His words came to a halt and Natalie's heartbeat thumped loudly through her chest as she took in his words and his eyes, blazing down into hers. He slowly released her hand and sat back in his seat, his face impassive once again.
The silence of the night intensified around them and Natalie tried to do as he said--put it out of her mind. But what had taken place had clearly upset Marco--and she didn't like for him to be upset, even though she knew it wasn't anything she had done. His words had been so vehement that they reassured her. She believed him completely. Reaching out, she touched his hand softly. She ran her fingers over the top of his hand in a small stroke that she hoped was soothing to him, a stroke like the ones she had used on his forehead when he'd had the headache.
She continued the small movements for a few seconds until suddenly, his hand twisted and grabbed hold of hers in an uncompromising grip. His head turned to her and his eyes looked deep into hers, swallowing her whole. His voice was rough when he spoke and almost seemed to be making a confession as well as asking for reassurance. "I didn't like him touching you."
Natalie tried to make out his features in the dark interior of the car. His confusion was upsetting to her; she knew he wasn't blaming her--it was as if he was surprised at his own response and didn't understand it.
She too was confused by the events of the night but she pushed them out of her head in her attempt to comfort him. "No," she said softly. "I didn't either." He released his safety belt, and moved toward her, crowding her on the bench. His hands went to either side of her face and he gently twisted her in his direction. His eyes locked on hers for an agonizing second before his mouth fell to hers.
He kissed her repeatedly, his tongue plunging in and out, in a rhythm she was beginning to crave. His lips left hers just long enough to breathe deeply. "You're so sweet. So sweet." His mouth moved to her ear and his hand encapsulated a breast and squeezed firmly. "How could I have been so lucky to find you?" Natalie heard the fevered, whispered words before his lips tugged on her earlobe and she forgot everything but his arms around her.
His mouth returned to hers, and their breathing became frantic. She lifted her arms up and began to wrap them around his head, but he was pushing away from her.
She felt the warmth leave her as he moved back to his seat, but before a feeling of loss could be registered, she realized they were pulling up to his building.
She followed him up in a daze, and when they entered the penthouse, she didn't have a moment to adjust or to think. As the elevator doors whished closed, he swept her up in his arms and carried her through to his bedroom.
Dropping her to her feet, his hands landed on her dress and lifted it over her head and tossed it away, leaving her in nothing but her satin briefs and high-heels. She experienced a jolt to her head like a shot of whiskey and when he stepped back and began ripping off his jacket and tie, all the while staring down at her, she desperately tried not to cover her naked breasts. She slid her hands down her thighs and gripped the tops of her legs, searching for support as she watched him strip from his shoes, pants and boxer briefs.
He removed his cufflinks and began unbuttoning his shirt, his last piece of clothing, while flecks of red highlighted his cheekbones as he continued to watch her. "How experienced are you?" he asked in a throaty rasp.
She licked her lips and through her nervousness, attempted a sultry, playful smile to lighten the extremely tense atmosphere. "Extremely, you?"
His hand shot out and landed on her back, at her waist, and brought her torso against his with such speed and force that she gasped out loud and stumbled against him. With his other hand, he caressed her from nape to butt cheek and up again. She began shaking violently and all thoughts of playful and sultry fled her brain.
The trembling didn't get past him. "Extremely, huh?" His voice was hard, rough, without a trace of humor in it.
Her feet wobbled on her heels and in a bid for stability, her hands landed on his naked chest. His shirt was open, hanging down his sides, and his erection jutted out between them in a violent testament to the need echoed in the lines of sexual tension bracketing his mouth. She quivered and took a deep, sustaining breath. "What do you want me to say, Marco? I'm not a virgin."
"I want you to tell me if you're on contraceptives--or if I should use a condom?"
"Yes--please. A condom." Her hands slid up from his chest to his neck.
"Okay, I'll take care of it--and I'm going to go ahead and apologize in advance--there will be plenty of times in the future when I'll go slow--take proper care the way I should--but right now--it's not going to happen. I've been aching for you since the moment we met."
His hand lifted and smoothed the hair away from her forehead and held her eyes with his while he pushed his fingers through her hair and clenched his hand in her scalp. His mouth tightened and his words hardened, "Right now--I'm going to fuck you hard and fast and you're going to stay still and let me do it."
Her heart stopped beating completely before it began pumping blood again in a cadence so violent that it almost scared her. Her legs trembled and she was completely speechless, hanging in the circle of his arms, waiting for his next move. All she could manage were rough breaths and not passing out entirely as desire, hard and swift, enveloped her entire being from head to toe.
His next move came quickly.
He began walking her backwards toward the bed, one sure foot at a time, and when she stumbled, his hands landed on her hips and he bodily picked her up, her legs dangling as he propelled her backwards. When the back of her knees hit the bed, he dropped her to the edge into a sitting position and pushed her legs apart as far as they would go. He stood between her legs and studied her, looking down at her. With one hand on her chin, he lifted her face and began kissing her, hard and relentlessly, his mouth opening wide and brutally over hers as he began stroking her with his tongue.
Her neck was bent back at an awkward angle to accommodate his height, and she whimpered her discomfort in the back of her throat.
He heard it, changed his tactic, and pushed her down on the bed to a supine position as he followed her down, his hand finding the softness between her thighs covered only by the remaining scrap of silk.
The barrier was too much for him, and he backed up and ripped her silk briefs off her legs, pushing them down first one leg, and then the other. Natalie immediately felt the loss of the small degree of protection her panties had afforded, and suddenly, with her legs spread wide open to him, the difference in their sexual experience was glaringly obvious to her. With a need for modesty that she couldn't control, her hand slid down to cover herself between her legs as she felt the heat of a blush steal over her cheeks.