By Fate I Conquer (Sins of the Fathers #4)(69)

I lowered myself once more and found her mouth for a deep kiss. Soon the unrelenting late afternoon sun wasn’t why I was sweating. “Let’s go inside,” she whispered.

I picked her up without a word and carried her into the house. She pointed at an assortment of cushions and patchwork blankets in front of a fireplace. Instead of logs, fake candles gave off a cozy light.

I put her down and followed suit, pulling her against me once more, my lips finding hers for another, even deeper kiss. I lowered my hand briefly to slide the ring off and put it down on the floor somewhere before I pressed my palm to Greta’s cheek again and deepened the kiss.

Greta was curled into me, her skirt ridden up because our legs were scissoring, her hot center pressed tantalizingly against my upper thigh. I was so hard it was painful. I pulled away to regard Greta as I allowed my knuckles to trace her cheek, then her throat and collarbone. She wasn’t wearing a bra beneath the knit crop top and I could see the outline of her nipples pressing against the material. Greta locked gazes with me and reached for the thin strap of her top that had slid down to her arm. Her fingers were shaking slightly when she hooked them in the strap and dragged it further down. I watched mesmerized as the top peeled away from her left breast, revealing a rust-colored, small nipple and the gentle swell of her breast.

I could tell she was trying to find words but I knew what she wanted without her telling me. I leaned down and covered her nipple with my mouth, allowing my tongue to discover its texture and taste.

Greta pressed her pussy even tighter against my thigh as I continued my discovery of her nub. She cupped the back of my head as I sucked more of her breast into my mouth then stroked along the gentle crease beneath it with my tongue only to welcome her nipple back into my mouth. I closed my eyes as I tasted her, focusing on Greta’s low breathing, on the clenching of her legs against my thigh.

“Amo,” she whispered urgently, letting her arms fall to her sides, almost as if she was overwhelmed by her body’s reaction to my ministrations.

I let up and gently untangled myself to give her some time to breathe. She gave me an embarrassed smile as she lay beneath me with spread arms, her chest rising and falling rapidly.

“Where’s the bathroom? I need to gather myself and I think you need a bit time to yourself as well.”

She pointed at a door to our right. I stood and quickly went there. Once inside I splashed some water in my face then gripped the sink for a few deep breaths. I straightened. My shirt stuck to my skin but at least my cock had calmed down enough that it wasn’t digging into my pants anymore. Raking a hand through my hair, I tried to figure out what to do next. That I’d come here was already a very bad idea. Though that didn’t even begin to cover the number of problems this meeting would cause if someone found out. But now that I was here, I didn’t want to hold back, not if Greta didn’t want me to.

I returned to the living room and paused at what I saw. Greta sat cross-legged, one side of her top still pulled down and she stared down at my ring that she held in her palm.

I should have left the ring at home in New York.

I walked over to her and sank down beside her. She still wasn’t looking at me. Seeing her hold my ring, I wished she would have said yes to me a year ago.

“Cressida doesn’t care about me. The only thing she cares about is the status a marriage to me brings her. I’m a means to an end, not the goal. We can’t stand each other.”

Suddenly she stood, her expression guilt-ridden. “I shouldn’t have called you. I don’t know what got into me. I promised myself to forget you.”

I pushed onto my knees and gripped her hips, peering up at her. “I knew I’d never manage to forget you and I thought about you every single day. You won’t believe how often I considered leaving New York and kidnapping you from Las Vegas so we could live somewhere far away. Just us.”

“Just us,” she whispered reverently then her smile turned sad. “But it’s not just us. We both have people we don’t want to leave behind and you have your responsibilities to the Famiglia and I have my animals.”

“I regret every moment I’m not with you.” The words left my mouth without thinking, but I immediately knew I meant them. It was why I hadn’t hesitated to come here. The prospect of seeing Greta again had filled me with more joy and hope than I’d experienced in a very long time.

Greta stepped closer and touched my head with both her hands. I leaned my forehead against the bare skin of her sternum, my eyes closing. Her fingers raked through my hair gently, her nails scraping over my scalp in a way that almost made me want to purr. One of her hands traced the back of my head then stroked along my neck. Her touch was gentle, but left fire in its wake. My face slid lower and I let out a low breath against her belly, and Greta’s body under me twitched. I brought my palms up from her hips to her naked waist, feeling her goosebumps as I slid my head even lower until my rough cheek rested against the silky skin of her belly and it felt like paradise. Her vanilla scent enveloped me. I opened my eyes and peered at Greta’s skin right before me. After a while of her stroking my neck and my thumbs stroking her waist, a warm, heady scent wafted into my nose.

At first I was sure my mind was playing tricks on me. I drew in an even deeper breath, my head tilted further down and the note hit me again, even stronger. I released a harsh breath, causing Greta to suck in her belly in a soft exhale. “Your breath against my skin…” she whispered, then trailed off.