Nino and Fabiano exchanged a look before moving over to us. Nino picked up the remote from the floor where I’d dropped it half an hour ago but couldn’t retrieve it because my head swam the second I looked down. He turned off the TV while Fabiano tried to get Leona into a standing position. He gave up eventually and lifted her into his arms. With a smile at me and a nod toward Nino, he carried her out. Leona gave a small wave before she closed her eyes with a sick look.
Nino sank down beside me and gently pried the wine glass from my hand before he tipped my head up and scanned my face. I grinned, couldn’t help it.
“How much have you had?”
I nodded toward the empty bottles then groaned when my vision swam.
Nino touched my forehead then got up. “Wait here. Don’t move. I’ll get you some Coke to drink. It might help.”
“Don’t go,” I slurred.
Nino hesitated, then he unscrewed one of the water bottles we’d ignored and held it out to me. I only stared, too tired to even lift my arm. Nino hunched before me and brought the bottle to my lips. “Small sips. I don’t want you to choke.”
I did as he asked, all the while watching his serene beautiful face. “In the beginning, your beauty almost terrified me. All that cold beauty, and the tattoos…it was almost too much to take in.”
With a small, amused smile Nino lowered the bottle. “You’ve drunk too much. I need to get you into bed.”
“I mean it.” I fumbled with the buttons of his shirt and finally got a few undone. “This one, it terrified me in the beginning.” I pointed at the skull swallowing the blade. “And the one on your back…that one too.”
“A phoenix rising from the flames is something positive, isn’t it?” Nino asked curiously.
“Show me.”
“You’ve seen it many times,” Nino said gently.
“Show me.”
He stood and unbuttoned his shirt then shrugged it off before turning around.
I stumbled to my feet and had to grip Nino’s hips to steady myself. “Now I think it’s beautiful.” I traced the intricate orange feathers of the fantastic bird, its parted beak, his fierce dark eyes, the talons dripping with red. Part of the tattoo disappeared into Nino’s waistband. I reached around and tried to unbutton his pants, but failed with my unsteady fingers. Nino’s hands came to my help and finally I could pull it down, revealing the long burning tail of the phoenix and the angry flames he’d escaped. They covered his ass cheeks. I swallowed thickly as I traced Nino’s muscles, the way they seemed to make his tattoos come to life when he shifted. My hands ghosted over every inch of his back then over his firm ass. Pressing closer, I kissed Nino’s shoulder blade then reached around, touching his chest, then lower until my hand curled around his erection.
I released a low breath, my forehead pressing against Nino’s skin as I pumped him. His breathing deepened and his familiar musky scent sent a wave of desire through my drunken haze. He turned slowly, leaving me no choice but to release him. I let myself drop back down on the couch, bringing me eye-level with his length.
Nino’s chest heaved as I leaned forward and took him into my mouth. Any hesitance evaporated from his face and gradually he began to thrust lightly into my mouth, never taking his eyes off me. Neither could I take mine off him, the way his abs flexed with every shift of his hips, his intense expression. I didn’t think I’d ever grow tired of admiring this man.
I didn’t remember how I got into bed. Only that after Nino came, he wanted to return the favor but then I blacked out. A soft tongue slid along my crease and I arched up toward the familiar mouth, realizing what had woken me. I looked to find Nino, gloriously naked, sprawled out between my legs, his head buried in my lap. His tongue and lips banished the last remains of sleep, sending shockwaves of pleasure through every inch of my body.
“Nino,” I rasped, opening wider, desperate for more, but Nino didn’t comply. He loved to draw my orgasms out until I was almost shaking with the need to come.
His eyes fixed me with a dominant look, his fingers clamping down on my hips to stop me from grinding myself against him. “No. Not yet. We’ll draw this out.”
I stopped fighting it, surrendering to Nino’s gentle torture. The way he guided me toward the edge of the cliff, made me desperate for the fall, only to pull me back. I was panting, gasping, completely boneless.
“Happy birthday, Kiara,” he half growled before finally he pushed two fingers into me, hitting that sweet spot I never even dared dream about. He sucked my clit, and I exploded.