And damn, was I going to let him.
Holding his excited gaze, I slid my hands behind my back and fiddled with the clasp until it snapped loose and freed my b-sized breasts. For the fact that it was slightly chilled in the room, I was burning up at Gianni’s eyes painting me up and down.
“Keep going, Philippa.Sei perfetto.”
Perfect, huh?
That was beyond confidence-inducing. Biting my bottom lip between my teeth, my hands moved next to the button of my jeans. Gianni’s eyes stayed locked to my hands as they moved and watched as I popped the button and slid the zipper down. As anxious as I was to get to what came next, the anticipation of going slow bled into Gianni’s starved expression and had my entire body on fire. It was more exciting than I could have ever imagined, and I wanted to milk that moment for all it was worth.
I slipped my hands down my stomach and underneath the base of my jeans and down my thighs. For as long as I could, I kept my eyes locked on Gianni while I bent over, sliding the shorts down my legs, and only dropped his eyes when I had to step out of them. My underwear matched my bra only in that they were both white and just as unexciting as my bra, so I wanted to get them off quickly, but when I reached for them, Gianni held up a hand.
“No, wait.” He reached out towards me. “Let me do the last part.”
I took a tentative step forward, then another. We were about to cross an important threshold—past the point of no return—and I was ready. As soon as I was within arm’s reach, Gianni grabbed my waist and pulled me the rest of the distance to him. His large arms had no trouble wrapping around my back and holding me close to him. He pulled me flush against his body and set his head against my chest.
Then he stopped.
For a brief moment, I was horrified he was having second thoughts. If he brought us to an end now, our friendship would never recover. Tears were already coming to my eyes at the thought of losing Gianni forever when his lips pressed against my sternum. Despite the darkened expression he had moments ago, he was suddenly very tender. His fingers traced circles across my back and I took deep, even breaths and tried to memorize the feelings.
“When did this happen?” he asked quietly.
“What?” I replied.
He looked up at me, his stunning, blue eyes landing in my caramel. “You mean everything to me,” he replied. “More than… others. When did that happen?”
“Others?” I asked.
He smiled. “Yeah. More than anyone. What did you do to me?”
My heart beat a little faster. “Nothing that I know of.”
He laughed then. “How do you feel about me?”
It seemed like a strange time to be asking, but it was the only definitive truth in my life. I didn’t struggle at all to put my hands on either side of Gianni’s face and say, “I’m in love with you. I have been ever since I first came here.”
Gianni watched me carefully, and I would have paid any amount of money to know what he was thinking at that moment. How didhefeel? Was it love for him as well or something else? I wasn’t as brave as he was though. I couldn’t just come right out and ask the same way he did. I was too afraid of what he would say. Maybe I was just something for him to entertain himself with for the time being.
Well, I’d take it.
Gianni’s hands slid down my back, burning my skin as they went, and snuck under the fabric of my underwear. His massive hands cupped my cheeks and squeezed and I let out a squeak. His lips returned to my sternum but weren’t there long. He laid a course upwards until he was able to latch over one of my breasts. I knit my fingers into his hair, pulling at the strange half-curls, and leaned against the feeling of him sucking me. With a skill I didn’t want to know how he’d developed, he wrapped his hands around to the side of my thighs and pushed, bringing my underwear down. I shivered as they finally dropped to the ground knowing I was laid bare to Gianni now. Whatever was behind us was there permanently now, we could only look towards the future.
I stepped out of my underwear as Gianni’s hands slid back up my legs, and when he’d returned to my thighs, he slid his arms around and braced me. Handling me as if I were no heavier than a feather, he stood, bringing me with him. He balanced me in one arm while the other went down to his pants to work on getting his belt free, and I used mine to start working his button-up off. I slid the sleeves over his arms and noticed the collection of scars and marks. They were something Gianni was afraid of, but I loved them. I hated what he went through to get them but they were a tale of the man he was and all the things he’d overcome.
Plus there was no denying how sexy they were.
I dug my fingers into Gianni’s back to take hold of his undershirt and dragged it up and over his head. He maneuvered his pants down until he could step out of them, and when he was naked as well, he took a couple of strides forward, pinning me between him and the wall. He aimed the head of himself at my hole and released as he slid up into me. My midsection stung a little, maybe at how long it had been, or at how large Gianni seemed, but not long after he was all the way in, my core sang with pleasure. It felt like he was made to be inside me, and he reached every inch of me.
It was heavenly.
I was lightheaded from ecstasy, so when Gianni said, “I’m sorry. It’ll be better next time, but I couldn’t wait,” I didn’t understand.
Did it get better than that?
Gianni pulled back, so far that he nearly dropped out of me, but then he drove all the way in until he was stabbing me deeper than I thought possible. Moving slowly at first, he carefully picked up the pace, lifting and falling, rowing into a pattern that was making every part of my body burn. My fingers dragged into Gianni’s skin, and for a moment I was nervous I’d hurt him, but it was a silly thought. He grunted into my ear and throbbed inside of me, getting impossibly larger.
The scream I let out in response must have worried Gianni, because he quietly asked. “I’m sorry. Did I hurt you?”
“No,” I whimpered, kissing him with a desperation I was just now realizing I had. “It feels so good.”
