Page 18 of Duty and Desire

Chapter Sixteen

Gio

I paused, my hand on the patio door handle. “Open or closed?” It felt so random to ask the question, but my head was still reeling.

He came back. Nick came back.

“Open. I love the sound of the water.” Nick stood in the center of the living room, his hands by his sides, and I fought the urge to take him in my arms, to crush his lips to mine as fiercely as he’d taken my mouth a moment ago.

Take your time. Breathe.

Sometimes my inner voice knew what it was talking about.

“Can I get you something to drink? I could make more tea. Or there’s coffee, juice?—”

Nick’s eyes sparkled. “Only if you’re getting something for yourself.”

I headed for the kitchen but he stood in my path, chin held high, that sparkle still in evidence. “Nick, I can’t get to the fridge if you won’t move. This isn’t that big a room. Unless you want me to make a detour around the coffee table.”

His lips twitched. “Think of me as an immovable object.”

I smirked. “Then that would make me an unstoppable force. Unstoppable. Kinda says it all, doesn’t it?”

“But I can stop you,” Nick countered.

I stilled, close enough to feel the heat of him, to fill my nostrils with his scent. “And how are you going to do that?”

“Like this.” Nick cradled my nape and our lips met, only this time the kiss was softer, sweeter, and I wanted to drown in it. I stroked his cheek, his barely there beard that was nothing more than stubble, scratchy beneath my fingertips.

He was there, he was kissing me, and it was enough to rekindle that flame of hope inside me once more.

I pressed my forehead to his. “ Now can I get the juice?” He let go of me, took a sideways step, and I went to the fridge. “Has Claudia left?” I grabbed the juice, and two tall glasses I filled with ice.

“She should be at the airport by now.”

“Did your shadow tell you we ran into each other yesterday?” I shrugged. “I apologize for calling him that, but seeing as I don’t know his name…”

Nick flushed. “His name is Franz. As for what he’s doing here, that’s a little complicated to explain. And no, he didn’t tell me.” He frowned. “Did anything happen between you two?”

“Not much. The whole encounter lasted less than a minute. Of course, during that time he did threaten me with bodily harm if I ever went near you again.” I said it in as light a tone as I could manage.

Nick’s eyes widened. “He didn’t.”

I snickered. “Oh yes he did.”

He leaned against the dining table. “And now you really want to know more, don’t you?” He rubbed the back of his neck, his discomfiture obvious.

“Yes, but you don’t want to tell me, so why don’t we leave it for the moment? ”

Nick gave me an amused smile. “Can your writer’s brain cope with that? Not knowing?”

I gave another shrug. “I’ll have to deal with it.” I handed him a glass, then gestured to the couch. He sat, and I went to sit in the armchair.

“No. Sit here, next to me.”

I joined him, half twisting to face him, my arm along the back of the couch. “So where do we go from here?” I was enough of a realist to know we couldn’t simply pick up from where we’d left off.

There were still a few bridges left to reconstruct.

“You asked me a question out on the veranda.” Nick took a long drink from his glass, then set it down on the table. I waited, letting him take the lead. “You asked if I felt we had a connection.” His smile turned every thought in my head into a puddle of warm mushiness. “The answer is yes.”

Lord, I was as giddy as a spinning top.

“But as for where we go from here? You need to understand something.” He grabbed the glass and drank some more.

“I… I haven’t had a lot of experience with men.

I’ve never been in a relationship that lasted more than a couple of weeks.

And maybe if I explain about Franz, you’ll know why that is.

You see, my father… he’s what you’d call a control freak. ”

I smirked. “News flash. I think arranging your marriage kinda gave that one away.”

The line of his mouth hardened for a second, then relaxed into softness, capturing my attention, making me yearn to taste his lips once more.

“Gio?”

I blinked. “Sorry. My mind was elsewhere. You were talking about your dad.”

“When I went to university, it was my first time away from home. I can’t tell you how much that excited me.”

I could guess. “You were free to be yourself, away from your father’s gaze. ”

His face lit up. “Yes. Exactly. But what I didn’t know was that my father was having me watched. For my security, he claimed, when I confronted him about it.”

I did the math. “Your father is an important man, isn’t he?”

“Very astute of you. I didn’t learn about Gustaf until it was too late.”

“The guy sent by your dad to watch you?”

Nick nodded. “The first semester, I met someone.” His face tightened.

“I was smitten. We were together maybe two, three weeks—until we weren’t.

” His mouth grew pinched. “He dumped me, and I had no idea why. Not only that, he kept his distance for the remainder of my studies.” Nick swallowed.

“I thought I’d done something wrong. Not that I’d had the chance to…

do anything. But that really shook me. It took a while to get up enough courage to ask another guy on a date. Except when I did…”

Shit . “The same thing happened?”

Nick’s drawn-out sigh was answer enough.

I put my arm around his shoulders and drew him to me, until his head rested against my shoulder. “When did you learn you were being watched?”

“Claudia worked it out. I’d thought Gustaf was a friend.

Some friend.” Nick pressed closer, until I could smell the sweetness of the juice on his breath.

“After that, the guys my father paid got better at covering their tracks. I never knew who was watching my every move, but I never doubted for a second that someone was.”

“Franz is here to watch you, isn’t he?” Now it all made sense. Nick gave a single nod. “And where is he, by the way? More importantly, does he know where you are?”

“He took Claudia to the airport. Her idea, to give us some space.”

I smiled. “Remind me to thank her next time I see her.”

Nick snickered. “She has an ulterior motive, so I wouldn’t overdo your gratitude.

And Franz knows my exact location. Don’t worry, he won’t come knocking, not if he wants to keep his job.

” He let out a sigh. “He’s not like Gustaf and the others, though.

I can negotiate with him. There haven’t been many men while I’ve lived here, but I know for a fact Franz hasn’t passed on any information about them to my father.

He even made a joke about it once. He said, ‘Your father really is determined to be a cockblock, isn’t he? ’”

I tilted his chin until I could see his eyes. “When you say you haven’t had a lot of experience…”

He chuckled. “I’m not a complete novice. I’ve even had compliments on my… skills. But I do think it’s pitiful to reach the age of twenty-five and the only things I’ve taken have been fingers.”

“You could give lessons in kissing,” I murmured.

Nick’s face glowed. “You’re doing wonders for my ego.”

I gazed at the gentle curve of his cheek, his dark brown eyes filled with so much warmth as he looked at me through long eyelashes. My throat seized. The air seemed to grow heavier, charged with something more than mere electricity.

Something like desire.

Nick shifted a little nearer, his breathing catching, as if he too felt the inevitability of it. Then he closed the gap between us.

That first brush of lips was barely there, hanging in the ether like a question. The taste of juice lingered, adding to the sweetness of the kiss. He pulled back a little, his eyes wide, and for a moment neither of us moved, caught up in the fragile, perfect stillness.

A slow exhale, and Nick kissed me again, except this time it wasn’t a question.

I stroked his neck, the skin soft, and he brought his hand up to my jaw, grazing it with his fingertips, his thumb tracing the curve of my cheek.

Warmth spread through me, and my pulse quickened.

I ran my fingers through his unruly curls, silky to the touch, and a low noise tumbled from Nick’s lips, a sound that demanded more.

I wanted more too.

I struggled to draw breath, my heartbeat climbing. The pulse in his neck betrayed Nick’s own quickening heartbeat.

I was on fire.

“We should?—”

Nick’s breath stuttered. “Yes, we should.” His fingers didn’t leave my face. “But not here.”

“The bedroom?”

He nodded. “That’s if you?—”

I stopped his words with a kiss, pouring into it every ounce of longing that consumed me. Then I stood, took him by the hand, and led him into my bedroom.

Nick

I stood beside the bed, my heart hammering. Gio watched me, his gaze warm, steady, and patient, as if we had all the time in the world.

Something coiled in my stomach, and my abs twitched and fluttered.

This wasn’t new, and yet it was, because no previous encounter had elicited such a heady, dizzying rush.

Then Gio stepped closer, his fingertips brushing down my arm, a light, almost teasing connection that made me shiver—and brought every nerve in my body to life.

“You’re trembling.” Gio’s murmur was as soft as his caress.

I laughed. “Whatever bravado led me to ask to be in this room, it’s packed its bags. And now, I’m not sure what I’m doing.”

He cupped my face, his hand firm but gentle. “Forget about what you know. Go with what you feel.”

I could do that.

I locked my arms around Gio’s neck and pressed my lips to his, all hesitancy gone. This was slower, deeper, and it made me weak at the knees. I lost myself in the taste of him, the heat of him.

And when I couldn’t wait a moment longer, I pulled back with a moan.

“Clothes, off. Now.”

“Thought you’d never ask.”

I undressed him, my hands mapping this new territory, guided by Gio’s sighs and whispers, filing away each touch that made him shiver, memorizing each hot spot I encountered.

Then I realized I was doing all the work.

I grinned. “You have hands too.”

He laughed, then removed my clothing. Finally, our bodies found each other in the silence, every brush of skin against skin sending sparks racing through me.

“Can we get onto the bed before you reduce me to a puddle of goo?”

I chuckled against his neck. “I don’t know. That might be fun to watch.” The humor masked the nervousness blossoming inside me.

I want this.

I need this.

I pushed him backward onto the bed, and we shuffled our way toward the pillows.

He spread for me, and I laughed. “Is that an invitation?” I placed myself between his legs, claiming his lips again, accompanied by a slow grind that brought soft sighs and moans from both of us.

The sheets were cool on my overheated skin, and the air hummed with anticipation.

Each undulation turned up the heat, until my need was at fever pitch, and Gio matched my movements, his chest rising and falling, his hands in my hair, tugging it, his kisses filled with an urgency that ramped up my need.

I shifted lower down his body, and Gio’s breathing caught when he realized my intent.

His eyes widened. “Yes.” It was more than consent.

It was a plea, and that one word was all the encouragement I needed. His flesh was warm in my hand and I licked my lips once more.

“Oh God, when you do that…” Gio’s groan filled the air. “Please.”

I met his gaze and smiled.

“I’ve got this.” Then I began the very real, very serious business of driving Gio out of his mind.

Gio grabbed my hair with one hand, his back arching, his belly taut. “Fuck, your mouth…” He clutched the sheet, gripping it tighter. “Nick… Fuck …Too good.”

My world narrowed to that one moment, that intimate act, and I ached to hear more of the rough silk of Gio’s voice as I unraveled him.

I raised my eyes to meet his again, and his resultant groan reverberated through me.

“Aw fuck.” Gio’s fingers tightened in my hair, and he shoved his head into the pillow, the cords standing out on his neck.

The raw note in his voice, the smell of him, the way he writhed as I pushed him closer to the edge…I wanted to watch him fall apart.

I quickened the pace, anxious to meet my goal, and when I achieved it, a low cry burst from him, his body stiff before it gave way to shaking, my name tumbling from his lips.

I lay on him, his chest damp with perspiration, and we kissed, his hands on my nape, my face, as I shared the taste of him.

I pressed my lips to his forehead, and he expelled a long breath.

He wrapped his arms around me, and we lay together, sharing kiss after drugging kiss.

No words passed between us, but that was perfect. I wanted to remember this.

Nothing else mattered. Not my father, not Franz…

There was only this.