It was all I could do not to burst out laughing at the look on Gabby’s face. I wanted to keep teasing her, but I couldn’t. I leaned forward. “Having babies isn’t as easy as wanting one, little man. Maybe one day you’ll get your wish.”

Luckily, he let it drop.

She sighed and came over to the love seat. Before she could sit, I caught her waist and pulled her to my lap. She gasped as I held her close. I kissed the end of her nose, rubbing mine along it affectionately. “Hi.”

She frowned. “This is not sitting beside you.”

“I improvised.”

She squirmed, and I groaned in warning. “Gabriella.”

She stopped, looking mischievous. “What?”

“Keep that up, and there’ll be no more talking.”

“What were we talking about?”

“You coming to lunch at my mother’s place next week,” I said dryly, knowing she knew exactly what we’d been discussing.

“Oh, right.”

I tapped her nose. “Nice try.”

She turned serious. “Why?”

“Why what?”

“Why are you taking me to meet your family?” She paused, her fingers worrying the edge of her shirt the way they always did when she was nervous. “You said you didn’t take Leah to meet them for a month. We’ve barely been a couple for a week. Why would you want me to meet them?”

I studied her, letting her question sink in. I hadn’t taken Leah to meet them that quickly. I wasn’t even sure the day I’d taken her I was ready. Yet with Gabby and Theo, it was right. I knew it without question.

“Because you’re important to me. Both of you are. More important than Leah could have ever been. I want you to meet my family.”

“Stefano,” she whispered. “It’s so fast.”

“I know.”

“I need–I need to think it over.”

“Okay.” I had assumed, knowing Gabby, that she would. She would overthink it, come up with a thousand objections I would have to kiss away, and then on Sunday, I would take her to meet my family.

I traced my finger down her cheek. “Would you rather discuss that baby brother or sister for Theo? He was pretty determined.”

She slapped away my hand in annoyance. “Do not encourage him. He’s been on about it for a while, but ever since he saw Charly and her baby bump, he’s been asking me daily. He’s five.”

“Your point?” I teased.

She rolled her eyes. “I am not explaining to my five-year-old how babies are made and why we can’t just have one.”

“What did you tell him?”

“That babies are expensive, and I don’t have the money or time to look after one.” Her cheeks colored again. “I also told him that it takes a mommy and a daddy to get a baby.” Sadness drifted over her face. “That brought even more questions.”

“About his dad?” I asked gently.

She tensed against me, and I ran my hand down her back. “Relax, Gabby. Everything is okay.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.” She looked up at me, her eyes pleading.

I tamped down my frustration. I had hoped by telling her about Leah, she would trust me and tell me her background. I was sure what she had gone through was more intense, but I wanted her to know we all had scars from our past. But she wasn’t ready.

“What do you want?”

She ran her fingers along my jaw. “You.”

I was silent, letting her make the decision.

“I was thinking about you all day.”

“Yeah?”

She nodded. “How you felt inside me. How you made me feel.” She pressed her mouth to mine, flicking her tongue on my bottom lip. “How much I wanted you to make me feel that again,” she whispered.

With a groan, I covered her mouth with mine. I kissed her like a starving man and she was the finest meal on earth. She shifted, straddling me, and all thoughts of her past, mine, my family, and everything else disappeared. All I could think about was her.

Impatiently, I tugged her shirt over her head, then brought her mouth back to mine. Her skin was velvet under my fingers as I stroked her back. She ground down against me, moaning as my erection hit her. Once more, our mouths broke apart, and my shirt came off. Her nipples rubbed against my chest, hard, and begged for my mouth and fingers. I somehow got her leggings off, and my pants were pushed down to my ankles. I kicked them off, slouching lower on the sofa as she rubbed against my cock, her need for me making me groan. I widened my legs, and she opened fully, gasping as I slid inside. I stilled at the feeling of her. The way she gripped me. How her muscles contracted around my cock, the silkiness of her desire, the heat of her need overriding everything else.

“You feel so good, Tesoro. So fucking good.”

She grasped my shoulders, lifting herself and sliding back down with a low moan.

Tags: Melanie Moreland Reynold's Restorations Suspense
Source: readsnovelonline.net