Gio walked around in front of her, met her eye to eye. “That’s nauseating.”
“I know. If this is fruitful, he will take the credit. If it fails, he’s the hero.” She placed a hand on her neck and pretended to squeeze.
Gio framed her body with his arms and snuggled into the space between her legs. “The only hero I want in your life is me,” he said, distracting her.
Emma placed her arms on his shoulders and leaned forward. “You’ve really kept me focused. Not an easy task.”
He placed his hand on her bottom and scooted her closer. “Can I focus your attention somewhere else?”
“I don’t know. What did you have in mind?” Her smile suggested she knew exactly where his thoughts were.
He slid his hands down her thighs and then back up under the dress.
“Oh . . . that’s what you had in mind.”
Her eyes widened when he found the edge of her panties and ran his thumbs down the warmest part of her body.
“I hope that’s okay.”
Emma leaned forward and placed her lips on his. Like every time they kissed, energy surged between them both, making his blood boil and his heartbeat surge.
Her arms pulled him close while Gio teased her center with his fingers.
She retracted sharply when he found her favorite spot and then she wiggled closer.
When Emma gasped, he released her lips and kissed the base of her throat that she offered so sweetly when her head fell back.
He liked this surrender. The way she unfurled under his touch.
Gio trailed kisses down the open V of her dress to the tops of her breasts. All while her body damped his fingers through her panties.
The image of her lying back, open for him to taste, on the kitchen counter was simply too delicious to pass up. What better way to break in her new home and cement her memory of him?
With his mind made up, he tugged at her panties. “Lift your hips, cara.”
She obliged and he wiggled them down her legs and set them on the counter beside them.
He spread her legs farther, her hooded gaze took him in. “Relax.”
“What are you . . . ?”
Gio dipped his head and took his first taste.
“Oh, hell . . .” She leaned back and Gio leaned in.
He loved how she moved against him, how she tasted on his lips.
Gio teased and played, nibbled and tugged until he found what worked for her. And even though her thighs shivered and then held him in, he didn’t stop the pace. Kept it exactly where she needed it.
Then her breath held, and he felt her orgasm on his tongue, heard her cries echo in the empty room. When she pushed him away, he took one more drink before letting go.
Gio smiled over her body, his erection calling for attention.
Emma was laid out, exactly how he wanted to see her, an arm tossed over her eyes. “That was . . .” She didn’t finish her sentence and just started laughing.
“A great way to test the quality of this countertop. It passed.”
She laughed even harder and opened her eyes. “What about you?”
Gio shook his head. “You owe me one.”
“I’ll make good on that.”
He had no doubt.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Even though Gio had made dinner reservations, they decided to cancel them and eat in.
Emma changed into a pair of shorts and a T-shirt once they arrived at her condo and then got to work packing.
Gio called a local hardware store and reserved a truck for the following day. The goal was to get her bed in the new house before Gio left on Monday. By the following Friday he would return with a helper to move the bigger furniture.
“I can hire movers,” she insisted.
“Is that how you want to spend your money, bella? I’m here and I’m free.”
A budget. What a concept.
While the two of them filled the empty boxes that she had, they talked of ways to obtain a loan to have the ability to buy her father out of any controlling interest.
Gio had thought of this angle long and hard since he didn’t have a parent able to sock millions of dollars into his winery ambition.
They woke early the next day and drove together to pick up the rental truck.
Gio had been intuitive enough to pack a small bag with clothes, something Emma hadn’t suggested. It wasn’t that San Diego was so far away that he couldn’t go home and come back, but why?
They’d spent a lot of time on the phone since their return from Italy, it was like he was there anyway.
And he grounded her.
Emma had been told she was hot-tempered, “a feisty redhead.” But exercising that fiery personality against her father hadn’t happened since she was a teenager.
Yes, she wanted to scream at him, at the injustice of his actions and her placement within the company. But she never did. And now that she wanted to tell the man off more than ever before, there stood Giovanni, holding up the caution flag.
He was right.
Emma needed to approach everything with knowledge and power to get what she wanted.
Back at her condo they loaded the truck with her bed and then stuffed the rest with boxes and suitcases filled with summer clothes. She loaded her groceries into bags that she could transfer into the kitchen.
Next came utensils, a coffee maker, and a wine opener.
Back at Casa de Emma, the name that was used originally by their San Francisco friends in Italy, but that had grown on her since . . . she opened the electric gate with a remote as Gio followed behind in the truck.
She stepped from the car and welcomed the silence.
And she smiled.
This is really happening.
Gio hopped out of the truck and rounded in front. “There’s the smile I love to see,” he said.
“I’m feeling good about this decision.”
He gave her butt a playful slap. “Open the door, cara . . . let’s get this stuff inside.”
“Hey!”
Gio winked and walked to the passenger side of her car to help unload.
Thirty minutes later, the boxes they’d managed to pack were scattered around the house and they were lugging the mattress inside.
Emma never considered herself all that athletic, but the two of them managed to get the bed from her condo to the truck, and now into the house. The bed frame had broken down into several pieces, which Gio insisted he deal with taking apart and putting back together on his own.
While he did the heavy lifting, Emma started putting the refrigerated groceries away.
She laughed at how ridiculously small her provisions were for the amount of room the kitchen had.
Gio walked by with her small toolbox that held only the bare minimum of tools. He stopped at her side, planted a kiss on her lips. “I’ll be in the bedroom putting your bed back together.”
She placed a hand on her rumbling stomach. “I’m going to run out and get us some lunch.”
“Sounds good.”
“Any preference?” she asked.
He nodded and started to walk away. “Not Italian.”
She couldn’t stop her laugh. “I ate all that last night.”
Gio pivoted and pulled her close with his free hand. His kiss was instant, open-mouthed, and hot as hell. “I’ll give you all the Italian you desire.” He squeezed her butt and let her go.
She grabbed her purse and keys from the counter and walked out the door and paused. “I can get used to this.”