Luscious (15 page)

She snorted. “It’s only fair to tell you she’s been saying the same things to me.
My
new
chef
is
amazing. His pesto is perfetto!
I was sick of you before I even got here. Trust me, the last thing I want is your job, but I won’t have you making me feel like an intruder in the kitchen either. You keep doing your thing, and I’ll do mine.”

Alessandro looked wary as he gazed across the table at her. She was fiercely glad he felt threatened by her, even though she had no intention of staying at the villa. God, she couldn’t imagine anything worse than being directly under her mother’s thumb again. “Do
we
have an understanding?” she asked.

He nodded slowly.

“Good.” She reached across the table and picked up his shot. “
Salute
,” she said, watching Sean walk toward them.

Olivia pushed her chair away from the table and stood up. It was time to go. They’d lost enough time already. The look on Sean’s face could only be described as hungry, and he was looking at her.

Mrs. and Mr. Schmidt said goodbye to their new friends, and Sean led the way to the car. She was relieved when he gestured for Alessandro to climb into the back of the vehicle.

The chef laughed. “Nonsense, it will be an adventure if I drive.”

“Your driving is enough of an adventure when you’re sober. Humor me.” Sean held out his hand for the keys.

With a philosophical shrug, Alessandro handed them over and crawled into the car. Olivia sat in front.

“Where can I take you?” Sean asked, when everyone was inside. “I’m happy to pick you up for work in the morning.”

“Don’t trouble yourself,” the chef mumbled. “I can get a ride out to the villa tomorrow no problem.”

“What did you do to him?” Sean whispered as Alessandro began to sing something in Italian that had the Germans crying with laughter.

“Don’t blame me. I cut him off at three drinks. Lightweight.”

In between verses, Alessandro called out directions to Sean, leading them on a circuitous route through the city streets. Finally, Alessandro called “
Alt!
” also apparently the punch line to the joke he was telling.

Sean pulled to the curb in front of a small house that looked like it had been divided into apartments. Alessandro got out of the car.

“Are you sure you’ll be okay?” she asked.

The chef laughed. “Never better.” He leaned in the window to kiss her hand. “
Grazie
.”

Sean cleared his throat loudly and Alessandro let go of her hand, chuckling.

Sean pulled away from the curb before Alessandro reached the house. The rest of the drive was silent. The Germans seemed to have finally run out of energy, and Olivia was floating in a happy bubble of quiet anticipation.

As soon as they had reached the villa and bid the Germans good night, Sean pressed close behind her and wrapped one arm around her waist. His beard stubble rasped her neck. She turned to face him.

“Olivia, I’m sorry I had to make that call—”

She reached up and pressed her fingers to his lips. “I don’t want to hear any apologies right now.” She felt brave and desirable, and she didn’t want the feeling to disappear again. The words would get in the way.

This was her moment. She knew it even before she took it. Suddenly it was easier to breathe, easier to be. “Do you want me, Sean? Do you want to make love to me tonight? Because if it’s too late or you’re tired or you have work to do, tell me now. Rejection feels like failure, and I’ve had enough of that lately.”

His eyes blazed and his arms tightened around her. “I want you.”

She savored the raw thrill that shot through her as he dropped a kiss on her lips. Her heart began to pound. Heat and gratitude filled her with euphoria. She turned toward the stairs and held one hand back to him. They climbed the stairs hand in hand, not speaking. His thumb played over her knuckles, stroking heat into her body, filling her with melting desire.

She unlocked her door and stepped through, hearing the lock click as Sean shut the door behind them. She turned around. Sean drew her to the bed. His fingers were nimble on the buttons on the front of her dress. “In a hurry to live out your high school fantasies, counselor?”

He pushed the material over her shoulders and the fabric fell from her body into a pool on the floor, leaving her clad in her bra and panties. His rough chuckle sounded strained. “Aren’t you?”

She laughed, hoping it didn’t sound as weak to him as it did to her.

His hands cupped breasts encased in thin satin, skimmed her bare waist, lingered on her hips. “I have to be honest. My high school fantasies never got much past this point.” He pulled her body forward into his and found the perfect way to fit them together.

“What about all the things you said in the restaurant in New York?”

His eyes flashed silver. “I’ve had a lot of time to refine my plans since then.” He reached forward to pop the front clasp of her bra, making a low sound as her breasts spilled into his hands. He cupped them, rolling her nipples under his thumbs until her breath came fast in her throat and her knees felt weak. Pleasure shot in a direct arc between his thumbs and her sex and she moaned softly when he took her mouth. His clothes felt rough against her sensitized skin, yet she pressed closer.

His lips drifted down her neck, pausing to lick warmth across the top swell of each breast. He kissed each tender nipple. She sank down to sit on the bed. His fingers caught the fabric of her panties and tugged them over her hips. “You don’t need these.”

He pressed her down to the bed. She felt very naked, lying beneath him while he was fully dressed. “Aren’t you forgetting something?”

“Hmm?” he asked, shifting his weight to the side and trailing a hand over her breasts, down her belly. His finger dipped into her belly button.

“You still have your clothes on.” She was glad she had finished her sentence before his fingers reached her freshly waxed bikini line. The appreciative sound he made as he traced the smooth skin chased every coherent thought from her head.

“Not for long.” He sat up and slowly pulled his shirt over his head.

His unhurried movements as he kicked his shoes to the side and unbuttoned his pants made her want to shriek. “Take your time,” she said tightly.

He grinned and shoved his pants and boxers off his hips and kicked them to the floor. He stripped off his socks. Again, he stretched out beside her, but this time the long, warm length of his body was completely naked. Sudden, unwelcome panic made her throat feel tight.
You
want
this. You just begged for it. Demanded it. You can’t wimp out now
.

He rolled on top of her, keeping his weight on his elbows. His hairy legs felt rough against her smooth ones. She could feel his erection touch her belly. She reached between their bodies. She’d be more comfortable once he was inside her.

Sean caught her hand. “Not so fast.” He chuckled softly and brought her hand to his mouth and kissed it. “My fantasy, remember? Yours can be next.” He shifted so he was kneeling between her thighs.

She bit her lip, trying to take a deep breath without looking like she was nervous. It wasn’t like she’d never done this before, for God’s sake. She’d been married for two years.
To
a
guy
whose
idea
of
foreplay
was
taking
off
his
pants.
Sean looked like he might spend the rest of the damn night making love to her, and she had no idea what to do.

“Relax,” he said, reading her mind. His hands stroked slowly down the length of her thighs and back up to her waist. She shivered and it felt like every inch of skin under his hands missed his touch when it was gone. “I’ve been picturing you like this all week, naked, spread out on a bed with yes in your eyes.”

She swallowed hard. “Do I have yes in my eyes?”

His smile was tender. “Not exactly, but I know you want to be here. I know you want me.” He hooked his hands beneath her thighs and pulled her into a more yielding position. “I know the last man you had sex with was an asshole.”

There it was. He’d said it. “I’m trying not to think of him.”

“I promise you won’t be thinking of him for very much longer.” She loved his grin, the one that challenged her to be as brave as he was. She felt a smile tremble across her lips. This was Sean. She’d known him almost forever. He’d never hurt her.

“Welcome back.” He bent to kiss her, a soft kiss that turned searching. She closed her eyes, didn’t flinch when the hand he tangled in her hair slid down to cup her breast. He pinched the tip and she gasped under his mouth. His groan was rough and exciting.

She opened her mouth to deepen their kiss. When their tongues touched, Sean’s hips jerked forward in a response that thrilled her. She wrapped her legs around him, shifting her hips to embrace him.

He lifted his head to whisper. “I knew I would love being naked with you.” She was disappointed when he broke the perfect mesh of their hips and slid down her body. She grabbed his shoulders and tried to pull him back to her.

“You’re doing it again. My fantasy.” His words were muffled against her breast. He lingered there. She had to listen hard to catch his words, spoken between nibbles. “I mean, sure, we could just go right at it, but I don’t want to rush you.”

“It’s okay, rush me.” She gasped as his lips closed around her nipple.

She felt his tongue, his teeth. Strangely, she felt it in her breast and her groin, as if they were somehow connected. Sean moved to the other breast and cool air hit her flesh. She gasped, feeling it everywhere. She moved her hips, trying to ease the growing ache, feeling liquid and languid, as if his touch, his hands on her body removed the necessity for thought.

Sean shifted his weight lower. His hand moved from her breast, down her belly, lower. His fingers were gentle and warm. He groaned and stopped.

“What? Is something wrong?” she asked.

His chuckle was weak. “Not a thing. You’re ready for me.”

She felt a blush start on her cheeks and spread quickly. She tried to ease away from his hand, but he slid a finger inside her, making her writhe against his hand. “That’s a good thing, Olivia. But I’m hard as a rock and fighting against the urge to nail you to the bed right now. I want this to be good for you.”

Honesty demanded honesty. “Sean, it’s already better than it’s ever been before.”

“Really?” He moved his finger. She blushed hotter.

His eyes glowed and his sexy half smile made her shiver. His hand moved faster. She looked away, feeling herself respond but not knowing what she should do. What did he expect from her?

“Stop thinking,” he whispered.

“Can’t.”

“Can’t think or not think?” he asked.

He was laughing at her, damn it. She twisted under his hand, trying to roll away from him. He caught her shoulder and flipped her onto her back again, mastering her attempt to escape by throwing his leg over her hip. He straddled her hips and forced her hands above her head.

He kissed her stiff lips. “Give it up, Olivia. Why don’t you just enjoy it?”

“I don’t know how.” She was not whining. She was not. “I don’t know what to do.”

“You do. Trust me.”

“Trust you? I wouldn’t be in this position if I didn’t trust you.”

“I know.” He kissed her cheek. His eyes were dark, all mischief gone. “Let me do everything for you.” He glanced at the clock on the bedside table, a wicked grin lighting his silver eyes. “Give me fifteen minutes to do anything I want.”

His suggestion shocked a giggle from her throat. “You weren’t kidding about high school fantasies, were you, counselor? You want to play seven minutes in the closet with me? But naked? And on a bed?”

“And with double the time limit.” He released her hands. “I figure we can kill two birds with one stone this way—you won’t be thinking about what you should be doing, and you won’t try to escape.”

She crossed her arms over her naked breasts. “You’ve given some thought to this.”

His nod was slow and definite. “Say yes, Olivia.”

Her pulse beat heavily in her ears, her throat, her sex. Sean waited for her answer. His hands skated over her skin, caressing her arms and shoulders, the tops of her breasts. He pressed his lips to her throat, making it impossible to think logically.

“Say yes,” he urged in a rough whisper.

She didn’t have to do anything but lie here? All the pressure was on him? She cleared her throat. “Is this is kinky or silly? I can’t decide.”

He raised his head. “Quit stalling.” There was tension in his voice. The bones of his face stood out beneath his skin, and his jaw was clenched. His arms trembled and it wasn’t from the effort of holding his weight.

She lifted one hand to his cheek. What was the worst that could happen? Whatever happened between them tonight, she knew she could trust him. “Yes.”

He rolled his hips against her, forcing her thighs apart and settling himself firmly into the soft space between them.

She gasped.

His smile was the furthest thing from safe she’d ever seen.

He pressed forward. “It’s all I can do not to bury myself inside you. I can feel you, so close, so hot. You’re killing me.”

“Go ahead,” she encouraged.

He reached for the bedside clock and turned it toward the bed. “Nope. You gave me fifteen minutes, and I’m not going to rush a single second.” His body slid along her skin, moving downward. He licked her nipple and her body roared to life again, aching, making a demand.

“I hope you plan on sleeping in tomorrow.” He licked her belly button. Oh my God, he was going to…was his mouth headed for …Oh God.
Thank
heaven
for
the
bikini
wax.

Sean urged her knees apart to make room for his broad shoulders. Her thighs trembled. A thousand doubts crowded into her head.

No thinking, she remembered.

She wasn’t supposed to do anything but hold still. She looked at the clock. 1:14 AM.

One way or another, this would end at 1:29.

She stared down the slope of her belly. Sean smiled up at her, then bent his head. She closed her eyes. His tongue felt warm and wide as it moved slowly through her folds. She bit back a whimper.

His lips closed around her and she bucked her hips, unable to stop herself from pushing closer to him. Sharp pleasure rippled through her. It took her a second to realize she was moaning. She pressed her lips together and held her breath, trying to stay quiet.

Sean lifted his head. “Make all the noise you want, sweetheart. The walls are thick and the door is made of solid wood.” He began to tease her again. New sensations bombarded her until she could no longer keep track of what he was doing with his hands and his mouth. He settled into a steady rhythm that made her pant and claw the bed.