One Step Closer (Erotic Romance) Book 1 (The DeLuca Brothers)

by Lucinda DuBois

  He should have gone after her, called her, anything to get her back and show her that she was the most important thing in the world to him. But he didn’t. His phone rang and it was a prospective client. Each time over the subsequent weeks, that he’d tried to contact her, something else had always gotten in the way. Business meetings, new clients, fixing problems, promotional events. Before he’d realized it, almost two months had passed and he’d gotten a call from his mother to tell him that Sofia was marrying his cousin Giovanni in just two weeks.

  He’d known why his mother had called, but he had lied and told his mother that he and Sofia’s break-up had been mutual. After he’d gotten off the phone, he’d decided that he would do what Sofia had said, he would throw himself into his work. He wouldn’t risk his heart again. And he hadn’t. He’d casually dated and had a few ‘friends with benefits,’ but he’d never allowed himself to care about someone like that again. After a while, he’d managed to convince himself that he no longer cared about Sofia either. Most days he believed it.

  The moment he saw her again, knowing that she wasn’t married anymore, all of his defenses came crashing down and he found himself getting to his feet.

  Chapter 4

  Eight years.

  It had been eight years since she’d seen or spoken to Frank and the sound of his voice still had the power to freeze her in her tracks. She’d come by to see if Maria needed anything, just like she’d been doing since she was a child. Back then, it had been her parents who’d offered the help through her, but as she’d gotten older, she’d started doing things on her own. It was she who’d baby-sat Sal for free when the older boys were busy, she who’d helped around the house when Maria had twisted her knee and not wanted her sons to know. When Frank had left, it had been Sofia who’d stopped in every weekend to check in, Sofia who Sal had called to come pick him up when he’d gotten a flat tire on his way home from a party. When her parents had retired to Florida two years ago, Maria had stepped in as a surrogate to the then twenty-eight year-old.

  Sofia couldn’t breathe. She knew where he’d be sitting and the slightest movement would take her into his line of sight. She couldn’t have that. He couldn’t see her, not after all this time, not when there were so many things left unsaid between them. Then she heard Sergio ask if Frank was seeing anyone and a sharp pain went through her heart, as if it had been wounded yesterday and not years ago. She found herself powerless to stop as she took a step forward. She needed to know the answer.

  Her heart leaped at the first part of his response, accompanied by an unreasonable stab of jealousy, but then fell as soon as he’d said the words that had kept her away all those years ago. She took a step back, gasping as Frank’s head shot up. Those dark blue eyes had seen her, she knew instantly. She saw the slight widening of recognition, the flash of something deeper that she didn’t want to analyze. His feet moved, ever so slightly, and that was enough to break her paralysis. Forgetting all pretense of stealth, she turned and fled.

  She ran blindly through the kitchen and out the backdoor. Her feet knew the path and kept her from falling as she raced down the porch steps and across the yard. As she pulled open the back gate, she heard a familiar noise behind her. Someone had followed her outside. She couldn’t help herself and, as she slipped through the gate, she glanced over her shoulder. The glimpse she caught of Frank standing on the back porch was enough to spur her flight once more. She wasn’t certain, but she thought she heard him call her name as the gate shut behind her.

  She knew the way back to her house by heart and it was a good thing that she did because by the time she arrived at her back door, breathless and confused, she couldn’t remember the trip. She kicked off her shoes out of habit and crossed to her kitchen table. As she sank down at her usual seat, the numbness of panic that she’d had as she’d run began to fade away and she buried her face in her hands as if to hide from the onslaught of emotion.

  Love. Safety. Disappointment. Loss. Pain. Abandonment.

  Each one was as strong as the last and all, it seemed, were still relevant. She’d worked hard to forget about Frank. The fact that he’d never come back to the city had helped. None of the DeLucas talked about him to her, not even Maria. Sofia’s ex had been all too willing not to talk about his cousin. Though Sofia had never spoken ill of Gio, not even during that last year when they’d known during every fight that it would end in divorce, she knew he’d always felt like he’d been in Frank’s shadow. It was understandable, she supposed, even if she’d never behaved as if she was comparing them. Her feelings for Frank had never exactly been a secret.

  She’d met the DeLuca boys only a few months after she’d been born, or at least that’s what she’d been told. Her first memory was of following the three older boys as they headed to the little park at the end of their street. She couldn’t have been more than four because she remembered Mr. DeLuca following behind, far enough back that the boys had still felt like they were on their own, but close enough to keep an eye on them.

  She was eight when she’d first noticed that thirteen year-old Frank DeLuca was actually kind of cute. By the time she was twelve and Frank was a senior in high school, she’d been certain that he’d never notice her in any way other than as an annoying little sister type. Vincent and cousin Gio had noticed her and, at some point, so had Sergio, though Vincent and Sergio’s affections hadn’t lasted long. Sofia, however, only ever had eyes for Frank. The boys in school had quickly learned not to bother asking her out. She’d go on a few dates, hoping she’d fall for someone who wasn’t completely oblivious to her, but it had always ended the same: a rebuffed attempt at a kiss and then an awkward ‘let’s just be friends’ speech. By her senior year of high school, she’d stopped getting asked out, but it didn’t really bother her. She just couldn’t keep Frank out of her mind, even if he didn’t feel the same way. She’d given up trying to find someone else in high school, and had settled for hoping that college would be different.

  A month before her senior prom, however, everything had changed. Sofia had been over at the DeLuca’s house, watching twelve year-old Sal when Frank had come home from one of his part-time jobs early. While Sal had played video games in his room, Frank and Sofia had sat on the couch and talked. She’d been surprised to find that Frank was aware of her school activities and of her desire to take nursing classes. When she’d finally gotten up the courage to ask him what had prompted the sudden attention, his answer had left her speechless. With an almost shy smile, he’d confessed that he’d been watching her all year, seeing her in a different light. He’d kissed her that night, a fairly chaste one, but it had been her first. The month that had followed had been one of other firsts – her first boyfriend, her first make-out session, her first time introducing a guy to her parents as someone other than a friend – all leading up to her eighteenth birthday and the night of her senior prom.

  Even as she thought it, the memory of that night came back with enough force to make her gasp. It rolled over her and she didn’t fight it. She wasn’t sure that she wanted to.

  When he’d first shown her the hotel room key, he’d almost been embarrassed, as if Sofia would think the action juvenile, but she’d been thrilled. They may have only been dating for a month, but Sofia had been dreaming about him from before she was old enough to understand what a relationship entailed. He had starred in the first erotic dream she’d ever had. It had been his face in her mind the first time she’d touched herself. She may have been a virgin, but she knew what she wanted.

  She’d barely been able to contain her delight when they’d entered the room. Frank must have been saving all month to afford a room at The Plaza. It was obvious he wasn’t looking at this as some kind of quick fuck, but something special. And it had been.

  ***

  Sofia stood at the end of the bed, hands clasped tightly together to keep them from shaking. She’d told Frank that she wanted it, had even hinted that it would be a great birthday present as well as a
perfect way to end prom night. But, she knew her boyfriend. While their age difference wouldn’t seem so strange once she was out of school, at the moment, it still made him nervous, though slightly less so now that she was eighteen. Now that the moment was here, she was almost trembling, though the reason for her nerves had nothing to do with whether or not she was ready to take the next step.

  “We don’t have to do this if you don’t want to,” Frank looked down at her, his eyes almost black. “I don’t want to rush you.”

  Sofia gave Frank a half-smile. “I want to,” she hesitated.

  “What is it?” Frank brushed his fingers across Sofia’s cheekbone, leaving a burning trail in their wake.

  “What if -” she paused, then continued, afraid that if she didn’t answer him honestly, he would call the whole thing off. “What if I’m not any good? You know,” she glanced meaningfully at the bed behind her.

  “Sofia,” Frank’s voice caressed her name. “I don’t want to make love to you because I want you to make me feel good. I want to make love to you because I love you.” He lowered his head to brush his lips across hers. It was a brief kiss, a mere touch of mouths, but it sent a thrill through Sofia’s body all the same. “And, trust me, we’re going to be brilliant together.”

  “How can you be sure?” Now that she’d told him her concern, it was easier to ask.

  “Simple,” Frank ran his hands up her arms. “Every time I touch you, I feel like I’m going to jump out of my skin. When you touch me, every cell in my body heats up. I want to be close to you in every way possible. I want to feel you against me, beneath me.” He tucked a strand of wayward hair behind her ear. “Sofia, I need you to understand something. I will do anything, be anyone, if it means that I can be with you. If all you wanted to do was sit and watch a movie, I’d be content because we were together.”

  The warmth in Sofia’s belly turned from embers to flames at his words. She reached behind her, all apprehension gone. She locked eyes with Frank as she slowly unzipped the back of her dress. He swallowed hard as her dress slid from her body to pool at her feet. Unlike some of the other girls her age, she needed to wear a bra with her dress and she’d specially purchased this particular strapless bra and nearly sheer panty set with tonight in mind. The sharp exhalation that left Frank’s lips at the sight of her curves hugged by elegant black lace told her that she’d made the right choice.

  “Oh, baby,” he breathed the words in a voice of complete reverence.

  Sofia felt her entire body flush with pleasure. She’d always dreamed of hearing Frank speak to her in that tone of voice, but she’d never truly believed it would happen. She took a step to close the distance between the two of them and reached for his shirt. One by one, she undid each button, exposing his tanned flesh inch by inch. When she pushed the shirt off his shoulders, her palms skimmed over his arms and he shivered beneath her touch.

  “Lie back on the bed,” his voice was rough. When she gave him a puzzled look, he added, “I’m going to take care of you.”

  Without taking her eyes from his face, Sofia did as Frank had asked. When she’d settled back on the pillows, he took a step towards the bed, then stopped. He reached into his pocket and produced a small square packet. His devout Catholic mother wouldn’t be happy if she knew he was using birth control, but Sofia had a feeling that Maria would be even less thrilled if her oldest knocked up his little brother’s babysitter. It was nice to know that he’d thought of it. Frank tossed the packet onto the bed and gave Sofia the roguish grin that always left her weak in the knees and more than a little wet.

  “Always be prepared.”

  Sofia sat up and stretched out her hand to retrieve the packet. She set it on the bedside table. “I already beat you to it.” Off of Frank’s look, she explained. “For some health reasons that overrode my parents disapproval, I’ve been on the pill for a couple of years. So, unless there’s another reason you need to wear that, it’s not necessary.”

  Frank just stared, his mouth open slightly.

  “It’s my first time, Frank,” Sofia’s voice was soft. “I don’t want anything between us.”

  “Shit,” Frank whispered. “Keep talking like that and I’m not going to last long.”

  Sofia grinned, a stab of pride going through her at the realization of what she could do. She returned to her previous position. “Would you do something for me before you join me?” Her newfound power gave her the courage to ask for what she wanted.

  “Anything.”

  That single word held so much promise.

  “I want to see you,” Sofia let her eyes do the clarification as they ran over Frank’s lean torso, down to the dark curls below his bellybutton that disappeared beneath his waistband and finally coming to rest on the sizable bulge in his black tuxedo pants.

  This time, it was Frank who blushed, though Sofia wasn’t sure why. She knew enough about his dating history to know he’d had at least four lovers since he and Missy Stillwell had gone upstairs at Clayton Howell’s end of year bash freshman year. Some rumors had the number as high as twelve, but Sofia didn’t think it was quite that high. Then she wasn’t thinking about his other lovers at all because Frank had complied with her request and was kicking aside his pants and boxers.

  “Oh,” the sound she made was small, but it filled the room. She knew what a penis looked like, of course. She wanted to be a nurse, not a nun. But this was different. At least nine inches, Frank’s cock was swollen and thick, curving up out of a nest of dark curls. As Sofia stared, the mood in the room shifted and Frank took control once more.

  He climbed onto the bed and knelt at Sofia’s feet. He wrapped his long fingers around her ankles and parted her legs until he could kneel between them. His eyes were as wild and dark as a hot summer night sky and he bent over her, capturing her mouth with his. She opened her mouth, eagerly accepting his questing tongue. As he explored the moist cavern, she buried her fingers in his hair, reveling in the silky softness.

  Their tongues twined together, chasing each other back and forth between dancing lips. Sofia lifted her back as she felt Frank’s hands slide beneath her. A moment later, the lace garment covering her breasts was removed, baring her flesh to another’s eyes for the first time.

  Frank broke the kiss as he moved his hands to palm her heavy breasts. “Beautiful,” he breathed. His thumbs brushed over the milk chocolate nipples and Sofia gasped. Then he lowered his head to take one wrinkled nub into his mouth and Sofia swore. While one hand played with her left breast, Frank began to suckle at her right. Each draw of his mouth sent another jolt of pleasure straight through Sofia and she squirmed. When he switched breasts, Sofia made a sound she’d never made before, never realized she could make. She could feel her panties growing wet as her entire body hummed with pleasure. Frank scraped his teeth over Sofia’s sensitive flesh and she cried out, a mini-orgasm rocking her. She dug her nails into Frank’s shoulders as her body writhed beneath his ministrations.

  “So responsive,” Frank murmured against her flesh. “Can’t wait to see what happens when I get to the really sensitive part.”

  He slid down her body, his lips placing feather-light kisses across her stomach, then down to her hips and over her thighs. He paused long enough to hook his fingers under the elastic of her panties and slide them off, dropping them to the floor with the rest of their clothes. He swore softly as he gazed down at her, his expression hungry. He stretched out on the bed, his long legs hanging of the edge.

  Sofia fought the urge to cover herself. She’d known she’d be naked, but she’d never expected Frank to be so seriously studying her pussy. She’d kept her hair trimmed, leaving only the thinnest layer of curls covering her and she felt more exposed than she’d thought possible.

  “You’re so wet,” Frank marveled.

  Before Sofia could think of how she was supposed to respond to that statement, Frank wrapped one arm under her right thigh, pressed his left hand on her abdomen, and buried his face in her
cunt.

  The instant Frank ran his tongue from her entrance to her clit, Sofia understood why his hand was on her stomach. He held her down as her hips tried to buck up to meet that wonderful muscle doing such exquisite things to her. His lips wrapped around her clit, pushing her over the edge she’d been walking and she wailed. But he didn’t stop there, instead gently caressing the swollen bundle of nerves with his tongue until Sofia’s cries turned into sobs and she was sure she couldn’t handle any more.

  No one could feel this much pleasure and survive, she was sure. She’d gotten herself off before, and knew what her body was capable of, or at least, she’d thought she did. As another wave of nearly painful pleasure rocked her body, she had to admit that she didn’t know as much as she’d thought. It was more than physical, she now understood. It was the sight of Frank’s head between her legs, the knowledge that his mouth was on her most private of places, that when she kissed him next, he would taste of her.

  When she was certain that her body would explode with too much sensation, he stopped and raised himself up on his hands. His chin and lips glistened with her juices. “I need to know now if you want to keep going or if you want to stop here.”

  He would, she realized, stop without finding his own release. A wave of love washed over her and she nodded. “I want you to make love to me.”

  Frank nodded, a look of relief mingling with his desire. He maneuvered himself into position, using one hand to hold himself steady. He locked eyes with Sofia as the tip of his cock nudged at her entrance. She nodded again and he slid forward.

  She could feel herself stretching to accommodate him, her body welcoming the sensation. When he stopped only part way inside, she understood why and smiled up at him, letting Frank know that she was all right. When he still didn’t move, his internal conflict written on his face, Sofia slid her hand down over his back to his firm ass. She flexed her fingers, her nails biting into his flesh. She felt the muscles jump beneath her touch and then he snapped his hips forward.