Page 80 of Bellini Bound

Exhausted, I didn’t have it in me to go another round with her, so I decided to bow out. “I’m gonna let you ladies get back to your evening.”

Stepping closer, Allie looped her arms around my neck, rising on her tiptoes to press her lips to mine. “Okay, baby.”

A disgusted noise sounded from Gabi. “Ew, you like him now? Where have I gone wrong?”

Just to spite her, I dipped the woman in my arms, kissing her with enough passion to burn this house to the ground. And God bless her, Allie was a more than willing participant, practically mauling me right back.

Ensuring my wife was steady on her feet, I reluctantly pulled away, silently cursing that we had company and I couldn’t rip the clothes off her where we stood in the kitchen.

“Always a pleasure, Gabriella,” I deadpanned on my way out of the room.

Ten bucks said that when I checked the security tapes in my home office, she was absolutely giving me the finger.

I’d count that as a victory.

“What was it about?” My fingers stroked lazily down the length of Allie’s hair, with her head lying atop my bare chest in bed—our bed—where she’d become a permanent fixture every night, having moved into the owner’s suite.

Her eyes had drifted shut and, for a minute, I thought she might’ve fallen asleep. I’d already begun reaching for the remote to turn off the TV when she turned over, blinking up at me.

“Hmm?”

“The book. What was it about?”

“Oh.” She folded her lips inward to fight a smile, and her cheeks pinkened adorably. “Um, nothing that would probably interest you. Just a romance novel.”

On the contrary, I was very interested.

“Are you girls reading dirty books?” I teased.

Her blush deepened. “They’re love stories, but yes, there is some spice.”

“Spice.” I chuckled. “You’re talking to the man who has seen and tasted every inch of your naked body. I think it’s safe for you to call it what it is: sex.”

Allie rolled those beautiful eyes. “Spice implies a little bit of heat that complements the story.”

“Okay. You win.” I pressed a kiss to her forehead. “Now tell me about your spicy love story.”

“You seriously want to know?” Skepticism colored her words.

“Anything that interests you interests me, baby.” And I meant it. There was nothing about this woman I didn’t find completely fascinating. Guess that’s what happened when you fell in love.

While I used the tip of my tongue to spell out those three little words against her clit every time I went down on her, I hadn’t found the right moment to say them out loud to my wife. Truth be told, I was too damn scared she didn’t feel the same way. It was ridiculous, considering she’d fought tooth and nail to stay when I offered her a modified version of freedom, but laying your heart at another’s feet left you vulnerable. Years of conditioning had taught me never to leave myself exposed.

With a dreamy smile, my wife began, “Basically, the two main characters were best friends who grew up together on his family’s ranch. And of course, they were madly in love with each other the whole time, but both of them were too afraid that confessing their feelings would ruin their relationship, so they kept silent. Until . . . he comes home and finds her engaged to another man. For a minute, it looked like he’d accepted that it was too late, that he’d missed his chance, but then he shows up at her wedding and stands up to object in the middle of the ceremony.” She let out a wistful sigh. “So romantic.”

“A man who takes what he wants. I can get on board with that.” I resumed my rhythmic stroking of her hair.

“While the book was great—I’ll never say no to a happy ending—I was almost more excited about having the girls over. This house is so big and lonely during the day while you’re at work.”

I hated hearing how isolated she felt, knowing it was my fault, and I wanted to remedy it. “Matteo’s big on philanthropy, and Summer’s starting to dip her toes into working with some of the charities he supports. Maybe you could join her.”

“Maybe,” she said slowly, considering it.

Then a thought struck. “Or . . .”

She stared up at me curiously. “Or what?”

“You could go back to work. I mean, if that’s something you wanted to do. We don’t need the money.”