Chapter 42

Emiliano

With Isabella’s hand in mine, I led her up the stairs. With each step, her grip of my hand intensified and her breathing shallowed. When we reached the top, I stopped walking and took both of her hands in mine. “You can trust me.”

“I do.”

“This door is my father’s office.”

She turned her soft gaze to the door.

“That direction” —I motioned to the left— “is my parents’ suite. Tradition states we’re supposed to spend our wedding night in their bedroom.”

Isabella’s eyes opened wider, and her lips parted.

I lifted her knuckles to my lips. “I informed Mom that we wouldn’t be following that tradition.”

She let out a long breath and color returned to her cheeks. “That would just be weird.”

“Since I’ve lived here as long as I can remember, I agree.” I tugged her hand. “Come, let me show you the other wing. I had it all to myself until my parents brought Cat home and then Camila. It seems that my days of having it alone are over.”

She chuckled. “The same thing happened to me with Noemi and Tony.” She shook her head. “I’m afraid my family won’t come for Sunday’s ceremony.”

What the fuck?

“Of course they’ll come.”

She leaned against the wall in the hallway and looked up at me. “I told my mother if she and my papà didn’t accept you, they’d lose me.”

“I’ll talk to Dario. After all, he’s my brother-in-law. He and Cat and Dante and Camila will come. He’ll make sure your family is here too.”

Isabella shook her head. “No.” She reached her hand to my cheek as her gaze met mine. “I love that you want to make me happy, Em.” She dropped her hand. “But I don’t want my parents to be forced to attend their daughter’s wedding. When my call with Mom ended, I made peace with the possibility of stepping away from them for good.” A tear teetered on her eyelid. “It’s Noemi and Tony that make me sad. They won’t have their own choice. It will be whatever Papà decrees.”

I lifted both arms to the wall above her shoulders, caging this gorgeous creature. It wasn’t a move to contain her, more of my burning desire to shield her from the unhappiness in the world around us. I kissed her nose. “We are a family now.” I kissed her lips. “You and I.” I trailed my lips down her slender neck. “Together, we will move mountains.” She leaned her head, allowing me to take my kisses lower, over her collarbone. “I love you, Izzy.”

Her breathing was labored as her breasts heaved against her blouse.

My low timbre and kisses had goose bumps scattered over her beautiful skin. I reached for her chin. “Tell me what you want.”

She looked up, opening her eyes. “I don’t know. After yesterday, I want to feel safe and loved.”

Isabella shrieked as I swept her into my arms. “You are safe, and you are loved.”

She brought her arms around my neck as I opened the door to my bedroom suite. I flipped on the light and set her feet back on the floor. She turned a complete circle, taking in my suite.

A bouquet of flowers sat on the table near the balcony with a bottle of champagne and slender crystal glasses. My quick scan confirmed that my suite appeared cleaner than usual, no clothes strewn around. That meant that Mom had spoken to our house manager, Lola. The linens on the large bed were fresh with the blankets pulled down, revealing black satin sheets.

There wouldn’t be discussion of blood like the famiglia did after Cat’s wedding.

“This is your room?”

“No. It’s now ours until we have a home of our own.”

She walked from one piece of furniture to the next, running her fingers over the surfaces. Isabella stopped at the glass French doors. “There’s a balcony. At Mia’s I had a window that looked out to the ocean.”

I walked up behind her and opened the door. The salty sea breeze tousled her long locks. We both took a step out onto the concrete. Isabella held tight to the iron railing and lifted her face to the wind.

“I’ve lived my entire life in Missouri. The ocean fascinates me.”

I wrapped my arms around her waist, bringing her back to my front. “You fascinate me.”

She spun in my arms. With our proximity, there was no way she couldn’t feel the erection pinned beneath my jeans. Isabella lifted her chin and stared upward. “You fascinate me, Em. You’re such a contradiction. You’re the fierce man who scared me at the birthday party. At the same time, you’re gentle and caring.”

“Tell me again what you want.”

“I want you.”

I tugged her into the bedroom, leaving the balcony door open. With the house’s placement over the cliff, leaving it open wasn’t a danger. Once inside, I removed the holster from my waistband, my boots, and the two ankle holsters, laying the weapons on the table near the flowers.

“Any more?” Isabella asked.

“Earlier I had a shoulder holster, but I didn’t put it back on after I showered.” I walked to the bed, sat on the edge with my legs spread and motioned with my finger for her to follow.

With only a millisecond of hesitation, she came closer until she was standing between my legs. I tugged her across my lap with her round ass on one leg and her legs over the other. I reached for her shoes, removing them one by one.

This was far from my first sexual encounter—about fifteen years far. However, it was the first encounter with my wife, the first first-encounter that I truly wanted to make perfect. I stroked her gorgeous golden hair away from her beautiful face. “You’re mine.”

With a smile curling her lips, she nodded. “I am. Forever.” She looked down at the ring on her left hand. “This is beautiful.” Her eyes came to mine. “What was your mother’s grandmother like?”

“I don’t know. She passed before I was born.”

“Her husband, your great-grandfather?”

I shook my head and lifted her hand. “I heard Mom telling you the story. It sounds like they loved one another their entire lives.”

Isabella nodded. “I don’t want another wedding ring.”

“In case you wondered, money isn’t an object.”

“I didn’t marry you, Emiliano Ruiz, for your money. I married you because of the way you make me feel.”

“Fuck, Isabella, I want to make you feel right now. I also don’t want to frighten you or turn you against sex. I’m like a man walking the plank right now. I don’t know if I should jump in or if I should walk slowly backward onto the ship.”

She angled her face, bringing her lips to mine. There was nothing timid in her approach as her soft palm came to my cheek and her tongue prompted my lips to open.

Fuck.

This woman in my arms tasted like springtime, the first clear day after rain. She was sunshine after a long winter. Such as that ray of sun, her lips scorched mine as our hunger for one another grew. The sweet scent of her cum filled my senses as she squirmed in my lap and our kiss deepened. Soft moans filled the air. The closeness of her soft body caused my blood to change circulation.

Shifting, she wrapped her legs around my waist, bringing her covered pussy over my hardening cock. Our faces moved and turned. Our noses bumped as we filled the suite with the sounds of lovers through the centuries. It was when she began to rub her pussy over my erection that I lifted her and moved her until her head was on the pillow and I was leaning over her.

Her large suede stare was questioning. “Did I do something wrong?”

“Fuck no,” I said, kissing her lips. “You surprised me was all.”

Isabella brought her hands up to my shoulders and rubbed them over my arms. “I won’t break, Em. I’m young and inexperienced, but I know what sex is. I know I like it when you kiss me. I love it when you touch me.” She rubbed her palms up and down my bare arms. “I want to touch you too. I want to know what it means to be yours.”

If I didn’t move fast, I’d fucking come in my blue jeans.

I inhaled and began with the top button of her blouse. “I will make you feel. I want to see my wife.” My smile quirked. “What she hid from me earlier tonight.”

Her smile grew. “We weren’t married yet.”

Another button and I saw the white lace of her bra. I leaned down, covering her collarbone and between her breasts with kisses. Another button and another. I tugged the hem of her shirt out from her slacks.

Isabella twisted, helping me remove her blouse. With skill that comes with practice, I unsnapped her bra. Again, she wiggled as I prized the straps from one arm and then the other.

My cock doubled in size as I took in her pert tits. The olive of her complexion accentuated the deep red of her areolas and her nipples stood erect, perfect tight buds. I leaned down, sucking one nipple and then the other. Isabella’s back arched as she called out.

“Oh God, Em.”

My lips moved lower, down the flat plane of her stomach.

It was as I reached for the button to unfasten her slacks that she reached for my hand. Our gazes met. While I expected fright, in the depths of her irises, I found an unabashed twinkle. “Mrs. Ruiz?”

“Take off your shirt. I want to see all of your tattoo.”

Standing, I pulled my t-shirt from my back and lifted it over my head.

Her pink tongue darted to her lips.

“I hope you like what you see.”