War for Love: A New Battle Rages

CH 2: So Close

**Gia's POV**

Jeremiah Moretti. The man is s*x on two legs. Fantasy and desire dripped off him effortlessly. The way he moved and walked, he commanded attention in every room he entered. There was a darkness in his eyes, a seriousness on his face. Untouchable, unphased, so out of reach. It was like watching all your fantasies be embodied into one man and dangled in front of you. Every woman lusted for him; women who have been bedded by him couldn’t compare it to any other pleasure in life. Nothing could amount to the things that he could do to a woman’s body, to her mind.

All the stories I heard about him, not just in bed, but in war. How ruthless he could fight; how merciless he was. I was told Jeremiah enjoyed the thrill of holding someone’s life in his hands. Sadistic, psychopath, soulless. Those were just a few words I heard my staff mutter around the house. Some said they would pray for me, and that I was a hen in a wolf’s grasp. But others who were more intrigued by his reputation as some sort of s*x God wanted nothing more than to be in my place. If only that was an option.

From the day he left my home in Italy to now, on the week of our honeymoon, I have tried to prepare myself for being alone with him as his wife. Even though he assured me things would be on my time, I felt like prolonging it would only make it more awkward and hard to get over with. Get over with? My virginity is something I never wanted to just get over with, but that is where I am right now. Sitting on a private plane with Jeremiah, an artist in bed, and trying not to make myself look more nervous than I already am.

I closed my eyes and leaned my head back in my seat. I couldn’t stop thinking about the kiss in the church, and everything else that led to it. The way he looked at me when I walked down the aisle, how I could feel his gaze on me every single moment we stood in front of one another. The way he looked down at me when the priest pronounced us husband and wife and was told to kiss me. I felt so stupid because I could feel the blush creep up on my cheeks. It was instantaneous, and only worsened when his hands cupped my face so softly and his lips finally touched mine.

“Something bothering you?” I opened my eyes and saw Jeremiah smirking at me knowingly. Jeremiah leaned forward, his eyelids closing slightly as he stared at my lips. “You know, as your husband, I should be able to help you with any problem you have. All you have to do is tell me what you need.”

How could he sit there so calmly? Who am I kidding? He had been with so many women, a kiss was nothing compared to the things he had done. They probably melted into him just like I did. I was nothing special, nothing different. I am just another notch in his bedpost, and no marriage certificate could change that fact. I had to get it together, but for the life of me I couldn’t stop thinking about that kiss, and it made me squirm in my seat. Which he, of course, took notice of.

“I’m fine,” I whispered. “I just don’t like flying.”

Jeremiah leaned away from me, but his expression turned from teasing to serious. “I don’t like being lied to.” I tried to deny it, but he interrupted me. “You took flying lessons on various kinds of aircraft. You enjoy flying almost as much as you enjoy painting.”

Why did I think I could lie to him? “You unsettle me, Mr. Moretti.” I decided to go with a half-truth.

“Jeremiah,” he corrected me for maybe the fifth time already. “I’m your husband. You can talk to me like I’m a man, not like your boss. You don’t have to be so damn formal with me.”

My boss. That has some appeal to it. I mentally scolded myself for having an image flash in my head, it wasn’t helping the situation, it was making it worse. But the idea of me bending over a desk, a pencil skirt pulled up to my waist, him behind me in his suit and tie… no stop it! I squirmed in my seat again, but the friction wasn’t enough to ease the need in between my thighs. “Jeremiah-“

“You have had almost two years to get used to the fact that we were going to be married.” The flight attendant came by, but he waved her away. She pouted and looked at me coldly. “Why are you sitting there like a scared little girl with the big bad wolf across from you?”

“Because that is exactly how it feels,” I admitted. Except for the big bad wolf eating my grandma, he takes my innocence and maybe my heart with it. “I understand as a wife there are expectations of me physically-“

“We had this conversation already, Gia. I won’t force you or rush you into something you don’t want-“

“But I do want it, and I-“ I did not just admit that out loud! I could slap the s**t out of myself right now. “What I meant to say, was um-“ Think! Think! I was coming up blank. “Jeremiah, I have never-“

Before I could try and tell him the truth, he stood up quickly, grabbed my wrist, and hauled me off to the back of the plane to the private bedroom. When we were behind the closed door, I tried to get some distance between us, but he wouldn't allow it.

"So, you want me?" He grabbed my waist and pushed me against the door. He was so close. Too close for my sanity. "Gia, answer me." His volume was soft, but his tone was so demanding. How can he do that? It really isn't fair to all women. We don't stand a chance. "Gia."

"I don't know." I lied. The growl in the back of his throat let me know he was not pleased. "I mean I haven't, um-" f**k just spit it out!

A knock on the door saved me, and I was able to breathe out the air that I felt trapped in my lungs. "Sir-"

"GO AWAY." Jeremiah shouted, his eyes staring so intensely into mine. There was something in his eyes, something primal. Raw. Untamed.

"I'm sorry to disturb you, sir, but your dinner trays-“

Jeremiah pulled me aside and opened the door. I have never seen someone's eyes turn so dark and empty that quickly before. "Interrupt my wife and I again, and you will be finding your own flight back to the states. Understand?"

"Yes sir." She muttered meekly, and he slammed the door in her face.

His dark eyes were on me now, his willing prey. "Where were we?" His long strides guided me into a corner. His palms rested on either side of my head, his shoulders and torso caging me in. "You said you wanted me, Gia." Jeremiah leaned forward, his hot breath fanning my cheeks. "How do you want me?" He whispered, dark and low. "Here, now? On the bed? On the floor?" I was coming undone and there wasn't anything I could do about it. "Or how about back in our seats, so the flight attendant can watch?" What the f**k did he just say? I tried to push him away from me, but he caught my wrists and pinned them above my head with one hand, and the other wrapped securely around my throat. "I notice how every time she comes within a few feet from me, your jaw tightens and your shoulders tense. I am very aware of your body language, Gia. You don't like her around me."

"You don't know anything-"

"I know you like this." He tightened his hands around my wrist and throat. "Your eyes dilated as soon as I pinned you, I can feel your pulse racing, and you're breathing harder." Jeremiah leaned forward and whispered in my ear, "So, tell me. How do you want me, Gia? All you have to do is ask, and I'll give you everything you want, and more."

It was a promise I knew he would keep. A promise I wasn't ready for, no matter how much my body sang. Because I knew that I would regret giving myself to this man, and it mean absolutely nothing to him. "I want you-"

"Yes, baby?" His lips brushed the curve of my neck.

"To let me go."