Page 69 of The Road to You
“Fuck,” I groan lowering my head on her chest.
She tilts her head up and frowns at me. “What?”
I look at her with a sheepish smile. “I don’t have a condom,” I confess.
She smiles. “Wasn’t your plan all along to seduce me in the olive grove?”
I give her a don’t-mess-with-me look, but a grin pulls at my lips.
“Actually, this wasn’t planned, but you’re so irresistible I can’t keep my hands to myself.”
She rolls her eyes playfully. “Are you Italians always so flirty?”
I pretend to be offended. “We’re always flirty, it’s in our DNA.”
She chuckles, but her smile sweetens. “We can go without it, if you want. I’m on the pill and clean.”
Her proposal takes me by surprise. It’s a big deal going without a condom, but she looks at peace with it, no trace of doubt on her face.
“Are you sure? I mean, I’m clean, too, but it’s not like we have to do it.” Even if my cock throbbing between her thighs begs otherwise.
She nods. “I’m sure,” she says, kissing my head.
The knot in my stomach flips and then dissolves into a warm feeling that spreads all through me.
She helps remove my cargo pants and boxer briefs while I take off her panties. I nestle between her legs again and put my elbows on either side of her, looking her straight in the eyes, while aligning my shaft to her entrance and slowly pushing inside her.
“Fuck…” A growl escapes my mouth. This feels so intimate my body trembles against hers. She lets out a soft moan and wraps her arms around my neck, her legs over my butt. I cradle her body against mine, and I thrust into her, slow and deep. I take my time savoring the feeling of our sensitive skin against each other.
She raises her hips, matching my thrust with hers. I feel her hip bones against mine in a dance that alters the space and time around us. I’m so lost in the sensation of her heat around my cock, that when she puts her hands on my buttcheeks and pushes me against her, I completely lose the battle of restraining myself and thrust deep and fast inside the most delicious being I’ve ever made love with.
Because this isn’t casual sex, not anymore. Not for me, and from the way she’s looking at me, not for her either. Our bodies dance in sync, the sound of skin against skin drawing out the sound of the cicadas and crickets around us. Or maybe they’re just silent and blushing in view of this spectacle of love and lust and everything in between.
“Come inside me, Michele. Please,” Lena whispers against my ear, and it’s the only permission I need to worship her body even harder and faster.
She clenches around my cock with a moan muffled by her mouth biting my shoulder and I come undone, pushing deep inside her and releasing my pleasure, trembling and breathinghard, leaning my forehead into the crook of her neck and almost whispering those words that press against my lips.I love you, Lena. And I’ve never been more sure about something in my entire life.
I roll to the ground next to her, breathing hard and tightening my grip around her body, dragging her against my chest. The ancient olive tree above us stands witness as we come down from a high that drained our bodies but filled our souls, because I feel deep in my gut that everything changed today.
In this moment, everything else fades away—the uncertainty, the pain, the fear. All that remains is us, here, now.
As we lie together beneath the canopy of leaves, I realize that this isn’t just a summer fling. It’s something deeper, more profound.
And I don’t want it to end.
24
LENA
The smell of grilled zucchini, lemony sea bass, and something fried mingles with the warm summer air as I sit beneath the pergola outside Michele’s parents’ masseria. The air is thick with the scent of jasmine and rosemary, and the sun has only just dipped below the horizon, painting the sky in dusky pink and amber. Now that the stars are peeking out, the string lights above our heads glow like fireflies caught in a dance.
It’s beautiful. Too beautiful. One of those nights you know you’ll remember for the rest of your life.
A vintage radio plays somewhere behind us. A soft, sentimental Italian song croons through static. It adds the perfect touch, like a movie scene you didn’t know you’d been waiting your whole life to live.
I’ve got a glass of white wine in my hand, a plate full of grilled vegetables in front of me, and the kind of joy in my chest that feels both light and dangerously full.
Michele sits beside me, looking more relaxed than I’ve ever seen him, his hand brushing mine every time he reaches for hisglass. He doesn’t even notice. Or maybe he does. Either way, I don’t pull away.
