Fire Bound (Sea Haven Sisters)(113)

“You didn’t want to love someone that much because you were afraid,” he said gently. “You’d already lost so much.”



She nodded. “But I’m really glad you’re in my life.”



“We’ll get through this, Giacinta.”



“Are you always going to call me Giacinta? Because if you are, I’m going to have to confess who I am to everyone at home.”



“That’s who you are, malyshka. When we go home to our family, we’re going home as us. As Casimir Prakenskii and Giacinta Abbracciabene-Prakenskii, so the people we love know who we are. So they see you and they see me.”



She liked that. She had always detested that she couldn’t tell the five women who had formed a family with her who her parents were. What her real name was. What her life was before she met them. She pressed her hand deeper into the hard muscle of his thigh. Just being with him comforted her. He didn’t have to talk a lot. What he did say mattered.



He took his eyes off the road long enough to glance at her. “I was shaped in a hard school, Giacinta. I’m a man. I can’t be anything else.”



“I don’t want you to be.” She didn’t either. She loved him just the way he was. Even overprotective – or what she thought might be overprotective. She found she loved that he cared enough to worry about her safety. She hadn’t had that, not even from Luigi or Arturo. When she went on a job, no matter how dangerous, they didn’t take her back – but Casimir had.



“We’re going to butt heads occasionally,” he said softly. “That’s all right. We’re both fire elements. We’ll both flash hot and burn up in flames. The makeup sex will be phenomenal.”



“I’m not sure it’s safe to get any more phenomenal than it already has been,” she admitted. “You get any better, Casimir, and I might not survive.” For the first time, there was a small smile in her voice. In her mind. In her heart. Because of him. Because of man a named Casimir Prakenskii.



He brought her hand to his mouth again, teeth teasing the pads of her fingers. “I have all kinds of better to show you. You’ll survive. I’ll always make sure of that.”



Her heart skipped a beat. She knew what he meant, and he wasn’t talking about sex. He was going to make certain nothing happened to her. She took a deep breath and let go of the hard knot of betrayal that had formed in her stomach.



“I’ll always make certain the same of you, Casimir. Nothing’s going to take you away from me.”



They drove the rest of the way to the small resort in silence. He got the key to their cabin while she stayed in the car where no one could see her. The resort had several private little cabins, each with a view of the sea. It was small and exclusive, a tiny little jewel run by a single family consisting of parents, a grown son and teenage daughter. They rented boats and bicycles to their cliental, but few other services were offered.



The cabins were clean and snug, with small porches that held two chairs and a two-person hot tub. The cabins were situated so each had a view of the sea, but complete privacy from one another. There were no phones and no television. It was a place for two people to enjoy each other rather than what was playing on TV.



The moment Casimir had the door closed and locked he turned to her, his face a mask, his eyes dark with hunger. “Strip. Right now. Clothes off.”



Instantly her body reacted, melting. Going hot. Going damp. Nipples peaking. She hadn’t thought it would be possible to go from a storm of weeping to one of need. Of hunger and lust. He could do that to her with his voice. With that look in his eyes. He stood just inside the door, making no move to undress, his eyes on her, his jaw hard.

Excitement pounded through her. Casimir was making a point. That chapter in her life was gone. Over. He was her life. She was in his world now. He was in hers. Both hands went to the hem of her tee and she pulled it over her head. She stood in front of him in her lacy bra and jeans, looking around for somewhere to put the shirt.



He jerked his head toward a chair as he removed his hair and the thin, realistic mask that covered his face. “Your bra next.”



She loved the quiet in his voice. The command. It unleashed something wild in her. Stoked the embers that always seemed to be burning inside her into actual flames. She reached behind her and obediently unhooked the bra, never taking her eyes off of him. While she tossed it to the chair, he expertly removed his contacts and put them in a case. He tossed that aside and leaned lazily against the door.



“Jeans, malyshka. Get rid of them and your panties.” Very casually he shrugged out of his jacket and then removed his own shirt. He didn’t move fast or slow. Just did it with ease, with his muscles rippling, suggestive of hidden power beneath his skin.