Samira had never cruised on the Yarra River. Growing up an only child meant she spent a lot of time with her parents on the weekends. On the occasions when the three of them would spend time with her dad’s friends, she’d have her nose buried in a book while her dad waxed lyrical with his fellow academics and her mom hung out with the wives, holding her own with talk of her architectural dreams.
She’d never realized how much Kushi had given up when she’d decided to be a stay-at-home mom or wondered why she hadn’t returned to her career once Samira had gone to school. It wasn’t something they’d discussed, and bringing it up now might make her mom sad.
In her teens she’d become self-absorbed, caught up in school dramas and crushes and getting good marks to get into uni for her physical therapy degree. Being time poor, she’d mostly hung out in Dandenong and its surrounds, venturing as far as Glen Waverley with friends. Besides, cruising on the Yarra seemed like a couple thing to do, and even when she’d started dating Avi, he hadn’t been overtly romantic.
Rory, on the other hand . . . He’d surprised her tonight. After initially freaking out at the baby news, he seemed to be throwing himself into this relationship wholeheartedly, though she couldn’t dismiss a niggle of worry that he was still holding back about something. Then again, she hadn’t told him all her deep, dark secrets. They weren’t that kind of couple. In fact, the realization he wouldn’t be around for most of her pregnancy rammed home that if she decided to return to LA, it wouldn’t be such a big deal.
Kushi would be devastated, but why couldn’t her mom come and stay with her in LA for as long as she liked? She didn’t have anything tying her to Melbourne. Samira had always wondered why her mom had never come to visit but hadn’t pushed the issue. How could she, when she avoided Melbourne?
But a baby would change things, and she knew if she asked Kushi to come stay with her in the first few months after the birth, her mom would agree.
She had a lot to think about.
“While I love our mutually comfortable silences, you’ve been quiet for an awfully long time.” Rory dropped a kiss on the top of her head, where she snuggled into the crook of his arm, tucked under his shoulder as their gondola drifted along, the gondolier behind them humming an eighties pop song.
“Just thinking,” she said. “And savoring the most romantic date I’ve ever had.”
She glanced up at him and batted her eyelashes, and he laughed. “I’m surprised fish-and-chips on the banks of the Yarra followed by a short cruise impresses you so much.”
“Why?”
“You live in LA. I imagine you’ve been wooed by pricey dinners on Rodeo Drive or strolls along Santa Monica Pier or hitting the hottest Beverly Hills nightspots.”
She made a pfft sound. “I don’t need flashy.”
He stared at her with clear intent in his gaze. “What do you need?”
Heat shot through her, setting her alight. How did he do that with a single glance?
“You,” she murmured, reaching up to draw his head toward her. “I need you.”
His lips grazed hers in an all-too-brief kiss, a kiss of promise, a kiss of what was to come.
A subtle clearing of the gondolier’s throat had them easing apart with regret.
“I’ve loved every minute of tonight, but are you ready to head back to my place?”
His wicked grin was all the answer she needed.
He glanced over his shoulder at the gondolier. “Can we head back now please?”
“Sure thing, mate.”
Samira smiled. She’d never been to Venice, but she imagined the gondoliers on the Grand Canal didn’t call anyone “mate.” Thankfully, the guy had powerful arms, and he dropped them off at their pick-up spot in seven minutes; seven long minutes of being all too aware of Rory’s subtle citrus scent, the press of his thigh against hers, his fingertips tracing lazy circles on the top of her arm. She snuggled into the nook of his arm tighter, craving contact, barely able to contain how badly she wanted him. She could blame her horniness on pregnancy hormones, but she’d been this hot for him since their first night together.
Sensing her urgency as he helped her from the boat, he leaned down to murmur in her ear, “You’re driving me crazy too, sweetheart.”
“Let’s go,” she said, taking his hand and all but breaking into a jog.
He laughed and picked up the pace. Once again, neither of them spoke as they reached her building, and she didn’t mind. Anticipation thrummed between them, making her blood fizz and heating her from the inside out.
As they stepped into the elevator and the doors slid shut, she muttered, “Wish this stupid thing didn’t have cameras.”
“What would you do if it didn’t?”
He pulled her in front of him and slid his arms around her waist, pressing his rigid erection into her, making her mouth go dry.
“I’d push you up against the wall, unzip you, and go down on you.”
He made an odd choking sound a second before the elevator stopped and the doors slid open.
“You’re killing me,” he said, matching her brisk steps as they reached her apartment and she slid the card through the slot with an unsteady hand.
“Yeah, but what a way to go.”
As the door closed, she pushed him up against it and slammed her mouth onto his. Their teeth bumped a little, and their noses squished, but she didn’t care, and by his low, appreciative groan, he didn’t either.
He had this way of using his tongue that made kissing him the most sensual experience in the world, and as he slid his hands under her skirt and tugged her panties down, she never wanted this to end.
He gripped her ass and hoisted her high, spinning around so he had her pinned to the door. She wriggled, craving closer contact, and he obliged by unzipping. Wrapping her legs around his waist, she gasped as he slid into her with one smooth thrust. Filling her. Completing her.
“So good,” she whispered against the side of his mouth, and he responded by withdrawing slowly, inch by infinitesimal inch, before plunging back in. Repeating it over and over until she was mindless and clinging to him and clawing at the edges of an orgasm to end all orgasms.
“Rory . . . oh . . . yeah . . .” Every muscle in her body tensed as he drove into her, hard and fast, so freaking hot.
His mouth claimed hers again a moment before she climaxed on a loud cry, the pleasure so intense it brought tears to her eyes.
They’d had some phenomenal sex in their time together, but nothing like this, and as he lowered her slightly and she unwrapped her legs from around his waist, the tears in her eyes threatened to spill out.
“Fuck, are you crying?”
He cupped her face between his hands and brushed under her eyes with his thumbs. “Did I hurt you, baby?”
The urge to cry intensified, and she bit down on her bottom lip and shook her head.
“Sam, tell me what’s going on.”
He looked so concerned, she had to tell him.
“That was the best sex of my life,” she said, and his eyes lit up with typical male pride.
“And you’re crying?”
“From happiness, you dufus.” She whacked him on the chest and sniffled. “Now take me to the shower so we can clean up and do it all over again.”
“I like the way you think.” He grinned and dropped his hands to her shoulders. “You’re amazing. You know that, right?”
“You can keep telling me in the shower.” She sagged against him, suddenly boneless.
“Hey.” He tipped up her chin and brushed a kiss across her lips. “We were so hot for each other I didn’t use a rubber.”
She’d been so mindless with want she’d barely noticed. “It’s not like getting pregnant is an issue, and we already established when the condom broke that we’re clean?”
“Yeah.” The faintest blush stained his cheeks. “I get a yearly physical, and my last was six months ago, and I haven’t slept with anyone but you since.”
Ridiculously, the thought pleased her. He could’ve slept with a hundred women and it shouldn’t bother her, but for now, she was glad they were monogamous and happy.
“As clean as we are,” she said, threading her hand through his hair, “we could get cleaner . . .”
She tugged his head down for another hot, openmouthed kiss that had her wanting him more than ever.
He broke away, his breathing ragged. “Shower. Now.”
His gaze locked with hers. “But just so you know, three weeks away from you is going to be pure torture, babe, so I intend on making up for lost time all night long.”
Samira could hardly wait.