That's Amore (10 page)

“That a girl,” Jeff said as he sucked in air. His grin was wicked. “I knew you could do it.”

Then he moved to meet her and any witty reply she might have made fled her mind as they rocked with passion together.

She clutched his shoulders, and felt the couch hit the wall behind them with a rhythmic beat as they blended their bodies.

It was worth three years’ wait for this. Paige had never, ever known that her body was capable of this freedom, this sensual desire, this complete and total satisfaction.

When they exploded together moments later, Paige knew it was because she loved Jeff, because she felt safe and respected when she was with him.

Then she gave up thought and just collapsed against Jeff in wild abandon, her leg muscles straining from the position. Her body tingled all over and little shivers of pleasure were still rushing through her as Jeff dropped kiss after kiss on her jaw, cheek and mouth.

“You’re incredible. So sexy.”

She gave a low laugh. “Thank you. You’re pretty good yourself.”

Suddenly Jeff’s arms came around her and he squeezed her so tightly she had diminished lung capacity. “Damn, you feel so good,” he said.

It made her giggle. He looked, sounded, felt just as pleased as she did.

Paige was about to respond, when a pounding on the front door startled them so that they both jumped. Still entwined, Paige tilted backwards, off balance, and they nearly toppled off the couch together in an x-rated accident.

Disaster averted, Jeff put his finger to his lips while he handed Paige her discarded clothes.

She dragged her panties on, her heart pounding. What if it was Johnny Romano?

“Mr. Lombardi? Are you in there?” a woman’s voice demanded through the door.

Yikes. Someone who knew her father. And here she was, naked as the day she was born. As she pulled on shorts, she reasoned that they would go away.

“Mr. Lombardi, it’s Mary from downstairs. If you don’t answer, I’m going to call the cops because I heard banging around and stuff.”

Jeff swore. He whispered, “Call out to her. Tell her it’s just you.”

Trying her hook her bra, Paige walked towards the door and said in what she hoped was a casual voice, “Uh, Mary, this is Paige Lombardi, Gino’s daughter.”

“Oh! Paige. Is everything all right?”

Okay, her shirt was back on, Jeff was in his jeans. This looked totally innocent. She hoped.

She popped the door open a crack. The woman standing there in a skirt and blouse holding a phone in her hand, was Mary Dibiasio, who had been in Paige’s art class in high school. Mary’s finger was poised on the phone, ready to dial 911.

“Mary? I didn’t know you lived here.”

Mary smiled at her, obviously relieved that no one was being murdered, her grip on the phone relaxing. “Actually, I work downstairs in the art gallery. Are you staying here or something? I knew your dad was out of town and I heard all this noise, like banging and yelling and I thought maybe someone was breaking in, or that your dad was having a heart attack or something.”

No, Paige was the one having a heart attack. She knew that her face was cherry red. She could feel it. Mary had heard them downstairs? Banging and yelling? Yikes. Talk about being caught up in the moment.

“Oh, well, my dad’s still in Florida. My, uh, apartment’s being sprayed for roaches so I’m staying here for a couple of days.”

Mary looked over her shoulder and her face lit up. “Jeff? Jeff Benedetto? God, I haven’t seen you in years! How are you? How’s Gina?”

Paige crossed her arms over her chest and let the door swing open a little further. Out of the corner of her eye she could see Jeff coming to the door, a smile on his face, his chest still bare. Mary had her hands on her hips and looked ready to swoop in with the cheek kissing thing.

Was she the only one who found this a bit awkward?

“I’m great, Mary. How about you?”

“Oh, I’m good. The gallery’s really successful and I bought a house two streets over from my parents. I was married to Bobby Paniccone for a year, but we’re divorced now.”

Jeff grinned. “Good for you. Bobby was never good enough for you.”

Mary blushed and said, “Oh, stop. Hey, listen, since everything’s all right, I’ll get out of your hair, but with all that noise I thought it was better to check…”

As Jeff’s hand slid around Paige’s waist, Mary seemed to finally take in the situation for what it was. Paige knew they must look mussed and creased and just plain obvious.

Mary’s eyes went wide and she slapped her hand over her mouth. “Whoops. Sorry.”

“No,” Paige forced herself to say. “It’s good to know you’re keeping an eye on the place. I appreciate that.”

“Yeah, right, no problem.” Mary smirked a little and gave Jeff a wink. “I’ll let you get back to things.”

“Okay, good seeing you, Mary. And thanks again.” Her mother would be pleased to see how well trained she was. Her manners were impeccable even when she had been caught doing the deed with Jeff Benedetto on her father’s leather couch.

Well, not technically caught, but close enough.

Mary gave her a saucy smile and said, “By the way, Paige, you’re shorts are on inside out.”

With that she turned and left, flouncing down the stairs, her brown hair swinging across her back.

Paige looked down at her shorts, stricken. “Ohmigod. My shorts are on inside out.”

Jeff’s mouth was on her neck. “We could take them back off.”

Horror and humiliation were forgotten just from that feathery touch on her skin. “Do you think so?”

“Oh, yeah. Close the door and you’ll see what I’m talking about.”

She slammed the door shut and turned, eager for him to strip her and start all over again. She no longer cared what Mary Dibiasio thought. She probably would again later, but right now the only thing that mattered was the burn in her body.

His hand landed on her thigh and slid up under her shorts. He said something, but all she could hear was the buzzing in her ears.

“What?” She forced her eyes back open.

“Let’s pull these off over on the couch.”

He had tugged the leg of the shorts over and his hand was cupping her. Stroke, stroke, went his finger. Then Paige had a wicked idea.

“Leave the shorts on.”

“What?” He sounded thoroughly shocked.

She blinked up at him. “It would work, wouldn’t it?”

“Yeah, but…”

Paige grinned. She had Jeff as near to blushing as she was ever going to see and it was fascinating.

“Then let’s try it.”

Jeff reached out, then dropped his hand. His mouth opened, then closed. He shook his head.

“Please…” she reached out and touched the front of his jeans.

He groaned and said, “Oh, hell, come here.”

Gladly.

Then she heard it. The very loud, very demanding sound of Justin crying from the bedroom.

What Jeff said was not fit for a baby’s ear.

Nor did he appear to be loosening his hold on her.

Brushing enticing visions of making love standing up aside, Paige said, “Let me go, Jeff. He’s probably scared and in pain.”

Jeff sighed and let her go. “
I’m
in pain.”

EFF MAY HAVE ACTED disappointed, but he was already heading to the bedroom with her, his eyes worried and his step quickening.

If she hadn’t been so concerned about the baby, she would have stopped to appreciate the good man that Jeff was. As it was, she was more focused on adjusting her shorts and stumbling beside him.

Justin was sitting up on the blanket on the floor, tears streaming down his face. Paige scooped him up.

“Oh, honey, shhh. Don’t cry.” She wrapped him in her arms and held him close. “Maybe he misses his mom.”

Jeff shrugged at her helplessly. “Is he hungry or thirsty, maybe?”

“We could try that.” Paige rocked Justin back and forth as they went into the kitchen. “Maybe his chin hurts. We should have bought some Children’s Tylenol.”

Jeff fumbled around in the refrigerator. “Maybe he’s sick, maybe it’s anything. We don’t know what the hell we’re doing here, Paige.”

His crabby tone made her bristle. “Well, we’ve got to try.”

“I know,” he grumbled as he emerged with a bottle of apple juice.

Paige forgot to be annoyed with him. He was standing there rumpled and sexy in his jeans, his hair sticking up in the front. She could almost feel his tongue on her neck again.

She shifted Justin, murmuring comforting words in his ear, appalled at her perverseness. They had a child in need here and all she could think about was Jeff naked. On top of her.

Whew. She looked out the window at the darkening sky and casually leaned over the air conditioner vent. A nice cool blast up her shorts and she would be able to think again.

“Dammit!” Jeff was screwing the bottle top back on, having filled it with juice. “I can’t get this thing twisted straight.”

He redid it, twisting so hard that half the juice sloshed out over the side of the bottle. “Christ.” He licked his hand.

Paige fought the urge to smile and planted a kiss on Justin’s downy head so Jeff wouldn’t see her amusement.

When the lid was back on, Jeff waved the bottle in front of the baby. “Here you go, nice juice. Yum yum.”

Justin blinked, his tears subsiding. He grabbed the bottle and rammed it in his mouth.

“See?” Jeff scratched his chest smugly. “Problem solved. Baby goes back to bed, and we finish what we started.”

Justin’s face screwed up, his arm went back, and he sent his bottle to the floor with a wind up pitch. It smacked, bounced and landed on Jeff’s foot, where it dribbled juice.

“Well, that was rude.” Jeff bent over and retrieved the bottle, shaking his foot a little.

Paige bit her lip hard to keep from smiling this time.

Jeff tried to hand the bottle back to Justin but he turned and buried his head in her chest. Her heart swelled with care and concern.

“Oh, sweetie, baby, it’s all right,” she crooned.

She said to Jeff, “I don’t think he wants the juice.”

“Oh, you think?” Jeff said sarcastically, slapping the bottle down on the counter.

“Don’t get snippy with me.”

“I’m not snippy with you. First of all, Benedetto men don’t get snippy. Second of all, I’m snippy at the situation, not you.”

Paige had to yell to be heard over Justin’s crying. “I thought you said you don’t get snippy.”

He frowned. “Don’t push me, Paige.”

His masculine indignation made her laugh. She reached out, her hand falling across his warm chest as she gave him an ample shove, in teasing.

He stumbled and looked at her stunned. “Hey!”

“You said to push you.”

Jeff started laughing with her. “Damn, Paige, I guess I won’t mess with you.”

“A lesson to remember,” she said, but her voice was drowned out by another round of violent shrieks from Justin.

Paige wished she knew whatever it is mothers know to calm their kids down. Without that secret knowledge, she settled for bouncing Justin up and down, convinced she was going to go permanently deaf if he didn’t stop squealing.

Jeff reached for Justin, wincing a little at the volume. “Here, let me try.”

She gladly handed Justin over, wondering if it was too late at night to call her mom in Florida and ask for maternal advice. Of course, that would require more explanations than she was willing to give right now.

Like explaining to her mother why she was alone with Jeff Benedetto and Gina’s baby. Somehow it didn’t seem like a good idea to tell her mother they were hiding from the mob.

Or that she had spent a portion of that time naked. And not just in the shower.

Justin cried harder.

“Jiggle him,” Paige suggested as Jeff stood there stone still with the baby in his arms.

Jeff took her words a little too literally. If Justin had had a full mouth of teeth, they would have rattled at the vigorous motion. As it was, he merely looked shocked, his cries taking on a washing machine vibration sound.

“I said jiggle him, not shake his head off.”

Jeff looked hurt. “You want to do this? Because I can give him back to you.”

Her arms ached at the thought and her ears pulsed. “No, no, you’re doing great.”

Hours later Jeff knew this was punishment. Pure and simple.

He was being tortured for lying to Paige about Gina. If he had come clean and told her that they could take Justin to his mother’s or to Gina, then none of this would be happening.

But, no.

He hadn’t been able to wait. He’d had Paige so close he had been able to taste her, and he hadn’t wanted the interruption, the risk that he could wind up alone for the night.

So now he was stuck with a squalling baby, his vision of making love to Paige until the sun rose shattered. If and when they ever did get this kid back to sleep, they were both going to be too exhausted to even think about making love. The only thing they were going to want to do was collapse on the bed and sleep straight through to the morning.

If they got the kid to bed.

Which right then seemed about as likely as the Indians winning the World Series.

“Walk him around,” Paige said, leaning against the wall for support, her shoulders slumping.