I licked one last line from his stomach, down until I reached the crown, and then I slid him into my mouth. Digging my nails into his backside, I hollowed out my cheeks. I'd learned Odin didn't have a problem with roughness, and I sucked him deep to mimic the motions my hands had made earlier. The noises he was making spurred me on. I felt desirable, like I'd never had before.
"Do I want to know how you're so good at this?" he growled.
I stopped sucking and pulled away from him, sitting upright on my knees. "I've never done this before," I answered, telling him the truth.
"How, Serena?" he groaned.
"I wanted to be good for you, so I did research." I bent over and licked from the crown to his stomach. "You know, erotic books." I licked the other side and circled my tongue underneath. "Porn."
He growled at me again and threaded his fingers through my hair. "I am going to pretend I didn't hear that. The only dick you're ever going to see is mine."
"You taste better than a banana." I took him back into my mouth and sucked hard, pulling in my cheeks.
His moans came frequently. His groans were louder. Longer. I was doing this to him. It was a powerful feeling, and I wanted him again. I pushed him back by his thighs.
"Argh," he moaned in frustration as he took a step back from me, bending at the waist. His eyes never left mine as he placed his hands on his knees, trying to catch his breath. He was hard everywhere. His eyes burned a fiery path, scorching mine with how deeply he stared at me. His muscles glistened with sweat as they shifted with his movement, and his dick protruded from his body with the evidence of what I had done to him.
Grabbing the material of my dress, I raised it over my head. The only thing on my mind was how fast I could get naked so that we could be one.
As I stared at Odin, and we both breathed heavily in the silent room, I made a choice. I turned around and grabbed a pillow from the bed and positioned it under my hips as I laid flat across the bottom. Silently, I gave myself a quick pep talk. Odin wouldn't let anything bad happen to me.
I waited in anticipation, but the room was too still. All of my senses were on overload, and I strained to hear any sound behind me. What was he doing? Why wasn't he moving? I almost turned around to see when I felt his hands on the bottoms of my feet. He rubbed them until I was moaning for more and then moved onto my calves. He did the same thing, massaging themuntil it was too much, but when he reached my thighs, I flinched. Neither one of us commented on it, but he hastened to my waist and further up my back and into my shoulders.
I tried to relax, and I reminded myself that this was just like getting a massage.
I felt the bed dip, and his knee rubbed against the side of my leg. Leaning over me, he swiped my hair to one side and kissed down my neck. This was nice, I told myself repeatedly.
He followed my spine until he reached my lower back. His kisses were open-mouthed and left a burning trail. My body was hot, and I wanted him to relieve the aches, but my mind echoed the nightmares that I'd tried to outrun. I kept reminding myself that this was Odin. This was the man I adored, and no one else.
He slid his body over mine with his hands on either side of my head. His wedding ring shined under the lights in the room. Odin. I could raise my hands, even though his body bracketed mine. Seeking comfort, I tried to loop our fingers together, but he grabbed my wrist gently and held it to the bed. The nightmares I had tried to hold back came flooding in. I panicked and flexed my fingers to fight back, but I felt trapped. The memories of the handcuffs rubbing at my wrists pounded at the forefront of my brain.
I found myself rolled over onto my back. I could feel the tears streaming down my face, and I wasn't sure if the muffled cries were coming from me. It was hard to focus on anything concrete.
“Hey, it’s alright,” he told me. "I am sorry.” He repeated both phrases over and over until they penetrated the fog I was in. He was kneeling beside me. His eyes never left me, and his fists opened and closed, like he wanted to touch me but didn't know if it would be alright.
I sat up quickly and threw my arms around his neck. He wrapped his around my back and pulled me close so that I was sitting in his lap with my knees on either side of his.
"You really knew before our wedding?" I asked him again, my face buried in the crease between his neck and his shoulder.
"Baby, I'd already decided you were mine before it came up in that conversation."
I nestled further into him. "I didn't get help. Therapy would have been a huge red flag to my family. I deal with it as best as I can, and I am getting better, but I have weak moments." I felt like I owed him an explanation, and I had to get it all out. “Naked,” I said. “Panicked. know it’s you. You’ll never hurt me. I just can’t escape the nightmares.”
“It’ll happen, but I’ll always be by your side.” He held me tighter. "I need to tell you something."
I was emotionally exhausted, but my body still craved to be close to him. It was an odd combination, but I clung to him like he was my lifesaver.
"Be gentle. I don't know how much more I can take."
I felt him kiss the top of my head. "Serena, when I tell you I will have revenge in your name, I don't say that lightly. I mean every word, and Carazzo will pay for his crimes."
I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked him in the eyes. I was part of an Italian organized crime family. Everything always had a hidden meaning, and I refrained from asking questions because someone could exploit me for the answers. Staring into Odin's fiery blue eyes, I felt this was the turning point in our marriage. This went beyond being safe with him. He'd tell me his secrets if I asked, and I would hold them tightly to my chest so that they never leaked out. However, it was safer for him if I remained in the dark, but the thought that he would tell me solidified our relationship.
"You never rush me to bed, but I know when you leave in the middle of the night, those are not emergency appointments because your phone doesn't ring. You're a doctor, but doctors don't do surveillance. They don't hide trackers on their targets. Ican accept that you have secrets as long as they keep you safe, so that you'll come home to me every night."
***
Odin