Page 28 of Desired By you (Always & Forever #3)

Chapter Twenty-One

Brad

I’ve barely touched Gabriella, and already she’s worked her way into my mind so much so that I am changing my routine.

I should be at the club right now, preparing for opening.

Checking the books, briefing the staff before the night ahead, but instead I offered Kate double time if she could cover and I ended up at Gabriella’s Pilates studio, slipping inside when she was dancing and fuck, is she incredible.

She’s so light on her feet, twirling and leaping with such grace that she made it look as easy as breathing.

I still don’t fully understand why she hides so many parts of herself.

Why she walks around with the weight of so many pressures and not have the confidence to tell people what she wants.

I wish she could see what I see when I look at her.

After convincing her to leave her car at the studio and come back to mine for some takeout, we took the short drive to my apartment. She took a shower while I kept myself busy plating up our dinner and fighting every urge to barge in there and claim her in the shower.

No, I know that isn’t what she wants. She just wants me to help her feel more comfortable in her own body, and build her confidence, ready for the next guy.

The guy who will get to keep her, and the realization of that is like a dagger to the heart.

If this is going to work, I have to remember she isn’t going to be mine at the end of this, and as painful as that outcome may be, it’s for the best. I can’t give her what she wants and what she deserves.

The dining table I’ve had custom-built hasn’t arrive yet, so I set places at my large kitchen island and pour Gabriella some wine and myself my whiskey, neat.

I take my seat on the stool and Gabriella walks in, her long hair tied in a ponytail, hanging over one shoulder, wearing one of my black t-shirts.

It hangs mid-thigh, her bronzed toned legs on full display and fuck me, I want to lift her on this counter and have her for dinner instead of this rice dish.

“Mmm, this smells so good.” She moans, sending a direct wake up call to my dick. She takes the seat beside me, the shirt riding up, exposing more of her toned thigh, and I have to clear my throat and look away.

“I’ve put your clothes in the washer. They shouldn’t take long, and then I’ll dry them.”

She picks up her chopsticks and begins digging into her food. “You’re so domesticated, it’s hot. I don’t think my dad knows how to fold a shirt, or my mother, for that matter. They couldn’t understand why I turned down their offer of paying for a housekeeper.”

“What, they wanted to get you a housekeeper? What the hell do your parents do for work? Your dad does something in law, right?”

“Yeah, crazy, right? He’s a judge, and my mom does nothing but lunch. They met at law school so she has her degree, but they married and she never worked. Even when she had me, I always had a nanny. My mom was always with my dad at dinners or functions.”

“I’m sorry,” I say quietly. It seems pointless, but what else could I say?

“It’s fine. They grew up the same way, but when I have a family, I want to be there, you know?”

I nod. “So, you want kids?” I think I knew this, but hearing it just solidifies another reason why we would never work.

“I think so. I see Ria with Lexi and Elle, and I think I’d like that one day. I think I’d like at least one, but I don’t want a child growing up lonely like me, so I don’t know. What about you? Don’t you have like five siblings, right? I bet that was fun growing up.”

I wouldn’t call it fun; the words torturous, abusive, and a nightmare come to mind.

“I’m one of four. My mum had me and my two brothers, one after the other, so she had three under three, and then she had Alessia when my youngest brother was ten,” I say before shoveling more food into my mouth. I hate talking about my family unless it’s about my sister.

“Wow, your mom is a queen,” she says in surprise.

“I don’t really see my family. It’s complicated. I just talk to my sister and my nephew, really.”

“What do your brothers do?”

I still at her words. I want to open up to her, but she doesn’t need to be tainted by the troubles of my family.

So I keep it light. “My brother, Dario, is in the Marines. He’s deployed at the moment, has been for the last eighteen months.

He’s younger than me, and then my older brother, Matteo, he’s in prison. ”

A silence falls between us. I expect her to press for more details, but I’m grateful when she changes the subject, hopefully sensing this is hard for me to talk about. It’s like she knows what I need without me having to say it.

“Would you like kids one day? You are so good with Lexi and Elle, and I bet your nephew loves you,” she says, looking at me with affection in her eyes.

I shake my head, reaching for my whiskey and taking a sip. “No, that life isn’t for me,” I say bluntly, and something in her eyes dims at my words.

Another awkward silence falls between us as we continue to eat. It’s stifling, and I need to clear the air. “It’s, erm, my nephew’s birthday party tomorrow. Just a few people at my mom’s house. Would you like to come with me? I think he’d really like you.”

The light that I just dimmed flickers back into her eyes, and she smiles, covering her hand with mine. “I’d love to.”

A conversation alone with a woman, sharing a meal, is a foreign thing to me. But with her, it feels like the most natural thing. She seems more comfortable here this time, moving around my kitchen as if she’s always been here.

I clear the plates, washing them, drying them, putting them away, and she sits sipping her wine.

“You’re very tidy,” she comments, looking around my kitchen as she stands and moves around the island towards me.

“It’s how I like it, keeps me out of trouble,” I say, looking her up and down. I reach for the bottle of wine and hold it up, offering her another glass.

She worries her lower lip. “I won’t be able to drive if I have another.”

“You could always stay here,” I suggest, my tone low. I watch as her throat bobs when she swallows.

“Do you want me to stay?”

“Do you want to stay?” I reply, wanting her to have the choice.

She nods slowly, and my heart thumps wildly against my chest at the idea of having her all to myself. All night.

I begin pouring the wine, stopping when it’s almost at the top, then, stepping closer, pressing our bodies together. “Then I want you to stay,” I say, running the backs of my fingers against her soft cheek.

She leans into my touch, and I press a kiss to her head.

To my surprise, she asks, “What else do you want?” I can’t help the grin that spreads across my face at her question. A question I know she wouldn’t have had the courage to ask me a month ago.

I pluck the glass from her hand, taking a sip of the fruity wine before I place it on the island. I grip her hips and lift her, placing her on the marble counter and standing in between her legs, nuzzling my nose into her hair.

“You.”

She swallows so hard it’s almost audible.

I reach for the elastic in her hair and tug it free, letting her hair fall like waves of dark satin around her shoulders.

“I love your hair like this,” I say, tugging gently at the strands.

A blush creeps across her make up free cheeks.

Her dark lashes framing her amber eyes that are so hypnotic I could get lost in them, and I know I’d be grateful when I was unable to find my way back, because I think losing myself in Gabriella could be my new vice.

“Lie down,” I whisper as I guide her back onto the counter. She does without hesitation, and her willingness to do as I ask only makes me desire her more.

I smooth my hands down the inside of her thighs, parting them till her knees meet the counter.

It’s then the scrap of material she calls underwear comes into view.

The signature bows on the hips make it so easy to unwrap her.

I let out a groan of approval, making her close her legs, but I clamp my hands down on her thighs.

“Keep them open,” I demand, and her chest rises and falls rapidly. I push up my shirt that hangs on her like a dress, revealing her toned stomach, and I lean down to press a kiss to her hot skin.

She jolts at the contact, and I repeat the movement, pushing the shirt up higher, exposing her breasts, and sweep my hands over them, her nipples puckering as a gasp escapes her lips.

Her breasts fit in my hands perfectly and I roll my thumb over her now hard nipples, earning a moan that makes my dick twitch.

I lean down further, taking one in my mouth, and suck as her back arches off the countertop and a hand clamps down on the back of my head.

“Yesss,” she hisses as I continue. She writhes beneath me, so responsive to my touch.

I run my tongue between her breasts, down her body, and as I meet the lace of her panties, I begin untying the bows as if she were a gift and stand up, pulling the tiny piece of pink fabric away from her skin, exposing her glistening pussy.

I groan in appreciation. “So wet already, baby girl.” I pick up the glass of wine, taking another sip as my gaze meets Gabriella’s hooded eyes. “Do you know how long I’ve waited to taste you?” I lower down and swipe my tongue through her wet heat, and she sits up at lightning speed.

“Nooo,” she gasps, her breathing ragged.

“No? You don’t want me taste you?” I eye her curiously.

“No, yes, I ummm, don’t want you to feel like you have to, I…” Her words from the wedding come flooding back. How she asked her ex-boyfriend to go down on her and denied her, telling her it was gross and that thought only spurs me on, determined to show how much I want her.

“Mia cara, I have been craving your taste since I met you. Don’t deny me out of fear. I want to do this,” I reassure her, cupping her face.