Page 23 of Sinner
In the elevator, I check my reflection in the mirrored wall. My hair is mussed, my lips swollen from Nico’s kisses. I look exactly like what I am—a woman consumed by desire.
My apartment feels different tonight, charged with anticipation. I move through the rooms, turning on lamps, their golden light softening the sleek modern furniture. I kick off my heels, consider changing out of my dress, then decide against it. Let Nico undress me. Let him unwrap me like a gift.
The knock, when it comes, is soft but confident. I open the door to find Nico standing there, his eyes burning with an intensity that steals my breath.
“Come in,” I whisper, and he does, closing the door behind him.
For a moment, we simply stare at each other, the reality of what we’re about to do hanging between us. Then he reaches for me, and I for him, and we’re kissing again, deeper, wilder than in the library.
“You’re sure?” he asks, his hands already working at the zipper of my dress.
“I’ve never been more sure of anything,” I tell him, and it’s the truth.
The dress falls to the floor, pooling at my feet. His sweater follows, then his shirt. I press my palms against his chest, feeling the steady thump of his heart beneath warm skin and crisp dark hair.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmurs, trailing kisses down my neck, across my collarbone.
“So are you,” I reply, because he is—all lean muscle and olive skin, so different from the controlled, buttoned-up priest the world sees.
We stumble toward my bedroom, shedding the rest of our clothes along the way. When we reach the bed, he lays me down with a reverence that brings tears to my eyes.
“I love you,” he says, his voice breaking. “God help me, I love you, Caterina.”
I pull him down to me, wrapping my legs around his waist. “Show me,” I breathe against his lips. “Show me how much.”
Nico’s eyes darken with hunger as he begins his descent down my trembling body. He pauses at my breasts, giving each nipple a soft, wet kiss that makes me gasp, before continuing his journey south. My heart pounds wildly, my breath hitches as he hooks his fingers into the waistband of my lace panties, slowly pulling them down. I feel exposed, vulnerable, yet completely safe with him. He rises to his knees, and I can feel his warm breath against my most intimate place. He looks up at me, a wicked grin spreading across his face that makes my stomach flip, before he dives in. The first touch of his tongue sends electricity through my entire body. My hands fly to his hair, gripping tightly as pleasure builds inside me. Every lick, every gentle suck draws a moan from my lips that I can’t suppress. When he slides his fingers inside me, curling them just right, I arch off the bed. My hips move of their own accord, seeking more of that exquisite pressure. The tension builds and builds until I can’t hold back anymore—his name tears from my throat as waves of pleasure crash through me, leaving me shaking and breathless.
As I float back to earth, I feel his gentle kisses on my inner thighs. Something primal awakens in me—a need to give what I’ve received.
I lunge forward, pushing him onto his back. His surprised gasp turns to a groan as I take his thick, throbbing length into my mouth, my tongue swirling around the sensitive tip. “Cat,” he whispers hoarsely, his fingers tangling in my hair, guiding my rhythm. I look up through my lashes, meeting his dark, hungry eyes as I hollow my cheeks and take him deeper, relishing thesalty taste of him, the heavy weight on my tongue. Each inch of him feeds my desperate need to consume him entirely.
When his head falls back against the pillows, I climb over him, desperate to feel him inside me. I guide him to my entrance and sink down in one fluid motion. The stretch burns deliciously as he fills me completely. “Nico,” I gasp, my nails digging into his shoulders. He flips us suddenly, primal hunger in his eyes as he drives into me. Each thrust hits deeper than the last. We move together frantically—me on top, then bent over the edge of the bed, then pressed against the headboard—our bodies slick with sweat, finding a desperate rhythm that builds and builds until he shudders against me, his release triggering my own.
Afterward, we lie tangled in sheets damp with sweat, his heartbeat slowing beneath my cheek. Outside, the city hums with life, cars honking, sirens wailing in the distance. But in here, there’s only us, suspended in a moment of perfect peace.
“What are we going to do?” I ask finally, tracing patterns on his chest.
He sighs, his fingers combing gently through my hair. “I don’t know. But we’ll figure it out. Together.”
I want to believe him. Want to believe there’s a future where I’m not Anthony Romano’s wife, where Nico isn’t bound by vows to the Church, where my family’s legacy doesn’t hang over me like a guillotine blade. But I’m six days away from a wedding that feels unavoidable.
“My father will kill you,” I say, the words bitter on my tongue. “And Anthony... God, I don’t even want to think about what he’d do.”
Nico pulls me closer, protective. “They won’t touch you. I won’t let them.”
“You don’t know my family, Nico. What they’re capable of.”
“You came into my life for a reason.” His voice is steel now, a side of him I’ve rarely glimpsed. “I can’t lose you, Cat. Not to them, not to anyone.”
I raise myself on one elbow to look at him, this man who’s risked everything for me. “So, you’ll leave the priesthood? Your entire life?”
“For you?” His smile is sad but certain. “I decided that the minute we first made love.”
The clock on my nightstand reads 9:17. Less than an hour left of our stolen time together.
“Stay,” I whisper, though I know he can’t. Not all night. Not yet.
He kisses me again, and I feel his body stirring against mine, ready for more despite the impossibility of our situation, despite the danger that waits outside these walls.
