Kristo“What?”“I mean, so when our families come to visit, they don’t get suspicious about me sleeping in another room,” she pointed out calmly. “Maybe I could move some of my stuff in there when I get home from work tonight. Or you can move it into my room.”“I think I could live with that.” I nodded, trying to play it as cool as I could. I wanted to ask if this meant she would be sleeping there more often, too, or if this was all for appearances, but I held back.“I guess I should think about getting ready for work.” She got to her feet, taking a last bite of her breakfast and flashing me a smile. As she brushed by me, she let her hand trail over my back, and she planted another kiss on my cheek. She smelled so sweet, so good, and I closed my eyes for a moment to savor the feeling of her close to me.“I’ll make dinner tonight,” I called to her. She paused in the doorway of the kitchen and shot me a look over her shoulder, a slightly cheeky smile on her pretty face.“You better,” sh
AmayaMy eyes fluttered open, and I found myself buried in a wall of chest, pressed so close to my husband that I wasn’t sure if the two of us would ever unwind from each other.I inhaled deeply, filling myself with his scent, and tried to remember falling asleep in the first place. I recalled slipping into bed next to him, curling up close to him, and then dozing off, his arms wrapped tight around me. I glanced at the clock. It was just before six, and I didn’t have to get up for a couple of hours yet. I had to get Jolene soon for the day ahead with his nonna, but that wasn’t for a while.I squirmed against him, listening to the steady rise and fall of his breath, letting it calm me. I propped myself up on his chest and looked at him, eyeing him. He looked so peaceful when he was sleeping, like all the stresses that weight down on him during the day had all but slipped away. But I didn’t want him sleeping. No, I wanted something else entirely.Maybe it was just waking up right next t
Amaya“You look good like that,” he murmured, and he sat up so he could loop an arm around my waist and thrust up into me, his mouth on my neck. I loved when he took control, moving fast and confident, letting me know that no matter how much I thought this was my idea, he was the one in charge. I hooked my arms around his shoulders and let my nails drag over his bare back. How could one man feel so good? Every part of him seemed as though it had been built to fit alongside mine, his body sweet and sure beneath me as he moved up into me in slow, deep movements.“You feel good like this,” I threw back, a little nervous. I had never been much one for dirty talk, but he just seemed to guide it out of me, making it come naturally. I felt him smile against my skin, his teeth baring and sending a shiver down my spine, and the pleasure that had been brewing and building inside of me took a sharp tick upward, my skin prickling from head to toe and my mouth dropping open. I could smell the swee
KristoAs soon as Amaya was out the door, I rolled out of bed and started taking care of everything that needed to be done for the day ahead. I had so much to get ready and what seemed like such little time to do it in. No matter how much work I put in, this place was never going to be up to standard for my nonna, and even if I scrubbed this place down on my hands and knees for the rest of the day, she would still sweep in and find something wrong with it in the first five minutes.That reminded me, I had to call her. I had told her that Jolene was going to be here today, but I had a feeling it might have slipped her mind, and I didn’t want her to turn up to that kind of a surprise.“Nonna?” I greeted her as soon as she picked up the phone. At once, she started rambling away to me.“Are you going to cancel on me?” she demanded. “I thought you would. When you told me to come to your place, I was sure you were—”“I’m not canceling on you,” I cut her off calmly. I had somewhat expected t
Kristo“Hey,” I greeted Amaya and Jolene with a grin as Amaya walked out of the elevator with her sister and moved toward the door. I went over to give them a hand, but she waved me away.“I can manage, don’t worry,” she assured me, a slight grimace on her face as she pushed her sister the last few inches toward me. Jolene grinned at me, rolling her eyes as she jerked her head in the direction of her older sister.“Sorry about her,” she announced playfully. “I didn’t realize she’d be trying to play the hero all day.”“I’m not,” Amaya protested weakly. “I just want to do it myself, that’s all.”“And what exactly do you have a big, strong husband for if not to help you with stuff like this?” Jolene demanded, and I cocked my head at Amaya playfully.“I’m on her side, you know,” I told her, and I helped hitch Jolene over the threshold and into the apartment. “There. All done.”“Oh my god, this place is incredible,” Jolene gasped as she looked around, Amaya closing the door behind her. I g
Amaya“So, you’re happy to go for us again?” Indina, my manager, looked over her glasses at me. I nodded.“More than happy,” I assured her. “I really enjoyed the gala. I’m sure that this will be fun too.”“Good.” She nodded and then leaned in close as though sharing a secret with me. “I hate these kinds of things. Reason I got into library work was so I didn’t have to worry about fancy parties all the time, but it seems like it comes as part of the territory.I laughed and leaned back, touching the necklace around my throat. Kristo had given it to me a couple of days ago, a thank-you for Sunday. It was pale, delicate silver with a single pearl pressed into a small claw at the center, and I thought it was about the most beautiful thing I had ever seen.“Well, I’ve got you covered,” I promised her. “Don’t you worry. I’ll be there.”“Wonderful.” She nodded. “That’s all I needed you for. Thanks.”I headed back to work and bit my lip as I imagined going to another one of those big, fancy p
AmayaKristo seemed to sense my quietness and changed the subject.“So, this gala,” he went on casually. “Who’s going to be there?”“No one who’s going to be much use to your business,” I admitted. “It’s probably just going to be people who want to think they’re fancy and cultured schmoozing near a library. Not much.”“I’m looking forward to it.” He grinned, cocking his head at me. “And seeing you in a new dress.”“My wardrobe’s going to be twice the size by the end of this year,” I remarked breezily, but some part of me wanted to remind both him and me that this had an expiration date, no matter how endless it seemed right now.“That’s the plan,” he replied with a glance at me. I relaxed and found myself enjoying our date. We didn’t talk about anything in particular and certainly nothing regarding the future of our relationship or what would happen at the end of the year. I was just a woman, out with a man who seemed determined to charm the panties off her every chance he got. He le
KristoI crossed my arms and drummed my finger against my elbows, waiting for her to come out of the library. I was ready for tonight. Everything was in place, and I was going to show her a seriously good time.I knew she hadn’t meant anything by it when she’d made that offhand comment about us not going out enough, but it had been playing at the back of my mind ever since. She had tried to convince me it was nothing more than a remark, that she hadn’t meant anything by it, but she was right. We didn’t go out enough. There had been that trip with the helicopter a few weeks ago now, and since then, the only times we’d done anything were when we headed up to see her family or mine. She deserved better than that, no doubt. She deserved to be swept off her feet every chance I got, and that was precisely what I was planning to do this evening. Every time she expressed even the remotest dissatisfaction about anything, I found myself leaping to fix things up, not wanting her to leave again.