by JC Harroway
“I know. Sorry you didn’t win. I know you’re desperate to return to your room.”
She casts a quick glance my way. “Are you going to tell me what you want?” she asks, sounding like she’s miles away.
I stare at her as she turns back to gaze at the mountains. I think about that for a moment, but I can’t tell her what I want. I can never tell her that. “Eventually,” I tease, and she laughs, no doubt thinking I’d like to tie her up or something. Which I totally do.
She goes quiet as the server comes, refills our coffee cups and takes our orders. “Beautiful day,” she says and glances at Brianna, who is staring out the window. “The scenery doesn’t get much better than this, does it?”
“It’s perfect,” I say and look at Brianna as she pours a bit more milk into her cup.
We thank the server, and when she leaves Brianna says, “It’s strange how I’ve always been drawn to Europe.”
“Have you ever considered living here?”
“Yes, but then I remember I have a life in New York and I want to be close to Granddad.”
I nod. “Family is important.” She smiles at me, and while we come from different worlds, we both value family and hold them in our hearts.
Our food arrives and we both pour a generous amount of syrup on our waffles. “These Belgian waffles look amazing,” Brianna says.
“Did you know that in Belgium they just call them waffles.”
She laughs, then stifles a yawn as she picks up her fork. “It must be all this fresh mountain air making me tired.”
“Or all the sex,” I say and reach for my knife. “Oh, but wait, that’s nothing new for you. I forgot.”
She picks up her fork. “What was that about you not being an asshole?”
I laugh and hold my hands up in surrender as she stabs her waffle. “Speaking of sex, we kind of look like we’ve been in a marathon.”
“Yeah, it’s written all over us. That should be enough to convince Granddad,” she says.
“And everyone else,” I add.
“As long as Summer and Tate don’t get the wrong idea about us and think there is more going on.”
With a bite of my waffle halfway to my mouth, my hand stills. “No, you’re right. None of us can forget this is a ruse.”
Myself mainly.
CHAPTER NINE
Brianna
I SLIDE FROM the bed and leave a very tired Luca sleeping as I tiptoe across the wood floor. After our early-morning bike ride and our afternoon sex-a-thon, we need to get ready for the wedding rehearsal, followed by a romantic sunset horse-drawn carriage ride. I’m really looking forward to it. I can’t remember the last time I saw a sunrise and sunset in the same day. Normally I’m in my office before dawn and after dark. Honestly I haven’t had this much fun since I was a teen.
I make my way into the bathroom, pull back the sliding glass door to the shower and turn it on. It’s a huge marble creation that spans one length of the room. Muscles I didn’t even know existed tighten as I bend forward and adjust the spray. I hold my hand under the rain showerhead for a moment until the temperature is perfect, and I’m about to stand when a low growl curls around me. I grin as my body comes alive, even after all the sex we just had. How the hell am I going to go back to my crazy, sexless work schedule after this week? I have no idea, but I’ll have to find a way. I’m not looking for anything more from this man, and he made it blatantly clear he wasn’t either when he said earlier, None of us can forget this is a ruse. And I have to say, I’m happy about that. Neither of us has any expectations and that’s perfect. Absolute, 100 percent perfection.
I stay bent over, showcasing my backside, and his feet slap the floor as he approaches. Warm hands go to my hips and he presses his cock to the crease of my ass and lets loose an agonized moan that settles deep between my legs. Other than that one mortifying time, Luca never paid me any attention back in college, but he’s sure making up for lost time now. That thought brings another. Does he really not know who I am, or is he pretending, like me? If he knew, he would have said something, right? Then again why bring up past hurts and ruin all this amazing sex?
He’s not the ass I thought he was. He’s fun to be around. And today, surprising me with the mountain biking at sunrise and then having breakfast, after finding out how much I like it. That was sweet, right? It kind of makes me want to surprise him with something he’d like.
Oh Jesus, Brianna, get it together. This is temporary.
Big hands slide around my body and draw me up until my back is pressed against his chest. “I didn’t like waking up and finding your side of the bed empty,” he murmurs in my ear.
“You were sleeping so quietly, and you exerted yourself so much today, I didn’t have it in me to wake you.”
“Aren’t you thoughtful.”
“I try to be.”
His lips press against my neck, his heat going through me. “Do you ever get rewarded for your thoughtfulness?” he asks, his breath warm on my flesh as he nudges me forward under the hot spray.
“Never,” I say, and his hands go to my breasts. He brushes his thumb over my nipple and I let my head fall back to his chest. “Is this my reward?” I ask.
“It’s just the beginning, Brianna.” His hand slides lower, gently pets my sex, and his cock thickens against my back. It’s crazy to think he wants me again, after all the times—and ways—he took me on the bed earlier. His hand stills, and he turns me around. I take in the frown on his forehead and my heart leaps. What’s going on? Has he changed his mind, or did it finally dawn on him who I am?
Dark eyes full of worry move over my face, assess me. “Are you too sore to take me again?”
Warmth flows through me at his concern. “I’m a bit sore,” I say honestly. “But I’m okay.” I glance down, reach for his cock, run my palms over him. “I want you again.”
He touches my chin, lifts it until we’re eye to eye. His head angles, his eyes slightly narrowed. “You’d tell me, wouldn’t you?”
“Yes.”
“I want you, Brianna, but we won’t do anything if it’s going to be too much.”
My heart wobbles, a little overwhelmed at his thoughtfulness. “I want you inside me, Luca.”
His cock grows impossibly thicker in my palm. “Then I’m going to fuck you right now, here against this wall, but I’ll go easy. After we return tonight, you sleep. At the end of the week, I don’t want you going back home exhausted. That’s not what this trip is about for you.”
I swallow and try to appear casual, unaffected by his concern, when I throw his words back at him and say, “Sleeping is overrated.” His deep laugh wraps around me, cocooning me in a blanket of warmth. Dammit, I’m starting to really like this guy.
Shit.
But I can’t think about how bad that is right now, not when his mouth is closing over mine and kissing me with a gentleness that seeps under my skin and awakens something I’ve kept buried for years.
“Did I ever tell you how much I like kissing you?” he asks as he devours my mouth.
“You just did,” I manage to get out as my knees weaken.
He pushes my damp hair back. “You’ve got one hell of a beautiful mouth.”
“Oh yeah, and where else do you like it?” I ask, and he growls his response as I rub the long length of him.
“I don’t have to ask where you like mine,” he says and slides a hand between my legs. “I’ve been paying attention.”
“So you have,” I say and widen for him.
“I’m a detail-oriented person,” he murmurs between hot, openmouthed kisses that turn me inside out and make me forget there is a world outside our chalet.
“I must say I like that about you.” He strokes my aching clit, a soft, barely there touch, and I lean in to him, wanting more. He removes his finger and I groan in disappointment
, but it turns into a soft moan when he easily picks me up and presses my back to the tiled wall. I wrap my arms and legs around him to hang on, and he bends slightly, then slides his big cock all the way inside me.
“Yes,” I cry out, and we both go still, holding each other with his cock seated high inside. But that’s when reality hits. “Shit, Luca. We didn’t use a condom.” How the hell did I forgot about protection? I never forget protection. Then again this man has the ability to shut down my mind just by being in my presence.
“Cazzo, I’m sorry,” he says. “I took one look at you bent over the shower, and lost the ability to think logically.”
He’s about to pull out but I stop him. “I’m clean, and I’m on the pill,” I say.
Oh, Brianna, this isn’t smart.
“I’m clean, too. And if you want to know the truth, I haven’t been with anyone in a long time. I’ve been swamped helping Tate get his business up and running.”
A strange thrill zings through me, and I silently lecture myself as I clamp down on my teeth. Don’t feel anything other than physical pleasure.
“I haven’t been with anyone in a long time, either,” I admit. “I’ve been too busy with work, too.”
He arches a brow, and it’s so goddamn odd that we’re having this easy, open conversation with his beautiful cock buried inside me, unmoving. It’s kind of weird...yet insanely intimate.
“Not a different guy every night?” I shake my head and the movement stirs his cock inside me. Our moans mingle. “It’s okay for a woman to own her sexuality and sleep with whoever she wants, but I didn’t take you as the type.” With one hand beneath my ass, holding me against him, he touches my face with the other and brushes his thumb over my cheek. “I’m glad I’m the guy you broke your dry spell with.”
Oh God, I should tell him. I should tell him who I am and why I seduced him that first day. He’s being so damn sweet and honest with me, and he deserves that in return. But if I do, he may want nothing to do with me. What kind of grown woman, a professional at that, does something so juvenile? Sure he hurt me, but everyone makes mistakes, right?
“Hey, you okay?” he asks quietly.
I shake my head to pull myself together. “I’m good.”
“You sure you want to do this?”
I’m not sure of anything anymore.
“Yes. I like the feel of skin on skin.”
“It’s incredible,” he practically shouts, and we both laugh, tension easing out of me.
He readjusts and cups my ass with both hands as he presses me harder against the wall. He bends, pulls halfway out of me and slides back in again. I hug him, bury my mouth in his neck as he moves in and out of my body—slower, softer movements, but I want it hard. I want all of him, unleashed, wild, giving me everything he has.
“Fuck me harder, Luca,” I cry out and he goes still for a second. “Harder,” I demand.
He pulls out and plows back in again, and my teeth slam together from the blunt force of it all. His balls slap against my body as he buries every glorious inch inside me. My God, I love the way this man fucks me. Truthfully, before him, I’m not sure I ever knew what it was like to be properly fucked.
“Yes, like that,” I say. I don’t care if I wake up chafed and sore tomorrow. In fact I want the sting. Every time I move, I want to be reminded of this moment, this man.
He pummels me with his cock, and his sweet groans vibrate through me, race over my clit like I’ve got Mr. Right working away between my legs. Everything about this is perfect. So perfect, I could stay like this forever.
“Luca,” I cry out, wanting to but unable to hold on a second longer. I give in to the pleasure pulling at me and cry out as I let go. I come and come and come some more, and Luca finds my mouth, muffles my cries. My body trembles and massages his cock with each powerful, mind-blowing spasm.
He pumps harder, giving me no reprieve. “Your cum is dripping down my legs, baby. I should have eaten you first. I’m dying for a taste.”
As soon as the words leave his mouth, I come again and he chuckles against my ear. The man knows exactly how to get to me, how to wring out another orgasm when I thought I was spent. I curl into him, and greedy for his own release, he bucks against me, grunts a few times, and when his cock thickens in my pussy, I tighten my legs and hold on. He throws his head back, and I whimper as he spills his seed into me, filling me with heat, pleasure, a new kind of need.
“I feel you,” I murmur and run my fingers over his wet body, reveling in his hard muscle and deep grooves. “I feel every drop of you.”
“Feel good?” he asks thickly as his hips curl into me so he can deposit the last of his lust into my body.
“Soo...hot,” I say. “I don’t ever want to use a condom with you again.”
His body jerks and spasms, and I hold him tighter until his release is complete. His breath is hot on my face as he pushes my hair back. “I lied,” he says.
My heart seizes and air leaves my lungs in a rush. “Lied?” I ask, not at all sure I want to know what he lied about.
“I’m not going to let you sleep when we come back here tonight.”
CHAPTER TEN
Luca
I STAND AT the altar in the glassed-in octagon-shaped gazebo, with Tate shifting restlessly beside me. I search the room for Brianna and find her at the back, talking to Summer’s other bridesmaid, Amber. My gaze moves over her, takes in her lush curves. My dick stirs in my khaki shorts and I turn my focus back to the minister, who is going over the upcoming ceremony with Summer.
“How was sunrise this morning?” Tate asks me, and I don’t miss the knowing grin he has aimed my way.
“It was great. I missed this place.”
“Yeah. Me too.” He scans the crowd, and I follow his gaze as Summer’s maid of honor, Cara, and Brianna and Amber all rehearse their entrance. Tate’s two college buddies, Jared and Carter, are his groomsmen. With Cara leading the way, they walk the other two down the aisle, and when Jared puts his arm on Brianna and says something to make her laugh, a surge of jealously rises up inside me.
“You and Bri made Granddad a very happy man. He seems to have his energy back.”
I nod, but my stomach tightens. Soon enough this pretending will be over, and I hate the thought of hurting James—of walking away from Brianna.
“You okay?” Tate asks.
“I just don’t want to see James hurt by all of this.”
“What are you going to do when we go back?”
I scrub my face and think about that. “I’m not sure how Brianna will want this to play out. I’m letting her take the lead on this.” It was foolish to agree to this plan when I’m returning to Italy soon. We can’t fool James much longer, even if we wanted to. But how could I have said no to Brianna when she asked?
“You’ve been good for her,” Tate says, taking me by surprise. “I haven’t seen her this happy in a long time.”
“She works too much.”
Tate laughs. “You’re one to talk. I’m going to have to hire a new associate, just to get you out of the office once in a while.”
Shit. I need to tell him.
“About work,” I begin, kicking my ass for not doing it sooner. “Now that you’re up and running, I’m not sure how long I’ll be staying.”
Tate’s head rears back with a start. “Are you serious?”
I grip the back of my neck. “I’m needed at home,” I say and avoid the details of why I’m needed. “Family.”
“Damn, I had no idea.” Tate puts his hand on my shoulder. “Of course family comes first.”
“I’ll stay long enough for you to find a replacement, though.”
His blue eyes narrow in on me. “Does Bri know you’re leaving?”
“No. Why?”
His brow furrows. “You might want to tell her sooner, rat
her than later.”
I glance past Tate’s shoulders and my breath stalls when Brianna walks toward the altar, toward me, in a dress I can’t wait to peel from her body. She’s so damn gorgeous. I’m not sure how I’m going to walk away. I only know that I have to, and in the end, hopefully she realizes she can count on a man for more than a one-night stand.
For the next fifteen minutes, we all learn where to stand and what to expect from the ceremony. Once we’re done, we’re led outside to a waiting horse-drawn carriage. I help Brianna up and take a seat beside her. James is watching us carefully, but that’s not why I put my arm around her and draw her to me. She glances up at me, a warm, loving smile on her face—no doubt for show. Still, it does something weird to my insides.
The wagon shakes and bumps as the horses lead us through a trail, a mixture of pink and purple bruising the sky as day bleeds into night.
“So pretty,” Brianna says and then exhales slowly.
Lights strung along the many ski hills pop to life as darkness falls, and St. Moritz comes to life like a Christmas tree. The air changes as we follow a trail along the mountain, and I pull Brianna in closer as she shivers. Conversation picks up around us as everyone participates in idle chitchat, but right now I’m only interested in talking to Brianna, learning more about her.
“What other fun things did you used to do here when you were a teen?” I ask her.
“I did a lot of things. In the winter I skied, of course, but in the summers I swam, did stand-up paddle and went boating. Once Granddad even took us on a helicopter tour. That was fun.”
“I bet.”
She crinkles her nose. “Mostly though, I read.”
“Really.”
“I was a total bookworm.”
“That doesn’t really surprise me.”
