Her Dark Dragon (9 page)

"Settle down, Danni, we're almost there."

She looked outside, for the first time realizing they were in the heart of San Francisco now. There was little time to right her clothing and hair, let alone repair her lipstick before the car slowed before one of the larger hotels. Her first instinct was he'd taken her here instead of his home. She could understand that. He wouldn't want her memory around him. The idea hurt her, but self-preservation was important to both of them. She was more confused after hearing him tell the driver to pick them up in an hour.

He ushered her inside, the lobby was a grand space. To the right was a doorway into a darkened lounge. He directed her to the space filled with soft music from the three-piece combo set off in the corner. Several couples were dancing, others were attempting to dance, and some were just sitting quietly with a drink enjoying the music.

"What would you like Danni?"

* * * *

His words asked for more than one answer. This was a new side of Nico Severino, one she'd only experienced in glimpses. Tonight, she wanted to experience the whole man, outside the vineyard, away from business. The dark dragon she'd heard the rumors and stories about. The man who only accepted surrender, and got it because of his masculine, seductive air. Danni's lower lips moistened, dampening the small swath of material covering her intimately. Nico knew she was craving his touch, and his strategy worked on her. Danni made a point of not squirming in her seat. A girl had to keep some element of self-respect, albeit a small one.

"No wine!" she said with a laugh. "Tonight, I'm in the mood for something strong and hot—brandy, I think." She sat back, letting him place her order, taking in the surroundings. When she glanced to Nico, he wore a strange smile. "What?"

"Nothing," he said, shaking his head with a laugh, accepting she'd gotten his number. Psyching Danni out wasn't going to work.

"Did you think you were the something strong and hot I wanted?" He turned to look at her but didn't answer. "You are my dark drago. But you seem to have a plan, so I've decided to go along with your seduction."

"Is that what you call this?" She hadn't wanted to show up at his door only to be thrown over his shoulder and carried to his bed.

"Wouldn't you? First, a lovely supper with good food and wonderful company. The emotions of watching a favorite person leave home, here for drinks. I'd say it was a good warm-up." Her drink arrived and she sipped it, gladly holding the glass to her lips to stop herself from saying anything further, or smiling at catching him at his own game. Maybe she wasn't so unworldly after all!

"Would you rather I'd have met you at the door, pulled you inside, stripped you down, and took you in the hallway?"

Her laughing wasn't what he expected from the look in his eyes. "Maybe next time." It was the only answer she gave him, changing the direction to keep him off-kilter. "Dance with me, Nico, one last time."

He didn't question her words, just stood and offered his hand. Danni fitted against him as if she'd been tailored for him. Her head just reached his shoulder, the rest of her fit against him in all the right places. He tugged her closer with his arm around her waist and pulled her against his erection. For several songs, they stayed that way, locked together with the music, the outside world not daring to enter. It was Danni who finally pulled back.

"Take me, Nico, now. I can't stand the torture any longer."

"Torture you? What about me? You've been stroking me all evening, one way or another." His dark eyes sparkled in the candlelight, his lips falling into a lazy grin she'd seen before.

"Yes, and now I want to do it without clothing. Are we staying here, did you get a room?"

"No, we're going back to Casa Maria. That's where we both belong, bella."

She didn't cringe at the pet name, rather held his eye and wondered about the choice of his words. She slipped to the ladies' lounge, more for time to breathe than to repair her lipstick, long kissed off on the dance floor. When she returned, he stood ready, the car waiting outside for them. This time, she sat on her side. Her only concession was to let her hand rest on the space between them. His hand dropped over hers, his thumb again making designs on her palm. He knew she was on the edge, and wanted to keep her there a bit longer. At least until they got home and out of the blasted car. The ride seemed to take forever, and she had little to say. Only when they reached the entrance of the Severino yard did she let out a breath.

"Which statue did you choose?" Danni asked as they wound their way around the fields toward the house.

"Missionary."

Danni could visualize the statue vividly. A woman lay on her back, her weight supported on her elbows. The kimono she wore was a floral design, open in the front, its bright colors lying beside and under her. Her head was thrown back, showing the long column of her neck, her dark hair flowing with her eyes closed. Her knees were raised and spread wide. Over her, a well-endowed nude male figure rested his weight on his forearms, his mouth to the peak of her left breast, the tip of his erect penis just at her entrance. The workmanship was extraordinary, considering it started as one piece of ivory. Every muscle on the male's body was tensed, his buttocks tight, his shoulders showing a slight strain from the position.

It was one of her favorites, the position one she'd thought about sharing with Nico through the years, though she'd never told him. Its erotic beauty was the basic design of how the figures fit together, their expressions pure bliss of acceptance without self-consciousness. Danni realized she'd turned the faces of the statues to resemble her and Nico. She heated from deep within and hoped he hadn't noticed.

"Starting with the basics?"

"Something like that." The driver was gone before Danni had time to rethink what she was about to do. Nico grabbed her around the waist and lowered her over his shoulder, as if she were a sack of feed or potatoes. When she started to protest, he lightly slapped her buttocks. She let out a gasp, refusing to stop fussing until they made their way inside and up the curved staircase. He didn't turn on any lights, simply turned left at the top of the stairs, moving to the last door. The master suite, she knew, his room, his private domain.

Danni wasn't prepared for what was inside. The last time she'd seen the room was years before, when his mother was still alive. Then it had been white with blue trim and accessories. This room was nothing like it. It screamed masculinity and permanence. The walls were padded and covered with a chocolate brown silk. The carpet was a few shades lighter. The bed, a massive thing, was covered in dark brown suede. The furniture was all light oak to
offset the darkness. Nico carried her across the room, still looped over his shoulder, as he went to the French doors leading to a small balcony overlooking the vineyard. He opened the curtains and inner doors, leaving the screens to shield them from the bugs, letting in the fresh air and moonlight.

"Very nice," she said, which earned her finally being slid to the floor, directly in front of his bed. She sat on the side of it, knowing her legs wouldn't hold her. He reached inside a bedside drawer, pulling out several packages, laying them to the table top. She looked from the table to him and back to the packages. Only then did he drop down on his heels before her, the look of intensity on his face demanding her attention.

"Danni, are you sure? I'd much rather marry you."

Please say it and mean it,
she wished silently, only he didn't add the "I love you" she needed. Reality slapped her across the face when his words disappointed her. "No changes, Nico. We have an arrangement." Her eyes filled with tears, but she pulled them back. "I just need the bathroom for a moment." She knew if she kept looking right now, she'd tell him yes, and she knew she couldn't do it to him or herself. She slipped from beside him and took refuge in the en suite for only a few minutes. Danni brushed out her hair and took off the rest of her lipstick. Leaving the last refuge she'd know before she locked herself in, she found him at the balcony doorway opening a bottle of wine. A bottle from neither of their yards.

"Well done, Drago. No fights over labels tonight." She accepted the glass, swirling and tasting before sipping it for enjoyment. They debated the blend easily while she unbuttoned her jacket, let it slip off her shoulders, and laid it across a large club chair near the doorway. His gasp was low but audible. The silk was for her, she reminded herself, but he seemed to appreciate it. Her skirt came next, dropping to the floor with ease after she let the side zipper down. Before him, she stood tall and proud. The slip matched the bra and undies, the ivory color a foil for her darker skin tone. Danni took a last sip of her wine and moved toward Nico.

He seemed suspended in time, his glass in hand, his mouth slightly agape. Danni smiled inwardly. She'd taken the first step and got his attention more than one way, bold and horny in a primal way she'd not experienced before. With her glass put aside, she pulled his jacket from his shoulders and placed it beside hers. She slowly unbuttoned his shirt as she kissed the newly exposed skin before her. She lowered her left hand to fondle him while with her right, she traced along his bare chest. He shuddered when her lips went to his nipple. All bets were off. Danni was getting an adrenaline rush from his passivity.

* * * *

She had him on edge all week. Today he was a wreck, deciding to ease her into the act. Now she was making him feel antiquated. Nico was still slightly awed by her forwardness.

He figured he'd let Danni take the lead, but her lead was going to have him coming in her hand before he even dropped his pants. He drew a breath and took a step back. Danni was startled, but only for a second. His large fingers rose to pull the straps of her slip over her shoulders, tugging it over her breasts, letting it fall to the floor. Her bra and panties were still in place, along with the silk stockings, which needed no garters. Her feet were still soundly inside her shoes, but he knew she felt naked, her hands fidgeting not to cover herself, by instinct probably, he decided.

He noted that she focused on his face until he lowered his mouth to her shoulder, his lips to her skin as his hands slipped along her waist and back. She moved against him, accepted his caress and kisses, wanting more. A small groan escaped her throat when his hands palmed her buttocks, kneading her flesh until it felt hot to his touch. He slid her back and forth over his cock, long and hard, thick between her thighs. She wanted more. Writhing against him, leaving no doubt in either of their minds, she let him know she was ready. He paused for only a moment to toss the top layer of pillows onto the floor and pull back the spread. Crisp beige sheets awaited them.

From there, it was a blur of kisses and groans, of wants and needs, of clothing in the way and being shed. He pressed against her, laying her back. He slipped over her, between her thighs, and took her face between his hands. When he would have spoken, she stopped him with her finger to his lips.

"No more talking, Niccolo," she whispered, moving under him, making him forget good intentions. He returned to feast on her pebbled nipple, hard from his fingers. She slid her hands along his shoulders and gasped when he let his hand ease between her thighs. She'd started to move away, but he didn't let her, rather teased her thighs apart, missing the stroke he knew she needed, making her move with him to garner the elusive contact. Soon she forgot to be coy, forgot to be nervous, and let herself feel. Nico felt the moment she succumbed, letting him push her over the edge.

"Anything between us, Danielle, anything within these walls, it never leaves here, remember that." She tried to respond, but his thumb stroking her through the thin cloth made her moisten further with her own heat, words unnecessary. Knowing she was ready, he drew back, slid her panties down her thighs, and relinquished his spot to take them the rest of the way off.

Nico reached to the table for the condom, and Danni closed her eyes. His fingers teased against her, his lips to her nipple. She held her breath waiting for him to enter her, obviously disappointed when he didn't. Instead he moved, sliding down her body. She jolted away from him, realizing what he had in mind, but he held her tightly at the waist. "Anything between us, Danni," he whispered just before he tasted her belly, ran his lips across her sides, making a damp path along her skin.

Nico took his time tasting the salty sheen of her body, feeling her move under him. When she relaxed, he continued, moving lower to nip her inner thighs, while changing the pattern, rhythm, and pressure of his thumb subtly. Her hips arched up to him in an unspoken plea for the touch he was holding back. Her outright sigh had him dropping his mouth to her core and holding her still against his lips while she calmed under him, accepting his offer, relinquishing control of her body and mind to him. He continued to tease her lower lips with his finger and tongue. Soon she was grabbing for him, her hand holding his head between her thighs until she climaxed.

He lifted over her, knowing she was wet and ready. With a single push, he slipped inside her, felt the hesitation, and pushed further. Only Danni couldn't hold back her surprised outcry. He instantly felt anger and knew she saw the emotion cross his face as he drew back. Her hands went to his waist, holding him, not letting him pull back.

"Just wait a second," she whispered, shifting under him, getting acquainted with his size and girth, and how he filled her.