I flick her clit with my tongue until she’s riding my face as if she’s seconds away from coming. With my hands either side of her hips, I lever my face away and glance up at her.

Her eyes are glazed over, and the one foot she has on solid ground is teetering on its high heel.

“Bra. Off,” I say, as I glide my hands over her smooth stomach up to her tits. With both hands, I pinch her nipples hard. She squeals and makes quick time undoing the strap and ripping the fabric from her.

Suds sits astride me and wrestles me into the mattress. Her hot mouth teases mine in a frenzy as she rolls her hips into my boxers.

With one hand I’m tugging the hair at the nape of her neck, and with the other I’m trying to get my fucking boxers off. As if sensing my frustration, her fingers scoop into the fabric either side of my hips. The boxers are yanked down my legs, freeing my swollen cock. She rids herself of the last stitch of her clothing, leaving me gasping for breath at the divine creature in front of me.

She sits across my lap, and rubs her wet pussy up and down my shaft. “Fuck,” I groan, driving my nails into the firm flesh of her arse.

I twist and roll her into the mattress. She battles to be on top, using her legs and arms for leverage, but I want her beneath me. I need to be in total control.

I pin her wrists above her head with one hand. “Just let me fuck you,” I growl through a chuckle and bite down on her ear, eliciting a yelp and then a breathy moan from her.

I reach for the condom I’d tossed on the bedside table earlier.

“Put this on,” I say, freeing her arms.

Her palm grazes down my shaft. Fuck me dead. She grips my cock tightly and pumps the shaft. I buck my hips. I want in.

“On this?” she asks, in a smart-arse tone.

“Don’t tease,” I grunt.

She sits up, wasting no time rolling it right to the base, and then lies back down, legs open wide.

“So fuckin’ pretty,” I hiss, trailing my fingers through her glistening pussy.

“I told you,” she whispers. “Nothing ugly about it.”

She wriggles her arse closer to me, and claws at my shoulders, pressing her tits against my chest.

With measured thrusts, I drive deeper inside her, sucking at her neck and the soft lobe of her ear. Having her tight pussy wrapped around me, her body holding on with pure want and need—it’s a revelation. This is what it’s like to have sex with someone you feel for.

“You know this isn’t just fucking, Suds. I … I didn’t mean—”

She silences me with her mouth in a kiss that’s more tender than anything I’ve ever had. “I know.” She sighs.

Our lips meld together as I lose myself with a woman like I never have before. Each thrust adds to the mass of emotions flowing through me.

Suds screams, and I let go of the hurt and all the shit barrelling around in my head. I pump into her faster and come hard as her pussy tightens around me.

A guttural cry rips from my throat. I slow the movement of my hips, each roll drawing out the pleasure of my orgasm. My heart is pounding out of control. Like I feel.

“Oh, Rocco,” Suds whispers as her body stiffens around me.

I don’t ever want her to let go.

****

SOPHIE

Anyone would think we just ran across the finish line in the City to Surf. Our bodies are covered in a sheen of sweat, our hair a tangled mess.

“That was … fuck,” he says, with his hand over his heart. I sweep my hand across his warm chest and slip it beneath his fingers, confirming his heart is pounding as hard as mine is. With the back of his hand he wipes a tear from the corner of his eye.

Wow. He felt it too.

Rocco smiles, and my chest tightens. With his closest arm, he draws me to his side and kisses my forehead.

“Next time, you ride me … just like that bull in Vegas.”

I sit up on my elbow and hook my leg over his as I undo my heels. “You were watching me?”

“You were fuckin’ incredible.”

As our breathing recovers, we lie together in a state of hopped-up bliss.

The way he felt inside me, how he wore his strengths and his weaknesses for me to see was completely overwhelming. And the sex? Stupidly incredible.

I’d held back tears when I should have let them out. I don’t need to hide them from him. The more I think about what just happened between us, the funny flutter in my stomach becomes stronger. Is it too soon to tell him how I feel?

Rocco’s breathing tapers off into a light rattle through his nose, leaving me wondering where this leaves us.

 

CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR

ROCCO

Things always look different in the harsh light of day.

Last night was beyond what I’d imagined, and I’ll hang on to the memory until I’m old and senile.

Suds squirms beside me, still wrapped up in my arms. Even in my state of sleep, I felt as if she was always attached to me somehow—her arms, her legs, her scent.

“Morning,” I croak, and brush a tendril of hair from her cheek, tucking it behind her ear.

Her eyelids flutter open, and a sleepy smile curls at her lips.

“Hmm. Morning,” she says, focusing those green jewels on my eyes. Her body tenses a little as she breathes deeply in and out.

I twist on my side and squeeze her body against mine, but I sense a growing distance between us.

“What’re your plans today?” I ask, and kiss her on the forehead.

Her hands weave their way against my chest and she increases the gap between us. “Um, the real estate is trying to lock in a start date on the lease, so I need to make some calls.”

“You’re still planning on moving?” I ask in a quiet voice. Inside I’m secretly hoping that last night changed something.

“I have to stand on my own two feet, Rocco. Until I do this for myself, I won’t be in a place where I can be good for someone else.”

“I hate to tell you, but I think you’re already there.”

“I need to feel that inside of me. Can you understand why I have to do this?”

The truth is, I can. I can’t hold her back. From the solemn look on her face, it’s obvious to me how important it is to her. “It’s the same thing as doing AA on my own, I guess.”

Whilst I know she said she’d always be there, I know I won’t truly be on my way to kicking this thing if I can’t do it solo.

“Yeah. I think it is. I said I’d be there for you. Any and every meeting you want me to come along to. The fact that we won’t be living together doesn’t change that.”

I shake my head. “You’re really somethin’, Suds.”

“I’ve still got your back, De Luca. Always.”

She takes my face in her warm hands and traces her finger over my scar and down along the ridge of my jawline.

“Do you regret last night?” she asks in a hushed voice.

“Nope,” I say, with a shake of my head. But I do have doubts if I was in the right headspace for it. “Do you?”

“It was amazing, I just … I need time.”

Something I have by the bucket-load. It’s just me, myself and I, and a shit tonne of time.

“Rocco, I’m sorry if I was selfish sleeping with you before I was ready. Until you whispered in my ear on that dance floor, I didn’t realise how much I wanted this. I’ve tried to ignore this thing between us for too long, and last night I didn’t wanna close my eyes to it anymore.”

“You mean the world to me, Suds. I can give you time.”

“You can?”

“For you, anything.”

It’s time for Rocco De Luca to stand up. To take life by the balls and be a man. A man my mother would be proud of. A man who will live the life that V never can.

I want to be better.

I want to charge ahead.

I want this beautiful woman to love me for the man I know I can become, because he’s far stronger than I am. His resolve is hardened, he’s battled his demons, and maybe that version of me will be able to love her the way she should be loved, because this incredible woman deserves nothing less.