Doris O'Connor (15 page)

“
You’re so wet already.” His voice
shook as his cock strained against his flies, and he slid two
fingers into her pussy. Her walls contracted around them. “Jeez,
Kitty, I need to be in you right now.”

”
Mmm, what are you waiting for?”
Kitty’s breathless reply shot straight to his cock, her feline eyes
almost black with need as she fumbled with his zipper.

Kitty’s hands wrapped around his eager cock,
and he sucked in his breath when she took the initiative and rolled
the condom on him with firm strokes. His balls grew heavy, and he
ground his teeth together with the effort it took to not spill
there and then like an inexperienced teenager. He spun her around
so that she faced the settee and used his thigh to spread her legs.
His fingers pushed in deep, and his thumb found her clitoris. Kitty
moaned, and a fresh wave of her cream coated his
fingers.

“
Bend forward for me, and grab the
sofa.” She complied immediately and then tensed when he used one
finger, slick with her juices to circle her anus.

“
Alex, I’m not sure.”

He kissed her shoulder, whilst rubbing his
cock along her slit repeatedly until her moans grew more urgent
again. She grabbed the back of the settee and locked her arms, and
their gazes fused when she looked at him over her shoulder. Her
face flushed, her breathing as erratic as his, her eyes widened
when he spread her ass cheeks and aligned his cock against the
tight ring of muscle.

“
Relax, baby, let me
in.”

She took a deep breath as he pushed against
her entrance, and he froze when Kitty winced. One hand on her hip
he held himself perfectly still, giving her body a chance to
adjust. He slid his other hand to her clit and circled the bud
slowly, causing Kitty to relax, and he felt the muscles give as he
slid past the ring and drove himself into her tight heat with a
deep growl of satisfaction until he was seated to the hilt. Her
throaty moans of pleasure edged him on, and every stroke into her
tight ass tested his control. When she pushed back against him,
matching his pace, he lost what little restraint he had left,
pounding into her ass, his balls slapping against her pussy with
every thrust. Her cries joined his grunts of pleasure, the pressure
building for both of them until his own powerful climax robbed him
of any coherent thought, barely aware of Kitty screaming his name,
as her body, too, flew into ecstasy.

Once his heart rate slowed down enough for him
to catch his breath, he became aware of Kitty shifting in his arms.
His own muscles screamed at him, and his now softened cock slipped
out of her ass. He gently turned her around, until she rested on
the back of the sofa. A wash of affection welled up in him seeing
Kitty try to tuck her skirt down. Her cheeks flamed when she caught
sight of her ruined knickers, which he had torn and carelessly
tossed on the floor earlier. He owed her a few of those now. He
disposed of the condom, aware of her wary gaze resting on him, her
arms once again wrapped around her middle, her teeth worrying her
bottom lip.

“
We must stop doing
this.”

“
Oh I agree that we really ought to
try a bed for once.”

****

Kitty could have strangled him. Her body
hummed with aftershocks after the most spectacular orgasm he’d ever
given her, and all he could do was laugh at her.

“
That’s not what I mean, Alex, and
you know that.” She risked a glance up at his face, and he was
wearing such a pleased-with-himself smile that she couldn’t help
but smile back at him.
Insufferable man! She could never resist
that smile.

“
I still want to know what you were
talking to your mother about.” She wasn’t letting him off that
easily.

Alex sighed and threw himself on the couch. He
patted the space next to him, and she gingerly sat down.
Hell,
her ass was sore, but that had been so worth it.

“
She was telling me that you were
stubborn, and I would have to step up my charm offensive to get you
to marry me.”

Kitty snorted at that, drawing an amused
chuckle from Alex.

“
She seemed very determined to get
me to agree. Why is that, Alex?”

Alex looked at her for a long time, his hand
twisting one strand of her hair round and round absentmindedly. He
tugged her in closer and dropped a kiss on her nose, before
nibbling his way along her jaw line. Kitty could feel the now
familiar tug of desire slowly building again, and she gave his hard
chest a shove. “Stop it, Alex. I’m trying to have a conversation
here.”

“
Mmm, I love your hair, baby. Don’t
ever cut it.”

Her hair? Seriously?
The man got off
on her hair
? Some of those thought processes must have shown on
her face because Alex smiled that wicked smile of his and
nodded.

“
And I love all those delightful
freckles, too.” And he slowly kissed his way down towards her neck,
opening the buttons of her blouse as he did so, his fingers
skimming her sensitive nipples. “Especially these ones here.” He
reached around her back to unhook her bra before kissing the
underside of her right breast. “There is a little cluster of them
here. Did you know that?”

His already deep voice dropped a few octaves
lower, murmuring to her in Italian as he proceeded to kiss his way
down her body. Moisture pooled between Kitty’s legs in response to
that bedroom voice. When he dropped on his knees in front of her,
opening her legs and pulling her forward to expose her to his
hungry gaze, Kitty tried in vain to stop him. His tongue invaded
her swollen folds, and her whole body caught fire. Every lick and
stroke fuelled the flames, as his teeth grazed her clit, and he
suckled the engorged bud into submission. Kitty was on fire, need
consuming her, and when he thrust two fingers deep inside her to
massage her G-spot, she screamed his name again. His mouth covering
hers swallowed her renewed scream of surrender. Alex picked her up
and carried her through to her bedroom, where he sought his own
release, and they rode the storm together until it
broke.

It was some time later, when Kitty was
snuggled into Alex’s hard frame, his steady heart beat under her
ear slowly lulling her off to sleep, that she realized how
successfully he had once again distracted her from finding out what
she wanted to know. She would have to ask him in the
morning.

****

Kitty woke up with a start, aware of a small
body next to her. Noah had snuck into her bed in the early hours of
the morning, and he was snoring softly in her ear. Kitty smiled at
her son, who looked so young in his sleep, and disentangled herself
from his small frame, mindful not to wake him.

The flat was too quiet. Where was Alex? After
using the bathroom and splashing some water on her face, she went
in search of him, but he was nowhere to be found. Damn the man. He
had walked out on her without even saying good bye. Well, what did
she expect? It’s not as though they were love’s young dream. They
had simply scratched an itch like two consenting adults had every
right to do. So why did she feel like crying, damn it? When was she
ever going to learn?

The buzz of the door intercom interrupted her
gloomy thoughts. Alex was on her little screen, looking as though
he had not long showered. He held two Starbucks coffees in one hand
and a bag of pastries in the other. “Let me in, Kitty. I got
breakfast.”

Kitty tried to ignore the little happy dance
her silly heart was doing in her chest as she buzzed him in. She
quickly ran her fingers through her messy hair and pulled the robe
she was wearing a bit tighter around herself.

“
Hey, you, good morning.” Alex
breezed into her flat, making it seem much smaller. He dropped the
coffees and bags of pastries on the kitchen counter and picking her
clean up off the floor, proceeded to kiss her until they were both
breathless.

“
Hmm, we’d best eat, before I
forget myself.” And he put some distance between them. “Noah still
asleep?”

“
Yes, he is. Think yesterday wore
him out.”

Alex smiled whilst biting into his croissant.
“Mmm, they’re good. Eat something. I know I’m starving after last
night.”

Kitty knew her cheeks were flaming as she took
the croissant off Alex.

“
Oh my, these are
delicious.”

“
Old family recipe, my cousin runs
the bakery two streets away.”

Kitty smiled uncertainly. “You Giovanni really
are everywhere, aren’t you?”

“
Not everywhere, no, but we have
the food market pretty much covered, I guess. Dad worked hard to
expand the business. He inherited it from his father and his father
before him. It’s doing pretty okay now. Mamma has been holding
everything together since dad died, and she is waiting for me to
take over.”

“
Take your rightful place as the
head of the family type thing?”

Alex nodded. His face, having lost its earlier
playfulness, was serious when he looked at her.

“
But what about the firefighting?
Surely she is not expecting you to give that up?”

“
That is exactly what she is
expecting. Now more so than ever.”

“
What do you mean?”

Alex got up and started pacing. “I have Noah
now. I have responsibilities. What would happen to Noah if
something happened to me? She has been laying it on pretty thick,
to be honest, and I guess she’s right.”

“
But, Alex, you love your job, and
you make a real difference. And besides, aren’t most of the men in
your squad married with kids? If they can make it work, why
couldn’t you?”

Alex stopped pacing, and his piercing blue
eyes held hers captive.

“
I would have to find a woman to
marry me first, and the last one I asked turned me down flat,
remember?”

Kitty shifted in her seat at the breakfast
bar. “Yes, well, you didn’t really mean that other than as a means
to an end, did you? As much as I would love to be able to give Noah
the whole nuclear family, white picket fence experience, marriage
without love is never going to work. Besides, I get the feeling
your mother would have us divorced almost as soon as we were
married, once it was guaranteed that Noah was a Giovanni. And if
she could get rid of me in the process, so much the better. I’m
right, aren’t I?”

Kitty had to smile at the expression on Alex’s
face.

“
You are way too perceptive. That
was indeed her crazy plan.”

“
Oh dear, she must hate me even
more for spoiling it all for her then.” Kitty couldn’t help it. She
had to fight back tears. To suspect that’s what had been going on
and to have it confirmed were two entirely different
things.

Alex was next to her in an instant. His arms
drew her into the warmth of his body, whilst she cried into his
shoulder. He kissed her tears away, his eyes tender.

“
Shush, I won’t let her hurt you,
or Noah. What she really wants is continuity. I have till the end
of the month to make up my mind about the business. I promised my
dad on his death-bed that I would follow my heart, and that I would
marry and provide an heir. Well, I have my heir, thanks to you,
Kitty, and if you’d agreed to marry me, then I would have fulfilled
my promise. But you’re right of course. Marriage is a huge
commitment, and without love… though I reckon we could make it
work. For Noah. I really don’t want to be a part-time dad, Kitty,
and I want Noah to have my name, and to know who his father is.
That’s not completely unreasonable, is it?”

Kitty shook her head, not trusting her
voice.

“
We don’t have to get married for
that, Alex. I wouldn’t stop you from seeing Noah.”

Alex’s smile didn’t reach his eyes.

“
You say that, yet you’ve robbed me
of three years of his life already. Forgive me for needing more
reassurance than just your word on it!”

Chapter
Seventeen

Kitty saw red. How dare he ask for reassurance
when he had just admitted his mother was trying to get rid of
her?

“
For the hundredth time, Alex
Giovanni, I. Rang. You! Yes, perhaps I should have tried harder,
but how long are you going to hold this over me? And besides, I
would say your mother’s behavior makes us even. Listen to yourself,
for cripes’ sake.
You
want reassurance? What about my
reassurance that your mother will not try to take Noah away from
me?”

“
I guess you will have just have to
trust me.” Alex took a step towards her, but she put her hand up to
stop him.

“
Yeah, sure about as much as you
trust me, Alex!”

****

They reached a stalemate in their relationship
after that heated exchange. Alex spent every free moment he had
with Noah, and the bond between them grew visibly stronger every
day. Kitty had to give it to him. Alex was a brilliant father,
endlessly patient, and Noah blossomed in front of her eyes. Alex
asked to keep Noah off nursery during his days off. Kitty felt
uneasy at first, but Noah’s pleas to be with Lex had worn her down
very quickly in the end. Alex and Noah had surprised her at the end
of that first day they had spent together. They had picked her up
from work. They had made a devastatingly handsome pair, as they
slouched against the wall at reception, wearing the same lopsided
grin. Kitty was all too aware of the whispered conversations of her
work colleagues, as they filed past them.