The Recluse Heir by Monique Moreau
15
Cat was on the edge of the bed, fiddling with the belt of my robe and staring down at her phone. It took me aback, seeing her slim, forlorn form on my large unmade bed, framed by the drapes swooping down from the carved wooden posts of the bed.
It felt like someone had karate-chopped me in the chest.
Marriage or not, this was my wife.
She looked so young, so achingly beautiful. Locks of unbrushed hair toppled off her shoulder and her large chocolate-sweet eyes locked on me. She returned the silver glitter-cased phone to the night table. The moment she set it down, it vibrated on the wooden surface. Her eyes darted to the phone and then back to me, asking for permission. It must be her family. I shook my head as I approached her, taking her fluttering hands in mine.
Noting the empty plate near her phone, I teased, “Glad it didn’t keep you from eating.”
Giving me a shy look beneath her lashes, she shrugged her shoulders. “I’d worked up an appetite.”
I huffed out a laugh. The unabashed honesty in her answer shot warmth through my chest.
Taking a seat beside her, I wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She instantly snuggled into my side, her fine blonde hair tickling my chin. I took her lips and was rewarded when she opened for me. We indulged in a long, sweet kiss that tore my concentration to shreds. My hands roamed over her curves, one squeezing her hip, the other strumming her nipple.
Damn, I could lose myself in this woman.
“It must have gone well with Alex,” she observed, cocking her head to the side. “You don’t seem upset.”
Observant. Then again, I shouldn’t be surprised. Cat was as smart as a whip.
“It went as well as could be expected. Alex texted your father to set up an emergency meeting.” Motioning to her cell, I asked, “Have they been blowing up your phone?”
“Not yet, but that last text was from one of them. If Alex contacted my father, they’ll be calling soon.”
“About your family…I want you here, Kitty. I don’t want you returning to them until the wedding. You’re with me now. This is your home.”
She pulled back from me, although not enough to break my hold, but enough to get a good look at my face. Eyes roved over me to gauge how genuine I was. Oh, I’m dead serious, baby girl. I wasn’t used to outing my feelings like this, but I’d work on trusting for Cat. A little jolt of fear fluttered through my chest. No one can be fully trusted. I shoved the insidious fear away. That came from my past, and Cat wasn’t my father.
“You’re serious,” she stated.
“Fuck, yes, I’m serious. I don’t want to be separated for two whole months. I’d elope today if your mother wasn’t deep in wedding planning mode and if it wasn’t crucial that we have a statement-making wedding. We need it to be appallingly lavish and over-the-top, so no one dares question whom you belong to. That means our wedding will remain on the date you were supposed to marry Nicu.” My jaws clenched at how close she’d come to marrying my brother. Cat was mine now, not Nicu’s. Not that she was ever Nicu’s. “I don’t want to be separated from you when we just got together.”
Her brows knotted together. “Are you worried that something will happen?”
“Honestly, yes, I am. What if they turn you against me? Simu, especially. He has a special place in his black heart for me. I’m his enemy number one. And your brother isn’t a fan of mine either.”
A peal of laughter resembling chimes tumbled out of her parted lips. “Don’t worry about my brother. Once they find out about the blood bond, they will have to accept it. They won’t have a choice.”
“That doesn’t mean they can’t turn you against me,” I repeated.
Her hand covered mine. “They’re not like that. I know the Popescus have a harsh reputation, but you make them sound like monsters.”
I remained silent because, really, I didn’t know what to say to that. I didn’t want to insult her family, but I wasn’t about to back down either.
She let out a little sigh of frustration. “Being away for so long, sometimes I forget how it is here. They’re not going to try to tear us apart. Of course, they’ll be disappointed in me—”
“Maybe your mother won’t try to undercut me because she’s a mafie wife,” I cut in. “But you don’t know your brother, Simu, and your father like I do. What we did”—I shook my head—“was not right in their minds. I don’t regret it for a second, but they have every right to be angry. It’s fine by me if they sling mud my way. I can handle anything they throw at me directly. The only way they can get to me is through you, Cat. Do you understand that?”
“I’m your weakness,” she murmured.
“Hell, yes, you are.” I tweaked her nipple, and she let out a little gasp of shock mixed with arousal. “But you’re worth it. You’ll always be worth it. I trust you, but you’re young. Sensitive. This is the big brother and father you love that we’re talking about. You may think you’re strong, but you haven’t been through what I’ve been through with my father. If there’s any time that would induce them to treat you badly, it’s now. Being family doesn’t guarantee your safety, and I must protect you and what we’re building together.”
My chest tightened at the thought of anything happening to her. Was I projecting my experiences onto her? Probably, but for the first time in my life, the state of my heart depended on something outside of my control, and I couldn’t help but worry. It was bad enough I’d fallen for her, but to throw her to the wolves unprotected? No, that was a nonstarter.
Her hand squeezed mine. “What your father did to you has no relation to my family, but I get it. You don’t know them like I do. Anyway, I selfishly want to be with you, too, but… Luca, I won’t ever stop seeing them,” she said, her tone firming toward the end.
“I’d never ask you to, but I need you with me. It’s the only way I can guarantee your safety. You can see them, as long as you’re in my bed at the end of the day. If I have that, I can handle anything.” Ideally, I wanted her as far from her family as possible, but that’s not the woman I fell in love with. There, I just admitted it. I’m in love with her. Cat was loving and loyal. There was no way she’d turn her back on them. She was right; her childhood was nothing like mine. Even after witnessing her father choke someone out in front of her eyes, she still loved and respected him. It had fucked with her head, given her nightmares that plagued her to this day, but she hadn’t turned her back on him.
She pursed her pouty lips, nodding thoughtfully. Raking her eyes down the length of my frame, she replied, “I can do that. I trust you’ll find a way to make it up to me.” The little minx loved to tease me, and my body was responding in kind. My finger slid down her chest and parted the slit of her robe. It gaped open enough to give me a splendid view of her tits, upturned nipples begging for my mouth.
Flashing me a smile, she declared, “I think this was our first compromise. I’m so proud of us!”
I pressed my lips against hers with a groan, plucking a beaded nipple between my fingers. “I’m impressed with you, and don’t you worry, I’ll make it up to you. I’ll have my tongue on your sugar pussy. Every. Single. Night. That’s a promise, beautiful.”
Letting out a little moan, she kissed me again, tasting like caramel and sticky cotton candy on my tongue. The sultry, sweet taste of her, so erotic in its innocence, seeped into my veins. One taste would never be enough. Grateful we were in bed, I leaned into our kiss. Alex, wherever he was, could handle himself because I wasn’t going anywhere.
Breaking our kiss, I pulled off my sweats and leaned back against the headboard, dragging her with me.
“I want you on my cock,” I rasped out. Her chest rose and fell in quick succession, her lids hooded low over those wide melted-chocolate eyes of hers. She shrugged off my robe, her tits bouncing in my face. Goddamn, was she sexy. Her opening was slick as she rested above the crown of my shaft. Hands on my shoulders, she circled her hips, working herself on my cock.
“You’re wet, but you’re still so damn tight,” I murmured, eyes riveted on the spread of her cunt as she shimmied down an inch and lifted up, giving me a view of my shaft slick with her juices.
“Come on, “I urged her, “take what you need, Kitty. Take it. Use it. Ride it.”
A little whimper came out as she struggled to take more, but she set her jaw and doubled down. Such a good girl, working hard to make my cock fit. And what a tight fit it was. A little notch of frustration between her brows, her struggle to take me was hot as fuck. With my size, gravity could only do so much. I placed my hands behind my head, watching as she fought the natural resistance of her body, writhing above me, her tight hole stretching a little more each time.
“God, you’re huge, Luca,” she whined.
Slapping me on the chest, she snapped, “Help me. I need help.”
Her plea gutted me. Maybe it was too soon to play games with her. She was so desirable that it hadn’t crossed my mind that she might feel insecure, but she was new to all this.
Taking over, I buried my face in her throat and licked my way down, over her collarbone to her nipple. Lapping it between my lips, I sucked it hard into my mouth. She let out a sigh of relief. One hand went to the beautiful curve of her hip while the other played with her clit, toying with her little button until she was so slippery that my shaft glided in.
After some work, I was planted inside her, my balls nestled between her ass cheeks.
Her gasp told me how she felt, impaled on my cock. Dipping her head back, she released a garbled fuck as she shuddered above me. A pent-up breath left my lungs. I suckled her other breast while moving inside her. Little fingers fisted my shoulders as she got into it and fucked me slowly, her eyes clenched tight and brows drawn together in concentrated pleasure.
“You need this cock, don’t you?” I intoned.
“Yes,” she cried out. “You don’t know how many times I wanted to straddle your lap in the car every time you drove me to class.”
“Oh, I remember how you teased me, bending over as you got out, flashing me. Reminding me of the forbidden, untouched treasure beneath your innocent white panties.”
“I liked your eyes on me,” she confessed.
I knew she would’ve never taken the first step, but I said, “What would you have done if I lifted the hem of your short summer dress? If I had slid my finger inside those pristine panties?”
Her breathing hitched, but her movements got faster. She slammed down harder, her tight cunt choking my cock in the best of ways.
“I-I don’t know,” she breathed out. On a downstroke, she said, “Maybe I would’ve spread my thighs a little and pretended to ignore you while you played with me. Or I would’ve given in and fondled your cock, like I was dying to do. Pull the zipper down slooowly and slip my hand inside.” She batted her eyes at me. “Would I find you wearing briefs or going commando?”
I let out a growl as I pulled her off me and flipped her on her hands and knees. My little girl wanted to play with the fantasy. I could do that.
“Dirty girl, if you’d done that, you would’ve ended up with a pussy bleeding all over my leather seats.” My mouth found the curve of her ear. “I would’ve fucked you so hard.”
My hand on her nape, I knocked her knees wide and pushed myself in deep. We both moaned simultaneously. “That’s how you wanted it, right? You wanted me to fuck you when I shouldn’t. Your fiancé’s big brother. Off-limits in every way.”
“Yes, I did,” she hissed. “You wanted it, too. The way you eye fucked me every chance you got. The way you bent your head to get an eyeful each time my skirt rode up my thighs in the car.”
“Damn fucking straight, I did.” My pace got faster, more brutal. My hips pumped hard. My fingers found her clit, and I teased that slippery pearl until she matched my pace. “I didn’t know who you were when I first met you. Turned out, I’d clocked you as mine from the get-go. By the time I found out you were with Nicu, it was already too late.” I slammed into her hard, pushing her up a few inches. “I was a goner.”
My grip on her hips was rough, likely leaving marks. That should’ve slowed me down, but it didn’t. My hand cupped her pussy, making a V with my fingers on either side of my cock, feeling the friction as my shaft moved in and out of her.
“Tell me, who does this pussy belong to?”
“You,” she whispered.
I gave her mound a sharp slap. “I can’t hear you,” I mocked.
Louder, she said, “You. It’s yours.”
“Who’s is it?” I demanded.
“Luca’s. It’s Luca’s pussy,” she screamed.
My lips came to the side of her throat. “That’s right, baby. This kitten is all mine.” And then I bit down on the side of her throat. I’d been working her good, thrusting into her from behind while tickling her clit with my hand, but the bite triggered a climax. She came on my cock, strangling the shit out of it, and I was helpless to hold back.
Bucking into her, I went wild. Lost my mind. Dragged under, my soul linked with hers. We were two entities joined as one, moving and writhing in tandem, cresting in unison. Her inner walls milked me. My cock jerked, and I unloaded inside her.
After a time, our movements slowed down. I leaned over and we shared a long kiss. Softening, I pulled out and collapsed on my side. Catching my breath, I brought her into my chest. She was snuggling into my chest as a knock sounded against the bedroom door. Shooting a glare at the interruption, I threw a sheet over her bare body.
“Fuck,” I muttered, dropping a brief kiss on the crown of her head.
“We have to go. Now,” Alex’s rumbling voice came through. My body rebelled, my mind screaming at me to stay with her. But, if my şef was interrupting us, then it was important. Nelu had probably gotten back to Alex. As if confirming my suspicion, Cat’s phone went off. She scrambled off my lap and lunged for the phone.
Glancing at me, she said, “It’s my mother. I just got a text from my brother. They know.”
I leaned over to place a gentle kiss on her lips. “Pick it up. Do you want me to stay with you?”
She shook her head. “You should go. It won’t help to keep them waiting any longer than necessary. I can handle this.”
With a little slap to her tight ass cheek, I vaulted off the bed and marched to the door. Opening it just enough, I listened as Alex spoke in a low voice. Nicu would join us to provide a united front. Stegan would be there as well, which I thought was a good idea. Stegan was one of our most loyal soldiers and had discovered the Popescu plot to try to manipulate Alex into marrying Cat. Stegan’s presence would remind that cocksucking bastard, Cristo, what a sniveling snake he was. We had to use every weapon in our arsenal because this was going to be painful. I was going to have to deal with the repercussions agreed upon by both families. Once that was done, I was going to have to face Nicu.
And those were the things I had a bit of control over. It didn’t include whatever Cat would have to face. With the blood bond intact, at least I was confident that she couldn’t back out of our arrangement, but who the fuck knew what her family would do to her. Undermine our bond? Try turning her against me? The possibilities were endless with that trio of assholes, Nelu, Cristo, and Simu. The anxiety ratcheted up inside me.
It was going to be one long-ass day.
With a tight nod, I suggested he get Tatum over here to watch Cat while we were gone.
Shutting the door, I found my kitten back to the edge of my bed, phone gripped tightly to her ear. The panicked tone of her mother rattling off in Romanian emanated from her phone. She glanced up at me and gave me a tired smile.
“You okay?” I asked again, cupping the cheek that didn’t have a phone attached to it.
She nodded curtly before returning her attention to her conversation.
“Yes, Mama,” she murmured. “You’re right, Mama.”
She traced the outline of my hip bone before gliding her palm around and grabbing my buttock, gripping hard with her slim fingers. I fought hard not to groan out loud and risk being overheard by her mother, but I liked her bold, possessive touch too much. It was her way of telling me that she’d touch me exactly the way she wanted. Her hand moved back to the front and cupped my balls. Fuck, damn, fuck. Fondling me while managing her hysterical mother told me that she could handle herself.
If I didn’t have to deal with her father, I would’ve waited until she was done to finish what she’d started. But there would be time for that later.
