“I think that’s a great idea,” Benoit smiled at her warmly. He wrapped his arms around her, kissing her soft mouth. “Now, Ms. Holt, why don’t you show me around this lovely city?”
Ori was frustrated, bored, and felt out of place in Alex’s huge Vermont mansion. Even Maceo’s sumptuous Venetian apartment couldn’t hold a candle to it, but for some reason, Ori couldn’t settle. It lacked something. Warmth. Whereas Maceo’s apartment had bookshelves stuffed with books, expensive but comfortable couches, and a kitchen designed to be the heart of the house, Alex’s home was a study in minimalism. Ori had been surprised. Alex seemed far too friendly a man to have a home like this. She wondered what Viola had made of it.
Outside, winter had set in, and Ori shivered as she watched the snow pile up. She missed Maceo so much that it was like a physical pain in her chest. They spoke every day on the phone, but when she went to sleep at night, the bed seemed huge and cold without him beside her.
Alex was kind and attentive, but Ori felt slightly awkward around him. There were photographs of Viola everywhere, and Ori saw her own resemblance to the dead woman even more keenly now, living in her home. She wondered if Alex was more aware of it; she would catch him staring at her as if he had seen a ghost sometimes, before turning away, apologizing.
You poor man,she thought now.I cannot imagine how I would feel if anything happened to Maceo.Desperate to distract herself, she spent time talking on the phone to Lucia at the gallery back in Venice and burying herself in the work Lucia emailed to her.
Kate Garcia, Maceo’s lawyer, had come up to interview Ori and had brought Lisander. Ori had been amused by the pair’s bickering as Kate grilled Ori on Maceo’s personality and Lisander rolled his eyes constantly. As the pair were leaving to go back to New York, Ori had nudged Lisander. “She’s lovely,” she had whispered, but Lisander gave her a mockscowl.
“She’s a child...” But Ori could see that he liked the young lawyer.
At midnight, Ori closed her laptop and padded down to the kitchen to get some milk. The house rang with silence, and she wondered where Alex was. She didn’t want to intrude on his privacy by asking. She wandered through the darkened house. She had been surprised that Alex didn’t have a huge staff for this enormous mansion. His chef arrived in the morning and stayed all day, but apart from a couple of cleaning staff, the house was empty. As Ori made for the stairs again, she glanced over at the front door. Deadbolt and locks. This place wasn’t a home; it was a fortress.
She went to bed and tugged the comforter around her. Sleep was eluding her, so she closed her eyes and conjured up a memory: She and Maceo working late at the gallery, discussing a new exhibition they had planned for the following spring. She loved that, despite his insatiable appetite for her sexually, he also appreciated her intelligence and work ethic and didn’t dismiss her ideas. He respected her. She told him as much that night, and he grinned at her.
“Of course, mio caro. I didn’t just want you for your body, although now that you mention it, you are looking very fine tonight.”
Ori chuckled. “After being at work all day?”
Maceo rounded the table and studied her. The pale pink summer dress she was wearing looked warm against her olive skin; her dark eyes shone at him. He pushed her hair back over her shoulders and trailed his fingers along her throat. “Especially,” he murmured, lowering his lips to hers, “after being at work all day.” He slid his fingers under the thin straps of the dress and pulled them down her shoulders.
Ori sank into his kiss, feeling him pop the catch on her bra and take her full breasts in his hands. Her dress slithered off her body to the floor, and Maceo gently laid her on his desk, grinning down at her as he stripped off his clothes.
“I knew I liked this desk for a reason,” he said, and Ori laughed, excited, her heart pounding as she opened her arms to him. He ripped her panties from her in one sharp tug, and buried his face in her sex, nipping at her clit with his teeth, lashing his tongue around it until Ori was shivering with pleasure. After making her come twice, he stood, and she saw his cock, long, thick, up against his belly and she edged forward to take it in her mouth. Her hands massaged his balls and fisted the root of him as her tongue swept across the wide crest of his cock and Maceo groaned her name. She loved having this power over him, her fingernails now digging into his buttocks as she sucked him.
“I want to come on your skin … lay back for me, bella …”
She did, and he came, shooting creamy white cum onto her belly before pressing her legs apart and thrusting deep into her soaking wet cunt. Ori clamped her legs around his hips as his cock plowed deep inside her, the girth of him filling her entirely. She would never stop marveling about how well their bodies fit together. Her breasts, pillowy and plump, pressed against his hard chest, her fingers tangled in his brown curls. Their gazes—dark hazel, light green—locked and never slid away as they fucked each other.
“I love you so much,” Ori whispered, which made Maceo thrust even harder until she was screaming his name. They tumbled to the floor where Maceo took her again, flipping her onto her stomach to take her from behind. Ori had never felt as wonderfully sensual as when she was naked and vulnerable in his arms. She had complete trust in him, both with her body and her heart.
When finally, exhausted, they caught their breath. Maceo lay on top of her, smoothing her damp hair away from her face. “You are exquisite,” he said, nuzzling his nose against hers. “Our children will be gorgeous.”
Ori chuckled. “Seriously, Maceo, I’ve never known anyone with so much confidence.”
Maceo grinned, shrugging unrepentantly. “I know I’m a good-looking man; I’ve cashed in on it many times.” He grinned, but she winced. “Hey, I meant as a business tool.”
Ori took a deep breath in. “Sorry. I’m not a crazy jealous person, I promise. But I hear things.”
“From?”
She hesitated then said in a small voice, “Cassie.”
Maceo rolled his eyes. “Cassie likes to exaggerate for reasons of her own.”
Ori couldn’t look at him. “Were you and her ever …?”
Maceo shrugged. “She really isn’t my type.”
Ori grinned then. “So how many women have you slept with?”
“I honestly didn’t count,” he said, rolling off her, and for a moment she wondered if she had upset him. His face was neutral, though. “Ori, the only thing that matters is how many I’ve slept with since I met you and that’s one. You. You are my life, my love. There will never be anyone else.”
Ori’s eyes filled with tears and she got choked up. “Oh, Maceo.”
Maceo pulled her on top of him. “Now, be a good girl and straddle me. I want to play a game.”
