Forever with Him Read online

  “Far from it, baby,” I murmur.

  I set Allegra down, positioning her to face the living room. “Keep your eyes closed until I say so. Okay?”

  “Ordinarily, I’d say no—”

  “Of course you would.”

  “But I’m too excited. I want the big reveal.”

  I undo my tie from around her eyes. “Then you shall have it. Keep them closed.”

  I walk around so I can see her face. “Okay. Open them, baby.”

  It was worth the wait. When Allegra sees the state of our home, her hand clamps over her mouth in shock.

  “Oh, Davison,” she whispers. “It’s beautiful. When did you do this?”

  “I didn’t. Well, I did. I planned it, but Mom came over and took care of it.”

  It truly was more gorgeous than I imagined it. Tall ivory candles are lit all over the apartment, standing in various holders. The scent of apricot roses fills the room, huge bouquets of them positioned on the mantel and basically any flat surface. A bottle of champagne sits in a silver bucket on the coffee table.

  “Shall we?” I ask my wife, holding out my hand to her. She places her hand in mine and I lead her to the living room. She waits patiently, watching me intently as I pop the cork and pour us the bubbly liquid.

  I lift my glass to Allegra. “To my beautiful wife,” I toast her.

  “To my wonderful husband,” she toasts in return.

  We clink glasses and take a sip, then I circle my arm around her so we can sip from each other’s glasses.

  Allegra laughs. “Despite what Lucy said, this is definitely not cheesy, Harvard.”

  And that’s why I love this woman.

  “It’s our wedding night. Cheesy is allowed, Venus,” I declare.

  She grins back at me wickedly, her left hand traveling over my chest, caressing my skin. “You look so hot, baby.”

  My cock hardens at the purr in her voice. “Do tell,” I grunt back in reply.

  “Mmm-hmm,” she murmurs. “So, any other traditions you’d like to follow through on?”

  “Just one,” I reply, pulling her to me. I capture her mouth with mine, reveling in the taste of my wife. No longer able to restrain myself, I pull back and take our glasses, placing them on the coffee table, then lift her into my arms, carrying her hurriedly down the hallway to our bedroom, where more roses greet us.

  I put Allegra down, giving her a quick kiss on the nose. “Why don’t you get ready and I’ll light the candles?”

  I turn away from her, picking up the butane lighter my mom left behind to take care of the lighting in the room. When I finish, I look back and see Allegra still standing in the same spot, an incredulous look on her face.

  “Baby, you okay?”

  Her chin starts to quiver. “It’s just… I can’t believe we’re here. I mean, I’m your wife, Davison. After everything, it finally happened, and I’ve never been so happy in my life.”

  At the sound of her shaky voice, my own mouth starts to tremble from the overwhelming emotion of this moment that I thought would never come.

  I quickly stride over to her, taking her in my arms again and kissing her soundly. “I know. I feel the same way. We’re home as Mr. and Mrs. Davison Berkeley. We did it. And I love you so much. So how about I help you out of this dress?”

  She smiles through her tears. “I would like that very much.”

  I turn my wife around, reaching for the zipper at the top of her dress. I slowly lower it, revealing a white lacy ensemble underneath of a corset, garter belt, thong, and stockings. Then I release her hair from its chignon, allowing it to cascade down her back.

  I spin her back to face me. She is a vision, the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen in my life, and she is mine. All mine.

  A lump catches in my throat. “You are so fucking beautiful, baby,” I rasp. “I’m the luckiest bastard on the planet.”

  She pauses, then lifts up her index finger to my face, running it slowly across my lips, then across the top of her corset. My eyes travel along with her finger, my eager dick straining against the inside of my pants. “Then give me your masterful hands so I can get out of this thing, Harvard.”

  My insides start to heat from the intensity of this moment. I’m about to make love to my wife. “At your service, Mrs. Berkeley.”

  She turns around for me and I slowly unhook the clasps on her corset. Allegra emits a sigh of relief. “Oh, thank God. Now I can breathe.”

  I reach around her, grab her heavy breasts with my hands, and start to massage them. “How does that feel?”

  Her head falls back onto my shoulder. “That feels even better, Mr. Berkeley,” she exhales. She lifts her arms and coils them around my neck. “Mmmm, keep going.”

  I start to suck on her neck, then she curls her head so I can kiss her long, wet, and deep. When she pulls away, she twists back and looks me over. “Someone is wearing too many clothes.”

  Before I can say something, Allegra starts to unbutton the rest of my shirt and undoes my cuff links, dropping them to the floor. She cradles my sack in her hands, stroking it back and forth. I grit my teeth from the feel of her gentle hands on my cock.

  “You keep doing that, and I won’t make it to the bed,” I manage through gritted teeth.

  “Well, we wouldn’t want that, would we?” she says, her voice low and deep.

  My pants drop to the ground, and I step out of my shoes as she helps me with my socks. When she rises from the floor, she gives me a look with one of her eyebrows raised at me, quickly removes all of her exquisite lingerie, and jumps onto the bed. She leans back against the pillows and spreads her legs open, revealing her moistened pussy to me.

  “Come here, husband,” she beckons to me softly with a crooked finger, a look of pure lust in her eyes.

  With the sight of her naked except for the stilettos adorning her feet, I can’t hold back any longer.

  “Get ready, baby,” I growl, jumping onto the bed. I dive for her pussy, inhaling its musky scent, kissing her folds. Then I find her clit and suck on it hard. I clamp my arms around her upper thighs to hold her down as her body shakes and writhes.

  “Yes, Davison,” she moans. “Oh fuck yes, right there… keep going,” she instructs me. And I obey my wife, now inserting my fingers into her waiting sex as she moves in tandem with my thrusts. I keep going. I’m going to pleasure my Venus until she is completely undone.

  She bucks one more time, and her essence spills from her as I lick every last drop of it. Her legs collapse to the bed once I release them. I can hear her repeatedly panting, “Fuck!” as I crawl up her body.

  I push her hair off her forehead as I stare into her dazed eyes. “Hello, wife.”

  “Hello, husband,” she whispers back.

  “You okay?”

  She gives me a look as if to say, Stupidest question ever, and a huge grin.

  “Good,” I reply to her nonverbal answer, “because now I’m going to slide my cock into your wet pussy and fuck you hard and deep.”

  She closes her eyes in anticipation, inhaling deeply, her chest rising, presenting her beautiful tits to me. “Yes, Davison. Please.”

  It takes mere seconds for me to slide into her because she is more than ready for me. I fit inside her like a glove, perfectly, with no need for adjustment.

  “Move. Oh God, please move,” she begs.

  I lean down and start to suck on one of her breasts while thrusting inside her. She moans as I bite her nipple, moving over to the other breast to give it equal attention.

  Her hands run through my hair, fisting it, which only spurs me on. “Yes, baby. Faster, please.”

  I rise from her chest and take hold of her hands for balance as I start to pummel her, pounding my cock into her. The sounds of slapping flesh fill the room.

  God, I fucking love that sound.

  “Ankles around my waist. Now!” I command.

  The backs of her shoes lock around me, the heels digging into my ass. I am impervious to the pai
n, too far gone in pure ecstasy to give a shit.

  Our shouts and grunts echo throughout our bedroom. I work her harder and harder. “Yes, Davison! Yes! Yes!” she screams. Her muscles clench down on my cock as her body shudders and she comes all over me. Within seconds, I follow her into rapture, sheer fucking rapture as my cock releases inside her pussy.

  Completely spent, I collapse onto her body, our sweat mixing together. Her arms immediately come around me, holding me as tightly as they can. Our breaths match as we both gasp for fresh oxygen.

  I can feel her head twisting toward mine. “That was fucking amazing, Harvard,” she pants into my ear.

  I smile into her shoulder. “I aim to please, Venus. Once I’ve regained my strength, I’m going to get the rest of the champagne so we can replenish ourselves, then I plan on fucking you again.”

  “Mmmm, I would like that very much,” she moans into my ear. “Davison?”

  “Yes, baby?”

  “Thank you for marrying me.”

  I turn my head and begin to suckle her neck. “Anytime,” I murmur in reply as I feel her chest rise and body shake in soft laughter.

  Chapter Nine

  Allegra

  “That’s it, Allegra! Gorgeous! Now look into his eyes as if he were the love of your life.”

  The problem is I’m not looking at Davison. I’m standing in the arms of my costar, Luca Montes, who is the love of my life only onstage. Luca is happily married with a newborn daughter back in Spain.

  I do as the photographer asks, and instantly, Luca and I burst into uncontrollable laughter. It’s one thing when we’re singing to each other about our undying love and he’s begging me not to leave him. But in real life, Luca is a total cutup and can make me lose my train of thought with one roll of his eyes or mimic of a New York accent.

  “Damn it, you guys! Will you keep your shit together?”

  The crass admonishment comes from Jared, our mutual manager. We’re doing a “Stars of Tomorrow” photo shoot for one of the opera industry trade magazines. I understand this kind of publicity is all part of the job, but what I don’t get is why I’m dressed in a black leather strapless dress, stockings, and stilettos so high that Luca needs to hold me up, otherwise I’d be falling over straight onto my face. Meanwhile, he’s decked out in a gorgeous black suit with no tie, his white shirt open at the top. Luca looks like he’s ready for a night on the town, and my outfit reminds me of the time I dressed up for Davison as a wannabe Joan Jett and sang “Bad Reputation” to him, right before he proposed to me. Wrong music genre.

  “Lo siento mucho, Allegra. So sorry. My back is starting to kill me.”

  “Your back? Try standing in these things for an hour. But thank you for the support.”

  “De nada. I just want to get home so I can Skype Pilar before she puts Amalia down for her nap.”

  “Of course. Okay, let’s be serious now.”

  We shake our heads to get rid of the cobwebs. Luca places his hand on my face as if to caress my cheek as I stare deeply into his eyes. But without warning, he pinches my nose and emits a “Beep, beep!” before the photographer yells out, “I give up! Take five, everyone!”

  Luca helps me over to a group of chairs on the side of the set so I can sit down and rest my feet. Then he collapses next to me, letting out a sigh of relief. Hair and makeup people rush over to us and immediately begin giving us touch-ups, with Luca and me trapped in a haze of hairspray.

  I hear a set of heavy footsteps nearing us. “Do either of you have any idea how important this photo shoot is?” Jared yells at us.

  Luca and I give each other a look. He sighs from exhaustion. “Jared, we’ve been doing this for more than an hour. And it can’t be easy for Allegra in those shoes.”

  I tap Luca’s hand with mine as a sign of gratitude. “More to the point,” I add, “why am I dressed like I’m going to a sex club? Not that this look offends me or anything—I’m fine with it, but it has its time and place. I don’t understand why I’m wearing something as dramatic as this for a magazine cover while Luca looks like he’s about to hop into his Ferrari and cruise South Beach.”

  Jared’s face is now turning fire engine red as he runs his hands through his hair. He steps closer to me, and I feel his breath on my face. “Don’t give me this feminist bullshit now. If you’re not ready to handle this level of publicity, then go back and sit at the kids’ table until you’re ready to join the grown-ups.”

  I start to shiver from the rage in Jared’s tone. “I am ready,” I reassure him. “I only wish I could just sing and not have to do all this.”

  “This comes with the package, Allegra,” he reminds me. “If you don’t want to be a star, then tell me right now so I’m not wasting any more of my time on you.”

  Suddenly, Luca jumps to his feet, planting a hand on Jared’s chest. “That’s enough. Just give us some space.”

  Our manager stares at Luca for a full minute before muttering, “Fine,” and walking away, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket and scrolling it furiously.

  Luca snaps his fingers and an assistant comes over, he whispers something in her ear, and she returns with a bottle of water with a straw. He takes the water from her and hands it to me. I smile at his kindness. “Thanks.”

  “So you won’t ruin your lipstick,” he points out.

  I playfully nudge his elbow with mine. “You’re the best, Luca.”

  He stares at me, but not in a leering way. “You remind me of Pilar. Same fire: you’re not afraid of anything…” he says wistfully.

  I frown at his obvious sadness with his family so far away. “Are they coming over for opening night?”

  A huge smile stretches across his face. “Sí. I can’t wait to show them around New York.”

  I take a long sip of water, but before I can get it to go down, an overwhelming need to cough takes over my entire body, and I can’t stop. The water escapes my mouth and drips down the front of the black leather dress. My throat feels raw, like someone scraped the inside of it.

  Luca jumps to his feet, shouting, “We need some help here.” Suddenly, a mob of people surrounds me, assistants and stylists barking instructions at each other, someone wiping down my dress, Jared yelling, “What the fuck is going on?” And the entire time, I’m doubled over, my hand over my mouth, trying to cover my coughs, desperately wishing for them to stop.

  “Give her some space!” Luca orders everyone, his one arm holding me by the shoulders, and I can see the other extended toward everyone, with his hand facing palm out to keep everyone at bay.

  When I think the coughing has finally dissipated, I pull myself up, staring into a sea of eyes, some with concern in them, others impatience, Jared’s being the latter.

  “What the hell, Allegra? Did you take up smoking or something?”

  I glare back at him as Luca helps me sit down. I wipe my mouth with the back of my hand before I reply. “I don’t know where that came from, Jared. I’m fine. But thank you for your concern.”

  “We’ve been rehearsing nonstop, or did you forget about how stressful that can be for a singer?” Luca adds. I can see the fire in his eyes aimed back at our manager. His left hand rubs my right shoulder, reassuring me that he’s got my back.

  “What about the dress?” Jared shouts at the photographer. “Can you still work with it?”

  Luca and I look at each other, shaking our heads at the complete lack of compassion from our manager.

  The photographer steps closer to me, narrowing his eyes as he studies the front of my dress. “It looks fine. It’s a good thing this is black. But we can always fix any mistakes with a little airbrushing. No need to worry.”

  “Good. Then let’s finish this already,” Jared yells, as if he’s directing this shoot.

  One of the assistants hurries over to me with a mug, and I see steam rising from it. “Hot water and lemon. I hope this will help.”

  I want to hug this girl. “Thank you so much.”

  She nod
s and just as quickly scurries away. Jared comes over to me again, but before he can say something, Luca holds his hand up to him again. “Five minutes. Just give her five minutes.”

  Jared mutters something unintelligible under his breath before walking away.

  I put my nose to the cup in my hands, letting the steam permeate my nose as I take deep breaths of it. Then I take a slow sip of the hot liquid, mentally noting to make sure that I thank that assistant once more before I leave, because this is exactly what I needed.

  Luca rubs my back soothingly. “Better?”

  I sip the hot water again before answering. “Much.”

  His body shifts closer to me. “Allegra, are you sure you’re well?”

  I nod. “I think so. But that scared the crap out of me.”

  “And me. Do you think you need to see a doctor?”

  I shake my head. “No. Like you said, I think it’s just everything. The rehearsals, the pressure, all of this,” I reply, waving my hand at the wide expanse of the photo studio, everyone focused, rushing about doing their jobs.

  “But you would tell me if something was wrong, sí?”

  “Of course. And thank you for saying all that before to Jared, by the way. I could’ve handled myself with him. You didn’t need to step in.”

  He shakes his head amusedly. “Just like Pilar. I know, but it’s not right when a man speaks to a woman like that. I get very protective.”

  I grin. “And you remind me of Davison.”

  Luca slaps his hand against his forehead. “Ay! I completely forgot! Felicitaciones! How was the wedding?”

  “It was lovely, thank you. Everything was perfect. We’ll have to have you and your family to our place for dinner when they come over.”

  “Gracias. We would enjoy that very much.”

  The photographer shouts again for everyone to get back into place. Luca stands up and holds out both hands to me to help me to my feet.

  “Allegra, I know it’s been a long day for you. But the sooner we get this done, the sooner we can go home. And I promise not to make you laugh.”

  I nod my head. “Let’s do this.”