The Italian Heir-CASTELLANO SERIES: MARTIN’S STORY

13

“What’s with that look?” Erika asked, breaking into a small smile as I walked her back to her family home. It was exactly an hour before the day ended and the street lamps leading to her house were all lit with warm lighting.

The clouds above were formless and the sky was painted in light navy blue; the wind howled at a distance and crisp brown leaves did a little cartwheel before they landed on the stone pavement once more.

“Why do I look like what?” I asked curiously.

A small gap was the only thing that stood between us. We were taking extra slow strides on the way in—it was as if neither of us wanted the night to end just yet. Well, at least I felt that way. The quietness of the night got my thoughts all tumbling about in my head and surprisingly, neither of them had to do with work.

That says a lot.

“You look so carefree that you just might belt out a poetic ruse.” She answered with a little scoff. “Only because I hadn't pictured my evening to turn out anything like that,” I said.

“What was your favorite part of the evening?” she asked.

I pondered thoughtfully while watching the lights in her house go out, only the porch light was left on. “I’d have to say it was the mini-dog show, the one where it balanced the large bone on its head.”

“I know, those puppies were so cute in the little tuxedos, goodness I just want to hug and squish them.” Her eyes lit up when she talked about the puppies we had seen earlier at the square. Two little corgis doing all sorts of tricks and it got the crowds ‘aww-ing’ for 10 minutes straight.

“Well, this is my stop,” She announced quietly. We were standing in front of her porch, waiting to part ways for the night, but strangely, I didn’t want it to end just yet. Was it selfish of me that I wanted her to stay with me a little while longer even though we were both tired?

“Thank you for tonight, Crawford. I never thought I’d say this, but I enjoyed your company. Feels good to be able to spend some quality time together.”

“We never really get to do that much, did we?” she tilted her head to the side, smiling reminiscently.

“I guess we’ve been too preoccupied with our own lives and forgotten what it’s like to have only each other for company—we’ve always hung out in our circle and doing what everyone else wanted to do.”

She nodded. “I’m glad you came along with me tonight. I know I said I was going to put up a fight if I couldn’t get you out of your chair at your office, but truthfully, I know how stubborn you can really be; I was merely trying my luck.”

“Either way, I’m glad you came back for me.” I gave her a small, diminutive smile. I was holding, no, biting my tongue before I told her what I was dying to ask—for her to stay with me tonight, but my jaws seemed to have cemented on its own accord.

A small part of me had just called myself an i***t for even having such thoughts, especially after that little revelation I had to myself earlier this evening—that I wanted her badly has made me much more aware of her presence so close to me. Every gesture, every blink of an eye, every smile and every word she said made my pulse quicken.

And with all that happening at all once, I wouldn’t deny there was a modicum of fear in me even—chances are that I could not suppress these feelings any longer. So, before I blew anything in regards to our friendship (as if I hadn’t already the night before and in the supply closet), I bid Erika a good night.

“Sleep well.” She gave me a little wave before walking backwards slowly onto her porch. I gave her a reluctant nod, walked the last fifty steps or so back to my car and slammed the door shut. ‘Good luck even sleeping tonight.’ I told myself.

It didn’t take too long for me to get home. I was tired but my mind was active and normally I’d take this as an opportunity to get some work done, but not tonight. I sat on my bed with a slightly damp towel in hand, just staring blankly into space.

Like much earlier, I could not structure my thoughts and picking them apart seemed too tedious at the moment.

However far my mind had wandered, it seemed to lead its way back to her. I covered my face with my palms and let out a long groan, falling backwards on my bed.

But if there was one other thing I learned tonight, it was spontaneity and that is what exactly I needed to do. I stopped thinking when a lightbulb went off above my head.

I stood upright, pulled on a shirt over my joggers and jogged down the stairs.

For once, just once, I didn’t want to overthink things. I wanted to be reckless despite knowing at some point I was going to regret my actions for tonight. Yes, I was about to go to Erika’s place and I was going to get into her place the way we used to when we were much younger.

What was I on about? Well, let me take you into our adventure closet.

Erika attended high school parties. I didn’t. The only reason why I was at one was because Erika needed me to get her out of there. I wonder why she kept going to them if she hated it so much that she left earlier than everyone else.

There were times when she snuck out just for a party despite being grounded, but that didn’t seem to stop her. When I picked her up and got back to her place, there was only one way in and that was up. Yes, climbing up the big oak tree that was nearest to the balcony of her room.

It was a sturdy oak tree but it was almost 5 years ago since we last climbed it. I wasn’t so sure if it could hold my weight now.

The minute my car made it out to the open empty streets, it started drizzling. I shut the rest of my thoughts out until I arrived on the familiar street on which I decided to park my car a few houses down. It’d be a rookie's mistake to even have my car anywhere near her place.

Not especially when my family home and hers were so close by.

“Shit.” I said quietly as I ducked a few branches while I jogged down the stone path that was behind the row of properties lined up. I could feel blood rushing to my head and my veins pulsating quickly. What’s more, my palms were sweaty before I even started climbing—I was nervous as hell. The adrenaline rush, I believe that’s what they call it.

I’ve not pulled a stunt like this in forever and it was time to put those skills to the test—if I even had any.

And at all hours of the day, it chose to rain now. It was pissing cats and dogs the moment I spotted the familiar oak tree that stood out taller than the house itself. I was looking for that one branch Erika and I had tied a small ribbon on it.

But the thing was, trees grow, branches fall off, so right now I basically had to parkour to get up to a branch that was above my head. “I’m sorry Mr. and Mrs. Crawford, but desperate times call for...” I ran towards the wall of her house; it happened all so fast. I remember pulling a Spiderman stunt and twisting my body real quick and next thing I knew, I was hauling myself up the branch I caught on. “Desperate measures.” I concluded with a grunt.

“Of course Tarzan did this with ease, he practically grew up in the jungle.” I muttered while deducing which branch I should get on next. I almost slipped on the branch I was on while having one foot on the other.

The whole process took me forever. I may be good at running a business, but I certainly was terrible at tree climbing. Ah well,, there was no way anyone could be perfect at every little thing they do.

Yes, this was me comforting myself, so I didn’t feel too bad at not excelling at something as ridiculous as sneaking into a girl’s house.

A startled Erika backed away from the balcony when she thought this was a midnight robbery, looking around for something to hit me with. Who wouldn’t? I was soaking wet and I was cursing in languages of all sorts that would make a nun blush.

“Before you scream and wake the whole neighborhood, it’s me, Martin.” I said, grabbing the wooden ledge, hoisting one leg after another. Okay fine, I fell in unceremoniously. Erika laughed. Boy did she laugh. “Oh, I really should have that taped for future blackmail.”

“No ‘what are you doing here’ or ‘are you hurt’?” I bit out while she helped me stand up and moved away from the rain. “How did you even manage to reach the branch we always climb on?”

“I pulled a Jackie Chan—.” I sneezed before I even finished my sentence. “Let me get you something warm to change into, I’m sure my brother has some…”

Before she could turn to leave, I grabbed her wrist to stop her. I was acutely aware of what she was dressed in—braless, clad in a silk sleeping gown that fell just around mid-thigh; her hair looked like it had been tossed by the wind and her deep brown orbs were every shade of wild.

“Do you need anything else?” she asked, looking just as flustered as I was. “I’m sorry for barging in like that in the middle of the night, uninvited.” I quickly said. It was now or never.

“Okay...” She breathed out slowly, searching my eyes. For a minute there, she looked uncertain where I was going with that. I cleared my throat, feeling jittery even though that was a feeling I had long forgotten. “You asked what my favorite part of the evening was.” I recalled her question to me much earlier.

She nodded slowly. “Yeah, and you told me it was a dog show.”

“Well, I wasn’t exactly telling the truth. It wasn’t,” I said composedly.

“Castellano, you’re acting really weird, what is it?” she had her brows scrunched while trying to read me.

“I uh…”I cleared my throat once again before finding my voice once more. “Meant to say that having you all to myself this evening was uhm…god, this so hard to say it almost feels embarrassing.” I smoothed my hand across my jaw and squeezed the back of my neck.

“If words are what you’re struggling with, you could always show them to me.” She said in a low whisper as her fingers wriggled and circled around my wrist, her skin was warm against my icy one.

I breathed out thankfully, “I’m glad you said so.”

I pulled her in with one gentle tug and released my grip around her wrist, reaching for her lips. The reaction I got from her was almost immediate. A soft moan elicited from the back of her throat and she circled her hands around my neck, unbothered by my soaking wet figure and clothes.

My fingers tightened around her waist and squeezed the curve of her waistline, feeling the cold silk fabric against my fingers when I did. I yearned to have every nook and cranny of her figure memorized and engraved in my head, her scent, all of her.

I was even jealous now of the other boys she had dated before me who had the privilege of knowing her so intimately. Something burned within me that very second, l wasn’t done with what we did back in the supply closet, and I wanted her to know that.

“Ohh.” She let out a tiny, breathless gasp as I lifted her from the ground, feeling the round globes of her ass on my palms. I pulled back, looking up into her eyes. “You’re not wearing anything underneath Crawford.”

“Aren’t you glad then?” she smirked, holding my face in her hands gently.

“Very. But for future reference, I would have loved tearing them off with my teeth.” I winked. She straightened her back and pulled my face upwards towards her and kissed me. It was a good thing I had the layout of her room memorized because I knew every wall I’d like to have her up against.

She pushed herself against my wet chest and I felt the silk gown riding up further with every little movement she made. I could feel my heart thumping loudly against my chest and I’ll admit I was every bit nervous, then thrilled. This whole thing was new to us—the unprecedented intimacy, the rush of adrenaline and the fear of getting caught, which made all this more electrifying.

I maneuvered from the wall to her king-sized mattress and laid her down on it, all this while avoiding the lower half of her body, because if I hadn’t averted my eyes, I’d lose every last bit of self-control. I felt it seeping out of me at this very instant, but that didn’t stop my hands from sliding up her thighs, wanting a touch of her.

With one knee in between her thighs to offer support, I had her pinned beneath me. Erika’s fingers grazed my lower torso, pulling at the soaking fabric. I took her hint, with one stretch of an arm; I tugged at the collar of my shirt and removed it whole.

She sucked in a deep breath, her cleavage exposed as her chest rose and fell. She watched me descend just above her once again, claiming her lips in mine hungrily. Like I said, I was acutely aware of the fact she wasn’t wearing anything beneath her gown. All it took was just one slip of a hand and I would be seeing my best friend naked for the very first time.

“Martin.” She said, as if she could tell what was going on in my head. “Don’t overthink it, live in the moment, it is what it is.”

I smirked; with one smooth tug of a hand she was bare and all-ready just for me. Hoisting her naked frame further up the mattress, I observed every inch, every outline, every curve, bend and mound, growling in appreciation as she wriggled beneath my curious, hungry stare.

“Have I ever told you that you look so sexy when you’re that confident?” I craned my neck to look up at her closely.

“Only a dozen times, yes.” She reached for the back of my neck and claimed my bottom lip with hers. I loved it when a woman took charge. Her lips moved languidly against mine as I removed her hands from my neck and pinned them both above her head, a palm snaking beneath the small of her back pulling her upwards towards my lower torso so she knew what she was doing to me, physically. I was growing unrestrained as the minutes passed.

She panted breathlessly as I trailed my lips down her neck, biting and sucking the skin, trailing the tip of my nose down her décolletage as my teeth bit down, causing her to press her bare torso more insistently against my cold skin, withdrawing a cold shudder in response.

My tongue dipped between her cleavage and breathed hot air against her already sensitive mounds, her legs circled around my lower torso with heels digging into my lower back as I sucked her sensitive buds, causing her to mewl in appreciation as her nails dug into my scalp, tugging on the roots—I was taking that as her approval to go further, down south, towards the most intimate part of her body.

Rain lashed against the windows of her balcony doors, the clattering sounds drowned out her moans and mewls as she repeatedly cried out my name softly; over and over. That night, I did things to her that we shall not speak of, that no one should even know of.

It was also the same night that I discovered a whole new side of her I'd not seen—raw, unbridled emotions and reactions I never knew she was capable of showing. Every touch, every stroke and every movement said what no words could describe—an awakening.

**

“Erika!” I heard Georgie—Erika’s mom call from a distance. “Aren’t you leaving for work?”

The sleeping figure beside me jolted awake and sat upright, pulling the covers away from my bare torso to cover herself. “Erika?” Mrs. Crawford called once more. “Martin!” Erika hissed, tugging the covers completely away from my naked form as she bounded towards the door in a hurry.

The footsteps that were coming towards Erika’s room hastened. Mrs. Crawford clearly did not appreciate her daughter showing up late to work, so being her boss’s disappointment. But what she didn’t know was that her daughter had her boss in her room…under her parent’s roof…naked.

“Mom, I’m getting changed! I’ll leave in just a sec!” Erika jabbed her finger towards the balcony and then towards me, her eyes wide with urgency. I propped myself up on her bed with my elbows and her eyes trailed down south and gulped evidently. Suddenly, she didn’t seem like she wanted me to leave.

“Well honey, just give me a second and open up this door. I want to show you my new dress I got tailored to fit—it was a dress of your great-grandmother's.”

“Mom! But I’m naked!” Erika cried, slamming her back against the door. “Oh god, sis! It’s too early for all that talk!” somewhere in the house, Erika’s brother cried. Great, now half her family members were up and about.

“Literally.” I mouthed and she showed me her clenched fists. “Honey! It'll just take a minute!” Mrs. Crawford’s voice was muffled against the other side of the door. Erika smirked at me and before I could fully register what was going to happen next, she opened a slight c***k in the door and I rolled off her bed almost immediately.

Both the women had their little exchange followed by some squealing and ‘wow-ing’. I, on the other hand, got up, snuck my way around undetected and stood quietly behind an Erika-in-a-blanket.

The second she bid her mom goodbye, I grabbed her from behind and she let out a muffled squeal against my palm I had around her mouth. Slamming her against the wall behind the door, I kissed her hard and she let the duvet from around her body fall to the ground, exposing her naked form.

“I never thought there would come a day where I have to tell you that you’re late.” Erika said through labored breaths and I fixed my lips on her shoulders, kissing and sucking on her skin delicately. “You’d think I’d lose track of time, do you?” I asked, pulling away watching her mouth slightly part as a quiet whimper left her lips.

“There’s no way you'll make it in time, there’s only barely half an hour left on that clock.” She challenged, circling a leg around mine and I squeezed her ass in exchange.

“Then I guess I’d better leave. See you at the office tesoro, I hope you’re not too sore to walk.” I whispered and she smirked, pulling my fingers away from her throbbing wetness between her legs. I may have sulked in response to that.

“And I hope you'll be able to keep it in your pants for the rest of the day.” She grabbed my chin with her fingers, kissing the tip of my nose before turning around, sashaying seductively into her en-suite. “You know the way out, don’t you?” she asked without looking back.

“Don’t worry Crawford, a few more times back up here, I’ll eventually have every last branch of that tree memorized like I did last night with you.”