Walking in, I am in awe at the grand entrance. The floors are marble, the walls are made of huge bricks. There are pictures hanging on all the walls. The one that catches my attention is a painted portrait of the Steffan family. It was obviously made a long time ago, since everyone appears so young. When I ask, Aiden informs me that he was nineteen years old.
“I would love to have one done of our family when we have our own children.”
Smiling, his answer is simple, “I’d love that too.”
The staff enter with our luggage, Antonio walking in behind them. He directs them to which rooms to put the bags in.
“Lexie, we are going to have to go horseback riding,” Shannon says.
“What took you so long to get here?”
“Johnny was showing me some of the grounds. Everything is so breathtaking. Oooh, and we are going to have to go over to the vineyards.”
“Shannon, we just got here. You do know that we’re going to be here for a few months.”
“And your point is?”
I smirk at her. “Girl, you are incorrigible.”
“Yeah, but you love me.”
Johnny comes up behind her. “Baby, let me show you the room we are staying in.”
Aiden holds his hand out for me to take. “Let me show you my room. It’s where we will be staying.”
“Are your toys still in there?”
He says with a grin, “Not the kind of toys a child can play with.”
***
His room is as big as the family room back at our penthouse. The walls are an ivory color. The bed is massive, king-size, with an abundance of throw pillows. French doors lead out to a balcony. Opening them, the fresh breeze hits me. It’s the smell of fresh-cut grass and dirt. Everything looks so green and lush. The sight of the horses running in the pasture makes me smile. “Is this a dream?” I ask Aiden. “Am I really here? I feel like I should pinch myself.”
Sliding his fingers under my chin, he brings his mouth down to mine. Our lips brush against each other. Releasing my chin, wrapping one arm around my waist and placing the other one on the back of my head, he presses his forehead against mine. “Alexis, if this is a dream, it’s one that I hope we never wake up from.”
Going back into the room, we start to unpack the suitcases. After putting mostly everything away, we change for dinner. The corridors are just like the entrance of the castle. Large paintings hang everywhere. The stairwell, also massive, is at the center, connecting the west and east wings. We walk down hand in hand.
“I feel like royalty.”
He kisses my fingers. “Alexis, you are my queen. I’ll make sure that you know it every day for the rest of our lives.”
“Just like I’ll show you each and every day that you are my king.”
***
“Now look who’s late. I thought we were going to have to search for the two of you.”
“They were probably christening the room.” Everyone starts to laugh, though Mama tells Ysabel and Johnny to leave their big brother alone. Papa, who is seated at the head of the table, asks us to have a seat. Aiden pulls out the chair for me, then proceeds to take his.
Antonio walks in, followed by two other gentlemen pushing carts with our dinner.
I inhale the delicious aroma. “Hmmm, whatever it is, it smells so good.” Once the men finish serving each of our plates, they leave the dining room.
Antonio fills our glasses with a red wine. Even though I don’t usually drink red wine because of the aftertaste, I decide to give it a try. When I take a whiff of it, the smell is light. I take a sip and let it swirl in my mouth before drinking it down. The flavor is unlike anything I’ve ever tasted before. There is no aftertaste—it is not bitter or sour at all. It is fresh and crisp, with a sweetness to it, yet at the same time it isn’t overpowering.
Aiden asks Antonio to bring me a white wine. “She does not care for the reds.”
“No, I want this one. Thank you, Antonio.” I tell Aiden, “I really like this one. It tastes so different from any other red wine I’ve ever had before.”
Papa speaks up with pride in his tone. “This is our wine. We make this one. You will not find another one that comes close.”
The food is lasagna roll ups with Italian bread covered in garlic and cheese. I hadn’t realized how hungry I am. I ask for seconds. Looking around at everyone, I can’t help but think of my parents and Erik. They would have loved it here, and would have loved Aiden’s family.
It’s funny, but somehow, I can feel them here with us. As if they are standing behind me. I don’t feel sadness. The only emotions going through me are love and joy. Lowering my head, I have the biggest smile as I let the feelings wash over me.
Leaning in closely so that his lips are touching my ear, Aiden says, “Alexis, I love seeing you smile, seeing you happy.”
“Everything feels right. I’m exactly where I should be, where I want to be, with the man of my dreams.”
“It’s been a long, exhausting day. Let’s go to bed.” Standing up, he excuses us, and after saying goodnight to everyone, we head for our room.
***
Walking straight out to the balcony, I take a deep breath. The air is fresh, the weather cool. The smell of fresh-cut grass and grapes surrounds me. Leaning against the pillars, I tilt my head up and close my eyes. Again, I take a slow, deep breath in. My brain is making a memory.
Aiden walks up behind me, kisses my shoulder, and wraps his arms around me. “Are you happy, baby?”
Placing my hands over his arms, I say, “So happy.” I lay my head back against his chest and open my eyes. There are what seems like a million stars out tonight. “And you—are you happy, Aiden?”
He turns me to face him. “Amore, I have never been so happy. Like you, I feel that everything is as it should be. I have hope for the future and it’s because of you.” Even in the night, I can see his intense blue eyes burning through me. He picks me up and cradles me. “I want to make love to my wife.”
He carries me to the bed and lays me down. His eyes lock on to my own, he starts to unbutton his shirt. My heartbeat becoming rapid, I lick my lips, knowing that the anticipation of tasting him will overcome me if I don’t have him in my mouth soon. I rise on my knees, and meeting his stare, I start to unbuckle his belt. Pulling it off of his jeans completely, I lay it on the bed. Then I unzip his pants and lower them. He lets them fall to the floor, then steps out, one leg at a time. All the while never taking his eyes off of mine.
I reach both my hands into his underwear, sliding them down until he springs free. The sight of his rock-hard penis already has me panting. I let out a moan and bite my lower lip. Bringing him down on the bed, I ask him to stay seated on the edge of it. I get on the floor, kneeling in front of him between his legs.
I look up at his eyes once again, then both of my hands reach around to dig into his ass. Taking him in my mouth, I hear the humming sounds coming from my husband.
Slowly pulling him in deeper each time, enticing him more and more, I lick and suck him harder and harder. The feel of his cock trembling makes my own body tingle with want, with pleasure. He brings his hands and places them on my head. Growling sounds have replaced the humming ones.
He is the hunter and I am the prey. I’ll be his for the taking, that is, after I take him. He’s in millions of women’s dreams, but only in my bed. I’ve always told Aiden that my heart, mind, soul, and body belong only to him. Now the world will also know that he belongs to me, only me.
The crown of his cock is at the back of my throat and I am way beyond excited at the way I’m in control right now.
His hands are tangled in my hair, his growling and moans increasing, the muscles in his legs and ass tightening up. Bringing one hand up to hold his cock, I pull it out of my mouth and lick the crown, swirling my tongue around again and again.
“Fuck, baby.”
I look up to see him throw his head back as he shoots the satin liquid into my mouth. I drink most of it, but let some fall on my breasts. The feeling of the hot semen is so enchanting. I have done things with Aiden that I would never have dared to do or even thought of before.
The throbbing of his dick in my hand excites me more. I take him back in my mouth to finish the job, sucking the last drops from him. With my tongue, I clean off any final liquid.
He reaches for me and pulls me on the bed.
We work our bodies up to the headboard. Lowering himself, he takes my mouth with his. I open up and let him in, our tongues doing the dance of love that is reserved only for us. With his hands on each side of my head, he rises up, smiling. “My turn.”
He works his way down my body, all the while giving me open-mouthed kisses. I sigh as he nibbles and grazes his teeth on my skin. He spreads my legs, at the entrance of my hypnotic and intoxicating core. I get chills from head to toe thinking about the moment he told me how the day he saw me for the first time in the office, he knew I was the one for him. When he tasted me for the first time, I intoxicated him. I had him completely hypnotized.
Knowing that my body has that much power over him is exhilarating. It’s also the kind of power Aiden has over me. As he opens my folds and his tongue sweeps in, my nipples become hard. A moan escapes from my lips. I look down, whisper his name, “Aiden.”
Bringing his eyes up to watch the reaction on my face, he smiles. He blows warm kisses, then sucks on me. Putting my legs on his shoulders, he wraps his arms around my thighs. His fingers completely open my folds. His tongue swoops in as deep as he can take it. He gently bites down on my clitoris, letting his teeth graze it. In a flash, before I know it, he kneels and flips me over to my stomach. Lifting my ass in the air, he once more opens my legs and continues to suck on my clit, licking and working me into oblivion.
My body is trembling with pleasure. I bite into the pillow as my world starts to spin. Everything is becoming a white blur. And then I explode. I throw my head back before biting again into the pillow. I can’t contain the sound of ecstasy escaping my lips. Aiden climbs up my body while I am still on my stomach, the orgasm consuming my body in an ongoing fire. I can feel his heart racing against my shoulder blades. Neither one of us says a word for a few minutes.
“Baby, I want all of you tonight.”
I turn my head to the side to see him. “You have all of me.”
Patting me on the ass, he says, “I want all of you. I need to be connected to you in every way tonight.”
“I want that too.”
Getting on his knees, he brings my ass up, positioning himself between my legs. With one hand he starts stroking my pussy, creating an electrifying sensation again. A throbbing pulse works its way throughout my body.
Wrapping one arm around my waist, with the other he slowly begins to slide himself in. I take a deep breath in and exhale it, trying to relax myself. The crown is in, but the pain is sharp. Letting me adjust, he doesn’t move.
Aiden kisses my back. “I love you so much, Alexis.”
As the pain disappears and I become at ease, he enters as gently as he can, carefully, until he is completely in me. Just like before, he stills himself, letting me get used to the feeling.
My heart rate increases as he strokes me, kissing my back. I start to move against him, signaling that I am ready. Placing both hands on my hips, he starts to glide in and out. Softly at first. Then, after a little while, moving with more eagerness. The pleasure of having him in me takes over my body, takes over my mind. The pain is replaced by joy. I meet his thrusts with my own. Picking up the rhythm, the only sound is that of our bodies slamming into each other.
His thighs tensing up, just as my own are, tell me we are both on the verge of spilling into each other. Chills travel up my back, my nipples harden. Moans escape from the both of us. The room is spinning as I come undone.
We let ourselves collapse onto the bed. Aiden has his eyes closed, with his hands on his chest and stomach. We are both drenched in sweat. The sheets are soaked from it and semen.
Not moving or saying a word while we catch our breaths, lying there with our limbs feeling heavy, I feel as if I have been unchained. As if I have tasted life in a different way and there is no going back for me now. After a few more minutes, he opens his eyes and smiles. “You are my world, Alexis. I love you.”
“Ti amo, Aiden.” Still neither one of us moves. “I could lie here looking at you for the rest of my life.”
“Well, as tempting as that is, I’m sure that your family would start to wonder where we were.”
“Come on, Mrs. Steffan. We need a shower, then we need to take these sheets off the bed.”
We wash each other’s hair and take turns lathering our bodies. My body feels drained, like I could sleep for a year. Once we are both dry, I slip on one of Aiden’s t-shirts. He puts on some loose-fitting sweatpants. We take the soaked sheets off the bed.
“The mattress is too wet! Even if we put on clean sheets, they would get wet too. We need to sleep somewhere else.”
“Where are we supposed to sleep?”
Laughing, he says, “Baby, there are a few other bedrooms still unoccupied.”
Quietly we make our way into one of the guest rooms. Crawling into bed, we curl up with each other. The last words I hear are “I love you” before I fall into a deep sleep.
***
“Lexie, come back to us, baby sister. We all need you.”
“Erik, is that you? Why do you want me to die? I’m happy. I finally found the kind of man Daddy would tell me about, the kind of man who would always protect me. I have the kind of love that Mom and Dad shared.”
I wake up to the feeling of someone stroking my arm and hand. Turning to look at Aiden, I see he is fast asleep.
Suddenly the sharp, shooting pain is in my head, just like before. I rush to the bathroom as quietly as possible, trying not to wake him.
I kneel in front of the toilet and throw up. The pain is intense. I slide down with my hands on my head. Drops of blood fall on the floor. I touch my nose, and my fingers come away covered in blood. I grab toilet paper so I won’t stain a towel, then place my head between my legs so the bleeding will stop. I want to cry out as the pain grips me.
Once the bleeding has stopped, I crawl back into bed. Tears roll down my cheeks from the pain and from knowing that Erik and my family want me to join them in heaven.
Why would they want me to give up on life, on the happiness I have found? Am I supposed to kill myself? What is going on? These dreams seem so real. I can actually feel them touching me. Maybe this is their way of telling me that I am dying.
Looking up at the ceiling, I silently pray. Please, God, I don’t want to die. I need Aiden and he needs me. He would go into a very dark place if he lost me.
I go back into the bathroom and look in the medicine cabinet to see if there is anything for pain. Finding some ibuprofen pills, I quickly take them. Then I slip back into bed and lie in pain until I am able to fall asleep.