“You are magnificent, Eleanora,” he said, out of breath.
“Please, call me Ella. I think you’ve earned it.”
He kissed me again, slowly and passionately.
“You’re magnificent, Ella,” he said. “I may have to keep you here all night.”
JOE
She ran her fingers through my wet hair, clenching it as she came in powerful shudders. The intensity of my orgasm took me by surprise. The chemistry between us was mind-blowing. Never before had I felt that way with anyone. I wanted to possess her completely. I was completely spent.
Walking through the water was hard work after an orgasm like that. We lay on the sand looking up at the stars, silent, satisfied.
“You know what this means, don’t you?” I said as I looked at her beautiful face.
“Tell me.” She smiled.
“This means that I’m going to have to see you again. And again, and again, and again . . .”
She laughed from her gut. “I might be busy, Joe. We university students have a lot on our plate, you know.”
“Oh, really. We’ll see about that.” I reached over, pegged her arms down, and kissed her all over her body. Then, I tickled her. She squirmed and squealed as she tried to break free.
“Get off me, you oaf.” She laughed.
“Not until you agree to see me again.”
“Okay, okay, I give. I’ll see you again.”
“In that case, I better kiss your wounds better.”
I let go of her arms, wiped the sand from her face, and kissed her gently on her eyelids, then her nose, and finally her delicious mouth.
“You’re mine now, Ella,” I whispered.
“That I am,” she replied.
ELEANORA
I soaked in a luxurious bubble bath after Joe dropped me home. I couldn’t stop smiling as I relived the events of the evening. My head was still spinning. His touch was magical, electric. My addiction to the beautiful man was intensifying by the minute.
The phone rang as I stepped out of the calming water. I grabbed a towel, wrapped myself, and answered.
“Hello.”
“You hussy! I’ll forgive you for leaving me stranded at the cinema, but only if you spill the beans.” Bria was talking a mile a minute.
“I didn’t leave you stranded, you big baby. You had your car.”
“Okay, I’ll tell you mine if you tell me yours.” She chuckled.
“Really? You first” I said.
“I’m seeing Fabio again.”
“That’s wonderful, Bria. You’re over the hump now.”
“More like under his hump.” She laughed.
“Bria, what am I to do with you?”
“Your turn,” she said. “Is his rod as big as his hands?”
“You’re disgusting! And yes, it is.”
We laughed and chatted for at least an hour. It was good to hear the excitement in her voice as she spoke about Fabio. Rather than watch the whole of Jaws, Fabio and Bria snuck away too, and the rest, as the saying goes, was X-rated.
I was exhausted after the long eventful day I’d had. I lay in bed, eyes closed, trying to sleep. But putting Joe out of my mind seemed impossible, so I went downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of warm milk. My mother was sitting at the kitchen table.
“What’s keeping you up, Mama?”
“I could ask you the same question, my love.”
“Can’t sleep. Came down for a quick warm milk fix. What’s on your mind, Mama?”
“I ate too much dessert. Hyped up on sugar.”
“I don’t believe you, Mama. You could eat a bucket of dessert and still sleep like a baby. What’s wrong?” I took a mug from the cupboard and milk from the fridge.
“It’s nothing serious, my love. I’m just preoccupied.” I knew when my mother was skirting a question, but I wasn’t going to bug her. She’d tell me when the time was right.
“Okay, I’m not going to push, but if you need to talk about it, I’m here.” I popped some milk in the microwave and watched as the cup circled on the glass plate.
“What’s keeping you up, my love?”
“Oh, not much. I might be in love.” I retrieved my warm, white sleeping aid from the microwave and sat down at the table.
“Really? And who might the extremely fortunate fellow be?”
“His name’s Joe, and he is spectacular, Mama. Tall, dark, and handsome—totally dishy.” I grinned at her.
“That's wonderful, my love. When do we get to meet him?”
“Soon, Mama, soon.”
We talked for a while, and I listened as my mother shared old stories of her and my father before they were married. Her eyes sparkled as she spoke of him. I hoped that I would be half as happy as they were. I’d never seen them fight, which was truly out of the ordinary considering our hot-tempered Italian ways. My parents were my inspiration.
The warm milk did the trick. I fell asleep as my head hit the pillow, Joe’s beautiful face before me.
Chapter Three
JOE
Fabio grinned at the breakfast table of our favorite café. I’d caught him smiling a few times when he didn’t know I was watching him.
“What’s with the puppy dog eyes, playboy? Thinking of Bria, are you?”
He took a bite of his eggs and polenta and chased it with caffè ristretto.
“I might be.” He smiled.
“Does this mean you’re going to stop chasing skirt for a while?”
“You never know; stranger things have happened.” He took another huge bite of his food. Fabio did everything fast, including eating. “What about Eleanora? You haven’t told me yet what happened last night when the two of you snuck out together.”
“A gentleman never tells.”
“Oh crap, come on; out with it.” He stared at me until I looked down at my plate.
“Let’s just say that I’ll never think of the ocean again in quite the same way.”
“You dog! I thought you looked a few pounds lighter
