One Night With a Santini (7 page)

“Damn,” he muttered as he took one of nipples into his mouth. She felt the graze of his teeth, then his tongue.

She started to move faster, trying to reach the pinnacle. But she became frustrated. He must have sensed it. Without stopping his teasing, he moved his hand between them and slipped his finger over the tiny bundle of nerves. Something so wonderful exploded within her and she felt her flying over into an abyss of pleasure.

Then, he did pull away. He took her hips into his hands as he started thrusting up. Faster, harder. She bent her head as he moved his mouth to hers. It was hot, wet and carnal. His tongue swept past her lips to tangle with hers. He pulled away again, thrusting up into her one last time and shouting her name as he held her still.

She looked at him, his head bent back, the veins in his neck straining, and she kissed him there. Moved her tongue over his Adam’s apple.

He finally relaxed and slid his arms around her. He kissed her chin.

“That was fantastic.”

She smiled.

“But if we do round two, I think we should do it on my bed. Much more comfortable up there.”

He laughed. “Sounds good.”

CHAPTER NINE

Several hours later, Brando woke up and looked down. Her hand was on his chest, her head on his shoulder. He knew that he could happily spend all day in bed with her like this. Santinis always knew to find happiness in those simple moments. It struck him then that he had finally arrived home. Since entering the military, he had never felt at home wherever he was stationed. He would take the time to get to know the area and enjoy the local customs. Until tonight, he had not ever felt like he was in the place where he was supposed to be.

He kissed the top of Kaitlin’s head. It wasn’t College Park that did it. It was the woman. She was his home.

Now, most men he knew would freak out, but he was a Santini. He was too busy formulating a campaign to win her heart. She had been hurt by Glen. He hadn’t pushed her, but he knew that a woman like Kaitlin didn’t walk away from her commitments. So, although it would drive him insane, he would go slowly.

“I bet you’re famished.”

He smiled as he traced her delicate spine down to her cute ass. “I am in fact.”

She chuckled. “Not that kind of hunger.”

For a few moments, he said nothing. He skimmed his fingers over her ass. Yep, he was happy to stay like this for hours. Unfortunately, she slipped away and rose from the bed. Still, it did give him a good look at her. It was dark in the room, but he could make out the outline of her curves. He had always thought her beautiful. Now that he had seen the whole package, he was convinced that God had made her just for him.

“Stop.”

“Stop what?” he asked as she pulled on her panties.

“Stop staring. It makes me self-conscious.”

He smiled. “I can’t.”

He reached out and grazed the back of his knuckle against her nipple. She batted it away.

“If you start that up again, we might just expire from lack of food.”

Knowing he had lost the battle, he rose out of bed and stretched his hands over his head. When he turned around, he realized Kaitlin’s gaze had been focused on his ass.

Her face turned the most adorable shade of pink.

“Sorry,” she mumbled.

He walked over to her and cupped her face. “You can look all you want. I plan on looking my fair share too.”

He brushed his mouth over hers and forced himself to move away from her. She was right. They both needed to eat. “I’ll be right back.”

She nodded and he could feel her gaze on his back as he stepped into the bathroom and shut the door. He closed his eyes and tried this best to get his heartbeat under control. The woman was going to be the death of him, that was for sure. Every little thing she did got to him. She had been a tiger in the bed, but the way she blushed told him that she wasn’t that experienced.

He sighed. He needed to quit mooning over her and get down to work. The sooner she understood what he wanted, the easier it would be to convince her over to his side.

* * * *

Kaitlin grabbed a nightshirt. She spotted the white shirt lying on the chair beside the bed. After putting back the nightshirt, she picked up his shirt.

She was buttoning it up, when Brando said, “I like my shirt on you.”

Turning, she found him leaning against the doorjamb watching her. “You do?”

His mouth curved up on one side and he nodded. It was then she noticed he’d grabbed his jeans and pulled them on. They were zipped but not buttoned.

“Let’s go find something to eat.”

He followed her down the stairs into her kitchen. Opening the fridge, she was happy she’d hit the grocery store in preparation. She rarely kept that much food since she lived alone.

Kaitlin bent down to look inside when the room started to spin. She blinked and spots appeared. She felt herself falling forward, but was helpless to stop it. Thankfully, strong hands grabbed her and pulled her back up.

“Kait, are you okay?” Brando said; as he leaned down to bring his eye line level with hers.

She blinked a few times and nodded. “Wow, that was…I guess I was more tired than I thought.”

He brushed her hair away from her face and kissed her forehead.
“Come on, you sit down. I’ll throw us something together.”

“You’re my guest,” she said weakly. Actually, now that she thought about it, she wasn’t really hungry. In fact, the thought of food made her stomach turn over. Dammit, she didn’t want to get sick. The flu had been going around with the nurses and therapists at the retirement home. She did not want it ruining her time with Brando.

“And, you’re tired. What kind of guest would I be if I didn’t take care of you? My mother would be appalled.”

She smiled and allowed him to lead her over to one of the stools at the counter.

“Want something to drink?” he asked.

“Some water,” she said, rising but he waved a hand.

“I can handle water. Ice?”

She nodded. He set the glass in front of her. He crossed his arms over his massive chest—which was of course still bare—and frowned.

“You look really pale.”

She shrugged. “I’ve been feeling a little off, but this is the first time I felt this bad.”

“Tell you what. How does some soft scrambled eggs sound? Bland but lots of protein.”

It didn’t make her want to throw up so she nodded. With that, he smiled. God, he was so pretty. And all she had said was that she would let him cook for her.

“Pans?”

“Bottom cabinet to the right of the stove.”

He clapped his hands and turned back to the stove. He pulled out the one he wanted, then placed it on the stove top before moving to the refrigerator.

“So, is this thing with your brother going to be a problem?” he asked.

“A problem?” she said, as she sipped at her water. “Oh, you mean with Aeden?”

“Yeah.”

“For whom?”

He placed the carton of eggs on the counter and smiled at her again. “For us.”

The way he put them together like that made her heart kick into high gear. That probably wasn’t a good thing for someone who had almost passed out just a few minutes beforehand.

“In what way?”

He shrugged as he opened up a cabinet and pulled out a bowl.

“I just plan on spending a lot of time here. If there is a problem, then I think I need to have a chat with Aeden to make him understand the situation.”

She watched him crack a few eggs into the bowl. “What situation?”

He looked up at her, those big beautiful chocolate brown eyes narrowing. “I thought we were involved here.”

This was not the playful lover she had been with upstairs. This was a hunter with his site set on her. And, lord help her, it gave her as much of a thrill as it did when he smiled at her. There was just something about having all his attention focused on her.

“Well…I just didn’t know what you thought about that. I mean, it was for me. I don’t sleep around.”

His expression cleared. “Oh good. I don’t sleep around either.”

She laughed. “Sure, sure. Remember, I was with you in college. I heard the rumors.”

He said nothing as he poured some half and half into the eggs. Then, she realized he was blushing.

“Brando Santini, are you blushing?”

“I don’t blush. I’m a Marine.”

But he wouldn’t look up at her. She bit her lip and tried not to laugh. It was probably the cutest thing she had ever seen. She cleared her throat.

“So, are you trying to tell me that you didn’t date that much in college?”

“I didn’t date as much as people said. A lot of women claimed to be dating me.”

“But you did date more than I did. I am sure that didn’t stop after college. Add the uniform and you are irresistible.”

He shook his head. “What is it about uniforms that get men hot?”

“I dunno. It just is.”

“And it is the uniform. My sister is engaged and JT apparently gets turned on when Elena puts on her flight suit. Of course, that was more than I wanted to know, but JT doesn’t care. He shares a little too much with us.”

She laughed. “Elena’s one of the other set of twins, right?”

“Yeah. Dante just got married and they are already expecting their first child. Now, Elena will be married in just a few more months. It’s odd.”

“And you never found someone special?”

He shrugged as he dropped some butter into the skillet. “I wasn’t ready to settle down.”

She rested her chin on her hand and watched him. “Never once? I mean, I find it hard to believe that in all these years you didn’t find one woman who tempted you to settle down.”

He looked at her, his expression serious. “I did, but she was taken at that time.”

A few long heart beats of silence, and she had to clear her throat again.

“Oh.”

“And, I didn’t want to do anything those first few years in the military. Some people make it work. It’s hard though. I’ve seen so many good marriages fall apart.”

She nodded as he poured the eggs into the pan.

“You are very handy in the kitchen.”

He tossed her another smile over his shoulder. “Yeah. My mother made sure we could all cook. She said it was a Santini tradition that the men could cook as well as the women. The only one who failed was Anthony.”

“You’re oldest brother?”

He nodded as he turned back to the stove. “Yeah. He can cook two things. And he is a master with a grill. Past that, you are taking your life into your hands.”

She smiled. She liked hearing him talk about his family. Not many people had huge families like both of theirs, and it took someone from that kind of family to understand.

“Plates?” he asked.

“Left cupboard.”

He grabbed them and plated the food. “Now, I am sure this isn’t as fancy as your brother the chef could make up, but it might help with your dizziness.”

She smiled as he set it in front of her. “I don’t think anyone has ever cooked for me in my own kitchen.”

He grabbed his plate and joined her. “Well, maybe this is first of many firsts.”

She forked up some of the eggs, ready to lie even if they tasted gross. Instead, they were light and soft, and so good.

“Oh, those are good.”

“Breakfast is my specialty. When you’re feeling better, I’ll make some of my ricotta pancakes.”

“So, you saw almost everyone when you made your way out here?”

He nodded. “Yeah. Anthony and Nando were the only ones I didn’t see. Nando is in Germany right now, and Anthony’s in Hawaii. But I should see them soon.”

“Why?”

“My baby sister is getting married, so that means we will all try and make it, even if we can only be there for that day.”

“I like that. It reminds me of my family.”

And it did. She had always wondered why some military people she knew had closer families than other people. The Santinis were a prime example. They might be thousands of miles apart, but there was a connection there that seemed similar to the one she shared with her family. Like Brando, she knew if she lived in California, her brothers would be there the moment they knew she needed them.

He nodded. “You seemed especially close with Aeden.”

“We’re only sixteen months apart in age, and he sometimes forgets I am not twelve anymore.”

“It’s nice though.”

She thought about her irritating brother and smiled. “Yeah. And so is this. Thank you for cooking for me.”

She leaned over and gave him a kiss.

“There is the matter of payment.”

She laughed. “I am pretty sure we can work something out.”

“So, I was thinking, if you weren’t busy this weekend, we could just hang out?”

She thought about it then nodded. “I would like that a lot. When do you have to go in?”

“I stopped by and checked in already. I don’t have a meeting until Monday afternoon.”

“You mean I get to have you to myself for the rest of the weekend?”

He smiled. “Yeah. I’m all yours. I’ll worry about Aunt Joey next week.”

“The infamous Aunt Joey?”

“Hopefully, she won’t bother me too much.” He shook his head. “She will, and we always go along with her.”

She heard the love in his voice. It was one of the things that drew her to Brando. They both had deep family roots and didn’t have a problem showing affection.

“I know the feeling.”

She finished up her eggs and was happy that her stomach seemed to be settling down. Brando picked up their plates and started to clean up.

“I could get used to this. I don’t think I can remember a man ever cooking and cleaning up for me. Declan will cook, but he makes a huge mess and never cleans up.”

“I would happily cook for you any day of the week.”

She tried to ignore the way her heart danced at the promise he gave her. Kaitlin knew that she couldn’t get too attached to him, but it was hard not to. She understood he didn’t want to get married while he was still active duty, but it didn’t mean she could keep herself from dreaming.

“I think we need to get you back to bed,” Brando said as he set the last of the dishes in the dishwasher.