Page 61 of Our Chaotic Love Affair

“You’re welcome,” Giulia said and left the suite.

“These are going on your socials?” I asked.

“Tomorrow. After I’ve built the strategy.” Cleo looked through the images with the assessing eye of someone who did this professionally. “I’m thinking a miniseries. Rome content—the city, the event tonight, the shopping. I want it to feel like a narrative rather than individual posts. Behind the scenes of something. Life moving forward.” She was talking more quickly now.

This was the Cleo I knew. All chaos and energy. I couldn’t imagine what it must look like in her brain. Just brain cells pinging off each other.

“I’ll keep the client stuff vague, obviously, but the rest of it? I can make this whole trip into something that launches what I’m building. People respond to moments that feel real.” She gestured at the balcony. “This is real. Gorgeous. I’m going to do mine differently from Melody’s. I know that. Mine is going to be authentic. None of that posed stuff.”

She stopped. I’d been watching her face. She noticed.

“What?” she asked. “Is something wrong? Lipstick on my teeth? Did I smear my eyeliner?”

I didn’t answer immediately. I was thinking about the beach. The kiss. How we had started something that we didn’t get to finish. I hated leaving anything unfinished.

I tilted her chin up with two fingers. Her breath hitched. Her eyes were locked on mine. I waited a beat. Waited for her to pull away. She didn’t. So, I kissed her. Gently at first. She held herself perfectly still for exactly two seconds before she kissed me back. Then it wasn’t gentle.

My hand moved from her chin to the nape of her neck. She made a small sound that I was going to be thinking about for the rest of my life. That noise would be accompanying any alone time fantasies.

She tasted like green apples. The champagne. I sucked on her tongue, wanting more. Her body melted against mine. My teeth toyed with her bottom lip, pulling a little groan from her. I loved all the noises the woman made.

What sound would she make when I pushed inside her?

Oh shit. My cock heard that and he was gearing up for action.

I carefully pulled away. If I don’t stop now, all the makeup is going to be ruined and her dress is going to be shredded.

“What was that for?” she asked. Her voice was steady. Her eyes weren’t.

I felt my composure slip. I licked my lips, still tasting the champagne. “I’ve been thinking about it since the Hamptons,” I said. “I needed to remember how you tasted.”

“Oh, I didn’t know we were tasting each other.” She grabbed my shoulder and jerked me against her, kissing me again.

It was better the second time, which shouldn’t have been possible but was. Her lips were fire against mine, taking control in a way I didn’t anticipate. I was usually the one leading, but Cleo’s fingers dug into my shoulder as she pressed herself against me. The kiss deepened instantly, her tongue sliding against mine. I could feel her smile against my mouth as she took what she wanted.

“My turn,” she whispered against my lips.

I let her lead, curious where she would take us. My hands found her waist, feeling the smooth silk of the dress beneath my fingers.

She bit my bottom lip, not hard enough to hurt but enough to make me groan. The sound seemed to encourage her. Her hand slid up to the back of my neck, fingers threading through my hair, gripping just tight enough to hold me exactly where she wanted me.

“You like that?” she murmured.

“Yes,” I managed, my voice sounding very similar to a man that had been gargling gravel.

She pulled back just enough to look at me, her eyes heavy-lidded but calculating. Then she was kissing me again, slower this time, more deliberate. Her body pressed fully against mine, the curves I’d been trying not to stare at all day now molded against me. I could feel the heat of her through the thin fabric.

I was losing control rapidly. My hands slid lower, tracing the curve of her hips, wanting to explore every inch of her.

I was very aware that we had somewhere to be and very uninterested in that fact for approximately thirty seconds. She pulled back, laughing.

I stared at her, my cock pulsing in time with my heartbeat. “I’m not sure laughing is the reaction I was hoping for.”

“Oh, the reaction you were hoping for is there. Trust me.”

“Good.”

“I have to fix my lipstick,” she said. “So do you. I think you’re wearing more than I am.”