“Sorry, brother. Pop’s wondering where you are. Figured you’d want a heads-up. Looks like I was right.”
Luca.
Carlo released her mouth and turned his head toward his brother. His chest swelled, pushing against her breasts, with every heaving breath. “Yeah,” he gasped. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Luca nodded. “I’ll head him off.” He turned and left the cottage.
When Carlo tried to set her down, Sabina resisted, whining. She didn’t want to lose this. There was a part of her brain that was appalled, at all of it—at her wantonness, her recklessness, the way that even now her body would not let his go—but that part, she supposed it was the sober part, was not as strong as the part that had loved every feeling she’d had since she’d come out of the bathroom. She was afraid that if she let him go, she’d lose it all forever.
“Bina, come on.” He kissed her lips gently and pried himself free of her.
When her feet hit the ground—and now there was a little bit of pain in her sore foot—Sabina felt shame. “I’m sorry. So sorry. I don’t…I don’t know…”
He caught her chin in his hand and made her face him. “Don’t be sorry. That was beautiful. I would have loved nothing better than to have taken you to bed.” He laughed. “I was going to. But we can’t. My uncles will help us. They’ll help you. But they won’t help an adulterer. Do you understand? What we did here was amazing. You are amazing, and feeling you in my hands is… But we need to get you free of him before we do more.” He bent down and brushed his lips over hers. “Besides, I want you to be sober.”
That made her smile. “I am drunk. A little bit, I think.”
“More than that, maybe.”
“Maybe. I don’t know. I’ve never before been.”
He lifted his brows at her. “No?”
“No. For me, this is a weekend of new things.”
“For me, too.” He pulled her into an embrace.
~oOo~
She stayed with the Pagano family for a few hours longer; Carlo did not want her to leave until she was sober again, and she thought that was a wise idea. They gave her lots of water. After dark, when a fire was blazing in the middle of the ring of Adirondacks, Carmen brought out blankets, and Sabina curled in a chair and chatted with the family. At some point, there were hot dogs on sticks, to roast over the fire—actually not a new experience for her, but one she hadn’t had in so long it might as well have been. Carlo sat with Trey in the chair next to her, bundled up in their own blanket. Sabina found herself entranced, watching Trey drop slowly off to sleep, his eyes on the fire, his blond head nestled under his father’s dark chin.
When it was time to go, Sabina helped Carlo bring the blankets into the cottage, and he took the opportunity to kiss her goodnight. Thoroughly. Being sober did not dampen her need for him in the slightest.
Then Carmen walked her to her car, and Sabina went back to the beach house she no longer thought of as her home. She didn’t notice if the Escalade followed her. She didn’t care.
That night, she dreamt vividly of Carlo. She woke in the dark, startled and panting, and realized that she’d climaxed in her sleep. Smiling, she lay back and dropped away again, her hands tucked between her legs, still feeling the tapering throbs of her pleasure.
~oOo~
The sun in the room was the vivid bright of late morning when she next woke. She felt good. Before she even opened her eyes, she reached back and tried to find the dream she’d had. It was there, muted but still wonderful. She lay in the beaming sun and relived both the dream and the reality. Finally, she sat up and stretched. She opened her eyes.
James was sitting in the large, white armchair across the room.
“Good morning, darling.”
~ 9 ~
Carlo was still awake when his father rose and started his day. He’d spent the night reliving his evening with Sabina. God, she was beautiful. And the way she’d felt in his hands, her skin warm and supple, her mouth and tongue taking all he could give her—intoxicating. Everything about that kiss—those kisses—in Carmen’s cottage had been beyond erotic. He’d jacked off twice in the night to the relived memories.
He’d come so damn close to just taking her. She’d been coiled around him so tightly, so unwilling to let him go. She’d all but begged him. Maybe it had been the beer, but her complete lack of reserve—such a difference from before—had nearly undone him. Thank God for Luca. Because they had to show some restraint. They could not commit adultery, and they’d come close last night.