Page 142 of Lupo

"You're terrible."

"You love it." His eyes darken. "And I want to be alone with my wife. Right now."

Even after months of sharing his bed, he can still make me want him with just a look. Just a touch.

"What about the guards?" I whisper, very aware of the security positioned around the property.

"They're paid to look away." He nips at my earlobe. "And they know better than to comment on where the boss slips off to with his wife."

"Lupo!"

"What? It's true." His hands grip my hips under the water.

"You really did plan this with Emilia, didn’t you?"

"Of course I did." He looks entirely too pleased with himself. "I've been thinking about getting you alone all morning. Watching you in this swimsuit, playing with Elena, laughing in the sun." His voice drops lower. "Do you know what you do to me every time I look at you?"

My breath catches. "I have some idea."

"Then you know I can't wait any longer." He glances back toward the house. "Emilia will keep Elena busy. She knows that I need alone time with my wife. That sometimes a man can't concentrate on anything else until he's had his hands on the woman he loves." His grin is shameless.

I laugh despite the heat flooding my cheeks. "You told Emilia you wanted to sneak off with me?"

"I didn't have to tell her. She offered." He pulls me closer. "She said, and I quote, 'Take your wife to the pool house already. You've been staring at her like a starving man for an hour.'"

"She did not say that. You’re making it up."

"She might’ve thought it, even if she didn’t’ say it." He starts swimming backward, pulling me with him toward the edge near the pool house. "Come on. Twenty minutes. Maybe thirty if we're lucky."

"And if Elena comes looking for us?"

"Emilia will distract her.” He reaches the edge and lifts himself out in one smooth motion, water streaming down his body. "And if she does come looking, the door locks." He reaches down to help me out. "I need you, Isabella. Right now."

The want in his voice undoes me. The way he's looking at me, drops of water sliding down his chest, his eyes dark with desire.

"Okay," I breathe.

His smile is triumphant. He takes my hand and we hurry across the few feet of stone to the pool house, both of us dripping wet. I keep glancing around nervously.

"Relax," he murmurs, squeezing my hand. "No one's watching. And even if they were, they've seen the boss steal away with his wife before."

"That doesn't make it less embarrassing."

"It makes it exciting." He opens the pool house door and pulls me inside quickly, shutting and locking it behind us. "See? Now we're alone. Completely alone."

The pool house is small but private. Changing rooms, a bathroom, storage for pool equipment. And a daybed with soft cushions and clean towels stacked nearby.

"How long did you say we have?" I ask, suddenly breathless.

"Long enough." He backs me toward the daybed, his eyes never leaving mine. "Long enough for me to show my wife exactly how much I've been thinking about her."

"You saw me an hour ago."

"An hour too long." His hands find the ties of my swimsuit. "Do you know how hard it was to keep my hands to myself? To watchyou playing with Elena, being the perfect mother, looking so beautiful in the sunlight?"

"Lupo."

"I wanted to pull you aside right then. Wanted to drag you in here and make you mine all over again." His voice is rough now, full of need.