see where it takes me.”
“So this is some kind of scientific experiment for you?”
“Maybe.” It was something new, something I had no experience with and couldn’t say how I’d deal with it long-term, but I was curious and Kiara wanted this marriage to be real.
CHAPTER 16
KIARA
I couldn’t sleep after the kiss. My mind replayed it. Nino’s mouth had been so warm and gentle. It was nothing like I’d imagined, nothing like I’d feared. He managed to surprise me every day and had done so since our wedding night.
The door creaked open and someone stepped in. Opening my eyes, I peered through the gap in the blankets. I had them pulled up to my ears because it made me feel safer that way. I left on the light in the bathroom because the dark still held power over me. I could see Nino’s tall form in the warm glow.
My cheeks heated when his eyes settled on me. I’d fled into the bathroom after our kiss, not because of it, though. I had been embarrassed about breaking down and crying in Nino’s arms. I needed time to get a grip on myself. For a man as controlled and emotionless as Nino, being married to me must be a particular difficult task for him. In the beginning, I was sure my marriage to Nino was punishment for my father’s actions, but now I was fairly sure he was the one that could have made a better deal.
“It’s late,” he murmured.
“I can’t sleep.”
He nodded before he moved into the bathroom and closed the door. Barely any light spilled into the bedroom through the narrow gap beneath the door, but I focused my eyes on it and listened to the sound of running water.
After a few minutes, Nino came back out, dressed in briefs. I knew he preferred to sleep naked and now only wore clothes at night to set me at ease. Even in his own bed, he had to hold back on my account. He turned off the light in the bathroom and approached me in the dark.
My pulse quickened when the mattress dipped under his weight—but for much different reasons than it had in the past. What would it be like if I just leaned over and kissed him? No warnings, no handcuffs. Only my lips touching his, my body pressed against him. How would it feel to be free and act on my desires? How would it be not to be shackled by the past?
“Are you alright?” Nino drawled.
How could he know? He hadn’t touched my wrist, so my pulse couldn’t have given me away. “Why do you ask?”
“Because your breathing changed. That’s usually a sign that you’re unsettled by something. Is it because of our kiss?”
I hesitated, wondering what to say, but opted for the truth. “Yes.”
“You changed your mind about the physical aspects of our marriage?”
I wished I knew what he was thinking. He said he wanted me, but maybe my kiss and the teary outburst afterward made him change his mind.
“No, I enjoyed our kiss,” I admitted.
“Good.”
That wasn’t quite the answer I’d hoped for. Had he enjoyed it as well? Did he want to kiss me again?
“Would you like to kiss again?”
It was sometimes scary how easily he could read me, even in the dark, even without understanding my emotions. The inner workings of Nino’s brain were completely inexplicable to me. “What do you want?”
He was quiet. “In terms of kissing or in general?”
“In general,” I whispered, my stomach tightening with nerves.
“Give me your wrist,” he said, and I complied. His thumb pressed against my pulse point, and I had to stifle laughter. It quickly died down when he started to speak in that low, deep voice.
“I want you in every regard. I want to kiss you, of course. I want to show you pleasure, Kiara.” My pulse galloped with every word. “I want to give you an orgasm with my mouth and my fingers. I want to taste you everywhere, and I want to … sleep with you.”
