Page 111 of Goldrage
“Lorenzo and Eleanora could take you to the zoo,” Adrian tells Roby, “But Aurelia and I have plans.”
I smile up at him. “We do? What might those be?”
“I thought Pike Place. We can try something new there.”
Roby leaps from his chair and runs over to Adrian. “I wanna go!”
Lorenzo is quick to sweep Roby into his arms. “I thought you wanted to see some animals?”
“Yeah.”
“Let’s do that and we’ll go to Pike Place another time. Here.” Lorenzo gives Roby the spatula. “Flip the pancake.”
Roby attempts to do that but he flips too hard and it goes flying. It splats on the floor and we all laugh.
Eleanora moves to clean up the mess and says, “Good. One less burnt pancake for Lorenzo to force us to eat.”
“You know you love my pancakes,” Lorenzo says to Eleanora as he wiggles his eyebrows.
She blushes but then quickly hides it by throwing a wadded up paper towel at Lorenzo’s face. He yelps andjumps back, wielding the spatula like a shield. Roby dissolves into laughter, the sound bright and unguarded in a way that makes my heart squeeze.
This is healing. Not the absence of pain, but learning to laugh around it. Building something new in the spaces loss carved out.
But God, I wish she would just admit her feelings for him already. She’s not fooling anyone.
I turn my attention back to Adrian. “I’d love to visit Pike Place. Let me shower and get ready.”
“What about breakfast?” Lorenzo asks with a pout. “I made all these delicious pancakes.”
I look at the stack which is, sadly, very blackened. “Uhhh… yeah, I gotta go.”
Eleanora and Adrian laugh as I make my escape and flee down the hallway.
Soon, I’m in my bathroom undressing. Steam fills the space, fogging the mirror until my reflection disappears. I step under the spray, letting hot water relax my muscles.
This time next year, we’ll be in Italy. That’s the goal. Right now, Adrian and I are taking our time because there’s no rush, but when we’re both ready, we’d like to move to Italy where my family lives. I can’t wait to meet them all.
I lather my hair, rinse, repeat.
I’m so focused on washing my curls that I miss the sound of the door opening. A sudden rush of cooler air, and then Adrian’s silhouette is there, sharp and dark through the haze. He’s already naked, which means he’d planned this, the bastard.
“Move,” he orders and my thighs instantly clench.
He hasn’t been so commanding in a while but I’m completely here for it. I step aside, and he steps in, crowding me into the tiled corner, bracing one hand beside my head. Water pours over his shoulders, turning his hair coal black and dripping down the hard lines of his body.
“Bold of you to invade,” I say, but my voice is tight, already breathy.
“Bold of you not to invite me to join.” He slides a palm up my spine, not gentle, and pushes until my back is flush to the cold tile and he’s pressed against me.
“You said we had plans,” I say, as his mouth finds my throat. He bites, not hard but enough to make me gasp.
“We do,” he says into my skin. “But you’re not walking out of here until you scream.”
I snort, defiant, and he rewards me by pinning my wrists above my head with one large, wet hand. The other traces my ribcage, slow, making me shiver despite the steam. My nails scrape at the slick wall as his fingers move lower, skimming over my belly, hips, the inside of my thighs. I want to bite him back but all I can do is arch into his hand and try not to beg.
He lets go of my wrists, only to turn me around so I’m facing the tile, hands braced on the ledge where I keep my shampoo. His other hand slides deeper between my legs, and I hear him laugh as he feels how slick I already am.
“Still so impatient,” he says, his mouth at my ear.
