Total pages in book: 125
Estimated words: 119964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 119964 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 600(@200wpm)___ 480(@250wpm)___ 400(@300wpm)
* * *
Twelve hours later . . .
I’m carrying Chess into our suite. The romance of it is slightly skewed by the fact that she opted to climb on my back like a monkey instead of letting me sweep her into my arms all proper-like. The hotel attendant seems amused. I give him a tip, still balancing my wife on my back. He leaves without another word and we’re finally alone.
“Florence!” Chess squees—there’s no other word for the sound—once more.
“Florence,” I repeat with a chuckle.
I set her down and then pull her close. She’s beaming. Her hair is rumpled, there are faint purple smudges under her eyes, and she’s so pretty she makes my heart ache.
“You like?” I ask her softly.
“I love.” She rises on her toes and finds my mouth with hers.
I open up to her, consuming her sweetness with urgent nips and licks. Her mouth is a dream, luscious and giving. My hand finds the curve of her neck, holding her still as I deepen the kiss. God, but she consumes me. The greedy need of her responses, the way she teases just enough to have me searching for more.
Slim arms wrap around my shoulders, and she presses closer. I slide a hand down her back to cup her ass, haul her up. She kisses along my jaw, down my neck.
“Finn.” It sounds desperate.
“I know.” I kiss her mouth. Her cheeks, her nose. Her mouth again. “I know.”
She nips my lower lip, sucks my tongue. I’m so lost in her. My heart thuds in my chest. My knees buckle. I swear, I hear music. Swelling, passionate music. Stumbling, I carry her to the bed. We fall into it in a tangle of limbs. I roll and carefully cage her beneath me in my arms.
Silken inky hair spreads out over the white pillow. Chess’s green eyes glimmer up at me as she grins. My hand trembles as I touch the warm curve of her cheek. The heartfelt strains of a woman’s voice swells over me.
“Is that Puccini?” I rasp, momentarily distracted.
Flushed and panting, Chess laughs. “You hear it, too? Oh, thank God.”
Sure enough, opera singing floats in from the open terrace and echoes about the room. Someone in the public square below is giving a great performance. If I didn’t have Chess in my arms, I’d have thought about going down and giving the singer a huge tip.
“I confess.” I kiss the corner of her mouth. “I thought I was all swept up by the romance of the moment.”
She hums and cups my cheeks. “Finn Mannus, you are such a romantic.”
“Never was before you.”
She tugs me down. Her lips are soft, her kiss tender. “And that’s why I put a ring on it.”
Laughing, I kiss her deeper. “I’m all yours, Chester. Do your worst.”
She sets about to do just that, torturing me with sweet torment for the next few hours until we’re sweaty and spent and lazing in each other’s arms. The opera singer has finished her concert, and the room has gone quiet. The sounds of laughter, conversation, and the occasional warning beep of a taxi drift up from below. Golden sunlight slants in wide stripes across the bed.
Though weakened by sex and lust, I mange to turn my head and arch a brow at her. “Is that all you got, Mrs. Mannus?”
Chess narrows her eyes, even as her clever fingers find my cock. “I’m just getting warmed up, my Mr. Mannus.”
Game on.
Chess
Finn brought me to Florence. It’s like a dream. Hunger had us getting out of bed and showering. We could have ordered room service, but I admit, I’m eager to go out and look around. The small slices of the city I saw when we’d been driving in from the airport weren’t enough.
Holding my hand, Finn looks gorgeous and relaxed in cream linen pants and a sixties-style cabana shirt. He walks along the cobblestone street with ease. There’s a slight chance he might be recognized, but Europeans aren’t really into American football, and so he’s freer to be himself here.
He’s smiling, head tilted back to take in the awe-inspiring Florentine architecture that surrounds us. When he glances back at me, his eyes shine like summer skies. My breath goes short. There are times when I can’t believe that this man loves me so. It feels like a dream. It’s definitely a reward.
Finn leans down and kisses me lightly. “Keep looking at me like that and we’re going back to the room.”
“You say that like it’s a threat.”
“Chester . . .”
My stomach growls. Finn waggles his brow and then pats my butt. “Let’s get you fed. You’ll need your strength.”
“I’m not the one who was crying for mercy.”
He stumbles over a cobblestone, then gives me a reproachful look. “No more sexy banter in public or I will grope you.”