I slowly open my eyes, reaching my arms up above my head and groaning as I stretch my spent and well-used muscles. I’m in Marco’s bed after a night of very little sleep and a lot of orgasms—his and mine. I should be exhausted after managing only a few hours rest but my entire body, mind, and soul feel alive.
Speaking of that man . . . I roll over to find his big bed surprisingly empty. I pat my hand on top of the sheet, finding it lukewarm, which means he can’t be far.
Closing my eyes again, I hug my pillow and decide to doze until Marco returns.
I wake again when the mattress shifts beside me. Looking up, I meet his warm chocolate gaze, watching as he reaches out to brush away the hair from my face.
“God, you look good in my bed in the morning.”
I tilt my head with a sassy smile. “I think I could look good in your bed at any time of the day.”
“I like your way of thinking, princess. Are you hungry?”
Pushing myself up to lean against the headboard, I catch sight of a brightly-colored serving tray placed on the nightstand beside the bed, a carafe of orange juice, and two plates with toasted bagels and cream cheese next to them.
“Wow. You give good sex and breakfast in bed the next morning. I approve,” I say, not missing his amused grin.
He shakes his head before hooking his hand around the back of my neck and softly tugging me forward so our lips meet halfway. It’s a gentle, probing, lazy kiss that I feel right down to my toes and everywhere in between. When he pulls back to end it, I’m already so addicted to his touch that I try to chase his mouth for another one. His cheeky grin is so cute—well, as cute as a big buff Italian stallion firefighter can be.
“You’re far too good at that, Lieutenant,” I say. “Breakfast and turning me on before I’ve even had coffee. You’re just kicking goals everywhere today, aren’t you?”
“As long as I score with you, I’ll be happy.”
I snicker and shake my head, unable to stop myself from grinning too.
“Hang on,” I look over at the tray, my smile falling. “Hang on. There’s no coffee. I’m sorry,” I say, making moves to get out of bed. “That’s a deal-breaker for m—”
Quick as a flash, I’m spun around and am flat on my back, an amused Marco looming over me, his body holding me in place from hips to feet. Damn, he’s good.
I look up at him with an arched brow and shake my head. “You think you’ve found the man you want to date, and then he falls down at the last hurdle. And so close to the finish line too.”
“You already came first last night,” he says, his interest in repeating that feat making its case rather incessantly known through his pajama pants right against my core.
“I think . . . I might have forgotten all about that. Maybe I need a reminder. You know . . . just to ensure I’m making an informed decision . . .”
Marco shoots me a devilish grin before he plants a hard and fast kiss on my lips and moving off me, laughing when I groan in disappointment.
“First I feed you, then we talk, then we shower.”
Now, I’m liking this plan. Except . . . “Talk?”
“Yeah, princess. Talk. You say things. I say more things. We clear the air and make sure we’re on the same page of this story we’re writing.”
“Okay . . .” I say, narrowing my eyes at him.
“Hey, it’s nothing to be suspicious about. I’m just the kind of guy that says it like it is, and I made it clear last night that this connection between us meant something. And since I didn’t want to interrupt our post-date activities then, I figure now, before we recommence those activities, we can just chat.”
“And eat?”
“Yep,” he says, elongating the P and grinning at me as he takes a big bite of a bagel.
I gasp and reach over him, nabbing my own pastry and sitting straight. “Hey. Didn’t your mama teach you about ladies first?”
He chuckles. “My mother taught me everything I ever needed to know about how to treat a woman. My papa showed me how to do it.”
My heart melts. This man has so much love for his family, and I can see just how profound their impact on him has been. He’s a good man. A trustworthy man. Someone who wore me down and charmed me, who’s always right where I need him
How did I ever think I could resist him?
I sit to his side, crossing my legs and facing him, grateful that I stole a tee and boxers from Marco before we went to sleep. “Okay, let’s talk. What would you like to know?”
Marco’s head jerks. “Really?”
“Of course. I can’t expect honesty if I can’t be open and honest too.” I point my finger at him. “And I’ll tell you now, lying is a deal-breaker. I’m not a woman with many rules but that, cheating, and disrespect are my limits.”
He nods, looking impressed. “Are you real? Because I swear you’re fucking perfect.” He leans in for a kiss, but I stop him with a hand on his chest.
I snort at the confused look on his face. “Nuh-uh, buddy. No touching the goods until the terms surrounding the touching of the goods are agreed upon,” I say. “Unless you just want to just get down and dirty and talk to me while you’re doing it?”
“I’ll agree to whatever you want if I get a kiss. You’re being all sassy and demanding, and it’s doing crazy things to me,” he says, his voice dripping with sex. When did I turn into this crazy wanton woman who can barely think straight around this man?
I narrow my eyes. “Marco . . .”
He straightens and holds his hands up in surrender. I take another bite of my bagel while I wait for his reply.
“So this is where I’m at with this thing we’ve started.”
“You mean sex?”
“God no,” he spits out, his dark eyes pinned to mine. “I would not have brought you to my bed without knowing I want this to be more. I want to see where this relationship can go.” He laces his fingers with mine on the mattress between us. “I want to be with you, Renee. I know you’ve got your misgivings about firefighters, and I hope that one day you’ll tell me about it. But being a firefighter is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do, and I don’t see that changing anytime soon. I love my job. I’ve spent eighteen years dedicating most of my time to climbing up the ranks. Now that I’ve finally met you, I want to spend some time working on that too.”
I’m speechless. Like, I have absolutely nothing sitting on the tip of my tongue. I also wanna pinch myself and make sure this is actually happening because Marco is too good to be true.
His lips curve into a smirk. “Don’t tell me I’ve rendered my princess speechless?”
“You are so much more than I ever gave you credit for.” Yep—he says this amazingly honest and raw thing and that is what I blurt out.
“Baby,” he says softly, and that one word washes over me like a soft, fluffy blanket, surrounding me in warmth as I prepare to unload the heavy weight in my gut. It’s what has been holding me back with Marco, and it’s time to let it go.
“My ex-fiancé was a firefighter.” I sneak a glance up at Marco, his encouraging nod all I need to continue. “We were together for four years before he proposed. I thought that was my life sorted. I figured he was financially stable, I was happy and in love, and I was starting to do well in my own career. I had my place, he had his, and it worked. He worked twenty-four on, forty-eight off, and often between doing that, the catching-up-on-sleep-and-life after his shifts, and the side jobs to make extra money, he was busy and I understood that.”
“The life as a firefighter’s partner is not always easy.”
I give his hand a gentle squeeze and send him a wry smile. “No, but for the right man, you know the work they do for the greater good, and you cherish the time you do spend together.”
“Fuck,” he curses.
“What?”
“Just when I think I’ve got you figured out, you say something like that and it makes me wanna lay you down and show my appreciation.”
“But we’re still talking,” I say, unable to wipe the grin off my face.
“Yeah, we are. And I want you to know that whatever you say next, it won’t change a thing except maybe make me wanna hunt a fellow fireman down and earn myself a suspension.”
My mouth drops open, my eyes staring in disbelief. ”You don’t even know what he did.”
“I can hazard a guess.”
“Yeah, well, there was a reason he was always busy, and it had nothing to do with work and everything to do with him and fire bunnies wanting to slide down his inadequate pole.”
Marco’s lips twitch. Soon his shoulders start shaking, and I know he’s not laughing at me, but more at how ridiculous it sounds.
He lifts my hand to his mouth and smiles as he kisses my knuckles. “Baby, it’s a crying shame you were willing to marry a man with an inadequate pole, but I damn well hope I’m more than enough.”
I snicker, then it turns into a giggle, and by the end of it, I’m leaning against Marco’s shoulder and we’re both laughing.
“Would I know him? Your ex?”
“I don’t know. I try not to waste my time thinking about him,” I say with a shrug
“I’m sorry that happened to you because he obviously didn’t deserve everything you were giving him, and he definitely didn’t appreciate it.” He reaches up and cradles my jaw, tilting my chin so he’s staring deep into my eyes. “I swear, princess. I would never disrespect you like that. I’d never intentionally hurt you.”
“Honestly, I wouldn’t be right where I am now if I ever thought you would.”
“Fucking show stopper. Should’ve known you’d be fucking fantastic when I finally found you.”
“Stop being swoony,” I whisper.
“I’ll stop when you stop me,” he challenges, knowing exactly what he’s doing.
I pounce. The bagels go flying. Soon, we’re making out on his bed and I somehow end up with cream cheese in my hair. Luckily for both of us, Marco has a big double shower and he knows how to be creative in it.
Marco Rossi is now my boyfriend. Hayley is going to have a field day with this one.
Now there’s just one more thing we have to do . . . get Gram’s approval.
But if Marco can warm my cold heart, there’s absolutely no doubt in my mind he can charm my grandmother. Or maybe it’ll be the other way around. I guess we’ll see.