28. Ginevra

CHAPTER 28

Ginevra

“ H appy birthday, baby,” Blake murmurs in my ear, and I groan, smashing the pillow to the side of my head. “Don’t hide from me. I’m waking you up to give you your first birthday gift.”

Gift? Did he say gift? I squint… seeing only darkness. Not a shred of light illuminates our bedroom.

“What time is it?” I roll onto my back.

Blake stands beside the bed, his outline visible as my eyes adjust to the dimness. He’s fully dressed, though he kicks off his shoes and loosens his tie. “It’s four in the morning. I can’t wait any longer to start celebrating your birthday.”

“Blake,” I whine, torn between going back to sleep and curious about why he’s so impatient. Most of this week he’s been coming to bed with me, instead of staying up until the early morning hours, except for tonight. He said he had work to catch up on, so I went to bed, knowing he’d join me later. But he’s always careful not to wake me up when he finally turns in.

I squeak in surprise when his body weight dips the bed and he extends my arms above my head, fastening them together with what I believe is his silk tie. Suddenly, I’m fully alert, my heart rate spiking.

“What are you doing?” I test the restraints, finding them secure. “Blake, what is this?”

“Shh.” He lights a candle on the bedside table and a warm glow washes over us. “Do you trust me, magpie? Will you give your control over to me so I can show you everything I can give you?”

“M-my control?”

“Did I stutter? Yes, your control.” His blue eyes bore into me. I shake my head. He didn’t stutter, I’m just repeating what he said as a stalling tactic as I try to wrap my brain around why he’s tied me to the headboard, and not panic.

“I…” My words trail off as he caresses the edge of my breast and my heart pounds harder against my ribcage.

“What’s wrong?”

I’m breathing in short, shallow puffs of air, my vision darkening at the corners. I tug again, trying to free my wrists this time as blazing panic threatens to pull me under.

“Shit. Stop, you’ll hurt yourself.” Blake makes quick work of the restraints, then takes my hands in his and massages my sore wrists. “What just happened, Gin? Talk to me.”

I shake my head, my entire body trembling with adrenaline.

“Please, talk to me.”

“I-I can’t.” I squeeze my eyes closed and focus on my breathing, willing myself to calm down. “I’m sorry.” My voice is barely above a whisper, but he hears me and pulls me against his chest. His strong arms wrap around my shivering frame and I sigh, the dread leaving as quickly as it came.

“Don’t be sorry. There’s nothing to be sorry for, ever.” He rubs circles on my back. “I’m sorry for frightening you. You were okay yesterday morning when I held your arms above your head and fucked you, so I thought restraining you with my tie would be fine. Obviously, I was wrong.”

I inhale his masculine scent, feeling terrible about overreacting. If only I told him about… what happened, then he’d understand. But I can’t bring myself to say anything about it. It’s too embarrassing. I’m too ashamed. The past needs to stay right where it is, in my past. Though times like this I wonder if it ever won’t come to haunt me.

What if… what if I can change things, make a different future for myself?

“Blake?”

“Yes?”

I tentatively reach for his silk tie and hold it out to him. “Tie me up.”

“No. I won’t?—”

“Please. You took me by surprise before and it freaked me out, but I’m ready now. I want this, please.” I want him to do this to me. He’s Blake, not Oliver, and there’s a world of difference between these two men. I know that now.

He studies me for several long moments, his bright blue gaze seeming to dive beneath my skin, laying my soul, and all of my secrets, bare to him. If only it was that easy to let him in, to allow him to see all of me, but it’s not. Even if I want it to be sometimes.

“Take away my control,” I tell him. “Show me.”

His eyes scan my face one more time. “If you want me to stop, just say so. Understand?”

I nod.

“Use your words, Gin.”

“I understand.”

“Good girl.” He takes the tie from me and loops it around my wrists, tight enough to hold them together, but not as secure as before. “Now I’m going to blindfold you.”

Oh god. What have I gotten myself into?

I swallow hard, and he narrows his assessing gaze on me. “Okay,” I murmur and nod. He reaches toward me, securing the blindfold in place, and plunging me into darkness. I release a shuddering breath.

“I’ll never hurt you, Gin, you know that.” His deep, silky voice chases away my demons. “Now lie back and let me taste you. Here, let me guide you.” His large hands ease me back onto the mattress. “Let go, baby girl, I’ve got you.”

Without being able to see or reach for him, I let my other senses take over. His palms smooth up my thighs, parting my legs, his hot breath teases my bare pussy. He nibbles at the soft flesh between my legs, leaving his mark on my inner thigh before dragging his tongue to my clit. I whimper as he circles it. The partial sensory deprivation heightens his every touch.

“That’s my girl,” he says when I moan, arching my back in a silent plea for more. “Just let go, and I promise to make you feel good on your birthday. Do you trust me?”

“Yes,” I pant.

Blake teases my clit, tongues my sensitive flesh, and has me squirming with need, building closer and closer to release. I desperately want more, need more, to tip me over the edge.

“Please,” I beg. I can’t see him, but I can picture the smirk on his gorgeous face as he pushes two fingers into my throbbing cunt.

“Such a hungry pussy, so greedy for anything I give it. Fuck, baby, can you feel how wet you are for me?”

I let out an incoherent noise and rock my hips, riding his fingers. There’s moisture against my thighs. He removes his hand, ignoring my protest, only to drag his wet fingers lower and circle my asshole. I startle at the sensation, the word stop on the tip of my tongue, but then he nudges my ass at the same time as his tongue flicks across my clit, and I explode.

The most intense orgasm of my life wracks my body and unravels my mind. Fireworks spark behind my eyelids.

I feel Blake shift, then he’s hovering on top of me, his body heat warming my flushed, sweaty skin. He lines himself up with my entrance and pushes in. My pussy stretches to accommodate him, and I gasp, the sensation more intense than usual.

“You have no idea how long I’ve wanted to fuck every single one of your beautiful, delicious holes, magpie.” He rocks his hips, driving into me. “That includes this one.”

His hand slides down my ass and he inserts a finger. Oh my god . To my astonishment, I don’t panic. If anything, with his cock inside me, it feels good.

“I want to feel your muscles tighten and clench around my cock and fingers when you come.” He pinches my nipple, earning himself another of my breathy moans. His lips press to mine, his tongue demanding entrance, and I open for him. He tongue-fucks my mouth in time to his cock and fingers.

The mixed sensations are too much. He’s everywhere, filling me up in every way that he can. His raw, brutal possessiveness has me screaming his name as I fall to pieces, completely giving in to him not only with my body, but with my mind.

“That’s it, sweetheart, come for me. Such a good fucking girl, just like that. Fuck .”

His hips jerk with his release and liquid heat spreads through my insides. When he’s finished, he stills, buried deep, and removes my blindfold.

“Hello, beautiful.” He drops a sweet kiss to my forehead, my nose, my lips. “Was that too much or did you enjoy it?”

I swallow past the lump in my throat and smile shyly at him. “I enjoyed it.”

Which surprises me, and makes me somewhat uncomfortable too. I didn’t think I could stand anything anal since… what happened with my ex. Obviously that’s not the case. I came–twice.

But what does that say about me? That he can touch me like that and I like it? Am I finally overcoming my trauma or am I more fucked up than I realized? Broken beyond repair.

“ O h my god, remind me to tell Kyla this is the best Belgian waffle I’ve ever had.” I moan around my last forkful of the fluffy, crispy goodness, sad that my plate’s now empty. Blake chuckles and drops the last quarter of his waffle in front of me, which I immediately devour.

We spent the morning alternating between sex and sleep, and I sure worked up an appetite. Breakfast in bed was an excellent indulgence.

As soon as I’m finished eating, Blake takes away my dish and replaces it with a small gift wrapped box.

“Happy twenty-first birthday. This is the first of many today.”

I’m so giddy that my hands shake. The genuine grin I offer him has his lips curving up at the corners. I love seeing him smile. He should do that more often.

Shredding the paper, I remove the lid from the box and peer inside, finding a sparkly object. I gently take it out and hold it in my hand. My chest squeezes at the same time as my stomach flutters. I immediately recognize the figurine encrusted with black, blue, and green diamonds. The magpie.

“You…” My brows pinch with confusion. “This is a Baron family heirloom. I almost stole this from you, why are you giving it to me now?”

“Because I see the way your gaze seeks it out when we’re in the hallway, and how your eyes light up every time you see it. Nothing escapes my notice. You long for this little magpie figurine, so I decided that it should be yours.” He reaches for my hand and closes my fingers around the piece. He’s right, I hadn’t even noticed that I always stare at it when we walk along that hallway, but I do. I’ve loved this figurine since the first time I spotted it. It’s so sparkly, it makes me happy.

“Thank you.” Thickness clogs my throat. “I love it. Really love it!”

This time, his smile reaches his glittering eyes. The way that expression transforms his face from handsome to breathtaking, literally stops the air in my lungs. His birthday is in November and I’m going to make sure it’s as wonderful as today’s been so far.

“I can’t give you just one magpie though,” he says, climbing out of bed and pulling on a pair of slacks. My gaze appreciatively roams over his bare chest and shoulders.

“Why? What do you mean by that?”

“One magpie represents sorrow. That simply won’t do. Come with me. Don’t worry, we’re not leaving the house. Not yet.”

I’m not sure what he’s talking about, but curiosity spurs me on. I wrap myself in a silk robe and take his offered hand. He leads me through the house to the garage. What can he possibly be hiding in here?

Blake tosses me a key fob. “Click that button.”

“Okay…” I do, and a car up ahead honks and lights up. Slowly, I approach the adorable, glimmery blue, two-seater vehicle. “Is what I’m looking for inside your car?”

“ Your car,” he corrects me. “I thought it was time you had a little more freedom. This BMW Z4 should help you with that.”

I gape at him. Is he for real? He bought me a car for my birthday? “You’re joking!”

“No joke. Look at the license plate.”

I glance down, reading the plate: MAGPIE. Holy shit. He bought me a car! I squeal and sprint to it, running my palm over the blue almost metallic paint.

“Two magpies for joy.”

I spin toward him. “What are you talking about?”

“It’s nothing, just an old nursery rhyme that I can’t seem to get out of my head these days.”

“How does it go?”

He clears his throat.

“One for sorrow,

Two for mirth,

Three for a wedding,

Four for death,

Five for silver,

Six for gold,

Seven for a secret never to be told.

Eight for a wish,

Nine for a kiss,

Ten for a surprise you should be careful not to miss.”

I giggle, never in a million years did I expect Blake to recite an old nursery rhyme meant for children, much less follow these old superstitions.

“So this car is my two for mirth?”

“Yes. I hope it brings you joy.”

I fling my arms around his neck and pepper his chin and neck with kisses. “Thank you! You’re the best.”

“I know,” he drawls, earning himself a roll of my eyes. He smacks my ass in punishment, which leads to us having sex on the hood of my new car.

The rest of my birthday is like something out of a dream. We shower together, making each other come yet again before getting ready for the day. I get to drive my new car, turns out it’s a convertible which I love on this warm summer day, to a mystery location. No matter how many times I beg Blake to tell me where we’re going, he refuses.

I’m speechless when we pull into a crowded parking lot beside a massive concrete building. They check our names off a list at the door, then suddenly I’m in a film studio.

“You seem to like watching these, so I thought you might enjoy the live experience.” Blake motions me to a seat. In front of us, the stage is set up like a kitchen. A backdrop displays the show's title and I excitedly bounce in my seat. This is one of my favorite cooking competition shows! We have front row seats to watch chefs make their creations.

I lean over and kiss him. The joy rushing through me feels like it’s going to make me burst any moment, I can hardly contain it all.

For an hour, I watch the chefs at work while Blake stares at me. Every time I glance at him, he simply smiles. Smiles . Like he’s happy. How crazy is that? Honestly, I could get used to this indulgent, generous, relaxed side of my fiancé.

After the show, we get to go backstage and meet the chefs. They humor me as I barrage them with questions, being kind enough to give me insider tips and tricks. I can’t wait to chat with Kyla about everything I learned today. I’m sure she already knows most of these things, but she’s someone I can talk to about cooking and her eyes don’t glaze over when I get excited about the science involved.

“Oh my god, that was amazing,” I tell Blake as we head back to my car. “This is the best birthday I’ve ever had.”

He smirks. “It’s not over yet.”

“Really? What’s next?”

“Well, unfortunately, I’m not allowed to keep you all to myself today.” He slides into the passenger seat. I can hardly believe he’s letting me drive again. He’s always so in control of everything, but right now he’s letting me be in charge, placing his trust in me. “Your sisters wouldn’t allow it, they insisted on seeing you today. Arianna even threatened me with bodily harm if they didn’t see you on your birthday. Do you know she has such a vicious streak?”

I laugh. “Yeah, don’t let her prim and proper mannerisms fool you. She is married to a Bratva pakhan , after all.”

“True. Anyway, we are expected at the De Luca estate this evening. Sophia insisted on hosting your birthday dinner. It’s about an hour and a half drive from here and we’re staying the night. Before you ask, our overnight bags are in the trunk. So let’s see what your little magpie car can do on the highway, shall we?”

A thrill buzzes through me as I press the ignition. “Buckle up.”