Total pages in book: 88
Estimated words: 84843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84843 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Her shoulders dropped. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to snap. It’s just…” She trailed off and I hoped she would explain, but instead, she shrugged. “I guess with being a single mother and the schedule we have to keep, I’m sensitive.”
“I understand.” I really did, but I needed her to know I wasn’t judging her. I never would. “You got off early tonight?”
She nodded. “You’ll be sad to know Lara has moved past you. She and Ziggy are back together—at least for today.”
“Damn. My heart.” I laid my hand on my chest. “That hurt.”
Her lips quirked, and she turned to the counter. “Coffee is ready.”
Forgetting my earlier frustration from that morning, and unable to stop myself, I sidled up behind her, dropping my head and brushing my lips along her exposed neck. “Smells good.”
“The–the coffee?”
“That too,” I agreed, dragging my mouth to her ear. “You smell better.”
Her hands clenched into tight fists on the counter, and I felt the tremor race through her.
“You were angry with me,” she whispered.
“Not angry,” I disagreed, leaning my chin on her shoulder. “Frustrated. Confused.”
“I’m sorry.”
“You accepted the SUV?”
“Yes.” She let out a long huff of air. “I really like it.”
I spun her in my arms, hauling her up my chest with one arm. Our eyes locked. Her pupils dilated, and her breathing picked up. I stroked her neck, cupping her head in my hand. “I really like you.”
Then my mouth was on hers.
She flung her arms around my neck, holding me tight. She opened for me, our tongues meeting, touching, and caressing. I lifted her to the counter, moving between her legs as I slanted my mouth over hers, kissing her harder. Deeper. Wanting more of her. More of her taste, more of how she felt in my embrace. More of her low, pleading whimpers that spurred me on and made my cock hard and heavy in my pants. I pulled her flush to me so she knew exactly the way she affected me. She pulled back, gasping.
“Holy shit, you’re huge.”
I cupped the back of her head. “I’m going to fit inside you perfectly. Your pretty little pussy was made for me. I know it.”
“I’m not… I mean, it’s too—”
I cut her off. “When you’re ready. When we can be alone and I can have you every way I’ve been fantasizing about you since the first moment I saw you. I’ll make sure you’re ready. So ready, you’ll be aching the same way I am. You’ll be so drenched for me, I’ll slide home like it’s the bottom of the ninth in the final game of the World Series, the score is tied, and the bases are loaded. A grand slam.”
She blinked. “Did you just compare us having sex to baseball?”
I grinned. “They both have balls.”
“I’m beginning to think yours are bigger. You should have them checked.”
I threw back my head in laughter, the passion of the moment gone. And that was good. I needed to know her, and she needed to trust me.
I kissed her forehead. “I’ll do that.”
“Stefano?” she whispered.
“Yeah, Tesoro?”
“I like pizza too.”
“Are you hungry?”
“Starved,” she replied, licking her lips, her eyes on my mouth.
“Do that again and I’m taking you right here, right now,” I threatened, half hoping she would. “To hell with waiting.”
Her cheeks flushed and I chuckled. I held out my hand. “Come on, Gabriella. Let me feed you.”
I was gratified to see the flash of disappointment on her face. It matched the same way I felt.
And it gave me hope.
GABBY
I swallowed the last bite of pizza. Stefano had heated it up, and I enjoyed watching him move around my small kitchen. He told me about Alfie being ill and deciding to stay.
“Little man was happy to see me.”
“What did you do, other than eat pizza?”
He grinned, draining his coffee. “Played with his cars and trucks. And dinosaurs. We decided dinosaurs were too big to fit in cars, but the trucks worked. We pillaged some cities and destroyed a few towns. Talked guy talk.” He scratched his chin. “He didn’t want to go to bed, so I lay on the love seat, and he sat on my chest talking and finally fell asleep.” He shrugged sheepishly. “I guess I did too.”
I shook my head in amazement. He sounded so nonchalant about hanging with Theo. “Your nieces and nephews must love you.”
“I adore all of them. Plus, I let them get away with shit their parents don’t. I like to spoil them a little.”
“I can guarantee you made Theo’s night. Probably his week.”
“He’s a good kid. Smart as a whip. He talks like an adult.”
I sighed. “He’s always been smart. And since I can’t afford day care, most of his time is spent with me or other adults, so he is really advanced.”
“Hey,” he called.
I looked up.
“He’s a great kid,” he repeated. “You’re doing an amazing job. Don’t beat yourself up.”