The Heartbreaker Series: Books 1-3 (39 page)

As soon as she slips the condom on, I line up my cock with her pussy and thrust deep. Our combined moans fill the room. She’s so tight, wet, and hot, I feel like I could come right now.

I pull back and look into her eyes. I slowly slide almost all the way out of her until just the head is inside of her and thrust slowly back in. I know I’m hitting her sweet spot because each time I slide in, she moans and her pussy gets even wetter. The sounds of flesh meeting flesh fill the room.

“Jesus, you feel so good, Mila. I don’t want this to end, but I’m gonna come soon.” I reach between us and start stroking her clit.

“I need it harder,” she cries as she reaches up, dragging my face down to hers.

She babbles in Italian against my mouth as I drive my dick harder and harder into her. I feel my balls draw up and the tingle at the base of my spine. I grip the headboard, get up on my knees, and hammer into her over and over again. I pinch her clit, and she comes so hard that I swear she’s going to squeeze my dick off. I let myself go and come with a shout, planting myself to the root inside of her as she milks me dry.

I collapse on top of her. I can feel her heart pounding in her chest. I kiss behind her ear, inhaling the flowery scent still clinging to her skin.

When I pull out, she clings to me. “Let me get rid of this, baby,” I tell her. I climb out of my bed and head into my en suite. I throw the condom away and use the bathroom. Before heading back into my room, I wonder what I’m going to find. Is she going to be up and dressed or is she going to be lying in my bed still?

I shut off the light and find her lying on my bed, looking like a playboy model. I’m not sure how I got this lucky, but I’m not going to question it. She holds up the sheet. I crawl onto the bed and slide under the blanket. I pull Mila until she’s lying partially on top of me.

I stroke her hair. “How are you liking St. Louis so far?”

She turns her head up to look at me and we both start laughing.

She kisses my chest and snuggles in to me. “I’m liking it more and more.”

I smile into the dark, wrap my arms around her, and intertwine our legs so every inch of us is touching as we both sink further into my bed and slip into exhausted sleep.

***

I know she’s gone before I even open my eyes. Disappointment floods me as I sit up in bed. I look at the clock and see that it’s only six. I lie back down and stare up at the ceiling.

Around two, I woke to Mila kissing down my chest until she wrapped her lips around my cock. She worked my length until I could barely stand it. Then she grabbed a condom, rolled it on, and straddled me, sinking down onto my length, taking me deeper into her body. She rode me until we both came hard.

I’ve never had a one-night stand before. Of course the first one ended with the woman splitting in the middle of the night. I know it seems crazy that a thirty-two year old man like myself has never had a one night stand before, but what can I say? I’m a romantic. I want something deeper than just sex. I’m not sure what propelled me to sleep with Mila the same day I met her, but there was just something about her that pulled me in.

She obviously didn’t feel the same way if she could just slink away in the night. I guess I know I won’t be making that mistake again. Hopefully I won’t be seeing her. I would just feel awkward and embarrassed.

Chapter Two

Mila

I stare at the blank canvas and all I see is him. The blond hair, the dark brown eyes, and the way he moved inside me, the way he looked at me. I groan as I throw my paintbrush across the room. I know it’s terrible, but when I met Brian, I knew he would be “safe.” He was gorgeous, but on the nerdy, awkward side, and I wasn’t expecting him to rock my world in bed.

I’m still plagued with guilt about slinking out in the middle of the night. For the past two weeks, all I’ve done is think about him. For the first time in my life, I feel bad about what I’ve done.

I know I have issues, but you would too if your dad had an affair with your brother’s wife while he was still married to your mother. Everything went downhill when I was only sixteen and away at private school. Nico found out while Mom and Gaia, my younger sister, were visiting me. Nico was visiting me with my mom and Gaia, but he was missing the whore, so he went home, and that’s when he caught our dad and the whore in bed together. The saddest part was that Nico found out that the baby she was carrying wasn’t his, but in fact our father’s.

Since I started dating, I’ve always stuck to safe boys and men. There was no way I was ever going to entrust my heart with any man who looked like he could have the upper hand, especially after seeing what my mom went through. Entrusting a man with my heart would give them the power to hurt me. I don’t think my mom has dated since our father’s betrayal.

I grab my brush off of the floor and sit back down in front of my easel. With my eyes closed, I take some deep breaths to clear my head and to get into the space that lets my creative juices flow.

I spend the next three hours creating a contemporary piece that I’ll be displaying in my first American show in a month. Mad Hatter Art Gallery hired me not long after I arrived in St. Louis. I help bartend, serve food, and show art pieces. Not only is it an art gallery, but they also host weddings, receptions, and art shows of all kinds. One of the owners saw one of my pieces and asked me to do a show.

After I’m done, I clean my brushes and put my paints away. I drape a tarp over my painting and move it out of the way. I have to get cleaned up so I can go babysit my niece while my brother takes Jill to a doctor’s appointment. She’s pregnant with their second child and has been bleeding quite a lot lately, so they’re going to the doctor for their ultrasound today to make sure everything is okay.

I’m the only one who knows because they didn’t want to worry everyone else, but I wouldn’t have been in the know had I not been there when she had a bleeding incident.

I quickly shower and get ready.

I make my way to Nico and Jill’s new place. After he moved back to St. Louis, they bought a larger home to prepare for expanding their family and I ended up renting Jill’s old place, which is the perfect size for me. Plus, there is room for all of my art supplies.

I pull into their driveway, grabbing my bag as I climb out of the car. I knock before pushing the door open.

“Hello?” I call out. I smile as the pitter-patter of little feet comes down the hall.

“Mimi!”

My gorgeous little niece runs to me. I scoop her up, blowing raspberries on her cheeks. I look up as my big brother comes walking toward me. His brow is furrowed. I know he’s stressing about Jill’s appointment today.

When he reaches me, I set Nicola down and wrap my arms around him. “Are you okay, big brother?”

He looks down at me. “Yeah, I’m fine. I’ll just be better when the doctor tells us that everything’s fine. Thanks for watching Nica. We’re just not ready to explain to the family that there might be problems with the baby, or at least her pregnancy. Not yet, anyway.”

I grab his face between my hands. “Hey, none of that talk. Everything’s going to be fine, and in a few months, you’ll have another beautiful baby.” I hope that everything is going to be fine.

Jill comes down a few minutes later, looking beautiful, as always. I can see the worry in her eyes, and I hate that they’re both stressed out. She gives me instructions for taking care of Nicola and she and Nico kiss us both goodbye.

I scoop up my niece and take her to her room, where we play and play until it’s time for me to make her dinner. I’m just getting her settled when the front door opens. I can hear Jill and Nico’s excited chatter. They step into the kitchen, where we’re eating, and they both go to their daughter, giving her kisses before coming to me and wrapping their arms around me.

“Okay, guys. I’m guessing the appointment went well,” I say, laughter filling my voice as I take in their smiling faces.

“Everything looks great. The placenta is a little low, but not enough to cause trouble. I just may bleed every time she hits it, but they didn’t find any reason to be worried.” Jill wraps her arms around my brother.

“She?” I ask.

“
Si
, we’re having another little princess.” My brother is beaming. I immediately wrap my arms around him. When Jill joins us, I wrap them around her as well.

Nico and Jill are both giving each other goo-goo eyes. I take that as my cue to leave. I kiss them both and then give little Nicola a smooch on the forehead as she continues to shove chicken nuggets into her mouth.

I make my way home and feel an ache in my stomach. I’m so happy for my brother, but jealous too. He was able to overcome the bullshit that happened so long ago. Me? Well, I guess I’ve let it affect me more than I should have. Every relationship I’ve had has been with someone that I can walk all over and do whatever the hell I’ve wanted with. Safe and easy has always been my motto.

Safe and easy was what I thought I was getting with Brian, but the moment our lips touched, I knew that wasn’t the case with him. The sex I had with him was, by far, the best sex I’ve ever had. Even two weeks later, just the thought of his body moving over mine makes me ache. I haven’t told Jill we slept together because Jill works with Brian and I don’t want to put her in the middle. Nico would go all big brother on Brian and me, and I just don’t want to deal with him.

I pull into my garage and take a deep breath before making my way inside, alone.

***

I pull into the parking lot of Jill’s office. We’re meeting for lunch today to plan Nico’s birthday party. I’m nervous because I know there is a chance that I could run into Brian. I’ve thought about what I would say if I saw him, but the reality of it all is I definitely want to see him. The plan is to ask him out, maybe.

I check myself over in the mirror. I add a little lip-gloss and fluff my hair, checking my teeth before I get out of my car. I make my way inside and stop at the front desk, where an older woman greets me.

“Can I help you?”

“I’m here to see Jill Swanson.”

She picks up her phone and presumably calls her. While I wait, I wander to a wall covered with pictures and stare up at various photos of random people with kids. I see a couple of pictures of Jill and then I see a few of Brian. There’s one of him and a couple of women with a little boy that makes my heart swell, but creates an ache in my chest. That pain I’ve lived with for the past five years comes and goes in its severity, but I shake those feelings away. I’ve kept them locked and buried away for so long that there’s no sense in bringing them up again.

“Mila.”

I turn to find Jill coming toward me with a huge smile on her face. Today she’s wearing a red and black sweater dress, leggings, and riding boots. Her brown hair is pulled back in a low ponytail. I kiss both of her cheeks and hug her tight. I touch her belly and feel a sense of longing, but again I shake it off.

With my arm looped through hers, we head out the door and to my car. We decide to go to a little sandwich shop. Once inside, we order our food and then find our seats in a booth in front of a big bay window.

“How are you feeling?” I say before taking a bite of my sandwich.

Jill sits back in her chair and rubs her small baby bump. “I feel great. Now that we know we’re having a little girl and she’s doing great, I’ve felt much more relaxed. Your brother is no longer hovering over me twenty-four-seven.”

“
Mamma
called and is sending me Nico’s presents. I hate that she’s not coming, but with everything going on with Gaia, I can’t blame her for staying.”

Jill reaches across the table and squeezes my hand. Gaia has had a hard time ever since our dad died. When he died, we hadn’t seen him in sixteen years, but Gaia took his death especially hard, maybe because she was such a daddy’s girl when we were younger.

“I wish Gaia would come to America. If we get her and your mom here, they could have a fresh start.”

We make small talk as we finish eating. A part of me wants to ask her about Brian, but I nix that idea because it’s a moot point. I’m not going to do anything about it anyway. I can’t.

We make it back to Jill’s office, and she asks me to come in with her. She forgot to give me some of the info for Nico’s party. We’re in such a deep conversation that I don’t notice Brian standing at his desk until I run into him, literally. His arms shoot out and he grabs me around my waist.

“Whoa! Are you okay?” He stares down at me.

“
Si
, I’m sorry.” I straighten myself. “How are you, Brian?”

He steps back from me and says he’s fine. Then he heads down the hall. My eyes follow him until he turns and is out of sight. Of course he couldn’t get away from me fast enough.

I paste a big fake smile on my face and turn back to Jill. She’s looking at me strangely, but I choose to ignore it and take the papers from her hand.

“Thanks for these. I’ll make sure it’s
perfetto
for my brother.”

I call out that I love her as I hurry out of the building as fast as I can. I feel humiliated enough as it is. Once I’m in the safety of my car, I take a deep breath and let it out slowly. What the hell is wrong with me? I’ve never felt this way before. I’ve never had this reaction to a man before—that all-consuming, heart racing, butterfly swirling feeling deep inside me.

I push those thoughts to the back of my mind and pull out of the parking lot to head to the gallery to talk to Patsy, the owner, about my upcoming show. I’ve taken pictures of my pieces and I want to show her what I’ll be showing.

A short drive later, I pull into the parking lot of Mad Hatter. Patsy’s BMW is the only car in the lot. I make my way toward the door. Patsy meets me there and holds the door open for me.

“Hi, Mila. Thanks for coming by.” She closes and locks the door behind us. “I have an updated schedule for you. Let me know if you have any questions.”

We sit in Patsy’s office, and I show her three pieces that I’ve already finished. She ooh’s and ah’s as she studies each picture. It still gives me an immense thrill when someone loves my work. Granted, not everyone can be a fan of your stuff, but it’s still nice when you can see the joy on someone’s face while they look at the pieces you created from your heart and soul.

“Mila, these are fantastic. The lines are amazing. The colors just pop and are very expressive. We’ll have no problem selling these paintings.”

She hands me back my iPad mini and I tuck it in my bag. Then she hands me the price list for my pieces and my updated schedule. “You’ll see my commission is the standard rate. I do recommend you have someone look it over before you sign the contract.”

“Of course. I have a lawyer who I use for my contracts. I’ll have him look at it right away.”

I head out and stop by Nico’s lawyer’s office to drop the contracts off. His secretary tells me she’ll call when it’s ready. I head to the grocery store and grab a few things and then make my way home.

***

I walk through Gabe’s dining room and family room. Everything looks great, and I’m grateful that he and Jasmine opened their home to us for Nico’s party. I make sure that the decorations are all straight. I didn’t go too crazy. Just a few streamers and balloons that are spread out sporadically. Classy and simple.

I make sure the coolers are full and put the appetizers on the silver trays I rented. I take a deep breath and wait for everyone to arrive.

The party is in full swing as I wind my way through the crowd and make my way to my brother. He wraps his arm around my shoulders as soon I reach him. “Thank you for the party.” He presses a kiss to my forehead.

“You’re welcome. Are you having a good time?”

“I am. You doing okay? Jill says you’re acting weird.”

“I’m fine, big brother. I’ve just been busy, preparing for my show at the gallery. Things are good.”

I look at the crowd and see him right away. Brian is in dark jeans and a dark blue button-up shirt. His dark blond hair is combed back and black-rimmed glasses grace his face. He looks around the room, and when his eyes land on mine, I give him a small smile. He gives me a tiny chin lift and then disappears.