The Twelve Vitali Ch. 00

"I'm going to see a couple of horses tomorrow, I thought you might like to go riding with me," he said carefully.

"But I thought..." Maryanne started to speak, the confusion evident in her eyes. She was aware that he still held her hand and she tilted her head. "Well, Mr... What is your name again?"

"Cobi, Jacobi Vitali," he admitted, and he saw the recognition of the name flitter over her face.

"Ah, I met some of your family when I was in Melbourne, your mother, I think," she looked up into his face. Truthfully, aside of Vanessa, who she had blown off this morning in the race to the hospital, she had only met the Vitali patriarch and his wife once. She'd never met any of Jacobi's brothers or the important people of the Vitali table. It was all about the boys, after all. She had no power of her own.

"I doubt that very much," he became serious. "I lost my mother a long time ago."

"Oh, I'm so sorry," she said, genuinely feeling sorry for the man standing beside her. She squeezed his hand. She couldn't imagine the world without her mother in it. Cobi must be a cousin to the table then, she reassured herself, which didn't mean he could be given a seat at the family table, but it was far less likely. "Riding sounds lovely," she agreed easily, feeling like she owed him that much after making him sad at the end of their evening.

"Would you mind meeting me in Timboon? I have an early morning meeting there, and it will save me backtracking, and you could visit your friend before the ride. I can meet you at the hospital. What did you say your friend's name was?"

"Kathrine Tate," she said without thinking.

"Why don't you visit Kathrine and I'll see you at the hospital about ten?" he asked as they reached the car where her uncle waited. He lifted the hand he held and kissed the back of her knuckles, sending a jolt of electric attraction through her.

"I'll see you tomorrow," she said, quickly withdrawing her hand and allowing him to open the car door her for her.

"Try not to lure any more men to their doom by driving their cars into large immovable objects, Miss Donati," he grinned and leaned into the car a moment before closing the door. He gave her back the hundred-dollar note and murmured. "I wanted to pay for the flowers." Then he stood and shut the door. The window immediately came down.

"I get the feeling you are used to getting your own way," she said in a half teasing voice.

"I've been accused of that, yes," he admitted.

"That makes for interesting and possibly awkward times ahead," Maryanne predicted with a laugh, "Goodnight, Mr Vitali." She closed her window again.

"I'm sure it does," he chuckled to himself.

*****

"Did you make a slide show to go with that Presentation?" Ricco asked his mirror image, Jacobi.

"Would it have helped?" Jacobi asked. "I get why you might not be happy about this as I am."

"Everything you said makes sense. Maryanne's got perfect bloodlines, she's from possibly the most powerful of the tables, and she understands what it is you would be asking of her. I get it, she's the perfect candidate, but not once in all of what you have said tonight have you told me that you love her," Ricco said. "If I'm the one who has to give up my possible future wife to share the woman you choose for us, it better be because you're in love, not just any love, but mad crazy love, the kind you can't live without."

"I thought that much was obvious," Jacobi groaned, but was unable to hide his grin.

"We always said that whoever found love first got to be the groom," Ricco gave in, as he always did. Twins born only minutes apart, they shared an uncanny bond to go with their identical looks. "Just make sure you give us enough time to become friends at least. When and if Papa ever retires, that's going to be important. If she hates me, or I can't stand her, then it's never going to work out, whether you are the second son or not. All this planning you've been doing our whole lives won't matter much then."

"As if I'd marry someone you hate. And look at yourself, then look at me, do you really think she won't be attracted to you in the same way?" Jacobi laughed at the thought of it.

"Does Matteo know? He got burnt pretty badly by Nik before she went back to Queensland," Ricco said, considering anything that could be a reason to stop his brother from proposing to Maryanne Donati.

"Matteo will be fine. He's neck deep in some new building project. I doubt he even knows let alone cares what's going on with us," Jacobi became serious. "We should probably do something about that. It can't be good for him to be working twenty-four seven the way he does."

"Maybe a day at the races is called for?" Ricco considered the options for spending time with his older brother. He'd witnessed the death of their oldest brother when he was eight and had been injured himself at the time. Prone to bouts of introspection and feeling blue, Matteo kept mostly to himself unless a specific family gathering was called for. He was the first to jump in when his siblings asked for help or assistance, but would never ask for help himself. He had become an island in the sea of people that was their huge family.

"Maybe I should tell him about Maryanne personally. He's already missing in action a lot lately. I'd just been hoping to slip this one past him, but now that you have brought up what Nik did to him I'm not so sure," Jacobi managed to look as thoughtful as he sounded. He'd fallen in love with a Donati princess, and he knew that in proposing to her he was dooming one brother to a life of being a permanent bachelor to the public eye and another brother to relive memories he'd probably rather forget.

"I think you should, and don't forget, he was originally the second son, not you," Ricco reminded him. "So take it easy on how much you talk to him about the plan for table domination."

"Twenty years of being the oldest outweighs eight years of being the second son. We are the second sons, not just me, but both of us. We have been in this together from the womb. Plus, you're going to love Maryanne just as much as I do, I know it. Just give it some time, I promise she is perfect and will be the perfect mother for our table."

*****

Two Years later.

Matteo surveyed the property from the wide-open deck that wrapped around his house. He'd fallen in love with this little town on top of a hill overlooking the Great Southern Ocean when he had come here a few years ago with his brothers to look at a horse stud. He bought the land and built this house with one woman in mind. Now it was just a reminder of the treachery of women. As if his mother hadn't fucked with him enough he'd managed to fall for a manipulative bitch who had no intention of marrying into one of the twelve tables, even though she had been brought up in the most powerful of them.

'I should sell it,' he counselled himself. He knew he was on notice, as were his brothers and cousins, to start settling down and producing heirs. His father's heart attack earlier in the year had made them all realise that the big man wasn't immortal and time could be shorter than they realised to become the men who would sire and lead the next generation to inherit the Vitali Table. His mind whirled back to happier times when he'd thought himself in love with the incredibly beautiful and confident Veronica Donati.

At the age of twenty-five, she had been the most amazing woman he had ever met. Confident and strong with a softer feminine side that she showed only to those she trusted. She had trusted him, and that had made him feel special, different to all of the other men who flirted with her and tried to gain her favour. At least that was the illusion she wove around their relationship, particularly in the beginning. When it had started going horribly wrong, he was in too deep and would have forgiven her anything. Of course, that was before anyone knew what a deceptive, manipulative bitch she truly was.

When Jacobi had started dating Maryanne, he had been forced to face that time in his life. The rush of emotion threatened to overwhelm him to the extent that he began to travel more often rather than see his brother taken for the fool he had been. Maryanne, though, had turned out to be nothing like her sister, except for the family resemblance which made her undeniably beautiful. That beauty, however, was a constant reminder of the pain he had endured at the hands of Nik. He'd never found out the complete truth or the whole story surrounding her imprisonment and subsequent death, but he knew he would need to if he ever wanted move on properly and accept Maryanne as part of his family the way she wanted him to.

Matteo hadn't been back here for a while. He loved this place, he just didn't know if it would ever be a place he could live again without those dark memories. He walked back inside placing his empty coffee mug in the sink and going to make his bed before his brothers arrived. Jacobi was bringing Maryanne's horse down from Queensland as a surprise for her birthday and wanted to keep it at Matteo's until the day, knowing Maryanne wouldn't visit. 'It wasn't that she wasn't welcome.' he thought defensively, even though he knew he had never made her feel welcome, not here, and not in his family.

He had to exorcise Nik from his life, and that had to start with this place, he admitted. There wasn't a room that wasn't filled with the memory of her. He could remember the good things about Nik, along with the bad, and wished they weren't so clear in his mind. The last day they had been here in this house together, the last day he had seen her before she left never to return, was filled with memories too hard to think about. His mind wound back further to happier times' to the first time they had entered the battlefield that was their sex life.

He'd found her beside the pool sunbathing. He'd been pissed off about the night before when they'd been clubbing and she had flirted with a guy he loathed. He'd thought that she cared about him, that they were dating, but she had acted like a single woman at the bar, and he felt like a schmuck for not putting a stop to it there and then. He was there to tell her to get another schmuck, but she rolled to face him, and he saw that she was topless and the words died in his mouth.

"Mattie, I wasn't expecting to see you today," she said, picking up a towel and haphazardly covering her breasts.

"After last nights performance, I don't doubt that," he snarled, his anger still close to the surface, despite being unable to take his eyes from the large but perfectly perky tits that peeked out from the towel she held loosely in front of her.

"How about you talk to me instead of my tits then," she bit back and dropped the towel. Cupping the heavy globes in her hands, she lifted them toward Matteo. "Here, get a better look, pervert. Then maybe we can have a conversation once you're done."

Matteo didn't respond, his reddening cheeks and the tent forming in his pants would give the lie to any words he tried to say at that moment, so he silently endured her barrage of words.

"Geez, look at that. That limp dick of yours is getting to half mast, why don't you come closer, touch them, suckle like a little baby boy. You know you want to," she tormented him, despite the fact that her nipples were hardening as quickly as his cock, belying her pleasure in the scene she was creating. She was surprised that he didn't turn his gaze away and give her the moment of triumph, instead she saw his mouth tighten and his eyes flash with anger at her taunting.

Nik knew she couldn't back down, knowing she must remain arrogant to stay on top. She shook her shoulders and rubbed her hands over her breasts as she watched Matteo bring his hand to his chin and rub his stubble.

"You're such a slut," he remarked. "The fucking Donati ice princess is actually a slut!" he let the incredulity in his voice wash over her and noted with satisfaction her moment of hesitation before she continued.

"Yeah, and you're getting worked up watching this slut. So, what does that say about you?" Nik challenged.

Matteo was no longer listening to her barbs. He was aroused beyond reasoning by her behaviour. He had not had sex in weeks as she had kept him at arm's length; he had taken a day's insulting jibes from first his friends about his taste in women. Here was that same woman flaunting her body at him, taunting him that he was less than a man. He ran his eyes down from her breasts noting the slim waist, tiny white bikini bottoms tied on each side of her hips, then on down her long slim, partially spread thighs to her gold ankle bracelet.

Nik knew this look. She had seen men look at her like that all the time. She knew how to use that look to her advantage. It was the look of pure lust. Whether he would continue being the nice would-be boyfriend or not, there was sexual energy in the room, and she enjoyed having this effect on a man. The feelings of arousal in her lower stomach were flooding into the rest of her body now. She dropped one hand off her breast and moved it to her stomach. Without saying a word, Matteo slipped off his jacket and pulled his shirt over his head. The sight of his well-muscled tanned torso did nothing to quell the butterflies ravaging Nik's tummy and transferring throughout her body. He kicked off his shoes and socks and dropped his trousers and underwear to the floor in one swift movement.

Matteo stood naked before Nik, his erect cock just out of her reach. She noted it was considerably bigger than she had imagined and she could not avert her eyes. The sight raised her arousal levels even higher, and now she felt the dampness between her thighs making her squirm. She swallowed hard, feeling a little weak in her hungover state, but quickly looked to hide the fact with more talk.

"Oh, now the big man gets his dick out and waves it around. What am I supposed to do, get down on my knees and worship it? I guess that would make you a real man, wouldn't it?"

Matteo said nothing but took a small step toward where she sat. It was clear to Nik that the usually sweet and gentle Matteo was determined to get sexual action of some sort from her after the taunting. She was still stunned that he hadn't back down and run away with his tail between his legs. She wasn't about to back down before him.

The men in her life always won the arguments because of their size and physical strength, but not this time. Nik knew this could well be more than a small victory for her. It could be something she could hold over him in the future... If she decided to keep him around.

Matteo stood there, breathing deeply, desperate to have his cock touched. Nik sat up straight on the couch, an action which brought her head to within a foot of the focus of both their attention.

"Little Mattie needs some attention, does he?" Nik teased in a mock baby voice. "Aww... come here little tiny Mattie," she smirked knowing her words would sting him. She brought her hand up and wrapped it around his engorged shaft. He was far from tiny or little. she thought. bringing his cock closer and blowing lightly on its head. "Say please," Nik tormented him, pushing him past the point of sanity.

Matteo said nothing, but moved a hand to the back of her head and lightly pushed. Nik did not mind that he had not pleaded. She would suck his cock for him. She enjoyed sucking cock, and, in her current state, she had to actively stop herself from engulfing it.

Nik licked her full lips in an exaggerated manner and brought them to the mushroomed head. However, the moment she brought her tongue to touch it, Matteo's cock gave a twitch. Nik was experienced enough to know that this meant things wouldn't last too long. Matteo knew this as well and was now desperate to have his cock inside her warm slutty mouth.

Nik brought her tongue to the underside of the thick shaft and licked it slowly up to the head. She looked up at Matteo while doing this and enjoyed seeing his face contorted in ecstasy. She loved the feeling when the usual hierarchy was reversed. Now she was the Boss. She ran her tongue around the head and dipped it into the small slit, dribbling more saliva on it as she went. His cock twitched again. Nik did not want to get a face full of cum. Other men had done this to her before she had learnt to swallow and she didn't like it. So, she quickly placed her moist lips on the helmet and began to give short, sharp bobs of her head.

Matteo was initially disappointed, as he thought this was all Nik knew how to do. Her hand around the base felt good, as did her mouth on the top inch, but there were several inches in between being neglected. Then, to his delight, Nik moved her head forward and engulfed most of the cock until it hit the back of her throat. She withdrew slowly, running her tongue up the base and then repeated the process. Matteo moaned aloud as he struggled to contain the forced celibacy build up in his balls. He was having some success until she again took him by surprise. Moving forward, she took his cock in until it hit the back of her mouth, then she dropped her hand off the base of the shaft and slowly swallowed, working his cock into her throat.

Her best friend at the last school she attended had taught Nik how to do this. She had provided her with a dildo and told her to practice if she ever wanted to have the power in her relationships. Sex was power, and they both intended to be experts at every depraved act. At first she had thought she would never achieve the feat, but slowly she had learnt to relax her throat and overcome the gagging effect. Some days she was better at it than others, but today she was determined because she knew it would enslave this man and give her an excuse to delay returning to her family.

Matteo looked down in utter amazement. No women had ever done this to him before. Watching his large cock disappearing down her throat was a huge turn on. Nik withdrew all the way and then pushed the cock in again. She could not take the entire shaft, but was almost there. When she withdrew for a fifth time, continuing to run her tongue along the underside, Matteo's cock twitched again. She quickly brought her hand back to the base of his cock and began to pump rapidly, just as he came in her warm mouth.

Matteo knew he should have held out longer, tried harder to push her away and fuck her, but she had driven him insane, and as his cum pumped into her mouth he groaned loudly in absolute pleasure.

When she felt the first spurt hit the roof of her mouth, Nik really went to work on his cock. She bobbed in and out at a rapid pace while she sucked and swallowed every drop. Matteo could not believe it. This gorgeous slut was giving him the most amazing blowjob he had ever experienced. He massaged her head as she continued to lick and suck him dry. When she was sure she had every drop, Nik pulled her mouth off his cock with an exaggerated pop. She ran her tongue around her lips and fluttered her eyelashes at him for extra effect, knowing she had won a new heart and slave.

"I'm guessing from that groan that you enjoyed getting head from someone you called a slut ice princess," she immediately taunted him, basking in her control of the situation.

'Fuck,' he thought as the barbed words hit their mark, 'That's not right. You don't do that with a Donati princess.' However, this thought was immediately followed by thoughts of those luscious smiling lips around his cock.

Nik threw herself back into the back of the sun lounge, smiling. She remained very aroused by what had just taken place but did her best to hide the fact.

"It's a pity you don't know how to please a girl. I met your last girlfriend, Candace, and she told me that you are totally devoid of a clue as to how to please women," she said as she rubbed her hand over her pussy through the bikini bottoms. Once again, the taunting and his arousal prompted Matteo to action. He was damned if he was going to let her think he wasn't equal to her in any way, and he admitted that he enjoyed going down on a woman and was suddenly extraordinarily hungry to dine out on her.