by Ciara Cole
She was acting like a smitten schoolgirl, smiling up at him like he was the star quarterback. But the story was compelling, and she couldn’t help but picture him in those silky boxing shorts. “So you quit boxing and enrolled in culinary school?”
“It wasn’t quite that simple. I had family obligations that delayed me for a few years. But I learned everything I could about cooking so I could be the best.”
“Was anyone in your family upset about you not going into the family business?”
He frowned. “Family business?”
She shrugged. “You said family obligations so I assumed you were expected to take over some big corporation instead of becoming a chef.”
“Oh. Well, my uncle was disappointed but my father completely understood. My grandmother and grandfather were incredibly supportive. She helped me figure out how to cook in larger amounts and all about service. Grandpa and his twin brother, Gionni, helped with taking inventory and bartending during those early days.” He took a sip of his wine and looked at her. “You look stunning this evening, Talia.”
She looked down at the golden dress she wore that hugged her upper torso and flared out slightly to hide her round bottom. She knew plenty of men loved it, but for her it was a source of irritation. “Thank you, Giovanni. And you look quite delectable as well.” The jeans hugged his long legs and the sweater looked so soft she had to fight with herself to avoid reaching out to stroke it. And his shoeless state was doing something to her insides she couldn’t explain.
He blushed. “Aww, you’re just buttering me up to get in my pants.”
She didn’t want in his pants. She wanted those sexy worn jeans on the floor right along with his boxer briefs, because he seemed like a boxer brief kind of guy, and every stich of her clothing. Too bad it couldn’t happen. It shouldn’t happen, not if she wanted to maintain her objectivity. Instead of responding, she buried her face in the wine glass and let him have his laugh at her expense.
“What about you, Talia? Tell me about your family.”
Her family, her past. They were the only topics she rarely discussed with anyone. Her childhood was less than ideal. The truth was it was downright dismal. Her parents, if they could be called that, were absent at best and neglectful at worst. They were deeply in love with one another, so much so that they often forgot they had a child. But they never forgot the drugs. It was a constant companion for them, a third member of their relationship. A relationship that ended the way they normally did. “There’s nothing to tell really. My parents are dead.”
“Shit, I’m sorry.”
She held up a hand to stop the apology. “No need to apologize. They did it to themselves.” She scanned the kitchen. “Do you need me to do anything?”
Giovanni walked over to her and pulled her into his arms. “I need you to kiss me, Talia.”
Before she could answer, he lowered his mouth until she felt the electric touch of his mouth course through her whole body. The first touch of his tongue on hers sent shivers down her back and one word circling around in her mind. More. His mouth was soft, sure and possessive, and she was trembling in his arms. Relaxing against him, she let him lead the kiss, happy to be along for the ride at the moment. His tongue massaged hers and his hands, lord his hands! One grabbed her ass hard and pulled her closer and the other angled her to give him the best possible angle while he devoured her mouth. She pushed gently on his chest. “Wow, Giovanni. Just…wow.”
He chuckled. “Wow, indeed, Talia. Now let’s eat!”
“Magic words.” She winked and grabbed the wine bottle and his empty glass. Talia’s feet were glued to the ground when she entered the dining room. Not only was it fantastic with light wood furnishings, modern black and silver brocade chairs, and modern cutlery, but it was pure romance. “Wow.” He’d obviously put in a lot of effort for her tonight and she felt her resistance crumbling. “This is amazing, Giovanni.”
He walked over to her and kissed her forehead. “I like you, Talia, and I suspect you’re worth the effort.”
“I don’t know about that, but I’m glad you think so.” Who did that husky voice that dripped sex belong to, she wondered. His darkening gaze told her it was hers.
“Trust me, you are.”
She smiled and walked around him, taking time to smell the lavender and basil bouquet in the middle of the table. “I’m hungry,” she said to him.
“Me too,” he growled and began setting the dishes on the table.
~
“You have to taste this,” Giovanni told her, holding out a slice of honeydew melon wrapped in prosciutto and soft cheese. They’d finished dinner already, but everything was still spread across the large table. “I promise you’ll love it.”
Talia’s heavy amber eyes narrowed in his direction. She was already on her third glass of wine and he was seducing her. Yeah, well two can play that game. She wrapped her delicate finger around his wrist, slowly bringing the offering to her mouth. She took a bite, letting one drop of juice trail down her mouth before her tongue snaked out to catch it. “Mmmm,” she moaned. “I love the explosion of flavors in my mouth.”
Giovanni coughed at her words, then covered it up by reaching for his wine with his free hand. “I knew you’d like it.”
“I did. My turn,” she told him as she plucked a fried ravioli topped with some type of fiery tomato cream and held it out for him to eat.
“These are my favorite,” he told her, replaying her moves until the ravioli hovered in front of his mouth. Giovanni took a slow bite, letting his lips brush her fingers before pulling away. “Fried ravioli isn’t very traditional but the crunchy texture and the creamy sauce on top is a combination I can’t resist.”
Talia groaned aloud, still shaken from the touch of his tongue to her finger. “You certainly know how to make food sensual,” she whispered to him.
“That’s all you, Talia. You don’t realize it, but watching you eat is erotic. You close your eyes and savor your food. It makes a man wonder if you’d savor an evening of pleasure in the same way.”
She finished off her wine and he poured without her having to ask. “I do? Well, I love food so I guess that’s no surprise.”
“Good, come on.” He grabbed her arm and guided her through the kitchen, down a short hall and into what appeared to be a sitting room. It was beautifully decorated, with blonde wood and light-colored furnishings that gave it a masculine flair. “Make yourself comfortable,” he said and vanished only to return a minute later with a handful of goodies.
“Champagne, strawberries and cream? Wow, you really are pulling out all the stops.” She smiled, happy he thought she was worth this much effort. It wasn’t as though anyone else had ever gone to such lengths and they’d known each other for about forty-eight hours.
Giovanni sat next to her, so their bodies touched from shoulder to knee. “I wanted to give you romance, Talia.” He kissed her cheek and she returned a kiss at the corner of his mouth.
She leaned forward to dip a berry into the cream and held it to him. “Open up.” He obeyed and she pressed it gently between his teeth. The red drop began the journey from his mouth to his chin before Talia interrupted the trail with her tongue. “You had a little juice,” she said in a deep voice that was full of sex. Damn but his mouth looked so delicious with those plump lips, red thanks to the strawberries and ready for more. What the hell. She leaned in to taste his mouth again. “So sweet,” she moaned.
Giovanni pulled her onto his lap, spearing his fingers through her hair and taking her mouth in such desperation he was sure they were both seconds from bursting into flames. The warmth radiating from her core as she slid back and forth against his aching need and her eager, hot kisses were enough to have him teetering on the edge. “Talia,” he moaned.
“Giovanni,” she whispered back and nipped his ear. “Yes,” she moaned in his ear and he shot straight up off the couch, cupping her ass when her legs twined around his waist. Talia’s mouth never left his body a
s he bounded up the stairs and down a long hall before they both fell to the plush bed with the high thread count sheets.
“I want you, Talia. All of you.”
When she spoke, her voice was low and full of sex. “I want you, too, Giovanni. So bad.”
Her permission, her surrender, gave him the opportunity to do exactly what he’d wanted since he’d seen her in his restaurant. Moving so he was cradled in the warmth of her core, Giovanni kissed her chest, her collar bone, tracing slow circles with his tongue around her throat and dotting her jawline with kisses. She quivered under his magical mouth, grinding her hips into the hard length of steel pressing against her needy center. He groaned aloud when her legs wrapped around him again, pulling him against her molten ‘V’.
“Talia,” he groaned, licking her neck and making her shiver.
“Yes,” she moaned as he kissed his way back down her body, covering her legs in hot, open-mouthed kisses that made her greedy for more. Her whole body sighed when his fingers hooked into the waistband of her silky white thong and eased it down her legs. She felt his breath against the slick curls that topped her mound and exhaled his name, “Giovanni.”
“You smell so good, baby. So wet and ready for me.”
“Yes,” she moaned when his tongue snaked out, separating her moist folds and scraping against her clit. God, his mouth was hot and wet, giving her intense pleasure immediately. Giovanni was a skilled lover, eating at her greedily until he sucked her clit into his mouth and plunging two fingers deep inside her at the same time. “Yes, yes!” She was already so close, too filled with pleasure to be embarrassed at how quickly she’d gone off. He sucked and sucked until she cried out and broke apart in an orgasm so intense she could do nothing but let the waves carry her back to dry, solid land. “Giovanni,” she whispered and pulled him up to her, taking his mouth in a hot kiss that didn’t let up. The taste of her on his tongue was more than she could bear. “My turn,” she growled.
Before he could form a response, she had pushed him onto his back and straddled his hips. He watched, mesmerized, as she slid down the hidden zipper at her side and pulled the golden dress over her head. She never stopped the movement of her hips against his aching erection. Talia leaned over, taking his mouth in a playful teasing kiss while she unfastened first his belt and then his pants. She crawled down his body, taking his pants with her.
“I knew you’d be a boxer briefs kind of guy,” she said as she took in the gray pinstriped shorts that hugged his golden thighs and cupped his impressive package. With an eager but gentle pull, Giovanni was bared to her, having tossed his sweater aside moments ago. Kneeling between his legs, she teasingly caressed his thighs, fanning hot breath over his cock, enjoying the sight of it twitching under her command. “Do you taste good, Giovanni? I’ll bet you do,” she said, wrapping her plump lips around him before he could choke out an answer. She hummed her enjoyment of his smooth skin and salty taste. Up and down she worked him over, pursing her lips for better suction.
“Enough,” he bit out and lifted her away from him, tossing her on the bed beside him. “You are a little tease, Ms. Mathers.”
“Me?” Her innocent tone made him smile, and she was lost in the spell he’d cast on her. She couldn’t look away from his chocolate eyes, staring intently at her while he moved quickly to protect them. He slowly filled her until he was fully seated and she screamed her pleasure at the way he filled her so completely.
“You,” he groaned out, giving her a moment to adjust.
“Giovanni,” she mewled sweetly in his ear and it was the last coherent word she said as he pushed into her and pulled out, alternating his speed and depth until her cries begged him for more.
Giovanni was lost to the sensations. Her cries of ecstasy, the smell of their scents mingling together in the air, and the tight moist heat of her as he drove in and out of her like a man on a mission. “Talia,” he warned and hooked her legs over his forearms, increasing his speed as his passion swept him away.
“Giovanni, let go. I’m with you,” she told him moments before she shattered underneath him, pulling him deeper into her pulsing body as she screamed his name over and over. “Gio,” she cried one last time as her body shook.
“So. Damn. Beautiful,” he grunted as his orgasm overtook him and he emptied himself into her wet and willing body. He happily collapsed on top of her, kissing her neck and making her body quiver in tiny aftershocks.
“That was…even better than your food.”
Giovanni chuckled and kissed her again; this time it was tender and affectionate. “You give the best compliments, but I have to tell you, Talia...” He looked down into golden eyes looked up at him sated and happy.
“What’s that?”
“You taste better than anything I’ve ever cooked up.”
She laughed and nibbled his jawbone. “Then I guess we’re even on that count. But I feel like I was cheated, and I’ll need a second taste.”
He groaned and pulled out, instantly chilled when their bodies separated. “I’m up for that but…shit.”
“What?”
Worried brown eyes searched hers as he told her, “The damn condom broke.”
Chapter Four
To say Talia was freaking out would be a massive understatement. She’d broken her own rules and slept with a man who was a chef, a billionaire and the subject of her latest piece. The problem was she couldn’t bring herself to regret it, not any of it. Well she did regret that their only means of protection had failed, but she didn’t regret the way he’d loved her. He was possessive, demanding, tender and determined in the bedroom and in the shower. She’d been walking around for three days with a goofy grin on her face, and she didn’t give a damn.
Talia didn’t know where things were going with Giovanni, or if they were going anywhere, but she liked him. They’d spoken on the phone every night and he’d stopped by with dinner two nights in a row. Their busy schedules made it hard to connect regularly, but the time they did spend together was quality. He’d told her more about himself but she had a feeling he’d kept plenty to himself. She couldn’t be upset though, because she kept plenty to herself as well.
If anything became of them, she would tell him everything. Reluctantly, but still. She sighed, staring at her blank computer screen as she thought about the future. Whether or not they became a couple, she might have to tell him because they might be having a baby together. A baby. Just the thought of it gave her conflicting emotions. She felt a sense of happiness at the thought of having a child of her own and giving he or she the idyllic childhood she never had. She also felt a keen sense of panic over the fact that she might be pregnant by a man she hardly knew. But there was nothing she could do now, except wait.
So she went about her days as she always did. She woke up and stumbled to the kitchen in search of coffee, which she’d given up after the first day on the off chance she was pregnant. She checked her email and went over what she’d written the night before and finally, around noon, she took a shower and got dressed. Some days she spent all day in her apartment writing, while other days she walked around the city, checking out little-known eateries, food trucks and kiosks. She didn’t always give the smaller places a full-blown review, but each week she named five places to try, which always garnered good will from those lesser-known places to eat.
Today she planned to stay in and catch up on her interview. She had more questions for him and she planned to get answers today so she would have two weeks to finish the profile. Mara would be pleased with the piece; she knew that, so all she had to do was write the damn profile.
Her phone buzzed beside her while she finished up her lunch. She picked it up without looking at the screen.
“Hello? Is this my allegedly best friend who I haven’t heard from since she met some sexy Italian restaurateur who’s kept her tied to the bed?”
Talia laughed. “It’s me. What’s up?”
“So you admit he’s had you tied up for the
past week?”
“I admit nothing. I’ve been busy, same as you.”
“I haven’t been that busy. Obviously you have.” Tiana laughed and waited patiently for Talia to reveal some nugget of gossip. It was always how they interacted when Talia had a man. She was tight lipped about the whole thing until Tiana pulled it out of her.
“Jeez, woman, you’re like the CIA. Fine, yes. He cooked me dinner at his penthouse, and I had a fantastic time. He’s stopped here a few nights this week with dinner and we’ve hung out.”
There was a long pause before Tiana spoke. “For you, that’s practically a relationship.”
Talia sighed, knowing Tiana was telling the truth. Since her ex, she’d barely gone on more than two dates with the same guy and most of those dates were just to appease her friends. Specifically, Tiana and Mara, who couldn’t seem to understand her willingness to stay single at their age. “He’s nice and we have a good time together.” It had the potential to go the distance, but she’d keep that to herself and let time tell.
“That’s not exactly high praise, Talia.”
“What do you want me to say? It’s been a week, relax.”
Tiana sighed. “Why are you so reluctant to admit that you like Gio?”
Talia felt her frustration rising. “I already said I like him, but you know everyone is likeable during that first week. So let’s not get ahead of ourselves.”
Tiana made a loud hiss like a cat. “Excuse me, then, for giving a damn.”
“It’s fine, I know you can’t help it.” Talia bit back a laugh at the sound of strangled outrage coming from the phone.
“If I didn’t love you, I would choke you.” Tiana chuckled. “What are you up to tonight?”
“I’m meeting Giovanni at his restaurant for the final leg of the interview.” She hoped they finished up tonight so she could see if his behavior was about the profile and review or if it was about her.