Temptation in Tuxedo

Chapter Four

Chapter 4 | Dangerous Envy

*****

I winced as bruised knuckles protested wrapping around scorching ceramic, eyelids barely cracked against the offensive sunlight spearing through dingy blinds. Probably shouldn't have polished off that entire bottle of shitty cabernet alone last night...

Groaning, I shuffled toward the sad excuse for a kitchen just as someone pounded violently on the front door. I cringed, cursing the spike of pain the sudden noise shot through my throbbing skull. Who the hell dared disturb my misery before decent morning hours?

I wrenched open the abused slab of wood, fully prepared to ream out Mrs Ortega for her shitty timing. Except the sight awaiting me on my grubby welcome mat left words dying on my clumsy tongue.

There in all tapering muscle and flawless tailored lines stood Lorenzo, raking a blistering path down my debauched frame. I clutched the fraying neckline of my Henley, horribly aware I resembled three day old leftovers.

"Well this is a lovely surprise..." I managed thinly once my faculties returned from stunned paralysis. Suddenly last evening’s whiskey soak and subsequent blackout seemed the wiser coping mechanism for lingering trauma. I crossed both arms defensively as Lorenzo continued his silent perusal.

Several loaded beats swelled between us. Just as I contemplated slamming faded wood between us out of sheer self preservation, Lorenzo loosed a ragged exhale, dragging agitated fingers through his usually immaculate locks. The uncharacteristic disarray softened my lingering resentment slightly - before I registered the bruised and swollen mess marring his proud knuckles next.

Fresh fury spiked through me realizing what - or rather who - left his hand nearly as battered as Diego's face last night...

Oblivious to my mounting temper, Lorenzo stepped nearer until only the stubborn door frame still separated us. Even exhausted with a crooked sweater and uneven stubble roughing his jaw, the man resembled forbidden temptation soaked in sunlight. I hated how stubborn longing still clawed inside me against my better judgment.

"You weren't answering my calls." Raw sincerity rasped each word as Lorenzo clutched the chipped frame nearly boxing me in. "I was losing my goddamn mind worrying over you...”

“Oh, so punching out my ex isn’t distracting enough?” I bit out sharply. Lorenzo flinched as if my venomous words struck physical blows too - but I hardened my glare, unwilling to pardon such violence no matter his pretty apologies now.

Lorenzo scrubbed a harsh hand over his creased brow. “Marco, per favore...I reacted terribly last night. But I swear it wasn’t premeditated against that stronzo ex.” Desperation burned steadily beneath Lorenzo's surface crackling temper as he peered at me beseechingly again. “You have to understand why seeing him speak to you that way made me snap--”

“That ‘way’?” Fury spiked sharply through me anew. “You mean like the deranged thug you actually are beneath the shiny Rolex trappings?” Lorenzo recoiled as if I slapped him outright. Dimly I registered the wounded twist of his beloved mouth but resentment still flooded rational sense. I squared my shoulders, glaring up at him bitterly. “What if you’d done worse than a broken nose, huh? Landed yourself behind bars or slapped with assault charges when papa’s money can’t buy your way out?”

I sucked a ragged breath past the painful lump in my throat. “Do you even regret losing control at all? Because what I saw wasn’t someone I recognized or ever want to see again...”

His broad chest jerked sharply at my whispered condemnation. For one crackling beat a thousand unspoken words churned behind Lorenzo’s shadowed gaze boring into mine - until he shifted nearer by silent degrees, tentative fingertips trailing delicate over my wrist how they gravitated together first at the gala weeks earlier though now tentative as a skittish colt. I jerked halfheartedly at featherlight contact skimming up my forearm, pulse already hammering traitorously against my will.

When Lorenzo's uneven stare lifted back to me, sincerity blazed steady as sunlight spilling around our feet despite anguish carving up those striking noble features. “I regret anything which risks losing your faith in me, Marco. Even my own goddamn shortcomings...” His tender caress wandered higher, leaving smoldering sensation everywhere we touched. “But I could never regret defending your honor against anyone spewing such ugly lies, amore mio. Not even at risk of sending me straight back to hell.”

My ragged exhale shuddered loud in the cramped foyer. God how I wished scrubbing away fresh bloodstains marring Lorenzo’s legacy proved that simple... Yet perhaps true change demanded more than pretty words alone. I searched his beloved face intently, jaw clenched tight against the traitorous sting at my eyes’ corners.

“Then prove it, Lorenzo.” Quiet steel lined each syllable now. "Make things right somehow instead of just apologizing again--"

Lorenzo seized my tense jaw before I finished the hoarse entreaty. His feverish lips crashed down desperately, cutting short my demands. Raw urgency fueled our messy clash of tongues and teeth until I was backed fully against faded wallpaper, clinging for dear life against his solid chest. We strained for impossible nearness despite the painful wedge still firmly lodged between us from last night’s brutal chaos.

When we finally wrenched apart for fractured breath, Lorenzo scraped rough palms along my stubbled cheeks, smooth tenor still thick with remorseful longing. “Give me tonight, Marco. Let me fix things between us properly.” Despite the tender cradle of his calloused hands, refusal still burned hotly on my tongue - until Lorenzo caressed my swollen bottom lip with his thumb, hope and heartbreak warring across his striking profile.

“Per favore, amore mio...just one night.”

My resistance crumbled swiftly. Sucking a jagged breath, I turned my face into Lorenzo’s wide palm, lashes fluttering shut as I accepted temporary defeat along with his searing touch.

“One night,” I conceded raggedly, chest constricting at the sharp noise of relief Lorenzo loosed. I lifted my head, pinning him under my lingering skepticism. “But no more violence or otherwise acting insane if it comes to us being seen together again. Got it?”

The winged edges of Lorenzo's sensuous mouth lifted for the first time since he arrived on my dingy doorstep looking devastatingly perfect even worn to fraying threads emotionally. He bumped his forehead tenderly to mine despite his hulking imposing frame. The gesture somehow seemed more intimate than even fevered kisses now.

"For you I'd walk through fire unscathed without hesitation, Marco mio,” Lorenzo vowed fervently. “Surely keeping my s**t together around uptown trash won't be a challenge compared to that.”

I huffed wry laughter despite myself then dusted one last chaste kiss to his sharp Cupid’s bow. Lorenzo's molten eyes never wavered watching me through thick ebony silk before our lips met fleetingly. An unspoken promise sealed between outcasts - one I prayed desperately Lorenzo could keep after everything.

* * *

Vivid sweeps of violet and vermillion bled steadily toward indigo nightfall when the sleek town car turned down an elegantly tree lined street before easing smoothly into a driveway. I peered around curiously through tinted windows as Lorenzo exited, his devastating silhouette framed by amber lamps dotting a pale walkway beyond.

My earlier temper felt petty trailing him now toward carved double doors revealing warm light within. Lorenzo led us through marble and wrought iron finery before stepping aside so I could fully admire the stunning scene around me.

"Wow...” I breathed, slowly pivoting to take in soaring ceilings, exposed brick and iron accents blending classic aesthetics with sleek modern finishing. “This place is incredible, Lorenzo...”

The way my awed syllables shaped his beloved name made that appealing little furrow appear between his winged brows. Lorenzo prowled nearer, tentatively folding both arms around my waist as uncertainty still lurked beneath smooth veneer. His clean scent teased my senses until I relaxed into his hold by increments.

"Just one of my properties in DUMBO I renovated last year while escaping father's watchful eye..." Warm lips skimmed my temple, stoking delicious sparks everywhere we touched now without the buffer of bitter words still clinging from earlier. Lorenzo’s arms unconsciously tightened around me. "But what matters is you being here with me tonight, tesoro...”

I leaned back enough to read the sincerity etched plainly across Lorenzo's striking profile as he stared down at me. Raw vulnerability still lingered around his sensuous mouth, sending my traitorous heart into overdrive. “Well, it’s definitely not how I pictured seeing you again after last night's drama...but here we are I guess.”

At the wry twist slashing my lips, Lorenzo huffed softly then slid one broad palm deliberately up my rigid spine. "Here we are indeed..." He nudged closer until no space remained between us, his deft fingers still tracing maddening shapes that somehow bypassed clothing, searing through muscle and marrow until he cradled the vulnerable arch of my neck almost reverently now. "Which means I have a lot of lost time to make up for, clearly..."

Fiery intent blazed once more through chocolate and caramel depths mere heartbeats before Lorenzo's perfect lips sealed over mine.

The tentative brush sparked instant wildfire raging through my entire body. I clutched desperately at his nape, urging fevered kisses deeper as Lorenzo’s arms forged steel bands around my arched spine. He walked us backward until my shoulders met smooth wall once more. This dance seemed permanently tattooed into our muscle memory now - yet as Lorenzo's thigh wedged between mine, denim friction eliciting ragged moans swallowed between warring mouths, everything still felt shiny and new somehow.

By the time we broke for fractured breath, my lungs pistoned roughly almost synchronized with Lorenzo as we stared across kiss bitten lips still grazing intimately. His eyes looked more black than amber now, thin rings of fiery gold and green reflecting my debauched reflection.

"Take me to bed, Lorenzo...” His name escaped almost like obscene prayer from my slick mouth. That familiar sexy furrow deepened across Lorenzo's proud brow at my breathless plea. He smoothed both palms down my heaving flanks, thumbs tracing the sharp divot framing abdominal muscle leading tantalizingly lower.

"Only if you’re certain, Marco...” Husky words ghosted my feverish skin but still he hesitated, piercing shadowed stare searching out any flicker of remaining doubts. His restraint sent liquid warmth spilling through the lingering hollow ache behind my ribs from last night - confirmation of changed tides between us. I cradled Lorenzo's regal jaw, thumbing over his distinctive cleft chin and delighting as his avid focus fixated wholly on my mouth in return now.

"Certain of you..." I breathed before sealing our lips once more. Lorenzo groaned thickly, his response drowned between my insistent tongue stroking deeper then swept me up effortlessly. I anchored around that strong column of neck and pulsing shoulders as he mounted the open stairwell two steps at a time. We crested the landing fused mouth to mouth still, entirely lost in passion's riptide pulling us under. Blindly I registered oak floors and exposed brick melding sleek modern through wide doorways on either side of us - before Lorenzo nudged one ajar with his shoulder, carrying us across the threshold without unlocking from scorching kisses.

Cool Egyptian cotton sheets greeted me as Lorenzo laid my willing body atop expansive bedding. I arched up to continue pinning his skilled mouth but Lorenzo withdrew just far enough to sweep his blistering focus down my disheveled frame. My muscles jumped wherever his gaze trailed raw with blatant wanting.

Slowly as if revealing some coveted work of art, Lorenzo skimmed both palms up my quivering torso, toying with the hem of my thin tee. "Need to see all of you, il mio bellissimo...”

Liquid heat unfurled molten through my pelvis at the explicit yearning scalding his Italian appeal. Locking stares I leaned up enough for Lorenzo to slide my shirt off in one smooth motion. Gooseflesh swept across newly exposed skin as I sank back, utterly lost in feral intensity overtaking Lorenzo's striking profile. He traced fingertips across the shallow divots beneath my hipbones, mapping every hollow with devoted focus.

"Exquisite..." Lorenzo whispered thickly. Then his wicked mouth sealed over my left n****e without warning, wrenching a choked moan as he lapped before sucking almost brutally until I writhed and babbled praise beneath him. Just when overstimulation edged acute discomfort Lorenzo gentled his efforts, tongue tracing languid circles instead while his other hand plucked relentlessly at my neglected side.

"Oh f**k - !" I carded trembling fingers through his silken waves, clutching tighter when Lorenzo merely chuckled before scraping the perfect edge of teeth over one slick nub then ministering to its twin once more. My c**k pulsed painfully confined behind zipper yet still Lorenzo continued his torturous campaign trailing open mouth kisses down my quivering abdomen next...

The wet heat engulfing me to the root jolted my spine clear off the bed. I shouted hoarsely, every tendon in my neck cording as I flung a forearm over dazzled eyes. "f**k! Lorenzo, I can't - I'm gonna - “

Talented lips and tongue worked me ruthlessly fast and tight until white hot rapture ignited every cell. I poured violently down his working throat with an ecstatic cry, fingers knotted ruthlessly in sleek locks still. Even before full body tremors abated fully Lorenzo flipped my limp body. Lush lips seared across both shoulder blades then the knobs of my spine while I drowned languidly in heavy afterglow.

Distantly I registered Lorenzo’s talented mouth continue tracing each ridge and dimple down my backside and along sensitized inner thighs until I whimpered raggedly, every atom overstimulated yet craving more of his glorious torture.

Marco's breath sawed in ragged pants, fingers twisted ruthlessly in silken sheets as pleasure crested through him again and again beneath Lorenzo's relentless devotion. He crashed limp and sated against sweat-slick skin, nuzzling closer while Lorenzo stroked his trembling flanks.

"Think you've wrung me completely dry by now,” Marco rasped, quirking a grin despite wrung out muscles protesting further exertion.

Lorenzo's resounding laughter filled the bedroom's shadows. He shifted them gently until Marco sprawled boneless atop his broad chest, their racing hearts thundering in tandem where flesh met.

"Let's call it making up thoroughly for lost chances...” Lorenzo's wandering palms traced idle patterns down Marco's arched spine. "I just needed to see you come undone properly as many times as possible before letting you slip away again...”

The vulnerability underscoring Lorenzo's teasing words gave Marco pause. He peered closer through the intimate hush now blanketing their tangled limbs. Past the glint of primal satisfaction lingering in Lorenzo’s umber stare flitted newer shadows - from their heated clash that morning and threat of shattered hopes still skulking ominously.

Marco splayed protective fingers over Lorenzo’s pounding heart. "Hey - I'm still here,” he murmured fiercely. “We'll make this work no matter what your family thinks or wants for you..."

Reticent tension still gripped Lorenzo’s frame. Marco smoothed a palm along his striking profile until Lorenzo reluctantly met his piercing look once more, so many conflicted emotions roiling behind espresso eyes now. Marco tugged him down into a fervent kiss, channeling every shred of conviction and promise that tomorrow would dawn brighter for them both...

Some pivotal moment stretched between their parted lips - before Lorenzo crushed Marco fiercely closer, resolve cementing his noble features at last. No more hiding or tempering happiness for anyone else’s expectations, his burning stare seemed to declare now.

Marco grinned into their next searing kiss, joy and victory swirling hotly through every fiber. Anything felt possible with Lorenzo choosing him so completely like this.