And then he became unnaturally still in the thrill of the moment. She expected him to collapse or roll away, but he seemed to just freeze in place.
“What’s the matter?”
He swallowed hard, his throat the only set of muscles he allowed to move. “I think the condom has broken.” Luca reached over to the nightstand and picked up the wrapper. “You’ve got to be kidding me,” he shouted, tossing it to the floor in anger. “This expired over a year ago.”
In a rush, Luca pulled away and before she could stop him, he disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door. Claire sat awkwardly on the bed, not quite sure what to do. Her first foray into a renewed sex life had suddenly gone off track without warning. She clutched the sheets protectively to her chest, ignoring the pleasurable pangs that still echoed through her body.
Luca came out a few minutes later with a tortured expression pinching his face. “It did break. I’m sorry, Claire. I should’ve looked at the expiration date. I was just so desperate to have you that I didn’t even think to look.”
Claire was pretty sure there’d never been a man so desperate for her that he would forget something like that. She wasn’t about to beat him up over it. There wasn’t much they could do now, anyway. “Don’t worry about it. I mean, I doubt I’ll end up pregnant, if that’s what you’re concerned about. It took me years and a medical intervention the last time. And I’m clean. They did all sorts of testing at the clinic and I haven’t been with anyone since then.”
“I’m not insinuating that you weren’t clean or even worried you’d get pregnant. That would take a miracle.” Luca slipped into the bed beside her and pulled her into his arms. “I’ve just never had one break before, so I’m a little rattled. It’s always been a hard and fast rule of mine to wear one. I’ve never been with a woman without it. I’m sorry.”
Claire nestled into his chest, feeling a little better now that he hadn’t fled the room like the scene of a crime. “You didn’t know it would break. Everything will be fine, I’m sure of it.”
Luca brushed her damp hair from her face and held her close. “You’re probably right. Let’s just put it out of our minds and get some rest. Tomorrow, I’ll go to the store.”
“The store?” Claire questioned.
“To buy a box of new ones. I’ve only just begun to worship this body, tesorina.”
Eight
This was nice.
With his nose buried in Claire’s neck, the scent of cinnamon and vanilla filled Luca’s lungs. His arm curled around her, holding her warm, soft body against his. He didn’t want to move. He could just lie like this for hours.
It had been a long time since Luca had woken up with a beautiful woman in his arms. His plan to woo Claire had worked even better than he’d expected. If every time was as good as last night, he’d happily propose to her right now. Not even the condom debacle could ruin his good mood.
Then a sound stopped him cold. At first, he thought he was imagining things. The echo of his mother’s voice was so completely out of context that it couldn’t possibly be what he heard. Just when he’d convinced himself it was his imagination, Luca caught the unmistakable sound of his mother’s laughter.
No. It couldn’t be.
Luca heard Eva squeal with amusement and the chorus of cooing voices that could only be members of his family. He groaned and pulled away from Claire, sitting up in bed. She stirred beside him, looking over her shoulder with squinted eyes.
“What’s the matter?” she asked in a low, sleepy voice.
Luca wasn’t quite sure how to break the news, so he just spit it out. “I think...my family is here.”
Claire rolled onto her back and sat up, clutching the sheets to her bare chest. She looked so messy and vulnerable, so unlike the put together woman who stomped into his lawyer’s office. He loved knowing both sides of this complex woman. Had he woken under any other circumstances, he would cover her body with his own and make love to her again. Instead he had to explain to her how his family had just crashed their beach vacation.
“You mean your sister?” she asked.
Luca swallowed hard and shook his head. “No, more than that.”
The sound of his mother’s laughter reached his ears again. When he turned to look at Claire, her sleepy expression was replaced with one of sheer panic. “Are you kidding me?”