Sicilian Dreams (27 page)

‘Is this what it was all about? The order to meet you here?’ she asked, putting her hands on his shoulders and pushing him away.

‘What do you mean, order? I simply asked you to meet me here. Besides, my phone was low on battery and I thought it would save time rather than me coming to get you.

‘Come.’ he commanded, taking her hand and leading her through the front door and towards the staircase.

‘Where are we going,’ asked Cassie, a little breathlessly.

‘Where do you think?’ he turned his head and winked back at her, starting to climb the stairs, pulling her along by the hand.

‘Marco, we can’t, not here.’

‘Of course we can Cassandra. It is my home. Ah, I see, you are worried about Marta. Well, don’t be. She is busy trying to force her cooking down my father’s throat at the moment and she is going to stay with my mother overnight in Palermo’. We have the place to ourselves and will not be disturbed.’ He hustled her up the grand staircase and turned right at the top along a long hallway with several closed doors on each side. He reached a door at the end, and after turning the handle and kicking it open, picked her up and carried her over the threshold.

‘Marco, put me down,’ squealed Cassie, not at all sure that she was ready for his fun and games. She had literally been swept off her feet, and now, he dropped her down onto a huge, soft bed and lay down on top of her.

‘I could not wait another minute,’ he said, kissing her lips and her neck. ‘I have been thinking about you the whole time I was in Palermo and what I wanted to do to you.’ he murmured, licking her ear lobe with the tip of his tongue.

‘Don’t you think you should shut the door.’ asked Cassie, giggling up at him.

‘No.’ replied Marco, burying his head between her breasts and coming up with the ingot between his teeth. ‘I want your gold, give me your gold.’ he said through clenched teeth and Cassie burst out laughing as he spat out the ingot and buried his head once more between her breasts. ‘You feel so good.’ he said softly, and Cassie felt her insides melt. He reached down and pulled up her dress, over her arms, and over her head, and then flung it into a corner. ‘Hmm, no underwear, I like it.’ he growled, taking her breasts in both hands and nuzzling her erect nipples. He kissed her again, his lips hard and demanding, and his tongue met hers. He slid his hand down between them and into her, groaning when he felt how wet she was. Cassie arched her back to meet him and slid her hands around to his crotch, pulling the buttons and releasing his thrusting erection. He grabbed her by the hips and rolled her over on top of him. ‘Ride me, Cassandra.’ his voice hard and urgent. ‘Fuck me hard.’ Cassie lifted her butt and slowly lowered herself down onto his rigid member, watching his face as he entered her, her hot wetness making him groan with pleasure.

She took him in to the hilt, and then rose again quickly, sliding up and down his cock and driving him crazy with lust. She threw her head back rode him harder. He grabbed her bottom with his hands and pulled her forward onto him and Cassie cried out as the sensations threatened to overwhelm her. It was desperate, urgent sex and Cassie knew she couldn’t hold out for much longer as waves of pleasure started in her clitoris and spread up through her groin. Marco thrust into her several more times and then cried out as he came, Cassie’s own cry of pleasure mingling with his as they cascaded over the edge in a torrent of pleasure.

They lay in a tangle of sheets, arms and legs entwined, and Marco pulled her closer for a kiss.

‘How’s the fire going?’ asked Cassie, smiling at him and winking.

‘Still smoldering.’ he said, kissing the tip of her nose. ‘Lie still, otherwise the embers will ignite the log.’ She giggled and cuddled into him.

‘Is your father back at home now?’ asked Cassie, looking up at him. He lay with his eyes closed, his arm around her shoulders as she lay with her head on his chest.

‘Tomorrow morning. I will go back to the hospital later this evening to see him and take my mother and Marta back to the house’ said Marco.

‘Have you spoken to him yet?’

‘Si, a little, but mostly, we sit by his bedside and let him rest. I think it comforts him to have my mother close by. It is strange, but she seems the stronger one now, and I think she likes the feeling after all these years being the invalid, of being the one that my father does everything for. Now she can help him and I think it will invigorate her.’

‘That’s good. Maybe it will help your father to accept who she is now, rather than who she was.’ said Cassie. ‘How long can you stay this evening?’

‘Long enough.’ he replied, kissing the top of her head.

‘Liz has cooked enough food for an army tonight if you would like to have dinner with us.’ said Cassie.

‘I would enjoy that very much,’ he said, his hand moving to cup her breast. ‘Just enough time for us to put out the fire completely.’ He rolled her onto her back, and, parting her legs with his hand, her entered her once more. This time they took it slowly and Cassie felt the flames of her desire growing with each stroke of his, slowly in and out of her, rocking them both into a state of exquisite arousal. Cassie wrapped her legs around his back and rose up to meet him as he began to thrust into her harder and she grabbed his butt and dug her nails into him, urging him on as they raced forward to the crescendo, coming at the same time, crying out as the long waves of drawn out pleasure spasmed inside them.

Cassie had her eyes closed and she lay in a state of peaceful bliss next to Marco. His hand still grasped hers and her mind floated as she thought about their lovemaking and how intense it was. She had never felt like this before and was only beginning to understand the true meaning of passion and how it felt to make love with someone you were in love with. There’s that word again. Her eyes opened suddenly and she quickly tried to stifle the feeling. Don’t get ahead of yourself she thought. It will only lead to heartbreak. She glanced at Marco’s bedside clock and realized that Liz would be wondering where she was. ‘Are you hungry Marco?’ He opened his eyes and gazed at her.

‘Time for dinner?’

‘I didn’t bring my phone and I said I would be back at the villa for dinner. We should get going.’ She sat up and went to climb out of bed but Marco pulled her back down beside him.

‘Soon Cassandra. My hunger for you is greater than the hunger in my stomach.’ he said grinning at her.

‘Not again?’ said Cassie, disbelievingly.

‘What, you think I can’t?’ he replied, laughing and pulling her closer.

‘Actually, I wanted to tell you something.’ He kissed her gently on the lips.

‘I was going crazy without you and I had a lot of time to think about things while waiting at the hospital. We have known each other only for a short time, but it is as if I have known you for much longer. You fill a part of me I did not know was empty.’ he murmured and gazed intently into her eyes, his joker side disappearing once more. Cassie felt stunned, and speechless and overjoyed by his words.

‘You might want to close your mouth or you will catch flies.’ he grinned at her, and the joker was back. Cassie felt instantly relieved. Deep down, much as she had wanted to hear this reassurance from Marco, there remained a part of her that was still mistrusting of the deep down sincerity of men. She closed her mouth and grinned back at him.

‘Well, thank you sir for your kind words, but right now we should go and fill the other empty part of you.’ She kissed him lightly on the lips and jumped out of bed before he could grab her again. He lay there, pouting.

‘What, no loving response from you Cassandra? How do you feel about me?’

Cassie realized she had hurt his feelings, and so she sat back down beside him, took his hands in hers, and plucked up her courage. This was not her strong forte, she thought, and took a deep breath.

‘Marco, I feel the same as you do.’ He smiled encouragingly, and she continued. ‘It is still a very strange and new experience for me to feel so strongly about someone else’ she stopped and looked down, her courage and her words failing her. To her chagrin, she could feel the heat flooding her face and her cheeks turning pink. Marco saw her consternation and gently took her face in his two hands, kissing her softly.

‘Enough.’ he whispered. ‘Let’s go and eat the feast Liz has prepared.’ He grinned and Cassie felt hugely relieved, although annoyed with herself for not being able to articulate her true feelings to Marco. Maybe I just need more practice at this she thought as they climbed into Marco’s car and drove quickly down the road towards villa Tramonte. This man has two speeds, stop and go, thought Cassie, as they pulled up outside the villa in a cloud of dust.

The front door was open and music was playing as they entered. Liz and Kat were in the kitchen.

‘Well, your timing is excellent,’ said Kat, grinning and pulling out a bottle of ice-cold champagne from the freezer. ‘Would you be a gentleman and do the honors, Marco?’ she asked, passing it to him.

‘A pleasure.’ replied Marco, skillfully unwrapping the foil covering the cork. ‘Buona sera ladies. Am I too late to be included as a dinner guest?’ he grinned disarmingly at Liz and Kat and charmed them. He sure is good at this thought Cassie. He’ll have them eating out of his hands soon.

‘Of course, you must stay for dinner,’ said Liz. ‘I have made plenty of food so I hope you are hungry.’ she added. Marco assured her that he would eat every scrap and poured the champagne and they moved outside to the table on the terrace.

Liz and Kat were in full entertaining mode and Cassie was happy to sit back quietly and observe their interaction with Marco, jumping into the conversation now and again. While she knew her old friends well, it was interesting to listen to how Marco kept the conversation light and flowing even when discussing his father’s heart attack and future prognosis. He was an attentive guest and part of his charm was his innate interest in other people. He was genuinely interested in others, a rather rare quality in most people. She was also quietly fizzing with excitement as his words to her earlier percolated in her mind. Was he saying that he was in love with her? No, she told herself, he never said those words. He had said that she filled a space inside him that he didn’t know was empty until he met her. In her current uncertain state, it was all rather confusing and she wished she hadn’t brushed him off so quickly. Regardless of that, she remembered that he said he had thought about her a lot while he was in Palermo and that was something Cassie could well understand as she seemed to be spending almost her entire time thinking about him. As well as right now, she told her sternly. Making an effort to join in and not just loll back in her comfortable cushioned chair, drink wine and watch Marco, she offered to clear the table.

Liz had produced a fabulous meal, with it seemed, course after course of delicious food appearing in front of them at regular intervals. Marco had praised every dish and had even made the comment that she would soon be teaching Marta how to make ravioli, he found the filling so light and yet so flavorsome. Liz blushed happily and modestly protested that she was a mere student in the culinary arts, but she looked as pleased as punch and took extra care when plating up the second course, arranging the chicken cacciatore in large bowls and asking Cassie to wipe away any splatters from the sauce with a paper towel.
  Liz gave Marco larger portions and Cassie was amazed that he ate everything, and even had seconds of the ravioli. Where does he put it all she thought? He certainly doesn’t have a spare ounce of flesh on him. They paused after the main course and talk drifted to the olive oil the estate produced.

‘It is a pleasant walk to the mill from here. It is just along the road from the winery, and there is an old stone press in the forecourt which my grandfather used’ said Marco. ‘But there is nothing much to see inside there at the moment except the machinery and the storage tanks. Nowadays we use machinery with a centrifuge system to extract the oil from the olives instead of the stone press.’

‘When do you harvest the olives?’ asked Liz.

‘In November, and they must be pressed within
twenty-four hours of picking. It is vital, so the olives do not begin to ferment. We still pick them by hand, which is labor intensive, but there is less chance of bruising the skin or pulp.’

‘Do you grow different varieties?’ asked Cassie.

‘Si, a mixture of three olive varieties which are common to this region.’ answered Marco.

‘Do you bottle the olive oil immediately after pressing?’ asked Kat.

‘No, the oil must settle in stainless steel tanks for anywhere between two weeks and two months before the oil from the top is drawn off and bottled as needed. That way we ensure a fresh supply for bottling throughout the year. The oil remains fresher in the tanks. Once it is bottled, it will begin to degrade.’ He picked up a bottle of the oil from the table a poured some into a small cup. ‘We have strict controls in the EU which all growers should adhere to although some don’t. One of the surest ways to check the oil for various impurities is to pour it into tiny cups like this. Taste testers evaluate the organoleptic quality of the oil. He demonstrated by placing his hand over the cup and gently swirling the oil inside, then removing his hand and putting his nose deep into the cup and inhaling the contents. ‘Doing this covers the taste buds and allows the aromas to ascend into the nose. Of course, this oil has been bottled and opened already, but when it is fresh out of the tanks, this process allows the most complete tasting of all the flavors and aromas present.’