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“My pleasure, Sylvia. It’s nice to meet you.”
He flashes a million-dollar smile for her, which I know she is eating up like a delicious dessert. “I can’t stay. I just didn’t want you to think I didn’t notice you were here.”
“I appreciate it. You didn’t have to. Good luck with the rest of your filming today.”
“Grazie, Bella. Ciao.”
He stands next to me for a second longer than someone would, letting the back of his hand brush against mine. Like when he grabbed my wrist on the curb, or kissed the back of my hand, there is an electricity I feel between us before it evaporates as he walks away.
“Hot damn and holy shit,” Sylvia exhales. “Bella, huh?”
“It’s an Italian thing,” I tell her.
“Screw that. It’s an Ava thing.”
Sylvia and I take the long way back to our bed-and-breakfast. Daria’s brother offers to make us dinner by the pool, since we are the only guests he has. His wife joins us after she returns from the city. We have the best steak kabobs I think I’ve ever had. We eat and drink so much I have a food coma and alcohol buzz going by the time the sun sets.
We bob and weave up the stairs to our bedrooms, where we collapse immediately in our beds. I think I fall asleep nearly the second my head hits the pillow. I can sense the heavy breeze from outside. It drifts across my body, sometimes making me too hot—then other times—I can feel a chill start at my feet and race up my spine.
The curtains tickle the tips of my fingers as they blow away from the window. I turn my head to the side and pull all my dark, long locks off my damp neck. Where my fingers once were, a new set of fingers now take up residence. I feel the bed dip next to my head as the soothing stroke of a slightly chilled hand slides from just beneath my ear, around the nape of my neck, and down my spine to just between my shoulder blades.
A soft pair of lips press to the side of my head, followed by a soft sigh. I roll over to my back and look up into Rafael’s eyes. “What are you doing here?” I ask.
”Isn’t it obvious, Bella?”
He rests his lips just beneath my ear and begins to kiss me gently over and over again. Just below my ear. The pulsing vein of my neck. The tip of my chin. His fingers toy with the neckline of the summer dress I never bothered to take off. Each strap falls helplessly loose over my shoulders, while the fabric slowly lowers over the swells of my breasts.
The lush pink of his lips contrast richly to the dark stubble that presides over the chiseled angles of his face. The rough hair and the soft skin are confusing contrasts as he kisses just above both nipples, first the right, then the left. I can already feel my body giving in to him. I have so many thoughts and feelings whirling about in my head. I wish I could articulate it to myself, let alone to him. The one thing I know for certain, I don’t want him to stop.
I close my legs and capture his thigh between them. I’m already desperate for any amount of friction I can gain to ease the ache I feel everywhere. Who am I right now? I’ve only spoken to him twice, for a total of maybe slightly over an hour, and he’s now in my bed.
My hands slide over his shoulder blades and anchor to them. He feels so solid. If I had any nails whatsoever I would be tearing through the white linen to get at his skin. The heat his body is radiating is enough to warm me, even on the coldest of nights. I’m starting to wonder if it was his heat I sensed and not that from the breeze.
Rafael’s lips press against the hollow notch at the base of my throat, and I instantly groan, clamping down around his thigh once more. I hear a barely-there throaty laugh from deep inside his chest. “Non preoccuparti, Bella. Ti ho preso.”
Initially, I only understand bella. Shortly thereafter, he shows me what the rest means. He slides slowly down my body, kissing me as he goes. Rafael parts my legs farther with his broad shoulders, until his intent becomes clear. His tongue caresses the inside of my right thigh first, then he pays special attention to my left. With every touch or taste, I can hear a hum of appreciation from him.
I don’t remember the last time I felt like this under the touch of a man. I feel worshipped, adored, and simply cared for. His pleasure is coming from mine. I don’t think I’ve ever been so turned on in my life. Rafael’s first lingering lap through my seam sends me crying out. I’m never vocal, like ever. He’s checking off every box of firsts in my head.
“Ava.”
I hear my name come at me like a whisper in the dark.
“Ava.”
A hand grips over my shoulder.
“Ava.”
I gasp as my eyes go wide into the light of the lamp beside my bed. Sylvia’s dark eyes are looking down at me. For a minute I look around to see where Rafael is in the room. He’s not here.
“Are you okay? I could hear you from my room. Were you having a nightmare?”
I was dreaming?
Fuck.
I can still feel his lips on me. I can still feel his hands on me. I can still feel his tongue in places I don’t want to tell anyone about.
