Chapter 16
SETH
I could hit him. He knew I came to Mirarosa to get away from him and his insistence on pursuing Madison. It doesn’t matter that all I’ve done here so far is think about her. There’s no escaping my fantasies, and that’s where she lives—in my fantasies.
I shake my head at Damiano. “You’re a controlling bastard.”
“What?” He holds up his hands like he’s innocent.
“And you ignore boundaries,” I snarl.
“Should I…go?” Madison shifts from foot to foot, clearly uncomfortable.
“Perhaps, for a minute.” Damiano reaches over to hold her hand. “Bella, I didn’t want to assume sleeping arrangements. If you’d like to check out your bedroom, it’s upstairs, second on the right.”
“That’s where I’m sleeping,” I say.
Sighing, Damiano says, “It is the first room on the right, then.”
Madison gives me an apologetic look before hurrying up the stairs. I stare impassively after her. I realize this isn’t her fault, but her presence makes everything worse.
I face my friend. Or perhaps, my enemy.
“You look so angry.” He adopts a wounded expression. “What, I did not know you were here in Mirarosa. You never told me where you were going.”
I didn’t need to tell him. I took the cash and mentioned gas money. That was all he needed.
“I’m going for a walk,” I say. “And if you fucking follow me, I’m leaving the fucking country.”
He grins. “Okay, okay. Easy there, friend.”
Nothing about this is easy.
* * *
MADISON
The sound of a door slamming makes me jump. I frown toward the hallway before returning to my appreciation of the bedroom. It’s decorated simply, with a wood floor and white curtains, white bedspread. The walls are such a pale blue that they look white, too. It’s very beachy, very bright.
Swift footsteps sound in the hall, and then Damiano stands in the open doorway. An intense wrinkle divides his brow.
Before I can speak, he takes three large strides to me and grips me in his arms. “I need you,” he murmurs. “Please, bella.”
“Yes—”
Before the word is completely out, his mouth crashes down over mine. I gasp in surprise and he forces his tongue between my lips.
I drink him in, held tightly in his embrace, allowing him to control the kiss. It would be so easy to let him consume me, to forget everything and everyone else…
Everyone else.
I push at Damiano’s chest until he lets me go. His dark eyes are fixed on mine, searching.
“Where’s Seth?” I ask.
“Oh, him?” Damiano shrugs like he’s already forgotten we crashed Seth’s weekend. “He went for a walk.”
“Is he mad?” I take a step back to put more distance between us. My breasts are heavy with need, and zings of pleasure center around my clit. I want him. “The door slammed.”
“He’s a little angry, yes. But he’ll get over it eventually.” Damiano follows my progress. Every step backward I take, he takes another toward me.
The thick outline of his cock is visible at the front of his pants. He wants me just as much as I want him. But we have to talk first. There was something I wanted to say. Something about the door slamming.
“What’s on your mind?” He steps forward again. “Are you trying to get away from me? I love a chase, Madison, but if there’s something else, talk to me.”
“Well, to be honest, I’m a little mad.” I stop moving, partly because there’s nowhere left to go. The bed is right behind me. I face him directly, folding my arms against my chest. My arms rub against my sensitive nipples, but I tamp down my lust. “You knew Seth was here—”
“How could I have?”
“Damiano. Be serious—you knew he was here and you brought me here on purpose. I know it, Seth knows it, and you know it. Don’t insult us all by pretending otherwise.”
“You are right.” For the first time, something like regret passes over his face. “I aimed to disrupt Seth’s equilibrium, but not yours.”
I stare hard at him. “Is this sort of thing normal for you guys?”
He smiles. “Yes, all the time. Sometimes it is me bothering him, and other times it is him bothering me. But I will admit, I am usually the transgressor.”
“I don’t want to be caught in the middle of however you mess with each other,” I say. “I’m a person, not a pawn.”
“You’re right—again. I apologize for putting you into this position. It was inconsiderate of me.” His brown eyes are serious as he holds my gaze.
“Maybe we should leave?”
“If that is what you want. But I assure you, it isn’t necessary.”
My expression must be skeptical, because he steps forward to take my hands. His touch ignites something within me, something needy and aching. All the fire from our kiss returns.
“Notice, bella, that he hasn’t packed up his things to leave. He could, at any point, but so far, he is still here. I intend to have fun with that, and I hope you will join me because I think you will like it very much.”
“I—” I’m tempted. Crap. What is it about how he talks to me? He wants to have fun with Seth, with me? Is he talking about what we did at the auction, when Seth watched? Because that was the hottest night of my life.
It was also the most confusing night of my life. Kyle’s brother watched me fuck another man.
Damiano stares into my eyes. “May I tempt you?”
I want to give him some blithe, uncaring answer. Something like, you can try, buster. But instead I nod. Because hell yeah, he can tempt me. He’s already tempting me.
He moves my hands behind the small of my back, which thrusts my chest forward. His gaze is hungry on my breasts. Holding my hands in place with one of his, he brings his other forward and tugs down the front of my shirt.
“I love seeing you in disarray.” He fondles my breasts, cupping them each in turn, before plucking at my nipples through the lace of my bra.
He presses his face into my neck, his whiskers pleasantly scratchy, the faint scent of expensive cologne delighting my nose.
His lips slide over my skin, then his teeth scrape me.
It feels dangerous and sexy. I can’t move with my arms pinned behind my back, although I want more than anything to grab his hips and pull him against me.
I want to rub against him, wrap my legs around him, feel that hard outline against my pussy.
“You want more of this?” His fingertips pinch one of my nipples.
“Yes. More.”
“Or do you want some of this?” He brings his hand down to cup my pussy through my jeans.
I sigh and press into his touch, striving for more contact, more pressure. “More of that, too.”
He kisses me, continuing to massage me, drawing my body tight. I try to rub my chest against his, but he keeps my arms behind my back, preventing me from moving.
Pulling away slightly, he surveys me. I know what I must look like, my face flushed, my lips parted and swollen from his kisses.
He brings his hand back to my breasts, to trace one of my hardened nipples. I make a strangled, whimpering sound—totally involuntary. I couldn’t keep quiet if I tried.
Damiano says, “Allow me to be in charge of your pleasure today. If you agree, say yes, Sir.”
“Yes, Sir.” I nod for emphasis. Let there be no misunderstanding. I want this. I need it.
He offers me a slow, sexy smile. “Good. Now, take off all of your clothes.”
* * *
SETH
When I come back from my walk, I go straight toward my room. My footsteps are heavy on the floor—I’m still pissed at Damiano, and tired from hiking all over the fucking coast.
Rustling sounds from Madison’s room make me pause. They’re fucking. Because of course they are.
Madison moans. “Damiano…I don’t think we’re alone.”
“We’re alone enough. Get on your knees and touch yourself, bella. I want you to come again.”
So they’ve been at it for a while. I lean against the wall, hard as fucking stone. I could leave. Nobody’s forcing me to stay in Mirarosa.
But, since I’m here and I’m hard, and Madison is making those soft little whimpering sounds, I may as well make the most of it.
I pull my dick from my pants and start jerking.