“Seems like I’m always creating a mess,” I whispered when I could trust my voice again, then dropped little kisses on his neck. My voice shook as I spoke.
He chuckled quietly before pulling me back so he could kiss me thoroughly. There are times in a girls’ life when she thinks… ‘Yup. I have now been thoroughly kissed.’
This moment with Sal was my moment.
Kissing him felt like I’d never truly been kissed before and I’d never want to kiss another ever again.
He wrapped his arms tightly around me as if he was afraid I’d just up and disappear. Little did he know that it would be near impossible for me to walk away no matter what.
I wanted to tell him how I felt. That I’d fallen in love with him that weekend. I’d been on my way to loving him before I came to Chicago but the time with him pushed me over the edge. I didn’t think he’d ever heard those words before. Certainly not from someone he might be able to love back.
The women on his assignments probably said it at one time or another but that didn’t count. He would’ve done all the right things to ensure those women fell in love with him but with me, at least at first, he’d done all the wrong things, and I still loved him.
“I’m going to take a quick shower,” I said sitting up so I could see him.
His arms didn’t loosen.
I smiled because he didn’t want to let me go. But something definitely wasn’t right on his face. He blinked too quickly and his jaw was too tense.
“I’ll be quick. Promise.” I kissed the tip of his nose, and he finally let go. “You OK?” I asked, eyeing him carefully, before lifting off him.
It was a little unusual for me to ask him that after being intimate. Nothing I did should’ve been an issue but with so many emotions flashing across his face, he looked like he was at war with himself. He smirked at me and nodded once.
OK. I chose to let that go.
Sal’s shower was the kind that didn’t have a door or curtain. It was enclosed by marble, so I just walked right in. The showerhead could be anything from a gentle rain to a hose powerful enough to wash down an elephant. I went with something in between.
The room filled with heat and steam making the bathroom of his apartment somewhat like a tropical paradise. Too bad I couldn’t take the shower home with me, too.
The water running over me felt amazing. I’d be pretty greedy with the hot water if I lived here with him.
Making a turn to get the back of my hair wet, I slammed into a solid mass.
I let out a blood-curdling scream and jumped back so hard, I hit the wall, my foot slipped on the wet floor, and I started to fall.
Sal’s hand shot out and grabbed me to stop me from slamming to the ground then lifted me up into him.
Shit, he scared me. If he wanted to shower with me, he could’ve just said something.
“I’m sorry.” He laughed, a sound I loved so much it made me smile widely. “Didn’t mean to scare you.”
“I just wasn’t expecting you.” I let myself give him a good, long look. It was the first time I was seeing the entire Sal package, and I wasn’t going to squander the opportunity. I never knew if I’d get another one. “At least not naked in the shower with me.”
“Hope you don’t mind. I needed to clean off.”
“Definitely not complaining.”
It was also his first time seeing the full me and this was one of the moments I’d been working toward. Him looking intently didn’t make me self-conscious at all.
I wanted him to look. To see me.
Something flashed in his warm brown eyes just a moment before he moved.
His lips covered mine, his tongue pushing its way in my mouth to stroke and taste and make me moan. When he lifted me up, I wrapped my legs around his waist on instinct, his erection positioned in a way that would make sliding down onto it almost too easy but that wasn’t his intention.
So, it wouldn’t be mine.
He snaked his hand between us, touching the spot that had been aching for weeks. I squeezed my arms around his neck on contact and he laughed.
“I can’t breathe.”
“Sorry,” I mumbled and loosened my grip as he pushed a finger inside me.
Sighing, I fell back against the warm marble in the shower with my eyes closed. It wouldn’t take long for him to undo me. It’d been a while for me and I wanted him desperately. His hand played me like a violin, fingers moving in and out as his thumb circled my clit.
That beautiful moment hit every far-reaching spot in my body, leaving me breathlessly hanging on to reality between Sal and the wall.
He allowed me to recover a little before lowering me back to my feet though my legs shook and I didn’t think they’d hold me up.
We finished the shower in silence, and I tried not to openly stare at the way the water trickled around every hard muscle of his body but was pretty unsuccessful with that task.
I couldn’t help it.
The man was built by an artist and born to create these feelings in a woman, so I was not to blame for my poor control.
We stayed in the shower until the water ran cold.
It wasn’t until we were both in pajamas lying exhausted and snug under his thick blankets that either of us spoke. We were on our sides, facing each other. He slid his fingers up and down mine slowly.
Every touch burned a mark on my skin. One that would never be able to be removed. I’m not sure he knew he was doing it.
Sal took ownership of my heart a little more every day.
“What brought that on?” I whispered.
I shouldn’t have asked. Shouldn’t have spoken and just enjoyed that he let himself go for once. But I had to know what changed, had to know why this was the time he acted on what he wanted instead of letting all the other crap get in the way.
“I decided to let myself off the hook. At least for a little bit.”
I wasn’t sure what he meant by that so I stayed silent and still waiting for more explanation.
“From the time I met you I’ve wanted to throw you on to a bed, a couch, a floor, the side of a fucking car and bury myself deep inside you.” Oh, he had no idea how much I liked the dirty talk. “I haven’t because as you said I’ve been punishing myself, and I didn’t want to fuck it up because I know how to do that but I didn’t know how to do it with you.”
“You should totally do all of that sometime but what’s changed?”
“You. You were right, I might not deserve to feel good or be happy but you do, and I’ll be damned if I’m going to let another man make you feel that way.” He swallowed so hard that I heard it. We could just see each other from the glow of the lamp across the room. I liked how close and cozy the darkness brought us. “What you did… when we got home… I’ve never… ”
“I know.” I’d guessed at least, and he now confirmed it.
“I’ve never felt like this about anyone, and you’ve done things just for me without getting anything out of it. It was time to change that.”
“Oh, I get something out of it. Trust me.”
“What do you get out of doing those things to me?”
“Well… ” I scooted close enough to feel his body heat but even that small exertion took effort. I was tapped energy-wise. “It’s a powerful feeling to know you affect someone that way. That I can bring you to that point and push you over anytime I want to? Yeah… ” I smiled widely. “I like that feeling. Plus it apparently makes it so you can’t keep your hands off me so there’s that.”
I couldn’t fight the exhaustion any longer.
Snuggled into Sal was the best way to sleep, and I was powerless to stay awake.
To be honest… I didn’t even try.
Chapter Seventeen
Sal tried to cancel as much as he could on Friday. There were a few things he just couldn’t get away with bailing on. I’d come to Chicago with no warning and didn’t let it bother me that I had to spend the day alone again.
He did have a job an
d I had to understand that.
But he also said he’d plan a great day for us on Saturday. I didn’t care what we did as long as I got to spend the time with him. My flight home left mid-morning Sunday which meant getting up early so I could get to the airport and through stupid security in enough time. I just wanted every minute with him I could get.
He left me in his bed Friday morning and I stayed there longer than I should’ve.
I even thought about staying in my pajamas all day then thought better of it. I was in Chicago. There were a million things to do.
Instead of doing most of those million things, I spent the afternoon in the biggest bookstore I’d ever seen. When my phone vibrated in my back pocket, I’d been so engrossed in a book that I thought I was being electrocuted.
“Hey,” I said after seeing it was Sal.
“Where are you?”
“A bookstore.”
“You scared the shit out of me.”
“How did I do that?” I added the book to the two others I’d already decided to buy and began walking toward the checkout.
“I came home and you weren’t here.”
“Oh shit,” I said then sighed. “I’m sorry. I meant to send you a text. Are you mad?”
“No, I’m not mad,” he said. “I was concerned. I’ll come get you. We’ll go to a movie.”
“How about I come to you, we order in, and watch a movie?”
“Even better.”
I ended the call, paid for my books, and grabbed a taxi outside.
At least Sal made sure not to work the weekend which he said he usually did because he had nothing better to do. In fact, he said he told Soledad that if anyone even called him, it’d be her head he’d come after. When I started to protest, he said he was kidding but he did tell her to send a note out to the entire company that he didn’t even care if the company was on fire he wouldn’t be answering the phone. The whole thing could burn to hell, he said.
Laying on the couch with Sal on a Friday night was better than going out ever had been.
On Saturday we spent hours at the Shedd Aquarium roaming through each room slowly. There was something entertaining about standing in front of the large exhibits watching these creatures that were larger than anything I’d seen up close swim lazily by. I felt like a kid pressing myself against the glass to see more, be closer.
Sal stood back watching me with a smile on his face the entire time. At least when he wasn’t holding my hand or keeping me close to his side.
“You’re a fish person?” he asked.
“I’m a history person but who doesn’t love fish?”
Afterward, we went to Navy Pier even though he complained that it was only for tourists. I reminded him that I was, in fact, a tourist.
Being winter, the rides outside were still closed but I still insisted we walk along the frigid lake. Sal even let me force him to eat at one of the little restaurants there. He’d scoffed and said we could go somewhere else but I explained that would ruin the whole experience.
He tried to eat pretty healthily so the idea of having a meal at a place that wasn’t quite fast food but surely wasn’t as healthy as it could be, didn’t appeal to him.
I pouted and he caved.
It wasn’t even hard.
“Home?” I asked, thinking we were done for the day but Sal surprised the hell out of me by shaking his head. “Where then?”
“It’s a surprise.”
In reality, I didn’t love surprises. Mostly I wanted to know how to prepare but he looked excited over whatever our next stop was that I didn’t say anything. I’d let him surprise me.
“Seriously?” I asked with a lot of excitement when he pulled the car in front of The Chicago History Museum.
Maybe surprises weren’t all bad because now I really felt like a kid in the candy store.
Sal was patient with me no matter how bored he got or how long I spent on a single exhibit. I tried to pace myself but it was pointless because I hadn’t even gotten through half the place when an announcement came over saying they would be closing in ten minutes.
“Ugh, you should’ve kept me moving.” I gave Sal a playful slap.
“Hey, I tried.”
“Do you even like history?”
“No. But you like history and I like you.”
I looped my arm through his as we made our way to the exit. “I’m a history nerd. Does it shatter the illusion for you?”
“Illusion?”
“You know the hot, confident, sexy, hot persona I put out. Underneath it all, I’m a big dork.”
He laughed while opening the car door for me. “I knew you were a dork but you’re a hot, sexy, confident, and hot dork.”
This time I didn’t protest when he took me to a nicer restaurant where he could order all the veggies he desired. The hostess knew him by name, meaning he ate here pretty often as well. I made a mental note to try to pay more attention to the names of his favorite places because on this trip, I’d seriously dropped the ball. I blamed Sal. He was distracting.
“So I’m leaving tomorrow,” I said over my folded hands after we ordered. I hated to bring it up but hiding from reality never did anybody any good.
“I know. I don’t like it but I know.” He sat back crossing his arms over his chest. I almost told him not to do that because I was afraid every female in the restaurant would swoon.
Maybe it was just me.
“Any thoughts on when we can see each other again?” I knew it’d be a while before I could come back. Even with two days off in a row, we’d only get one night together. And while my parents still sent me a small stipend each month, they said until I made a “proper” wage, that was a limit to what I could spend.
“Not sure. I’m thinking about having Soledad arrange things so I only work in the office Monday through Wednesday. You know, to try to get everyone used to me not being there, especially if I’m going to move to Harbor Point.”
I was emptying my glass of water and the liquid went down wrong. I coughed and coughed which brought every eye in the restaurant to me. My eyes watered and I couldn’t stop coughing.
“Are you OK?” Sal asked reaching out to me.
“Is there something I can get you, Miss?” The waiter handed me another glass of water. “Is everything all right?”
“No, thank you. I’m all right.”
The man disappeared.
“Sorry about that,” I said then swallowed hard and tried to catch my breath.
“You’re really OK?”
I nodded.
“What happened?”
“Just went down wrong, I guess. Some people choke on food but I choke on liquid, whatever.”
He chuckled low in his chest. “Was it because of what I said? About moving to Harbor Point?”
“Maybe? I kind of forgot that you were thinking about doing that.”
“Is my moving there a problem?”
“Ha. No.” I took another drink just for good measure. “I’ve been kind of mopey on the inside all day because I hate to leave tomorrow, but if you ended up coming to the Point, even part-time, we’d have to say good-bye more but we’d see each other more.”
“I like the sound of that.”
I couldn’t agree more.
After dinner, we spent some time walking around the city a little more. Sal showed me some of his and Gio’s favorite spots.
“Were you two close growing up?” I asked.
“Yes. Until… well, until we were teenagers.” He jaw tensed as he scratched the back of his head. “Gio, Gemma, and I spent a fair amount of time with our grandparents.”
“And they were… nice?”
“They were great. They loved us. We spent more time with them than we did our own parents. It was better that we did.”
“So your grandparents did know what your parents were doing?”
He shook his head. “They were dead before all that started. And we had nannies. Lots of nannies.”
; “Together?”
He furrowed his brow and cocked his head.
“I mean, you had nannies together. You lived together?”
“Oh yeah.” He nodded. “We grew up in my house together. But our parents were always working so we had nannies. One for each of us and I didn’t know why then, but they only ever stay six months at a time.”
“Why’s that?”
“I think our parents didn’t want us to get attached to anyone. We were very attached to Grandma and Grandpa. It was easier for us to not be close to anyone that way we wouldn’t confide in anyone.”
“That’s such bullshit.”
“I know.”
“It makes me so angry.” When he didn’t say anything I added, “Doesn’t that make you angry?”
Sal was quiet beside me. He’d turned us around and I knew we were headed back to his car. It was three blocks before he spoke again.
“I used to be angry. Gio and I got into quite a few fights. But now… now I only get mad when I know that their bullshit is affecting you.”
“Affecting me?”
He sighed and opened the car door for me then went around the driver’s side and slid in. Then got the car moving toward his house.
“We haven’t had sex, Bailey.”
“I’m well aware.”
“And it’s not because I don’t want to have sex with you.”
“I know that, too.”
“That’s them affecting you. I hate that they have me so twisted up inside.” Then he shrugged. “I’m working on it.”
“You said that you and Gio got into fights. What else did you two do?”
“We found places in the house and in the city to hide out. Especially when we caught on that they had a job they wanted us to do. It never worked but sometimes we could delay it.”
“What about Gemma? Did she go with you?”
His hand tightened on the steering wheel. “We left her behind most of the time.”
My heart pounded so loudly against my chest and my hand shook. He’d never spoken about their lives so openly to me. While I knew it wasn’t going to last, I was going to sit back and listen until he was done.
Love by the Mile (Harbor Point Book 2) Page 15