Present
His mouth finds mine and it’s everything. He devours me while still keeping a slow, torturous pace.
“Please,” I whisper, though it’s more of a sob.
Even though I knew exactly what I was doing while I was in the shower and I knew exactly what he would do when I confessed to him, I still didn’t expect him to hold out for so long.
He’s killing me.
I’m trying to be good.
Really, I am. But if he doesn’t make me come soon, I’m gonna end up tying him up like I did to my little friend Reggie and force him to watch me as I fuck myself on the vibrator I keep in my purse for emergencies.
Though let’s be honest, the punishment for that would end up being a thousand times worse than this.
Tears stream down my face and I pull away from his lips to look at him, pleading with my eyes.
“Such pretty tears,” he murmurs with a sadistic smirk.
“You know, there’s one part of you that I’ve never had.”
What the hell is he…?
Oh fuck no.
He chuckles. “Don’t worry, baby. I won’t make you take my dick today,” he says and swipes the tears from my face.
“But I do want to feel how tight you are.”
He grips the back of my neck, shoving me back down towards the bed so I’m back on my hands and knees. He keeps his thrusts shallow as his finger slowly enters me, still wet from my tears.
“Can’t wait to fuck you here,” he groans as he quickens his pace and starts slamming into me. His finger works quicker as he deepens the movement until I’m a crying, begging, whimpering mess.
“Fucking love that, don’t you? Little slut,” he spits out and I moan in response.
“Tell me I’m the only one who’s ever touched you here,” he orders, and I nod my head.
“Only you,” I gasp. He moans and bands his other arm around my waist before finding my clit. He pinches and circles it with his thumb, constantly changing how much pressure he’s using until I’m right on the edge.
“I-I need to come. Please let me come,” I plead and bury my head in the bed.
It’s a sweet kind of torture, one that I want to be over, but also never want it to end.
“Come for me, little warrior,” he whispers, and my body immediately responds. My vision blurs as pleasure like I’ve never known before takes over my entire body to the point where darkness takes over. The next thing I know, Marco is lying beside me, peppering my face with kisses.
“What the hell was that?” I mutter.
Marco laughs before pressing one last kiss to the tip of my nose. “That was you getting fucked so hard that you passed out.” He winks at me before climbing off the bed and heading to the bathroom.
God, I love this playful side of him.
What I love even more is that I’m pretty sure I’m the only person who’s ever seen this side of him.
“You good?” he asks as he walks back into the room, washcloth in hand.
“So good,” I murmur sleepily.
“Tired, little warrior? Take a nap and I’ll wake you so you can get ready.”
Ready?
“Where are we going?” I ask.
He makes a tsking noise and shakes his head. “You’re terrible with surprises. You’ll find out tonight.”
I sigh and roll onto my side, not even able to stay awake while he cleans me up.
“Where are we going? Am I dressed okay?” I ask Marco as I look down at the jeans and thick knit sweater I’m wearing. There weren’t many options to choose from, since he only packed me a couple of things to wear, all either casual or loungewear.
“You look perfect,” he says as he pulls me into his chest and presses a kiss into my hair. My head rests against him and I’m reminded of the tattoo that sits on his chest.
I need my necklace.
“What was that?” he asks and pulls away to look down at me.
Panicked about bringing up the most precious gift I’ve ever been given, that I basically threw away because it reminded me of him, I blurt out, “I was just thinking that some jewelry would go nice with my outfit.”
He raises a brow and looks me over. “Baby,” he drawls. “The only jewelry you’ll ever need is my hand wrapped around your neck and my marks on your skin.”
Well then.
He smirks at my obvious shock, grabs my coat, and helps me into it before guiding me through the house. This place is beautiful. It’s not as big as some of the homes in the area, but the four-bedroom house sits on a huge plot of land overlooking a lake with trees surrounding the area. The décor inside isn’t over the top, either, as you might imagine when looking at it from outside. It’s modern and understated. I love it.
“Who owns this place again?” I ask as I follow him from the bedroom.
“I do,” he murmurs once we reach the bottom of the stairs. Rather than heading for the front door like I expected, Marco uses a hand on the bottom of my spine to guide me towards the back patio doors and out into the garden.
From here, I can see a soft glow just ahead of us and I turn to look at him.
“What’s going on?” I ask, but in typical Marco fashion, he just grunts, grabs my hand, and pulls me towards it.
Once we get closer, I realize that he’s set up lanterns on the small pier-like area that overlooks the river where there’s also a blanket laid out with a picnic basket waiting for us, just like that night all those years ago.
“Marco,” I whisper, my voice breaking.
“You like it?” he asks, a hint of vulnerability in his tone.
“I love it,” I say before taking a deep breath and exhaling. “I-I—” I’m cut off as his lips meet mine in a passionate kiss.
“I know. I don’t need to hear the words to know, but I do need you to be ready to say them. I’m not in any rush, little warrior. I’d wait a lifetime for you.”
My heart swells as I hear the sincerity in his tone and see the truth in his eyes.
I’m not sure how I spent so long believing that the time we spent together was a lie, because Marco has always looked at me this way. He’s always looked at me with love in his eyes and an openness in his expression that he doesn’t have with others.
I nod and he leads me over to the blanket. He waits until I’ve sat down before he lowers himself down next to me and pulls my favorite soda from the basket.
“So, what are we doing here?” I ask and he chuckles before pointing up to the sky. I look up and see the sky littered in stars.
“You remembered,” I whisper. I always used to like going away with my family. Not because I particularly enjoyed spending time with my father, but because I loved getting away from the city and visiting places where I could see a starry sky.
“I remember every moment we’ve ever shared,” Marco admits, and butterflies swarm my stomach as he positions us so he’s behind me, my back resting against his front. He leans down and presses a kiss to my cheek before whispering, “Tell me more about what it was like living with your aunt.”
“It took a long time for me to get used to the heat,” I mutter, and he chuckles. “And while it was busy being in the city, it was nowhere near as chaotic as home.”
Home.
I think that’s the first time I’ve thought of New York being home again in years.
“Did you have friends? People you saw other than your aunt?”
I turn and give him a sad smile. “Not really. For so long, I was in too much pain to want to make new connections. Then I just kinda became the type of person to keep to myself. I think I kinda turned into you,” I say with a laugh, but he doesn’t return it.
“I’m sorry, Sloane. Fuck, I’m so sorry for everything. I’m sorry for what I put you through, I’m sorry I wasn’t there for you, and I’m sorry you didn’t feel like you could lean on me when you needed to. I hate that you went through what you did, and if there was any way I could erase the past and do it differently, I’d do it in a heartbeat.”
I know he’s not just talking about what went down between me and him. He’s talking about what we lost.
I’ve spent years coming to terms with what happened, and while I know I’m not fully healed and never will be, I also know that I never want to face that pain again. But will he still want me when he learns that?
“What’s wrong?” he asks.
I swallow the bile crawling up my throat before moving so I’m sitting in front of him. He straightens, clearly on high alert.
“After everything that happened,” I whisper and trail off as I try to find the right words to say. He grabs my hand and it gives me the strength to carry on. “After everything that happened, I can’t risk going through that pain again. I know some people try and try again, but I’m just not one of those people, Marco.”
His thumb swipes over the top of my hand as he maintains eye contact with me. “What are you saying, baby?”
“I’m saying I don’t think I want kids.”
