by Anise Storm
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events and incidents are either the products of the author’s imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Tuscan Heat (SoBe Heat #1)
© 2016 Anise Storm.
All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form,
whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of
the author.
Cover Art by Kari March
Interior Design by AB Formatting
Edited by Emily A. Lawrence
ISBN-13: 978-1534720534
Printed in the United States of America
Book One in the SoBe Heat series
Having known each other since birth, Mario De Palma and Melania Barone fought worse than siblings. That all changed one evening when dueling tempers exploded into a night of passion and desire under the Tuscan Heat.
Three years later, Melania finally has all she'd ever dreamed of... a successful Italian restaurant... a group of close knit friends who were more like sisters... and a single lifestyle on the shores of South Beach. Occasionally she wanted more, but two out of three wasn't bad.
After enjoying world-wide culinary success, Mario returned to South Beach intending to open a restaurant of his own. That isn't the only reason he returned to Florida, though. He moved home to claim the one woman who hadn't left his mind since their night together in Italy.
More than tempers explode when they reunite, especially once she believes that he's out to sabotage her restaurant. Will Mario be able to convince Melania of the truth before a force of nature threatens to end that dream forever?
TABLE OF CONTENTS
PROLOGUE
CHAPTER 1
CHAPTER 2
CHAPTER 3
CHAPTER 4
CHAPTER 5
CHAPTER 6
CHAPTER 7
CHAPTER 8
CHAPTER 9
CHAPTER 10
CHAPTER 11
CHAPTER 12
CHAPTER 13
CHAPTER 14
CHAPTER 15
CHAPTER 16
CHAPTER 17
CHAPTER 18
CHAPTER 19
CHAPTER 20
CHAPTER 21
CHAPTER 22
CHAPTER 23
CHAPTER 24
EPILOGUE
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
MORE BOOKS BY ANISE STORM
Prologue
GRABBING THE WINE FROM Mario De Palma’s hand, Melania Barone took a swallow of it and then laughed as she waved the half empty bottle of Brunello di Montalcino in front of his face. “Nuh-uh.” She snickered before shaking her head and running outside onto the stone patio and down a few steps. Mario’s heavy breathing sounded right on her heels and when one arm snaked around her, pulling her back flush against him, something sparked within her.
He absolutely infuriated her to the umpteenth-degree, but the man was pure sex. Even she couldn’t deny that. Allowing him to run his hands up her torso and to her breasts, Melania, or Lania, as everyone called her, moaned. The press of his erection, hard and throbbing against her lower back, had her squirming. She would’ve been lying if she said that the thought of climbing into his lap, straddling him and finally impaling herself on his impressive length, didn’t cross her mind, because it had. More than once.
The Barones and the De Palmas were well-known families in the affluent suburbs of Miami, Florida, which meant she had clashed with the arrogant jerk often. She still didn’t know whether it was purely a streak of bad luck that they both ended up here at this villa in Tuscany for a culinary adventure, or whether it was planned. She wouldn’t put it being the latter past him.
Bringing the bottle of wine back to her lips, she was about to take another sip from it when he grabbed it out of her hands. “Mine, Lania.”
“Give that to me,” she demanded as he kept her imprisoned against him with one hand and held the bottle just out of her reach with the other. “Oh my God, you’re so childish,” she added in a somewhat whiny voice.
When that attempt didn’t work, she slammed the heel of her foot down on his and smirked at the sound of his yelp. Well, if that wasn’t a sexy sound, at least when coming from him, then she didn’t know what was. Her assault caught him off guard and was enough to stun him so she could grab the bottle of wine again. This time, she ran down the stone steps, looking back once or twice to see if he was following.
Mario was. When she reached the landing, she turned back toward him, and her knees grew weak at the image before her. Tall, dark, and absolutely lethal when grinning at her in the way that he was, it was much different than the antagonistic type he usually reserved for her. Tonight, it was different. The sexual tension only grew heavier around them as his stare, one laced with all kinds of naughty intentions, bore a hole right through her.
Her nipples tightened into hard peaks behind the thin, button-down ivory shirt she was wearing with her pair of cutoff denim shorts. Lania hoped he didn’t notice her obvious reaction to him. When he tugged his tight-fitting T-shirt up and over his head, she knew that he had.
“Are you trying to impress me with your muscles, stud?” she asked jokingly as she took another swig of the aged red alcohol. “If so, don’t bother. I’ve already seen what you had to offer…when I was five.”
She giggled as he stalked closer to her with a shit-eating grin on his face. Lania knew she needed to look away and when her gaze dropped, she almost stumbled. Despite her kidding a minute earlier, Mario De Palma had grown into quite a delicious male specimen in the seventeen years since their juvenile encounter that she just mentioned.
He was tall with a chiseled chest and abs that made her want to dribble wine onto them and spend hours licking it off. Instinctively, she took another step or two back, making sure to look over her shoulder, not wanting to fall into the pool. He was ruggedly sexy and those eyes…as her gaze traveled back up his frame, returning to his face, those intense brown orbs remained fixated on her. Shivering slightly, she shook the bottle back in front of him and one of his large hands reached out to grab it. Before she could stop him, however, he tossed it into one of the nearby bushes and pulled her close.
“W-why did you do that?” she asked in a much breathier voice than she intended. Damn this man for getting her all turned on. She wouldn’t be surprised if this had been his plan all along.
“We don’t need the wine anymore, Mel—” he started to say before she made a growling noise.
“I hate when people call me that, and you know—” This time it was Mario who interrupted her when he leaned in and fused his lips to hers.
They had never kissed before, even though she’d seen a fair share of women engage in that type of activity with him in Florida. Usually, she would simply roll her eyes at the unsuspecting female because she knew he was the king of one-night stands. If a woman actually got a second night with the Lothario, then she could consider herself fortunate.
Now, Lania knew she was about to become one of those women unless she stopped him. How does one truly stop this sort of sensual assault, though? As his lips continued moving urgently over hers, his hands roamed down her backside and then cupped her ass through her shorts.
Those hands. They firmly kneaded her ass cheeks, and she inwardly cursed herself for not wearing something thinner. Between her jeans and his sweatpants, there were far too many layers between them. She held on to him as his tongue finally managed to part her lips so he could deepen the kiss.
Her self-control was disintegrating with each second sh
e spent with her mouth locked to his. She wasn’t the only one affected, though. His muffled groans reached her ears, vibrating against her lips. The sound was so sexy and when he finally lifted her off her feet, she could do nothing more than wrap her long legs around his lean hips.
Her hands then started a journey of their own as she hooked them around him and began running them down his spine. Another sound escaped his lips, and he went to take a step but did so in the wrong direction because seconds later their vertical position became horizontal as they fell into the cold water.
Only then did he release his grip on her as they both fought their way back up to the surface. When she breached the thin layer of it, Lania sputtered, “You’re such an—” Pulling her close, Mario silenced her insult with his mouth again.
Their location in the center of the pool made no difference to him, and why should it? Mario De Palma’s reputation was well-known around Southern Florida. Plain and simple, he was a dog, but it didn’t stop her from slipping one of her hands into his sweatpants.
Commando. Lania shouldn’t have been surprised that he didn’t wear underwear. One less thing to have to take off when the urge struck him. And she knew that urge was strong now because his cock hardened even more when her hand wrapped around it.
“Ouch,” she grunted when he tore his mouth from hers, making sure to bite her bottom lip hard enough to draw blood before he pulled his head away. Immediately, her tongue darted out to trace the swollen spot. “You’re such a cretin.”
His male chuckle at her insult only served to irk her more. She splashed him but even that didn’t stop him from advancing on her. Floating backward, all she could do was tread water enough to stay afloat until her back hit the infinity edge of the pool.
Mario’s body pressed her further into the wall and it wasn’t until she looked up to see him towering over her that she realized how much of a difference those four and a half inches made. “You have me cornered, so what do you plan to do with me?”
Lania didn’t mean to have her question come out the way it did, especially when he grinned wickedly at her. “I’m going to fuck you.”
Alrighty then. There was nothing subtle about his intentions. Just hearing those words from him had her core clenching. Damn, she hoped he hurried up and did so before she actually came to her senses and put a stop to it.
“But we don’t have any protection.” That reminder should have been enough to make him scowl and then agree with her. A rustling sound was heard before she saw him toss what looked like his wallet back onto the stone beside the water. Her head snapped back, and she looked at him just in time to see him tear a condom from a roll. “Awfully sure of yourself, aren’t you?” she asked before he stuck the roll into her mouth.
“That’s one way to finally shut you up,” he said, and she didn’t miss the hint of amusement in his voice. She was about to reach out and grab them when he added, “Keep them there and let me get this one on so this fucking can commence.”
She glared at him, but all thoughts were forgotten when he tugged his wet pants off and tossed them to the side. He tore the condom wrapper and then presumably sheathed his dick. Wanting to feel him every bit as much as he wanted to feel her, Lania unbuttoned her shorts and started pulling them down.
Mario swatted her hands away and dragged the material down her limbs and then within seconds had himself lined up at her entrance. He removed the condoms from her mouth. “Feel free to make all the noise you want now.”
Then, he held her hips in place as he thrust upward, filling her in one fluid stroke. “Cazzo!” She wanted to wipe the cocky look off his arrogant mug and cursing as he filled her wasn’t the way to do it. Arching her brow at him as he remained still, she asked, “Are you going to stay like that all night or fuck me before I grow tired?”
“Oh, you’re going to be tired, all right.”
She almost regretted her last question after his response. He grinned once more as his hands moved to her shirt, the tips of his fingernails grazing the small slit between the ends. Then, in one motion, he pulled them apart, and she saw a button or two bounce off her and land in the water. Her entire shirt was removed and then tossed over her head. “Damn, I’ve wanted to touch these since I was thirteen.”
His hands caressed her breasts even though her soaked bra clung to them. The lace material stood no chance either and it ended up with her shirt, somewhere behind her. Lania arched upward when his hands moved back to her breasts, and he began to squeeze them.
Her nipples were even harder now and the cool breeze around them only caused them to throb more. His head lowered and then he sucked one of them into his mouth. “Just fuck me already,” she moaned just before he brought her legs to his hips. Once she wrapped them around him, he started to move again.
Her hands moved to his shoulders, and she threw her head back. Between his mouth and his cock, she was experiencing sensation overload. Mario moved from one breast to the other while never slowing in his rhythm. He felt so damn good, it was as if they were a perfect fit, for this at least. Raking her hands down his back, Lania made sure her nails dug into his flesh. Tomorrow’s bimbo would know what he was doing the day before because she intended to leave every mark on him that she possibly could.
With that vow, she grabbed his head and then guided his mouth back to hers. This time, however, she was the one nipping at his lips. She even earned a low growl for her efforts, which only spurred her on to continue. The grip he had on her hips tightened even more as he shifted her body. Now having to lean back even more, she felt his next thrust all the way to her back wall. Holy fuck! Wasn’t he fully seated inside of her seconds earlier? Obviously not, because as he slammed into her over and over, she forgot all about her plans to mark him.
Lania’s head fell back again as she finally handed all control over, coming hard for him. “M-Mario,” she whimpered when he showed her no mercy during that climax, using her rattled state to pound her even harder. She came again, this time no words coming out as she silently screamed his name. Her mouth was practically locked into an “O” as he fucked her through the second orgasm. It was only when his mouth latched back down onto one of her nipples that she regained her voice. “Oh, God.”
“I’ve never been called that before.” He laughed as he released the aching tip. His words, along with the wet popping sound, finally broke through her orgasmic haze. “And don’t even say ‘fuck you’. If you do, I might have to stay out here all night and do that over and over.”
Maybe she was still dazed, but Lania wondered why she wouldn’t want that. Two orgasms so far, and she was very close to a third.
Reading her mind, he answered that question for her. “Then the headmistress can find you out here.” Damn, she forgot all about the one staff member that the group of students had dubbed ‘the headmistress’.
Eleanor was her name, and the woman was impossible. She’d presented a list of rules when they first arrived here and the one circled and underlined was the one that talked about fraternizing with the other students. Any violations were grounds for automatic removal from the culinary program.
Lania needed the certification she’d receive in just a few days after her final exam. Her father would not even consider giving her the money to fund her own restaurant if she didn’t return to Miami with that degree. Damn this man. If Mario caused her to lose out on her dream, she would throttle the bastard.
Trying to free herself from him, her squirming only made him even happier. With each move she made to free herself, he only dug his fingers deeper into her hips. God, the pain turned her on even more. “Be still, damn it.”
His order shocked her momentarily and before she could open her mouth to give him another piece of her mind, he slammed into her one final time and stopped. Her gaze moved to his and the sight nearly stole her breath. Mario’s eyes were black as coal and his lips parted ever so slightly as his cock twitched inside of her. And then she felt him climax, which sent her shattering ap
art a third and final time.
When he was finished, he pulled out and tossed the used condom over the side of the pool. Frantically, she reached behind her for her clothing and encountered nothing but air. Shit! Lania had forgotten all about the fact that she was on the open edge of the infinity pool.
She turned and tried to see where her clothes had fallen, hoping that there was a branch or something that stopped their fall. It was nighttime, so she couldn’t see anything. Spinning back around, she watched as he emerged from the pool with his wet sweatpants in hand. “You lost my clothes.”
He chuckled and then walked toward the stone staircase. Fuming, she swam quickly to the other end of the pool and scrambled out of it. He turned around, and she saw his gaze move appreciatively down her body before he bent over and grabbed his dry shirt. Throwing it in her direction, he ascended the stairs.
Swearing under her breath, she grabbed the shirt and quickly covered herself with it. There would be consequences and repercussions for this. Still upset, she planned at least a dozen different ways to get payback as she hurried to her room. Revenge was a dish best served cold, and hers for him would be colder than the gelato they had to make during the dessert portion of their final exam. It would be fucking arctic. Slamming the door behind her once she entered her room, Lania smiled, knowing exactly what to do tomorrow.
Chapter 1
THREE YEARS LATER
LANIA PLACED THE PROSCIUTTO and fontina flatbread onto the platter between the stuffed artichokes and risotto croquettes. She’d already made the caprese salad and tomato tarts. All that was left to do was finish throwing together the roasted fig salad. Tonight was yet another weekly girls’ night in with six of her best friends. Without fail, every Thursday the group of them would all congregate, usually at her place, so they could catch up on everything going on in everyone’s busy lives. It was a tradition they started in their college dorms and continued throughout the years.
