Page 48 of XOXO, Valentina

Our mutual groan filled the air as I sank home. She pressed her hands into the counter and ground into me. I buried my face against her neck, breathing in the erotic scent of sex and sweat.

“I wanted this too.” I licked a path up her neck to her jaw, then found her lips again.

Our tongues tangled frantically. I thought my heart was going to explode as I pumped into her. We burned to get closer to each other. Her hands clawed at my shirt, then yanked it up and over my head. My fingers dug into her hips, pinning her to the counter as I pounded into her.

I knew by the change in her breathing, she was close. She cried out, and I covered her mouth with mine, swallowing ripples of pleasure as they rocked through us. Her pussy clenched my cock so tightly I couldn’t hold on much longer. She raked her nails down my back with enough pressure to mark me as hers, and I lost control. I came so hard my knees went weak and I had to lean against the counter until my toes uncurled.

We clung together while the last spasms swept through us. When we’d both caught our breath, I slowly eased back and cleaned myself up. The thought of making muffins on this counter struck me as funny, and I grinned.

Gabriella’s eyebrows rose, and her flushed cheeks burned brighter. “Why are you smiling?”

I dragged her off the counter and set her on her feet. “I was just thinking about making some breakfast.”

She bent down to get her shorts and wiggled them over her shoes. After plucking her phone out of her pocket, she scrolled through her messages. “I need to go.”

“Everything okay?”

“Fine.”

“Where’s Shane?”

She cocked an eyebrow at me. “He spent the night at my brother’s. My nephew is a year younger than Shane.”

I pointed at her phone. “Was that him?”

She shook her head. “He probably isn’t up yet.”

“Then you have time for breakfast.” Sex in the kitchen was proving to be convenient.

Gabriella eyed me as I filled the kettle with water and set it on the stove. “You don’t have to cook for me.”

I wiped down the counter before grabbing everything I needed from the fridge. “I want to.”

She yanked the elastic band out of her hair and fixed her ponytail. “I don’t think this is a good idea.”

“If you keep saying that, you’re going to hurt my feelings.” I smiled and grabbed a pan for the eggs. “I just ran about fifteen kilometers waiting for you to show up at the park, so this food is more for me than you.”

“Fifteen kilometers? That’s like nine miles.”

I set the pan down and placed my hands on either side of her, trapping her against the counter. “It was worth it.”

She spread her hands across my chest, her throat working as she swallowed. Her long lashes fluttered as she blinked at me. “I rarely eat breakfast.”

I rarely cooked for people, or ran circles in the park waiting for them. And I didn’t beg women to come back to my apartment to “talk,” or spend nights lying awake in bed missing them.

A loudmeowsplit the silence. Frodo stared up at me. I scowled at him.“No seas metiche.”

Frodo ignored me and leaped onto the counter, nosing his way between us.

“Frodo understands Spanish?” She rubbed him behind the ears. “Hola, Frodo.”

Frodo purred and leaned into Gabriella’s touch. I didn’t blame the orange beast one bit.

“What did you say to him?”

“I told him to mind his own business.” I gave Frodo a stern look and pointed. “Down.”

After whipping his tail against the counter a few times, Frodo jumped to the floor and padded around my feet.

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