Marco's Redemption (18 page)

"You know I'll keep you safe, right?" He lifted her chin and their eyes tangled. "You know I'd never let you come to any grief?"

"I--I know."

"Do you Natalie? You know I'll protect you, always? From everything?"

She stared up at him, and sucked in oxygen as deafening silence permeated the room around them.

She watched as he pulled out his wallet and whipped out that damn black American Express card again. The one that meant she was going to have to go shopping again. She just wasn't a normal woman. She couldn't be. In the past, she'd convinced herself she hated shopping, primarily because she hadn't had the money
to
shop--but now she knew it was true. She did hate shopping.

He pushed it into her hand and her fingers closed over it reluctantly. "You shop. Buy five times the amount you'll think you need, and then maybe you'll get enough. We leave Sunday afternoon."

His lips bussed her forehead and he left the room.

****

Marco leaned against the elevator wall as he rode it down. He let out a deep breath as his head lowered to his chest before lifting and banging back against the wall. That had been close. He didn't like to think about the fight that might have ensued if she hadn't complied with his wishes, because there was no damn way he was leaving her behind. He sucked in a sustaining breath and slowly let it out again. No, he damn sure didn't want to contemplate how bad the fight could have been if she hadn't acquiesced to him. And he wouldn't even let himself think about how bad it would be if he had to try to sleep without her beside him for seven nights.

Chapter Eight

Natalie had flown frequently enough in her youth that the air travel didn't faze her. By Sunday evening, they were standing together sipping champagne in their hotel suite while looking across at the lights of the city. It was absolutely magnificent, but then so was Downtown Houston at night.

But there was something about being in the largest city in the United States of America. The Statue of Liberty, the Empire State Building, and Wall Street, the investment capital of the world and the reason Marco had business here this week.

Natalie stood by the window with Marco at her back. Her nose was almost pressed against the window as she gazed out. She felt a buzzing sensation in her head, both from the champagne and from the arm he banded around her as he pulled her back into his torso. His lips fell to her ear. "I went shopping this week as well," he whispered, his teeth grazing her earlobe.

She trembled against him. "Did you?"

"Mmm," he murmured softly in agreement.

He turned her around to face him and she saw he had a large, rectangular velvet box in his hands. She looked up at him in question, hoping she was sufficiently masking the emotional upheaval racing through her veins.

He lifted the lid and inside lay a sparkling, brilliant necklace and matching earrings in a colored stone that Natalie had never seen before. She reached out to run her finger over them. "What are they?" she whispered.

"Chocolate diamonds surrounded by white diamonds. I hope you like it. I couldn't decide between the white gold and the rose gold, but the rose seemed too much. I think this color will enhance your beauty more."

"They're beautiful."

"You're beautiful," he said swiftly.

"Marco--"

"Do you like them?"

"I--I love them, but I can't take them."

He ignored her as if she hadn't spoken, and lifted the necklace from its bed of velvet. He draped it around her neck, and fumbled just enough with the fastener to let her know this wasn't something he was used to doing. A small quiver of delight at the knowledge pierced her heart.

He picked her hand up and led her away from the windows, to a console with a large mirror above it. He swung her around to face the mirror and stood at the side of her and held out the earrings, with a silent demand for her to put them on.

She fastened them to her ears with hands that trembled. They were gorgeous, absolutely beautiful, and she'd never owned anything even a tenth as nice. But doubt was taking hold of her. She couldn't keep them, could she?

His hands fell to her shoulders and he kissed the nape of her neck, his fingers sliding over the necklace and her naked flesh beneath in a blatant display of ownership. Desire, immediate and strong, overcame her and beat a loud cadence through her veins.

He stood at her back and enclosed her breasts in the palms of his hands, his thumbs stroking through the layer of clothing to her nipples beneath. His eyes were hot on hers in the mirror.

Her lashes began to dip and his nostrils flared in sexual response. When her eyes closed completely, he pulled her shirt over her head with a rustle of cloth and then his hands fell back to her breasts, covered now only in thin lace.

His breathing escalated as he pushed the bra down and out of his way and his hands gripped her with unrelenting strength as he caressed her nipples. "These sweet little tits are so perfect you don't need a bra," he whispered in a raspy voice at her ear, "it's only a hindrance to me."

His fingers plucked and pulled at her nipples, sending a stream of wet heat down her body to the juncture of her thighs. Her hips pushed back against him as she tried to retain control of her thoughts. "My--my nipples show through my clothes if I don't wear one."

His hands stilled a moment, his palms covering her small breasts completely. "We can't have that," he said in a strong voice. "So I'll need to practice more patience." With that, he unsnapped her bra and pushed it completely out of his way.

Her eyes flew open and she saw dark flecks of red on his cheekbones as he gave her a quick, cursory look before lifting her skirt to her waist and dragging her panties from her hips in a rough, determined motion that left her butt bared to him in seconds.

He growled deep in his throat, adjusted his own clothing and then all at once, Natalie felt the broad head of his penis pushing at her from behind. Her inner channel flooded with wet heat, preparing itself to accommodate him and she felt as if she couldn't breathe or speak as his eyes held hers captive in the mirror.

He pushed an inch inside of her, to the place where she could feel herself being gloriously, threateningly stretched and then he stopped and held her at that precipice as he ground his teeth together and watched her steadily. "You're keeping the jewelry. I don't want to hear one goddamned word about it, you understand me?"

She was silent, beyond being able to speak, as she waited for the excruciating pleasure she knew was coming.

He adjusted his stance, wrapped his brawny arm around her pelvis and lifted her from her feet just enough. He plunged inside with one quick, hard thrust that impaled her and left her gasping between pain and intense pleasure.

He gave her two seconds to adjust, and with a flare of uncontrolled heat in his dark eyes, began pumping at her steadily. His hips rocked against hers, rolling and punching at her, and her breathing accelerated to match his. Her body surged with a dance of excitement and she knew the possessive clasp he had on her--seeing it in the mirror--was going to propel her over the edge within moments.

She was under his control, powerless to resist his appeal and his sexual domination. Her heart hammered in her ears, his eyes and his body riveted her to the spot, but she didn't want to get away. She never wanted to get away.

He began thrusting into her even harder, and Natalie knew he was losing control. His fingers slid down to her clit, and he massaged it in time with his thrusts. His teeth fastened on her earlobe and his words were a hiss, "This is the way I like it best. Your clothes half-off and your pussy dripping for me." He pumped steadily at her. "Just for me, Natalie. Remember that, always. I fuck you. When and how I want. But nobody else touches you, ever."

His heated words washed over her, enticing her with their demand. He was always like this, going from the suave, debonair businessman when they were in company, to a dominating caveman with a filthy mouth that continued to shock her, right until the moment his words began to excite her. And now, lifted off her feet with his big body surrounding her, her lashes closed over her eyes as she felt her womb begin to tighten in the advance of orgasm. He stiffened behind her, shoved inside with a depth and power that continued to stun her, and held himself there while his own orgasm took over.

His finger and thumb pinched her clit hard, and Natalie screamed as pleasure and a sharp, hot coil of satisfaction lashed her. She rode the wave hard, and collapsed against him and the last thing she knew was his head falling to her neck and the delicious sensation of his arms as they wrapped around her as if he'd never let go.

****

Natalie walked out of the shower an hour later with a towel wrapped around her body and another one in her hands drying her wet hair. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Marco leaning negligently against the bedroom wall, obviously waiting on her. He watched her steadily and his hand lifted, and rubbed the back of his neck.

"Is something wrong?"

"No." He stood to his feet and walked within range of touching distance. "I forgot to give this to you earlier." He held out a small ring size box in his hand and Natalie felt her throat close up and butterflies take hold in her stomach. But then he walked right past her and tossed the box on the chest of drawers and turned back to face her in a move that seemed casual in the extreme--almost too casual. "The jewelry was a set. That came with it." He glanced at her once more as she stood completely still and tried to get her brain and voice to work.

Before she could accomplish either, he walked from the bedroom as silently as he'd entered, and closed the door behind him.

Natalie stared at the closed door and the towel in her hand dropped to the floor as she clutched the one around her body so that it wouldn't do the same. She breathed deeply, in and out for a few seconds before her gaze landed on the small box as if it might be lethal.

Slowly, she walked over to it and lifted it down from its perch on the bureau. She closed her eyes and licked her lips and then snapped it open.

Her heart stopped beating, her breath caught in her throat, and she stumbled backwards until her butt landed on the bed behind her.

Inside the box was a ring that could be, but probably wasn't, a part of the set he'd given her. No question it was a beautiful ring. And big. The center stone was, again, a chocolate diamond. It was huge and round, possibly three carats and surrounded by white diamonds that made a halo around it.

It was unquestionably unique and if the situation had been right, which it wasn't, it could have been an engagement ring. Her heart banged loudly in her chest as she ran the tip of her finger over the upraised diamond, wondering at his intent. She stood up and walked to the drawer where she had stashed the other jewelry before her bath. Immediately, she saw that the boxes were two different colors. Upon further inspection, the names emblazoned on the inside were from different upscale jewelry stores. Although the pieces resembled each other, they weren't a matching set.

She sat back down with the ring box in her hand, her mind going a mile a minute. His manner had been so casual just a moment ago that it was almost deceiving. But she couldn't let go of the sensation that he'd been worried about her reaction. He'd said the pieces were part of a set, which they clearly weren't. So, her blood ran swiftly through her veins as she put two and two together and came up with four, or four and a half, as she tried to calculate his intent.

The answer she came up with was dangerous because she didn't know if she was going in the right direction.
Marco had wanted her to have a ring.
She slipped it from the box and held it between her fingers, studying it.

It was exquisite and she desperately wanted to slip it on her left ring finger, because it was an intimate gift from him, not because she was naive enough to think they were engaged. She swallowed deeply and slid it on her right hand instead and twisted her hand this way and that, watching it catch the overhead light and glisten brightly. There was no question that it fit her ring finger perfectly, so the only choice she had was which hand to wear it on.