Marriage by Bravery - Book 3

Chapter Nine

Luca

Morning had long since arrived and I had been awake for at least an hour but I chose to remain still and silent, feigning sleep. It was pathetic but I knew the minute she saw my eyes open even slightly, she would be firing questions at me, a mile per minute. Frankly, I really wasn't ready to be interrogated and even if she found out about my ploy, I would honestly be able to say that I just wanted to enjoy the comfortable warmth of her body. The nights I had spent away from her left me in a constant state of depravity, so she could hardly blame me for wanting to soak up as much of her essence as possible. Not to mention the soft,yet firm feel of her body against mine. The way her small, pert breasts were pressed flat against my side. Her right leg was thrown carelessly over both of mine, allowing me to feel heat emanating from the center of her womanhood. My heart was now racing, which made it incredibly difficult to breathe in a steady pattern. My wayward, lustful thoughts had seemingly caused all of my blood to rush into my hardening member.

"You know, I better be the reason you're getting that while you pretend to sleep, " Kimberly said.

I had once again been betrayed by my body and it's insane attraction to the beautiful, little woman that lay partially strewn across my chest.

"Why have you only just called my bluff?" I asked, my voice cracking from the lack of use.

"I figured if you were playing possum you probably had a good enough reason to do it," she said as she propped her head on her hand, so we were eye to eye.

I met her questioning gaze and by some impulse beyond my control I cupped her face, suddenly needing to feel her skin beneath my hands. She shuffled closer to me, bringing us face to face. There was no doubt in my mind about what needed to happen, we were finally done waiting. Within seconds our lips had merged in a heated battle of wills. The silence of the morning was now filled with the sounds of hastily drawn breaths and the delicate smack of our lips as they parted only to join once more. Her hands restlessly roamed my bare chest, seeking something neither of us could identify. I ran my hands down to her hips and then around to cup her bottom, pulling her fully on top of me. She groaned at the feeling of my erection locked between us and pushing against her lower abdomen. She broke the kiss and sat up, straddling my hips. I could now feel her moist heat through the fabric of our clothing, directly above my still hardening member. The mere thought of how close I was to her slick center left me throbbing painfully. I flipped her onto her back, needing to be in a position of control to help me slow myself down. I panted heavily, both physically and mentally exhausted from the effort it took to keep myself from ripping away our clothing and driving into her. Needing to calm down a bit, I scoured my brain for things to distract myself.

Taxes, kittens, fire hydrant, Abruzzo...crap!

Unfortunately, the thoughts that came to the fore were less than pleasant and resulted in me feeling like I had gotten a bucket of ice cold water poured over my head. I growling with frustration, I dropped my head between her breasts. Her racing heart was enough to tell me she had wanted this moment just as much as I had and hadn't yet calmed down. I silently stayed in that position until her heartbeat evened out. She shifted and began brushing my hair away from my face, signaling that she was ready to hear what obviously needed to be said.

"Things aren't going over well with the Abruzzo family," I began.

"Go on,"she prompted.

"I had been making progress with getting her father to back down and accept a pay off, but Anabel is causing trouble," I sighed, "news of our separation has reached the community and she is now the subject of a great deal of gossip, which has left her feeling quite embarrassed and as a result she is stoking further ill feelings within the family and our allies."

"So basically she's causing a scene because getting dumped is making her look bad?" Kim asked, quite obviously annoyed, "so she'd rather a marry a man she doesn't love and be miserable forever than endure momentary unpopularity...what is wrong with you people?!"

I knew she was upset so I decided not to take offense at her generalization. The exact thought had crossed my mind many times in the past few days, we were on the verge of a war because of one woman's ego. Although I'm sure that had been the cause of many wars in the past, one would hardly expect that kind of selfish behavior to have a place in a modern world, with so many supposedly educated people. I sighed and pulled her into my chest, she was still grumbling but she was much calmer now. I had know idea how, but I knew I needed to make this right and quickly too. Kim deserved her happy ending, after all she had put up with me and blindness for so long. She pulled me back from a very dark future with a clearly twisted woman. Once I resolved all this I knew I would have to make some serious changes to how things operated in the family, though not immediately.

I wanted some peace to enjoy my relationship before I went and started a whole new war. I had no doubt that Kim would share similar sentiments.

"Do not worry my love, I will fix this." I reassured her, making that vow to not only her but my self as well.