Page 13 of They Found Us (Found #5)

Katie

A few weeks pass, and I’m feeling great. Leo is still trying to wrap me up in cotton wool, although he is tired, and I can tell he is glad of the help around the house and with the boys. While Leo is a wonderful father and husband, I think he has had enough of being the main carer.

There’s a knock at the door, Leo opens it, already smiling, he knows who is behind it. “Alex.” Leo embraces his brother.

Both of them seem to light up when they are together.

There’s another level to their happiness when they are in each other’s company.

It’s Friday evening, and Alex and Vanna have come for dinner.

It’s become a routine that we all really enjoy.

Leo especially. It is wonderful to see how close the brothers are once again. It’s like they have never been apart.

Leo and Alex go for their usual walk around the vineyard while Vanna and I prepare the dinner. Tonight, it’s a seafood risotto.

Once the table is laid with fresh bread, olives, and salad, Leo dishes out the risotto. “Ladies, this smells amazing. You’ve spoilt us as usual.”

The evening is wonderful. We all share stories from our past. Some sad, some hilarious.

We’ve really bonded over the past weeks.

Before we met, I had been worried that being here without family wasn’t enough.

I had worried about Leo, as he had started to become quite suppressed.

But since he has been around Alex, it’s like Leo’s spark has returned.

I do feel like they have some sort of language only they understand.

They look at each other in certain way, and the other seems to read exactly what they mean just from a facial expression.

They also take these walks together where they talk and can be gone for hours.

“Since you prepared the food, we will do the dishes.” Alex nudges Leo to get up from the table.

They both leave with plates in their hands.

But as they approach the dishwasher, both of their phones ping with notifications.

I glance down at Leo’s screen to see it’s a notification of activity in the front garden.

Both Leo and Alex look in the direction of the table and then back at each other.

They throw the dishes in the sink, quickly grab their phones, and exit the room.

“Stay here,” Alex commands as he closes the door behind them both.

“What’s going on?” I ask Vanna, shaken by their reaction.

“I’m not sure.”

“Well, I’m going to find out.” I stand from the table to follow them, but Vanna catches my arm.

“No. We should stay here with the boys.” She gestures to Mark sat happily still eating and Zander asleep in this crib beside the table.

Sitting back down, I try and listen for voices.

But I don’t hear anything. Vanna stands from the table and goes to the kitchen window.

She peers outside into the back garden. It’s dark outside, so I doubt she will be able to see anything.

She then closes the blinds. The next moment, I hear Leo and Alex.

They are laughing. The door opens, and they walk in, each carrying a goat in their arms.

“Looks like Upsy and Daisy fancied a night out tonight.” Leo laughs.

“How did they get out to the front?” I gasp.

“We’ll go put them back and have a look around.”

They take them out of the back door into the garden where their enclosure is.

“Aww, they’re so funny. Have they ever escaped before?” Vanna asks.

But I’m not finding it funny at all. Theres something they aren’t telling me. I can tell. Even Vanna seems like she knows something I don’t.

“Why does Alex have our camera alerts on his phone when Leo hasn’t even set them up on mine yet?”

Vanna looks a bit taken back by my question. “I have no idea. You’ll have to ask Leo that.”

Maybe I’m over thinking all this. Or maybe I’m not, but I will get to the bottom of it. Once the goats are safely back in their pen and the hole they chewed in the fence has been covered up, Vanna and Alex say their goodbyes.

“I’m going to take the boys up to bed, and then I think I’ll go too. I’m shattered,” I say to Leo.

“Okay. Good night,” he says, distracted, and it’s not his usual response, which annoys me.

I was going to let it lie, but I have now changed my mind. “What was all that about earlier?”

“What do you mean? All what?”

“The way you and Alex looked at each other when the cameras alerted you to activity at the front door. And why has Alex got our cameras set up on his phone when I haven’t even got them on mine?”

“La mia ragazza, non preoccuparti.” My girl, do not worry.

But when has anyone ever stopped worrying because they have been told to stop worrying ?

“Alex and I went into our old fight mode. We just wanted to make sure everyone was safe, and they were. We thought it might have been a bear or something.”

“A bear? Are there bears on this island?”

“Yes, Alex said there are.”

I’m not convinced.

“And hand me your phone. I’ll download the app and set the cameras up for you now.”

“But why did Alex have our camera alert on his phone?”

“Because he was showing me how it all worked.”

While I wait for him to set everything up, I take the boys to bed.

I know Leo, and I know when he is hiding something from me.

I don’t feel like it’s anything big, though.

I know he is only trying to take care of me, so whatever it is he thinks I don’t need to know is his way of protecting me and our boys.

I trust him, so let it lie. For now, anyway.

Once Mark and Zander are settled, I change into my pj’s—shorts and a vest top—and return with both baby monitors to Leo downstairs.

“Is it done?” I ask as I flop down next to him on sofa.

“Yes. You’re all set. Did the boys go off okay?”

“Yep, sound asleep as soon as their heads hit the pillow.”

Leo spends a few minutes showing me around the app.

“This icon here is for the live view. You can scroll down for each camera. There’s one on the front and the back door and one at each side.

Tap and pinch to widen, zoom in closer, or move the direction, like this.

” Leo clicks on the back door camera and zooms in to the goats in their pen.

“There’s also this little clock here where you can go back through and see what has been recorded. ”

“Ahh, okay. Let me see.”

I scroll through the times on the front door notifications until I see the two little billy goats running around our front lawn.

Next, two large Italian men storm out of our front door and chase them around the garden.

I can’t help the giggles that escape me.

The goats really torment Leo and Alex, darting off at the last second, running through their legs, coming together, and then splitting off in different directions.

“What is it? What are you laughing at?”

“You… and Alex….” I can hardly speak through laughter.

“Let me see.”

When I show him the video, Leo also finds it amusing.

“Are you laughing at me, Kat-er-een?”

Oh gosh, I love when he calls me that. His Italian accent is thick as my name almost purrs off his tongue. The hairs on the back of my neck stand up, and I’m suddenly aware of a pulse between my legs.

“Yes, I am, Leo Guerra . And what are you going to do about it?” I try to sound confident, but my voice catches in my throat as I speak.

Leo’s eyebrows rise in a smirk. He knows exactly what he does to me.

“What am I going to do about it? I don’t like to be made a fool of, Kat-er-een.

” He cracks his neck from side to side. He does this to release tension.

It’s been weeks since we have been passionate, and we both have a lot of sexual tension just bursting to get out.

“Well, I think you looked like a fool being outsmarted by a billy goat.”

The distance between us is minimal, and I can feel the heat from his body as his arousal grows. He moves his arm along the back of the sofa and grips the back of my neck firmly but gently. He pulls me slightly towards him as he leans in.

His mouth presses against my ear. “La mia ragazza.” My girl. “Don’t tease me. You know I cannot control myself around you. It’s too soon. You’re not ready.” His accent is thick and his voice low with lust.

His words tip me over the edge. Taking hold of his other hand, I guide it onto my leg.

He squeezes my thigh as his breathing becomes deeper in my ear.

I shuffle my bum down on the sofa, spreading my legs wider, and I move his hand up to my stomach.

Lifting the waistband on my shorts, I direct his fingers to the heat in between my legs.

He nestles his head into the crook of my neck.

He kisses my skin as a groan escapes him.

At first his hand doesn’t move. But I press my pulsing core towards his hand, and he then slides one of his fingers through my centre.

“Ahh, you’re so wet.” His teeth graze my neck in his impatience.

“See, I am ready. Ready for you.”

I grip his head and forcefully plant my lips on his.

Our mouths open hungrily, moans escaping us both.

His fingers begin to work their magic, teasing my folds open and swirling my clit.

Our kissing reaches another level as our arousal peaks.

When I buck into his hand uncontrollably, he gets the message and slides a finger inside me.

A gasp escapes my lips as his large finger fills the space that has yearned for him.

He goes deep into my heat. I’m hot and wet. But it’s not enough. I need more.