The Perfect Someday (A standalone novel ~ Book three in The Mathews Family) (8 page)

She didn’t think she could, but
another rush of pleasure claimed her reluctance and without hesitation her body submitted. Using her foot for leverage, Tracy winched up higher, grinding and rolling her hips. Giovanni ate at the sensitive skin on her throat, licking and nibbling, driving her to utter madness.

The sound of his
rough groans and scorch of his tongue so utterly mind-blowing, she would try anything he asked. Damp strands of hair fell to the center of her back as she raised her chin to the heavens. Tracy lifted and lowered, taking his hand as if it were a lover. The strain of his biceps beneath her fingers drove her wild as he penetrated further, sinking deeper.

He
locked his lips to hers, taking her to the edge and beyond. She began to tip, coming undone beneath his touch. Tracy let go, shattering in rich convulsions. “Oh my God, Giovanni,” she cried out as luscious spasms tumbled violently through her.

White noise overtook the hammering
of her beating heart, but she heard him demand, “Si`, again.” Giovanni pumped steadily in the syrupy heat, forcing her climax higher. She arched back, riding the wave of inexorable pleasure. The sounds of her uncontrolled moans filled the air. She clenched at his fingers, calling out his name repeatedly as he masterfully drew another orgasm.

Completely breathless, she went l
imp and sagged against him. His thumb coasted over her throbbing sex working out the last few twitches. Their heavy panting mingled with the hammering of her heartbeat in her ears. 

Giovanni
ripped the button from his waistband, freeing her from the snag.

He gathered her in his arms, holding her securely to his chest. Her limbs
felt heavy, drunk with pleasure and she clung to him as if her life depended on his support. Tracy shook all over, uncertain if she wanted to throw her fist in the air triumphantly or crawl under a rock in shame.

This was the most stunningly erotic experience of her life, but humiliation began to creep in, crushing the feeling of liberation she was swimming in.
Giovanni remained mercifully quiet waiting for her to catch her breath. He stroked her back, placing tender kisses to the sensitive slope between her neck and shoulder.

Her legs, feeble and weak, unhinged themselves from his waist.
The galvanizing pressure of his erection nudged against her navel, and she wobbled on the tips of her toes. If the guilt wasn’t embarrassing enough, she ached all over and wanted more. In the back of her mind her manners kicked in. It wouldn’t be polite to leave him hanging.

Timidly, Tracy dared
to pull her eyes from his shirtfront. Satisfaction lingered in his ravenous gaze and she realized they were far from finished. A smile flickered at the corner of his mouth.

H
er palm came to his chest and trailed down his abdomen. The heat of his arousal jutted out the top of his pants. Deftly tracing the hard ridge, Tracy watched in utter fascination as his eyes turned drowsy with desire. The grey disappeared, rolling back beneath his long dark lashes. Unclasping his suit pants, she slipped her hand into his boxers, fondling the substantial length and below. Tracy pushed back his foreskin and encircled her hand around the broad head, drawing out a guttural groan from his throat as she stroked his hard silken skin.

A wild feeling of liberation pumped through her veins.
No man had ever felt this good in her hands. But she didn’t want him in her hand. Giovanni cinched his hand around her wrist, halting her movements. The powerful pressure of his fingers startled her. His breathing came in rough puffs of air. He shook his head. “No.”

Tracy started to go down on him.
“S’okay. I want to,” she whispered.

H
e gripped her arms. “No.”

A cold ache
caught in her chest, each breath more painful than the last. She released him, taking two steps back. Out of all the scenarios she’d thought imaginable, this was not one of them. With nowhere to hide, Tracy stood rejected, holding her stomach and awkwardly rubbing the back of her neck. Shame and remorse trampled through her heart.

Her chin crumpled and she turned away,
preventing him from seeing humiliation pooling in her eyes.

“
No, I don’t mean no—“

He tried to ease her against his chest, but what remained
left of her pride refused to budge. Giovanni cradled her face forcing her to look at him. He tilted her chin toward the moon, exposing her bolstering embarrassment. Tears leaked from her lashes, gathering beneath the mask.

“
Merda, please no, do not cry. Of course yes—“ He cupped her hand, urging it to his cock. Compassion riddled his voice, wanting her to understand. “I can-not do this here, not now. You are—“

His breath hissed as she stroked down the hard sprung length.

“I am what?” She asked in an intimate
whisper.

“You are…umm…easy.”

Revulsion curled in her stomach. Tracy gave up all pretense of being calm. Nearly blinded by her rage, she yanked her hand away, shoving it hard against his shoulder. “I am not easy! Just because I’m ridiculously attracted to you doesn’t mean I’m like this with everyone! I’ve never done anything like this! I haven’t even been on a date in over a year or—”

He raised
his hands as a peace offering, but she was too far gone to notice.

“
—I can’t even remember the last time I had sex. Actually, I do remember, but I’d prefer to forget. Regardless it’s been two years.” Her mouth snapped shut. She grabbed her shoes and began to flee.

Giovanni
clasped his fingers around her wrist before she could crawl over the wall. “The wine, Amore Mio…you are not used to drinking. How do you say it? You are easy…a light weight? Yes?”

“No.” she protested. “Maybe, yes. I don’t drink very much.”

“Si`, you are tipsy. You haven’t eaten. I couldn’t, it would not be right of me.”

“But,
you don’t understand, Giovanni. I never want to. I mean…not that I don’t want to, I just never find the right man.” Tracy twisted, her face averted. She wondered why she found sex much easier to talk about in the comfort of a lecture hall in college.

“I am the right man?”

She nodded. Daring to glimpse, his sexy smile broadened making her go weak at the knees.

He backed her up against the wall,
anchoring her to his hard muscles. Giovanni hovered over her, touching her, disarming her with gentle caresses. His mouth roamed to the hollow behind her ear. “I want to take you to my bed. I want to make love to you all night long and never let you leave. Amore Mio, the sounds you make…I want to hear you cry out for me.” His breathing turned coarse, growling against her skin as he bit her shoulder affectionately. “Let’s get something to eat, some water, see how you feel? Yes?”

The feel of his teeth sinking into her skin felt better than anything in the entire world. She grasped his nape,
tugging him lower to her mouth. Tracy dragged her mouth up his throat nipping and biting his neck, wanting to give him the same pleasure. “Si`. You should probably eat too. You’re going to need your strength.”

****

“Bout time.” JC grumbled under her breath, rising from a table and excusing herself from two very handsome young men. “I thought I was going to have to send out Search and Rescue.”

“It doesn’t look like you have much to complain about.” Tracy teased nodding toward the dejected looking men.
Most of the wedding guests had departed and only a handful remained at the bar. Her gaze shifted, following Giovanni as he entered the restaurant beside the chapel, tracking down a waiter who’d been working the reception.

“Ye
ah they’re nice, but Nikos,” JC made a sour face pointing to the taller of the two, “Great dancer, but a horrible kisser. How’d you make out with Giovanni? I was starting to worry about you.”

Heat warmed her chest, spreading
from her toes to the top of her head. “Sorry I didn’t mean to make you worry. He’s…amazing.”

“
Now I know how you must feel every time I run off with a hot guy. I seriously turned into Mom for a minute.”

She suspected even her little sister had never experienced a date like tonight. JC abided to a strict set of dating rules and first dates on
ly got as far as making out. And she dated a lot.

“We’re rever
sing roles. That’s a first.”

“Ha!
” JC’s laughter floated over the empty dance floor. She untied her mask and tucked it in her purse. Propping her arm over the back of the chair, she pointing past the gated side entrance toward the street, spouting proudly, “The reception ended thirty minutes ago. I even called for a cab, it’s waiting out front”

Tracy spotted Giovanni
through the window. Their eyes locked and Tracy flushed hard, giggling softly.

“
The driver’s been waiting for about ten minutes. I knew you’d be impressed, that’s usually your job.”

“I am impressed.” Tracy paused
, the glow of hanging lanterns on the terrace illuminating the reality of her situation. “But, I’m going to stay with Giovanni tonight.”

JC’s
head snapped in surprise. Her eyes narrowed, glaring at Tracy. “Bullshit!”

“Look, I’m a big girl.”

JC gripped her upper arm, spinning Tracy toward the light, scrutinizing her disheveled appearance. “What the hell have you been doing?”

“I don’t need to spell it out for you. I really like him. I’ll meet you back at the hotel in plenty of time to pack for our flight.” She
noticed Giovanni crossing the now empty dance floor with a plate of food and two waters.

“Have you been drinking?”

“What? No!” Tracy shrugged one shoulder, scoffing off the accusation in her sister’s tone. “I had a couple of glasses of wine. I’m fine.”

Giovanni
joined them at the table, offering Tracy a water and half of a warm panino made of baguette. He twisted the cap of her bottle. “Did you enjoy the reception?”

JC snubbed him, completely disregarding his question. “You are not staying the night with him.
”

Tracy
stiffened. Her eyes widened in resentment to her little sister’s offensiveness. Giovanni settled his palm on the small of her back, rubbing in small circles.

“
Knock it off. Don’t be rude.” Tracy bit back.

“We don’t do that.”
JC stated frankly, flipping her finger back-and-forth between them.

Taken off guard by JC’s
highhandedness, her pulse slammed heavily at the vein on the side of her neck. Tracy and JC were only two years apart. She never judged her little sister’s incessant flirting because most of the time it was harmless. But occasionally Tracy needed to act like an overbearing mother in order to keep her out of trouble when they traveled. And it was never the other way around.

“No,” Tracy said candidly in a low voice
. She set the water and panino on the table. “You don’t do that. I understand why you have your list of rules to keep you in check, but I don’t need to abide by them.”

JC raked a grim observation over the couple.
Tracy squirmed a little, self-consciously adjusting the belt around her waist. JC’s eyes beaded, giving Giovanni a direct hard stare.

“I don’t fucking think so.
You are not staying the night with…with Rico Suave.” Thick insolence coated JC’s tone.

Every
hair on her arms raised in high spikes. The motion on her back stopped. She heard Giovanni take a long sturdy breath of air and he began rubbing again. Tracy stared, eyes wide and full of disbelief. She appreciated JC’s concern, but it wasn’t justified.

“Don’t talk to him that way. This is my decision.”
A thin thread of hysteria lined her voice.

“Can you
give us a minute, Giovanni?” JC requested through a sardonic smile and a piercing gaze.

A s
omber crinkle stretched deep into his forehead. Giovanni’s hand meandered up her back, playing gently through her hair. “Maybe she is right,” he purred reluctantly.

The girls caught each othe
r in a sideways glance. Tracy wasn’t sure who was more surprised, her or JC.

“No. She’s not right. I’m f—“

He lowered his mouth
over hers, kissing gently.

Breaking the kiss, she clenched her fingers in
to the folds of his jacket. “Giovanni. I want to stay. I don’t how long it will be before I’ll see you again.” She cringed inwardly at her neediness.

“It won’t be long. We’re
only a day away from each other, a couple of flights, a continent or two.” A sexy smile pulled at the corners of his mouth. “I’ll swim if I have to.”

Pressure mounted and her nose crumpled
from the sting of disappointment threatening to spill.

JC started toward the cab.
Giovanni and Tracy trailed behind, begrudgingly.

Everything was happening to
o fast. They hadn’t discussed tomorrows or dating or anything in the future. There was so much she needed to say to him, starting with her name, but there wasn’t enough time. It would sound ridiculous if she blurted it out now. Her stomach coiled with cold jabbing pains. Waves of hopelessness tore through her, terrified of never seeing him again.