Page 80 of XOXO, Valentina

“It isn’t ideal, but we don’t have a choice.”

“I can’t be in the same room with you and act like I’m not in love with you.”

My heart seized. He’d casually tossed out the L-word, as if it weren’t the most important feeling in the world.

“But the students…” I couldn’t digest this information. It was too much. Joey would upend his life for us to be together? “They love you.”

“And I love them,” he said, finally reaching for me. His hand closed around my wrist, and he tugged me to his chest. “But I love you more.”

I stiffened and pulled away from him. “What about my son? How does he fit in?”

“Shane already knows about us.”

My heart leaped into my throat, pulsing so fast it blocked my breath. “What?”

“Shane told me to go for you a month ago. Trust me, he doesn’t mind. He likes me.”

The line of red expanded in my vision, blurring the view of the sunset, my thoughts… everything. “No.”

“Yes.” Joey smiled. It was his easy, confident smile, although a little more dim than usual. “Shane wants the best for you. He wants you to be happy.” His expression tensed. “What you saw that night at school with Caroline…” He shook his head, frowning at me. “I know you think I have a lot of women. That I’m a gamer.”

I squinted up at him. “A player,” I said.

His eyes found mine, and all traces of his smile disappeared. “I’m not like that, Gabriella. Caroline and I weren’t in a relationship. She just wanted to be with someone when she came to town for work. It was easy between us. No strings. No demands. I hope you understand.”

The tight coil of jealousy in my belly loosened. I’d judged Joey harshly without hearing his explanation. I’d jumped to conclusions more than once. Caroline, Kaitlyn, Angela, and Maria. Jealousy had clouded my vision.

“It’s not like that with you,” he said. “I care about you.”

Panic seized my heart. “Joey—”

“Don’t say you don’t care about me, Gabriella. I know you do, or you wouldn’t have come here. You wouldn’t have been jealous of Maria or suspicious of Lucia and Diego.”

The pain in my chest spread until my entire body felt like it was being squeezed in a vise. I didn’t want to talk about my feelings, and there was one surefire way to steer the conversation back to solid ground.

I hooked my fingers in his belt loop and tugged him closer to me. “Maybe I came here because I wanted more sex with you.”

His eyes flashed at the bluntness of my words. The storm raging inside him darkened his features. I’d never seen him so angry.

“More sex?” His voice pulled tight enough to crack. “Is that what you want?”

I read the unspoken question in his eyes.Is that all you want?

In answer, I slid my hand to his fly. As soon as I touched him, his body responded.Yes. This was my way out of this tense conversation. We would go back to Orgasmland where everything was hunky-dory. Beneath the thin fabric of his shorts, I felt him respond.

He wanted sex, too. It was impossible to deny when my hand was on the evidence.

He grabbed my wrist and pushed my hand away. “Stand up,” he growled.

I pushed up from the chair, my feet scrambling to find purchase on the slick tile floor. My chest rose and fell with the short pants of my breath. A shiver rushed down my spine, at odds with the heat spreading through me.

“Take off your dress.”

The lush gardens outside our bungalow provided some privacy, but we weren’t completely hidden from view. Someone strolling along the beach could see onto our terrace if they happened to glance past the thick buffer of jungle.

“Do it, Gabriella.”

With a final glance at the deserted beach beyond the trees, I reached around to undo my zipper. My breasts jutted forward, and my nipples rubbed against the lace of my bra. The shiver running down my spine exploded, sending pulses of desire through me.

---