Chapter 4
Lorenzo tossed his shirt onto the floor to join Andretti’s and Samuel’s before clambering onto the bed after them. It hadn’t taken much to convince Samuel to join them when he first arrived at the winery. A couple of days of conversations filled with sexual innuendo while their hands never failed to touch Samuel whenever he was close… touching that soon led to kisses that went from chaste to downright dirty fast. And by fast, Lorenzo meant their cousin had taken all of a week to seduce. His being with them every night had been unplanned, but neither he nor Andretti regretted it.
And why would they regret it? Lorenzo thought as his fingers skated down Samuel’s back while they both took turns kissing Andretti. Samuel slid into the empty place between Lorenzo and Andretti as though every other man they’d shared their bed with had been nothing more than placeholders until Samuel had found his way to them.
Lorenzo dragged his fingers back up Samuel’s spine before curling them in his hair tightly. He yanked Samuel away from Andretti until he lay sprawled on his side over them both, eyes blown wide and his breath already coming in ragged gasps. Lorenzo captured Samuel’s lips with his own, thrusting his tongue inside of his mouth as Andretti worked to free Samuel’s cock from his dress pants. Why Samuel insisted on dressing for the office when surrounded by others dressed in jeans, they’d never quite understood. But what Lorenzo couldn’t argue with was that there was something quite debauched about ruining Samuel’s expensive suits or simply stripping them off him.
Pants hit the floor, Samuel’s first and Andretti’s not long after, leaving Lorenzo as the only one who remained partially clothed. A situation that he planned to remedy once he stopped kissing and touching Samuel… except that wasn’t an easy task to do when he was no more willing to stop than Lorenzo. But if Lorenzo wanted to fuck Samuel until he forgot what year it was, let alone the grape yield for the last two seasons, then his jeans needed to at least be unbuttoned.
Cursing, he shoved Samuel into Andretti’s welcoming arms and while he might regret relinquishing Samuel’s lips, he couldn’t deny that it was fucking hot watching Andretti kiss him. Lorenzo fumbled with the buttons on his jeans before the sound of an engine coming up their driveway caught his attention. Caught Andretti and Samuel’s attention too, as their lips parted and their heads turned toward the sound. They weren’t expecting any visitors, especially not after ten at night, and especially not without prior warning. Cousins and siblings knew not to arrive without calling first, but then Mt Gambier wasn’t on the way to anywhere unless they were headed for Adelaide, so no reason for them to just drop in.
It could be related to the Devil Hawks… except Lorenzo dismissed that idea quickly when the engine didn’t carry the same rumbling sound of a motorbike, nor did it turn off for the worker’s quarters nearer to the sheds. Instead, the unknown vehicle continued up the long driveway toward the house, raising their hackles and seeing them scramble from the bed. Well Lorenzo and Andretti scrambled from the bed while Samuel rolled over and buried his head in the nearest pillow. Muffled curses drifted from their cousin, which only puzzled Lorenzo, and Andretti was feeling equally confused.
“Do you know who it is, Samuel?” Lorenzo asked, rebuttoning his pants and glancing around the room for where he’d dropped his weapons.
“Yeah, I… I think it’s Pauli. Sounds like his Maserati.”
“Pauli? Are you sure?” Andretti dropped the clothing he’d picked up and clambered onto the bed next to Samuel.
“Yeah… at least that’s what it sounded like.” Samuel lifted his head. “I’d hoped he wouldn’t have found me…or even have come looking.”
Lorenzo snorted. “Like that was going to happen. You’re an heir to the heir now, Samuel, same as he his… Pauli was never going to let you stay gone forever. Add in that he’s a Beltrame… I’m surprised it’s taken him this long.”
“That aside,” Andretti said, glaring at Lorenzo when Samuel tensed. “Do you want to see him?”
“No. Not today… or at least not right now.”
Sighing and shoving a hand through his hair, Lorenzo realised that he was the only one in a state suitable for investigating whether it was or was not Pauli. “If it is Pauli, then I’ll convince him to either return over the border to Portland or put him up in the guest wing.” And by convince, Lorenzo meant that he wouldn’t hesitate to use his fists to get the point across if his cousin refused to listen.
* * *
He reachedthe front door just as their unexpected guest pounded on it. Unexpected but not unknown, the security footage Lorenzo pulled up on his phone as he walked to the front door showed it was indeed Pauli. His cousin pounded on the door again, patience obviously not Pauli’s strong suit, and Lorenzo was glad that they’d not thought to install a doorbell. Not yet at least. He closed his eyes and prayed for the Lord to give him strength before swinging the door open and catching Pauli’s fist as his cousin went to knock on the door again.
“Pauli…what are you doing here?”
“I was in the…neighbourhood and thought I’d come visit.”
Lorenzo snorted, folded his arms over his chest and leaned against the doorframe. “Yeah, not buying it. Try another excuse… or even the truth.”
Pauli sighed, shoulders slumping as he scrubbed at his jaw. “Fine. I want to see Samuel. I heard that he was here.”
“Yeah, no. Samuel is busy right now.”
At least he hoped that Andretti had managed to distract Samuel from their visitor’s presence. Pauli wasn’t staying. Not unless he either buggered off to the guest room or got real comfortable with a few things. He didn’t expect that his cousin would have a negative reaction to what was happening, it wasn’t as though Pauli wouldn’t have walked in on other cousins… But there was no accounting for how he’d react seeing Samuel like that.
“It’s ten at night, why the fuck’s he busy?”
Lorenzo sighed. “Exactly… he’s sleeping.”
Pauli shrugged and took a step forward. “Not an issue. I’ll just wake him up. Not like it would be the first time I’ve done that because I’ve needed to talk.”
“I said no.” Lorenzo stepped in front of Pauli, preventing him from stepping inside the house. “You should head back to Portland and stay with my parents.” But Pauli refused to be dissuaded, placing his hands on Lorenzo’s chest, and pushing him out of the way. “Fuck, if you really want to stay, then you can spend the night in the guest room,” Lorenzo said, shoving his cousin toward in the opposite direction to where Samuel was.
“Yeah, yeah, sure. Won’t stop me from figuring out which of the rooms Samuel’s staying in.”
“He… Samuel isn’t staying down in the guest rooms.”
Pauli stopped and turned back to Lorenzo, anger flickering over his face. “Then where is he sleeping? I’m not leaving without seeing him!”
Lorenzo winced and scrubbed at his face. “Fine then, come with me,” he said, ushering Pauli in the direction of the master bedroom where Samuel was with Andretti… where Lorenzo wanted to be too, preferably without Pauli. He didn’t appreciate being cock-blocked by his straight cousin.
The closer they got to the master bedroom, the harder it was to convince Pauli that Samuel was sleeping and shouldn’t be interrupted. Even more reason why Pauli shouldn’t want to interrupt his friend, but it only seemed to make Pauli more determined to see Samuel. Lorenzo wondered if he should’ve added air quotes to the word straight, because maybe his cousin wasn’t so straight after all.