Page 14 of Choosing Hope

Ever.

Within two weeks of arriving back in the place we considered home, we were sitting around the pool chatting and laughing about an incident with one of our co-workers on the farm when Carlo sloped off into the house, promising to be back quickly.

When he returned, he produced two bottles of wine from his grandmother’s cellar, assuring us that nobody would miss them.

Nonna only ever drank at Christmas and even then, only enjoyed one small, sweet sherry.

The sunlight was fading, yet the moon was large enough to give us sufficient light to see.

As the conversation continued, it become gradually more flirtatious.

I vaguely wondered if I ought to leave them and go to bed, but the sight of Chess in that bikini made leaving impossible.

As Carlo topped up my glass for the second time, he cleared his throat.

“Spencer and I love it when you wear a bikini, Chess.”

His familiar deep teasing tone initially concerned me. I didn’t want him to mock her, but as his heated gaze dropped over her body for the umpteenth time, it became apparent that desire was fueling his observation.

Witnessing my friend charming this beautiful woman made my body pulse with need.

Chess seemed unsure what to say; she was so innocent and remained mute. She swallowed hard and her reaction helped me understand how far the depth of Carlo’s blatant attraction had penetrated her.

“Have you ever seen a man naked, little sis?” Carlo continued.

I noticed he’d begun to mockingly call her that since his dad’s phone call a few days earlier. His father’s stern reminder, directed at both of us, was to consider Francesca a sister.

She shook her head, but I didn’t miss the pulse in her delicate throat beating faster.

“But you’d like to?” he taunted her.

We’d both seen her watching us while we were kickboxing training or working without our shirts on. With little else to focus on, we’d become so in-tune with her and could sense the weight of her stare observing us.

Once we were aware of her presence, we loved putting on a show for her.

I studied Carlo’s body as she considered her response. For most of the summer, he and I strolled around in only a pair of shorts. Nonna insisted we wear a shirt at the table, but aside from mealtimes we were usually shirtless.

My glare burned into his shorts; hoping he was going to take them off for her. A glance over at Chess revealed her reaction, even in the dim light, the delicious flush of her cheeks was visible.

“Y-yes,” she stammered softly.

He glanced at me with a wry, yet sexy smile, but his next comment shocked the hell out of me.

“If I remove Spencer’s shorts and show you how he enjoys being touched, will you remove your bikini top for us?”

My heart was pounding so hard I could hear it. I still hadn’t seen a woman undressed, aside from in print. I could barely breathe as I awaited her response.

“You’d love to see Chess’s tits naked, wouldn’t you, Spence?”

Without missing a beat, my response fell from my lips.

“Yeah.” My gruff tone oozed desire.

“Stand up, Spence.”

I couldn’t get out of my chair fast enough. Placing my wine glass on the table beside me, I hauled up my hulking frame while silently trying to calm the ache in my shorts.

My worst fear was embarrassing myself by ejaculating too soon, but it was impossible to keep calm with the combination of Carlo and Chess’s heated scrutiny on my body. Seeing the lust glowing in her eyes, in particular, was quickly becoming addictive.