“I wish you wouldn’t do that, Caro.”
“Do what?” she asked, blinking in surprise.
“Keep going on about your age. You’re older than me—I get it. And guess what? I don’t give a shit. I never did. I just wish you weren’t so hung up about it. It’s kind of annoying.”
Her mouth dropped open in shock.
“Feel free to say what you really mean, Hunter!”
I grinned at her. “Okay.”
She shook her head and folded her arms across her chest, but I could tell that she wasn’t really angry.
“So, we can go tomorrow?” I asked. “Start our road trip?”
“Well, I suppose so. But I don’t know how we’ll get my suitcase on the back of your motorcycle.”
“Don’t worry about that. We’ll just take what you need and leave it at my place till we get back.” So far, so good. Time to take another step. “So, can I stay the night, or are you going to kick me out into the cold, dark world, all alone in a strange city, where foreign women might try and have their evil way with me?”
Her eyebrow lifted as she stared back at me.
“That’s a sob story, if ever I heard one, although I strongly suspect it’s a highly edited one.”
“Is that a yes?” I asked hopefully.
“It’s a yes, providing sleep is what you had in mind.”
Nope. “Mostly. Good enough?”
She shook her head, capitulating immediately. She really hadn’t put up much of a fight.
“Fine. You want to use the bathroom first?”
“No, go ahead.”
I lay back on the bed, grinning up at the ceiling. Twenty-four hours ago it had seemed impossible that I’d ever be here again. Then I frowned, wondering what the reality was of making this work. I was a Marine: I went where they sent me. But then I figured other guys had wives and families—why couldn’t I? Sure, there’d be compromises, problems, but we’d deal.
I took my turn in the bathroom and let her enjoy the floor show as I strolled around naked. If using my body was going to get her to give me a chance, that worked just fine for me. So, wearing my dog tags and a big smile, I sat down next to her then crawled across her body, dipping down to take a nipple in my mouth.
“Sebastian, what are you doing?” she gasped.
“Taking a shortcut,” I said, then stole another kiss.
She reached up and pulled me deeper into the kiss before pushing lightly on my chest.
“Sleep! Now!”
“Sure I can’t change your mind?” I asked, eyeing the boner that was beginning to make its presence felt.
“Oh, put it away!” she gulped, unable to take her eyes off my dick. “I’m tired.”
There was always tomorrow. And I was a big fan of morning sex.
So I let her win that one, sliding under the duvet on the other side of the bed.
She turned off the light, and in the darkness of the room I sighed in contentment as my hand drifted over her waist. I kissed the back of her neck softly.
“Night, baby.”
As I fell into a deep sleep, I wondered if this time life would bring us back together or push us further apart.
It was barely light when I woke abruptly. Caro was thrashing around in the bed, fighting the duvet, her eyes screwed shut and a terrified wail surging from her throat. Whatever she was dreaming about, it was some scary shit.
I shook her awake and her panicked eyes blinked up at me.
“Caro, are you okay?”
She didn’t reply immediately, rubbing her hands over her face as awareness leaked back into her eyes.
“Oh, sorry, did I wake you up?” her voice trembled. “I was dreaming.”
“It sounded more like a nightmare.”
“Sorry. Yes, I’m okay.”
It hurt that she wouldn’t tell me what had upset her. It made me realize there was a lot we didn’t know about each other. And a hell of a lot I had to hide.
She shivered and sat up, the duvet slipping down to her waist. I lost my train of thought as I stared hungrily at her breasts.
“Your eyes are going to fall out, Hunter,” she muttered.
“Just looking, boss,” I grinned.
She stood up, stretching stiffly, then picked up her bathrobe and shuffled into the bathroom.
I lay back on the pillows with my hands behind my head, planning out the route and how long it would take to get to Genoa. I’d planned on driving further than that, but Caro had made it clear that riding pillion wasn’t her most favorite thing.
But when she reappeared from bathroom, her whole face was lit with a sexy smile. Damn, that was a turn on.
“Hi,” I said, wondering what she was thinking.
“Hi yourself.”
“You seem better.”
“Why, Warrant Officer Hunter,” she smirked at me, “what masterful skills of observation you have.”
“Yeah, much better.”
“Well, now that you mention it, I am in a much better mood, although I’m rather hungry.”
“Do you want to go down for breakfast or should I call room service?”
“Let me think about that for a minute.”
I was already reaching for the phone when she untied her robe and pulled the belt out of the loops, winding it through her fingers. I froze, watching the robe slide to the floor, leaving a very naked Caro standing there. Fuck. Me.
“I was thinking about eating you,” she purred, “but as you’re such a stubborn, annoying man, who makes me pissed with every other sentence he utters from between his beautiful, badly-behaved lips, I thought I’d better tie you up first. What do you say?”
My mouth dropped open.
“I’d say, where is Carolina Venzi and what have you done with her?” I managed to croak out.
Her grin grew wider. “I’m just taking your advice, Hunter.”
I shook my head, confused, but liking where this conversation was going.
“I don’t know what advice I gave you, but it must have been damn good.”
“Let’s find out, should we? Put your hands on the headboard.”
“Yes, ma’am.”
I wrapped my hands through the metal framework as Caro crawled up the bed, her thighs straddling my body. Then she threaded the belt through the headboard and tied both wrists tightly.
“Have you done this before?” I breathed out.
“Only in my dreams, Hunter. Now, be quiet, or I might have to gag you, too.”
My mouth went dry. “Fuck!”
“Maybe later,” she replied, her voice low and teasing.
Then she whipped the duvet off the bed and stared down at my erection.
“Now that’s a sight for sore eyes, Sebastian. Maybe I should just leave you here: the hotel maids might appreciate that. Or, better still, maybe I’ll take a photograph of you on my phone. Don’t worry, I won’t post it on the internet, it’ll just be my screensaver.”
What the fuck? Was she serious? Was this some sort of payback? The look in her eye was making me nervous.
“Caro!” I said, a serious warning in my voice.
“Spoilsport,” she said, pretending to pout at me. “No sense of adventure.”
I was relieved this was part of the game, but I felt vulnerable, too. I’d never let a woman tie me up before. I mean yeah, I was all for bedroom games, but I preferred to be the one in control. Everything was different with Caro.
I tested the strength of her knots—they were pretty tight. I could probably get out of them, but only by destroying the headboard. That was plan B—I hoped plan A involved more sex and less damage to property.
She leaned forward and placed a kiss on each of my biceps before sliding back down my body.
I licked my lips as she knelt across my shins and then ran her tongue from my balls to my tip. Holy fuck! That was…
But then she climbed off the bed and disappeared into the bathroom.
“Where are you going?”
“Back in a minute,” she called.
Shit. What was she doing? I rattled the headboard and yelled out.
“Caro! What the fuck?”
“Are you getting impatient, Sebastian?” she called back.