Chapter 12
He cups my face. "I want you, Nora. All of you. I want you to be my girlfriend." I go still. Oh my God.
"Okay." He looks down at me in surprise. "Okay, I'll be yours," I explain. He kisses me passionately. How am I going to explain Damon? This is so fucking messed up. What have I done? I can't tell Graham I'm in love with him.
I pull back from the kiss. "I need to ask you something, and I hope you won't freak out."
Concern returns to his eyes. "Okay?"
"My family—Bianca's family—is having dinner tomorrow night, and they want to meet you." He studies me. "Do you want me to come?" he asks.
I nod. "I do. Do you want to?"
A broad grin spreads across his face as he pulls me on top of him. "Yes. I want to go."
Smiling, I kiss down his neck. My hands roam over his head and down to his shoulders. He smirks and catches them. "As much as I'd love to, I don't want to hurt you. Just lie here and let me hold you." I nod and settle against his chest, my arm draped across his abdomen. We fall asleep.
The next morning, I wake sprawled across Graham. He's speaking quietly into his phone, trying not to wake me. "Tell Bianca she's fine. She's right here beside me. I'll have Nora call her when she wakes up. Owen! That's none of your fucking business."
I start chuckling, knowing exactly who he's talking to. He looks down at me and smirks. "I've got to go, Owen. I'll talk to you later. Yeah, yeah... bye." He leans down to kiss me. "Call Bianca. She's driving me fucking nuts."
I giggle and roll on top of him, kissing his neck. "What did Owen want to know?"
He stops me and meets my eyes with a mischievous grin. "He wanted to know how many orgasms I gave you." I blush.
I bury my face in his neck and start kissing him to hide my embarrassment.
I feel him growing aroused. He groans, his hands sliding down my naked body. "If you start this, we'll never get out of bed."
"Mmm... maybe that's what I want," I murmur between kisses, moving lower.
He draws me back up. "I don't want that. A man abused you that way, and I don't want to be associated with it. I don't need it. Just fucking thinking about you turns me on."
He picks me up and carries me into his bathroom to shower. I stand beneath the spray, warm water running over my body. Suddenly, he presses me against the shower wall and turns the showerhead away from me, directing the water at my clit. My body trembles.
Graham lifts me off my feet, keeping the spray against my clit until I'm moaning and breathing hard.
He kisses down to my collarbone. I wrap a hand around his hard cock and stroke him, drawing a growl.
He drops the showerhead and thrusts into me.
I kiss him hard, pulling him closer, and move against him until his thrusts grow deeper and faster.
Soon, moans and cries fill the bathroom.
I clench around Graham as I reach my orgasm, and I feel him begin to twitch inside me.
He pulls out quickly and releases onto the tiled shower floor.
His hands brace against the wall, enclosing me. He meets my eyes, his gaze full of desire, then kisses me deeply. We return to our shower.
After making love to me in the shower, he wraps a towel around me and sets me on the bathroom counter. Standing between my legs, he rests his hands on my waist and kisses me. Then he pauses. "I need to ask you something. There's a military ball next weekend, and I want you to come with me."
I nod. "I'll go with you." Then I kiss him again.
He rests his forehead against mine. "We should get dressed. We can pick up some clothes for you on the way."
I shake my head, smiling. "I brought clothes. They're in the trunk of my car."
He chuckles. "Oh... so you planned last night?"
I take a breath. "Not exactly. I knew resisting you would be hard if you started something, so... I wanted to be prepared." He smirks, sliding his hands up my thighs.
Once we're dressed, Graham goes into the kitchen to make coffee. I sit at the island, and we talk about everything. He's so easy to talk to. We spend the day together at his house, enjoying each other's company. I can't get enough of him.
We begin getting ready for dinner and his introduction to my family. Graham puts on a button-up shirt, leaving the top button open. I can see the line between his pecs. Can he just fuck me now?
In his bathroom, I take off my outfit and start tugging my dress up over my ass. I glance in the mirror and catch Graham watching, his pupils dilated as his gaze follows every curve. I finally get the dress into place. "Would you mind zipping me up?"
Graham draws a breath and sweeps my hair aside, brushing my neck.
I shiver. In the mirror, I see his smirk as he slowly trails a finger up my skin while fastening the zipper.
He turns me around and crushes his lips to mine.
"That dress won't be staying on for long when we get back here," he says breathlessly.
I giggle, and we head out to his truck, then drive to the restaurant.
We pull up outside, and my nerves take over. God, I'm going to throw up. Graham takes my hand, having noticed me tapping it against the armrest the entire way. "Hey, it's going to be fine," he says in his deep voice.
I lean across and kiss him passionately. "Yeah, that dress is coming off the second we walk into my house," he says. Fuck... I'm already turned on.
We climb out, and Graham takes my hand as we enter the restaurant. I immediately spot Renzo, Bianca, Owen, Bianca's mother, Bailey, and her father, Ricardo; Renzo and Ricardo's mother, Rosa; their brother, Mario; and several of Bianca's cousins.
Everyone comes over to hug and kiss me. They're an affectionate family. It felt unfamiliar at first, but I rather like it now. Renzo approaches us, wraps his arms around me, and kisses the top of my head. "How are you, love?"
I blush. "I'm really good. How are you?"
He smiles. "I'm good. I'm glad you didn't miss another family dinner, and I'm glad you're doing so well. I'm assuming this young man has something to do with that?"
I nod. Graham offers his hand. "It's nice to meet you, sir. I'm Graham."
Renzo shakes it. "Nice to meet you, Graham. My name is Lorenzo Bellandi, but you can call me Renzo." He looks down at me. "Would you like to introduce this young man to the family?" I lower my eyes and nod.
We choose seats beside Owen and Bianca, who's grinning from ear to ear. I roll my eyes. When I stand, everyone falls silent and watches me. "Uh... hi. It's lovely to see everyone. I'm sorry I missed dinner two weeks ago. I... uh... brought someone with me. This is Graham. Um... he's my boyfriend."
Everyone speaks at once, bombarding Graham with personal questions. "Stop!" I say. "I love you all, but you can be overwhelming. Instead of asking for Graham's entire life story, why don't we let him choose what he'd like to share?"
Graham takes my hand beneath the table. "Baby, it's okay. Stop worrying. I wouldn't expect anything less from a loving family." He kisses my cheek. I glance at Renzo and find a goofy grin on his face.
Graham tells them where he works and that he was a Navy SEAL. Everyone takes an interest in his military background. He and Owen trade stories that have the whole table laughing.
Renzo speaks up. "I'm glad my daughter has found someone worthy of her love." I look at him immediately and see sorrow in his eyes. I know he's remembering the day we first met. Graham wraps an arm around my shoulders, pulling me close and kissing the top of my head. My cheeks turn tomato red.
"That said, Nora, I want you to know how much this family loves you. We adore you. I love you as if you were my own daughter," Renzo says. Tears gather in my eyes, and Graham rubs my back.
"Nora, I don't want to tell people you're like a daughter to me. I want you to be my daughter, legally. I'd like to adopt you. What do you think?"
I rise from my chair, and he stands, too. Throwing my arms around him, I say, "There's nothing I'd want more than to be your daughter." Tears stream down my face. Renzo kisses the top of my head and wipes them away. "I love you, Nora."
I hug him tighter. "I love you, too!"
After everyone has hugged me, Bianca comes over. "I'm so happy you're officially going to be my cousin! And don't think I've forgotten you introduced Graham as your boyfriend. We've got a lot to discuss." I blush.
Back in the truck, Graham threads his fingers through mine and kisses the back of my hand.
He drives us to his house, and we head to the door.
The instant he unlocks it, he pulls me inside, lifting me into his arms and starting to unzip my dress as he carries me toward his bedroom. He wasn't kidding.
I kiss him hard. "You're not wasting any time," I say, my chest heaving.
He throws me onto the bed and begins undressing. "I know what I want, and I've wanted you all night." Fuck...
I bite my lower lip as he lowers himself over me. Afterward, he removes the condom and pulls me against his chest, both of us breathing hard. Tears begin slipping down my cheeks, and he notices.
"Oh my God, baby, did I hurt you?" he asks in alarm.
I shake my head. "No. I'm just so happy. I never thought my life could hold this much joy. I thought I'd be miserable forever."
He brushes my tears away and kisses me. "You deserve every bit of happiness, and so much more."