Tempted and Taken, page 28
He played with her nipples as her pleas grew louder, more desperate.
Finally, he released her and rose, rapidly stripping her out of her clothing before unzipping his own jeans. She only caught a glimpse of his thick cock, and then he did exactly as he’d suggested, twisting her away from him, bending her over the couch.
She felt his fingers slide along her slit—just once—testing her, making sure she was wet, and then he was there, driving inside her with a force that pushed her forward until her face was pressed against the back of the couch.
Matt took her like a man possessed, every thrust filling her, stretching her. She came fast, but Matt ignored it, pounding and pounding until her first orgasm became a second, and then, God help her, a third.
That was the climax that claimed him, and he grunted, calling out her name, reminding her over and over that she was his. “Mine” was quickly becoming one of her all-time favorite words. After so many lonely years, the idea of belonging to someone was potent, powerful, wonderful.
Liza had only just come back to earth when he wrapped his arms around her waist, juggling her until he could lift her in his arms.
“Matt,” she said as he headed toward the stairs. She was completely naked, while he was still fully dressed, only his jeans hanging open. “I can walk.”
“And I can carry you.”
When they reached the top, he took her straight to his bedroom, placing her in the center of the mattress.
“Lay on your back,” he demanded in that dominant tone she found completely irresistible. “Put your hands on the pillow by your head. Surrender position.”
As she lay there, Matt gave her a show of her own, quickly and efficiently undressing at the foot of the bed. His dick was already growing hard again.
“That’s some impressive recovery time,” she joked.
Matt winked at her, the playfulness there then gone, when his expression morphed to one of his power looks.
She shivered as he walked to the side of the bed. Reaching for the post, he withdrew the strap he had tucked there. He’d left them attached to the bed during her second night at the penthouse, declaring it pointless to take them off and on, considering his intentions to tie her up frequently.
Liza had picked a half-hearted fight about it, the crux of her argument being “what would the housekeeper say?”
He hadn’t been swayed, and she decided fairly quickly it was a stupid fight because she definitely wanted bondage to be a regular occurrence in their sexual play.
Matt secured one hand to the bedpost, then crossed to the other side, doing the same. Standing next to the bed, he took his time, perusing her naked body, letting his gaze glide over every inch until she began to squirm, not with embarrassment but with need.
He hadn’t tied her legs, so Liza started to close her thighs, quickly realizing Matt had been waiting for just that thing. He’d set the trap and she fell right into it.
Climbing onto the bed, he knelt between her legs, his hand slapping her pussy three times as she gasped, then groaned.
“Behave,” he said, that word a serious trigger for her hormones.
Every time he uttered it, every part of her body lit up like a Christmas tree. “Please,” she whispered, aware it was wasted breath. This game had only just begun.
Liza soon lost track of time and orgasms as Matt drove her to the peak over and over again with his fingers, his tongue. She was going to have beard burns on her nipples and her inner thighs, but she was beyond caring at this point.
Lifting himself above her, he kissed her deeply, and she tasted their combined flavors on his tongue.
She closed her eyes in utter bliss as his cock—finally—slid back inside.
“Open your eyes, Liza. Look at me.”
She did as he said, their gazes locked as he made slow, beautiful love to her.
Liza lost focus as tears filled her eyes, her happiness so huge it couldn’t be contained.
This time, the two of them came together, Matt clasping her face in his hands, placing soft kisses on her lips, her chin, her nose. “You are so beautiful,” he whispered.
As their orgasms began to fade, Matt reached above her head to untie her. Gently massaging her shoulders, he asked if she was okay.
“Better than okay,” she whispered.
Matt dropped to her side, gripping her waist to turn her until they were facing each other. “Make a doctor’s appointment. Take out that damn IUD.”
Liza laughed. “Jesus, Matt. Don’t you think we should wait a few minutes to let the dust settle on the marriage proposal?”
He shook his head. “No. I don’t need anything to settle. I told you I couldn’t wait and I meant it. I want my wedding ring on your finger and my baby inside you.”
Liza recalled the argument about the straps on the bed and realized picking this fight would be just as pointless. She wanted the exact same thing. “I’ll call in the morning.”
Matt’s eyes widened in surprise. Clearly, he’d been expecting her to put up more resistance.
She was rewarded when he kissed her again, this one so reverent, she felt as if she was made of precious glass. How could the same man evoke so many different emotions from something as simple as a kiss?
They lay there for nearly half an hour, neither of them talking. They just looked at each other, grinning like a couple of goofy, lovestruck kids.
Liza would have expected to be exhausted after so many orgasms, but Matt had lit a bonfire inside her and the thing appeared to have enough fuel to rage until dawn.
When Matt got out of bed and reached out for her hand, she took it, following him as he led her to the bathroom. And that was when she realized the kid in the candy store was about to get every damn thing he wanted.
Matt perched on the edge of the tub, running the water, then he found a lighter and lit all of those unused candles. Once the huge tub was filled, he stepped in and sat down, crooking his finger for her to join him.
She recalled his plan, so she joined him eagerly. Too eagerly.
Jesus, it was like the last fifty-seven orgasms had never happened.
Liza straddled his hips, impressed once more by the fact his dick was just as thick and hard as it had been when he took her over the couch downstairs.
She positioned him at her opening, sliding down slowly, and not stopping until every inch of him was inside her.
Once there, Matt gripped her waist, holding her still while he gave her a slow, sensual kiss that had her inner muscles clenching with need.
When the kiss ended, Liza began to ride him. At first, their motions were gentle, easy, two people taking their time because suddenly they had it. A lifetime of it.
That rhythm changed when Matt reached between them, his fingers stroking her clit.
Applying the perfect amount of pressure, he teased and tempted her to move faster, harder, until she felt like a cowgirl riding on a runaway horse without any reins.
Matt was with her stroke for stroke, tilting and lifting his hips on each return, the head of his dick stroking her G-spot until she reached the edge of the cliff and leapt off.
He came with her, the two of them gasping for air as Liza slumped forward, her head resting in the crook of his shoulder, his softening dick still tucked inside her.
Neither of them spoke for a long time until Liza finally found the strength to lift her head. Glancing around, she realized there was as much water on the floor as in the tub, and she giggled.
“That was quite a list,” she murmured.
He chuckled. “That was just the beginning, Ms. Moretti, my naughty, sexy kitten. Believe me when I say there’s a lot more where that came from.”
“I’d be down for more.”
Matt cupped her cheek with one hand, his expression suddenly serious. “Since the day I first saw you, you’ve tempted me to the brink of insanity.”
Liza leaned forward and kissed him. “Take me.”
Epilogue
Conor sat alone in the restaurant, marveling at the efficiency of the Moretti family. He had to hand it to them, when they made a mess, they cleaned it up. He’d watched them reorganizing the tables and chairs this evening, shifting and moving everything, and all he could envision was his restaurant manager showing up tomorrow morning and suffering a coronary over having to put it all back to rights.
Looking around, he couldn’t tell they’d moved a single chair.
The last of the partiers—Gage, Penny, Toby, and Rich—had left a few minutes earlier. Conor wasn’t sure why he hadn’t followed them out and locked the door behind him. It made more sense to go home and kick back on his comfy recliner rather than sit at this table.
Regardless, he didn’t move. Couldn’t find the energy.
Tonight had been wonderful. Gage was going to be a father, and if that slow dance Matt and Liza shared was any indication, his big brother was on his way to his own happily ever after.
Which left him the last Russo standing.
Alone.
What else was new?
He’d always felt like the odd guy out in his family, and now, with his brothers both in love and moving on with their lives, he was once more relegated to that role.
Conor had spent his entire life as the invisible kid, and now…man. All of Dad’s attention had been focused on Matt, the oldest, his heir. Not that Conor begrudged Matt for that. Shit. If anything, Matt had taken one for the team as far as Conor was concerned.
And while Conor had been close to their mom, there was no denying she’d preferred Gage. Why wouldn’t she? They had a million things in common, and Gage had followed her around like she hung the moon. Gage had also been a lot better at dealing with Mom’s dark days. Whenever she went into a depression, remaining in bed for days at a time, Gage was the one who would sit with her, talk to her, try to draw her back out of the darkness.
During those times, Conor withdrew to his room because seeing her like that scared him. He’d always been prone to panic attacks and seeing Mom so lost and sad was a trigger. So, most days, he avoided her and the rest of his family, losing himself in his books. Fiction had been his escape from reality ever since he’d graduated to chapter books in first grade. Books were his way of disappearing from his real life when things felt too hard or too frightening.
He startled briefly when he heard a knock at the door. Glancing up, he was surprised to find Luca Moretti waving from the front window.
Shit.
While he was happy for his brothers, their newfound happiness meant Conor was more frequently subjected to things he’d prefer to forget.
Or maybe just one thing.
Luca.
Conor forced himself to rise, crossing the restaurant to unlock the door. “Hey. Is everything alright?”
Luca nodded. “Yeah. I’m glad I caught you. I was hoping someone would still be around. I think I left my phone here.”
“Oh.” Conor gestured for Luca to come in.
“Thanks.” Luca headed to the booth where he and his twin brother, Gio, along with Gio’s partners, Keeley and Rafe, had been sitting earlier.
Luca and Gio were a year older than Conor, so they’d all attended the same elementary school when they were kids, before Frank Moretti had moved his family to Baltimore. Frank moved back to Philadelphia with his five kids after his wife died, when the twins were freshmen in high school. However, their paths and Conor’s didn’t cross again until a year later, when Conor moved from middle to high school.
Unlike their brothers, Matt and Tony, Conor and the twins hadn’t picked up the stupid feud that had been raging between their families for years.
Quite the opposite.
Conor had been just fifteen years old when he’d gotten his first, honest-to-God crush. Falling head over ass.
For a guy.
Luca Moretti.
Jesus, what the hell would his father have said if he’d come out not only as gay but in love with a Moretti?
Mercifully, that was a conversation Conor never had to have. Dad had been dead for nearly a decade.
It wasn’t until he was in college that Conor realized he was bisexual, not gay, when he’d fallen for a girl who lived in his dorm. He’d lost his virginity to her, and after they eventually broke up, he lost a different virginity to a guy in his business law class.
Conor’s gaze drifted to Luca’s ass as the man bent over, checking the bench seat for his missing cell.
“Found it,” he said, standing up and turning.
Conor’s eyes flew to Luca’s face, hoping the other man hadn’t caught him ogling his ass. It appeared luck wasn’t on his side when Luca gave him a look that was too knowing for Conor’s peace of mind.
Conor cleared his throat uncomfortably. “Good.”
Many, many years ago, he and Luca had been—if not friends—friendly acquaintances. Until Conor fucked it up. After that, he’d stonewalled, avoided, and ignored Luca until he graduated, and their paths no longer crossed on a daily basis.
Prior to Gage’s wedding, he hadn’t been in the same room with Luca Moretti since high school, something Conor preferred.
“It was a great party,” Luca said, attempting to make small talk.
“It was,” Conor agreed.
Luca glanced around the restaurant. “You here alone?”
Conor nodded. “Yeah. I was just about to lock up.”
Considering Luca had seen him sitting by himself through the window at the front of the restaurant, it was apparent he was lying.
“Everything look okay? Anything left to put back or clean up? I can help, if so.”
Conor shook his head. “No. I was actually just sitting here wondering what the odds were that I could hire your aunts and mom as chefs in my restaurants.”
The edges of Luca’s lips curled up, giving him a half smile, and Conor felt his dick twitch.
There was no denying the Morettis had good genes, but as far as he was concerned, Luca was the best-looking of the bunch. Which was ridiculous, considering the guy had an identical twin.
“I’d say the odds are slim, but I’ll pass on your compliment just the same. They’ll be pleased to know you liked the food.”
Silence fell and lingered a shade too long, but Conor didn’t have a clue how to break it. Social skills were way down on this list of things he could do. Rock bottom actually.
Luca glanced at the time on his phone. “Well, I guess I should head out. It was good to see you, Conor. Maybe we’ll run into each other again sometime, especially since…”
Luca had seen the same thing Conor had tonight.
“Since my brother and your cousin are dating now,” Conor finished.
“Yeah.” Luca shook his head in disbelief, as if a Moretti and a Russo relationship was completely out of the realm of possibility. “That’s going to take some getting used to.”
Luca’s words hurt, but Conor knew that wasn’t his intention, so he just nodded. Luca was as straight as they came, something Conor had resigned himself to long ago. Any lingering fantasies he harbored toward the man were destined to remain dreams and nothing more.
“Well, good night,” he finally managed to say, following Luca to the door so he could lock it once more.
“I’ll see you around,” Luca said as he took his leave.
Conor stood at the front window, watching Luca walk away down the sidewalk, sighing heavily.
Rather than heading to his own car, Conor went back to the table he’d just been occupying, dropping down into the chair again, reliving mistakes he hadn’t thought of in years.
When those thoughts got too heavy, he pushed them away, instead letting himself dream of things he was afraid he’d never find.
Love.
Marriage.
And a place where he wasn’t lost in the shadows.
Are you ready for more Italian Stallions?
Down and Dirty
Hard and Fast
Rough and Ready
Wild and Wicked
Hot and Heavy
Naughty and Nice (a holiday novella)
Tempted and Taken
Steady and Strong
Kiss and Tell
Calling all fans of Mari Carr AND Facebook! There’s a group for you. Come join Mari Carr’s Facebook group for sneak peaks, cover reveals, contests and more! Join now.
And be sure to join Mari’s mailing list to receive a FREE sexy novella, Midnight Wild.
About the Author
Virginia native Mari Carr is a New York Times and USA TODAY bestseller of contemporary romance novels. With over three million copies of her books sold, Mari was the winner of the Romance Writers of America’s Passionate Plume award for her novella, Erotic Research. She has over a hundred published works, including her popular Wild Irish and Italian Stallions books, along with the Trinity Masters series she writes with Lila Dubois.
Follow Mari:
www.maricarr.com
mari@maricarr.com
Join her newsletter so you don't miss new releases and for exclusive subscriber-only content.
Mari Carr, Tempted and Taken
