28. Savannah
twenty-eight
Savannah
Nineteen missed calls and thirty-two unread messages.
All from Charlotte.
“Crap.” I knew she was going to be worried, but not to this extent.
Phone in hand, I drop onto the couch, pull the cashmere throw over my body, and replay the last ten hours.
In a most terrifying and amazing way, my life has completely flipped upside down.
I made out with Nico Romero.
I didn’t just make out with him. I kissed him like my life depended on it and dry humped him until I came in a fiery blast of orgasmic bliss.
My lips tingle, and the memories of this morning bring a smile to my face. For a man who doesn’t enjoy kissing, Nico’s really freaking good at it.
It’s a shame he had to leave for the stadium for a game this afternoon. Especially since I’m finishing my rotation on the night shift this week and we probably won’t see each other for a few days.
Probably for the best. My chin is chafed from his short beard, and my lips are swollen and chapped, and yet I could have stayed in his bed all day, kissing him.
No one has ever kissed me the way Nico does. He kisses with his whole body, pouring every ounce of emotion and desire into each delicious stroke of his tongue, nibble on my lip, or brush of his hands along the curves of my body.
There isn’t a word to describe how he makes me feel.
It’s as if his presence alone awakens every cell in my body like a jolt of electricity.
My heart races, and butterflies take flight in my belly.
And when he kisses me, there’s an electrifying transfer of energy between us that is utterly exhilarating and addicting.
Nico is not the man I imagined him to be. There are so many layers to his story, facets to his personality, and so much depth to his soul. By his own design, Nico’s public persona doesn’t represent his true character, which makes him even more intriguing to me.
Everything I thought I knew about Nico was wrong.
Do I still want to freak out and run away? Hell yes.
But my desire to be with him is much stronger, and it grows by the day. He’s been transparent about his life, and while I didn’t enjoy hearing all he had to say about his past—especially the part about his time with Charlotte—I’m glad I did.
Both sides of the same story can be true. Nico was a jerk to my sister, but that doesn’t mean he’s a jerk now. He took me a little by surprise when he mentioned attending therapy, and I have to admit, knowing that made me like him more.
My phone rings in my hand, Charlotte’s name flashing across the screen for a video call.
I swipe accept. “Hey, Char.”
“Oh, thank goodness, you’re alive. And don’t you casually ‘hey, Char’ me. You scared the living daylights out of me. What the heck, Savannah?”
I wince at her shrill shouting, shame and guilt making me uneasy. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to hang up on you like that. My neighbor was in trouble.”
“What kind of trouble? Are you okay? Is your neighbor okay?”
I lower my voice to calm my sister, who is speaking a mile a minute. “I’m absolutely fine. I promise. My neighbor needed some medical help. It’s all good now.”
“Okay, good.” She places her hand on her chest and takes a few deep breaths. “Please never do that to me again.”
“I won’t. I promise. I’m truly sorry for scaring you.” I hold up my pinky finger like we did when we were kids, and it brings a small smile to her face.
“You are forgiven. But since you scared me half to death, I kind of…” A guilty look crosses her face and, like I do when I’m nervous, she gnaws her bottom lip.
“You kind of what, Charlotte? What did you do?”
Charlotte leans out of view and pops up holding my adorable nephew. This is going to be bad if she’s using Thomas as a shield. “I called Dad. Then he called Denver, and well…”
“Seriously, you guys called Denver? Wait, what did Dad say? Did you tell him I moved?”
“Tell your auntie Savy not to yell at mommy,” my sister says to Thomas, who coos.
“Charlotte!”
“I told him. He’s not mad, just worried. But…”
A hard knock on my door startles me. I look from the door to my sister, and she winces. “Please tell me that’s not Denver.”
“That’s not not Denver,” she answers.
I groan. “Dammit, Char, you’re going to pay for this.”
“Hey, you were the one who left me hanging overnight. You could’ve been dead. I had to do something.”
“But you called Dad. You know he told Mom everything. Now Denver is here outside my door, and they are all going to want to know why I moved.”
“You were going to have to tell them about Bradley eventually. You know he still calls Mom,” she says.
Of course he does. The jerkoff doesn’t want to lose his connection.
“What the f—?”
Charlotte holds up Thomas, and I stop myself from cursing as the knock on the door gets louder.
“You are so dead.”
Baby Thomas cries. “You’re scaring the baby.”
“He should know his mother is a traitor.”
Charlotte grins at me. “Okay, well I’m going to go because Thomas needs a feeding and a diaper change. Don’t be mad at me, and don’t be so hard on Denver.”
“I’m not hard on him. No one’s hard on Denver. Not even Denver.”
Our older brother is a nomad. He’s a traveling surgeon who never stays in one place for too long. I blame it all on the structure my mother forced on us growing up. But at least he’s still a surgeon, so my mother doesn’t mind his flighty tendencies.
Don’t get me wrong; Denver is an amazing general surgeon.
He’s traveled all over the world, fixing cleft palates, amputated limbs, and more for adults and children who can’t afford healthcare, and has spent most of his time in war-torn countries giving aid and free medical care.
My brother is awesome and has a big heart.
But he’s also my older brother, and he drives me crazy.
He’s spoiled, messy, and loves to put his nose in my business.
I say goodbye to Charlotte, with promises of murdering her when my nephew turns eighteen, and blow Thomas a kiss. I climb off the couch and make my way towards the uninvited guest knocking on my door.
“One second!” I plaster on a fake smile and tug open the door. “Hello, big brother.”
“Hello, little sister. Heard you were missing, but I must have received the wrong information.” He leans in and gives me a hug.
“Charlotte freaked out. As you can see, I’m perfectly fine. I was just helping my neighbor out and forgot my phone.”
Denver wiggles his eyebrows at me. “This neighbor you speak of, are they…man or woman?”
“You’re such a perv. My neighbor is a man.”
“Bummer. I guess that means I’m crashing with you.” Denver pushes his way into my apartment, chucks his duffle bag on the floor, and makes himself at home in the kitchen, rummaging through my refrigerator.
“You are not crashing here, Den. You can get yourself a hotel.”
He pops his head out from behind the fridge doors and frowns, jutting his lip out. “Seriously, you’re gonna make me get a hotel room. I flew from Belize for you.”
I don’t believe that for one second, but I keep that to myself. “I didn’t ask you to do that. What were you doing in Belize anyway?”
He slams the door shut and pops the top of one of my seltzer waters. “Surgeries, surfing, and the senoritas.”
“Of course.” I roll my eyes at him and snort. “How did you get up here?”
“My charm.” Unfazed as usual, Denver leans back against the counter and sips his drink, using the same charm as he waits for me to cave.
“Ugh, fine. You can stay here, but I have to go to work, so I’m not babysitting you. I’ve got the night shift for the next two days.”
“You’re a gem.”
“You’re lucky I have an extra bedroom. There are fresh towels and sheets. If you need anything else, get it yourself.”
“Geez, what a way to treat your guest.”
“You’re an uninvited guest. Besides, I refuse to spoil you like everyone else.”
“I like when everyone spoils me.” Denver tries to use his smoldering smile on me. It might work at charming other women, but not me.
I stick my finger in my mouth and gag. “I know you do.”
I spend a few more minutes catching up with Denver. Knowing him, he’ll be gone in the morning and onto his next wild adventure. After getting my brother settled into the guest room, I head to my room and get ready for my shift.
As usual, my feet weigh about a hundred pounds as I drag them across the parking garage and into the open and waiting elevator. The ride up to my apartment feels like an eternity as I lean back and force my eyes to stay open. The elevator dings on arrival, and the doors fly open.
As I step out, I freeze at the magnificent sight before me.
In all his tattooed glory, wearing only a pair of black athletic shorts is Nico. I can’t help taking in the dark lines of the Roman warrior inked on his chest that lead to the hard lines of his abs and down to his waistband. Heat swirls between my legs as I think about his pretty cock.
When my gaze returns to his icy-gray one, he hits me with a smug smile. “Like what you see, gattina?”
“Maybe.” I shrug, biting back a grin. “Were you waiting for me?”
“Yes. I fucking missed you all day.” He grabs my wrist and pulls me out of the elevator, spins me around, and pushes me up against the wall.
My hands rest on his shoulders as he buries his nose in my neck and kisses me behind my ear.
Shivers race down my spine, and the hair on my arm stands on end as he whispers, “Did you miss me?”
I push him back to look into his eyes, needing to see them. “Yes.”
“Good.” He slams his mouth to mine in a bruising kiss.
This kiss isn’t like the ones we shared this morning. This kiss is rough and demanding. Hungry. He presses his hips into mine and grinds his dick into my lower stomach. The thin shorts do nothing to conceal his erection. My core clenches, and arousal shoots through my veins, making my pussy wet.
Like the helpless, lust-fueled woman he makes me, I lift my leg around his hip for a better angle as he devours my mouth.
Noise from down the hall catches my attention and makes me push Nico away. Nico glances towards my apartment, where Denver stands in the hallway with his arms crossed over his chest and a roguish grin that could rival the Cheshire Cat’s.
“Well, look who we’ve got here. Is this the neighbor who needed help last night?” Denver makes quotations with his fingers as he says “help”. I’m going to suffocate him in his sleep for teasing me.
Nico turns to me and arches his eyebrow, silently asking me to explain what the hell is going on. Without moving from my place pinned beneath him, I run my fingers through his hair. “Nico, meet Denver. My brother. Denver, meet Nico.”
“Oh, I know who he is.” Denver wiggles his eyebrows at me before extending his hand to Nico. “Nice to meet you.”
“You have a brother?” he whispers low enough for only me to hear.
Guilt swirls in my stomach. He’s been so open about his family with me, and I haven’t.
“Yes. Him and my sister, that’s it. I promise I’ll tell you everything.”
Nico stares into my eyes for a long second before he nods, accepting my answer with the promise of telling him more later.
He presses a kiss to my cheek, then pushes me in front of him, and without a trace of embarrassment at using me for a shield, he shakes my brother’s hand. “It’s nice to meet you, Denver.”
Denver whistles. “I’m impressed. Since when do you date famous baseball players?”
“Since none of your business,” I snipe back. “Now go back inside before I kick you out of my apartment.”
“That’s no way to treat your big brother.”
Nico barks a laugh. “It’s nice to meet you, Denver. I hope I see you again soon.”
“You too, Nico. Also, I’d watch out if I were you. Savannah can be ruthless.”
Before I can protest, Nico possessively wraps his arm around my shoulders and tugs me close to his chest. “She can be, but I like it.”
“Hey.” I pinch his side and glance over my shoulder as he laughs. It’s loud and deep, and the vibrations of his laugh make me want to hear it again.
Denver clears his throat. “I’ll leave you two to it. Good meeting you, Nico, and take care of my little sister for me.”
“Oh, I plan on taking real good care of her.” He and my brother laugh as Denver steps into my apartment, out of sight.
I slap his stomach. “Do you have to be so crude?
“I was just being honest. I do plan on taking really good care of you.” To prove his point, Nico spins me around and kisses me again. He shoves his knee between my thighs and presses it into my clit.
A zap of lust flows through my body like a shot of oxytocin, further bonding us on a molecular level.
My knees wobble, my brain goes fuzzy, and my limbic system shifts into overdrive from his drugging kiss. When we break apart, I’m a panting, needy mess.
“So beautiful.” My cheeks flush at his compliment. Nico pats my butt and nudges me towards my apartment. “Go spend some time with your brother. I’ll see you tomorrow.”
“See you tomorrow,” I rasp.
He kisses me one more time before walking away and slipping into his penthouse.
When I walk into my apartment, I’m greeted with the same Cheshire Cat grin plastered across my brother’s face as he lies on my couch.
I point at him and growl, “Don’t you dare say a word to anyone about this. Not to Charlotte, not to Dad, and especially not to Mom.”
He rubs his hand over his chin and lowers his voice. “Someday, I will come upon you for a service. Until then, consider this in the vault.”
“Did you just poorly quote The Godfather at me?”
“Caught that, did you?” he asks.
“You made me and Charlotte watch that movie a hundred times when you were a teenager.”
“You can thank me for turning you into a cool chick because of it.”
“Definitely not. But I will thank you for keeping this quiet for now.”
“You’re welcome.” Denver sits up and pats the cushion beside him. “Now tell me everything.”
My big brother might drive me insane, but he’s also one of my best friends.
I have always been able to tell him anything.
He was there for me and had my back when I told my mother I didn’t want to be a surgeon.
Denver was there when Josh Daniels broke my heart in the tenth grade and took me to get ice cream, and then took me to egg Josh’s house.
I take a seat and drop my head onto his shoulder. “Where should I start?”
“At the beginning.”
When I’m done spilling my guts, there is no judgment, just silence. My heart beats so quickly I’m afraid it’s going to fly out of my chest. “Say something.”
“I’m happy for you, Savvy. And Charlotte will be too.”
“You think?”
“Charlotte is the best person on the planet. Why wouldn’t she be happy for you?”
We spend another hour chatting before I head to bed, with a thousand scenarios running through my head. Each one ending with me breaking my sister’s heart.