“Oh my God.” I hear from behind her and see Matty putting his fist in front of his mouth, hiding the smile. “He’s going to lose his mind. I hope the Ring cam catches it.”
I don’t have a chance to ask him what he means because Avery comes running back. “Momma, they bought me a tea set,” she says, “to have tea.” She grabs her bag. “It’s a good thing I brought the tiara.” She unzips the top of her bag and takes out the tiara gently and puts it on her head. “I knew it was going to be a special day.” She turns to Sofia and asks her, “Can we do the tea party now?” Sofia just nods her head.
I look from them over to Stefano, who is just looking at me, his eyes moving up and down as he takes me in. If I thought my nerves were shot before, that look just pushes me out into orbit. It also makes other parts of me really happy that I shaved. “Daddy,” Avery says, walking to him, “I’m having a tea party.” She started calling him just Daddy two days ago. At the beginning she would call him Dad Stefano, but then one day, she was just like Daddy.
He takes his eyes off me and squats down in front of her. “That’s fun. Tomorrow, how about we have one at the house? I’ll come and get you after breakfast.”
“Okay,” she agrees with him before she turns to Matty. “I can’t have too hot water. I’m going to burn my skin off,” she informs Matty, who just nods at her.
“Okay, get out of here,” Sofia tells Stefano, who walks outside and I take him in. He walks down the steps wearing blue dress shorts and a light-blue button-down linen shirt, with the top two buttons open at the top.
“Hi,” he says softly when he stands in front of me. All I can see is him and all I can smell is his scent, and it makes my mouth water at the same time certain parts of my anatomy want to feel his touch. “Where are your keys?” he asks me, his teeth clenched together. My hand comes up and shakes a bit when I open it. He grabs the keys from my hand and turns to toss them to Matty. “See you guys tomorrow.” He then slips his hand into mine before turning and rushing us both back to his car.
“Call me if you need anything,” I instruct over my shoulder at Sofia as my feet try to keep up with Stefano, but the door slams in my face. “That was rude.” I look over at him but don’t take my hand out of his.
“No,” he says, stopping by the passenger door of his car, right in front of me, boxing me in. He puts his hands beside my head, stepping in closer to me. “What would be rude is me pushing you against this car and finding out what you are wearing under that dress.” His voice is low as he presses into me a bit. “That would be rude.”
“Yes.” I try hard not to show him how much he affects me, but my voice comes out breathlessly.
“That would be rude.” My eyes stare into his, and I can see his head coming closer and closer to mine. “There are cameras,” I finally say, “all around the house.”
“Oh, I know,” he assures me, “trust me, I know.” He opens the door for me. “Besides, when we do this, it’s not going to be a five-minute thing.”
I look at him. “I certainly hope not,” I mumble as I get in the car, jumping when he closes the door.
“I should have taken my vibrator out,” I tell myself while I watch him walk around the car. My nipples literally perk up, and I have to close my eyes and think of anything that will stop me from asking him to take me home and have his way with me.
“Are you okay?” I hear him ask me and my eyes fly open. I was so busy trying not to react to him that I didn’t hear the car door slam.
“What?” I ask, blinking my eyes rapidly as my chest heaves, and my heart beats what feels like a million times an hour. I don’t know anything right now. You could ask me what my name was and I don’t think I could even answer that. My head is spinning, this week has been pushing and pulling me in every single direction. It’s all too much, and what little thread I have been hanging on to is starting to fray.
“Are you okay?” he asks me again, one of his arms resting on the car door as his hand is on the steering wheel, while the other hand is on his leg, but I really wish it was on mine. I could picture him reaching over and putting it on my leg. His fingertips roaming up my bare leg until it’s underneath it.
“Addison.” I hear my name, and I snap out of my daydream.
My face feels like it’s been lit on fire. “Yeah,” I answer, avoiding looking at him. My mouth is so dry I’m having a hard time swallowing. “Yeah, I’m fine.” I turn to put my seat belt on before I hold on to the door handle so tight my knuckles are white. I look out of the window, seeing the trees pass by.
We get to the corner of the street and he stops. “Nothing.” The word comes out of my mouth and all I can do is go with it.
“What?” he asks me and I turn to look at him. Just like that night, all those years ago, we are back at the same spot more or less. He took the first step that night, asking me to come to his room. I didn’t know then what I do now, but even then, I knew I wanted to spend the night with him. But now that I’ve already had him, all I want is to see if my memory is anything like the real thing.
“The question you asked me before,” I explain, my heart beating so hard in my chest, I’m surprised he doesn’t hear it himself. “You asked me what I was wearing underneath this dress.” His eyes go the darkest green I have ever seen. “The answer is nothing.”
“Addison,” he growls, and I can see his Adam’s apple go up and down as he swallows. “Be very clear right now.” We look at each other, our eyes having a secret conversation. His eyes ask me if I want him to take me home. My eyes say there is nowhere else I want to go. He just nods his head and turns in the direction of his house.
His car picks up speed. “Okay, I might have lied a little bit,” I backtrack as we get closer and
closer to his house. I shake out my hands nervously. “I’m wearing a bodysuit, so it’s like clipped.” I point at my vagina. “But unclipped, there is nothing there.”
“I’m going to need you to stop talking right now,” he states, his jaw tight, and his teeth clenched together. “The last thing I need is to pull over and fuck you in this car.”
My mouth opens in shock and then closes and then opens again, nothing coming out. He puts the car in park and I see we are in his driveway. “Now, this is your last chance,” he says, looking at me.
Fuck, the way his lips fall, the way his hair is pushed back, the way I want to taste him, it’s the most overwhelming feeling I’ve ever had.
My hand comes up to touch the door handle, this time pulling it open. “Is the front door open?” I ask him and don’t even wait for him to answer me. I just open the door and step out. My knees feel like they are knocking together. The butterflies in my stomach are at an all-time high, and the only thing I’m wishing for is not to throw up all over his porch.
I reach for the handle of the door right before I feel his hands on my hips, pulling my ass into him.
He bends his head, and I can feel his breath on my neck. “Do you know how long I’ve wanted to do this?” he whispers close to my ear, and my body shivers.
“Do what?” I whisper, holding my breath as I wait for him to answer.
I close my eyes, waiting for the touch to come. I close my eyes, willing it to come, but instead, he says, “It’s better if I show you.” He puts his hand on mine, opening the door.
stefano
. . .
I push open the front door. “After you,” I say. I don’t know why but it feels like an eternity before she takes that first step into the house.
She puts her hand on mine that holds her hip, intertwining our fingers. It feels like someone just sent electric shocks through me. My body is one big, tight nerve. It’s been one big, tight nerve this whole fucking week. I’m so out of my comfort zone, it’s not funny. At this point I’ve been winging it, hoping she wants what I want. She takes a step into the house, her hand never leaving mine. “Upstairs or downstairs?” She looks over her shoulder.