Enchanted and Desired (23 page)

Brandon called me on my mood while he was standing at the altar, waiting on Lily. I felt like a total bastard, having him being concerned about
me
on
his
wedding day. It all paled into insignificance when I saw Jess walking down the aisle, a beaming grin on her face, her eyes fixed on me, looking so breath-taking I just wanted to go to her, to touch her, to check that she was real.

The day went off without a hitch and everyone is having a great time at the reception. Jess and Sofia have spent a lot of time together, Brandon and Lily have been completely wrapped up in each other, and I’ve been shooting the shit with Nate. He seems distracted, but I’ve given up trying to understand him lately. Besides, I’m pretty distracted myself as I watch Jess across the room. Her carefree laugh, her mischievous grin and her smokin’ hot body tease me with every move she makes.

When it comes time for the bride and groom to make their exit, I find Jess in the crowd, her eyes moist with unshed tears. “You okay baby?”

“Yeah, I’m just so happy for Lily. She deserves to be happy more than anyone.” I hold her tight to my chest, feeling her sweet little body melt against mine.

“YOU deserve to be happy Tesoro, more than anyone I’ve ever met. Let me make you happy. Travel around Italy with me.” As she lifts her eyes to mine in surprise, Brandon and Lily pounce on us.

“You didn’t think we would leave without saying goodbye did you?” Lily envelopes Jess is a tight hug as they both let the tears flow.

“We’ll see you in a few weeks man. Thanks for everything brother.” Brandon pulls me in for a bit of a man hug/slap on the back.

“I’m really happy for you Brandon. Have a great honeymoon. We’ll catch up with you guys when you get back.”

He turns his attention to Jess, giving her a hug. “Look after my boy here. He loves the shit out of you.” She gives him a small smile and a nod, before tucking herself under my arm.

Two minutes later and they’re gone, but the party is still in full swing.

“Dance with me?” I hold out my hand to Jess, happy to feel her warm, elegant fingers slide into my palm. I lead her onto the floor and begin to sway, holding her hand against my chest, nestled between us, my other hand skimming her lower back. As she rests her head on my shoulder, I feel myself relax for the first time today.

“Will you let me show you Italy Tesoro? New York will still be there in a couple of weeks. I already checked to see if you could take the time off. I hope you don’t mind. I thought we could use some time together, just the two of us; no work, no pressures, just us. What do you think?”

She slinks her arms up and around my neck, pulling me down into a tender kiss; her intoxicating scent invading my senses.

“Sounds perfect. Thank you.” Her voice is small, and she sounds choked with emotion as her words tumble forth. “I love you so much Simon, you know that don’t you?”

I stop moving, my hands coming to rest on each side of her beautiful face; my eyes fixed on hers. “I
know
Jessica. I
know
you love me. We can work through anything as long as we’re together. Just you and me now. Tu sei tutto quello che vedo il mio Tesoro.”

“What does that mean?”

“It means – You are ALL that I see.” Her lips find mine in an urgent, passionate kiss. A fervent plea for…what...I’m not sure. But I will find out, and I
will
make it better for her.

“Make love to me all night. Show me you love me Simon.” Without another word, I lead her from the dance floor, the beginnings of Bruno Mars – Just The Way You Are, playing in the distance.

We walk through the cobbled streets of Verona, hand in hand, the tension between us rising as the streets close in on us, shielding us from the outside world, from reality; trapped in a Shakespearian tragedy of love and loss. The feeling of desperation wells up inside me, the dread I felt earlier rearing its ugly head. I won’t be able to breathe if I don’t touch her, taste her, feel her…now. As if she reads my mind, she stops mid-stride turning to face me.

“Touch me Simon. Here…Now…Fuck me the way I need you to.” Her eyes are begging me, and I can’t refuse her…anything.

I pull her down a quiet cobbled alley, only realizing at the last minute that we’re at Juliet’s balcony. It’s deserted at this time of night, and completely secluded. A perfect place for a lovers tryst. “Take off your panties and lift your dress for me baby. Let me see how wet your sweet little pussy is.”

She does as I ask without question. “I’m so wet for you Si.” She spreads her legs wide, propping one foot up on the statue of Juliet, opening herself up to my roving eye. I make short work of the distance between us, dropping to my knees in front of her, grabbing her ass and pulling her pussy into my mouth.

“You taste so fucking sweet Jess. I could eat you all night…and I intend to, but for now a quick taste will have to suffice until I can get you back to our bed.”

I flatten my tongue against her folds, licking from her entrance, dripping with arousal, up the length of her until I reach her clit; swollen and ready to be teased into a quick, frenzied orgasm. I slowly circle the bundle of nerve endings that bring her an intense kind of ecstasy, before sucking it gently into my mouth. Her skin is so fucking soft and tender, I just want to kiss these lips the same way I kiss her mouth – for hours; enjoying the tantalizing taste of her. Her mouth tastes like cherries; but these lips are like a sweet liquor – addictive and able to make a grown man drunk on the taste. I start moving my tongue, spelling out her name as I flick and suck and nibble on her clit. Her soft moans spur me on, her breaths growing frantic as she begins to lose control.

“Vieni per me il mio amore…come for me my love.” I hold her tight against my face, letting her ride out the aftershocks of her orgasm; her body trembling beneath my hands.

I press her against the wall, a shrine to lovers past and present that have written their names as an offering to Juliet, asking her blessing on their love for one another. I quickly unzip my pants, pushing them down just far enough to let my cock spring free; throbbing and ready to sink into her warm depths. I stroke myself from root to tip, letting her watch in anticipation. “Is this what you need Jess? Tell me you need me.”

“I
need
you Simon. I
want
you to fill me, to possess me, to claim me.”

I lift her up, positioning myself at her slick entrance. “Hold on to me baby.”

I pound into her with a punishing rhythm, pressing my hands against the harsh stone, shielding her soft skin as I hammer in and out of her with every delicious thrust of my cock. She’s screaming my name in seconds, her teeth sinking into my shoulder to stifle the noise reverberating around this enclosed alley. I enjoy the painful bite as I chase my own release, thrashing into her over and over until I feel myself spilling inside her. My breathing is labored and I can feel the sweat trickling down my back as I press my forehead to hers, drinking in her scent as I allow my racing heart to calm.

“Let me take you back to the hotel, and make love to you properly. I want to taste you all night long, feeling your juices dripping from my chin as I take my fill of you.”

I help her to fix her dress, before making myself presentable enough to walk the remainder of the way back to our hotel without being arrested. I don’t really want to call my dad to bail me out with the polizia for having my cock out! My mom would have me saying Hail Mary’s for years for that shit.

In this moment, I feel like everything has fallen into place in my life. I’m in the country I love most in the world, the birthplace of my father; I have the girl that makes me want to be a better man tucked under my arm, her hand resting around my waist, and a future ahead of us, full of possibilities. As long as we’re together, I don’t give a fuck what happens. If I lost all of my clubs tomorrow and all of my worldly possessions, everything would be okay as long as I have Jess.

I am true to my word. I spend the night savoring every sweet inch of Jess. Tasting her, teasing her, worshiping her, and wringing as much pleasure from her body as she can possibly take before we collapse in a sated heap as the sun rises over the city that inspired the greatest literary love story in history. If you ask me Romeo was an idiot. He should have fought harder for Juliet when he had the chance. The tragedy of their story should be a lesson to lovers. Everything falls apart when you don’t communicate with someone, when you let misunderstandings get in the way. When you don’t fight for what you want, for what you need to live and breathe.

As I watch her fall asleep in my arms, she is more breath-taking than I have ever seen her. She is glowing, gentle, and soft as silk to the touch. She is my Venus, and I KNOW - I will always fight for Jess, for what we have…no matter what life throws at us.

JESS

Yesterday I sat in the bathroom for what felt like hours, waiting and watching a small stick that would determine my future. When I watched the plus sign appear I think a part of me died. Five days ago I would have been terrified but excited at the prospect of becoming a mom, and bringing Simon’s baby into the world. Now that I know he doesn’t want kids, it’s the worst possible outcome for the life I thought I would have. I could never terminate this pregnancy, and the understanding that this heralds the end of my relationship with Simon was a devastating blow. I sat silently sobbing for the longest time, the world around me disappearing in a cacophony of white noise whooshing in my ears.

Today I’m getting ready to spend two weeks alone with him. To savor everything about him. To savor everything about us. It’s more than I thought I would have, but it will never be enough. I love him with everything that I am, and that’s why, when we get home from Italy, I need to leave. He doesn’t want children, and I will NOT force him to live a life that he doesn’t want. He would do the right thing by me, I know he would, but months or maybe even years from now he would resent me for it, and I couldn’t bear to see that look in his eyes. I also can’t get rid of our baby. If I hadn’t fallen pregnant, I would have lived a happy life with Simon without kids, but now that I
am
pregnant, I love this baby and I’ll do my best to protect him or her until the day I die. I
want
this baby. I just wish it was what we
both
wanted. I’ve seen what can happen when a man is cornered with this responsibility. I
won’t
do it to him. I
can’t.

Simon and I have decided to embark on a vacation all around Italy. He’s going to show me all of the places he enjoyed growing up and we have no one to answer to but ourselves for fourteen days. Real life can wait that long, and I can pretend that the future is bright for us, just the way I want it to be. I’m going to make sure this is a time for both of us to remember, and look back on with fondness over the years ahead. It’s going to be excruciating when I have to leave, and Simon will put up a fight; he’ll think I don’t love him. But hopefully, over time, he’ll look back at the time we’re about to spend together and realize that I love him more than I could ever possibly express.

The closest big town to Verona, that I’ve always wanted to see, is Venice, and it does NOT disappoint. Si organized a convertible Lamborghini Gallardo Spyder, in trademark bright orange, for us to see the sights and travel around in for the next few weeks. These boys don’t do anything by halves. The drive from Verona to Venice wasn’t a long one, but every bit of scenery here is breath-taking. We have to park the car outside of Venice which is such a strange concept. There are no roads! An ancient city down in the depths below, steeped in the history of so many lives lived. As we walk through the train station and out into the city, I am completely speechless at the beauty before me.