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“I don’t mind,” he said after a beat.
“Good.” Winona’s voice was rushed. “I’m so glad. The four of us will have such a lovely time together.”
* * *
Alessio gloweredas he drove back to the pub, replaying the last ten minutes in his mind. From Caleb’s arrival to the fact he obviously ate his mother’s cannelloni often. It was completely normal, but somehow, Alessio took it as a personal insult, that one of his favourite childhood meals should have gone on to become so important to Caleb. It was justfood, he thought with a gruff sound of irritation, and yet, it was also somehow more than that. It was just further proof of having been usurped and replaced in his mother’s life. She’d been pregnant when she’d left—the baby the catalyst for the divorce. His father might have been able to turn a blind eye to her affair, but the idea of raising another man’s baby had been impossible to contemplate. Not that Winona had presented that as an option.
She’d wanted to leave.
Frustration clipped through him, and the closer Alessio came to the pub, the gladder he was—because Charlotte was there, and in Charlotte’s arms and bed, he knew he could erase the worst of the day from his mind. His mother and Caleb would cease to exist, his past, too. With Charlotte, there was only the here and now, the sublime physical. He couldn’t wait to see her again.
* * *
Charlotte stretched her neck,tired from a busy lunch service, and checked the clock. Dash would be home from school soon. She had just enough time to check stock for the dinner service, and then she’d go upstairs to spend the afternoon with him. The kitchen door banged open, and she looked up slowly, expecting to see the front of house manager or one of the waitstaff, but it was Alessio instead, walking in as if, well, as if he owned the place.
It was the first she’d seen him since that morning and her heart skidded all over the place.
“Hi.” She stood quickly, conscious of how she must look, her apron dirty, her hair a mess, no makeup on her face.
“Hi,” he repeated, stalking towards her with obvious intent. She stared, mouth dry, as he drew near, and then, kissed her without preamble, his arms wrapping around her waist and drawing her tightly to his body. He tasted delicious, he smelled even better. Her knees trembled and she groaned into his kiss, losing herself for a moment in the magnificence of this unexpected interaction, before remembering where they were—and the possibility anyone could walk in at any point.
She pulled away quickly, but her whole body complained. “I can’t—anyone could see us.”
“True,” he said, a curt nod showing his agreement. He reached for her hand and pulled her with him, towards the storeroom pantry, and she went, because her body was in flames. Once inside, he pressed her against the door and kissed her once more, his lips strong and demanding, his body creating a barricade as strong and hard as the door: perfect, because Charlotte was limp all over and might have slipped to the ground in a puddle of quivering need if it weren’t for the hands she kept clasped behind his neck.
“I loved being with you last night,” he said into her mouth, and she groaned, as memories cut through her
It was definitely mutual.
“The way you scream when you come,” he said, moving his mouth to her ear and sucking her lobe. “I have been thinking about it all day.”
It was so erotic and evocative.
His mouth moved lower, to the base of her jaw, nipping her there with his teeth, while his hand lifted the front of the apron to find the buttons of her jeans and separate them.
Sanity was banging at the edges of her mind, reminding Charlotte that though they were in the storeroom, and the pub was technically closed, other staff members were milling about.
“This is—we can’t—,”
“Shhh,” he pulled away to look at her, a teasing expression on his face. “I want to see if you can come quietly. Think of it as a dress rehearsal for tonight.”
She stared at him, aghast, but logical thought moved completely beyond her skillset as his hand moved inside her underpants and found the seam of her sex, and her most sensitive cluster of nerve endings, and he began to run his fingers over her there, as if he somehowknewwhat that did to her, his eyes on her as he went faster and then paused to slip a finger inside of her, twisting it around until she was moaning into the space.
“Quiet,” he reminded her, but with that sexy, wolfish grin of his, so she bit down on her lip and swallowed her sounds of pleasure, as he moved his fingers hard enough to send her over the edge. She gripped his shirt, holding on for dear life, tilting her head back until it hit the door, her voice panting into the room as pleasure became a blinding light she was unable to outrun.
He slowed and then stopped as the waves hit the crescendo and then began to recede, slowing down, until her breathing was almost normal and the bright white in her eyes had left, and she could see clearly again.
“Almost silent,” he said with a wink, pulling his hand out of her pants and refastening the buttons.
“Alessio…” She wasn’t sure what she’d been about to say. Logical thought still wasn’t with her.
“Charlotte?” He repeated in the same tone.
“I just—,”
“Mmm?”
“I want—,”
