of the heat building somewhere in the background, I clenched my fists by my sides as the sensation took over and pleasure claimed my system, leaving me begging Alessandro, but for entirely different reasons.
My cruel husband had no intention of ending the torture. With a smug expression, he stopped teasing me with his tongue and stood, ripping his shirt open and uncovering his naked chest in one sudden movement. A second later, his pants came off as well, and he revealed all of his naked glory. That predatory look of hunger in his eyes I recognized all too well sent a shiver down my spine. I inched away, desperate to flee, but he hauled me right back until we were skin to skin. The hardness of his arousal strained against my inner thigh, and I closed my eyes. Any moment now he would invade my body in one forceful thrust. Alessandro kissed the top of my head, then tilted my chin and made me look at him.
“Are you afraid, tesoro?”
I couldn't speak so I just nodded.
“Don't be afraid,” he spoke softly, and licked his bottom lip. “Tonight is special. Tonight, I only want to give you pleasure. No pain.”
His lips found mine and kissed me with light precision, willing me to relax and give into him. As he continued deepening the kiss with his tongue, he entered my body with staggering slowness and stilled once buried deep inside. I sucked in a sharp breath, waiting for him to pound into me like usual. He did no such thing. Instead, he allowed me to adjust to the feeling of fullness which was something he didn't usually do. I gasped, not just from pleasure but also the fact he’d stayed true to his word and didn’t rush.
“So wet...so fucking responsive,” he murmured against my lips. “And only mine...I really get a high out of the fact you have only ever been mine, piccola.”
I gazed in wonder as he moved in a gentle rhythm, gradually intensifying the pressure, but never to the point it was unbearable. And unlike all those other times, he had this unusual need to keep his nose buried in my hair. He constantly touched its long wavy strands, playing with them and spreading them under his fingers—almost like he was obsessed with memorizing their length and shape.
Even after he found his release, he remained buried deep inside me. His nose was nuzzled in my hair. One of his hands still played with its long strands while the other slowly lowered down my body and started rekindling the fire he had ignited with his lips earlier. I fought to resist the sensation building at the very center of my core, but was too weak to suppress it. With each passing second the tremors in my lower stomach intensified until I could take it no longer, and whimpered in sheer torture.
“Come for me, Olivia,” Alessandro ordered, and waves of pleasure spread through my entire body as my slick flesh clenched around his circling fingers.
I buried my head in the crook of his neck, and let out small moans of helplessness. Following my climax was a fresh dose of shame, all because I couldn’t refrain from responding to his touch...once again. The sudden need to scrub myself clean overwhelmed me.
Easing of my body, Alessandro leaned back to look at me and—instead of the mocking amusement I had come to expect in his gaze—I was surprised to see there was only tenderness. He ran his fingers over the entire length of my hair, and caressed my cheek, smiling softly as though reassuring me it was all right to feel this way with him.
It was times like these when he gazed at me with so much affection and warmth in his usually cold emotionless eyes that made me think I could really come to love him; that I still loved him.
But then, he would always snatch away that trace of light and pull me right back into the everlasting darkness...
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
The Past (4 years prior)
The next morning, I froze at the sight of Alessandro sitting at the breakfast table. He would always be gone by this time, and I'd already gotten used to eating breakfast alone. The moment our eyes met, a crude blush spread along my face because of what had happened the previous night in the library. A knowing smile twisted Alessandro's lips, and I remembered how he had pulled on his pants and lifted me into his arms when it was