Cathy Williams - Summer Loving

‘Ava...’ He wasn’t sure whether he warned or pleaded.

In response, she closed both hands on him, caressed him up and down.

‘Dio mio. Again.’ A definite plea this time.

She complied, her gaze rising to snag his as she moved her firm grip over him. She maintained eye contact as she caressed him, a boldness in her actions he’d never witnessed before. The look, coupled with the mind-bending effect of her hands, scattered his thoughts. She leaned in closer, parted her lips and took him in her mouth and it was in that moment Cesare knew the true meaning of insanity.

He barely remembered passing her the condom when she demanded it. He was so consumed with her, he couldn’t see straight. He welcomed her when she positioned herself over him, her beautiful body poised to take him inside her heat.

Her gasp of pleasure triggered his own, and just like before they found their own unique rhythm, the sheer bliss of their coming together so mind-blowing he was at the point of no return before he knew it.

Cesare forced himself to hang on despite the teeth-grinding need to let go. The effort it took was monumental, especially in the moment when Ava slammed down onto him one final time before losing herself in her blistering orgasm.

‘Oh God,’ she rasped as she collapsed onto him, her spasms causing him to see stars as he waited...waited... ‘God, Cesare, I’ve missed you so much.’

The heartbreak in her voice made his gut tighten painfully.

‘I’ve missed you too,’ he responded gruffly. Her spasms gentled. He gripped her hips and pushed his hard length inside her, finally permitting himself to take his own pleasure. It didn’t take long. With one final thrust, he pulled out of her. Ava jerked in surprise. He kissed her and she melted into him. He groaned in pleasure, unwilling to entertain the tinge of regret permeating his pleasure as he lost himself in his climax.

Several minutes later, their breaths calmed. Against his chest, Ava murmured sleepily. As he caressed his fingers through her hair, Cesare knew without a shadow of a doubt that he would fight Fate herself for a solution if he had to.

* * *

Ava walked into the large sunlit kitchen and immediately saw the note pinned to the fridge door. She’d woken to an empty bed, an empty apartment and troubled thoughts.

Her intention last night had been to find a definitive solution to the state of her marriage. Instead she’d fallen under her husband’s spell. Again. Pulling her robe around her, she padded further into the kitchen. Plucking the note from the magnet, she read Cesare’s sprawled, bold writing.

Gone to get breakfast. Present for you on coffee table. C.

She studied the complicated-looking coffee machine for several minutes before pressing the least harmful-looking button. Crossing her fingers that it wouldn’t end in disaster, she trod on cool wooden floors to the all-white, stunningly decorated living room that boasted floor-to-ceiling windows.

Her heart skipped a beat as she eyed the large, exquisitely packaged box. Raising the lid, she gasped at its contents.

The camera was one she’d coveted for a long time but had never thought she’d own because of its astronomical price. State-of-the-art, with a zoom lens and sharpness beyond anything she’d ever seen, it was the crème-de-la-crème of cameras.

Her fingers tingled as she lifted its heavy but comfortable weight. It had already been assembled and a gleeful smile curved her lips when she turned it on.

Rushing out onto the terrace, she focused and snapped a series of panoramic pictures, making sure to catch the iconic St Peter’s Dome in the frame. She took a few closer still—Campo de Fiori a few hundred metres away, the ever-present fountains that could be found all over the city, and the awe-inspiring statues that Rome was famous for.

Leaning over, she focused her camera on the street below. Several residents enjoyed breakfast at outside cafés that shot off from the square. She zoomed in with her finger poised to click, only to pause when a familiar figure swung into view.

Ava lowered the camera and stared.

In the morning sunlight, the sight of Cesare in a torso-hugging T-shirt and jeans stole her breath. He held a container bearing her favourite breakfast trattoria’s logo in one hand, a newspaper tucked under his arm and his phone to his ear. A slight breeze ruffled his hair, and several women seated outside a smart café turned to ogle his long-legged body as he passed.

He seemed oblivious to the looks. In fact he seemed far away. Slowly, she lifted the camera and zoomed in on the man she’d shared her body with last night.

She clicked several times, the professional in her adjusting the camera to make the most of every single frame. But with each picture she took, her heart lurched.

Without warning, he stopped. The newspaper fell from his arm and Ava saw his face whiten. For several minutes he stared into space, until a scooter backfired in the distance, galvanising him into motion, the newspaper discarded.

When he disappeared from view to enter the apartment building, Ava slowly lowered the camera. With dread, she glanced down at the pictures she’d captured.

Ice clutched her heart as she reviewed each frame. Far from looking like a man who’d just left his wife’s bed sated and happy, Cesare looked as if he was caught in the middle of a living nightmare.

The sun disappeared behind a cloud, momentarily casting the terrace in shadow. The portentous effect wasn’t lost on her.

She’d risked her heart again by sleeping with Cesare last night. A heart that had never completely healed from being battered once. Now she knew she’d placed it in harm’s way again.

Her fingers clenched around the camera when she heard Cesare’s key in the lock. Taking a deep breath, she walked into the living room just as he entered.

He saw her and paused. Wordlessly, his gaze raked over her, sending her pulse on a roller coaster dive.

‘Thank you for this—’ she indicated the camera ‘—it’s very kind of you.’

‘Prego.’ His gaze stopped at her bare feet, then climbed back up. ‘I wasn’t sure what I’d hope for more on my return—to find you still in my bed or to have the temptation of making love to you again taken away from me by you being out of it. Not that a bed is necessarily a means to an end.’ The grim delivery of his words made her heart drop further into despair.

‘You don’t sound like you would’ve preferred the former option.’

His ragged laugh as he veered towards the kitchen caught at her insides. ‘Trust me, cara, I would’ve enjoyed it. I would take sweet oblivion with you over reality any day.’

She trailed behind him. ‘So, you don’t regret last night?’

The carton containing their breakfast landed on the countertop none too gently, followed by his phone. He came at her, stopping a bare inch shy of touching distance.

‘I explored your body so thoroughly that every inch, every kissable freckle is imprinted on my memory. I should be sated but my hunger for you burns with a force that almost hurts. Right this minute I would love nothing more than to spread you over this counter, bury my mouth between your legs, lap my tongue over your sweet spot until you come for me, again and again. Does that sound like regret to you?’ he breathed, his eyes fixed on hers in studied concentration.

Ava wasn’t sure how it was possible to feel hot and cold at the same time. But she did. Somehow, she managed to croak, ‘No.’

His body tight with tension, he stepped back and strode over to the coffee machine. ‘I’ll make another cup for you. This one’s cold.’

‘Cesare, what’s wrong?’ she asked because something was wrong. Desperately wrong. Despite her bold words, she quaked inside.