“Construction, right?”
“Yes. Mostly houses on the island.”
She picks up my hand and studies it then traces my callous. “So, you’re pretty handy?”
Heat moves in my veins. I slide two fingers down her spine and cockily tell her, “I know how to do a lot with my hands.”
She takes a deep breath.
My cock is hard and swollen and feels like it might burst just from her sexy flush.
Simmer down. Don’t freak her out again.
“Do you miss New York?”
The light leaves her face. “No.”
I pull her closer to me, almost as if I can protect her from whatever caused the darkness in her expression.
She traces a tattoo on my pec. It’s of a fist pounding into my heart.
“What does this represent?”
“Something my brothers and I do.”
She raises an eyebrow in question.
I’ve never told anyone what it means. It’s been our secret, and I’ve always brushed off any questions about it.
I wrap her hand in a fist and pound my chest three times. “Together we stand, and alone we fall.”
She murmurs the saying and repeats my motions then palms my heart. Sadness enters her eyes, and she says, “It’s nice you’re close to your family.”
I almost ask her about hers but remember she told me she doesn’t ever see them.
I try to kiss her pain away. I don’t know what her situation is or why such an expression fills her face, but I want to erase it.
The normal heat of our kisses ignites, but this one is a slow burn, smoldering then singing as it progresses.
She surprises me when she repositions herself and straddles me, grinding her sex against my cock, then moving faster and sinking on me harder.
The heat from the hot tub is nothing compared to the bubbling in my veins. I groan and hold her tight.
Her whimpers become moans, and her hands press my cheeks harder. Small tremors roll through her body as her hips circle harder.
The twitching of my cock gets more prominent, her clit rubbing against it.
She’s going to come.
Fuck. She’s hot.
“Take it, baby,” I murmur.
Her eyelids fly open, and for a brief moment, I think she might stop, so I grip her hips and guide her movements. “Take what you need,” I growl at her and bite on her lip before her mouth forms the most gorgeous O I’ve ever seen.
Don’t come, Connor. Whatever you do, do not come right now.
Her chest heaves. “Oh...oh...Connor,” she cries out as her eyes roll and back arches. Her body crashes against mine, violently trembling.
She buries her face in my neck as her tremors still. Her heart races, and I stroke her head.
Thank God you didn’t come.
Her body stiffens in my arm. “Oh God. I...I—”
“You are sexy and perfect”—I tilt her head so my eyes lock into hers— “and can take whatever you need from me.”
She draws a deep breath and bites on her lip.
I brush her hair behind her ear then steal another kiss. “Let’s get out. I’m turning into a prune.”
“Okay.”
“Stay in until I get towels or you’ll get cold.” I climb out of the water and open the cabinet where the towels are. I select a few and throw them on the double bed lounger and then take two over to Gia.
She rises out of the tub, and I wrap the cloth around her, then dry myself off.
“Do you want anything to drink?” I ask.
“No, I’m okay.”
I turn on the heat lamp, arrange towels on the lounger, and we lie down. I drape more towels over us and pull her into my arms. “Are you cold?”
“No. You’re nice and warm.” She moves her hand over my heart again.
A thin silver bracelet catches my eye. I trace my finger on it. “Pretty.”
A strange expression fills her face. Is it guilt? As quickly as it’s there, it’s gone. “Thanks.”
“Is it silver or platinum?”
She hesitates for a minute. “Platinum.”
“It’s nice. My sisters would both love it.”
“What are your sisters like?”
“Bossy.”
“Ha ha.”
I put my hand over hers. “They’re cool. Gabriella lives at home with me.”
“Is she the youngest?”
“No, I am.”
She pinches my cheek. “Aww. You’re the baby.”
“Funny.”
She rests her hand on my chest.
“You and my sisters would get along really well.”
“You think?”
“Yeah.”
Her thumb circles my nipple, and she focuses on it.
“Do you live with a roommate?”
“No, by myself.”
“Is it lonely?”
Her thumb pauses. When she circles it again, she says, “Sometimes.”
I caress her hip. “I’ve never lived on my own.”
“Can I ask you something?”
“Ask me whatever you want.”
“Why do you still live with your parents?”
“Should I give you the answer I tell everyone or the real one?”
She rolls further on her side and props her head up. “Both.”
“My parents are cool. I get to do whatever I want, live on the island, and don’t have to pay rent.”
“What’s the real one?”
She’s smart.
“How do you know that isn’t it?”
She shrugs. “I guess because it sounds too normal and easy.”
I take a deep breath. “What I told you is true, and I am saving all my money so I can buy a house and not rent when I move out, but it’s not why I stay. My brothers are always on me about it. They think I’m just wasting time bartending and living with my parents when I could be working with them.”
“Why do you stay?”
“If I tell you something, will you not judge my family or me?”
She strokes my cheek. “I won’t judge you, Connor. Or your family.”
“Will it stay between us?”
“Yes, of course.”
My heart races. I’ve never told anyone this before. “My sister...Gabriella...” I stop and collect my thoughts while biting back my emotions. “She had a hard time over the last few years.”
“Is she okay?”
I blink hard and turn away, clenching my jaw. “She’s doing well now, but my parents and I don’t want her to live on her own right now. She moved back in, but she feels like a loser because of it. I stayed so she isn’t alone.”
Gia slides on top of me. Her eyes fill with tears. “You’re a good brother.”
She pins her gaze on mine.
“You’re really stunning,” I blurt out.
Lowering her face to mine, she kisses me sweetly then with urgency, sinking her knees on either side of my body.
I wrap her in my arms, sliding my hand through her satin hair, giving to her whatever I can without going too fast so she doesn’t get spooked again.
Her hand slips under my towel and boxers. She strokes my hard cock, and I groan.
“I love your hands,” I murmur.
“You do?” she breathes.
“Yes. They’re heaven.”