Chapter 6 #2
It had been a long day for Gabriella when I finally parked the car in front of her apartment building. She hadn’t brought up our relationship again, but I was on alert for the moment she thought she could spring the subject on me.
We took the elevator up to her floor in comfortable silence, then she waited just inside her door while I did a sweep of the apartment. After a thorough search, I gave her the all clear, and she walked inside, locking up behind her.
“Why don’t you go take a bath, and I’ll make dinner tonight?” I suggested.
It had been funny as hell the first time Gabriella realized I could cook.
She’d been shocked and didn’t believe me until I made her chicken marsala with herb mashed potatoes and butter steamed vegetables.
My mother had been adamant that her boys be able to take care of themselves when we moved out.
She’d lamented about us starving and pestered us until we let her teach us how to use a kitchen.
Gabriella’s brow puckered, and she sighed tiredly as she ran a hand through her long, silky locks. “You don’t have to do that.”
“Go, sole,” I ordered, my tone leaving no room for argument.
“Fine,” she snapped. “But only because I want to, not because you told me to do it.”
I waited until she’d spun around and marched into her bedroom before smiling. Damn, she was cute.
Cut it the fuck out, De Angelis. OFF-LIMITS.
Halfway through my meal preparations, the bathroom door opened, and Gabriella padded out into the living room.
My jaw nearly hit the floor when I got a good look at her outfit. It wasn’t something anyone would immediately see as alluring and sexy as hell. But to me…fucking hell.
Her smooth legs looked miles long with only a pair of loose sleep shorts that came to mid-thigh. But it was what she was wearing on top that had me practically drooling and my cock standing at full attention.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she murmured as she made her way over to the couch. “I haven’t had time to do laundry, and you left this in the bathroom.”
I blinked several times, at a loss for what to say.
Gabriella was wearing one of my T-shirts with the logo of my alma mater on it—the one I’d slept in last night.
I usually wore nothing but boxers to bed.
However, I’d taken to wearing shirts as well when I moved in with her.
The T-shirt was practically a tent on her, but she’d twisted the bottom into a knot at her hip.
Seeing her in my clothes was like throwing gasoline on the fire. And knowing that the used shirt made her smell like me, leaving my mark on her in multiple ways, built an inferno of need inside me.
“Cazzo,” I muttered, tearing my eyes away from the sexiest sight I couldn’t have even imagined in my wildest dreams. Speaking loud enough for her to hear, I grunted, “Not a problem.”
I was lying. It was a huge fucking problem.
Through sheer force of will, I finished making dinner and set it out on the table in the little alcove that she’d turned into a makeshift dining room.
“Dinner is ready,” I announced as I returned to the kitchen and retrieved a bottle of her favorite wine. She was just taking a seat when I walked awkwardly to the table and put the bottle and a glass in front of her. Every step pressed my big dick against my zipper, eating into the skin.
“I need to make a call, then I’m going to get ready to turn in,” I muttered as I quickly turned around so she wouldn’t see the giant bulge in my pants.
“You made dinner, but you're not going to eat with me?” She sounded annoyed but couldn’t completely disguise the hurt in her voice.
I felt like a fucking asshole, but I knew my limits, and at that moment, I needed a frigid shower before I did something very, very stupid.
“Not hungry,” I rumbled as I stalked toward my room.
The icy spray of my shower only minorly helped my dick calm down because I couldn’t stop seeing Gabriella in my shirt, knowing her breasts were naked underneath. Or thinking about how easy it would be to pull those tiny shorts aside and feast on her pussy.
I was shivering from the cold when I finally shut off the water and stepped onto the mat.
Looking around, I frowned when I didn’t see my towel.
Gabriella’s was hanging next to the shower, but the hook beside it was empty.
Had she used my towel after her bath? I opened the cupboard under the sink where she kept the extras, but I didn’t find anything there, leaving me only one choice. To use hers. The little minx.
Clearly, she was determined to kill me.
I held my breath as I quickly dried off, but after hanging the towel back up, I smelled like honeysuckle and jasmine.
Shaking my head, I curved my lips up into a small smile.
Gabriella had stepped up her game, and despite how pissed I was about her efforts to make me break my vow of loyalty to her brother, I couldn’t help being a little impressed.
When I finally emerged from the bathroom, I tossed my dirty clothes onto my bed before wandering out into the living room. Gabriella was curled up on the couch with her e-reader and completely ignored me. After the way I’d practically run away from her earlier, I couldn’t blame her.
Without a word, I went to the kitchen, intending to do the dishes, but found it spotless.
“You didn’t have to clean up my mess,” I murmured as I walked over to the couch and took a seat on the opposite end, turned slightly sideways so I was facing her.
She shrugged without looking up. “You cooked and didn’t eat, so I cleaned.”
“Sole,” I sighed. “Don’t pout.”
That got her attention, and her head whipped up, glaring at me with furious chocolate-brown orbs.
I’d have piqued her temper a little more often if it weren't such a detriment to my self-control. She was absolutely gorgeous when she was all riled up and filled with fire.
“Pout? I’m not a child, Mico. I’m a grown-ass woman.”
My hands clenched into fists, and I crossed my arms over my chest to hide the reaction. “I fucking know that, Gabriella,” I seethed, my composure cracking just a little. “It’s unfair how much you’ve grown. It makes things…complicated.”
Shut up, De Angelis. Don’t fucking go there.
“Complicated?” she repeated with incredulity as she jumped to her feet and tossed her e-reader on the cushion she’d vacated.
She stalked over to stand in front of me, planting her fists on her hips.
“It seems simple enough to me. Stop looking at me as Rafa’s little sister, or your protectee, or any other label you’re using to obscure your view. Open your eyes and see me.”
I pushed to my feet and grabbed hold of her shoulders to keep her from moving when I bent low enough that our faces were barely an inch apart.
“It’s not that I don’t see you, sole,” I snarled angrily. “It’s that I’m not supposed to.” Dropping my head the rest of the way, I brushed my lips against hers when I growled, “But it doesn’t matter how wrong it is—I still want you.”
My mouth crushed over hers as I lifted Gabriella and pressed her body to mine.
Her legs curled around my hips, and her hands fisted in my shirt on both sides.
Releasing her shoulders, I palmed her face and tilted her head back so her lips naturally parted.
I licked them gently before plunging my tongue into her hot, wet mouth.
My feet started moving while I explored her mouth and glided along her tongue. When her back hit the wall, I punched my hips forward to hold her in place and groaned as I slapped a hand on either side of her head.
Gabriella moaned and rubbed her tits restlessly against my chest as she tentatively returned the kiss.
I shifted to make sure she was secure and made a guttural sound of pure want as I moved my hands to the bottom of her shirt.
They slid up underneath until I filled each of them with a large, round globe.
Her tits practically spilled out of my hands, and my mouth tingled at the thought of wrapping my lips around their stiff peaks.
Closing my eyes, I ripped my mouth from hers and pressed our foreheads together. “I’m not supposed to touch you, sole,” I rasped, my voice desperate with hunger. “So why the hell does it feel like you already belong to me?”
Gabriella whimpered, and the sound went straight to my cock. I gently squeezed her tits and rocked my pelvis into her. The little voice telling me to stop was almost gone, replaced with her sexy sounds and the pounding of my heart.
Then my phone chimed with a text, and it was as though a bucket of cold water was dumped over my head.
“Fuck!” I shouted in frustration as I instantly set Gabriella on her feet and backed away.
Shock washed over her face, and she blinked her glazed eyes, clearing some of it away. “What…” She shook her head and licked her lips, nearly breaking the resolve I’d grasped onto. “What just happened?”
“That shouldn’t have happened,” I rumbled as I built my walls up around me again.
“Why?” Gabriella whispered brokenly. “I know you want me.”
I rubbed a hand over my face before threading them both through my hair. Then I met her confused gaze and shuttered my eyes, locking away my emotions. “You were never mine to want.”
“Then why?”
I shook my head and gave her one last shred of feeling before I locked myself up tight. “That doesn’t stop me from wanting to keep you.”