AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you think that’s all I wanted you for? Don’t you know you were the first woman I’d been with who got me? You were the only woman I could be around who expected nothing from me. I could let my guard down and be myself with you. The life that I live isn’t an easy one, Piper. I need a place where I can go to hide away from the world and still be safe. You were my place. You gave me the peace and freedom I needed to be myself.”
“I wanted to be that for you, but I needed more, Marco.”
“I know that, Piper. Why do you think that I walked away when you told me to? I don’t take orders from people; I give them. But I loved you enough to give you what you thought you needed, even at the cost of hurting myself.”
Tears fill my eyes because I know what I must say to him won’t be easy. We’ve been down this road before. Even with what I know about Kenneth, he’s my safer bet. I can talk to Kenneth about the shit he’s pulling and get him back in order. I can’t compete with the mafia, and I damn sure can’t compete with a vow made to the don.
Hell, I don’t think I want to. They’d fuck my life up as easily as I can step on an ant outside on the sidewalk.
“I need you to do that again, Marco. Love me enough to let me go.”
“Why are you asking me that, Tesoro?” he asks, kneeling before me.
“Because I’m not strong enough to do it. I’m not strong enough to walk away from you again or resist you when you return,” I whisper.
“Then why are you doing it?”
“Because I love you so much that it hurts me. I’m not strong enough to be with you either, Marco. I can’t be what or who you need me to be. I need the safety net that Kenneth’s lifestyle provides. Worrying about you every time you walk out the door isn’t the life I want to live.”
He doesn’t say anything. His eyes close as if he’s trying to shut my words out, but he and I both know the truth. We know that his life is dangerous and unpredictable. Beyond that is the fear that he’ll never completely be mine.
I refuse to live as a side chick or compete with his wife. I bite my bottom lip and press my thumbs into my eye sockets.
“Tesoro, I can try to stay away from you, but I can’t promise it will be successful. Living in your city will always keep you in my mind. Your fiancé is running for city council president. I’m sure we’ll run into each other again, and if we do, I don’t know how easy it will be to keep my hands, lips, or dick to myself. You have no idea how hard it was not to snatch you up that night at the gala and fuck you in a closet, in a stall, or out in the fucking parking lot.”
“You scare me, Marco.”
His fingers swipe across my lips. “I don’t mean to, baby.”
“I know you don’t, but every time you come around, I’m worried that you’ll tell Kenneth who you are. I worry that you’ll tell him what we’ve done. Losing that man is not an option for me now. If anything, it would destroy me. It would give them ammunition to drag his name through the mud if anyone found out about you and me. I’m not sure that my relationship with him could withstand that.”
Marco’s head tilts and his nostrils flare. “You’re fucking asking me to walk away again.”
It’s a pronouncement, not a question, but I nod.
“I’ll try, but I can’t promise you what the results will be, Tesoro. A subtle scent, the sound of a woman’s laughter, a gentle smile, or a beautiful tattoo is all it takes to bring back memories of you. Then like a hound dog with a scent, I’m on the hunt for you, searching everywhere until I pick up your trail.”
I bite my bottom lip as my heart threatens to rip from my chest.
“Can you at least try?”
He stands and pulls me to stand with him. I want to melt into him when his arms wrap around my waist. My head rests on his chest, and he buries his face atop my curls.
“Ci proverò. I’ll try,” he whispers reassuringly into my hair.
I tilt my head back as I look into his eyes. I can see the hurt and pain there, and wish I weren’t the cause, but I know I have no choice.
Marco lowers his head and presses his lips against mine as his hands cup my ass. He pulls me into his rock-hard cock, and I bounce, jumping into his arms. I press my core down onto him, knowing he can feel the heat between my thighs.
“Damnit, Marco!” I moan as he rocks into me.
He walks me back to my office, and I wonder if I’ll ever look at this place the same as when he sits me on the couch. While he undresses, I pull my leggings and panties down and spread my legs for him.
Damnit, I’m such a whore when it comes to this man. I often tell myself that if I were to see him after I’m married that I wouldn’t fuck with him, but I don’t know how true that is.
His teeth jerk the hem of my tee shirt up until it rests just over my breasts. Marco kisses my belly and the space between my breasts before he bites one nipple and then the other causing me to hiss.
My eyes close when he licks my earlobe and sucks my lips into his. Every touch and every kiss this man shares with me makes my body come alive. He makes me feel like a woman who is desirable and sexy and very much wanted.
