Hot in Here (21 page)

egg mixture.

“Doesn’t matter. I am at your disposal. Whatever you want to do, I’m game.”

“That’s a pretty big statement, babe,” he teased as he gave her a wink. “You sure about that?”

“Within reason, of course.”

He smiled, flashing her his sexy dimple. “Well, first off, we’re heading to the market. I love market day.

They have more than produce and meat, and I think you’ll enjoy it. Then I thought we could have a

picnic up on the hill. I know a great spot that overlooks an olive grove and a vineyard.”

“Sure. Sounds great.”

Jenna climbed up on the counter and crossed her ankles, letting her legs swing as she waited for the first

slices of bread to pop up from the toaster. Bryce was already over at the cook top, making their omelets.

She watched him, amazed at how effortless he made it look as he held the frying pan by the handle, gave

it a little shake, and flipped the omelet. He looked right at home in the kitchen, not to mention sexy,

wearing only his jeans.

“Grab a plate. This is done.”

Jenna reached above her head and pulled out a plate. Bryce slid the omelet onto it, and Jenna reached

for the toast, which had just popped up. He held a fork out to her and she tore into the omelet scented

delicately with fresh herbs.

“You’re the master,” she said as she closed her eyes in surrender.

“Yeah, I know,” he teased.

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She held a bite out to him, and he moved to stand between her legs. He let her feed him that bite. And

then another, until they’d eaten it all. In between bites he gave her little kisses on her nose, her cheeks,

until he was kissing her after almost every bite.

It was the best breakfast Jenna had ever had.

Bryce took the plate from her and helped her down off the counter. “Shower time?”

“Definitely.”

“You don’t mind some company?” he asked as he followed her out of the kitchen.

“You’re gonna have to catch me first,” she laughed as she took off for the bathroom.

Bryce had her in two strides. She squealed as he picked her up and carried her to the bathroom.

“Whatever I want to do, right?” he reminded her.

“Within reason,” she said, batting her lashes. “A girl has to have some boundaries, you know.”

“And a guy has to find a way to break them.”

Oooh,Jenna thought as he set her down in front of the shower,this is going to be one fun day.

Bryce picked up a bunch of basil and held it to his nose. He couldn’t get enough of the pungent scent.

How come everything smelled better today? Was it because he was in Tuscany, or was it because Jenna

was beside him, shopping with him?

“Let me smell,” she said. He held the bunch out to her and she stood on tiptoe to smell it. “Mmm. Now

what would you do with that?”

“Anything, but I’m thinking of using it with tomatoes and olive oil to make a sauce. It’s called pomodoro

and it’s light and fresh. How about that for supper along with a bottle of Chianti and a loaf of crusty

bread that we make together?”

“Over rigatoni?” she asked.

“Of course,” he said, knowing it was her favorite kind of pasta. He tossed the basil into the basket that

Jenna was holding and reached for her hand. “Let’s go to the cheese and meat. I want some of that for

our picnic.”

Jenna followed him through the meandering stalls. She clutched his hand tightly, and Bryce felt an

overwhelming protectiveness steal over him. When he looked over his shoulder, she gazed up at him and

smiled. His breath caught in his chest. She looked beautiful today, dressed in a simple cotton sundress.

She was wearing her hair down, like he’d asked her to, and it was blowing softly around her face in the

warm Tuscan breeze. She wasn’t wearing any makeup and he decided she didn’t truly need it. Her skin

was flawless and he liked the way her coppery lashes shone without mascara to hide them.

He stopped, gazed down at her, then cupped her cheek.“Bella signorina,” he murmured as he kissed her

in the middle of the market, where dozens of locals clamored to buy their groceries. But Bryce didn’t see

any of that. He only had eyes for Jenna.

“What?” she asked, perplexed.

“Do I need a reason to stop and look at you?”

She blushed prettily, turning her complexion from cream to peaches and cream. With the pad of his

thumb, he followed the path of the flush that crept into her cheeks.

“You look so right standing here in the market. It’s as if this is all routine between us, as if we’d been

doing this for years,” he found himself saying with a hint of surprise.

And why should it feel strange? This was Jenna, after all. They’d done this a hundred times over the

course of their friendship, but never had they gone to the market after sharing breakfast and making love

in the shower.

He wanted to do this every Sunday afternoon with her: take her to the market and shop, then stop at a

quaint café for a latte, then home, where he’d make her a fantastic dinner, which they’d share over a

bottle of wine.

“For the lady?”

Bryce pulled his gaze away from Jenna’s face to see an old man wearing a beaten straw hat. He was

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holding out a ring with a black onyx stone. Bryce contemplated it for a fraction of a second before taking

it.

“Si, forla bella signorina .”

Bryce slipped it on her finger. When he was done, he smoothed his thumb over her hand and smiled.

“Looks good on you, Jenna.”

Why he placed it on her wedding finger, he had no idea. It just seemed a natural thing for him to do.

“Jenna,” he murmured as he cupped her face in his hands, “I’m ready for a committed relationship. Just

me and you, no one else. And not just sex, either. I want a real relationship—both sides.”

Jenna’s expression was clearly shocked.

“I know you said you weren’t looking for anything more than sex, and I thought I wanted the same thing,

too, but now I know that I want more with you.”

The smile that lit her face melted his heart. When she threw her arms around his neck, he twirled her

around and laughed.

“Is that a yes?”

She nodded and squeezed him tighter. That was when he caught sight of a man with a camera aimed

toward them. He was dressed like a tourist, but the camera he wore around his neck said otherwise.

Trey must have set this up.

Shit, he didn’t want this moment ruined by a flash. He also didn’t want Jenna to know that they were

being followed.

“C’mon, I want to take you somewhere.”

Throwing some euros onto the man’s table to pay for the ring, Bryce grabbed Jenna’s hand. Then he

practically dragged her through the market and out onto the stone terrace of the piazza.

When he looked back over his shoulder, he no longer saw the photographer.

“Where’s the fire?” she gasped as she ran to keep up with him.

“In my pants,” he teased.

“Then we’d better head to the lake and get you out of those clothes.”

“Funny, that’s exactly what I was thinking.” He was hard at the thought of skinny-dipping with Jenna.

By the time they got to the lake, which was down the hill and sheltered by the tall stone wall of the piazza,

they were tearing at each other’s clothes while they kissed as though they were starved for each other.

Jenna unzipped his fly and pulled his jeans down, freeing his cock.

“I want to do it in the water.”

Good suggestion. Bryce made short work of her sundress and the lacy panties and lifted her high into his

arms. He carried her into the lake until he was submerged to his waist. Jenna’s legs were wrapped

around his waist and she was rubbing her pussy against his cock.

“Let’s go slower,” he murmured as he pulled her hair off her neck and wound it around his hand. “I want

to savor you in the sunlight.” He nuzzled her neck, then found the sensitive spot that made her mewl and

rock into him. With his free hand he brushed his fingertips along her spine, sensitizing her skin until he felt

goose bumps and she was writhing on his thigh. He grabbed her hips, watching them move in his hands

as he moved his leg between her thighs. Her rhythm was slow and sensual, and watching her like this,

naked and hot for him, was a powerful aphrodisiac.

“Bryce,” she pleaded, pressing her mound into him in blatant invitation.

“Not yet.”

He wet his hand in the water as it lapped his thighs, and brought his fingers to Jenna’s breast, letting the

cool water trickle over her nipple. It went hard, and Bryce tugged it, flicking it gently until he felt her

shudder against him.

“Cold or aroused?” he asked.

“So turned on,” she whispered. She rocked backward and he supported her with his hand as his mouth

moved down the valley of her breasts. The sun was warm on her body, and the way it highlighted the

blush of her skin made Bryce trace the shadows that danced over her breasts.

She reached for his head, directed his mouth to her breasts and sighed when he circled her with his

tongue. With little flicks of his tongue, he made her nipple crinkle. When she was begging him, he took

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her in his mouth and suckled her until she was pulling at his hair and grinding against him.

When he finally reached between her thighs and stroked her, he felt how aroused she was. Dipping his

fingers in, feeling her cream, he spread it on the secret spot he wanted to explore on Jenna’s body. She

was hot enough to let him in, he thought as he watched her lips part invitingly. He just hoped he wouldn’t

ruin the moment. But he had to get inside her—everywhere.

When he tested her with his finger, she didn’t tense up, but moaned and fluttered her lashes, pressing her

ass back into his hand for more. Bryce swore he grew another inch just knowing she was receptive to

trying out something different.

His hand swept down her back until it was sweeping along her ass, soothing her as he slid his finger in a

little more. “Okay?”

She nodded, rocked against his thighs, rubbing her clit on his thigh as he kneaded her ass and fingered

her.

“That’s it, Jenna,” he whispered as she pumped up and down. She had the sexiest ass, perfect for this

kind of sex play. He watched the way the sun lit her body, the way her hips were writhing. Christ, she

looked perfect like this, with her head tossed back, her hair swinging down her back. He captured her

breast and sucked hard as he fully penetrated her with his fingers.

She cried his name in a deep groan, and reached down between their bodies and began stroking him,

spreading his precum all over the head of his dick.

“Take me, Bryce.”

“No barrier. Just you and me.” He nudged his cock in her pussy.

He panted as he filled both her openings. He supported her with his arms as his finger and cock kept up

the same rhythm until he was thrusting up hard and she was begging him for more.

With her thighs, she gripped him, then ran her fingers down his back as she came apart in his arms. He

barely remembered in time to pull out of her. When he did, he lived out yet another one of his fantasies

and pumped himself between the cleft her breasts, coming all over her in an endless stream.

Next time, he promised himself, he was going to come inside her and feel her pussy gripping him,

wringing him dry.

Jenna placed a piece of salami and a square of Furlano cheese on a piece of bread. God, everything

tasted so good. Maybe it was all the sex they were having that made her so ravenous. Maybe it was just

being here with Bryce, knowing that there really was something more than just sex between them.

“You want a grape?” he asked.

“Sure.” They were big black grapes that they’d bought that morning at the market. The taste was out of

this world. Everything about Tuscany was magical, most especially Bryce.

“Here try this. It’s peach juice,” he said.

“I love peaches.”

“I know,” he said grinning. “That’s why I bought it.”

Jenna took a sip and smiled. “Oh, that’s good.”

Bryce laughed. “That’s what you told me last night. Now I don’t know what to think. Am I only as good

as peach juice?”

Jenna smiled as she thought of the previous night, and their recent bout of skinny-dipping, and the places

on her body that Bryce had touched. “I think we both know you’re better than just good.”

“Yeah? Well, a man doesn’t mind hearing that from time to time.”

“Really? Are you saying you like your ego stroked?”

He shrugged. “Among other things.”

“Well, let’s just say I’ve never screamed before during sex, so the fact that I scream every time I’m with

you is telling.”

“Never?” he asked, his eyes sparking in the sunlight.

“Never.”

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He kissed her and popped another grape into her mouth. She watched as he changed position and

leaned against the cypress tree that was shading them from the early-afternoon sun.

“So, tell me about your client.”

“You remember when I landed that deal with Duchess Lingerie? Well, I made a mistake and gave James

the job of coming up with the ad campaign.”

“Why? Seems like something a woman should work on.”