Even though we asked my dad to join us on a ride around the ranch, he begged off, saying he had too much work to do. We all knew he was trying to give us alone time, which I appreciated. Luca had to be overwhelmed. He was basically a fish out of water here.
This was a lot for a temporary husband to take part in.
We meandered over the acres. Athena was such a sweet girl. She would patiently walk with me all day, never straining to run. That was a good thing, so Dad and I chose our old boy Barney for Luca. Barney didn’t do anything in a hurry anymore, but he liked getting out and going for rides, poking his muzzle at everything he saw along the way.
And goddammit if Luca didn’t look sexy on old Barney. Though it was his first time, there was nothing clumsy about his ride. In his jeans and fitted T-shirt, the low wind ruffling his hair, he looked like a movie cowboy.
I blamed it on spending my formative years on a ranch, but a cowboy would always, always do it for me—even more than a man in a suit. Knowing Luca could pull both off to a T made him doubly dangerous.
We stopped beside the stream that ran through our property and hopped off the horses. Luca rubbed his backside, giving me a frown.
“I don’t know if I should be insulted you gave me a senior citizen horse to ride.”
“Don’t be insulted.” I glanced back at Luca as I started for the stream. “He’s perfect for beginners and gets along well with Athena.”
Luca followed me, standing next to me at the bank of the stream. “It’s gorgeous here.”
I sucked in a lungful of the freshest air in the world. “Yeah. I’m glad you got to see it.”
“Me too.” He knocked his arm into mine. “Do you think you’ll ever live here?”
“Absolutely not. I love it here, but I could never live so far outside a city. Plus, my family—”
“They’re great.”
“Yes, they are. I’m lucky. But they’d also suffocate me with their greatness. I’m better at being me when I have space.”
“I can’t imagine you ever having trouble being yourself.”
“You know what it’s like to be part of a family that’s also a business. Individualism is valued, but it’s hard to grasp when your name means a lot of people’s livelihoods.”
“True. I hadn’t considered you feeling that same pressure.
“We’re no Rossi Motors, but this ranch is a pretty big deal around here.”
“I get that now that I’m here.”
We were quiet a minute, the sounds of the ranch our only soundtrack. But I’d been wondering something since this morning and hadn’t had a chance to ask between the motorcycle ride and hanging with my family. This was the first opportunity, so I seized it.
I rounded to face him. “Can I ask you something?”
“Of course. Anything.”
“Where did the condoms in my drawer go?”
I’d thought about packing some for this trip…just in case. But when I’d checked my toy drawer, the box I’d definitely stashed there was gone, the spot where they’d been empty.
Luca shrugged, shoving his fingers through the side of his hair. “Why would I know anything about that?”
“Because you’re the only one who has access to my bedroom.” I poked his arm. “Did you take them, Luca? Did you find yourself needing one and decide to steal them from my drawer? I just can’t imagine why else you’d—”
He caught my hand, using it to tug me against his chest. “Why would I need a condom, Saoirse? I’m not fucking you, which you’re well aware of.”
I let out a huff of breath. “I know you’re not, so I can’t think of any other reason you’d take my condoms other than to use with your hookups.”
“Hookups? What exactly are you accusing me of?”
“I’m not accusing you of anything. I’m asking you why you took my condoms.”
“To use with the purported hookups I’m having.” He wrenched his eyes away from me, focusing somewhere far off in the distance. “I told you I wouldn’t do that. I don’t go back on my promises.”
“Okay.” I swallowed hard, taken aback at his adamance. “Then tell me what you did with them.”
His jaw rippled as he clenched and unclenched, but he refused to look at me. “Tossed them.”
My brow dropped. “But…why?”
“Doesn’t matter. You want more, I’ll buy them for you.”
“They’d be for you too, so, sure, I’m up for that. But in the fu—”
His head whipped around, and his hand flew up to cup my throat. “You still want that?”
“Didn’t I make myself clear last night?”
His face closed in on mine, our noses almost brushing. “When you told me you didn’t need me?”
“When I sat in your lap naked and teased you.”
His hand dropped, and he stomped a pace or two away. “Fuck.” His hands came up, clasping behind his head.
While he dealt with his existential crisis, I plopped on the ground, took my shoes and socks off, and waded into the stream. At this section, it only came up to my lower calves, but the cool, gently bubbling water was the refreshment I needed. Bending at the waist, I trailed my fingers over the surface, watching small fish wiggle along with the current.
The next thing I knew, my arms were in Luca’s grip, and my body was being tugged into his. He stared at me for a moment, suspended in time, then his mouth covered mine.
I whimpered in surprise, and that was all the opening he needed to sweep his tongue deep into my mouth, curling around, injecting his taste into me. And he tasted good. Fresh, clean, wanting. I licked at him, remembering all the details of our first night together.
That turned into my laughing against his lips.
He pulled back. “What’s so funny?”
“Nothing. I’m just thinking what it would be like to tell the girl I was when we first met that within two months, she’d be married to you.”
“Would that girl have run if she knew?”
I nipped at his bottom lip. “I don’t think so. You’re not so bad to be married to.”
He palmed my ass, jerking me against him. “I wish I’d had a warning. You’re an absolute nightmare.”
“Hey, asshole, that’s not nice.”
He took my chin in his other hand, staring at me with dark, hard eyes. “My condo smells like you now, so half the time when I’m home, I’m hard. The other half, I’m finding relief by fucking my hand to my memories of you. Do you think I enjoy being a slave to my body’s infatuation with you? It’s infuriating.”
“I have no idea, Luca. I barely ever see you, so I don’t know what you enjoy or how you feel. If this is the reason you’re rarely home, then why don’t you do something about it?”
He slipped his fingers into the back of my hair, fisting thick strands hard enough to tip my head back, then his mouth covered mine again. His tongue was a whip, lashing between my lips with anger and frustration, making me moan and my knees weak. He kneaded my ass with bruising strength, keeping my belly flush with the thick bulge pressing behind his zipper.