Chapter 20
CLAUDIA
Four Months Later
“This is it.” My nerves were shredded, my heart pounding like I was about to go up to the top of The Strat and dangle off the edge. “Are you ready?”
All it took was the touch of Sebastian’s hand against my back to spread calm through me.
Slowly, a bit at a time, but eventually, I began to relax and loosen up.
There wasn’t a weight crushing my chest anymore.
“I’m ready,” he whispered, kissing my head.
“There is nothing to be nervous about. Everything is perfect.”
He was right. Everything was perfect. Even though things hadn’t gone the way we originally planned, somehow, the outcome had turned out better than we could’ve imagined. Once Sebastian decided not to rebuild what had burned, his investors decided to pack their bags and head for greener pastures.
Yet his friends had stepped up, picked up the slack, and made it possible to do what he realized he should have done in the first place—expand the current location, blend both concepts into one that would balance both the traditions and comforts of home and the freshness and simplicity of authentic Italian cuisine, which could be at times quite different from what people imagined the cuisine to be.
In other words, there wasn’t a ton of garlic being thrown around all the time.
The changes extended beyond the menu. After some deliberating, Sebastian had decided to expand the dining room and install folding glass doors that opened up onto the outdoor dining area modeled almost exactly off of what had burned in the fire.
Now, two long tables set with candles and flowers were surrounded by the people we loved most in the world.
His entire family had come in for the exclusive reopening of Home, including cousins from out of town who now laughed it up, telling stories and teasing as only family could do.
With them were Sebastian’s friends and new investors.
Even Hadley was there, sitting beside Vaughn’s wife, Nova, the two of them deep in girl talk while the guys drank their scotch and busted each other’s balls.
The other table was reserved for the staff.
Once the dishes were presented, they would feast with us.
The additional space meant more help in the kitchen, and we were able to blend the new staff in with the seasoned vets.
Lucas was putting the finishing touches on the platters of meat, fish, pasta, and fresh vegetables.
“Everything look okay?” he asked, his gaze moving between Sebastian and me. “You think we’re ready to officially open this place?”
Sebastian’s hand found mine the way it always tended to do, and the reassuring pressure broke through my inexplicable jitters. It was the first night of something new, the beginning of the future of Home. Our future.
“It looks perfect to me,” I decided, and Sebastian agreed with a nod.
A round of applause rose up as we began bringing out the platters and lining them up across the tables.
“There’s plenty more in the kitchen,” Sebastian announced, taking the towel he’d slung over his shoulder and wiping sauce off the edge of a platter of braciole. He just couldn’t part with some dishes.
Nonna clapped her hands, beaming. “Such a feast! Oh, I’m glad I saved my appetite.” As usual, a plate of calamari was left in front of her, and her eyes gleamed as she snagged a piece.
“Try leaving some for the rest of us, Nonna,” Maddie teased before Sebastian tugged her hair in passing. “Knock it off!” she grunted.
“Knock it off with being such a smartass,” he retorted, lowering a bowl of fresh pasta onto the table.
Once everything was set up, I hesitated before taking my seat.
It was all perfect—a beautiful, warm night made even more so by the presence of so much laughter.
The candles flickered, and the lights strung overhead twinkled.
It was the sort of camaraderie that could only exist around a table full of food and filled my soul in a way nothing else could.
I was overcome with emotion, almost afraid to move.
Like the perfection would be ruined if I did.
“You all right?” Sebastian found me, sliding his arm around my waist. We stood side by side, looking over the results of what we had built together.
“Absolutely perfect,” I replied with a smile, leaning against him, soaking in the moment before sitting to dig in. “Now don’t forget, everybody, we have a lot of dessert waiting too. Save some room.”
“Say less,” Maddie joked, leaving Sebastian to roll his eyes.
“I would say that was a success.”
Sebastian handed me a glass of wine before flopping onto the sofa in his office with a glass of scotch. I had insisted he expand his office during the renovations. It only made sense.
“I still can’t believe we got it all done in such a tight timeline,” I mused, gazing around the room, thinking back on the night. It was perfect. I ate until I was ready to burst, but it was the laughter and the love that left me smiling hours after everyone cleared out.
Now, it was just the two of us again, reflecting on the night before heading back to his home. Our home, where I had already practiced countless new recipes. It was another part of being in love with him—having an actual kitchen at home. The fringe benefits abounded.
Rather than sip the wine, I set it aside in favor of turning toward him. “Everyone seemed so happy tonight. Nonna was so proud of you. I loved looking over at her and seeing her smile when she watched you.”
“Did she do that?” A look of fondness washed over his face. “That means everything.”
“You mean everything,” I told him, leaning over, taking his glass and placing it on the table beside the sofa.
I was more interested in crawling into his lap and straddling him, draping my arms around his neck.
“You brought all those people together tonight. And you’re going to keep doing that every night for years to come.
You’re such a natural out there, so warm and hospitable. I love you so much.”
“Having you next to me makes it all worthwhile,” he murmured, his hands sliding up my thighs under my soft, cotton dress. Tonight seemed like an occasion worthy of dressing up for. Now, I was glad it allowed him to touch so much of my skin.
He tasted like scotch and chocolate, which was not a bad combination.
Or maybe it was the man himself who woke up my lips along with the rest of me.
Maybe it was the taste of him I needed more of, going back for another kiss, then another, pouring all of my love and pride into it because I was proud to be his.
I was proud of the life we were building together.
“Are you trying to seduce me, Granger?” he whispered between kisses, his hands moving more deliberately now, stroking my skin, pressing against my flesh. He took my hips and pulled down, pressing me against his growing bulge.
“Since when do I have to try?” I asked, giggling when he rolled his eyes. That didn’t stop him from using my body to satisfy his needs.
I invited it because he satisfied my needs, too, and I would never stop needing him.
“It seems like we do it a lot in this building. Have you noticed?” Slowly, I let my dress straps fall from my shoulders, then slid the bodice over my chest and let my breasts fall free. I’d never tire of his reaction—half-lidded eyes and a growl sounding in his throat.
“It makes sense when this is where we spend most of our time,” he reasoned, raining soft, tantalizing kisses over the swells of my breasts, lifting them to his lips, teasing my nipples with his tongue.
How was it still so electric? So fresh, exciting?
It took nothing to light me up to make me wet and needy.
“You are so good at that,” I whispered, running my fingers through his hair, pulling his head tight against me. He responded with a groan, using one hand to grab my ass and work me against him. I started moving on my own, grinding, letting the sensations guide me.
“Sweet. So sweet.” He kissed his way back up to my throat, lapping at my skin, grazing it with his teeth while I bore down on him when the ache in my pussy turned to demand.
I knew what I needed, and I chased it, letting myself get carried away because I knew he would be with me all along the way. I had nothing to fear.
And it was that freedom that let me move faster, harder, humping him like an animal and almost laughing at myself. Joy. There was pure joy in this, in him—his musky, spicy scent, the sound of his groans, and the way his breath heated my skin before his tongue did the same.
“Make yourself come,” he growled, gripping my hips with both hands, working with me, his heavy breathing matching my own. Hearing his pleasure intensified mine until I finally felt the familiar tightening, the sense of standing on the edge of a cliff.
And I let myself fall over the edge, flying through space with no fear of hitting the ground.
“Oh, yes,” he whispered, holding me in the aftermath, still guiding me slowly against him. “Yes, that’s good. Hearing you do that. Watching it come over you. Fucking beautiful.”
“Make it happen again,” I urged, still hungry, still needy. “Please.”
“As if you have to ask.” I lifted myself from his lap, my hands shaking as I opened his belt, then his fly.
His sharp gasp at the first touch of my hand turned to a deep, guttural moan once I began to stroke.
I wanted him inside me, yes, but I wanted to savor this, too, having him completely under my control, his every breath depending on what I did next.
I stared down at him, taking in every muscle twitch, every flare of his nostrils. Watching as he let himself go.
His eyes opened and locked with mine, and my heart swelled until I was sure it would burst. “I love you,” he whispered, reaching between my legs to move my thong aside. There was nothing like taking him inside me with nothing between us, feeling his silk-covered steel moving within me.
“Fuck, yes, ride me,” he groaned, grabbing my ass, pulling me down on him. “Make yourself come on my cock, baby. I want to feel you squeeze it.”
I loved it when he talked like that when he touched my body with so much naked need. “Yes,” I whispered as he pulled my head back by my hair so his tongue could run along my throat. “Fuck, yes.”
“You like it like that, don’t you?” he asked, pulling my head close now, touching his tongue to mine.
I moaned into his mouth, moving faster, rocking my hips so my clit could grind against his base.
Perfect, so perfect, the pleasure doubling and tripling, radiating through me, turning my body into one giant, throbbing nerve.
A pure, sizzling sensation swept me away, enveloping me in the sweetest pleasure.
“Getting tighter,” he grunted, and I whimpered my response. “Are you gonna come for me? Is that what you’re gonna do?”
“Yes!” I cried, bouncing desperately, losing my rhythm in favor of giving my body what it wanted. More. It was all that mattered. More.
I came explosively, shattering in his arms, falling against him, and burying my face in his neck while he pumped me up and down a few more times. Slamming me against him one last time, he let go with a deep groan, filling me with a rush of warmth. Perfection. Every last moment.
“You know, there is one good thing about having a sofa in my office.” He chuckled against my shoulder before kissing it, still breathing hard.
“What’s that?” I asked, sitting up.
“We don’t have to sanitize it afterward. You know I’m all about efficiency,” he added with a wink that made me laugh. He laughed along with me, touching his forehead to mine before releasing a soft sigh. “I’m all about you.”
“Do me a favor and keep it that way, okay?”
“Granger?” He tucked my hair behind my ears, taking my face between his hands. I could never get tired of gazing into his gray eyes. “That is one thing you never have to worry about.”