32. Chapter 32

32

I laria had the same dream again. The recurring one, of Soren's demanding lips moving over hers. The one after which she would slowly wake, completely aroused and hating herself.

For a split second, the despair washed over her yet again.

Then she felt the light kisses on the back of her neck. The strong arm draped over her waist. Fingers tracing circles on her stomach. The huge erection pressing against her butt cheeks.

And she remembered. The confession. The urgency. The fire.

It was like nothing she had ever felt before.

And with the memory came a flood of arousal that quickened her breathing and brought a desperate ache between her legs.

Ilaria grasped Soren's wrist, and he immediately stopped. Then she sat up and looked at him, laying there. How he could look so tortured and tempting so early in the morning was beyond her comprehension.

His eyes held a question, as if wondering if something went wrong between last night and this morning. But when she gently held onto his shoulders and swung one leg over to sit on top of him, the question disappeared. Only heat and anticipation remained.

Holding his gaze, she ran her hands over his stiff cock. Gently at first, then with more insistence. Soren's breathing turned ragged. He brought his hands to touch her, to smooth over her thighs, her breasts, but she smiled and shook her head. He dropped his hands back onto the bed, eyes burning.

Ilaria had both hands on him, rubbing and squeezing, watching his face for every reaction. "I want to feel you, bare, inside me," she whispered.

A small groan escaped his throat. "I'm clean."

She smiled. "Me too. And I'm on birth control. But first—" She scooted herself down his legs so she could lean over his cock, her lips inches away from the tip. Her eyes went back up to meet Soren's, watching her intently.

She licked her lips, opened her mouth, and took the entire broad tip of his erection into her mouth.

Soren jerked and took in a sharp inhale.

She slid her lips down his length, taking him in as deep as she could go, and then slid back up, her hand following her mouth.

He let out a guttural groan.

Ilaria worked his cock until he put a hand on her head. "Baby, stop," he said through clenched teeth. "I want to come inside you."

She maneuvered herself back over him, kneeling. She watched him watch her as she ran her hands over herself: her breasts and belly. And his eyes turned almost black when she ran a finger along her center and rubbed the nerve bundle, moaning.

Then she positioned herself over the tip of his cock, the tip nearly breaching the entrance. She paused and watched him. He swallowed hard.

"I need to touch you," Soren rasped.

"Soon," she promised.

Then Ilaria plunged down, fully sheathing him inside her.

"Fuck," he breathed.

Her climax already building, she used her legs to lift herself up and down. She could feel every ripple and hard plane of his bare cock. Within seconds she went over the edge, calling out his name, the sensation rushing up and over, her muscles clamping down around him. She felt the jerk of his cock as he also came, spilling his juices deep inside her.

Soren finally brought his hands to her, tightening around her hips, sealing the lock between them as the waves subsided. He blinked, then, and looked at her with such wonder. This was the look she had been waiting for all her life.

***

Emmy: Good luck with the funeral today. Wish we could be there with you.

Noe: We're thinking of you. Come by later if you need to talk.

Ilaria: Thanks, guys, that means a lot. Uh, I do have something to talk about, but it's not about the funeral…

Emmy: Hope it's not bad news. Hint?

Ilaria: It's technically not bad news.

Emmy: Is it about Soren?

Noe: You and Soren did the horizontal tango You wet the willy. You rode the bony express.

Emmy: So happy for you!

Ilaria: Did you know this was going to happen?

Noe: Of course.

Emmy: Yeah, we had a feeling.

"Thanks for coming." Ilaria hugged her many cousins, aunts, uncles, nieces and nephews as they filed into her parents' house for the family-only wake, carrying all manner of food and flowers. "You all know where the kitchen is. Help yourself to the food."

Dozens of extended family members took over the house, sitting on every available chair and even some surfaces that weren't meant for sitting. Ilaria didn't see all of her extended family often, not even for holidays, because there were just too many of them. Only when someone found the time and energy to organize a family reunion would she see some of her more distant relatives.

There was a blessed break in the arrival of guests, so Ilaria could lean against the console table in the foyer and let her mind wander. The service at the cemetery was short, and deliberately so. She had already said her final goodbyes to her parents in Edinburgh, so the service here was for the rest of her family to get closure. She'd had their bodies cremated, which she didn't think her parents would have minded, and shipped home, so the service was more of a memorial. Their remains were permanently stored in a beautiful columbarium at the cemetery.

All in all, Ilaria did more comforting for her family members than they did for her, which, ironically, offered her another aspect of closure she hadn't expected. She could view her parents' deaths with wisdom and perspective, and the day became more of a celebration of their lives than a grieving of their absence.

Or maybe it was just the feel-good chemicals that had flooded Ilaria's brain from her orgasms last night and this morning. A smile played on her lips as she remembered the emotional rollercoaster and then the frenzied sex. She had never felt such urgency before, probably because she had never been so turned on.

Actually, she corrected herself, she had been that turned on before, but it was all with the same man. Only Soren turned her on like that.

"Hey, sweetie," Gia said as she came over to wrap her arms around Ilaria. "You doing okay?"

"I'm actually great," she replied honestly. "It…feels good to say goodbye."

"They would be so proud of you, you know."

Ilaria squeezed her cousin's hand. "I know. And thank you for your support. With my parents and at work." She lowered her voice. They didn't speak business in front of the other family members.

"I'll throw my chips in with you any day." Gia grinned. She paused and gave Ilaria an assessing look. "You seem…different." Her eyes squinted, then popped wide open. "You had sex," she mouthed.

Ilaria pressed her lips together to keep from smiling, widening her eyes in innocence.

"Before your parents' funeral?" Gia covered her mouth to keep from bursting into giggles. Her eyes were a combination of shock and pride.

"Is that terrible?" Ilaria whispered.

"You're living, sweetie," Gia replied firmly. "Now who was it?"

"No one you know." Gia didn't know about Soren being in town, and Ilaria meant to keep it that way.

"Where'd you meet him?"

Ilaria hadn't expected to have to come up with a fake story about who she was sleeping with. "Uh, at the store. We met in front of the strawberries, we went out to dinner, and…" She shrugged. "That's it."

"He must be one hell of a catch if you slept with him after one date." Gia observed. She knew Ilaria didn't sleep with anyone she barely knew.

"Yeah, well, I threw caution to the wind." That part, at least, was true.

"Ilaria!"

Ilaria was never so glad for her Aunt Rose, Gia's mother, to interrupt. "Hi, Aunt Rose. Hope you're getting enough to eat." The older generation always seemed to be concerned that everyone be well fed.

"Oh, plenty," Rose exclaimed. She patted her short brown hair, stiff with hairspray. "I probably ate a little too much. By the way, that was such a nice service. A little surprising on the cremation, but what can your parents say about it, I guess."

Ilaria smiled internally while Gia rolled her eyes. She could always count on her aunt for a little underhanded criticism.

"I'm glad you appreciated the service," Ilaria replied, ignoring the rest of the comment.

"I miss Stefano so much." Rose sniffled. "We were always so close, even as kids. I'd like to think I knew him really well. So I wonder whether he would have wanted to be cremated, that's all." She dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. "Don't mind me. I'm just being overly concerned. As his sister, you know."

Ilaria felt a tightening in her chest. "Thanks for your input, Aunt Rose." Don't make a scene.

"So, do you think you're ready to take over the business?" Rose continued, peering at her. "It's going to be tough, you know, and there are a lot of…unsavory aspects to it. I wouldn't want you to be overwhelmed."

Clearly, she had talked to Vincent.

"Your father, as you know, took a small business from our father and turned it into an empire," Rose went on.. "He single-handedly saved this family. Not only saved it, but set us all up for life. He was a brilliant businessman."

Ilaria felt the back of her neck heat. "I appreciate your concern. I'm ready." She kept her face impassive.

Rose kept talking as if Ilaria hadn't said anything. "I was quite surprised to hear that he decided to groom you to be the heir. Even though Vincent is only a few years younger than Stefano, I thought he would have been the one to take over. Since, after all, your mother wasn't able to give Stefano a son, and in fact decided to stop having children after you were born. She somehow convinced Stefano that handing the empire to a daughter was a good idea."

"Mom," Gia said sharply, looking shocked.

The anger in Ilaria's chest broke open.

Rose rolled her eyes at her daughter. "But I understand. Vincent would have been too old to take over if Stefano had lived a full life, if he hadn't been so senselessly killed before his time." Her voice went shrill. "But if he wanted the next generation to take over, then Peter was the next obvious choice, don't you think? This is a man's business." Her finger went up in the air to drive home her point. "A woman should be at home, supporting her man, giving him sons, raising his children."

Gia looked at her mother with disbelief.

Peter, who had wandered over to stand behind his mother and overheard the last part his mother said, was like a deer in headlights. He looked at Ilaria with wide eyes and shook his head.

"Are you finished?" Ilaria asked her aunt with a calm she didn't feel.

"You really should consider having Vincent take over, since he's been doing it for so much longer."

"Mom, it's not your place to say anything," Gia interrupted, teeth clenched. She looked between her mother and Ilaria, face pale.

"Of course it's my place," Rose snapped. "Stefano was my brother. This business, which started from our father, supports the whole family. It's my business, too." She held up her hands, eyes wide. "Look, I'm just saying. At least have Vincent help. He knows everything."

"Mom." Gia glared at her mother.

"I'm protecting the family," Rose said. "I just want the businesses to continue to do well, that's all."

"Rose," Ilaria said, forcing her voice to stay even. "You're right. My father was a brilliant businessman, as you said. He created an empire out of the business that Nonno started." She tilted her head while staring at her aunt. "One could argue that without my father, the original business would still be a tiny one, if it was even still around. As it stands today, it wouldn't be what it is without my father." She leaned in close to her aunt, looking down at her. "The business today is my father's. Not yours. Not Vincent's. You wouldn't have your current paycheck and lifestyle if my father hadn't built it to what it was and decided to take care of the family."

Her aunt's eyes were wide with outrage.

"So feel free to have whatever opinion you like about my ability to do this job. I give zero shits about what your opinion is. But this is my father's business. He decided I would be the one to take over, and I will trust his decision and continue his legacy." Ilaria's voice lowered to a dangerous calm. "But if anyone does or says anything that threatens my ability to continue my father's legacy, then things are going to change real fast." She looked her aunt up and down. "If I were you, I'd start saving for a rainy day."

Ilaria whipped around and walked out to the garden before anyone else could stop her. She couldn't bear to look at Gia or Peter after she had just threatened to take away their mother's only source of income.

She walked into the center of the garden and ducked into her favorite spot. Ever since she was a little girl, her favorite spot in the garden was hidden behind a row of hedges, out of sight from the house. She took a seat on the stone bench, letting out a deep breath.

Ilaria felt as if the threats were coming from all sides: rival families, business partners, even her own family. Other than a few people, everyone was trying to take advantage of her, and no one trusted her.

Were they right? Maybe she couldn't do this. Maybe she should hand it over to someone with more confidence, more guts, more determination than she had. She felt the walls closing in, her airways constricting.

Her phone vibrated.

Soren: Hope you're hanging in there today, love. I'm here if you want to talk.

God, she wanted to lean on him. She wanted to steal some of that unwavering confidence he had, that never-ending supply of absolute certainty.

But how could she, when he had his own family and business to go home to? This relationship, or whatever it was, was always going to be temporary, as fun and stimulating as it was. She knew that when she agreed to it.

Ilaria: Thanks. Other than a few annoying comments from my family, I'm doing pretty good.

Soren: I'm convinced that families exist solely for the purpose of thickening your skin.

Ilaria: Purpose fulfilled. My skin is as thick as cow hide.

Soren: I'll give you a massage later to soften you up.

Ilaria had to handle this next phase of her life on her own. She had to own her life. She'd have fun with Soren while he was in town, but she wouldn't burden him with her insecurities.

A voice interrupted her thoughts.

"What's the problem now?" Vincent said impatiently.

Ilaria froze. His voice was on the other side of the hedges, which were thick, but if it occurred to him to look around it, he would see her.

"I need aestrium-x done now," Vincent growled. He paused, listening to the other end of his phone call. "I don't care about the problems. Fix them if you think they're so important. Regardless, it's shipping on time."

Ilaria held her breath, not daring to make a sound. He muttered under his breath, and then she heard his footsteps on the paving stones fade away.

She slowly let out her breath and continued to wait another five minutes just in case Vincent hadn't actually left. She slowly peeked around the hedge and saw no one. Before she walked back up to the house, she sent Soren a text recounting the conversation she just overheard.

This was proof, then, that Vincent was involved in aestrium-x. She still didn't know what it was, but it sounded as if there was a deadline for a shipment date, and he was determined to meet it.