"You're my world, you know that, don't you, Giacinta? You brought me back to life. You. My beautiful wife."
She loved that he thought that. She was fairly certain it was the other way around, but she couldn't help but love his declaration.
"It's important to me that you know that, moya lyubov, very important. When we're in Russia..." He trailed off and lifted up just enough to lean on his hand, taking his weight from her, but keeping their bodies locked together. "I don't want you taking any chances."
She cupped the side of his face with her hand. Could a woman love a man any more? She doubted it. Sometimes, like now, when she just looked at him, love was overwhelming. She heard the honesty in his voice. He gave her that. Stark and raw. His feelings. To the rest of the world, he would wear a mask, but not to her, with her, he put himself out there, right on the line, without hesitation.
"Casimir, do you think I'd deliberately risk what I have with you? I didn't expect to have you. Not ever. You're a miracle to me. I'm not giving up what we have together easily. I swear to you, I'll be very careful."
He rolled over and took her with him, so once again her body was sprawled over top of his. "You have to understand what you're dealing with. Who they are. What they're like."
"My childhood monsters were Cosmos, Aldo, and Luigi, although I didn't realize Luigi was a part of the conspiracy against my father. The point I'm trying to make is that your childhood monster was Kostya Sorbacov. He's just a man. One that we can take down. We've got a plan, Casimir. It's a good one. I'm not going to put myself in harm's way unless I know I've got a better than average shot at making it out alive. We'll do this together, and that more than doubles the odds in our favor."
He sighed. Heavily. "I can't go back to living like that. Behind a mask. No one seeing me. There's only you for me." He took her hand and opened her fingers one by one, exposing her palm. His fingers closed around hers and he brought her palm to his mouth. His tongue touched the center, stroked a caress right over her heart. "No one else, Giacinta. There never will be. I'm a man who believes his woman should do the things that make her happy. That fulfill her. But..."
Her heart fluttered. Ached. She hadn't thought it was possible to love him any more, but she did.
"Honey, there is no way I'd throw my life away. You're important to me too. This, what we have together, is too important. I swear to you, I'll be careful."
He pressed his lips into her palm. She felt his kiss somewhere deep. Her heart. Her soul. He just nodded, not saying anything else.
Above the Neckar River Valley, the castle was nestled snugly between the Black Forest and Swabian Hills. There was no doubt in her mind that the family would make a huge success of their business. The castle had been in their family for well over two hundred years, and they'd taken amazing care of it, modernizing when needed.
They already had private stables, a golf course and an indoor swimming pool. The walking areas were gorgeous and the riding terrain even more so. The castle had a wedding chapel as well as rooms set up for conferences. Lissa felt lucky that the owners had seen and admired her work. She'd been there four days with Casimir and every day had felt like a honeymoon.
Once their business had been completed, the owners had graciously offered her to complete her stay with access to anything they wanted to use. Casimir wanted to ride horses. Lissa knew Lexi eventually wanted to have horses on their farm. She'd been pushing for a barn and stable, especially now that they had four children on the property. Everyone thought it was a great idea.
Gavriil had brought two Black Russian Terriers with him, huge dogs that were extremely loyal and protective of their owner and household. Those two had turned into six more. There was no doubt Lexi would get her way over the horses, because, of course, there was no reason not to have them. Lissa didn't ride. Not. Ever.
She didn't mind exploring the countryside. The views from the terrace were breathtaking. On horseback, she was positive the surrounding land would be gorgeous. But horses were huge. Even bigger than Gavriil's dogs. A lot bigger. This was their last day and she wanted a picnic somewhere on the vast grounds. To tell Casimir that had been a huge mistake. For some unknown reason, the moment she'd uttered the preference, Mr. Romantic decided to make her dream come true. But his idea of romance somehow included horses.
"Mmm." She licked her lips when he turned his gaze on her. He had those eyes, those quicksilver eyes that went from glittering to molten in one second flat. That look robbed her of her ability to speak. She was certain he needed to be outlawed. His eyes were an unfair advantage and he knew exactly how to use them.
He curled his fingers around the nape of her neck and drew her close to the heat of his body. "Let me take care of everything. I've gotten directions to a very secluded section of their grounds. We'll have a private ride and picnic. I also secured their gentlest horse for you to ride."
"But..." She tried to protest but the words wouldn't come. His look was purely sensual, and excitement skittered down her spine in spite of the fact that she was a little scared of an animal so much taller and weighing a ton, or whatever they weighed.
"Give me this, moya lyubov. I want our last day to be a memory you'll never forget. Say yes. Just trust me, Giacinta."
There was no way she could deny him. She nodded, her heart thundering in her ears. The horse not only had better be gentle, but it had better have impeccable manners as well.
"I've laid out the clothes I'd like you to wear for me. Only what you see on the bed. Everything you see eventually will be on you when we ride."
She glanced at the bed. Her heart jumped. She raised her gaze to his. "Casimir..."
"Trust me."
"I can't possibly ride a horse in a skirt." She chose the easiest thing to protest first, but she wasn't looking at the skirt. She was looking at the fine golden chain with the clips on either end.
"You can. It's long and will cover anything important. We'll be alone."
She moistened her lips and let his hand at her back guide her to the bed. The skirt he chose was very long, down to her ankles and if she didn't wear heels would sweep the floor. With boots, it just touched the floor. The material flowed around her loosely, giving plenty of room to stretch her legs over a horse.
"These panties are..."
He shook his head, and she trailed off. She picked them up. A webbing of lace. The lace was stretchy and the crotch was nearly nonexistent. Where did he get them? Where did he get the chain? She snuck a peek at it. The ends, looking like tiny screws, were tipped with rubber. She let her breath out and her sex spasmed. Went damp. Her breasts actually ached.
She picked up the matching bra. This was lace, a demi bra, but one that was extremely low-cut. Her breasts would be pushed up and the nipples would show above the lace. She couldn't help thinking the black panties and bra were very sexy. Spending the afternoon alone with him, riding beside him, knowing she would be wearing these clothes would make her crazy with need.
"I've got everything ready," he explained, casually scooping up the chain and pocketing it. "Get dressed and we'll go down to the stable."
She nodded, and he walked out. Her heart went wild as she stripped. She had never been more excited. In a short period of time, she'd gotten married and now her husband was showing her a wild, erotic, amazing and very romantic honeymoon. She loved every second of it. The anticipation and secret thrill of wearing the clothes he'd chosen for her as well as wondering where and when he'd ask her to wear that gold chain nearly gave her a mini-orgasm.
Even with riding boots, she felt sexy as she braided her hair and left the room to find him. Casimir waited by the stairs. His eyes went molten and a dark look of lust mixed with love and approval gave her another violent spasm. He reached out to her and without hesitation she put her hand in his.
"Beautiful, malyshka. Totally beautiful. Thank you for giving me this."
"I'd give you anything you asked for, Casimir," she admitted, stripping herself bare for him. Making herself even more vulnerable. It didn't matter. It was the truth and she wanted him to know. Especially now. They were facing the Sorbacovs, his family's greatest enemies. Two powerful men who were ruthless and had powerful friends. One misstep and they'd both die. Lissa was determined Casimir would have everything and anything she could give him before they left for Russia. This was her chance.
Her reward was the look on his face. He kissed her knuckles and slid one hand down her cheek before leading her down the stairs and outside to the stables. The horses were saddled and waiting for them. She saw immediately that Casimir was an experienced horseman. He caught her around the waist, directed her on how to bunch her skirt up to her thighs and set her on the back of the animal. He kept possession of the reins, patting the horse's head and speaking soothingly to it.
He had put some sort of soft padding with small, sweeping fibers sticking up over the saddle so when she settled onto the seat, the material brushed against the vee at the junction of her legs and every nerve ending came alive with need. They hadn't even gotten out of the stable and she was already hot, slick, needy. So ready for him.
He handed her the reins and swung up easily on the much larger horse, saluted the groom and led the way to the secluded trail. The motion of the horse, rocking her back and forth, stimulated her more. It felt as if a thousand fingers pushed through the lace to continually caress and stroke her. She was too stimulated to be scared of her horse anymore. She couldn't think about anything but the beauty of their surroundings and the fire building and building between her legs.