Scarlett would bleed and suffer for mine, for that name, Fausti, more so than she ever had before. Nothing could stop the love that sprang up in me so fiercely, at times it made me angry—the intensity of it. It fucking controlled me at times.
I was a torn-up man. But the baby was mine, and I’d always be there. No matter what.
“You need to eat,” I said to Violet as she walked past, Levi on her hip.
She was nothing but skin and bone. The sight of her made me hungry.
“I’m fine,” she said. Nothing there, no heat, no chilliness. Pure indifference.
I said nothing else as she turned to Eunice to get the twins settled for the pool. Peter rushed to the edge, holding out his arms, eager to help.
Another shadow crossed over me, shielding me from the sun, before it formed into the gorgeous being who sat down next to me on the chair. She smelled of melon, lemon, coconut, and chlorine.
Using my fingertip, I traced BF on her back, matching the initials tattooed on her heels. “I love to watch you eat and swim,” I muttered.
“Because I didn’t do much of either before?”
“Yeah.”
“I mostly pick,constantly, and float.” She ran a hand over the bulbous shape of her stomach. It was perfect, like the sun. I could feel the warmth from within when my hand settled against her skin.
“You float with me.”
She turned to look at me, then leaned down to give me a cool kiss. She went to get up, but I refused to let her. I touched my lips and she kissed me even longer this time.
“I especially like to float with you,” she whispered, blinking at me.
Her skin had always been sensitive to my touch, but with pregnancy, she became even more responsive. Hardly touching her, I let my fingertips drift along her arms, watching as goosebumps puckered her skin—a magician to her magic. Eyes hooded, her breath hitching, she leaned down and kissed me again.
A blast of cool water rushed over us. Scarlett shuddered from the shock of it. I narrowed my eyes at Romeo.
“This is why we are having a Bagel in thefamiglia!” His laughter came raspy and low, raking a hand through his wet hair. “You need to keep Sissy at arm’s length,fratello. All they want from us is ourcorpi.”
Juliette stole the football and pitched it at her husband’s head, skimming the top of his hair, messing it up. It wasn’t the fact that she had flung a hard ball at his head that made him take his revenge, but the fact that she had messed his hair up.
Scarlett grinned. “Is that what you think,mio marito? That I use you for your body?”
“You do.”
She threw back her head and laughed. “Would it be all right if that was the truth?”
“Certamente,” I said, watching as her breasts jiggled from laughter.
I loved when her soft flesh moved. It made me want to bite her neck to keep her in place, and then take her from behind, her body opening up to accommodate mine, hot and slick, just to turn her over so she could ride me hard, watching as sweat poured from her skin and her breasts bounced from the impact, her stomach against mine causing enough friction to start a wildfire.
“Oh,” she said, noticing what she was doing to me. She moved in closer, shielding me. “We could…” She nodded toward the villa.
“Come,” I said.
Before I could get up to help her up, the music playing in the background suddenly seemed louder as the entire area around the pool became quiet.
I stood up anyway, standing in front of Scarlett, not recognizing the man entering our space. His face was hidden in a forest of wild black hair, eyes burning with fire, mouth set in a determined line.
Scarlett peeked around me. Her breath caught.
Mary sucked in a breath before she breathed out, “Uncle Mitch!”
Before anyone could stop her, even Peter, she was off, flying up the steps and throwing her wet body into Mitch’s arms. He pulled her up, setting her high so that her form blocked out the sun. Then he pulled her to his chest, closing his eyes, inhaling her like air.
