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    “We can’t out here,” she whispers. Her eyes sweep the patio while she bites her bottom lip. seductively. “Somebody might see us.”

    “Sheryl is off for the day, and I made it clear we were not to be disturbed out here.” Even if there was a chance of being discovered, it would already be toote for me to change my mind. As usual, my body’s needs are impossible to ignore.

    And once I caress her ass cheeks with both hands, she melts against me. She can’t ignore her body’s response to me, either. “You are incorrigible,” she whispers in my ear as I back her into the corner of the pool farthest from the house. The sun warms my skin, however it’s the warmth between her legs that I’m more interested in.

    “Kiss me,” she whispers, taking my face in her hands, her tongue probing the seam of my lips before I part them and let her inside, her tongue sliding past mine and lighting up every nerve ending in my body.

    Our kiss deepens as her nails dig into my flesh until I’m sure she’s pierced the skin-I nip her bottom lip in response until she starts to whimper. That needy little sound goes straight to my balls, making them ache. Just knowing she’s as ready for this as I am is enough to drive me insane.

    I break the kiss, trailing my teeth and lips over her jaw beforeving at her throat. The sweetness of her skin and the faint taste of sunscreen and chlorine shouldn’t excite me the way it does, but with Caterina there is a never-ending level of excitement.

    The way her eyes scan the house over my shoulder shouldn’t excite me, either. “Scared of being my bad girl?” I taunt, running my tongue over the thundering pulse in her throat. “Afraid somebody’s going to see you getting fucked out here?”

    I love that she’s still a good girl deep down inside. All of the darkness she’s experienced from my world hasn’t tainted the sweetness that initially enticed me.

    I lift her, taking her covered nipple between my teeth, nipping at the peak until she squirms and rakes her nails down my back again.

    “Quick,” she pants, tugging at my shorts.

    “Now you’re in a hurry?”

    “Yes.” She grinds against my dick, panting heavily in my ear. “Hurry up and fuck me.”

    Nothing could stop me at this point. Reaching down between us, I pull the crotch of her suit to the side to position herself over my thick head. “Oh, God,” she moans as she slides down my shaft. Her head falls back as her eyes close, the image of a woman losing herself to lust. I give her a moment to adjust and nearlye out of my skin at how tightly she grips me.

    “You are so fucking hot,” I growl, moving her up and down without effort, thanks to the water. “I love how youe apart on my cock.”

    “Feels so good.” She lifts her head and crushes her mouth against mine. “So fucking good,” she

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    pants between deep, sloppy kisses that have our teeth shing.

    This is how I like her best. When she lets everything she thinks she needs to do and who she needs to be fall to the wayside. When she gives herself fully. No apologies, no questions. Nothing except

    sensation.

    Her grip on my cock tightens, and her strangled cries get higher in pitch.

    “Gianni… Gianni… oh, yeah…” She uses her legs to pull me closer, grunting every time she hits my

    base.

    “That’s right. Be a good girl and make yourselfe on my cock.”

    The tingling in the base of my spine promises my release-I don’t know how much longer I can hold on with her hot, tight pussy gripping me like a vice.

    “Fuck, your pussy is sucking the release out of my balls. Come with me, baby.” Our foreheads touch, her eyes meeting mine before they close. A broken cry stirs in her chest-I catch it when my mouth covers hers, absorbing her ecstatic moans while her muscles flutter around my shaft, massaging. Milking me.

    There’s no choice except to follow her, filling her with rope after rope of cum before she copses in my arms and shudders against me. “I love you…

    I love you. Nobody ever told me how much it would mean to hear a woman whisper those words at a moment like this-not that it would have mattered if they had. It’s the sort of thing that needs to be experienced firsthand.

    I thought I’d seen it all, done it all, that all I needed was a warm, wet hole. Feelings and all that shit weren’t worth my time.

    She’s turned me into a believer. She’s made me understand how much better it can be when you’re with someone you love.

    “Now that you got off…” She’s wearing a wicked grin when she unwinds her body from around mine. “Are you still sure about dinner?”

    “Shit. I didn’t know changing my mind was an option.” She swats at me and Iugh before we start to climb from the pool.

    “It isn’t.” She tosses me a towel before squeezing the water from her dark locks, then wraps a towel around her chest.

    “I’m sure, and just so you know, this wasn’t a ploy to get in your suit. I just love fucking you that much.”

    “Good. I’m going to go give him a call.” The way she happily scampers into the house, her phone in hand, tells me I made the right decision. She already looks cheerier than I’ve seen her in days, maybe weeks. The strain of Charles and me being at each other ‘s throats can’t be easy for her to live with.

    That’s fine. Let hime to my house as a wee guest. Let him see how civilized and generous

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    the criminal he’s hated for so long can be.

    Once I’m dried off, I follow her inside, taking a bottle of water from the fridge. I’m sure Sheryl has the pantry more than stock, so there won’t be any reason to go out for groceries unless Caterina’s set on fixing something out of the ordinary. I can’t imagine Charles being too difficult to please. He doesn’t strike me as theplicated type regarding food choices.

    “Boss?” Roger leans into the room, looking around before finding me seated at the ind. “I heard Caterinae in, so I figured you’d be around here somewhere.”

    “Yes, she’s inviting Charles over for dinner tonight.”

    “Dinner? Here?”

    “That’s the idea.”

    “And you were okay with that?”

    “I’m the one who suggested it.” I drink my water, savoring the cold that spreads through my chest almost as much as I savor Roger’s shocked expression.

    He manages topose himself, clearing his throat. “Here’s hoping he doesn’t decide to continue what he started thest time he was here.”

    “Don’t remind me.”

    When it appears like he wants to keep bringing up reasons this won’t work, I shake my head before he can say another word. “Listen. If this is what it takes to make her happy, I’m willing to do it. You’ve seen how she’s been ever since Ken was here. Now, she’s smiling and seems to be more hopeful. If I have to grin and bear it through dinner with that asshole, so be it. It’s worth it.”

    “Fair enough.”

    “Feel free to take the night off,” I add as an afterthought. “I’ve been working you like a dogtely.”

    His arched eyebrow leaves me scowling.

    “What?” I snap.

    “I was just thinking to myself, what a shame you didn’t find her sooner. With Caterina here, you’re able to focus on more than work.”

    “Yeah, that’s a good thing. You might have time to develop a hobby or two.”

    He doesn’t see the humor in that-in fact, he scowls while his gaze drifts toward the empty patio. I have a few things I’d like to take time for.”

    Something about the way he said it strikes me as ominous. “Is there something we need to talk about?”

    Before he can answer, Caterina pops into the room, one hand over her cell’s speaker. “Is seven tonight okay?”

    ((

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    “That’s fine.” She just about beams before turning away, murmuring into her cell.

    Roger wears a faintly sarcastic grin as he backs away. “You are going to have your hands full tonight,” he reminds me, shaking his head. “No offense, but I wouldn’t want to be in your shoes. Although I would definitely like to be a fly on the wall.”