Surprised by Love (9 page)

Connie’s
beautiful mouth opened to a perfect O as she stammered, “F-for real?  You
want us to get married?  How can I believe this is what you want? 
You just lit into Marisa on my behalf—in a way guaranteed to shut her up for
good.  Turning that into a real marriage can’t possibly have been what you
had in mind?  For one thing, we don’t love each other…”

 “Maybe
not exactly at the time—but the more I thought about it, the more the idea
appealed to me.”  He turned to Connie.  “You’ve tried the marriage
for love, and look where that got you.  What I’m offering is a marriage
based on a strong friendship and passion…”

 “But
passion will calm down, and then what?”

Alessandro
grinned.  “I admit, by time we’re in our eighties, we’ll probably slow
down a bit, but by that time you’ll be so used to me—  Connie?  You
know how well we get along on a daily basis.  Don’t you think that is
quite rare?  Rarest of all, I can talk business with you.  Do you
realize that most men can never discuss their main interests with their
wives?  They have to tune them out, or make noises about liking dresses or
a new hairdo.  Connie—tell me, in general terms, does the idea appeal to
you at all, or…?”

    
Connie smiled.  “Now that I think about it, yes, the idea appeals to
me—but it seems fraught with all kinds of difficulties.  Ours is primarily
a business relationship—which I enjoy very much.  Would that have to go by
the wayside?”

Alessandro
shook his head.  “I’m not Bob-the-snob,
cara. 
I give you my
word that any promises given you before the wedding will be carried out in
every respect after we are married.”

 Quickly,
Connie said, “I know that, Alessandro.  I just wondered how we could be
married and yet remain in our business relationship.”

 “With
goodwill on both sides, anything is possible,
tesoro.”

That’s
an endearment—I think it means treasure.  Could he possibly be serious
about wanting to marry me?  I admit he is so different from
Bob-the-snob—what a perfect name that is.  Trust Alessandro to come up
with it.  But he is used to very sophisticated women—in describing them,
the gossip mags invariably all but call these women courtesans…  How could
I possibly be enough for him?  And where Bob’s infidelity only made me mad
at myself for having trusted him for a nanosecond—if Alessandro got tired of me
and started having girlfriends, I would be devastated.  I’d better tell
him…

Hesitantly,
she said, “You’ve been photographed with some fascinating, famous women. 
Often, the magazines praised these women’s sophistication, their vast
experience in the art of love…”  She bit her lip.  “Alessandro, how
can you possibly believe that a woman like me would be enough for you?  I
don’t have any of the skills these women take for granted—and you have every
right to expect.”

She
tried to look down, hiding from him the tears she felt welling up, but he had
seen.  His hand flew toward her face, but before he could caress her
cheek, Connie continued, “What if you got bored, and one day you succumbed to
some woman’s seductive skills…  I prize fidelity in a marriage—not that I
got it from Bob.  All the same, if some woman succeeded in seducing you, I
would be devastated.”

Alessandro
had been careful not to touch Connie—if she decided to marry him, it had to be
her own decision.  Now, he took her in his arms.  “Don’t you realize
that your very lack of sexual skills is what attracts me so strongly?” 
One side of his mouth curled.  “Sophistication is fine when one has a very
brief fling with a woman who makes it clear she’s available.”  He
smiled.  “Such an affair lasts a few days, maybe a week.  The moment
one’s libido is sated—which is quicker than you might believe—the fling is over.” 
He lifted her off the sofa and onto his lap, hugging her—gazing into the green
depths of her eyes, knowing that the blue of his own eyes had deepened to
darkest sapphire. 

 “
Cara—
it
would never be like that between us.  For one thing, I doubt that I’ll
ever be able to get enough of you.  You fascinate me, and surely you have
noticed over the months that an element of sexual awareness has crept into our
relationship?”

Connie
hugged him back.  “Alessandro, you’re the most alluring man I’ve ever
met.  It’s so easy for you to tempt me into marriage with you.  Are
you sure that is what
you
want?”

Alessandro
bent his head, his mouth very close to hers.  “Yes, that is what I
want.  Is it what you want?”

 “Yes—I
guess it is,” Connie whispered and gave herself up to his kiss.

Chapter 8.

Briefly,
Alessandro surrendered to the hot wave of passion for Connie that swept over
him with irresistible force, settling low in his pelvis.  Controlling
himself with an iron will, he began to kiss her, coaxing her lips apart so that
his tongue could slip into her mouth and make her feel what he felt—hot,
overwhelming, passionate desire.  Gazing into her eyes, he saw the exact
moment when Connie began to realize that this was very different from any past
experience—and she started to respond to his kisses.  He sighed into her
mouth and gave himself over to the moment, to the bliss of feeling her tongue
play with his.

The
moment she felt Alessandro’s mouth on hers, Connie couldn’t help but respond to
his passion. Yet, it seemed to her that after those first dizzying moments, he
changed his mind—taking his mouth from hers, easing his embrace.  The
explanation came quickly. 

His
voice huskier than ever before, he said, “Not here,
amore. 
We need
privacy.  Come with me.”  Sweeping her up in his arms, he walked
quickly up the elegant, curving stairway to the bedroom floor, and entered his
own room.  Realizing she needed a little time to get used to the way
things had changed between them—and were bound to change considerably more—he
whispered Italian endearments to her, finally taking her with him to one of the
two love-seats facing each other across the marble fireplace.

“Nothing
will happen that you don’t want,
tesoro,”
he whispered.

“I
know that,
c-caro
…” she whispered hesitantly.  He smiled.  She
had found an endearment for him in his own language.  Later, he would
teach her hotter ones.  Bending his head to her, he began to kiss her
again.  And knew that everywhere he kissed became an erogenous zone for
her. 

Connie
responded to his kisses, clinging to him—wanting more with this exceptional
man.  Much more.

Alessandro
seemed to sense it, because slowly he slid down with her onto the silky
softness of the hearth rug,  his body over hers, his mouth hot and
demanding.

 “Ah,
carissima
…”  Raw, passionate emotion knifed through him when he
felt her body curve against his, her small, firm breasts crushed against his
chest.

Bending
his head farther down, lifting himself away from their tight embrace, he
pressed his mouth to her left breast, licking his way up to the nipple, which
he took in his mouth, beginning to suckle. 

She
arched into him, moaning “Alessandro…”

He
couldn’t have said how they lost their clothes, but lose them they did, and
when he felt her tightening her arms around him, her satiny skin caressing his,
he knew this was what he had wanted for a long time—Connie, naked in his arms.

“Touch
me,” he breathed, passion rising hotter and higher in him when he felt her hand
curling partly around his penis.  He was amused at her little gasp—ah, she
had discovered there was more of him than she had expected.  

“This
is so good…” she whispered.

“And
about to get better,” he breathed.  

Her
silky hair swept down his body as she brought her mouth closer to his hard,
heavy length, feeling him throbbing, pulsing against her palm.

His
breathing became ragged when he felt her taking the head of his penis into her
mouth, licking and laving, before taking him deeper.  He felt her other
hand slip between his upper thighs—felt her soft, caressing fingers fondling
his sac—playing gently with the swollen testes. 

Connie
glanced up at him, her tongue teasing the tip of his penis. The musky scent of
Alessandro’s passion made her want him more than her next breath.

He
surrendered to the exquisite feelings of hot, impassioned desire she awakened
in him—realizing ruefully that he’d have to remove her hands and her hot,
hungry mouth from his testes and his penis.  He whispered, “I haven’t been
with anyone since you came into my life,
tesoro.
Please let go of me, or
it’ll be over too soon…”

She
smiled up into the amazing blue of his caressing eyes, dark with need—his usual
tranquil calm gone.  She felt him holding her tight, while he fought for
some control.

“If
you’re in a hurry, we could always take our time later?” she tempted.

“Ah,
tesoro…” 
With one easy movement, he knelt between her slender
thighs, delighted to feel her open to him instantly.  Hot, overwhelming
passion tempted him to thrust quickly into her, hard and deep—but he held
back.  Plenty of time for that when he knew that she could take all of him
at once.  This first time, he would go slowly.

Alessandro
heard Connie’s little gasp as he felt her delicate tissues stretching to take
him, then clenching tightly around him. Withdrawing almost entirely, he gave
her more of him with every thrust—more, ever more…  All thought had left
him long ago—all he could do was feel her wet, satiny heat clenching around the
throbbing, pulsing hardness of his penis—again and again. 

His
tongue tasted the sweetness of her mouth, as his body began an exotic, savage
rhythm for her to respond to.  Ah! How she responded...

Alessandro
had meant to go slowly—but that was before he felt her licking the honeyed
fluid from the tip of his penis, her caressing fingers stroking his sac… 
Now, it took all his considerable skill as a lover to hold back until he was
sure that the overwhelming climax he felt building would be shared between
them. 

He
was relieved to feel tiny contractions begin deep inside her, and moments later
he crushed her more tightly to him as he quickened his tempo, thrusting faster,
harder, until he felt the familiar prickle low in his back, and he went rigid
in transcending rapture.  A cataclysmic orgasm claimed both of them, and
he felt his seed pulsing hotly into her in unending surges, as he came and
came—his body shaking as her rhythmic contractions were taking him ever deeper.

When
he had given her everything he had to give, he stayed where he was, realizing
that never before had he surrendered to such an intense, stormy climax,
spilling all of him into all of her.

After
a while, her little aftershocks ceased, and finally they were still. 
Connie was amazed at the power and duration of his passion.

Some
time later, when his heartbeat and breathing had slowed, he sighed, his mouth
against her temple, “
Tesoro,
 what you gave me…”  He felt
emotion close his throat.

“What
we gave each other,
caro,”
she whispered, her voice unsteady. 
“Being with you was truly magical.”  She bent her head, kissing his chest
lightly.    “You know—I wasn’t sure I could take all of
you.  Thank you for being so patient with me—that can’t have been easy for
you.”

 “But
you were worth waiting for,” he sighed.  He began to lift himself away from
her, only to find her hands pressing on his buttocks, holding him to her, her
legs entwining with his. 

 “Don’t
leave me…”  She sounded upset.  “Wasn’t it good for you?”

Dio,
she thinks she wasn’t enough for me—I’ll have to tell her she is all I’ve ever
wanted.

 “
Amore,
you were everything I‘ve dreamed about.  But if I stay inside you,
which I must confess is my most favourite place to be, then I’ll want you
again,” he warned.

 “That’s
a problem?” Connie asked.  She sounded surprised. 

He
smiled. 
Just what I’ve always  wanted—and never had.  A
woman who wants me as much as I want her, and calmly admits it. 
 “With
you, once will never be enough for me.”  He stirred his penis inside her, and
was amused to see her eyes widen.

 “An
encore
without any recovery time?”  she whispered. 
“Alessandro—you
are
a magician…”

 “Only
if you want me,” he said, anxious not to demand more of her than she was
willing to give. 

 “You
can take it as a given that I want you…”  Her voice was very soft, as were
her palms caressing his back.

 “Was
it good for you?” he asked, needing to know that this was better than what she
had had with Bob-the-snob. 
Am I competing with a dead man?
he asked
himself incredulously.  Her whispered answer removed all his anxieties
forever.