Chapter Seven
Lying in bed, unable to sleep, Olivia was aware the moment she heard sounds coming from the next room. She froze, barely breathing, to listen. The curtains on the window were open, letting in the glow of moonlight. She looked toward the connecting door and the handle that had been mysteriously fixed in her absence, watching as it turned.
Fear and exhilaration had her heart beating rapidly in her chest, the opposite emotions going to war with one another. She stayed perfectly still as Nico, in shadow and almost seeming larger than life, filled the doorway as the door slowly opened. He stood, unmoving, for a full minute, just long enough for her heartbeat to return to normal before he took a step forward, causing it to pound anew.
She tried to regulate her breathing, hoping he would think she was asleep. What she couldn't control was the crazy dip her stomach took with each step he made toward the bed.
"I know you're not asleep. I can see the pulse hammering in your neck and smell your anxiety." The bed dipped as he sat on its edge.
Figuring it was pointless to play possum, she said, "I didn't know anxiety had a smell."
He chuckled and turned toward her, but she couldn't read his expression with his large frame blocking the incoming moonlight and casting his face in shadows. "It does. I've smelled it enough times to know."
She inched the covers higher, covering herself to her shoulders. "And were you the cause of that anxiety you smelled?"
He tugged the covers back down exposing her t-shirt covered breasts. "Some, but not all."
If possible, her heartbeat increased when his hand landed on her hip over the blanket.
"But tell me, why so much anxiety from you?"
Olivia licked her lips, her mouth suddenly dry. "I... um... don't know what you want from me."
He leaned over her, his face mere inches from hers, so close she felt his breath against her lips as he spoke. "I think you do."
His lips were on hers before she could respond, his tongue sliding past her lips. Her gasp was muffled by his complete invasion. Her head was spinning with dueling emotions. On the one hand, she wanted to enjoy and savor her very first kiss. On the other, she knew a kiss wasn't all that Nico had in mind. And as confident as she would like to pretend herself to be, deep down she was terrified.
Her odorous anxiety grew. While she knew this had to happen, it just seemed to be happening so fast. She wasn't sure what she'd expected, certainly not candy and flowers, but somewhere in the back of her mind she had hoped maybe she'd at least have a little time to get to know him better.
The reality of the situation sat like a weight on her chest, making it hard to breathe. She was giving herself to Nico in exchange for her mother's life. They weren't in a romance movie or a fairy tale with a happily ever after—it was real life, her life, and it seemed the outcome she was destined to have. One way or another, for her mom's safety, she'd be giving up her virginity to a man that didn't love her. Did it really matter who that man was? Nico or Carmine?
She tried to relax her stiff muscles not only afraid of the consequences if she didn't make Nico happy but also wanting to fully fulfill her end of the agreement. She tangled her fingers in his hair and parted her legs as far as his body and the blankets would allow. His growl of approval rang in her ears, easing more of her tension as it seemed she'd done something right.
She lost his mouth, and it only took him seconds to have the covers ripped from her and her clothes off. She'd never felt more exposed, but before she had time to become embarrassed, his body covered hers, and she got his mouth back.
If she let herself relax, she found his kisses were nice. She liked the smooth glide of his tongue as it caressed along hers, and when his lips captured her bottom one, sucking it into his mouth and grazing it with his teeth. But then he would do something unexpected—his hands squeezing her breasts or his thigh parting her legs—and her anxiety would spike, diminishing all the good feelings.
She'd thought she'd masked it well, the tiny jolts of nervousness and gasps of surprise, behind moans and breathy sighs, mimicking the sounds she'd heard the women at home make while entertaining the men. And it seemed to be working, Nico appeared oblivious of her jumpy behavior and lack of finesse.
She heard the sound of a wrapper, and a moment later he had his hands on her thighs, spreading her legs wide. Instant panic and fear of the unknown had her whole body tensing. He surged inside her, and pain, like she'd never felt before, ripped through her body. Her head tipped back, a scream lodged in her throat, choking her and stealing her breath.
It was only after she'd gotten her breath back that she noticed Nico had gone completely still and stared at her with a mixture of shock and anger coating his face.
* * * * *
What the fuck? Nico's body stiffened at the realization of what had just happened. He cupped Olivia's face. Her eyes were shiny with tears and something squeezed in his chest. Anger quickly replaced his surprise, and he demanded, "Why didn't you say something?"
He saw her flinch. Fuck, he hated when she did that. He took a deep breath and repeated in a calmer tone, "You should have told me you'd never been touched."
She shrugged and the tears that had been threatening to spill made a path down her temples.
He captured them with his thumbs, sweeping them away. He tried again. "Why didn't you tell me you were a virgin?"
Her cheeks turned a becoming shade of rose, and then in a low voice, she asked, "Would it have mattered?"
Still planted deep inside her, her heat surrounding him and feeling fucking fantastic, he knew the answer was no. "If you're asking would it have stopped me from fucking you, then no, it wouldn't have mattered. But knowing, I would have done things differently, taken more care. I'm not a monster, piccola, I don't wish to hurt you. Now, I'm not used to repeating myself and find I don't particularly enjoy it, so I'll ask one more time and don't make me do it again. Why didn't you say something?"
Her eyes had grown wide during his little speech, but her tears had stopped, so he figured his bite of anger served some good purpose.
She swallowed, shaking her head, silently telling him she wasn't purposely ignoring him just taking a moment before she spoke. "I didn't know it would hurt so much. No one ever..." She shook her head, again as if rethinking what she wanted to say. "I didn't know you'd be able to tell. I didn't want you to change your mind and maybe send my mom away if you knew."
He frowned looking down at her. While he was surprised she was a virgin, he wasn't repulsed by the idea. In fact, some secret part of him relished the idea he'd been the only one to have her. An unfamiliar possessiveness washed through him along with an unexpected feeling of tenderness. Two emotions he'd never felt toward any woman.
He shook those feelings aside as disbelief soon set in. "How is that even possible?" The thought of a twenty-two-year-old virgin was unfathomable to him, especially given the environment he'd taken her from.
She tried to shrug in the limited space he afforded her. "My mom protected me. At least before she became sick."
"And after?"
"Carmine."
Although the name had been spoken softly, that didn't stop the boil of anger that surged through him. He knew his anger was misplaced as he'd already known Carmine had a claim on her. Hell, Nico had even assumed he'd been fucking her. Why the anger came to him now, he didn't know. He also wasn't sure he liked it. Anger meant he had feelings for the woman lying beneath him. And those he could not have. Feelings got people like him killed.
They had a deal, nothing more. He'd collected her mom for her, and he'd get to fuck her until she was no longer of use to him. Then he'd send them back to Carmine wrapped in a neat red ribbon.
Simple.
But looking down at her beautiful face, it suddenly didn't seem so simple. Not that he would let that stop him from giving her up when the time came. He'd been called heartless one too many times for him not to believe it was true. But he wasn't heartless enough not to fix what he'd just done. He couldn't undo the damage, but he could make it better for her.
Thinking she was one of Carmine's side pieces, he hadn't been gentle nor had he thought of Olivia's pleasure. That's not the way things usually worked, and they were both supposed to know the score. But he'd miscalculated, or more specifically, been misinformed. And although Olivia might have known the role she was supposed to play when they started this, he had an unnatural urge to change that role—at least for the night. He wanted her first time to be special. He wasn't sure where the urge had come from, but he wasn't going to over analyze it. He could go back to being indifferent come morning.
Sliding his nose along the soft line of her jaw, he drew in her scent until his lips found her ear. He sucked the lobe between his lips, his tongue playing with the bit of flesh. "Do you have any idea how beautiful you are?" He felt her shiver as his warm breath grazed her ear. "So fucking beautiful."
His hand trailed over her shoulder, down her chest to her breast, cupping it. Her tits were the perfect size, a little more than a handful, and he kneaded it, enjoying its fullness. His lips followed his hand, skimming down the length of her neck to the generous globe he squeezed.
He captured a nipple between his teeth, nipping and sucking at the sensitive peak until he felt her squirming beneath him. "It's okay to enjoy it, piccola."
She replied by squeezing his shoulders, her fingers digging into his flesh. His cock twitched, and it took all his control not to move inside the tight walls of her pussy.
He stayed at her breasts, taking turns worshiping them with his teeth, his lips, and his tongue, sucking as much of them into his mouth as he could, his hands containing the rest. Her hips started to move, grinding herself against his pelvis. He forced his own hips to stay still, letting her get used to his invasion.
A long breathy moan escaped her throat, and he stilled, looking at her.
She blinked, and her lips parted as she licked them. "What?" She barely whispered her question, but he heard her in the quiet of the room.
"Tell me, piccola, those breathy noises you made before, were they real, or were they for show?"
The blush and way she refused to meet his eyes, instead looking in the vicinity of his chin, were answer enough.
"Look at me." He continued when he had her eyes. "And just now?"
If possible, her cheeks became redder. She licked her lips again. "Um... just now was real."
He slid up her body until their faces were level. "I don't tolerate lies. I always want honesty between us. That includes your orgasms. There will be no faking. Understood?"
She gave him a slight nod, and he stared at her a long moment, detecting the truth before he said, "Good." He pulled out of her and slid down her body until his face was level with her pussy. "Tell me, piccola, have you ever had an orgasm?"
Her blush returned full force. She opened her mouth and took a breath to speak, but before she could say anything, he cautioned, "Remember, I only want the truth."
She grimaced and her cute button nose scrunched before she whispered, "Yes."
His jaw tightened, and he forced himself to relax. "And was that orgasm given to you, or did you give it to yourself?"
It felt like forever until she answered him. "Myself."
His tensed muscles relaxed at her answer. He wasn't sure why, but the thought that someone else had touched her, made her feel good, had him seeing red. And even though she would be only his for a short while, he got a sick pleasure at being her first. For everything. "Where did you touch yourself? Show me."
Diverting her eyes, she shook her head. "I can't."
She was shy. It was refreshing actually. All the women he'd ever been with had already come to him jaded. The circle they ran in did not lead to an easy life. How Olivia had been shielded from all that was a mystery.
He circled a finger around her navel, down the line of her abdomen, through her soft downy curls until he paused at her clit. "Was it here?" He gave it a swirl before sliding through her folds. "Or here?" With one finger, he slowly entered her, curving his finger up, being sure to find the perfect spot to rub.
He dropped his head, his lips mere centimeters from her clit. "Answer me, piccola." He used his tongue to circle the tiny nub.
Her hips jumped off the bed, and she moaned, "Oh, God."
Nico chuckled. "Close, sweetheart. I'll show you heaven but remember it's hell that I come from."
He got busy after that. His sole purpose to make her come. His mouth came down, sucking on her clit, tonguing the little nub while his finger made a rhythm, moving in and out. He knew she was getting close. Her squirming increased, and her breathing turned into shallow pants. His mouth was all over her pussy. Sucking at her lips, his tongue licking hungrily through her folds while his teeth nipped at her sensitive flesh.
And then she was coming. He felt her walls clamping his finger in what felt like an endless spasm, while her thighs gripped his head. He felt a perverse pleasure as she screamed his name, knowing she'd never cried out another's.
He kissed the inside of her thigh and over her stomach as she lay limp, catching her breath. He bypassed her tits, even though they were calling to him, instead, giving her a soft kiss on the lips.
That seemed to startle her, her body gave a small jerk, and her eyes flew open. Her hair was a mess, haloing her head, and her cheeks had a rosy glow. "So fucking beautiful." He hadn't meant to say that out loud, the words slipping from his mouth.
Her eyes grew a bit wider, and she gave him a small smile. A smile he felt in his chest, and he knew he was fucked.