by A. m Madden
“Yes. In my opinion, your words are better than Ed’s.” Lust blurred my vision. I wanted Luca so bad. Based on the heat in his eyes, and the hardness between his legs, he felt the exact same way. Twisting my head, I nodded toward the hall containing the closet Vanessa informed us of and wondered if she and Kyle were done using it.
Just before I could voice my own thoughts out loud, he leaned closer and said, “We need to leave… now.”
Chapter 23
Luca
My entire body felt stiff, but with her nakedness pressed up against me all night I wouldn’t dare move a muscle.
Between the time we left Dispatch and arrived at her apartment, we had worked ourselves up into quite a sexual frenzy. Sabrina wasn’t happy with my teasing, and that caused her to reciprocate in evil ways making the drive home very difficult for me.
By the time we clamored through her door, the only thing either of us were capable of at that point was a quick punishing fuck against her wall.
Not bothering to fully remove any of our other clothes, within seconds her jeans were in a puddle on the floor, mine were hanging around my ass, and her legs straddled me as I pushed hard and fast inside her.
Lacking was our normal romance, regardless, it was still one of the best encounters we ever had. Through the grunts and thrusts, the crushing kisses and painful gripping, we came together, and the result was perfection.
It had been the first time we allowed ourselves to be so carnal and crude. Afterward we calmed down a bit, the next time was the complete opposite—slow and deliberate. We ended our night in her bed, taking turns bringing the other to a new height of pleasure. Tit for tat, every one of the affections I lavished on her body she had reciprocated on mine until our final act. With Sabrina straddling my lap while I remained buried within her silky heat, neither of us were capable of speaking. As for myself, I couldn’t conjure up even one word that could summarize the significance of what passed between us.
What seemed like mere moments later, the sound of her alarm cut through the peaceful silence. She moaned, reached behind her to quiet it, then buried her face into my side. “I don’t want to go to school,” she murmured in a whiney voice.
I kissed the top of her head with a chuckle. “I know. And I’d love nothing more than to convince you to play hooky and stay here with me all day. But I’m sure you have more rainbow hair on your agenda today, and I have an eager soccer player on mine.”
“Five more minutes.” When she wrapped an arm around my body, bringing her bare boobs even closer to my side, and hooked her toned leg over mine, who was I to argue? In the process, the top of her thigh rested against my hard-on causing her eyes to fly open. “Well, hello there.”
“It’s your fault,” I said with a shrug. “He’s not used to having a sexy naked woman waking up beside him.”
Shyness mixed with flattery in her hazel eyes. “He’s not?”
“No, he’s not.” I pushed her hair off her warm face. “This isn’t a normal thing for me, Sabrina.”
Her tentative smile grew into a brilliant one. “I like knowing that.”
“It’s the truth. What else do you want to know?”
“Have you ever been in a serious relationship, Luca?” Based on how quickly her next question came, my guess was she’d been thinking about it.
“As serious as one could get at the age of seventeen.” She smiled. “We were just two kids who were infatuated with each other.” I almost felt by not being in love before, it had prepared me all along for what I’d be experiencing with Sabrina. Every part of our journey so far had been new and confusing to me, yet because of that, I appreciated it all the more. I bent and placed a soft kiss on her forehead.
“What happened?”
“We grew apart, she stayed in Italy, I moved here. But, even if I didn’t move, we never would’ve lasted. Aside from her, no other steady girlfriends.” She cocked a brow. “You seem surprised.”
“I am. I mean look at you. It baffles me that some wonderful woman hadn’t snatched you up and held on for dear life.”
I gestured at the way her body was wrapped around mine, and grinned. “You mean like now?”
She pulled her lip in between her teeth to stop from grinning as well. “Have I snatched you?”
“In every way, Sabrina. Consider me officially snatched. I’m not an angel by any means, but I never had the opportunity to crave more with a woman. And I’m not just talking about the sex, although with you it’s been… ”
“Amazing,” she finished my sentence.
“More than. With you, it’s more than just an act to get to a climax. Do you know what I mean?”
“I do.”
I palmed her cheek, skimming my thumb along her bottom lip. “I enjoy being with you.” Just before I reached her lips with mine, she pulled away and bolted out of bed. “Where are you going?”
“You brushed your teeth, cheater.”
“I got up earlier, peed, and used your mouthwash. I hope that’s okay?”
“That’s fine, but I also have to pee really bad, so don’t move,” she said while moving toward the door.
“Wait, you can’t stand there all naked and gorgeous. Worse yet, you can’t leave me like this,” I groaned, pointing to my now very obvious arousal. She had the nerve to giggle at my quandary.
“I’ll just be a minute.” The sight of her naked ass walking out of the room left me hanging in so many ways. But when one minute turned into three, I couldn’t stand it any longer and took matters into my own hands. Time was of the essence, and there was none to waste.
I found her washing her face. Through the mirror, she watched me move past her to the shower. Without a word, I turned the water on, held my hand beneath the steady stream, before lifting and carrying her in with me.
“What are you doing?” she asked, amused.
“I going to repeat last night. First, the beast in me will fuck you hard and fast until you scream my name in this shower. Then, the romantic in me will repeat the process only softer and slower until you scream my name in your bed. I don’t care if you’re late, if the building catches fire, or if your neighbors call the cops.”
With the warm water pelting our bodies, I turned her around, placed her hands on the tile wall, and started to do just as I promised.
Sabrina
The smile on my face was constant, as was the galloping in my heart. Whenever my mind drifted to Luca, I bounced between feeling like a giddy schoolgirl and an insatiable woman in need. Remembering how he brought me pleasure with his lips, his tongue, his fingers, and ultimately his tireless erections caused my libido to once again soar.
I managed without a sex life for way too long, and never really missed it. Yet, there I was after only a few hours without him, squirming while attempting to go about my day. For the record, I deserved a medal. No one was onto me, except Becky. From the moment I walked into the salon this morning, she narrowed her eyes and accused, “You’re hiding something.”
How she knew that I’d never know, but the woman was a human lie detector. The more I ignored her questions, the more she asked.
The salon was now empty, and as she locked up after the last beautician left for the night, she turned on me with a pointed finger. “I’ve waited long enough, missy.”
“You’ve lost your mind.”
“No, I haven’t. You have. You are head over heels for that man, why can’t you admit it?”
I nestled my custom scissors in their padded leather container and zipped it up with a sigh. “Okay, I am.”
She came closer and placed her hands on my shoulders while staring me into the eyes. “Then why do you look like your puppy just died?”
A weight settled on my chest. How could I explain this to Becky when I couldn’t explain it to myself? “Deep down I’m so very happy, and at the same time I have this unsettled feeling growing in the pit of my stomach. It’s like I’m a wearing a constricting pair of SPANX and just want to yank them off and
be free. Does that make sense?”
Becky stared at me. “You lost me at SPANX,” she said as she walked to the front desk.
I followed, and leaned against it while she counted today’s till. A ponytail holder caught my attention. Holding up the circular object, I said, “See this?” She nodded. “Okay, well you know the more you wrap it around someone’s hair the tighter it gets?” Another nod came. “And when you think that maybe it could take one more turn, it snaps in your hand?” Her brows then furrowed. “That’s how I feel. I’m starting to want so much with him but what if it snaps?”
“So, you’re scared.” She slid the deposit money into a bank bag. “That’s normal. We all think when it’s too good to be true it is, but it isn’t.” I opened my mouth, and she put her hand up. “No. Don’t you dare compare him to your late husband. He is nothing like Dillon.” She peered out the front window and then back to me. “This is how I see it… you can spend the rest of your life waiting for that proverbial shoe to drop or you can go outside and be happy.”
Using the eraser end of her pencil she pointed out the window. There stood Luca holding a bouquet of Gerbera daisies in one hand and my son’s in the other. Mikey had a balloon with Happy Mother’s Day printed on it in his other hand.
My eyes filled with tears. “Thank you, Becky.” I slung my bag across my body.
“That’s what I thought you’d say. Now, go on. I have a last minute client coming in.” She started shooing me out the door.
“Who? You just closed everything.”
She winked. “Not everything. Now, get out of here. He’s going to be here any minute and I need to put something more comfortable on like… nothing.”
“Oh my God!” I started laughing. “Only you, Beck.” Before leaving I gave her a hug, “Thank you.”
“No thanks needed. Now, get out.” She swatted me on the butt as I walked out the door.
Pure joy surrounded me. “Hey, you two.” I leaned down and hugged Mikey. “Hi, sweetheart. Did you have a good day?”
He handed me the balloon. “Happy Mother’s Day… early.”
“Thank you, honey.” I took his little hand in mine and looked at Luca. “Hi, thank you for watching him.”
Luca smiled and continued to hang on to the flowers since I didn’t have a free hand. “We had fun, didn’t we, buddy?” Mikey nodded. “But, we’re not done yet.” He opened the back of his SUV and helped Mikey climb in. “Buckle up.” After the click of the safety belt, Luca shut his door.
He opened mine, kissed me on the cheek, and when I was settled in my seat, he handed me the flowers. “Thank you, Luca.” I tucked the balloon under the dash. “For everything.”
“Mom, where’s the…” He turned to Luca, his forehead creased in confusion. “What is it called again?”
“Colander.”
I had to bite the inside of my cheeks to keep from laughing. Since getting to our apartment, flipping between giggles and tears had occurred no less than four times. Luca and Mikey informed me I was not to move from the couch because they were cooking me dinner.
“Yeah, that.”
“It’s in the cabinet next to the stove. Look for a silver bowl with holes in it.”
He hopped off a small step stool. A cabinet door opening and the sound of pots clanking meant he had no clue what to search for. Luca caught my eye and winked.
Donning matching Kiss the Cook aprons, the sight of them working side by side caused my heart to swell with unbridled emotion. Whatever Luca did, Mikey mimicked.
He kept giving Mikey simple tasks to do while he tackled the more difficult ones. Whatever it was they were making smelled delicious, and I couldn’t wait to dive into what my two favorite males made special just for me.
After some more clanking, a dropped dish, and a fit of giggles over hearing Luca’s story of the time his grandmother made octopus for dinner, I was summoned to the table.
“Close your eyes, Mom,” Mikey said as Luca took my hand. Once I was helped into my chair, my son commanded, “Okay, open them. Ta-da!” He waved his hand over a steaming platter of pasta. A green salad, and a basket of garlic bread toasted to golden perfection completed the meal. “It’s called car-boon-air-ia.”
“Carbonara,” Luca corrected.
“That’s what I said.”
“Good job.” I clapped my hands while sporting one of the biggest smiles I’d ever had. “It looks so yummy.”
“Dee-liss-e-oozo.”
Luca camouflaged his chuckle with a cough as I said, “Yes, I bet it is delicioso. You two did all this by yourselves?”
Mikey scooted onto the chair beside me as Luca took the one across the table. “We did. Luca taught me some Italian, and I helped chop up the bacon stuff.”
“You used a knife?” I asked my son, but lifted a questioning brow at Luca.
“Luca bought me a special one.” Mikey bolted off his seat to go grab a kelly green plastic knife off the counter. “Give me your hand,” he said with the knife poised to cut. I followed his request, and he dragged the serrated edge over my palm. “See, it doesn’t cut people. It tickles.”
“That’s very cool, baby.”
My son began firing off random thoughts and his new Italian vocabulary, including bella, ciao, basta, and aspetta… which I knew meant wait and predicted would become his favorite word soon.
Luca served us both some pasta. Mikey dove in and moaned in appreciation, making a liar out of my claim he had a limited pallet. We took turns answering his questions and nodding at his observations. And the entire time Luca and I exchanged a myriad of meaningful glances between us.
Luca
Sabrina closed Mikey’s door before joining me on the couch. “It’s when he puts up the biggest fight that he’s the most exhausted. Already out like a light.” It had only been fifteen minutes earlier when I finished reading his favorite book. She watched us from the doorway as I sat on the floor with him on my lap. The shimmer in her eyes made me wonder what ran through her mind at that moment. What stopped me from asking was the possibility that a memory from her past caused the melancholy.
“He had an exhausting day,” she said before releasing a yawn. It was the first time Sabrina and I had some privacy since we picked her up at the salon. As she snuggled against me, I played with the silky strands of her hair while filling her in on my day with her son. Giving her a play-by-play, I took her from the soccer field to the market to Mikey’s convincing argument that his mother loved the movie Cars.
“Him and that damn movie,” she said.
“Honestly, I kind of liked it,” I admitted with a smirk. During the movie, Mikey sat between us on the couch announcing what was about to happen before it did.
“Of course you did. Men.”
I chuckled easily. “What is your favorite movie?”
“Kiddie or adult?”
“Kiddie, for future reference.”
“I love Finding Nemo. Mikey and I used to snuggle together and watch it on Sundays.” I remembered Sabrina telling me that she and Mikey had movie days. A vision of them huddled together on the very couch we sat on caused me to smile. “Mikey outgrew that a few months ago. One day he decided it was dumb. That was when he moved on to anything super hero, Ninja Turtle, or automotive.”
“As did you.”
“Exactly,” she said with a firm nod. “I can’t remember the last time it was about me. Which leads me to today.” She twisted in my arms and blinked back tears. “Luca, today was just so lovely. Thank you.”
I skimmed my fingers over her cheek. “You don’t have to thank me. You’re a wonderful mother, Sabrina. You deserve to be appreciated.”
“Well, I appreciate what you did. Dinner was delicious… or I should say dee-liss-e-oozo. My dad is going to be thrilled hearing Mikey speak Italian. Lord knows, he’s tried and failed.” Her gaze landed on the colorful Gerbera daisies that sat in a pretty vase on her table. “The flowers, the balloon, and everything you did with Mikey was very thoughtful.�
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She lifted her face, and I met her halfway. Our kiss started slow and sweet before taking on a life of its own. There was so much that felt right with the way we made out like teenagers on her couch… but only one thing that felt wrong. It couldn’t go any further because Mikey slept in the next room.
As if reading my thoughts, she broke the kiss with a gasp. “Oh my God. That was a bad idea.”
“My sentiments exactly,” I grumbled while adjusting myself in my jeans. “Sweetheart, I hate to say this, but I think I should go.”
Chapter 24
Luca
A solid knock on the doorframe caught my attention. “Were you just whistling, man?”
Why bother denying it? “Yep,” I said with attitude.
The all-knowing smile on Jude’s face spoke volumes. Yet, he still felt the need to say, “What’s up with that, Andy Griffith?”
“Who the fuck is Andy Griffith?”
“No clue. But Brae’s dad references him all the fucking time when he whistles.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s your father-in-law.”
Jude made himself comfortable in the chair in front of my desk. “He was a package deal, and I’d take ten of him if it meant I had Brae.”
A sap in love. That’s what he was.
Normally, I’d have a witty or sarcastic retort, but for some reason, Mr. Ricci popped in my head so I kept it to myself. “So, what brings you in here?”
“What do you know about the Callo Corporation?”
It didn’t take much time for me to reply. “It’s only one of the largest growing manufacturing businesses in Europe. According to the trades, since they’ve expanded into the US, they are quickly rising into the top 100 on business insider’s lists. Why?”
“I called Anthony Callo, the son of the founder and CEO of the corporation, congratulating him on their success.” A sly grin appeared on his face.
“And of course, you offered our services since he would need someone to manage his finances, especially here.”