Page 73 of Liberated By Sin
Turning around, I threw a leg over his thighs and straddled him. “Deal.”
His lips were soft, his kiss slow and tender. Flames lit the pit of my stomach, and for the first time, all I could think about was being his, feeling him inside me. I craved it. But to my disappointment, the beach was extra crowded tonight. Santino’s rock-hard cock let me know I wasn’t alone in my misery.
“Come over tonight,” I said, tipping my head back as he kissed along my collarbone.
“I’m there, but what must I do to get you in my bed?”
“Yours or mine…I don’t care. I just need you.”
“Preziosa, I’m yours.”
I raked my fingers through his soft waves. “You know, I owe Luca a thank you.”
Santino’s brow furrowed. I laughed, smoothing out his frown with my thumb. “If he weren’t such a fuckup, his father would have left him the club, and you and I would have never met.”
“You think this is just by chance? You and me. Nah.” The way this man cradled my face and gazed into my soul sent goosebumps across my skin. “Tu ed io eravamo destinati.”
“Destined?” I whispered.
He nodded. “I nearly passed up on this trip. I’d planned to relinquish my half from the comfort of my home in Naples but changed my mind at the last minute. I felt a strange pull, the need to come pay my respects to Uncle Lorenzo in person, even though we hadn’t seen one another in years.”
A small gust of wind blew my curls in his face and again into his mouth. We laughed as he tucked the loose strands behind my ear.
“I know now I came here to find you, Amara. But this trip was never meant to be permanent. That’s why, one day, I’d love for you to come back home with me.”
Santino had this way of making my insides do backflips. He made me crave things that had once seemed impossible. Maybe they still were, but it couldn’t hurt to delude myself, even if just for the moment.
“Italy? But I…”
Again, he silenced my words with a kiss.
“You don’t have to decide now. Having you in my world is a privilege, and I don’t want to pressure you. But in the meantime, when we’re in Pennsylvania, I want you to meet a good friend and his wife. Silas is who I told you about. And I must say, I never understood the love he had for his wife, especially after she tried to kill metwice.”
I grimaced and locked my legs around him a little tighter as feelings of protectiveness rose inside me.
“His wife tried to kill you?”
“Helena is one of the best at what she does—or the worst, if Silas is anything to go by,” he said with a hearty laugh. “No hard feelings. We’ve moved past that. I think.”
“Can’t wait to meet her.” My tone dripped with sarcasm as I fought to suppress feelings of hatred toward a woman I hadn’t met, especially the wife of a man he viewed as family. I needed a distraction.
Possibly feeling my irritation, Santino stood without relinquishing his hold and started toward the water.
“What are you doing?” I asked.
“I thought we could go for a swim?”
I gasped. “No, you wouldn’t.”
“It’s a little warm out here.” His tone was full of mischief as small waves lapped at his ankles.
“Santi, no. I’ll kill you.” No matter how hard I attempted to sound serious, I couldn’t erase my smile.
“I’m so far gone for you,preziosa. I might just let you. But first…” Water splashed my legs, climbing higher the farther he walked until he was waist-deep, my feet submerged in the dark water.
“And here I thought you wanted to get laid tonight, Mr. Leone.”
He tipped his head and laughed. “That’s cruel.”