Absolutely fucked.
That’s what I was.
I was goddamned addicted when the first taste of her hit my tongue. I wanted to devour her for hours. I wanted to explore every inch of her body with my mouth, but my cock was roaring to make her mine. Any scruples I had left about letting go of Ava vanished the second her tight wet heat wrapped around my dick.
Carrying her in my arms, I stared at her, proud as fuck I put that sated smile on her lips.
Not so proud that I couldn’t wait until she recovered from a hard night at the pub to fuck her. All my good intentions had flown out the window the second our lips touched.
The first time I kissed her in the kitchen, I managed to pull away.
I regrouped.
I walked it off by going into her bedroom to start the bath, reminding myself I should take care of her first. Then I saw her underwear among the heap of discarded clothes on the floor.
I picked up the panties and inhaled them like the sick motherfucker I was. My cock was already at half-mast when I returned to the kitchen to see her still sitting on the counter. And when she sassed me, all my self-restraint unraveled.
I had to kiss her.
I wanted her surrender.
Fucking her couldn’t wait.
And since I had her, I’d only taken off the edge and would be wanting to be inside her again soon.
I set her on her feet in the bathroom and walked over to the bathtub to shut off the water, thankful that the overflow kept up and didn’t flood the floor. “Do you want anything in this?”
“The bath bombs are in that closet.” Ava wobbled against the counter and laughed lightly, “I don’t think my legs can hold me up yet.”
I smirked, not feeling the least bit guilty for fucking her hard. Unwrapping one named Peach fizz, I tossed it into the hot water and sat on the edge of the tub.
She had her arms crossed in front of her, hugging her biceps.
Grinning lazily, I crooked my finger to call her over.
A flirty smile touched her lips, as she shuffled over and moved between my legs. Putting my hands on her shoulders, I asked, “Cold?”
“No. It’s balmy in here.” She raised a brow at me. “Just at a disadvantage that you’re still completely dressed while I’m almost all naked.
I chuckled. “Let’s remedy that.” I unhooked her bra and let the last of her clothing fall away.
She rolled her eyes. “Cesar.”
At the first sight of her tits, I sucked in a ragged breath, automatically reaching out to cup one, letting my thumb flick a nipple.
“Cesar!”
“How could I have neglected these beauties?” I let my tongue dance around the outline of a rosy peak.
“You’re the devil.”
My other hand instinctively sought the juncture between her thighs. Wet again. I was going to lose my goddamned mind. She moaned. My cock began to harden. I hoped after I’d had her, I’d regain a semblance of sanity. Somehow in the back of my mind that was wishful thinking. I’d never reacted to a woman like this before. With Ava, I never tried to understand why.
I set her away and nodded to the tub. “Get in.”
Before I fuck you again, I didn’t add.
“Are you joining me?”
I wasn’t fond of baths and certainly hadn’t shared one with another woman, but I shrugged. “Sure.”
After helping her into the tub, I headed into the bedroom and discarded my suit jacket and draped it neatly over the armchair. I peeled away the rest of the clothes, folding them carefully. I prowled back to the bathroom completely naked.
Her mouth parted. “Wow, you should go to the gym. You need more muscles.”
That sarcasm.
Her tits which I worshiped a few seconds ago, peeked above the water. Following the expanse of skin, my eyes drifted to her elegant shoulders. Hair piled high on top of her head, the delicate arch of her neck reminded me where minutes ago I’d muffled my roar after the most intense orgasm of my life.
“Cesar?”
“Sorry,” I smiled. “I can’t get over how beautiful you are.”
Her face, already pink from the heat of the water, reddened. She scooted forward when I stepped into the tub.
My fucking balls were not happy with the boiling water, but after they pressed against Ava’s back, I couldn’t say they were complaining. More like happy as fuck.
Cradling her between my legs was oddly satisfying, and I couldn’t resist planting a kiss on her shoulder. Soon, my mouth was trailing up her neck. Goosebumps appeared over her skin, and she trembled against me.
“Did you even hear what I said?” Ava’s chiding tone broke me from my trance.
“Sorry. All this exposed skin is distracting.”
“Well, I hope you’re interested in my mind as well as my body.”
There was sarcasm in her tone, but I couldn’t detect whether it was humor or anger. “I wouldn’t go through all this trouble if all I was interested in was fucking you.”
“We always seem to ruin a moment, don’t we?”
“We?” I arched a brow even when she couldn’t see it.
She laughed briefly. “Okay, probably me. But I was thanking you again for putting Eamonn’s back on the Hell’s Kitchen bar scene.”
“It’s probably why I didn’t pay attention,” I murmured. “No need to thank me. O’ Toole’s was all hype. I just gave it to the more deserving restaurant that’s all.”
“So, was Ruth Ellis really your friend in high school?”
“Yes.”
“I loved how she did the review that didn’t sound like a review at all.”
Chuckling, I said, “I read it while I was waiting for you at the pub. She does have a talent for storytelling.”
“She framed it like a noir thriller. A visit to a mob boss’s lair. Didn’t that reflect badly on trying to change your family image? Did your uncle like that?”
I stilled. “What are you saying about my uncle?”
“Come on, Cesar, let’s not dance around the subject. It’s known on the streets that your uncle is the boss now.”
“No comment.”
“I’m just glad you and Paulie are out of that life …” she paused. “But you’re truly never out, are you?”
“Are you fishing for information?” My voice was tight. I looked around the bathroom. Did her brother put a bug in here thinking I was going to be so careless with my words? Despite the heat of the water, my blood ran cold. Would Ava be complicit in trying to trap me? No.
She sighed. “Are we ruining the moment again?”
I hugged her against my chest. “We just have to sort things out, that’s all.”
“Things that you’re not willing to share,” she pointed out. “And that’s all right. One night of sex doesn’t mean you owe me anything—”
My arms tightened around her, not liking how this conversation was going. “What the hell are you talking about?”
“This attraction between us. No recriminations. We have tonight. You don’t have to tell me your secrets. I don’t have to tell you mine, although I have a feeling, I’m at a disadvantage because you seem to know more about me than what I know about you.”
I could barely see through my temper because I couldn’t get past what she was saying …that she was only giving me one night. I shouldn’t have started with her until I’d accomplished my objective in New York. But it didn’t take a genius to know it was a losing battle. I needed Ava by my side so I could focus on my other goal.
“I don’t think I made myself clear,” I gritted. “This is not a one-time fuck.”
“Well, how about an all-night fuck?” she teased. I didn’t like how those words came out of her mouth either.
“Let me spell it out for you, cara. I foresee many nights with you. Weeks. Months.”
“I’m not sure I’ve made myself clear either, but I get it,” she replied. “I get it more than you realize. I grew up with three brothers. I understand men regard sex and relationships differently from women. You relate love to sex.”
“I haven’t said anything about love,” I bit out.
She froze, then water splashed as she struggled to get away from me.
“Where are you going?”
“Oh, don’t worry,” she snapped, standing. “I’m not ready to let this bath go to waste because of your insensitive remark.”
What she did was sit on the opposite end of the bathtub so she could face me.
“I don’t like having this conversation when we’re not face to face,” she added. “I’m already at a disadvantage because I’m naked.” Her cheeks were still flushed, but given the way she glared at me, it wasn’t from sex or from the bath.
“The words didn’t come out the way I intended.”
“No, I get what you meant, Cesar,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting you to declare undying love just because we had sex.”
“Neither do I want you insinuating I don’t give a damn about you,” I shot back.
“But it’s not love. I’m not naïve. What you said was uncalled for and is insulting to me. As if I’m trying to force you to say the L word. Or as if I need that to continue having sex with you. All I’m saying is, I’m more aware of the male psyche because I’ve grown up with brothers.”
I doubt her brothers had gone through an obsession like mine. I was aware of Charles’ love affair with Sofia Rossi. They were young and I was sure the romance lost its luster when the reality of jail time and an unexpected pregnancy hung over their heads.
“Understood.”
“And I insulted you, too, when I treated you like a one-night stand.” Her shoulders slumped. “I’m either too exhausted or too relaxed to think about this tonight, but we’ll have to figure out boundaries if we’re going to continue.”
I bit back my retort. If all it took was to keep her exhausted and relaxed to stop her from overanalyzing my intentions, then I knew of a pleasurable way to do it.
“So Cesar isn’t an Italian form of your name,” she said. “Isn’t there supposed to be an ‘e’ after it?”
“My mother preferred it without.” She was obviously trying to change the subject. “Cesare was a mouthful with that extra emphasis at the end.” I grinned. “Is Ava Irish?”
“It depends who you ask.” She laughed. A pleasant sound that reverberated around the bathroom and lightened the tension between us. “But our names have nothing to do with us being Irish.”
“No?”
“Mom’s favorite past time was movies,” she continued. “That’s why we don’t worry about her when she’s holed up in the house by herself. Even before she had Sean, movies dominated her life. She’d even go to the theater by herself. Dad didn’t like that. She has a collection of Betamax and VHS tapes.”
“Ah.” I was beginning to see where she was going with this.
“So, Sean … was Sean Connery. Charles was Charles Bronson, and Robert was Robert Mitchum.” I grinned. “Mom’s favorite actress at that time was Ava Gardner. Unfortunately, I didn’t turn out to be the bombshell she was.”
“You are to me,” I told her.
“I still don’t get you.” Her eyes lowered shyly.
“Are you close to any of your brothers?”
“I am closest to Robbie.” A smile curved her mouth. “Charles and I fought a lot when we were kids and he usually made me cry. Robbie was the one who dried my tears, put the band aid on my scraped knees.” Her face brightened. “Speaking of movies, I remember there was a home theater at your house with the whole movie projector and popcorn cart.”
My chest tightened. “My brother Lorenzo.”
“Oh.” Her eyes grew contrite. “I’m sorry. Paulie hated to talk about what happened, and you don’t have to.”
I forced myself to smile. “I’ll tell you about him one day.”
“Okay.”
“So what are your plans after college?” Steering the topic away from the landmine of my life was a good idea. “Run the restaurant? Expand?”
“These last two nights of great business give me lofty goals.” She hitched her shoulders. Then she proceeded to tell me about said lofty goals until the water got cold and forced us out of the tub without ruining another conversation.
Ava
A pressure between my legs forced me out of the sands of sleep and I opened my eyes to a dark head between my legs. Cesar avidly sucked on my clit, keeping my thighs wide apart with his broad shoulders while pressing down on the top of my pelvis with the heel of his hand.
This man was an expert in oral sex.
I arched and dug my heels into the mattress, threading his thick hair with my fingers, fighting against pulling at it, trying not to interrupt his focus on my pleasure. Thick fingers filled my channel, and something nudged at my sweet spot. Blinding rapture spread from my center and cascaded down my legs, making my toes curl. “Oh … oh…” I moaned, wanting to squeeze my knees against his head, trying to chase those waves of addictive sensations.
I was still spiraling from how hard I’d come when he crept up my body.
“Good morning.” He smiled, mouth glistening with my arousal. Somehow that made me squirm even more.
“Hmm, I like that wake-up call.”
His cock was hard against my sex, and I couldn’t help admiring the stubble on his jaw, thicker in the light of the morning. He angled his body to reach for a condom.
I stopped him.
His expression grew alert. “You want me bare?”
“Of course not,” I said. “I want to blow you.”
Color heightened his cheeks. His nostrils flared. “You have a coarse mouth on you, and it’s fucking turning me on.”
I arched a brow. “You’re not already turned on?” I playfully pumped my hips against his erection.
He fell to his side, rolling on his back, and groaned, “You’d torture the devil.”
Surging up from my side, I immediately settled between his legs. “Turnabout is fair play. Scoot back.”
He elbow-crawled against the headboard, and I rose to my knees. My other hand fisted him at the base of his shaft, and while keeping my eyes on him, I took him in my mouth. He was huge. What I couldn’t fit in my mouth, my hand moved in corkscrew motion while I hollowed my cheeks. We may never see each other again after this morning but I was determined to leave my mark and not be a forgettable hookup.
“Fuck!”
The rough curse exploded from above me, and gratification spread from my chest and spurred me to suck him harder. Hmmm … the thought of having this prime sausage for breakfast made me wet.
“Fuck,” he muttered again. His hands were buried in my hair. “That mouth, cara. Take all of me. That’s it. Good girl.”
On the upstroke, I release his cock with a pop, still maintaining my grip on his erection. Then slowly, I let my tongue swirl around the head as I kept my eyes trained on him.
His hooded eyes glittered. “Christ,” he groaned. “You’re so beautiful. Finish me off, cara.”
The last statement was a command and a plea.
I swallowed him again, and his cock hardened to steel.
“I’m about to come,” he warned. “Ava … stop now….”
I didn’t.
He didn’t try to pull me away, so I took that as a go ahead.
Hot liquid hit the back of my throat, and I wanted to own him as much as he owned me. I swallowed every drop of his cum, not allowing a single drop to escape my lips. He cursed me, and it made me hot. I finished him off with a seductive swirl of my tongue on the tip of his cock, then I licked my fingers like I had dipped my hand in honey. His eyes darkened, and I grinned.
Invigorated and triumphant, I threw myself beside him, stretching like a satisfied cat. I turned to look at him.
He was frowning. In fact, I would even describe his face as angry. Confused, I sat up. “What?”
He looked away. “Nothing.”
“Cesar,” I warned. “If we’re going to carry on having sex, you need to tell me what you want or don’t want. And you should tell me if you didn’t like the blow job, or if it was too personal to have me swallow.” I wasn’t an expert about men and their gunk, but I prided myself in giving good head. It was one way I kept my virginity for a long time while experimenting in my sexual awakening.
His attention returned to me, but his face was void of expression. “You’re very good at that.”
“What? Giving blow jobs?”
“Yes,” he hissed.
“And that’s a problem, how?”
He averted his gaze again.
“Wait a minute.” Putting together his reaction to my admirers the day before coupled with his other possessive acts and declarations, a heavy pit started to grow in my gut. “You’re jealous that I’m good at blow jobs?”
“It doesn’t make sense, I know,” he growled, jumping out of the bed like it suddenly caught on fire.
“Are you kidding me right now?” I yelled.
He snagged his pajama bottoms from the armchair and stabbed each muscular leg into it. “I’m going to use the bathroom in the hallway. We probably should grab breakfast somewhere before I drop you off at school.”
He left me seething with a pit in my stomach that had grown into a boulder. I didn’t think it was a big deal, but was he a traditional Italian guy who wanted a virgin for a wife? The night before didn’t bother him, but that was why they called it the cold light of day. Never did I give him any indication that I was as pure as undriven snow.
“Fuck him,” I muttered, getting off the bed to take a shower.
He must have dressed in the other bedroom, because when I found him in the kitchen, he was in his suit. It wasn’t the one he wore yesterday. How could he have a neatly pressed suit in his duffel?
“You kept your suit in your duffel?” I was pissed at him, but I was curious more. “Is it one of those wrinkle -free fabric?”
He had coffee already going, and paper bags from a popular fast-food restaurant were on the kitchen counter. After handing me a mug of coffee and taking a sip of his own, he said, “Eric dropped off my suit this morning with breakfast.” He studied me for a beat. “I want to apologize for my behavior earlier. I hurt your feelings and I didn’t mean to. I realize now how it might have come across.”
“Just so we’re clear. This was about the blow job remark.”
“Yes,” he gritted. “I was jealous.”
“I’m getting that.”
“Not once did I expect you to be a virgin. But you give amazing head—”
“I do.” I raised a brow. “And I’m proud of it. So what’s the problem?” I learned most of my tricks from a Cosmo article, but I’d rather choke on my coffee than explain myself to this prick. Why couldn’t he be as appreciative as Brad?
His fists clenched at his sides. “I’m very jealous when it comes to you.” He expelled a hissing breath. “The thought that there were men before me makes me want to erase—no, obliterate—every single experience you’ve had with them, so you’ll remember only my touch and my cock. Every hole in your body will remember only me.”
I inhaled sharply, mesmerized by the fierceness in his gaze, the near feralness.
His dark eyes searched my face, his jaw hardening before he pivoted away. Cesar paced the room, raking his hair with his fingers. “This has nothing,” he growled. “Nothing to do with you being a virgin or not.”
My logical mind was telling me to run or kick him out of the apartment, but instead, I was tongue-tied and fascinated by his absolute intensity. I needed to sit, so I took the chair in front of the counter. Grabbing the paper bag with our breakfast, I picked out an egg and ham biscuit. “Maybe we should eat while we talk? I’m still not sure what’s going on between us and I feel we need to set expectations.”
He turned and gave me a brief smile, before taking the seat beside me. “You’re talking like it’s business.”
“My test was on strategic management,” I replied.
Cesar chuckled, diluting the swirling storm between us. “You must have aced your test. Maybe if the restaurant business isn’t for you, you can join my team.”
“So you’re staying in the U.S. for good?”
He gave a brief nod.
My shoulders lightened. I didn’t realize how heavily Cesar’s stay in the U.S. bothered me. Everything he’d been saying suggested we were more than casual, but his admitting of this fact certainly made me less wary. “Paulie said you weren’t sure yet. That you have businesses scattered across Europe.”
“I do, but I have a reliable management team. I prefer making face-to-face deals.”
He grinned at my dubious expression before expanding on what he meant.
“Board rooms, sitting behind a desk all day. That’s not me.” His eyes gleamed. “But I do like making money.”
A question lanced at the tip of my tongue. I wanted to ask him if they were all legal.
“You have more questions.”
My expression must have been obvious. “I do. But I’m not sure I have the right to ask them yet.”
He nodded but didn’t push. I guessed he wasn’t ready to share either.
Baby steps.
I unwrapped the biscuit and took a bite, chewed, and then took a sip of coffee.
“I wasn’t sure if you wanted milk and sugar with your coffee,” he said.
“Just black,” I replied.
“Do you like espresso?” he asked.
“Sometimes,” I said. “Hope you’re not like Paulie who I have to argue with every single time I drag him to a non-Italian coffee place.”
“Not as bad,” he admitted. “I hate a bad espresso though.”
“Noted.”
“We should try this place in New Jersey sometime,” he said. “It’s a bakery, but they have the best espresso and cannoli.”
My mind reviewed my schedule for the next few weeks. I was going to be crazy busy, and it was partly his fault. “I’m not sure when I’ll be able to have a proper date with you.”
As if reading my mind, he said, “The restaurant? I kind of brought this on myself, didn’t I?”
“You kinda did.”
He picked up my hand and kissed the back of my fingers. “I’m still glad I was able to help.”
“Some boundaries though,” I said. “I value freedom. I don’t want you dropping me off and picking me up from school all the time. I don’t like this chauffeuring around. Once in a while is fine, but not all the freaking time.”
He didn’t look pleased but gave a brief nod. “Anything else?”
“I can’t have you glaring across the room at my customers when I’m waiting tables and trying to make tips—”
“By flirting with them?”
“That wasn’t flirting. That’s Restaurant Hospitality 101.”
“I don’t like you smiling at other men.”
I rolled my eyes. “Get used to it.”
“Fine.” But I didn’t trust his ‘fine,’ judging from the hardening of his jaw. “But if they disrespect you.”
“I can take care of it or if they’re too stubborn, Charles can.”
“You have me. You don’t need your brother.”
Something in his eyes made me shiver. I had a feeling this type of work wasn’t new to him.
“Can’t have you jealous for no reason, Cesar. That’s bad for business.”
He sat back in his chair and sighed. “I’m finding out … I’m very unreasonable when it comes to you. I’m working on it. You just have to be patient with me.”
I didn’t answer, finishing up my breakfast, and balling up the wrapper and slipping out the peach pie.
His large hand closed over mine. I was suddenly feeling very petite beside him.
“I’m truly sorry for acting like an asshole this morning.” His eyes danced with self-deprecating humor. “Please don’t deny me the pleasure of your class-A blowjobs. I’ll never be a jealous idiot over that again.”
I burst out laughing. “You’re forgiven.” But my face turned serious. “Don’t do it again. And just so we’re clear. Dates will be scarce. At times I might be too tired and just want to sleep. Is that okay with you?”
His eyes softened. “Don’t you remember the first night I spent here?”
I laughed. “Yes. How can I forget? Stalker.”
