Monacco Desert Cottage - Vista Hills
The light from the windows slowly drew Nico out of his sleep. The fire that had roared in the fireplace the night before had quieted into low burning embers; but it wasn’t out. That same fire had burned inside of him and culminated into an unforgettable night with the woman he who had ignited.
He looked down at her sleeping, her head on his chest and at once felt joy coupled with an overwhelming sense of relief that she was still there; it hadn’t been a dream. He closed his eyes remembering the sweet taste of her lips; the warmth of her legs wrapped around his waist; the soft moans of pleasure that she had whispered in his ear. He opened his eyes and looked down at her again and allowed himself to smile; a luxury he rarely indulged in anymore.
Lightly sweeping his fingers across her hair, he gently nudged her awake and kissed her forehead when her eyes opened to meet his. “Good morning,” he said in a raspy voice. She smiled and rubbed her hand over the tight muscles on his stomach.
She studied him for a moment listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat pounding against the side of her face. It was a heart that he had welcomed her into it a lifetime ago; a heart that she had feared she was permanently locked out of. But that fear was mostly gone now as she lay there in his arms feeling his hand stroking her back.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes, they just lay together enjoying their blissful reunion. But the weight of what had happened was unavoidable and something they would have to deal with.
“Look, I’m sorry about yesterday. I know I was a jerk,” he began in a quite voice. “It’s just…seeing you…you showing up like that caught me off guard.” Isabella propped herself up on his chest and listened quietly before speaking. “But it wasn’t the first time you saw me since I got back was it? That was you in the car that night and downtown. You were watching me. Why?”
“I don’t know. At first I guess I just wanted to see if it was really you. I thought I would never see you again and I wanted to know why you were here; if it was business or something else. After a while I couldn’t help it; you were just so damn beautiful I didn’t want to stop watching you. I never expected you to come looking for me though.”
“I was afraid to. I didn’t know what I would find, how you would feel about me, if you hated me. But I had to tell you what happened. I had to at least try to make you understand.”
Nico shifted under her weight, uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. In the face of the love and happiness he was feeling, pain and anger still floated below the surface. He took a breath in an effort to control it. “I don’t understand Issy, not really. I know your father forced you to leave without saying a word, but what about after that? No calls, no letters, not even a damn post card. It’s hard to believe that he had that much control over you.”
She sat up abruptly, taken aback by the blatant doubt in his voice. “Of course he did! He wouldn’t let me out of his sight for months. He kept the only phone in the house locked in his office and he read every letter I tried to send. I couldn’t even write to Eden. He wanted to kill what we had Nico and he succeeded.”
“Okay, so what about after he stopped watching you? What about then?” Nico said, his temper flaring slightly. “By then, I knew that it would be too late. I know you Nico; you would’ve spit in my face if I had contacted you then. I was all alone, my mother was dead and I didn’t need to hear you tell me how much you hated me for leaving.” Isabella looked away from him as tears began to run down her cheeks.
She was right, he knew it. But the anger inside of him still bubbled fiercely. “So you didn’t even try? I was dying for you Issy! I may have spit in your face, but you should have known I would have gotten the hell over myself in the end. You meant too damn much to me to just let it go....you still do.” He stroked her face and closed his eyes, fighting back tears of his own. He hadn’t been this emotionally open in as long as he could remember. He felt exposed and vulnerable, but it was impossible not to be when he was with her.
Clearly upset Isabella moved from the bed, threw on her underwear and went to the door of the terrace. She looked out at the open desert, the cool morning breeze sweeping across her skin, but she already had goose bumps. Fast piercing pain hit her hard like a dart in a bull’s-eye.
She hadn’t been able to fight that pain when she was younger and over time its crushing weight had led her to convince herself that he didn’t love her anymore; that he probably never loved her at all. How many nights had she cried herself to sleep believing that she and Nico were over? How many times had she blamed herself for not fighting harder, not running away when she had the chance? In that moment she realized that no matter how much of a jerk she thought he would have been, she had done something far worse. She had lost faith in him and given up on their love. “This was a mistake,” she whispered. “I never should have come back here.”
Moving up behind her he wrapped his arms around her and softly kissed her bare shoulder. In spite of his anger, hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do. “Baby please don’t cry. I’m sorry. I just needed you to know how I felt. All this time, I’ve wondered if you really loved me then; if you still loved me. I’ve needed to know and now I do. This was anything but a mistake.”
She turned around to face him and gave him a sad smile. “I loved you more than anything. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved Nico.” He looked into her eyes, pools of sapphire emotion, and found what he had been searching for, what he had been missing, what he had convinced himself was an illusion that had been lost forever. The love he had seen there all those years ago was real, undeniable and stronger than ever.
Falling into his emotions again; this time even further than before, he pulled her tightly to him and kissed her. He pulled off the little bit of clothing she had on and suddenly they were back into the hot blurry haze that had taken them over the night before.
When they were finished, Isabella reluctantly watched as Nico began to put his clothes on. “I have to get back home my daughter will be wondering where I am.” Isabella nodded absently, half turning away from him. His daughter. That was a topic that they had yet to discuss.
Thinking back to the news report from the night before, panic suddenly struck her. “Nico…does she think…” “No,” he interrupted her. “If she does, she hasn’t said anything to me about it. I’d like to keep it that way; our life is complicated enough as it is.”
He threw on his shirt and moved to where she was standing. He held her face in his hands, staring into her eyes, once again searching for what he had found only a little while earlier. It was still there; he would have to learn to trust that it would never go away. As if reading his mind Isabella confirmed it with a kiss as he wrapped her in his arms again.
They stood there for several moments, locked in the embrace; both of them desperately afraid to let it go. “I have to go,” he said softly as they finally released each other. “I love you angel.” With that he kissed her on the forehead and headed down the stairs and out the front door.
As he made his way to his car he turned back and saw her watching him from the terrace. He stood for a moment taking in the sight of her; golden hair shining in the soft sunlight, that smile that had warmed his heart every time he saw it. He took a mental picture of her in that moment, happy and content. He would hold that picture; savor it; use it as a shield from the part of him that feared it would be the last time he would see her like this.
He gave her a smile and turned back toward the car. As he pulled off the feeling of bliss and joy that had enveloped him began to slowly peel itself off. Once again he felt the battle rise up inside of him. A battle he knew he would have to fight to quell.
As happy as he was with what had happened he knew it only complicated things that much more. Time and circumstance wasn’t on their side. He didn’t know what would happen next but whatever it was it wouldn’t be easy. He decided not to worry about it for now and take care of the one thing he could control…..Ivy.
************************************************
After pacing around her room for the last hour trying to come up with a scenario that made sense, Bianca decided to stop wasting time wondering and go find out exactly why her father had the gull not to return home the night before.
She crept down the hall and entered his bedroom to find his bed freshly made and everything as he had left it. No, he definitely hadn’t slept there.
She turned to examine the dresser. Just the usual items: keys, loose change, and a loaded nine millimeter handgun with the safety on. A lot of good that would do, she thought to herself as she moved closer and reached her hand out to touch the weapon.
A flash of her father’s face, marked with rage and disappointment, jarred her from her curiosity. He had always been explicit about keeping her away from all aspects of his business life; deadly weapons included. If he had walked in just then and seen what she was doing, an accidental shooting wouldn’t have been half as bad as what he might do to her.
Turning to leave she caught a glimpse of something, under the dresser. She reached down and pulled the thing from its hiding place and put it on the bed.
It was a picture of her father when he was much younger, probably a little older than she was now. Also in the picture was a girl who looked like she was exactly her age. She had long blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and there was something so familiar about her; something Bianca couldn’t immediately place.
She had never seen the picture before and consequently she had also never seen her father smile that way either. He looked happy and totally in love, a state of being that she couldn’t imagine him ever achieving. Something suddenly clicked in Bianca’s mind. She had seen that girl before, but not as a girl, as a woman. “That’s the lady from television…how does dad know her?”
The light from the windows slowly drew Nico out of his sleep. The fire that had roared in the fireplace the night before had quieted into low burning embers; but it wasn’t out. That same fire had burned inside of him and culminated into an unforgettable night with the woman he who had ignited.
He looked down at her sleeping, her head on his chest and at once felt joy coupled with an overwhelming sense of relief that she was still there; it hadn’t been a dream. He closed his eyes remembering the sweet taste of her lips; the warmth of her legs wrapped around his waist; the soft moans of pleasure that she had whispered in his ear. He opened his eyes and looked down at her again and allowed himself to smile; a luxury he rarely indulged in anymore.
Lightly sweeping his fingers across her hair, he gently nudged her awake and kissed her forehead when her eyes opened to meet his. “Good morning,” he said in a raspy voice. She smiled and rubbed her hand over the tight muscles on his stomach.
She studied him for a moment listening to the rhythm of his heartbeat pounding against the side of her face. It was a heart that he had welcomed her into it a lifetime ago; a heart that she had feared she was permanently locked out of. But that fear was mostly gone now as she lay there in his arms feeling his hand stroking her back.
Neither of them spoke for several minutes, they just lay together enjoying their blissful reunion. But the weight of what had happened was unavoidable and something they would have to deal with.
“Look, I’m sorry about yesterday. I know I was a jerk,” he began in a quite voice. “It’s just…seeing you…you showing up like that caught me off guard.” Isabella propped herself up on his chest and listened quietly before speaking. “But it wasn’t the first time you saw me since I got back was it? That was you in the car that night and downtown. You were watching me. Why?”
“I don’t know. At first I guess I just wanted to see if it was really you. I thought I would never see you again and I wanted to know why you were here; if it was business or something else. After a while I couldn’t help it; you were just so damn beautiful I didn’t want to stop watching you. I never expected you to come looking for me though.”
“I was afraid to. I didn’t know what I would find, how you would feel about me, if you hated me. But I had to tell you what happened. I had to at least try to make you understand.”
Nico shifted under her weight, uncomfortable with where the conversation was going. In the face of the love and happiness he was feeling, pain and anger still floated below the surface. He took a breath in an effort to control it. “I don’t understand Issy, not really. I know your father forced you to leave without saying a word, but what about after that? No calls, no letters, not even a damn post card. It’s hard to believe that he had that much control over you.”
She sat up abruptly, taken aback by the blatant doubt in his voice. “Of course he did! He wouldn’t let me out of his sight for months. He kept the only phone in the house locked in his office and he read every letter I tried to send. I couldn’t even write to Eden. He wanted to kill what we had Nico and he succeeded.”
“Okay, so what about after he stopped watching you? What about then?” Nico said, his temper flaring slightly. “By then, I knew that it would be too late. I know you Nico; you would’ve spit in my face if I had contacted you then. I was all alone, my mother was dead and I didn’t need to hear you tell me how much you hated me for leaving.” Isabella looked away from him as tears began to run down her cheeks.
She was right, he knew it. But the anger inside of him still bubbled fiercely. “So you didn’t even try? I was dying for you Issy! I may have spit in your face, but you should have known I would have gotten the hell over myself in the end. You meant too damn much to me to just let it go....you still do.” He stroked her face and closed his eyes, fighting back tears of his own. He hadn’t been this emotionally open in as long as he could remember. He felt exposed and vulnerable, but it was impossible not to be when he was with her.
Clearly upset Isabella moved from the bed, threw on her underwear and went to the door of the terrace. She looked out at the open desert, the cool morning breeze sweeping across her skin, but she already had goose bumps. Fast piercing pain hit her hard like a dart in a bull’s-eye.
She hadn’t been able to fight that pain when she was younger and over time its crushing weight had led her to convince herself that he didn’t love her anymore; that he probably never loved her at all. How many nights had she cried herself to sleep believing that she and Nico were over? How many times had she blamed herself for not fighting harder, not running away when she had the chance? In that moment she realized that no matter how much of a jerk she thought he would have been, she had done something far worse. She had lost faith in him and given up on their love. “This was a mistake,” she whispered. “I never should have come back here.”
Moving up behind her he wrapped his arms around her and softly kissed her bare shoulder. In spite of his anger, hurting her was the last thing he wanted to do. “Baby please don’t cry. I’m sorry. I just needed you to know how I felt. All this time, I’ve wondered if you really loved me then; if you still loved me. I’ve needed to know and now I do. This was anything but a mistake.”
She turned around to face him and gave him a sad smile. “I loved you more than anything. You’re the only man I’ve ever loved Nico.” He looked into her eyes, pools of sapphire emotion, and found what he had been searching for, what he had been missing, what he had convinced himself was an illusion that had been lost forever. The love he had seen there all those years ago was real, undeniable and stronger than ever.
Falling into his emotions again; this time even further than before, he pulled her tightly to him and kissed her. He pulled off the little bit of clothing she had on and suddenly they were back into the hot blurry haze that had taken them over the night before.
When they were finished, Isabella reluctantly watched as Nico began to put his clothes on. “I have to get back home my daughter will be wondering where I am.” Isabella nodded absently, half turning away from him. His daughter. That was a topic that they had yet to discuss.
Thinking back to the news report from the night before, panic suddenly struck her. “Nico…does she think…” “No,” he interrupted her. “If she does, she hasn’t said anything to me about it. I’d like to keep it that way; our life is complicated enough as it is.”
He threw on his shirt and moved to where she was standing. He held her face in his hands, staring into her eyes, once again searching for what he had found only a little while earlier. It was still there; he would have to learn to trust that it would never go away. As if reading his mind Isabella confirmed it with a kiss as he wrapped her in his arms again.
They stood there for several moments, locked in the embrace; both of them desperately afraid to let it go. “I have to go,” he said softly as they finally released each other. “I love you angel.” With that he kissed her on the forehead and headed down the stairs and out the front door.
As he made his way to his car he turned back and saw her watching him from the terrace. He stood for a moment taking in the sight of her; golden hair shining in the soft sunlight, that smile that had warmed his heart every time he saw it. He took a mental picture of her in that moment, happy and content. He would hold that picture; savor it; use it as a shield from the part of him that feared it would be the last time he would see her like this.
He gave her a smile and turned back toward the car. As he pulled off the feeling of bliss and joy that had enveloped him began to slowly peel itself off. Once again he felt the battle rise up inside of him. A battle he knew he would have to fight to quell.
As happy as he was with what had happened he knew it only complicated things that much more. Time and circumstance wasn’t on their side. He didn’t know what would happen next but whatever it was it wouldn’t be easy. He decided not to worry about it for now and take care of the one thing he could control…..Ivy.
************************************************
After pacing around her room for the last hour trying to come up with a scenario that made sense, Bianca decided to stop wasting time wondering and go find out exactly why her father had the gull not to return home the night before.
She crept down the hall and entered his bedroom to find his bed freshly made and everything as he had left it. No, he definitely hadn’t slept there.
She turned to examine the dresser. Just the usual items: keys, loose change, and a loaded nine millimeter handgun with the safety on. A lot of good that would do, she thought to herself as she moved closer and reached her hand out to touch the weapon.
A flash of her father’s face, marked with rage and disappointment, jarred her from her curiosity. He had always been explicit about keeping her away from all aspects of his business life; deadly weapons included. If he had walked in just then and seen what she was doing, an accidental shooting wouldn’t have been half as bad as what he might do to her.
Turning to leave she caught a glimpse of something, under the dresser. She reached down and pulled the thing from its hiding place and put it on the bed.
It was a picture of her father when he was much younger, probably a little older than she was now. Also in the picture was a girl who looked like she was exactly her age. She had long blonde hair, deep blue eyes, and there was something so familiar about her; something Bianca couldn’t immediately place.
She had never seen the picture before and consequently she had also never seen her father smile that way either. He looked happy and totally in love, a state of being that she couldn’t imagine him ever achieving. Something suddenly clicked in Bianca’s mind. She had seen that girl before, but not as a girl, as a woman. “That’s the lady from television…how does dad know her?”
I can't tell you how excited I was to see this update! And it positively glowed just like Izzy and Nico. I was so afraid they were going to both put their guard up again.
ReplyDeleteThis is going to become very complicated. Izzy might very well be Nico's weakness, the one chink in his armor that other people can exploit.
Your writing was so moving, I felt every emotion. And your shots are breathtaking!
Hey Gayl :)
ReplyDeleteYou hit the nail right on the head. She is definately his weakness in ways that I don't even fully understand. He is totally out of control emotionally when it comes to her; a completely different person. And yes, things are about to get dangerously complicated for these two.
I'm so happy that the emotion is coming through well. I've read this about a million times now and was worried that it was a bit flat in places, but that's probably because I've read it a million times.
Thank you so much for reading and that you for the compliment on the shots.
Oh you nailed it!! Perfect, perfect mix of anger and fear and disbelief, doubt and blame, and deep love, both physical and emotional.
ReplyDeleteI think they still have a ways to go on the trust issue. Kind of wondered why Issy even asked Nico why he was following her, other than to get the response she got. But it was so realistic. Everyone needs and wants reassurance that things are they way they perceive them.
Bianca now. Wow. That's dynamite waiting for the fuse to be lit.
I love the shots, the golden light, the sense of being wrapped in warmth. Those bed shots are so difficult to get and you did them perfectly.
Wonderful, wonderful update! And I love the cliffhanger!!!
Thanks S.B.! I knew that after they finally did the deed that they would have to put everything out on the table. There is so much emotion there, so many doubts and fears, so many reasons for each of them to be apprehensive about being so open and vulnerable. But in the end neither of them could help but go there.
ReplyDeleteBianca is surprising me all the time. She's putting together pieces of a very blurry puzzle which could get her into trouble.
Thank you so much for the compliments on the shots, they are the reason this update took so long. I'm glad you liked them.
Oh boy, jumping into sex just makes things super complicated! And, well, kind of serves as a distraction. Serious stuff? PSH! Let's just hump again. It can be difficult to move further in a relationship. Luckily, this doesn't seem to be the first time these two have "met" in the "fleshy way". Not so luckily, there's still a lot of tension and unanswered questions to go through...
ReplyDeleteBianca is a little detective, isn't she? Nico had best watch out, the older she gets, the smarter she gets.
I'm not usually one for the straight-up romance (which I'm sure is pretty obvious), but this was well written and didn't make me want to stick my head in a toilet bowl (Beth will assure you this is a compliment and it is!) Their reactions, their speech, everything made sense. The tension and the awkwardness of their reunion came through wonderfully.
It's a shame that trust issues can break a relationship REAL quick. They need to work that one out...
LOL... Mao you are so damn funny.
ReplyDeleteI am not one for the breathless, larger than life, booming dialouge into each other's faces type of romantic stuff either. In fact that is what I try to avoid without loosing the emotion. I teeter the line and I'm glad this worked out.
Yes Nico and Issy have done the deed before so there is familiarity there. What's next?? Neither of them are very clear on that but none of it will be easy. They live in different worlds and the only thing they have in common right now is love. I am working on avoiding a thumb twiddling "what now" confrontation.
Bianca is more than intrigued here, she wants answers and she's going to get them. Though she might not like what she eventually finds.
Thank you for reading and commenting. I really enjoy hearing your point of view :)
muzegoddess, omg, the shots in this chapter are more than breathtaking. i really hope that my shots may turn out this well with practice. just, wow. wow.
ReplyDeleteThanks xtina! I have to admit it has taken a lot of practice with lighting, and composition for me to get this far. I'm still not where I want to be though. Trust me, you are doing just fine with your shots. They always look good.
ReplyDeleteI am SOO glad I found your story. It kinda rocks. And now that I'm all caught up I'm hooked. Another one to add to the favorites list :D
ReplyDeleteSoo Issy got laid. Twice. Even with morning breath lol. Thats love. Because as fine as Nico is I bet even he has morning breath.
His daughter is cool. I feel like her curiosity might bite her in the butt. Hard. Because of course her daddy's enemies are going to take her to get what they want. She'll probably walk into a trap at some point. Unless you break that sterotype that is :)
Off topic but whats Rooks problem with their "adoptive" brother?
How big is this city? Is it only the rich and famous? Is there any one family who has a grip on the town? And just how dirty are the secrets there?
And will Sloane always be the villanish person? Or will someone come along and take that mantel?
Sorry to stack up the questions but I waited til now to ask all of them :)
Hi Sinclair. Thank you so much for reading, I'm glad you like the story. Yes Issy and Nico finally got it on morning breath and all LOL :) They needed to get it out of their systems but now they've opened up a really big can of worms that won't be easy to deal with.
ReplyDeleteOkay....let's see....which questions to answer first? Alright, lets start with Las Vistas. It is a big city sort of like a conglomeration of Los Angeles and Las Vegas rolled into one, hence the references to famous people and papparazzi.
There is a wide spectrum of people with regard to social class and standing, but yes there are a lot of rich people there. The only people that really can be classified as rich (as in old money)are Isabella's family and the Carlyles. People like Blake, Eden, Blair are "well to do." They are what I would call upper middle class. The De Santos family has money, but because it's not legal they can't flaunt it.
Speaking of the De Santos family...Bianca is a little firecracker and it is going to bite her in the butt. She tends to run towards trouble rather than running away from it. I plan to go far far away from stereotypes here.
Rook is jealous of Rider and the relationship he has with Nico. Nico never took Rook under his wing the way he has with Rider and Rook doesn't like that. He's a big baby under all of that brooding.
Sloane is what I like to call the queen bitch, but she certainly doesn't have a monopoly on terrorizing people. There is a softer, gentler side to her that will come out eventually.
Thank you again for reading, for commenting, and for the questions. I love the questions, they keep me on my toes and force me to write with more continuity :)
Incredible writing as always! Every emotion was there and you have beautiful picture to complement it.
ReplyDeleteReally well done..
I agree with Gayl, Nico now has another weakness (another woman to protect and love) and that might not be good for his kind of business...his enemies might get him down sooner.
I was really happy with the way you wrote this chapter, I wouldn't have like it as much if you had gone into "it was all a mistake and it meant nothing mode"...
I'm glad Nico and Izzy got to talk and love each other again! It does complicate things, but love always complicates everything so bring it on!!!
Wonderful update!!
Amazing writing as always :) I'm glad they were able to be open and honest, it couldn't have been easy on both of them. But now that their feelings are out in the open, then they can figure out the rest.
ReplyDeleteNaught Bianca for snooping in her father's stuff. I just love the irony of their role reversals, Bianca acting like the parent.I'm dying to see her reaction when he gets home. He has a lot of explaining to do.