Balto didn’t argue with me, perfectly understanding my reasoning. “I’m sorry.”
Knowing exactly how it would end made it less painful, because I already anticipated it. But for Catalina…it would be sudden, horrifying, and completely unexpected. Or maybe we would be together for a long time, a secret relationship that would last years since she didn’t need a husband until she turned thirty. Then I wouldn’t have to worry about it for a long time. “I’m sorry about everything that happened. I understand if you don’t like her now.”
“Don’t like her?” Balto asked, his deep voice filled with surprise. “Why would I not like her?”
I tapped my finger against my cheek. “Because she turned your face into a pinata.”
He glared at me.
“We didn’t like what was happening at the time,” Cassini said. “But we can’t blame her for making the wrong assumption since you didn’t give her all the facts. And the fact that she cared so much…tears down her face…did make me like her. Because she obviously adores you, Heath.”
Balto rubbed his cheek. “And I like any woman who can throw a punch like that. Impressive.”
“Yeah…” I smiled slightly. “She’s feisty.”
“She chased me down on the street and handed my ass to me in less than a minute. Sounds like the perfect woman, if you ask me.” My brother was a no-nonsense kind of man, so he respected people who were the same way. Instead of being annoyed or intimidated by a woman who spoke her mind and put her fist where her mouth was, he found it endearing, which was obvious, considering Cassini was the same way. I’d never forget the time she hit me in the face with a fucking lamp.
I chuckled. “Man, I wish I could have seen that.”
“It wasn’t funny—at the time,” Cassini said. “I don’t appreciate someone striking my husband.”
“Baby, I’m fine,” Balto said quickly. “And I’ve had worse.” He turned back to me. “The four of us could have dinner and break the ice.”
“You want to go on a double date with me?” I asked incredulously.
“Why not?” Balto asked. “This woman is obviously special to you. And you dragged me to the goddamn ballet. At least at dinner, I can eat and drink. I can grab my wife’s ass too.”
Cassini smacked his shoulder playfully.
Balto grinned slightly, like he liked it when she hit him.
I liked it when Catalina hit me too. “I’ll talk to her about it when I see her.” It would be an interesting conversation, to say the least. After our explosive argument over those dirty pictures, our relationship had taken a brief, steep nosedive. “I’m not sure what she’ll say about dinner.”
“Don’t give her a choice,” Balto said. “You think Cassini gets a choice in anything?”
She smacked him again then got off his lap. “I get a choice in serving you dinner.” She headed back into the kitchen. “Looks like it’ll just be me and Heath. Enjoy your scotch.”
I let myself into her apartment.
She stood at the kitchen counter, her back to me. Without turning around to see my face, she addressed me. “Hey, babe. Just finishing dinner.” She wore her sexy little shorts and a tank top, skipping the bra and letting her tits relax. Her ass cheeks hung out slightly because the bottoms were so short.
Babe. It was a title I’d never been called before, and it fit me like a tailored suit. I liked listening to it come from her lips, especially since she only did it once in a while, when she really felt the affection inside her heart. Every time she said it, she meant it, and that was sexy. “What are we having?”
“Spaghetti.” She sautéed the beef in the pan while the noodles boiled in the pot.
I came up behind her, my arms wrapping around her petite frame, covering her entire torso because our sizes were so vastly different. I pulled her into me slightly, my face moving into her neck so I could kiss her, placing my lips against that delicious skin.
She immediately froze when I kissed her, holding the spatula over the pan without stirring the food.
I pushed the strap off her shoulder so my kiss could migrate down, move across the rest of her tanned skin, tasting olives on my tongue. My mouth widened and kissed her harder, my dick pressing into her back because I held her close. My fingers gripped the thin fabric of her shirt, stretching out the fibers with my aggressive clenches. I kissed her shoulder like it was her mouth, sucking, licking, biting.
She abandoned the food entirely, closing her eyes as she felt me devour her.
My hands roamed all over her body, squeezing her tits through the shirt before moving across her stomach. My lips slid back to her neck, and I nibbled on her lobe before I let my warm breath enter directly into her ear so she could hear my pants. I gave her a final squeeze before I let her go. I stepped over to the cabinets and grabbed the plates along with the silverware. I knew she liked wine with dinner, so I grabbed a new bottle and uncorked it.
It took her a few seconds to snap out of her haze, to stir the meat before it began to burn. But there was a red tint to her cheeks like her mind immediately went to the gutter, like food was the last thing she wanted to eat.
I leaned against the counter and stared at her.
She stirred the meat again before she looked at me. She held the look for a few seconds before she continued what she was doing.
“So, you met my
