Chapter 20
Luca
She pushed my hand away with a firm nod of her head. “Please, no more.”
“Say it.” Her hazel eyes cut to mine and held. “Say, it Sabrina and I’ll stop.”
“Fine. I love stuffed artichokes. Happy now?”
“Very.” I tossed the leaf I held on my plate and tugged her onto my lap. My lips molded over hers tasting the wine mixed with a hint of the seasonings I used for dinner.
Yes, the scallops, rice and wilted spinach were delicious. But fuck, watching those gorgeous lips slide over each artichoke leaf that I hand fed her was the best part of the meal. “I hope you’re happy. I can’t move,” she added before gulping down the last of her wine.
When she placed her glass on the table, I leaned in to nuzzle her neck. “You just sit here then.”
“You’re treating me like a queen. Thank you.”
“For?”
Her gaze moved toward the empty plates and then the flowers I bought her before coming to land on my face. “Everything.” The sincerity in her voice touched me. Especially since I hadn’t done anything special. Other women I dated expected fancy meals at high-priced restaurants as part of the dating process. Then there was Sabrina who truly appreciated a simple meal made from ingredients found at a farmer’s market.
“I liked cooking for you. I’d like to do it again.” I placed another soft kiss on her lips before adding, “Maybe if I can get you to love artichokes, I can also convert Mikey.”
“I may have to place a wager on that one.” She glanced at the clock on my microwave. “Speaking of, I better call him before it gets too late.”
“Go ahead, I’ll clean up. What time do you need to leave in the morning?”
“Around ten. My parents like to go to the eleven o’clock mass. They have an Easter egg hunt for the kids afterwards.”
“Sounds fun. Then what happens?”
“Just lunch with my parents.” She suddenly scooted off my lap and walked toward my living room to grab her handbag. “It makes me nervous when I don’t hear from them,” she admitted with her eyes pinned to the screen of her phone.
“Usually no news is good news.”
“In my son’s case, no news means he’s negotiating something he’s not allowed to do or have…” After a pause she added, “or for a lesser punishment.” I chuckled at her statement, imagining a wide-eyed Mikey trying to talk his way out of trouble.
Just as I stood from my barstool, she came over with her phone. “Hi, Ma. How is he?” After a few loud words came, Sabrina pulled the phone a few inches from her ear. She hit mute, and said, “My mother thinks you need to shout into cell phones. Hopefully, she won’t say anything too embarrassing.”
With an exaggerated eye-roll, she unmuted the call and listened as her mother recounted details of Mikey’s day. I heard every word she said as if she were on speaker phone. Sabrina remained silent, every so often she’d release a sigh.
Clear as day, her mother then said, “The little booger invited all the kids to sleep here tonight. That’s when I put my foot down. Now that we’ll have a full house tomorrow, the last thing I need are six kids running amok all night. Of course, your father just laughed and said we’d manage.”
“Wait, how many are coming tomorrow?” Sabrina asked.
“Including us, twenty.” At Sabrina’s audible groan, her mother quickly added, “It’s no big deal, you know I make enough to feed the whole town. Although I switched the menu up a bit from lasagna to baked ziti. It’s easier.”
“Mom, do you need me to come help tonight?” I stopped stacking our dirty dishes and waited.
“No dear. You had a busy week. Take the night to relax. We have it covered.” Not bothering to hide my relief at her mother’s response, Sabrina’s lips twisted into a smirk as she noticed my smile. Relaxing was one way to put what we’d be doing tonight.
“Okay, can I talk to him?” Her mother passed Mikey the phone. The moment his little voice began speaking, it didn’t stop for a full five minutes. “Mikey, you’ll have plenty of fun tomorrow. Now, get ready for bed, and stop giving Grandma a hard time, or you will not be participating in tomorrow’s egg hunt.”
Silence filtered over the phone. The poor kid was probably debating his options. Sabrina asked if he understood her threat. When she said, “Thank you. Sweet dreams. I’ll see you tomorrow,” I had to assume he conceded.
“Good Lord. This kid,” she said with a firm shake of her head. “Never ending. Where does he get the energy?”
“He’s five.”
“It’s not enough to have a full day tomorrow packed with activity, he needs to have a sleepover to boot?” Remembering her mother sharing that their quiet Easter was now a full production, I wondered if Sabrina would ask me to join them. I also wondered why she hadn’t asked what I was doing tomorrow.
Assuming she had her reasons, I decided to commence with the relaxing part of our evening. I placed our dishes in the sink before walking around the island to stand beside her. “Cleaning up can wait. I’d rather do something else right now.”
“Yeah?” she asked with a smile. “What would you like to do, Mr. Benedetto?”
“You.”
The smile instantly fell off her face when she twisted her stool to face me. I stepped in between her legs while at the same time grabbing her ass and yanking her closer to eliminate the space between us.
Although she didn’t respond to my edict, the way her hazel eyes stared into my soul said just what I needed them to—yes. The way she skimmed her hands up my shirt before linking them behind my neck said—I want the same. And when she pulled my face down toward hers to initiate a kiss that rocked my soul, that said—I’m yours, Luca.
Our kiss was full of need, full of longing. The longer it went on, the more she blurred my world. Every hour I spent with her made me want two more. This thing between us was new, yet it felt so familiar at the same time.
I lifted her easily and carried her to my bedroom. It was still early, and we had all night, but I needed her then and there. Anything else I wanted to experience with her, specifically getting to know her better, could wait. The one and only thing I craved, the only thing I needed more than my next breath was an intimate connection.
Placing her down at the foot of my bed, I never broke eye contact as I began unbuttoning my shirt until it hung at my sides. Her line of sight traveled over my body caused me to internally shatter… and not in a bad way. In a way I never had felt before, a pleasurable one. She reached for the button of my jeans and unfastened it.
I expected her to continue with the zipper, but instead she stepped back to admire me once again. With my jeans and shirt unbuttoned and gaping open, I may as well have been naked in the way she appreciated me. Her gaze had the same effect on my cock as if it were her hands, and not her eyes, that traveled over me.
She moved closer, her hands roamed over my shoulders to push my shirt off. It fell to the floor. The feeling of her cool hands on my scorching skin caused my resolve to snap. Propelling me into removing every article of clothing she wore until she was standing bare and beautiful before me.
Not a word was spoken between us. There was no need. I removed my own clothes before leading her to lie on my bed. Once we were side by side, our naked bodies aligned from head to toe, I held her face in my palm. “Sabrina, I want nothing between us. Do you trust me?”
Her nod was immediate. “I’m on the pill, Luca. Do you trust me?”
“Completely.” I did. I had no doubt I could trust everything about her. The fact she did as well caused a surge of possessiveness to overwhelm me. I wanted to own her in every way. This was just the beginning.
With our gazes tethered, I rolled her backward and positioned my cock at her entrance. Her wet warmth stole my breath. I couldn’t be sure if it was the lack of latex separating us that made it feel so fucking good, or if it was because of Sabrina. But one slow thrust, and I already knew I had never experienced such pleasure as I was about to.
We moved together effortlessly. Hands, lips, eyes, connecting throughout our love making enhanced every move we made. Moans and sighs came as we got closer and closer. “Sabrina, I need you to come with me.”
Her response was an audible swallow and a short nod. Watching her face as her orgasm began, and feeling it build and crest around me, had every molecule of my body sparking almost painfully. It was her turn to watch me as I fell apart from the inside out.
I wanted to say filthy things to her, admit to all the dirty thoughts that ravaged my mind. But something else took over the carnal need to own her, and for the life of me I had no idea what that was. Confusion and desire, mixed with lust, made the combination both dangerous and terrifying. The only thing I could manage to say as my release ripped through me was, “Sabrina.”
I couldn’t get enough of her, and as a slow tear leaked from her eye and traveled down her face I worried she’d always hold back a piece of her heart.
After dropping her off at her apartment, it took less than a minute for me to miss her company. Last night had been one of the best of my life. Enjoying the entire evening together, making love, talking, sleeping with her wrapped in my arms was nothing short of perfection.
That was the mark of a perfect connection. When outside influences weren’t needed to enjoy being with someone, that had to mean something. The human race seemed to be addicted to stimulation that came from shallow and meaningless social standards. Not once had I checked my phone while with Sabrina. The entire time we were together I had no other thoughts but her.
As I drove myself back to my apartment on Easter morning, the significance of that religious day didn’t go unnoticed in comparison to the levity I felt for the first time in my life. I felt alive, optimistic, and anxious to see her again.
My dash lit up with a incoming call from Cassie. “Hey.”
“Hi, my friend. Are we still on for dinner later?”
Since all our friends ditched us, and with Cassie’s family in Florida for the holiday and mine in Italy, we decided on dinner and a movie. “Yeah. I’m on my way back to my place. I’ll pick you up at six?”
“Sounds good. How was your date with Sabrina?”
“Fantastic.”
A small gasp preceded her, “Really? I’m so happy for you guys.” At my silence she then added, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. We had a great night. I really like her, Cass. The problem, I don’t know if she feels the same. Her actions say she does, but at times she still holds me at arm’s length.”
“Like when?”
I slowed my car at the light and paused to choose my words carefully. “Like today, at first she said it would be a quiet Easter with her parents. But then when her mother said it became a big affair, with a bunch of guests, she never asked me to join them or even what I was doing today.” Once the words were out, I realized how ridiculous they sounded. “What is wrong with me? Of course she shouldn’t have invited me.”
Not more than a second of silence passed before Cassie countered with, “There’s nothing wrong with you, Luca. In fact, you’re perfect in every sense of the word. She’s been through a lot in the past year. I’m sure she’s apprehensive.”
I knew this, I did, but I wasn’t like her husband. I had never cheated on a woman nor did I plan to. “I understand.” This wasn’t a conversation I wanted to have in the car. I really wanted to talk to Cassie. She had a different perspective on things. “What are you doing now? Let’s spend the day together. We can still have dinner, but why wait?”
“Laundry, that’s what I’m doing. But, you’re right, this can wait. I’m waiting for a load to finish drying, so I can be ready in about thirty minutes. Are you still close to my apartment? I’ll make coffee if you want to come by now.”
“I’ll stop and grab bagels.”
“Oooh, yum. A cinnamon raisin for me please.”
“Be there in a bit.”
Exactly thirty-five minutes later, I knocked on Cassie’s door. Her eyes went wide when she saw the white bakery bag in my hand. “I swear I could smell that bagel before you knocked.”
I gave her a kiss on the cheek as she stepped aside to let me in.
She snatched the bag from my hand, opened it, stuck her face in and inhaled before sighing. “Heaven.” When she pulled her face back, she smiled. “It’s still warm. I love them when they’re like this.”
“Me too.”
Cassie retrieved two plates from the kitchen and poured us each a cup of coffee. We sat at the table and rather than eat, I stared at the circular bread in front of me. “Luca, what are you thinking?”
“Do you think Sabrina is ready?”
Her eyebrows scrunched together. “Ready for what? A relationship?”
“Yes. I need to talk to someone about this, but since you’re also friends with her, I don’t want you to feel uncomfortable.” I almost added, I really need to talk to you. Talking to the guys about this felt foreign, yet with Cassie it felt normal.
Her dainty fingers plucked a raisin out of the bagel before taking it into her mouth. “To tell you the truth, I wondered if she was. But, she’s seems so happy when she’s with you. There’s a lightness that you bring out in her. Not to mention the way Mikey took to you.”
Mikey.
That was another issue in itself. It would be hard enough if Sabrina didn’t want a relationship with me, but that meant I’d never see him either. The thought of that entire scenario forced me to place my bagel down and push the plate aside.
Her eyes softened. “Maybe she didn’t think you wanted to go?” The tone of her voice raised an octave at the end of her question.
“Of course, I would have wanted to. I figured if she wanted me there, she would’ve asked.”
“You’ve only been seeing each other a short period of time. If it were me, I don’t know that I’d be ready to invite a man I was seeing to meet my parents so quickly. What would you have done? If your family were here and not in Italy, would you have invited her?”
“Without a doubt.” That was the truth, too. “She could’ve just said we’re friends even though we were more or even that I was helping Mikey with soccer. I understand the entire meet my family scenario and the weight that carries. But, it could’ve been informal, just like the gathering.”
“I’m sorry, Luca.” She covered my hand with hers. When our eyes met, she asked, “What are you thinking? I see your wheels turning.”
“I feel like I’m being compared to a ghost.” There. I said what had been on my mind. While I had held a sleeping Sabrina in my arms, I wondered why she hadn’t asked me to go with her. I could understand if it was a small family gathering, but it wasn’t. She said she trusted me. Hell, we had unprotected sex… that in itself spoke volumes. Deep down though, I didn’t think she trusted me not to break her heart.