Dark Ties (Made Men 9)
“No, I just don’t trust him to miss my whole left side.”
Nadia’s mouth practically dropped at Amo’s “one eye” joke, not knowing how to react in the silence until Leo did.
“Fair enough.” Leo laughed. “I don’t even trust you, and you have two.”
Nadia felt comfortable enough to chuckle now as she took the bottle and squeezed out some of the contents. “Turn.”
Another sound came from Dante’s direction.
* * *
Dante turned in his lounger, the death glare in his icy eyes hidden behind his dark glasses.
However, he was sure his soldier still could not only see it but felt his warning glare.
He had two best friends, and Amo was one of his best friend’s son. But not even his father, Enzo, could protect Amo from the wrath he felt raging in his bones. Dante wanted to do more than slap the back of his big-ass head right now while he watched Nadia begin to rub the liquid onto his back. Never once had he been jealous of one of his soldiers … but there was certainly a first for everything.
He hoped Amo was enjoying himself, because that was going to be the first and last time he was going to get Nadia’s hands on him.
“Ah … that’s the spot—”
Whack!
“Make it weird, and you’ll be left with Dante rubbing lotion onto your back all weekend,” she reprimanded the six-foot-something soldier after doing exactly what Dante had wanted to do by smacking the back of his big-ass head. He only had one criticism …
Hit harder next time.
Amo was still rubbing the back of his head. “Sorry, I won’t do it again.”
Clearly satisfied that he had gotten the message, Nadia went back to finishing up his back.
Dante, however, wasn’t satisfied. At least not until her attention went to Leo. He carefully watched her look Leo over, and when she rubbed in a still white spot on his cheek that he had missed, he saw her frustration with herself.
“I should have had you two putting on SPF earlier. I’m so stupid.” Nadia wasn’t happy that Leo’s cheeks had turned the slightest color of pink, placing the blame of them getting burnt onto herself, even though Leo was not only old enough to know to put it on himself, but also Dante, Leo’s father, was sitting right there.
When Leo grabbed the back of his shirt and pulled it off finally, he let the woman cover his back, and that was when Dante saw it.
Nadia had taken the same care in covering both of them, like a mother would have. Her touch on Amo was no different than Leo’s, and suddenly, his jealousy turned into a feeling that again tugged at his heart.
It had been a long time since he had seen anyone mothering his son. His daughter, Maria, would do a motherly act every now and then, but this was obviously different to him. And with every kind act toward Leo, it made him see Nadia differently each time.
It was only the guilt that crept into his soul that reminded him to stay away from her.
Men like Dante didn’t deserve happiness. Not when he had buried his wife six feet below.
* * *
Satisfied the boys wouldn’t burn, Nadia took her spot back on the lounger with the bottle in hand.
“I’m going to go for a swim to cool off,” Amo announced, which had Leo following.
“I’ll come, too.”
Watching the boys head to the back of the yacht, she could see Amo jump straight into the ocean, while Leo sat down to let his feet dangle in. She could tell he didn’t want to get his bandage wet.
Returning to her task, she squeezed some of the lotion out and began to apply it liberally to her risen tanned leg.
* * *
Okay … maybe he deserved happiness, at least for the weekend.
Careful that his shades were concealing his insistent staring, he watched the woman, who was becoming more beautiful by the second, apply lotion to her body. Her bronze tan glowed more with each swipe until her legs glistened in the sun.
Dante was sure the lower half of her body was his favorite, at least from what he had noticed. Her calves were toned, along with her thighs. On first glance, you’d think she was just on the thicker side, but you could actually see the muscle turn under her skin as she moved her leg to reach a different spot.
She had a true athletic build, with a generous ass to prove it, but when she slipped his white shirt off her shoulders to finally reveal her orange bikini top, he was no longer sure her bottom half was his favorite.
Her bronze skin continued glowing with each lather. She had merely turned enough to give him a glimpse of her breasts, and, while she was bottom heavy, they were a perfect handful that had him closing his eyes to dream about …