Chapter Twelve
An incredible woman. Oh how she wanted to believe it for a second. Her whole life she wanted to belong, and she finally found that feeling now, overseas, with a family that wasn’t hers by blood or contract. Well, not yet. Could she revisit the idea of succumbing to his request?
Flecks of dark gold shimmered around his hazel irises. He looked at her with intensity, and for a second she believed she was everything and more. She hated herself for wanting his approval but wasn’t strong enough to fight it. Not tonight.
Jacinta had died and she had mused over that tragedy for too long. If Clemonte in fact had lost his remaining marbles and wanted to hurt her or her baby, how could she protect the two of them when they were away? Leaving to the US with her daughter was no longer an option—not for the moment. If Clemonte outsmarted them, maybe she’d never be able to leave. She swallowed the lump of fear in her throat.
When he had vowed to protect them in front of his family that had meant something. Maybe this was like One Thousand and One Nights. He didn’t love her, yet, but would she be a fool for trying to show him they could be a perfect match one day? Was she a fool to believe it?
You’re a fool to want it. She scooted on the bed.
He cupped her head, his gaze dropping to her mouth. “I like you, Satyanna. Much more than I should.”
She parted her lips, and he claimed them with his. He explored her wetness, his tongue lapping at hers, only to nibble her lower lip, then resume intensifying the kiss. She opened her mouth wider and thrust her fingers into his hair. He sucked the corner of her mouth, and she leaned into him, her heart leaping from her chest.
Maybe it was leftover pregnancy hormones. Whatever it was, she had never wanted him as fiercely as she did now, and that was saying something. Her sex clenched with awareness, her clit swollen and her walls damp. He was bare-chested, which escalated her body temperature to about a thousand degrees. She glided her hands along his chest, her fingers hovering over his pectorals. He tensed up, muscles bunching together.
She splayed her hands on his pecs and pushed him away from her, and he fell back on the mattress. With a devious smile on her face, she dipped her head down and started a trail of kisses on his neck. She felt, rather than heard, his reaction, a delightful sigh. His nipples hardened. Licking them, she decided it was time to tease other parts of his body. He groaned. She nipped on his washboard abdomen, wanting to please him as much as she knew he’d please her.
“God, yes,” he said when her head ventured lower. She pulled his pants and underwear off, desire fogging her vision. There he was…completely and gorgeously naked for her.
His massive length sprung up as if it were part of the conversation. She licked her lips, anticipating what was about to happen.
He crossed his hands and placed them behind his head, his eyes intent on hers. A wave of feminine power surged through her. Against the bra her nipples puckered with need. Lowering herself again, she caught his throbbing cock in her mouth. The thick girth filled her, and she focused on getting half of it inside for now. Wow. Leonardo was exquisite in every way.
And delicious, she confirmed, after her tongue licked his velvety hardness. He growled, the deep, masculine sound reverberating through her. He put his hand in her hair, his fingers kneading her scalp and searing all her nerve endings. She took his entire length in her mouth, and the tip of his cock pressed hard against the back of her throat.
“You are fucking sexy,” he said, his voice coarse. “I love how you take all of me into your mouth. Like you’re hungry for me.”
That’s because I am.
She sucked his length, sliding it out of her mouth only to welcome it immediately after with all her warmth and eagerness. She squeezed his full, heavy balls and let out a moan. To know she was giving him pleasure turned her on. Her tongue slid along his pulsating cock; his underside veins vibrated with red-hot arousal.
“Guess what? I’m hungry for you, too. Starving.” He seized her wrists with his hand, withdrawing himself from her. She blinked in a haze of desire. He flipped her on the mattress so her back pressed against the soft bedspread and held her wrists above her head. “Are you okay? Does your wound hurt? Can we make love?”
Make love. For the second time his words brought an absurd amount of joy to her foolish heart. Blood thrummed in her veins, and she felt light-headed. There she was, in bed with the only man who made her drenched in her own essence, throwing the one word at her she had always dreamed of. The one word that didn’t depend on her alone. Love came from someone else. The one she had for herself was wonderful, but she wanted, needed, so much more, and had even looked in all the wrong places.
Staring at Leonardo, who flashed a devious grin at her, her insides melted. He was righteous, and fair, and inspired her to be the same. Damn it. “Yes, we can.”
If she were about to lose a limb she still wouldn’t turn him down. Instinctively, she motioned to touch her wound, but he fastened his grip on her. She breathed hard, her chest rising and falling like she had been exercising.
“If you touch me, I will come. Don’t tempt me.”
Why did he have to be bossy even in bed? Not that she minded one bit. A thrill of excitement surged through her, reenergizing her. “What if I want to?”
“Then you’ll break the rules…and will have to be punished.”
“Maybe I like to be punished.”
He winked. “I’m sure you will love what I have in mind.”
God. Just fuck me already. She pressed her legs together, clenching her thighs so her sex would find some temporary release. He must have read her mind, for he nudged them apart and bunched the long skirt at her waist.
He dipped his head down, and she watched him lower his head to her belly button. She leaned into him, hoping he’d plant kisses and licks on her already goose-bumped flesh. His sharp teeth grazed against her skin, and he dragged the underwear down. She gasped.
Her legs moved, and she squirmed. Her fingers curled into a ball. When he let go of her hands, it was like he knew she was enjoying it way too much to stop him. When her underwear was down at her knees, he kissed her calves. Wow. His tongue was warm and his lips demanding. Her clit throbbed in tandem with her heart, and she whimpered. How could she not? She had enough fire brewing in her to burn down an entire building.
“Come inside me,” she said.
He finished gliding her panties off her, and every inch he blew over prickled with want. She lifted her hips from the mattress, desperate for some release. He glanced at her pussy, licking his lips. When he lifted his eyes to hers, her stomach clenched. A wonderful, warm sensation rippled through her.
“You’re not playing fair,” he said.
Whatever works. She outlined her sex with her fingers, and shot him a look loaded with challenge. “You’ve accused me of it since the beginning. Why stop now?”
She moaned and circled her clit. She wanted to show him she could give herself pleasure, too, although with him it would be way better. She didn’t need him. She wanted him—so bad, that it almost made her believe he was, in fact, a necessity.
A smile that could bring warring countries to a treaty greeted her. “Touché. I think I can take it from here.”
She smiled, and before she could respond, he buried his face between her thighs. Her body drooped, and she let her hips fall into the bed, and he linked her legs across his head. She threw her head against the pillow, sure she wouldn’t be able to take much of this. His tongue lapped at her folds, while his thumb flicked her clit mercilessly. What else was there for her to do besides melt into him?
Literally. She could feel his tongue licking her arousal, and damn was he good at it.
“God, Leonardo. I’m coming,” she said as her thighs trembled, warning of what was to come.
He withdrew from her sex and with a swift movement plunged his cock inside her. The sensation seared every single one of her nerve endings, her toes curling.
She exploded into a whirlwind of sensations. He thrust into her, in and out, each time plundering deeper into her, until she felt that desire reenergize and she orgasmed again. With a growl that sliced into the night, he released himself.
…
Leonardo glanced down at his daughter.
She stared back at him even though her eyelids fluttered often.
When he’d heard her cry through the baby monitor, he’d had no doubt. He left Satyanna sleeping at his bedside, and went to check on his daughter. It took him a few seconds to gather her diaper, the wipes, and to find the cream, but it all came back to him. He’d helped his mother raise his little sister, Camila, who wasn’t so little anymore.
Back then, disposable diapers were a luxury; they’d used cloth ones. She finished the bottle, and he tapped her back. That, he remembered, too. His heart heaved. That was the first time he was alone with his Lyanna. An emotion that was scary, uplifting, and exhilarating swept over him. He recognized the same kind of love his mother showered him with, despite him hating to have his cheeks pinched past the age of four.
A ball of warmth clogged his throat. That was his daughter, and he’d do anything for her. But could he compromise his beliefs? Could he marry Satyanna to give his daughter a stable home? How do you know it’ll be stable? Would Satyanna get bored of playing house in a country that wasn’t her own and leave him? Worse—leave their daughter when she was old enough to understand?
Lyanna burped, and he rocked her in the chair, back and forth. There was something reassuring about her. He knew he wouldn’t leave her no matter what. Lupus had claimed his mother when she had been too poor and fragile to fight back. His brother Bruno had left the entire family to start a new life in the United States. A year ago his father had finally given his last breath and joined his wife in death.
The baby yawned, and, kissing the top of her head gently, he put her in the crib and covered her with a blanket so she would be comfortable.
When he arrived in the bedroom next door, he found Satyanna sitting on the bed, with the baby monitor on her hand. Had she seen him caring for Lyanna?
“I didn’t hear her.”
“It’s okay. I don’t mind. I’m the dad, right?”
She wiped a tear from her eye, and he realized she’d been crying.
“Don’t tell me you turned into those overbearing new mothers and you’re upset because I went and you didn’t?” he said, injecting some humor in his voice to dispel from the strange intimacy lurking like a third person in the room.
She chuckled, and then wiped the tears from her eyes with the back of her hand. “No. I just…made a decision.”
He angled forward. Something told him this conversation wouldn’t lead to sex. “Yes?”
“I’ll stay,” she blurted. “I’ll stay in Brazil if you want so you can be closer to Lyanna. You don’t have to worry, I’m not going to get any crazy ideas about us,” she said, glancing at the floor. “But I want her to grow up near her father.”
He sat on the edge of the bed, the same side as her but within a safe distance. His shoulders dropped a notch. “I don’t know what to say. Thank you.”
“Between my parents abandoning me far too soon, then Carol dying, and a life in foster care, then finally the youth house…I never had a father, and it’s not fair for her to not have one when you’re so eager.”
“I am. I promise you she will be happy.”
And you, too. That hung at the tip of his tongue, so why was it so hard for him to say it? Because he wanted to mean it. He couldn’t…not yet. There was also Clemonte and his empty threat to worry about…but he couldn’t spoil the moment and talk about it now, not when she’d just given him a slice of hope.
“I know you mean it.” She scooted on the bed and planted a friendly kiss on his cheek.
A shiver swept through him, and he snatched her into his arms as if otherwise she’d be taken away by some sort of natural disaster. She gasped, obviously surprised, but didn’t draw back from his possessive embrace.
He gave her a long, passionate kiss.
“We have three hours until she wakes again,” she said.
“Then let’s make them count,” he whispered, before he claimed her lips with his again, and used that senseless attraction to distract him from thinking just to what he had agreed to.
…
“Leonardo. Leonardo.”
Leonardo rubbed his eyes. He felt a hand poking him, and he quickly stepped out of the sleepy haze.
Satyanna was the first image he saw, but she didn’t flash the smiles she had the previous night. Instead, she frowned, fully dressed. He glanced around, trying to see what time it was. When was the last time he overslept? For as long as he could remember, his body was conditioned to wake up at six fifteen a.m. Every day. Why would there be such change? Because she slept next to him. All night long, her warmth enveloped him like a fur coat on a winter day. What was he doing?
“Why didn’t you tell me that Clemonte called you?”
Oh. He ran his hand down his face. It was way too early to have that conversation. Guilt stabbed at him. The previous night he’d chosen not to—there was no atmosphere, and if he were really honest, he was in the mood for distraction rather than problem-solving.
“I was going to. That happened last night.”
“You had several hours. What did he say?”
He scooted on the bed, and thumped his feet on the floor. “He said he wants either you or the baby back to leave us alone. That if neither of you return to him, he will kill someone,” he said, and fear washed over him. Talking about it out loud somehow worsened the situation because that meant it was all too real.
She paced the floor, with hands perched at her waist. “What? And you didn’t think to tell me that?”
“No. I called my detective, and thought I’d wait to tell you.”
She shook her head. “You had no problem fucking me while you waited. Is that all I’m good for? Distraction? You can’t share anything meaningful with me? I’m not asking you for flowers and rainbows. This is my life.” Even though her tone was accusatory, he noticed the disappointment dangling in her words.
He stood and reached for the chair to grab his boxers. “Last night was meaningful. And I was going to tell you.” Fully dressed, he touched her elbow to have her turn and look at him.
She jerked away, waving him off. “You know what’s ironic? Ever since I came here I had to prove how trustworthy I am. I still do. You suspect anything I do. And you are the one keeping things from me—things that affect me and my daughter.”
“Our daughter. I’m going to Maranhão today. I will do things myself. Interview anyone and everyone Clemonte might have talked to and see where he could be now. You and Lyanna are not to leave this house. Understood?”