by A. m Madden
On shaky legs, I stood and walked over to him. “You’re right. Everything you just said I deserve to hear. I did think of you every day, but my heart refused to let me move on and my mind refused to let me believe I could have what I always dreamt of.”
“I never once gave you the impression that I wasn’t capable to give you what you wanted. It turned into my dream, too. You took it upon yourself to halt what we could have been.”
“I’m sorry. I came to tell you what I couldn’t before. If you don’t think you can pick up where we left off and try again, I understand. Please know, anytime you want to see or speak to Mikey you have my blessing. I’m sorry I interrupted.” The stretch of pavement that I had to travel to get back to my car seemed a mile long. A slow tear trickled before a few more followed.
“Sabrina?” Cassie’s voice sounded behind me. With a quick swipe over my cheeks, I turned and smiled as best I could. As Cassie walked toward me, it was then she saw Luca standing near the porch where I left him. “What’s going on?” she asked, placing a comforting hand on my arm.
“I came to talk to him, and now that I have, I’m leaving.”
“Why?”
Luca finally moved, and as he approached said, “Cassie, please can you give us a minute?”
Cassie nodded at him robotically. “Sure, but it’s getting late and Sabrina shouldn’t be driving all that way alone. Luca don’t let her leave.”
Luca
One step later, Cassie turned back and said, “Remember what you told me. Don’t be a fool.” She then retreated to where our friends were at the back of the house.
The words I had admitted to Cassie rumbled through my mind. At the time, I did feel I would take her back in a heartbeat. Things were different for me now. Each day that passed caused the hurt she left me with to fester, making it harder to understand why we were apart, making me more resentful.
And absence hadn’t helped my resentment, but with her standing before me, beautiful as ever while handing me her heart, made it impossible for me to resist going to her, wanting her. The bottom line was I found two people who completed me. Sabrina and Mikey changed my life, and how could I go back to what I was before them? Basically, as I stood there fighting with myself, it came down to a life with or without them.
The thought of being without them triggered terror to tremble through me. Sabrina taking one step backward, one step further away prompted me to react. “Don’t go,” I said just above a whisper.
Sadness became obvious in her shimmering eyes. “I think you need time, Luca.”
“I’ve had time… and I think I need you.” She stood stone still, staring straight through to my soul. I closed the distance between us until our bodies practically touched. “I’m still trying to move past the hurt I felt these past few weeks. Yet, I know watching you drive away right now would hurt so much more.”
“Luca, I never meant to hurt you.”
I placed my hands on her face. “I know.” In that moment I knew nothing could stop my lips from lowering to touch hers. As our kiss progressed, I also knew that now that she came to me on her own accord I wouldn’t let anything come between us again.
I gripped the back of her neck, turning our tender kiss into a searing one. Our lips met with such urgency, as if they hadn’t touched in years rather than weeks. The familiarity of the softness of her mouth on mine solidified we were meant to be together.
“I love you so much, Sabrina. These past few weeks have been hell for me, but I knew you needed space. It killed me to stay away, and I only did because I’d do anything for you.”
Tears leaked from the corners of her eyes as mine misted over. “I’m so sorry.”
“No more apologies. I’m going to make mistakes, we both are. From here on out, we will work through them together.” I rested my forehead against hers. “Thank you for coming back to me.”
“Thank you for waiting.”
“Deep down, I know I would’ve waited forever for you.”
Sabrina and I took a walk, talked some more, and reconnected like no time had passed. Almost an hour later, we strolled into the backyard of the home, hand in hand. When we came into view, all eyes were on us. Cassie sprung up out of her chaise lounge with a huge ass smile on her face. Meanwhile, Jude and Kyle tipped their beer bottles in our direction.
“Everyone, look who showed up.” I squeezed her hand.
She lifted her free one. “Hi, I’m sorry to intrude.”
Cassie ran over and engulfed my girl in a hug, forcing me to release my hold on her. “I’m so glad you stayed.”
That’s when it dawned on me… how did Sabrina know where to find me? “Did you do this?” I asked my bikini-clad friend.
Cassie nodded. “Possibly.” She swatted my arm. “All I did was inform her where you’d be, the rest was Sabrina.” Her eyes shifted between us, joy evident on her sweet face. “You two are perfect for each other.”
I took her back into my arms and nodded in agreement. “We are.” Her smile was electric, and back was the spark I missed in her eyes. Brae followed by Vanessa were next to embrace us. As they chatted with Sabrina, I pulled Cassie into a hug. “Thank you for everything.”
“Come see the house,” Brae said, taking Sabrina’s free hand.
I reached out and gently gripped Sabrina’s arm. “No way. I just got her back. Go play with your man.”
“He’s right, Brae. They need to get it on.” Vanessa turned her attention to Sabrina. “I’m glad you’re here. This one…” She jabbed me in the arm with her finger. “Has been moping around. Kyle had to throw him in the pool earlier just to wake his ass up.”
Sabrina laughed, “That had to be a sight to see.”
“Hey!” I nudged her with my shoulder. “Be careful, you could be next.”
Fear flashed in her beautiful eyes. “No can do. I don’t have my suit.”
“We should get your bag out of your car. Give me the keys, I’ll grab it.” I stuck my hand out but she didn’t move.
“I don’t have a bag. After I dropped Mikey off at his grandparents’ house, my car just sort of drove itself here.”
“That’s right. Mikey is there all week.”
“She curled her bottom lip between her teeth before adding, “Yes… all week.”
Our eyes connected and held. “We’ll be back,” I announced. Leaving everyone behind us, I tugged Sabrina toward the house, and it was a miracle I didn’t give her whiplash. Her feet scurried to keep up with my pace, and once we hit the staircase, I scooped her up into my arms and ran up the stairs, taking two at a time until we made it to my bedroom.
No sooner did the door close behind us that I had her pinned up against it. I yanked her dress over her head, exposing her bare chest and a scrap of lace between her legs.
“Jesus Christ.” A fierce growl rumbled up my throat. “God, you’re gorgeous.”
I sucked on the pulse in her neck before lowering my greedy mouth to her breasts. One by one I licked each nipple, then gave each a gentle bite before trailing my tongue between them and up the slender column on her neck.
“I’ll make this up to you later, but first I need to bury myself in you.”
Her hands tugged at the white drawstring of my bathing suit before shoving it down my legs. I kicked them to the side, reached forward and snapped the lace covering what I wanted until they came apart in my hand. Without delay, my hand cupped her intimately before I slid a finger inside of her and then removed it to lick it clean.
“I don’t have any other panties with me,” she said between heavy breaths.
“I don’t care.” I took her mouth, plunging my tongue in to tangle with hers.
She gripped my wrist and pleaded, “Luca, please. I want you.”
“Fuck.” In one swift motion, I hoisted her up, forcing her legs to wrap around my waist. Burying my hand in her hair, I eased into her and moved my hips without pause. “You feel incredible. I’ve missed you so much.”
The sound of ou
r bodies coming together, combined with her tight heat encasing me, ensured I wasn’t going to last. “Kiss me,” she panted and I obliged. Our mouths fused just like our bodies—fast, hot and unbridled. Passion flowed between us, with each grunt, groan, and cry.
“I’m so close, Luca.” I increased my pace because I was right there with her. “I’m going to…”
Her legs tightened around my waist, her body shook, and I came like I never had before. She dropped her head to my shoulder. “I love you, Sabrina.”
“I love you, too.”
Five minutes later, when our breathing returned to a normal pace, I carried her to the bathroom so we could shower before returning to our friends. It took every ounce of restraint not to make love to her once more, but if we didn’t get a move on, I was afraid Kyle would be pounding on the door.
I towel dried her hair, and went to get her dress where we left it. Handing it to her, she said, “Besides not having underwear, I don’t have any other clothes here either.” She pointed to her ripped thong that still remained where it fell earlier. “I suppose I’ll be going commando.”
“Shit.” I reached into my suitcase and pulled out a pair of my boxer briefs. “Wear these. We can run to the store in the morning.”
She stared at me as if I had two heads. “You want me to wear these… under my floral sundress?”
“That’s right, you’re not going without. I lost my head before. It gets breezy by the water and no one is seeing what’s mine.”
A pink hue tinged her cheeks. Without argument, she slid on my boxers, folded the waist down and cuffed them on her thighs. She caught her reflection in the full-length mirror and checked herself out. “Hmm… these are kind of cute. What do you think?”
“I think you’re fucking stunning and you could be wearing a sack and look like a beauty queen. Put your dress on before we don’t make it back downstairs.”
“Would that be so bad?” she asked coyly.
“What’s gotten into you?” I laughed and watched her body disappear under the cotton fabric.
“You. You’ve gotten into me.”
I looped my arms around her, linking my fingers on the small of her back. “And I plan on staying there.”
“Good, I wouldn’t want it any other way.”
Our lips met in a tender kiss. “Neither would I.”
Chapter 31
Luca
I came out of the ensuite bathroom to find Sabrina sitting on the bed, staring at the view. “Are you okay?” I asked, causing her to turn. The smile on her face meant she was more than okay.
She walked toward me and right into my arms. Automatically, my hands found the curve of her ass as I pressed my body against hers. I slipped my hands beneath the short skirt of her dress and smiled that she once again had on a pair of my boxers. “You’re addicted,” I said, squeezing her ass cheeks to prove my point.
“They’re comfortable. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to wearing thongs again.”
“The hell you won’t. I happen to like your ass in a sexy thong.” After one more squeeze, I added, “But thongs are for my eyes only, and these are good for when you have on insanely short skirts.”
“Deal.” She twisted her head to take in our surroundings. On a sigh, she looked up with a content smile. “I love it here, and loved spending these past few days with you. If I lived here, I’d never want to leave.”
“Well, lucky for us the owner is my best friend,” I said with a wink.
“I can’t believe he bought this for Brae’s twenty-eighth birthday.”
“I can. He’s an impulsive fucker. I’m just surprised he lied to all of us, and her, about it being a rental when he owned it all along. I can only imagine what she’ll get at thirty. A small country?”
She giggled and planted a chaste kiss on my jaw. “The fireworks over the water were spectacular. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anything like that before… just stunning. Mikey would’ve loved it.”
“We can bring him here next year.”
“That would be great. I better finish packing… the few articles of clothing you bought me,” she said with a smirk before pulling out of my arms.
“You didn’t need more than that.” Which was true, since whenever we were behind closed doors we were both sans clothes.
But, in spite of my need to have her bare skin against mine as much as possible, she did need garments to wear when with my friends. As promised, I took her into town the next day after she arrived, and picked out: panties, a bikini, a cover up, a pair of shorts and T-shirt, and the sexy black sundress she currently had on.
She zipped up the cheesy “Life’s a Beach” souvenir tote bag I insisted on to mark our weekend together. I then threw my own things into my duffle bag and zipped it up. “Ready?”
A few minutes later, we walked out onto the deck where Jude, Brae, Kyle, Vanessa, and Cassie were well into eating their breakfast. “I guess we took longer than I thought,” I leaned in and whispered.
Sabrina offered a salacious smile as she remembered what it was that had us running late. “Worth it, though.”
“Well, look who decided to join us,” Kyle groaned when we appeared.
“Good morning, everyone,” Sabrina said, her cheeks tinged pink.
“Or afternoon,” Jude pointed out.
“Not quite.” I pulled a chair out for Sabrina and sat next to her. Ignoring the five sets of eyes that were trained on us, I asked, “Coffee, sweetheart?”
“Yes, please.”
No one spoke, until Jude said, “Benedetto, I have a proposition for you.”
I groaned at my friend/boss, dreading what he was about to propose. Brae beamed at her husband. “We’ve been chatting, and we think it’d be great if you guys stayed and enjoyed the house for a few more days… alone.”
Sabrina’s gaze cut to mine as Brae continued. “We know you don’t have to pick up Mikey until Friday.”
“But…”
“And I spoke to Becky about covering your appointments this week,” Cassie interrupted.
“But…”
“And I’ll be driving Luca’s car back to the city,” Kyle then added.
There was nothing left to mention, since they thought of everything. I scanned her face to try and read her thoughts. “What do you think?”
She regarded every one of our friends one by one. “I think you have the best set of friends in the world,” she said with a smile.
“Let’s not get carried away.” I threw my arm around her shoulders, failing to hide the excitement I felt over spending alone time with the woman I loved. “But they have their moments.”
Jude flipped me off as Kyle said, “Ingrate. And I was going to leave you guys some new toys to play with. Now you can go buy your own.”
The girls giggled before Jude added, “Just don’t break anything.”
“Speaking of… the counter in the laundry room creaks, and that banister,” Kyle said, pointing behind where we all sat, “is very loose.”
“And splintery…” Vanessa added.
Jude gawked at them, his mouth hanging open in a comical way. “It’s my house, and I haven’t had sex on this deck yet.”
“Oh well,” Kyle said with a shrug of his shoulders.
Vanessa leaned into him and whispered loudly, “Maybe we shouldn’t tell him about the porch swing.”
“Jesus Christ, Cleary,” Jude mumbled, glaring at Kyle.
I turned to Sabrina and said directly into her ear, “We’re going to be very busy the next few days.”
Sabrina
We were a few hours into our drive toward my in-laws to get Mikey. Luca drove my little CRV with the same sexy confidence he drove his Jaguar. But the terror in his eyes when Kyle peeled out of the driveway in his baby a few days earlier spoke volumes.
“Don’t over shift her,” he had said as Kyle grinned, enjoying every moment of Luca’s anxiety.
“Don’t you worry about my driving skills.” Kyle ran a hand over the
dashboard lovingly. “She and I understand each other.”
Vanessa glared at Kyle. “Will she understand when you’re sleeping with her tonight and not me?”
It hadn’t taken long for Luca to get over it and concentrate on me. The past three days had been absolute heaven on earth. Sure, I missed my son dearly, but having a romantic getaway in a gorgeous home on the beach with my handsome boyfriend deemed to be a great distraction.
Luca’s gaze focused on the road, his thumb tapping the top of the steering wheel in tune to the music. Remembering what he had done before we left the house made me laugh. “Do you think Jude will be mad?”
A broad smile appeared on his face. “Do you mean about the sticky notes?”
“Yes, the notes.”
Just picturing the yellow squares caused my laughing to increase. Luca had told me that when he was in college with Kyle and Jude, they were pranksters. Not so much Luca, but the other two were on a mission of sorts to one-up each other. I knew the story of Jude and Brae and how Kyle played a hand in that, but the other sorted tales had my jaw slacken more than once.
Before we left today, Luca thought it would be fun to label all the places we christened with a note. The outdoor shower, the kitchen island, the leather chair in the family room, the hot tub, pool, the chaise lounge on the patio, and he left one with an arrow pointing to the ocean. He went as far as taping the outdoor notes down with heavy duty packing tape to protect them from the elements.
Luca shrugged, “Mad? No. Jealous? Yes.”
“You all are like little boys.” Then a thought occurred to me which caused me to gasp.
“What?” Luca slowed the car as we approached a red light.
“Please whatever you do, do not teach Mikey any of your tricks. Don’t even talk about them in front of him. I don’t want to have to check the sugar container for salt.”
He let out a chuckle. “Pfft. That’s too easy.”
“Luca!”
“Babe, I hate to break it to you, he will figure all of that out on his own. Just remember to check for plastic wrap over your toilet bowl, that’s always a fun one.”