Killer's Mark (Barone Syndicate #1), page 10
“You know,” she reaches across the center of the car and puts her hand on top of mine. “I didn’t have time to put my bed together yet. So, there’s not much sense in staying at my place.”
“Do you want to go back to mine?”
She nods and smiles. She adjusts and sits straight in her seat then buckles her seat belt. “Let’s go!” She slaps her hands on her knees.
I laugh and then buckle my seat belt. Gina’s excitement to come back to my place is making me even harder. I start the car and quickly pull away from the curb. I zip down Fairmount toward the Schuylkill River then turn left down past the Museum of Art, Paine’s Park, and down 24th to I-676. I make twists and turns around the park before getting on the freeway. I take I-676 just to get around Logan Square and get back off on Vine. I’m eager to get Gina back to my place as quickly as possible.
She laughs as she grips the door and the center armrest as we turn right onto 12th street. A few blocks down I turn off into a small alley. My garage door slides sideways across the base of a concrete building, and I turn into my carport.
I’ll admit it, my house is ridiculous. It’s ultra-modern and some kind of experiment in open concept living. The architects described it as a life-sized piece of art. From the outside, it looks like a three-story concrete block with windows. More like a modern library than a home.
Gina gets out and we walk out into the main floor garden and patio. This place was built to have equal parts indoor and outdoor space. The main garden is private and walled off but gets plenty of light. This side of the house is all windows. I lead Gina to the industrial French doors and into the main floor.
It’s very open. About the size of a high school gymnasium except there’s a set of floating steel stairs running up from one side. On one end is a kitchen hidden behind a large wall of bookshelves. This level was often used for events and prestigious fundraisers. That’s actually how I found it. I had been looking for a property to buy. I had a bunch of money I needed to offload somewhere, and real estate was the best option.
I spent months looking for a place to buy and I didn’t like any of it. Nothing felt like me. This place still doesn’t feel like me, but it doesn’t feel like someone else either. When I found out at the fundraiser that the owner was planning to sell, I made an offer. I might have been slightly drunk and very sick of looking at houses. But the location is great, and it’s private.
Right now, I wish I had gone for something a little less distracting. Gina is looking around, turning 360 degrees and taking it all in. My cock’s too hard to give her a full tour of all 6,000 square feet right now.
“Let me show you the rooftop.”
I lead Gina up a flight of tile stairs built on top of a solid wooden ramp. It’s probably meant to look like its own modern statue. The steps lead onto a floating steel landing. One flight of stairs off the landing go to the original main bedroom. The other flight goes to the rooftop. I could take or leave the rest of the house. It’s all very austere and industrial. But I do love the rooftop.
“It’s like a hotel rooftop,” Gina says. I had the whole rooftop decked in cedar. I’ve got a small narrow plunge pool and I’ve set it up essentially as an outdoor living room. I love to sit out here and watch the sun go down, listen to the city below, and look at the old buildings of the Philadelphia skyline.
I felt so comfortable up here, that I moved my bedroom from the loft downstairs to a small penthouse cupola on the roof. It reminds me of what it would feel like to have a treehouse in the city.
Gina twirls around again like she did downstairs. Only now she’s looking at the skyline and the stars. I sit on one of the couches and watch her take it in.
“I’ve never seen anything like this before.”
I shrug at her. “I guess that’s what made me buy it.”
Gina squints and stares at me. “It’s like you.”
“What do you mean?” I laugh.
Gina walks toward me not breaking eye contact. “I’ve never met anyone like you.” She keeps walking toward me. “And it’s big and scary on the outside. It’s confusing when you first see inside.” She stands in front of me. “But then there’s something beautiful hidden deeply away.” Gina straddles me and sits in my lap.
My heart twists hearing Gina say that. I ache for her, not just in my cock, but in my heart. Gina does the only thing that can ease that ache and kisses me deeply, saving me from my thoughts.
26
GINA
I couldn’t wait any longer to kiss Luca again. Things are moving fast but I don’t want them to slow down. As I straddle his lap and kiss him in this rooftop oasis, I can feel how hard he’s getting. His excitement urges me on.
I pull away from him just enough to take off my jacket and toss it aside. The cool summer air feels good on my bare shoulders. Luca pulls me back in, kissing my neck. He moves down to kiss my shoulder blades, my wet skin tingling from his kisses in the light breeze.
Luca’s cock gets even harder underneath me. I pull back again and unbutton his shirt. Luca runs his fingers over my shoulders and traces the neckline of my camisole. His gaze follows his fingers as he admires the parts of my body he traces. The touch is light, sending a tickle down my body while I can feel my pussy grow warmer.
When I get his shirt unbuttoned, I run my fingers lightly down his chest, admiring the ridges of the muscles as I glide over his pecs and down to his abs. I trace my fingers down to the top of his pants and run my fingertips just above his waistband. I feel Luca’s stomach tense slightly under my touch.
Luca lifts my camisole and pulls it up over my head. I lift my arms to let him slide it off of me. I’m still wearing my black strapless bra. Luca puts his large hands on the sides of my stomach. It reminds me of when we were in the theater weeks ago, when he tried partnering me. I love the feel of his strong fingers wrapping around my sides. Their firm pressure on my abs.
He lifts my stomach toward him, so that I’m no longer sitting in his lap but kneeling over him. He traces his tongue over my stomach, making my abs tense beneath his tongue. It feels so good. I pull his head into me and run my fingers through the back of his hair.
He moves his hands up my back to my bra and with a snap of his fingers I feel the light breeze on my bare breasts. Luca lowers me down, bringing my breasts level with his face. He slips one of my nipples into his mouth as he caresses the other in one of his large hands.
My nipple starts to harden in his mouth. Feeling Luca’s tongue on my nipples reminds me of this morning and how good it felt on my pussy. Again, my pussy is warm, wet, and slightly throbbing. Luca moves his mouth to my other nipple, satisfied that he’s aroused the first.
I’m lost in the feeling of Luca’s tongue on my nipples. It’s everything I want, but at the same time, not enough. In what feels like a single move, he lifts me off of him and twists me to the side. By the time I realize what happened, Luca is carrying me in his arms across the rooftop. My bare breast pressed against his chest.
He’s taking me over to the glass-walled room on the rooftop. I kick my heels off as he carries me.
When we enter, it still feels like being on a rooftop. We’re covered, and the windows eliminate most of the hum of the city. But the room has three walls of full windows and the ambient city light casts a glow across the large bed.
Luca lays me down on top of the bed. Its headboard is against the only wall in the room that isn’t made of glass.
As soon as Luca drops me down, I bounce back up and scramble over to him. I kneel on the foot of the bed to reach his shirt and pull it off of him and toss it to the corner. As he slips out of his shoes, I step off the bed and turn his back to the bed and push him down onto it. He doesn’t resist. Instead, he unhooks his belt, unbuttons his pants, and unzips his fly.
I do the rest, pulling his pants down off his legs and tossing it away with his shirt. I stop to admire what I have in front of me. Luca, laying in bed with his hands behind his head. His eyes trace over me in return, topless but still in my jeans. The bulge under his trunks tells me he likes what he sees.
I crawl down onto the bed, moving to his bulge. Before today, I’d only held two different cocks. Only one of them has been inside of me. Even if I had been with a hundred guys, I doubt I’d find one as big as Luca.
Luca’s cock tenses as I glide my palm over it, still locked under his trunks. I pull back the waistband to free it. I wrap my hand around his shaft and feel its warmth. I like the challenge of his cock. The weighty feel of it in my hands turns me on.
I moisten my lips and place them around his thick cock. I taste the light saltiness of his precum as my tongue runs over its head. Luca moans as for the second time today, I suck his cock.
He rolls his hips lightly along with me. I can’t reach all the way down his cock with my lips, so I use my hands to stroke the base. They slide easily from the wetness of my mouth. I move down to suck on his balls while running my hand up and down his cock, but then I miss his taste and move back to suck the head again.
I sit back and pull his underwear down off of his legs. After I stand to pull it off over his feet, Luca sits up and is already unbuckling my belt. He unbuttons my jeans and pulls them down so I can step out of them, kicking them aside.
He’s already moved his mouth to my hips. He kisses along the thin band of my thong, down the sensitive crease between my stomach and thigh. I feel his thumb press into my pussy lips lightly over my underwear. I’m so turned on, my legs almost give way from his touch.
Luca pulls my underwear down to the ground and lifts me out of them. He lifts me by the waist as he leans back into bed. He sets me down so I’m kneeling near the head of the bed, my pussy right over his mouth.
He starts to lick me and my body shudders. I put my hands against the headboard in front of me to steady myself. He glides his tongue between my already wet lips, kissing and licking at my clitoris.
His tongue feels so good on my thrumming pussy. I’m already shaking from pleasure. Luca runs his hands up and down my body as he sucks on my pussy all the while, and I feel like I might collapse at any moment.
I look back at his cock, solidly rising up from him. I lean back just enough to put a hand on it and stroke it up and down. Luca rolls his hips with my strokes. I kneel up away from him, just enough to roll myself over. Luca scoots down on the bed so I can suck his cock, while underneath me he continues licking my pussy.
The feeling is almost overwhelming. I’m overloaded with the combined sensation of his cock in my mouth and his mouth on my pussy. At this angle, Luca slides his tongue lightly into my vagina and it makes me want more of him inside me.
I take my mouth off his cock and start to moan. It’s too much. I lay my head down on the base of his thigh, next to his cock while I still squeeze it with one hand. I can no longer concentrate on sucking as Luca’s tongue starts to blow my mind.
I have to feel him inside me right now. I crawl off of him and turn around to face him. He holds his cock in one hand and helps hold me up with his other. I lower myself slowly, my pussy to the tip of his cock.
He helps ease me down as his head slides into my vagina. I lower a little more, his tip penetrating me deeper. We both moan. I can’t remember sex ever feeling this good before. I work myself up and down the tip of his cock slowly, gradually going just a little deeper each time.
My pussy welcomes his cock. It’s thick. I’m tight. Finally, his whole cock fits inside of me and I’m slowly riding up and down his entire length. It feels so fucking amazing. I put my hands on Luca’s chest as he slowly thrusts his cock in and out of me.
As the pleasure intensifies, I speed up the movement of my hips. Luca matches my rhythm until I can’t hold myself up anymore and melt down on top him. He grabs my ass and takes control of the movements, continuing to thrust inside of me. My clit rubs against his pelvis multiplying the electricity running through my body and nerves.
I bury my face and moan into his shoulder as I begin to orgasm. He grips me even tighter as my body explodes with sensation. He keeps fucking me until every last wave of pleasure rolls through me. I find his mouth again and kiss him as deeply as I possibly can.
Luca starts to groan and I can tell he’s close. I start rocking my hips again, wanting to make him cum. I want to feel him explode inside of me. He pulls me against him even tighter. I start to feel another climax building, my pussy clenching around his cock even tighter when I feel him throb inside of me. His warm cum shoots into me, sending me over the edge for one final orgasm.
Our moans subside together, as we slowly come back to Earth. I roll over and lay my head on a pillow. I look over at Luca and see him looking back at me. I gaze down the length of his sweaty body marveling at how insanely beautiful he is in the glow of the ambient city lights.
He rolls toward me and kisses me, wrapping me in his arms. We lay there for a long while without saying a word, just feeling each other breathe.
On the other side of this wall in the rooftop room is a large glassed-in shower and bathroom. Eventually, Luca and I get in the shower together, the warm water soothing our worn out bodies. Even though I just had the best sex of my life, I can’t wait to fuck him again.
When we get back into the bedroom, he hits a button and blinds roll down from all the windows. The inside of the room is now completely dark.
Luca and I curl up together in the bed, and before I know it, I’ve fallen into a deep and contented sleep.
27
LUCA
I fell asleep almost right away after Gina and I showered. I don’t usually fall asleep that easily. Somehow, she both excited and soothed me, combining both to create a calm I’ve rarely experienced.
But now it’s morning. I wake up early, and I can’t fall back asleep. Last night felt like a dream. This morning I’m back in the nightmare of my reality. My mind is racing, replaying the details of the situation over and over again. The situation I’ve put her in. I want to be with her. But it doesn’t seem possible.
I felt so relaxed when I was with her last night. I’m sure I could get there again. When I’m with Gina I feel content. And that’s the problem. When you get content, you’re in danger. When life feels good and feels right, reality is waiting for you around the dark corner or bearing down on you like a car swerving into the sidewalk.
Quiet as I can, I slide out from Gina’s side. I pull on some clothes and walk downstairs to the open space and to the kitchen in the corner. It’s a chef’s kitchen. Very industrial. Almost utilitarian. All stainless steel. It looks like it was plucked right from the back of a restaurant. The only thing missing is the side-loading dishwasher.
I brew some coffee and then take it out to the main floor patio. The side of the patio opposite the windows is as green as it can be. Most of the wall is lined with tall bamboo, but there are various other plants and small trees squeezed in, too. It doesn’t require much maintenance.
It’s better than looking at a brick wall and it muffles out some of the noise. But most of the time it just reminds me that there’s more concrete than nature here.
As I sit and drink my coffee, I hear a small buzzing noise. I glance around for a bee or a bug, when I see a small hummingbird levitating several feet in front of me. When he turns toward me, I see bright ruby feathers around its neck. He flies and lands on a limb, looking back at me. He’s fully gray, except for when he points his head at me, and I can see the ruby ring.
“Hey, little guy. What are you doing here?” I ask.
He flies from the limb, back to hovering in mid-air where I first saw him. He glances back at me, then goes back to his limb and continues watching me.
“Why are you still here? Shouldn’t you have gone north by now?”
He flies back and forth between positions again.
“It’s too early for you to be going south. Why’d you stay here?”
I get up slowly, seeing if he’ll let me walk toward him and get a closer look.
He flies back to his hovering spot, and I freeze. He flies back to his limb, and I edge closer to him.
“Can I get you any food?” I whisper as I edge closer to him.
He flies off the limb and zips up toward the rooftop, flying out of the open patio.
“Good idea,” I mutter. I’m no damn Snow White. Beautiful things are right to run away from me.
I walk back to my coffee, down it, and head back into the kitchen.
I cook up some eggs and toast for us. I bring the tray upstairs to the rooftop where Gina is still asleep in the darkened room. I press the button to open the blinds and they slowly whir up letting the morning light gently flood the room.
The light rolls over Gina and I’m struck by her beauty. It’s like watching the curtains rise on a beautiful stage revealing the most stunning dancer. She slowly rolls over, opening her eyes. I find myself surprised when she sees me and smiles. I haven’t gotten used to her reacting to me that way. I always expect she’s going to go back to looking at me the way she did the first time she saw me. In the lobby at the theater, when she looked skittish and terrified of me. Like she should be.
“Mmm, did you make breakfast?” She sits up and I lay the tray at the foot of the bed. I sit next to her and we begin eating.
“First night in my new apartment and I didn’t even stay there.” Gina laughs to herself as she takes another bite of toast. “I don’t regret it though,” she looks sideways at me.
She wants to know how I feel about it. I don’t regret it. I’d do it a hundred times over. I went against my decision to leave Gina alone. And I don’t regret that either. But I can’t help knowing that we probably both will sooner or later.
I lean over to Gina and kiss her on her forehead. I grab another piece of toast off the plate.
