Take It All Off

by Weston Parker

He glanced at the trees swaying in the breeze outside, replying offhandedly. “They might or might not be borrowing the jet, getting a limousine hired for them, and staying in a five-star hotel a friend of mine owns.”

  “Marco,” I admonished, smacking a fist into his bicep. “That’s definitely illegal.”

  His expression turned somber and his liquid-gold eyes came back to mine, filled to the brim with sincerity. “They could send me to prison for the rest of my life and it would still have been worth it to have this conversation with you.”

  “What conversation?” Fear and hope tangled in my chest, ice and heat competing for space in my blood. “I thought you’d gone back home.”

  “I was going to.” His tongue darted out and swiped across his lips. “But I couldn’t. I know you told me to leave, and if that’s still what you want, I’ll do it. But I’m not leaving Portland. If you need me or if you ever need to talk, I’ll be right here with you.”

  “You are staying in the States?” I struggled to comprehend his words. “How? What about the company?”

  “It’ll be fine,” he said, holding his hands up to me. I eyed them for a moment, but there was no point. I was always going to take them, so I did. “It might take some commuting at first, but I’ll make it work. Whatever it takes to be part of your lives, I’ll do it.”

  “Even if it means moving here?” I pressed my palms closer to his big ones, wrapping my fingers tightly around his.

  “Whatever it takes, Addy.” Fierce determination lit a fire in his eyes. “I love you. I want you. My home is wherever you are. If that’s here, then it’s here.”

  “What about your mom?” I asked. “And Aldo? They’d hate me even more than they already do.”

  “They don’t hate you.” Something flickered across his gaze, and he let out a soft curse. “I really should have handled this better. When I came into your office that day, it was to talk to you about my phone call to my mother. She’d asked me to bring you back to the house.”

  “What for?” I doubted it was to braid my hair and sing songs around a campfire.

  The corners of Marco’s lips twitched into the barest hint of a smile. “It’s not what you’re thinking. I think she wanted to apologize. I haven’t found out for sure, but that was the impression I got.”

  “Did I miss the day when I suddenly stopped being American?” I clamped a hand over my mouth. Then it dawned on me. “Wait. Did you just say you loved me?”

  “Only caught that part now, huh?” he breathed, his golden gaze intent on mine. A muscle in his jaw ticked, and I felt his fingers flex. “But yes, I did say that. I love you.”

  The hope in my chest exploded, wiping out every tendril of fear and replacing my entire body with the kind of warmth I’d never believed I would feel for myself. I slid off the couch and into his lap, taking his handsome face between my hands. “I love you, too. So much.”

  Marco’s face split into a beaming grin as his arms wound around my waist to tug me closer. “Really? You’re sure? Even if I did fuck things up between us?”

  His breath ghosted across my skin as I lowered my forehead to rest against his. His eyelashes touched mine, and even our noses nestled beside one another. “I’m sure. I love you. I’ve already forgiven you. You weren’t the only one that fucked up. None of us handled it well.”

  Marco breathed out, bringing his head down on my shoulder as he peered up at me from between those thick lashes framing his beautiful eyes. “No, we didn’t. How are you feeling? How is our baby?”

  “The bean is fine.” I smiled, taking his hand and bringing it to my stomach.

  His fingers splayed across it, his thumb tracing soothing lines through my shirt. “The bean?”

  “I’m eight weeks along,” I whispered. “According to the internet, that means the baby is about as big as a kidney bean this week.”

  Reverence entered his eyes as he stared into mine, his hand sliding beneath my shirt. Unlike the previous times when he’d done that, his touch wasn’t teasing a line to my breast now. He rested his hand on my bare skin and bowed his head.

  He swallowed thickly. “I think shit just got real.”

  “Ya think?” I asked, my lips brushing against his hair.

  Nodding his response, I heard him murmuring to his child. “It’s all going to be okay now, baby. I’m sorry I wasn’t here for you before, but that will never happen again. I belong to you and your mommy, heart and soul.”

  As I listened, my heart filled to the brim along with my eyes. Love and tears—tears of love I supposed—spilled out of me as I tightened my hold on this man. My man.

  We sat like that for a long time, talking in quiet voices about what had happened with both of us over the last two days. When I showed him the ultrasound images, he choked up and snapped a few pictures on his phone to send to his family.

  It was the most perfect reunion I could have imagined, and I made my mind up long before Kyle came back in. He took one look at us and smiled. “So, when am I taking you to the airport?”

  Marco shook his head. “Thanks for the offer, but we’re going to stay for a while.”

  I made eye contact with my brother. “No, we’re not. We’d appreciate a ride this afternoon. We need to get home. There’s a lot to get done in the next few months. We need to get started.”

  Kyle lifted two fingers to his forehead and jerked them away in a salute. “You got it. As long as you promise you’ll send that jet for me to come visit once my niece or nephew is born.”

  Marco raised his eyebrows at me. “We’re going back?”

  “We’re going back. You and I belong together, but we also belong in Italy. I told you before that it’s my home now, too.”

  A slow smile spread on his lips before he pressed them to mine. Kyle made the expected disgusted noise, but Marco just chuckled against my mouth before pulling away.

  He insisted on taking us out to lunch before we left. Luckily, my bag was still in Marco’s car and I couldn’t wait to get showered and changed.

  Much to my surprise, Kyle and Marco got along like a house on fire. My brother seemed to have forgotten all about his initial misgivings and was all but inducting Marco into the family.

  “He reminds me of Aldo,” Marco whispered to me in the car. “It feels like I’ve known him forever.”

  Watching the two of them together made me so warm inside that I was afraid I might burst into flames, but I’d have gone out happy. When we got to the airport, Kyle hugged me goodbye before turning his attention on Marco.

  Marco held out a hand, but my brother frowned at it and then took it to use as leverage to catapult my boyfriend into him for a tight hug. I stood close enough to them to hear what he said when I saw his lips moving close to Marco’s ear.

  “Don’t be a stranger, and take care of my sister. I love her with all my heart. Please don’t hurt her again.”

  Marco nodded, tucked me under his arm, and led me to his plane. When we took off, I knew our adventure was only just beginning.

  Chapter 37

  Marco

  The sun glowed like a ball of fire on the horizon. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky or any movement in the air.

  With the heat of the day broken, Addy and I had ventured out onto the balcony. She sat on a lounger, her legs spread out in front of her and an iced tea in her hands.

  As she laid her head back against the forest-green cushion and closed her eyes, a contented smile playing across her lips, my heart skipped a beat. It had never happened to me before, but it happened when she’d said she loved me too, and now it just kept happening.

  I didn’t mind it, though. Every time it happened, it reminded me of the people my heart belonged to. Well, one was still a very tiny little person, but still a person who carried a part of my heart inside its minuscule chest.

  “I wanted to talk to you about something.” Nerves tightened my throat, but I cleared them away.

  Addy’s eyes opened, her head swinging around until she faced me
. “Are you taking it back?”

  “Am I taking what back?” I searched her navy-blue depths for an answer, but all I found was a slight sheen of panic.

  “That you love me,” she said, sadness flickering across her brow. “Did you just say it to get me back here with you?”

  “Did you really just ask me that?” I climbed off my lounger, pinning my gaze to hers as I stalked forward.

  She didn’t shy away or try to make excuses. “Yes, I did. You have to admit that it came pretty out of the blue. It’s okay if you changed your mind.”

  “I didn’t change my mind.” I moved toward her slowly, punctuating every word with another step closer. “I. Love. You. Adaline. Tidwell.”

  “Oh yeah?”

  “You infuriating woman.” I smirked as I dropped to my knees beside her, capturing her cheeks in my palms and drawing her closer to me. “I fucking love you. Would you please stop doubting me?”

  She cocked her head to the side, arched a brow, and flashed me a sexy smirk of her own. “Fine. Jeez. Stop being so needy all the time. You’re exhausting.”

  My lips curved into a wicked grin. I gave her no other warning before I lurched forward, tackling her gently to the lounger.

  She shrieked out a laugh, looping her arms around my neck and her legs around my waist as she pulled me close. Her lips brushed against mine, and her gaze held me captive. “I love you, too.”

  “I meant every word I said to you in Oregon yesterday.” I nipped at her lower lip, following it up with a soft kiss. “I love you. I want you. I want you next to me for anything and everything life throws at us.”

  Laughter sparkled in her eyes. “Please tell me you’re not proposing while you’re on top of me and getting hard.”

  “I’m not proposing marriage. I may be proposing other things, if you’re interested.”

  “Yeah?” She ran a hand through my hair, a relaxed smile on her face. “What’s that?”

  I ground my growing erection against her core, eliciting a low moan. “That, for starters.”

  “And then?” Her breathing got heavier, and her nipples hardened against my bare chest. “What else?”

  “Move in with me.” Our breath mingled, but her hand stilled in my hair. When her eyes flew wide open, I rushed out the rest of the words. “Just hear me out. We’re having a baby together. Living in separate houses doesn’t make any sense. There’s no space for me to move in with you and Elena. If you don’t want to move in with me here, we’ll find a new place.”

  “You’re serious?”

  I nodded. “I want to come home with you every day. I want to argue about what we’re going to have for dinner and whose turn it is to make the bed. I’m all in with you, Addy.”

  “I’m all in with you,” she murmured, her eyes crinkling on a soft but joyful smile. “Yeah. Okay. Let’s do this. I’ll move in with you.”

  “Yes?”

  “Yes.”

  My heart clenched and constricted in my chest. I knew in that moment that I was forever changed. There was no going back from this. Nor would I ever want to.

  It was the second time in four days my entire world had changed, but it was for the better. I couldn’t imagine my life or my home without her. I didn’t want to have to, and now I wouldn’t.

  She was mine just as I was hers. We could finally cut all the bullshit, doubt, and worries and just be together. I knew it wouldn’t be all sunshine and roses. We were sure to have our challenges, but I wanted to work them through with her before getting into our bed at night.

  I wanted to kiss her while she had morning breath, see her toothbrush in the holder next to mine, and argue over who left the butter out. And she’d said yes to all of it.

  I let out a whoop the likes of which I hadn’t done since I still believed in Santa Claus. Securing Addy’s legs around me, I wrapped my free arm around her shoulders and stood us up to spin her in a circle.

  She let out a gleeful laugh, her loose hair swinging around us when I came to a stop. It formed a curtain around our faces when she dipped her head down, claiming my mouth in a kiss that felt like a brand on my soul.

  It soon turned demanding, and I happily surrendered to her. We devoured each other as the sun set over Tuscany in the background. When moans started spilling from her lips as she rolled her hips against me, I realized it was probably time to take this inside.

  Grunting as I tightened my grip on her, I held her to me and carried her through the open doors without breaking off the kiss. The only problem I had with the house right then was that my bedroom was upstairs, but there was no way I was taking her anywhere than on the bed we’d be sharing from then on. I was a man on a mission to get her there.

  “We’re going up. Hang on tight.”

  She wiggled against my hold. “I can walk, you know?”

  “Sure, you can. But you’re not going to. I’m not letting you go right now.”

  Laughing when my hand came down to smack her ass, she tapped my shoulder. “We were supposed to have dinner.”

  “Later.” I took the stairs as fast as I safely could, which took some maneuvering.

  Addy delivered unhelpful commentary. Each time she did, I spanked her. When we finally reached the bedroom, her eyes were glazed with lust, her pupils almost completely dilated already.

  The sundress that had been driving me insane all damn day fell to the floor as soon as I set her down on her feet. I didn’t see where it landed around her feet. My eyes were too damn busy feasting on the dark blue bra and matching panties I was going to be tearing off soon.

  Less than a heartbeat later, my balls tightened and my dick was all the way hard. Dropping my head down to kiss her shoulder, I lathered her skin in kisses before descending to the swell of her perfect breasts.

  While she ran her fingertips along the dips between the muscles in my abdomen, I slid her panties off. She kicked them across the room when they fell to the floor.

  Addy grabbed my face to kiss me, snagging the waistband of the shorts I was still wearing from our dip in the hot tub earlier. She lifted them over my cock carefully before shoving them down.

  Her fingers wrapped around my shaft before another beat passed between us. Running my hand down her side, I brought it to her hot pussy. “God, you’re so wet.”

  “Apparently, it’s one of the few fun things about pregnancy,” she said, panting as I slid one long finger into her. “Lubrication and constantly being horny. At least that explains our level of activity over the last couple of weeks.”

  “I’m looking forward to many more months of it.” I arched into her hand with a coarse groan when she gathered the wetness on my tip with her thumb.

  “What about after? Once the baby comes, this will all change.”

  Sliding down her body, I shook my head no. “Nothing will ever change how much I want you. We might just have to work harder to make time for us.”

  “Promise me we will?”

  “I promise.” I replaced my fingers with my tongue and hoped like hell I hadn’t just lied to her. Truth be told, I had no idea what would happen once the baby was born, but I was determined to make the time we had count.

  Before two became three, the only number that mattered was how many times a day she came. She tasted so good that I couldn’t lick her enough.

  “Please, Marco,” she begged breathlessly. I couldn’t stand to hear her beg, though. Not today.

  Gripping her thighs after helping her onto the bed, I spread her legs wider with my shoulders and tucked back in.

  Addy raised her hips and met every thrust of my tongue with wild abandon. When her walls started spasming around me and her muscles started shaking, her voice became frenzied and loud. She exploded around me and her head was thrown back in perfect ecstasy as she cried out my name over and over again.

  She slumped back against the bed, breathing hard. I crawled over her, grinning as I watched her stretch out like a lazy cat. She looked sated, relaxed.

  My dick throbbed, my
fingers aching to touch it. It wouldn’t take me long at all. Not while I had her taste in my mouth and the memories of her muscles clenching around me. But I took a breath.

  This wasn’t about me. It was about her. If she was done, I’d just have to deal with it.

  Her eyes opened like she’d heard my thoughts loud and clear. Desire flashed dark in her eyes as she lifted her hand and beckoned to me. “You didn’t think I’d forgotten about you, did you?”

  “Thank fuck,” I groaned. Then our lips crashed together in furious need. But it was more than that. Deeper.

  As I kissed her, I knew it was because I felt more connected to her than I’d ever felt to anyone before. I loved her.

  I loved her so fucking much. And I was never, ever letting her go again.

  Chapter 38

  Addy

  Marco kissed me like he was pouring the very essence of who he was into me. His kisses alternated between tender and demanding, hungry and loving.

  He was devouring me, consuming me, marking me. I let him because I was doing the same to him.

  Our limbs tangled together, a pile of hands, legs, and arms. We cradled, touched, and explored. His familiar, comforting scent enveloped me, and I shamelessly breathed him in.

  Marco flipped us over so I was straddling his lap, but our mouths remained fused together. With my heart slamming against my ribs, I pressed myself against his warm skin and marveled at the fact that he was really mine.

  His body was like marble cased in velvet. Every girl’s wet dream. My fingers found his hair while his skated up and down my sides.

  Closing his big hands over my breasts, he ran his thumbs over the sensitive skin before bringing a nipple to his wet mouth and kissing me like he was starved for me. My eyes rolled back in my head. I’d never felt anything like the sensations he was making me feel today. If this was what pregnancy sex felt like, sign me up every damn time.

  Groaning against my chest, he licked and nipped his way back to my mouth. My nails dragged from his firm butt to his scalp, eliciting a low growl from the back of his throat.