I smiled because she was so wrong. I was fucking terrified of loving her again—but I was past caring.
“That’s because I learned from you, Caro.”
She shook her head in denial.
“It’s true,” I said gently.
She sighed and pulled me a little tighter against her, and that was just fine with me.
We stood there until I became aware that we were the center of attention, the other diners staring at us, as well as Signora Battelli.
I rubbed Caro’s arm and stood up straight.
“I guess we’d better get going before the signora starts vacuuming around us,” I murmured, my lips still against the smooth skin of her neck.
She smiled up at me, her eyes so full of love that she cracked me wide open.
“Okay,” she said.
We walked back to our room in a silence that was full of meaning as I squeezed her soft hand, needing that small physical connection.
“I can’t stop smiling,” she confessed. “I think I’ve pulled a muscle in my mouth.”
“I know what you mean,” I laughed. “Although I’ve got some ideas about how you could do that for real later.”
She slapped my arm.
“You don’t change, do you, Hunter!”
I threw myself back on the bed and grinned up at her.
“Do you want me to change?” I asked, wondering for real what her answer would be.
Women always tried to change you, even when they said they wouldn’t. But Caro just laughed.
“Oh, you could do with a bit of polish here and there, but otherwise, no, you’ll do.”
“I’d like you to polish me right now,” I said, arching my hips off of the bed suggestively.
“Well, I’d love to oblige,” she smirked, “but Signora Battelli is going to be knocking on our door in about two minutes.”
“We could make it quick.”
“Oh no, I want to take my time.”
“How much time?” I asked as my dick hardened in my pants for the third time this morning.
Her dark eyes sparkled with humor and something else … desire?
“Hours, possibly days … whole months even,” she murmured, her eyes locked on mine.
I groaned and closed my eyes, images of her naked in my bed, eating meals off of her perfect, olive skin. “Months?”
“Years,” she said softly. “A lifetime.”
My eyes snapped open and I sat up quickly, my heart beating too fast. “Do you mean it, Caro, a lifetime?”
Her eyes were serious as she replied.
“Yes.”
I closed my eyes again, breathing in deeply. When I looked up, a huge smile stretched across my face.
“Okay,” I said, because the words I wanted to say were too big.
We packed up quickly, moving around the room with an easy familiarity that was new, touching each other as we passed, an outward expression of how we were feeling inside. I was glad that it wasn’t just me feeling so much anymore—or maybe that Caro felt confident enough to show how she felt now. Whatever—it was fucking wonderful.
I was definitely on a roll, so when I paid Signora Battelli, I may have gone a little overboard, saying it was the best place I’d ever stayed, and ended up kissing her hand.
Caro poked me in the ribs as we left.
“You are so smooth, Hunter!” she teased.
“I was just telling her the truth,” I grinned at her. “I think we should come back here, and book the same room every year—then spend the night fucking.”
“You’re such a romantic,” she scoffed, trying to hide her smile.
“Yeah, I know, baby.”
We headed out of town and southeast along the coastal road, burning out of Pisa and racing south. I felt good—more than good; I’d been given a fresh chance and I was going to make the most of it.
With Caro’s arms wrapped me, I felt like I could conquer the world. And if things went the way they could in Afghanistan, I might have to. I pushed the thought to the back of my mind. I still had 10 days of leave left—I was going to make the most of it.
The campsite Caro had found was just an hour from Pisa, outside the village of Polveroni, and right by the ocean. And there were waves. Holy hell, the Mediterranean had surf—three to four feet of clean lines rolling up onto a beach break. I’d have gone body surfing and been stoked, but that bitch lady luck was with me today—and I saw a shop with boards to rent.
“Game on!”
Caro laughed as I almost sprinted inside, for once leaving her to stow the helmets by herself.
The owner looked up as I came in.
“Buon giorno! Can I rent a longboard for the day?”
“Si, signore! I got seven footers and eight footers—what do you need?”
Usually, I’d have taken the seven footer, but I suddenly had the urge to get Caro on a board with me. Ten years ago we’d caught some waves together—I wanted to do it again, this time knowing that she was mine and nothing could take her away from me.
I bought a huge beach towel and a pair of boardshorts, wincing at the bright Hawaiian pattern. I knew Caro would bust my balls about that.
“We don’t have a tent; do you rent rooms, too?” I asked.
I really liked the idea of spending the day surfing, the evening fucking, and the night listening to the waves break on the beach.
The owner grinned at me. “Sure, I have one cabin I rent out. It’s my brother’s, but he’s away. It’s small, but it has a bathroom. The bed is large,” he said, and winked at me. “You can use it. Thirty Euros?”
As soon as Caro saw me, she honed in on the boardshorts, a vomit-inducing red, orange, yellow and lime green.
“Hey, Marine! You’re in danger of doing color!” she laughed
I grinned back at her.
“Yeah, well, it was all they had. Either that or I’d have to do it in the nude. What do you think, Caro, naked surfing?”
“It could catch on, or you could get arrested. But I’m telling you, Sebastian, if you do get arrested and I don’t get laid tonight, I’m going to be mighty pissed at you.”
I grinned at her stern expression.
“Now you’re talking. By the way, the guy in the shop said that he rents out rooms. He said it’s pretty basic—just a big, old bed and a small bathroom. But I thought it would be kind of cool to be able to hear the waves tonight. Is that okay?”
“Very okay,” she smiled.
The day was going great, but then I saw the ugly as fuck swimsuit that Caro was holding. Seriously? My girl was gonna wear a granny suit in dark blue?
“Wait, that’s what you’re going to wear?” No fucking way!
“Yes,” she said, a puzzled expression on her face. “Why?”
“Stay here,” I commanded.
I headed back to the beach shop and the owner looked surprised to see me back so soon.
“Hey, I need a bikini for my girlfriend.”
“Sure, we have several,” and he pointed at a rack in the corner.
I picked out something that I knew she would look hot in—and something I was looking forward to taking off of her later.
I jogged back outside, pleased with the fifty Euros I’d just spent.
“Here. Wear this.”
Caro’s mouth dropped open, a look of horror on her face as I passed her the bikini. Admittedly there wasn’t a lot of it…
“I can’t wear that, Sebastian,” she gasped. “There’s nothing to it! I’m forty, not twenty!”
I wanted to roll my eyes at that comment—I didn’t.
“You’ll look amazing, Caro. I want every guy on the beach to know how hot my woman is.”
“I may as well go topless!”
“Yeah, baby.”
She shook her head, but her eyes were saying yes. “You’re crazy.”
“Crazy in love,” I agreed, scooping her into a kiss that rapidly became heated.
“Fine, I’ll wear it,” she said breathlessly when I put her down.
Damn straight!
I held up the beach towel while she changed, taking a few sneaky glances. She was so preoccupied with not being seen by anyone else on the beach that she didn’t even notice. She tugged at it a few times, trying to cover up a little more, but there was a reason I’d picked out that swimsuit.