by Cora Reilly
“I don’t doubt it,” she whispered, shivering. “I love to paint and do Pilates.”
My fingers on her neck loosened. “Paint?”
“Yes, canvases. Still lifes, landscapes, animals. I’m not so good with the human body, but I’m trying to improve. That’s what was in the huge package. My canvases.”
I hadn’t paid much attention to Giulia’s belongings. Maybe I should have shown basic interest in my wife’s life before I dragged her into the mess that was my own.
“And Pilates helps me stay fit, and it’s good for my mental health too.” She fell silent. “You look at me as if I’m talking nonsense.”
“You’re not,” I said. “You just keep surprising me.”
“In a good or bad way?”
“Good.”
She shrugged. “That’s good.”
It was. But good things always came with a price. “Have you painted since you’ve arrived here?”
“No, I was busy settling in, and the kids and Loulou keep me on my toes.” She tilted her head thoughtfully. “And I’d need a room to paint. The fumes need to be contained.”
“There’s a vacant room beside my office. It’s got a nice view of the garden and direct access to the terrace.”
Giulia’s face lit up. She lowered herself and propped her chin up on her crossed arms on my chest. “Thank you.”
“How are things between you and my children?”
Her mouth thinned, but I wasn’t sure why. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing,” she said, even though there obviously was. “The kids and I are getting to know each other. I think I can gain Daniele’s trust through Loulou, and today Simona let me carry her without crying.”
“About the dog—”
Giulia jerked into a sitting position again. “I don’t want to give Loulou away, and I won’t lock her inside a room. It’s not fair to her. What’s your problem with her anyway?”
“Apart from the fact that she’s not trained very well?”
“That’s hardly her fault. Did Gaia never work with her?”
I tensed. “The dog came at a difficult time.”
“I think Loulou is good for this family, and I really like her.”
“Then keep her, but train her.”
“Will Elia stay my bodyguard?”
“Of course, he’s a good choice.”
“Because he’s not interested in women.”
I narrowed my eyes, wondering how exactly she found out. She misunderstood my expression. Worry tightened her face. “You knew, right?”
“Of course, that’s why he’s allowed to be your bodyguard.”
Giulia huffed. “Trust?”
I smiled darkly then wet my thumb and pressed it to that little pink button, which teased me from its prime spot between those pouty lips.
“We’ll work toward that. But even if I trust you, that doesn’t mean I’ll trust any man around you.” I dipped my thumb between her folds, gathering her wetness before I swiped it over her clit again.
Giulia leaned back, bracing herself with her hands against my thighs, giving me better access and a beautiful view. Her smile turned teasing when my cock brushed her lower back. “Not such an old man after all, hmm?”
I circled my thumb faster, enjoying how Giulia’s hips moved, chasing my finger. I was in my early thirties, definitely not old, even if I’d felt it in the last few months and especially in comparison to Giulia. “I’ve got a lot to make up for.”
Curiosity flickered in her gaze, making me regret my words. “Blow me,” I ordered before she could ask. She cocked an eyebrow, her mouth pursing in mock indignation. Fuck, she was too goddamn lovely.
“Tell me something you like to do first. A hobby.”
“Apart from eating your pussy?”
She shook her head, opening her mouth for an undoubtedly insolent comeback, but I grabbed her by her thighs and flipped her around. She cried out in surprise, her breath hot on my cock and her ass propped up in front of me. I slapped her ass cheek in warning then bit down. Giulia jerked with a choked gasp.
“I make the rules in this house, honey, especially in this bed.”
A shiver worked its way down her spine. I massaged her ass, enjoying the sight of her arousal.
She gripped my cock and sucked me sharply into her mouth, causing me to twitch up with a groan. As unexpectedly as she’d sucked me, she released me. “Tell me one thing,” she demanded softly before she sucked me deeply into her mouth again.
I squeezed her ass hard in warning. “Suck me. Don’t talk.” I drew her pussy lips into my mouth. Her moan vibrated against my balls before she sucked them into her mouth. “One thing.” She slipped her arm between our bodies. It brushed my chest then her fingers bumped against my chin. I pulled back to watch Giulia slide two fingers into herself. I almost came right then. Her tongue darted out, licking up my pre-cum.
“Quid pro quo.”
I chuckled then exhaled sharply as her teeth grazed the sensitive underside of my cock and her fingers kept pumping into her pussy.
“I used to play pool,” I growled. I was so desperate for her mouth, so desperate for her fingers to keep fucking that sweet pussy, I would have told her everything in that moment.
She threw a triumphant smile over her shoulder. I wouldn’t have it. I pressed my mouth against her pussy, my tongue fighting her fingers for dominance. She moaned loudly, which died when I pushed her mouth back down on my cock, my fingers tangling in her silky hair. I thrust up, deeper than before. She struggled to take me in but didn’t back down. Her fingers pumped into her pussy and my tongue teased them and her folds, her clit, every delicious inch I could reach. She started to spasm on top of me, moaning around my length. I kept thrusting into her mouth. I wanted to prolong this, but with her body coming apart on top of me, her fingers chasing her orgasm, her taste on my tongue, I couldn’t hold back.
I tightened, my fingers on her neck twitching and my thrusts becoming jerky as I came harder than ever before. The feel of her hot mouth around my cock as she tried to swallow was perfection. Giulia slumped down on top of me, her fingers becoming slack, and I, too, lay drained on the mattress, my heart speeding in my chest. After a moment, Giulia pulled away and coughed.
Fuck. I’d held her down when I’d come in her mouth. I hadn’t even asked if she was okay with it. I sat up slightly, but Giulia still only lay there with her cheek against my thigh, breathing hard. I brushed her hair to the side so I could see her face. Her eyes were closed, her cheeks red. “Are you all right?”
Her eyelids peeled open and the corner of her mouth drifted up. “Yeah, you?”
I stared at the girl on top of me, the woman, my wife, marveling at her strangeness. It wasn’t something I’d ever appreciated, and yet here I was, unable to resist her body and charm. I rubbed my thumb across her ruby lips. She nicked my skin with her teeth and gave me a coy look. “You need to teach me how to play pool.”
“I have a pool table in the cigar lounge.”
“Please don’t tell me you smoke cigars. My father and uncles do, and my grandfather did too. It’ll remind me of them if I smell it on you.”
That was the last thing I wanted—reminding my delicious young wife of the old creepy men in her family, and I was fairly sure she knew. It was a good thing I didn’t like cigars anyway. “If you don’t like the scent, I won’t smoke them.”
She narrowed her eyes then smiled. “Why do I get the feeling you never liked them to begin with?”
She pushed up and crawled back up to me, nestling against my chest, her cheek on my shoulder. “Will you teach me?”
“It won’t be the first thing I’m teaching you, so why not?” I said in a low, possessive voice.
She rolled her eyes. I wished I could say it annoyed me. “We could play a round now?”
“It’s late. I have an early day.”
“Come on. It’s not even eleven. Entertain your young wife.”
“All right,” I said to
my own surprise. Giulia was playing the right cards, and she knew it, and yet I didn’t feel played by her. She wasn’t doing it to better me or for even less noble reasons, she was just… her quirky self. I knifed up, taking Giulia with me. She pressed a thankful kiss to my mouth and slipped out of bed, so full of energy it was admirable. It was hard to resist her enthusiasm. I swung out of bed and straightened, stifling a smirk at her appraisal. Giulia never tried to hide that she liked my body. I picked up my pajama bottoms from the floor and dragged them over my hips.
Giulia slipped into her nightgown and grabbed the baby monitor then rushed toward the door, holding out her hand. Shaking my head with a chuckle, I took her hand and let her drag me down. I couldn’t remember if I’d ever been this spontaneous. Maybe as a teenager, but that time seemed like a lifetime ago.
Giulia’s eyes widened when we entered the cigar lounge, which rarely functioned as that—only when my father or business acquaintances insisted on cigars. The faded smell of smoke lingered, but it wasn’t very prominent because Sybil always worked her magic with air freshener.
In the beginning, I’d occasionally played pool by myself or with Faro, but even that seemed like forever ago. Work had filled every waking second of my days recently as I tried to stop people from talking about Gaia by creating new incidents to talk about. But my brutality in the job hardly drew the necessary attention to take away from the gossip surrounding my wife’s death—it was old news after all.
Giulia took everything in. Apart from the four armchairs in front of the fireplace, there was a professional pool table. Giulia rushed over to the cues and took one. “Show me?”
Fuck yes. I’d suffered sleepless nights with less entertaining things than teaching Giulia how to play pool.
Giulia was bent over the table, trying to hit the eight ball. Her tongue was wedged between her lips in concentration. My chest was pressed up to her back. I’d sent most of the balls into their respective pockets and again, my hand guided Giulia’s as we sent the eight ball flying into its hole. Giulia grinned, twisted her face, and pressed an enthusiastic kiss to my lips.
Simona’s cry blared from the speakers, reminding me that our life couldn’t only be filled with nights of pool and sex. I straightened, the weight of my responsibilities returning to my shoulders and with it the worry that this wouldn’t last. Giulia snatched up the baby monitor, and we headed up to Simona’s room.
As usual, Simona’s cries escalated with every passing moment, and the longer she cried the harder it would be to calm her down. Giulia turned on the lights and walked into the bedroom, but I waited in the doorway, wanting to see how she fared.
Giulia leaned over the crib and lifted my daughter up, cradling her to her chest. I was always the one who took her out of bed when she cried.
Simona fell silent and was staring up at my young wife. I waited for the inevitable outburst, an even worse crying fit than before, but Simona only let out a small cry. “Shh. You’re the cutest little thing I’ve ever seen.” And then Giulia bent down and kissed my daughter’s left cheek then the right. “With the cutest chubby cheeks that I can imagine.”
My heart thudded in my chest, an uneven staccato I could feel in my ears. I couldn’t move. Simona reached for Giulia’s bangs and tugged, but my wife only laughed and blew out air, sending her hair flying up, causing Simona’s eyes to widen. Then she giggled.
Simona giggled.
Giulia looked up and smiled, unguarded, happy, hopeful. I turned around and stalked out. “I’ll prepare the bottle,” I pressed. Even though I wished she wouldn’t, Giulia followed me downstairs. She watched me the entire time as I prepared the formula. I could feel her questions hovering in the room between us. She didn’t ask, only kept cooing at my daughter.
When the bottle was ready, I went over to her. She leaned into me. “Why don’t you feed her while I hold her?”
I stared into those blue eyes, feeling reminded of the way I felt when I stood on the dunes in front of my beach house, peering toward the ocean.
Cassio kept his promise. The next day he came home at dinnertime. To be honest, I was surprised. I hadn’t thought he’d keep his promise that he’d given with my naked body on top of him. Maybe I had my own trust issues to work through.
He looked surprised when he walked into the kitchen where we had dinner the last few days. Sybil stood from where she was seated, obviously unsure how to act. Elia stood as well and inclined his head before he grabbed his plate and headed through the backdoor, probably toward the guard house. He and I’d cleared things up in the morning after Cassio informed him that I knew what was going on. Elia had been awkward after that, obviously embarrassed, but I’d told him that he’d done his job and that I wasn’t angry. He couldn’t have told Cassio “no” after all.
“Why don’t you eat in the dining room?” he asked. Simona grinned when she spotted her dad. Her fingers and cheeks were smeared with smashed peas, but Cassio didn’t seem to mind. He walked up to her, pressed a kiss to her forehead, and barely escaped her dirty grabby hands before she could ruin his suit.
Daniele didn’t react in any way, only clutched the fork with the speared carrot slice in his little fist. For a moment, I caught the longing in his eyes, though. He wanted to be close to his dad, but something stopped him. Cassio turned to Daniele and kissed the top of his head before he walked up to me. Daniele watched us closely. Cassio touched my shoulder and squeezed lightly before he took a seat across from me. I couldn’t deny it. I was disappointed. I wished he’d have kissed me. Maybe he worried how Daniele would react. After all, his mom had been dead for only six months.
“I prefer to have dinner in the dining room,” he said simply.
I hated that there was a distance between us when we weren’t alone. “I didn’t know you’d be home for dinner.”
“I told you I’d be, and it’ll remain that way. If I can’t make dinner, I’ll give you a call.”
Sybil put a plate with roasted pork, mashed potatoes, and maple balsamic Brussels sprouts that were to die for down in front of him. He gave her a curt nod.
“I’ll check on the laundry,” she said and slipped out, leaving her half-eaten plate.
“We can have dinner in the dining room from now on,” I said.
Daniele grabbed a piece of his pork and tossed it under the table. Cassio’s expression shifted to anger, but I quickly shook my head then said to Daniele, “Now it’s your turn to eat a bite.”
Daniele speared a piece of pork and stuffed it in his mouth, chewing dutifully.
Cassio’s brows furrowed. “What’s going on?” His voice was moderately calm, but I could tell that he didn’t approve of the situation.
“Daniele and I have a deal. He can feed Loulou scraps if he eats a bite in turn.”
Cassio released a breath. Simona began to whine, stretching out her arms toward him. He got up, wiped her face and hands with a wet dishtowel, and put her on his lap before he continued with dinner. I stifled a smile. It was an adorable sight: Cassio dressed in his three-piece suit, looking impressive and powerful, with tiny Simona on his lap in her sunflower dress. He hadn’t even complained about the flowers. Again, Daniele’s eyes slanted to Cassio, who was staring down at Simona and didn’t notice.
I stroked his head gently. He peered up at me, his small face so sad and helpless, it turned my stomach over. If only he’d speak to me.
Feeling Cassio’s eyes on me, I picked up my fork and ate a bite of my pork. “How was your day?” He hadn’t told me anything about what he did during the day so far, but he hadn’t exactly been home early enough to talk.
“The usual.”
Maybe I should have expected an evasive answer like that. After all, Simona and Daniele were in the room. Talking about his type of business around them might scar them even more than their mother’s death.
“What did you do?”
“We went to the dog park again, right?” I said to Daniele, who gave a small nod before dropping a piece of
pork on the floor. “And Elia helped me set up my painting room.” I couldn’t wait to paint again, to lose myself in my art.
Cassio’s gaze traced my face in a way that made me feel self-conscious. I straightened my bangs, wondering if he still hated them. They were part of me, had always been.
“I was thinking we could spend the weekend down at my beach house.”
My eyes widened. It had been a while since I was at a beach.
Cassio tried to catch Daniele’s eyes. The boy had definitely perked up hearing about the beach. “What do you think, Daniele? We can build sandcastles like last time.”
Daniele gave a small shrug, which was something.
Cassio and I took the children to bed after dinner. Cassio put Simona down in her crib while I helped Daniele change. It was easier that way. Daniele didn’t get as upset, and so shortly before he was supposed to sleep that was for the best. I covered him with his blanket when he lay in bed and tousled his hair. “Loulou will love the beach.”
Daniele’s mouth tugged into a small smile. Then his gaze darted to something behind me. He bit his lower lip. A shadow fell over us and a moment later, Cassio bent down and kissed Daniele’s forehead. “Sleep tight.”
I stood and with a last wave at Daniele, I extinguished the lights and closed the door. I followed Cassio down the hallway, but before we could reach the staircase, he turned to me, grabbed my neck, and kissed me deeply, stealing my breath. My body sprang to life immediately as he pressed me into the wall, his big palm on my breast, kneading, his hips grinding against me. He was hard, digging into my belly insistently.
“Bed,” I whispered.
“Fuck no.”
I blinked but Cassio didn’t allow me to get my bearings. His mouth on mine, he grasped my upper thighs and hoisted me up. “Right here. Against this wall.”
My eyes widened. Cassio bit down on my throat then lavished the spot with his tongue. “What about Sybil?”
“Gone.” His growl vibrated against my skin. Holding me up with one muscled arm, and the pressure of his strong body, he slipped his hand between our bodies. The hiss of his zipper sent a shiver down my spine a moment before he shoved my panties aside and entered me in one hard stroke. I arched, half in pain, half in pleasure. It was the first time he took me without much preparation.