The Twelve Vitali Ch. 02

"My father would like me to tell you to stop ignoring your phone while you are working," Ricco chuckled. "I, on the other hand, don't mind at all because it gives me an excuse to come and see what you are doing here."

"Roberto was trying to call me?" she asked, and quickly grabbed her phone from the desk in the corner of the room.

"Yes, he'd like to schedule another meeting, it seems the extradition is underway," Ricco explained, believing that she would be expecting this news. Seeing her face become pale, however, he realised that he possibly should have softened the delivery of that information. "We were expecting this, it's not anything to be worried about. It just means that your case will go on the court docket soon, and Roberto wants to make sure we have everything we need in place," he reassured her.

"I'll call him back now," she said, looking at the missed called she'd had that morning. "Thank you for coming to tell me."

"I thought since I was here I could take you to lunch," he offered.

"Sure. Is there something else about the case?" she asked.

"I like your company, no other motive than that. Plus, I don't particularly like to eat alone," Ricco admitted.

"Just let me call Roberto back first, and then I'll clean up," she smiled.

"I'm meeting with him after work tomorrow," she said a short time later as she scrubbed her hands of paint for the second time. "I'm not dressed for anything fancy, so I hope you don't mind a coffee shop or pub for lunch."

"I have somewhere in mind," he said as he waited patiently, inspecting her paintings.

He'd surprised her by driving to a quaint little restaurant in the suburbs where the food was superb. They'd laughed and talked about anything but the court case and Ned, and Cat found herself relaxing and just enjoying the company of the gorgeous man who seemed genuinely interested in her, if only for the duration of that lunch.

When he returned her to work two hours later with apologies for keeping her longer than her lunch break allowed, he had dipped his head and brushed his lips softly against her cheek. Unable to help herself, she felt a quiver run through her body and looked at him with wide eyes. She was speechless, and she watched as he turned and left the studio. She knew she was acting like a school girl with a crush, but even the most innocent of kisses to her cheek had affected her with a heat she hadn't felt before, even when she was younger and had believed herself in love with Ned.

Her mind wandered as once again she picked up her palette and began to apply fresh paint to it. She was doing a series of wildflowers and, seeing a vision in her mind, she picked up one of the fresh canvases she had primed the day before. Making sure it wasn't still tacky, she let her mind wander as she created the scene on canvas. She could see it before her, walking through a pine wood, all dark and dappled holding the hand of the handsome man she had just had lunch with, and the daydream began as she created the picture perfect moment on the canvas.

In her daydream Cat hurried through the trees to keep up with Ricco's long strides. They had left a campsite behind them and carried nothing with them. At the edge of the wood, they arrived at the edge of a precipice.

"We can climb down," Ricco told her. "I'll look after you."

She had felt his strong hands firmly guiding her as she climbed down, and when she finally stood on solid ground again she felt his hands around her waist and those soft lips brushing against not her cheek but her lips. He moved away from her again and started toward another wood that was on the far edge of the meadow they stood in.

"Wait," she said, hurrying to catch up to him. He stopped as they reached the centre of the meadow. Once again she looked around, getting the dimensions and perspective from this point of view, the vision in her mind clear and detailed as she daydreamed through her work.

The meadow extended before them until it met with the boundary of the surrounding pines on the far side. To the north she could see the low rolling hills of the surrounding countryside. The meadow was twice again in length as it was wide, the southern aspect went off into a ridge of stone against the horizon. It was as if she and her fantasy version of Ricco stood on a knoll and the terrain slowly descended down from where they stood until it hit those extremities. She bent her head and looked closer.

The grass was thick and plush, and nearly knee deep. It was wet near the base, with the sun having died out the tops. It was deep green, even more so than the forest behind and in front of them. The sun played hide and seek with the clouds. The dappled light cast different shades around the meadow. They faced into a breeze that made the grass roll like waves on an emerald ocean.

The most prominent features, and what had to be there for this vision to work, were the bursts and dots of white strewn among the green of the grass, along with smaller clusters of yellow, sprinkled with blue. She let her daydream continue in the detailed scene as her hands worked as if on automatic pilot.

"Wildflowers in the meadow!" Cat whispered in awe, trembling as she turned to Ricco. "You brought me to the perfect place."

"Yes," he answered. Ricco stepped behind her and clasped his arms around her waist. He bent lower and spoke softly and deeply into her ear. "It is the most beautiful place that I know, but not nearly as beautiful as you. I wanted you to see it; to be with you in it; to make love to you here. This thing that's been building between us is too strong to ignore anymore."

Ricco started to unbutton Cat's shirt as she eased back into him, relaxing her arms at her sides to give him access. The buttons undone, Cat leaned forward so that he could pull the shirt down her arms and set it aside. The bra followed quickly. Ricco's palms teased up her body to cup her breasts. Cat opened herself to the pleasure of his touch. It rippled from her breasts to her core, causing tingles of pleasure to travel down her body, and her breath started to quicken.

"At last!" she sighed. She stood still, letting Ricco touch her at will. His thumbs rubbed over her nipples, fanning her flames.

In the distance, she spied a black cloud moving slowly toward them. The sun behind it outlined the edge in shining silver, like a dully lit sign in the sky. Behind it came another dark cloud, dropping rain like black dust. The wind freshened.

"No! Rain is coming!" Cat cried, she wanted this for so long, and just when they had their moment... She shook her head, this was her daydream, she could fix this.

"Quick, take off the rest of your clothes," Ricco said, bending to the task. "Turn your boots over so they don't get water in them. Put your clothes on them for good measure."

In a few seconds they were back together, this time naked. Ricco held Cat again from behind, caressing her breasts. She leaned back and felt his erection pressing the small of her back. The cheeks of her buttocks rested against his thighs. They could face the storm together. She felt safe with him, regardless of the storm about to descend on her. The clouds moved steadily, slowly, inexorably in their direction. It should have frightened her, but didn't. She was mesmerised into a state of complete relaxation, and she waited, motionless, with his arms wrapped tightly around her.

"I won't ever let anyone hurt you again, Cat," Ricco murmured into her ear, and somehow she believed him. He had been so good to her so many times over the past few weeks. She had no reason to doubt his words. The storm was closing in and she calmly waited for it to come to them. Then it was there, the frightening thunder and lightning that had in the past terrified her seemed somewhat muted as she stood in the circle of his protective arms.

Cat pivoted around to kiss Ricco. They embraced as the rain poured down more strongly. It showered them as they kissed and seeped its way between them where their flesh pressed together. It drenched their hair, and the excess ran down their bodies. They held the embrace. Cat felt her breasts and nipples crushing into Ricco's chest. His hardened cock pressed into her belly. Cat rose up on her toes and settled back down again, just to feel Ricco's erection rubbing on her rain-slick skin. She imagined him thrusting it into her and moaned softly.

Cat released the emotions that she had trapped within her since she had realised that what she had with Ned wasn't love, it was dependence. She refused to waste these very different delicious tingling feelings anymore. She blended the colours of her life, creating a new, lovely hue that included a good man like Ricco who could love her in a whole different way. She was, truly, a wildflower blown by the wind to this meadow. She realised she had finally been planted in the right place. She had searched for a place where she felt she could live the life she wanted, and this meadow, as well as the man who stood behind her, might just be it.

Understanding broke over her like the teeming rain in her vision. It broke her free of conscious thought and allowed instinct to control her. Cat released her embrace on Ricco and clasped his hands in hers. She leaned backwards, falling into the lush grass, pulling him on top of her. She opened her thighs to form a cradle for him. Cat felt his weight on top of her, his cock probing between her thighs. She was panting in desire, anticipating nothing and everything all at once. She reached out to wrap her arms around him again.

Cat looked up into Ricco's face. He had intensity and desire painted on it. He lowered his mouth to her breasts, the slippery skin tasting of the rain and her nipples swollen by pure arousal. He licked and then sucked the water from them. The sensation sent greater tingles to her core. Cat kept her gaze turned skyward as Ricco went lower to taste the wet heat of her pussy. The rain kept falling on her, adding to the surrealism of the daydream she allowed herself.

Around her was an aura of green made by the grass and wildflowers towering over her head as she lay there. The blades bent over dripping water onto her face, and the tall daisies leaned down to kiss her. The grass under her was a mattress where a thousand blades supported her frame. She writhed as Ricco licked and tormented her, and the grass entered her private crevices, that added to the pleasure she imagined and felt her heat rise in reality as she gazed almost unseeing at the image she was creating on the canvas in response to the daydreaming.

Ricco climbed back up to be face to face with her. Cat opened her thighs wider and he mounted her. Cat wrapped her legs around him so that her feet lodged around his knees. He gently thrust into her and she readjusted her legs, running her nails up his back leaving pale pink lines. The action sent him deep into her. She squeezed her pussy around his shaft, the feeling of him filling her inducing a pleasure that shook her momentarily.

As Ricco pumped into her, she tightened herself even more; her legs around his waist, her arms around his shoulders and her pussy around his shaft. She did so, not to entrap him, but to force a greater exertion from him as he continued. As the heavens continued to pour out water, she poured all her energy into this man. In a delicious slow dance, unlike any lovemaking she had experienced with Ned, Ricco would move forward into her, and she would tighten her gripping legs around him and raise her hips, rocking up into him to deepen the thrust. As he would withdraw, she would relax back down to wait for him to move back into her once again.

In each movement Cat's pleasure grew. She was scaling a mountain, the peak coming into view. She felt Ricco's breathing become laboured and louder. He thrust into her hard, completely burying himself in her, and she knew that she was very close. She neither prolonged nor cut short the approach, but allowed it to come upon her as it would if this were not just a fantasy.

The release caused her to cry out with abandon. She was overtaken and could no longer move against his thrusts. Every muscle in her shuddered, and Ricco kept pumping. Finally, as she began descending, he thrust forward as far into her as he could. She heard his cry of ecstasy and felt him pour into her. He remained atop, still inside her, catching his breath. Cat smiled in thankfulness as she looked into the sky. The rain stopped and the sun emerged. Around her the green halo of grass dripped their tears on her face. A gentle breeze arose. The wildflowers bent again to kiss her, whispering of what might be.

She felt flushed. She had no idea how long she had been standing there with her vibrant vision of being with Ricco in the meadow of wildflowers, but she put down the palette to go to the bathroom and splash some cool water on her face. She had liked the canvas that showed the wildflower meadow from the beginning of her daydream, but the image at the end played over and over in her mind, begging to come to life on her canvas. So, despite the lateness of the day, she picked up a new canvas and became lost in the fantasy of that pivotal moment again.

She didn't hear her phone or the knock on her door when the security man who had been assigned to watch her during the evenings made his way inside with David.

"I guessed you were having a creative spurt and brought you some dinner," he said, interrupting her train of thought and noticing her flushed cheeks and slightly unfocused eyes telling him that he was right.

"Stop and eat something, the paint will still be there in an hour if you need to keep going," David said.

"Sure, the moment's gone now, I think," she said, grateful that he had brought her food. She looked around at the half and nearly finished canvasses before taking in the one on the easel from the short distance where she had walked to greet David.

What would her brother think of her if she told him that, barely a month after being raped by Ned, she was fantasising about sex with Ricco? she wondered. To her, the paintings told the obvious tale, but she knew that without the knowledge of what she had been thinking at the time she loaded her brush with paint these would just be pretty paintings of wildflowers.

"These are good," he indicated the paintings. "I'm not sure I want to ask what was going on in your mind when you did them," he stopped in front of the painting on the easel. "This negative space here," he pointed to darker flattened grass, "Almost smells like sex."

"I might have put too much wild into the wildflower theme," she laughed, "but I know Vanessa is on a deadline for this one after all the time I had off. Matteo is coming in tomorrow, and she needed something else to show him."

"You definitely have something to show him now," David chuckled, and walked back to where she was investigating the burgers and fries he had brought with him.

"Thanks for this, I didn't realise how hungry I was," she grinned.

*****