The Masquerade

I softened toward him in that moment and let myself feel him holding
me again, the way he had done just a few hours earlier.

"You're wrong about something, Marco," I began quietly. "I didn't hate
you. I didn't like you, but I didn't hate you, angry as I was. I guess
the only reason I was so upset about tonight is that I was shocked. I
felt deceived and foolish for what I was feeling."

"I'm sorry." He looked contrite and started to back away. I took his
hands and put them back on my waist, forcing him to stand beside me.

"Let me finish." I stopped and looked at him. "I can't believe you
went to all this trouble just to make me see you in a different light.
Like meeting you for the first time all over again, but in a better
way."

I laid my hand gently against his cheek.

"It worked. I don't feel like this at the drop of a hat. I'm too
practical and realistic. To me, it isn't possible to fall in love with
someone you don't even know. You proved me wrong. I fell in love with
you, against all reason and understanding. I realized it when we were
standing outside on the deck."

Marco stood there like a statue, showing no emotion or expression on
his face. There was no acknowledgement of the revelation I'd just
made. I wondered briefly if I had just made a mistake by telling him
what I felt.

"Marco." I snapped my fingers in front of his face. Nothing. Not even
a flinch. "Marco, did you hear what I just said? I said I love you,
too."

His mouth slowly spread into a wide grin. "I heard you, querida. I
just wanted to hear you say it again."

I growled at him and pretended to choke him and then laughed. My head
tilted aside as I looked at him, studying his face as I decided what
to say next.

"So. What do we do now?"

"I'll show you, mi amor." He cupped my face in his hands, leaned over
and kissed me, full and hard on the mouth as if to make sure I was
real or to solidify me if I wasn't.

A rousing cheer echoed through the quiet street. Someone yelled, "It's
about time!" I buried my face against Marco's neck and we both laughed
out of embarrassment and happiness.

He picked me up and carried me to his car. He put me down as he
unlocked the door and opened it for me. "Get in."

"What do you mean, get in? Where are we going? What about my car?" I
was so confused.

"Ay! Dios mio, woman! Must you always ask questions and analyze
everything to death?"

"Always," I grinned.

"Your car will be fine. Get in." He waved his hand to motion me to sit
down.

I stepped back and crossed my arms.

He looked up at the sky, mumbling something in Spanish and then walked
over to me, scooped me up and tossed me in the car, locking the door
before shutting it.

"Woman, you're going to be the death of me."

I beamed a bright smile at him and chuckled softly. "You won't get
that lucky."

"Smartass."

"I know. It's one of my more endearing qualities." I grinned. "So
where are we going?"

He got in the driver's side and fired up the engine, pulling away from
the curb before he answered.

"We're going home."

"Whose home?"

"Does it matter?"

I laid my head back against the headrest and put my hand on his leg.
"Not really," I smiled.

When we arrived at Marco's house, he gallantly opened the car door for
me. We strolled hand-in-hand up the steps and he released my hand only
long enough to unlock the big burgundy front door of the brownstone.
He picked me up and carried me inside, shutting the door behind him
with his foot. I slid my arms around his neck, holding onto him. Marco
began to kiss me as he started walking up the stairs.

He set me down on the edge of his bed. I watched him walk around the
room, lighting a multitude of white candles. He turned off the lights
and the room was filled with only the flickering of candlelight. He
put a David Benoit CD in his stereo and turned on the soft, mellow
jazz music, then walked over to me and held out his hand.

"Dance with me, bella?" he asked in a deep but soft-spoken voice.

I silently placed my hand in his and rose from the bed. As we danced,
he leaned down and gave me another of his slow, deeply passionate
kisses. Fire rose in the pit of my stomach and this time, I did
nothing to put it out. I kissed him back with desire.

Marco's hands gently removed the serpent tiara and the black wig from
my head, tossing them both aside. He pulled out the pin, which held my
hair piled on top my head and ran his fingers through it to shake my
hair loose. My long blonde hair cascaded voluminously down over my
shoulders.

He brushed my hair back with a finger as he looked into my eyes,
memorizing this exact moment to freeze it in his mind. Marco bent down
and began to softly kiss my neck. His warm lips moved slowly and
tenderly up and down my skin.

His lips worked their way from my neck outward to my shoulder; bare
from the sleeveless dress I still wore. I felt his hand slipping
behind my back and taking hold of the zipper. He tentatively slid the
zipper all the way down to my spine. The warmth of his large hand
radiated onto my back as he slipped his hand into the dress and laid
it against me. Hesitatingly, he began to pull the shimmering gold
material forward to remove my dress. As he worked it past my
shoulders, the bodice fell down my arms and I maneuvered them free.
The dress dropped off my body and fell to the floor in a heap around
my feet.

I stood there in my gold-heeled sandals, wearing nothing else but a
copper-toned satin strapless bra with matching panties. I shyly raised
my eyes up to his.

"Dios mio! Eres tan bella," Marco whispered lovingly in his native
tongue. His hand wrapped lightly around my throat and he tilted my
head back before slowly drawing his hand downward, between my breasts.
Everything about the way he touched me spoke tenderness and deep
passion.

I straightened back up and he moved behind me, running his fingers
across my bare skin like little electric currents, pleasurably zapping
me at random. His mouth descended on my neck as he stood behind me.
When I opened my eyes, I could watch our reflections in the mirror. It
looked so sexy, the way he stood behind me, kissing and touching me
erotically.

Marco slid his hands up and down my sides. On their way back up my
torso, he moved them forward and cupped the swells of my breasts with
his large palms. He dragged his hands over my breasts and back down,
stopping long enough to circle my half-inch nipples through the satin
fabric. They were hard and erect, like thick eraser tips, throbbing
for more than just the touch of his hands.

His hands crept back behind me and his fingers deftly unhooked the
clasp of my bra. It fell away from me in an instant, landing on the
floor on top my discarded dress. His eyes looked into the mirror and
caught mine. Together we watched his methodical exploration of my
firm, bare bosom. My pert nipples he captured between his index
fingers and thumbs and he lightly gave them a pinch and gentle tug,
making me visibly shudder with hunger for him.

He moved his hands down over my stomach to the waist of my panties.
His fingers toyed with the material as he moved them across my body,
from one side to the other, without slipping them beneath the fabric.
Extending his hand, he slid it right down between my legs and cupped
my pussy. Marco groaned softly in my ear when he felt the heat and
wetness between my legs. His middle finger pressed down ever so
slightly, pushing the wet material between my swollen lips.

I moaned softly, closing my eyes as he touched my clit. He watched me
in the mirror. When I opened my eyes again, he removed his hand from
between my legs and brought his fingers up to his mouth. He ran his
tongue over his fingers, moaning softly as our eyes remained locked in
the mirror. This man was pure sexuality and knew how to make my body
respond to him.

I turned around in his arms and he turned me back to the mirror.
Wordlessly, he walked around me, caressing my arm with the back of his
fingers. He kissed across my chest and down to my breasts. He circled
each one with his mouth, close to my aching nipples, but not touching
them. He only let me feel the heat of his breath.

It seemed like forever before I felt his moist tongue flicking over my
nipples. First one, than the other, he licked then sucked gently into
his mouth. I groaned out loud with heated desire, cradling the back of
his head with my hand. When I arched my back and pushed my nipple
deeper into his mouth, he withdrew his mouth and began to kiss down my
stomach.

Marco sank to his knees in front of me and pressed his face between my
legs. Gingerly, he began to lick at the top of my pussy through my
panties. He moaned against me and started to suck my juice from the
crotch. His fingers pulled aside the material and bared my drenched
sex to him. My juices were running hard and thick, pooling in the
short hair of the well-trimmed strip of pubic hair that covered me. He
greedily sucked the cream from my swollen lips. Then he replaced his
mouth with his finger, toying with the lips, making them open fully,
like a flower as its petals bloomed.

His finger circled my clit slowly, making me writhe in ecstasy. I
wanted him right then and there! My hips slowly twisted as he
continued to rub around it, watching it swelling even more with every
touch. When he finally brushed my clit, my body jumped as if he
touched me with a flame. He quickly slid my panties down and helped me
step out of them.

He picked me up and carried me to the bed, laid me down on the edge
and he knelt back down. His hands gently pushed my legs apart, raising
them straight. He licked and nibbled from my ankle to my calf, then
ran his tongue along my inner thigh. Marco moaned, deep and low, as he
tasted the sweet honey that had run down my leg. My back arched and my
hips rose up in invitation to him.

Marco needed no further encouragement. He placed his hot mouth against
my pussy and drove his tongue into me. He hungrily consumed me,
slipping his hands beneath my ass to hold me up to his mouth.

My hands gripped the comforter, tugging it, while I shook violently.
My passionate cries overtook the sound of the music in the room. I
bucked and twisted as he sucked my clit wildly.

"Fuck, Marco!" I had to have release.

"Cum for me, bella. Cum hard."

He slid a thick finger into my steamy depths, gliding it in and out of
my hot hole as he sucked. It sent me careening into a powerful orgasm
and I curled my fingers tightly in his hair, loudly screaming his name
as I came into his mouth.

"Que bella, querida," he whispered. "How beautiful you are when you
cum for me. I need to feel that pretty pussy wrapped around my cock."

He stood up and left me in a whimpering pool on his bed as he quickly
removed his Roman uniform. Marco was magnificent to look at in his
nakedness. His deep skin and mysterious eyes, sculpted body, and erect
cock made my pussy throb even more for him.

He joined me on the bed, peeling back the coverlet, but covering me
with his body. I kissed him hungrily. The taste and scent of my cum on
his mouth made me heady with lust. I never wanted anyone as badly as I
wanted to be with him. He slid his thick shaft up and down against my
boiling sex and I rocked with him, lubricating him with my body's oil.

"I need you," I whispered hoarsely.

His dark eyes gazed into mine as he plowed into me, eliciting
pleasurable gasps from us both while we became one. He buried himself
deeply inside me and held himself there without moving. I felt my
muscles gripping and releasing his cock rapidly, as if trying to pull
him in even further. With my arms and legs wrapped around him, I took
control and rolled him over onto his back.

I looked down into his sensuous eyes as I sat up, bracing my hands
against his broad chest. I had all of him inside me. I began to rock
up and down while twisting my hips at the same time. His cock moved
fluidly in and out of my body as I pounded him with wild abandon.

He held my hips and started to pick me up and slam me back down. "Ay,
Dios! Your pussy is so tight," he groaned and bit down on his lip.
"Ride my cock, bella. It's all yours. Fuck me!"

We both began to breathe harder, groaning deeply, moving faster,
stoking the fire even hotter. Marco's hands moved to my breasts and he
squeezed and kneaded them, flicking at my nipples with his thumbs. I
rose up and down his cock, slamming down with more force each time.

Marco's arms circled me and he flipped me onto my back. He started to
plunge into me harder. Short, deep thrusts filled me repeatedly. He
placed his thumb on my thick clit and pressed down, rubbing it
quickly. I convulsed beneath him.

"Yes, that's it baby. Such a beautiful hot pussy," he was gasping.

"Oh fuck! I'm gonna cum, Marco. Don't stop. Cum with me." I was so
close.

He let my leg drop down and I immediately encircled him with both
legs, locking my ankles tightly at his hips. He lowered his mouth down
to mine and in the midst of an intensely passionate kiss, we cried out
into each other's mouths and came together.

Afterward, we lay in each other's arms, kissing and quietly talking
about our future. Marco looked into my eyes as he brushed my hair away
from my face.

"I'm going to marry you, bella." He kissed me and ran his fingers
along my slit, heating me up all over again. "Then I will have this
pussy," he grinned, "and this kiss forever." He remembered the song
and I smiled at him.

"I love you, Marco."

"Te amo tambien, mi amor. I love you, too." He pulled me back on top
of him and turned me to face the mirror as he slid into me again.

Six months later, we were married in a lavish church ceremony with all
our family and friends surrounding us. Jen and Brian stood up for us
and acted extremely pleased with themselves at their matchmaking
skills. They were ecstatic for us.

When the priest announced us as husband and wife, everyone cheered and
clapped. Again, someone shouted, "It's about time."

We laughed happily and strode down the aisle, thinking about the
honeymoon and walking into the rest of forever.