~39~
Kingston, New York~2 weeks later...
“So what new restaurant is this?” Candace’s softly husky voice was alive with excitement as their destination appeared through the windshield when the car took the bend of the dark road they’d traveled for the past fifteen minutes.
“What’s good here?” She asked and looked across the seat when she got no answer.
“Don’t know,” Pitch said finally, “never been here before.”
“Oh,” Candace worked not to ask the next, obvious question. Is everything okay? The night was off to a great start, as usual, though she’d sensed distance during much of the drive. She ignored it, refusing to pull that shadow over them. Besides, she could guess well enough that if there was anything wrong it had to do with one side of his family or the other. Candace returned her focus beyond the window.
“It’s beautiful here,” she noted.
The Mediterranean style construction in the shortening distance was a work of dark brick with stately columns lining the long front porch. She didn’t know what to expect from the menu, but the place clearly outmatched all the other places they’d eaten in terms of sheer size and beauty.
Over the last two weeks, Pitch had treated Candace to what felt like nearly two dozen restaurants. The food had all been as good as the conversation. Ones that proved Pitch was as interested in Candace’s story as she was in his.
He pulled the car to a stop in a wide, gravel clearing before the restaurant. A light rain had started to fall shortly after they’d taken the road in. They were met by a member of the staff who’d sprinted down the long stone steps with a big umbrella in hand to shield them.
The place seemed even bigger up close, Candace thought as she absently set her hand in Pitch’s when he came around to open her door. He declined the shelter of the umbrella and urged their greeter to escort Candace on in. Inside the foyer, Pitch took her hand again.
Candace felt like a kid as she looked up and around. The place was as appealing on the outside as it was inside. When she saw the stately cherrywood desk to one side and the lobby of chairs, loveseats and circle settee sofas, she stilled. Her hand tensing inside his.
Pitch stopped, releasing her hand and easing his own inside a trouser pocket. He watched her with a patient, knowing look that confirmed her suspicions of where they were. Patiently, he waited for her to decide.
Candace swallowed, took another look at their surroundings and helped herself to a much needed gulp of air. She met Pitch’s bottomless and truly mesmerizing gaze once again. When she offered her hand, the look of relief in those unfathomable depths nearly stopped her heart.
They approached the front desk where Pitch gave his name and received a winning smile from the clerk.
“We have everything prepared as you’ve requested Mr. Tesano. Jesse?” The clerk waved to the young man just arriving through a side door.
“Jesse will show you the way up,” the clerk explained.
It was a silent and thankfully speedy trip. The rest of the hotel was as dazzling as what Candace had already seen, but she couldn’t bring herself to remark on any of it. Her heart was positively pounding on her eardrums and the inside of her throat. Her legs felt like water. Her hand snug in Pitch’s grip was the only thing keeping her steady.
Candace ordered herself to get with it. This was what she wanted, had pouted because she hadn’t gotten it after their first date. Why all the nerves now?
Because he’d put thought and planning into this. This wasn't a ‘first time’ for either of them and yet... she had never made love with a man she loved. That fact put all the other ‘times’ to shame.
Jesse opened the door at the end of a long, hunter green carpeted hallway on the fourth floor of the twenty year old establishment. The couple he escorted had been quiet for most of the trip, but Jesse was happy to share all he knew of his workplace.
At the door, the men hung back to let Candace move across the threshold first. When they were all inside, Jesse summarized the room’s amenities. There was a fire going, which he explained was necessary even in June. They were in the Upstate and all bets were off. The rain on the way in had been on and off for the past week and had left the air chilly and damp.
Jesse received a generous tip and left shortly after. Candace continued her survey of the cozy suite, though her manner was obviously subdued. She avoided the bedroom and smiled at the small, round table set for two. When she turned, Pitch was right behind her-intense, eclipsing. He was every, sinful desire she’d ever had. There was nowhere to retreat, not that she wanted to.
“Guess we’re not eating, huh?” Her feet left the floor, half a second after the question tripped from her tongue. Pitch had lifted her high, flush against his chest to bring her eyes level to his.
“We’ll get to it,” he promised and captured her mouth with a claiming thrust that pulled a shaky moan from the back of her throat.
Candace wiggled her feet to wedge them free of the gold heels that matched the tan and coffee dress she wore. She drew her legs up around his hips as her arms wound around his neck. Her fingers sank into his soft hair and she gasped, giving him more of her mouth to explore.
He only needed an arm to keep her secure against him and used his free hand to cup her face. He kept her steady for the liberties he took with her mouth and began to walk with her. Candace didn’t care where he took them. She could have kissed him forever. His kisses were a personification of him, slow, sultry, undeniable. She sensed them lowering as the kiss ended.
They were still in the living room, sharing one of the armchairs near the fireplace that glowed with a fragrant blaze. Candace appreciated it against her chilled skin. She met Pitch’s unreadable eyes and soon he was pushing her to stand before him. Her brows lifted when he didn’t join her.
Pitch stayed on the chair, elbow resting on the arm, his fist pressed to his cheek while his dark gaze favored her with an approving scan.
Candace understood, her dimples flashing briefly before she brought her hands to her dress’s ruffled bodice. She hesitated over the tanned tassels before she tugged and left them to dangle. She smiled at the disappointment Pitch wasn’t quick enough to hide when she made no move to undo the top. His disappointment turned to curiosity when she reached beneath the hem. Her dress was a two-piece outfit. The skirt stopped mid-thigh, flaring slightly at her hips and accentuating her shapely legs.
She let the skirt fall and retreated from Pitch when he reached for her. Returning to the top, she let it shimmie from her back, leaving her in bra and panties. There was no escaping when he reached for her again. He deposited her neatly in his lap and resumed their kiss.
Candace went to unhook her bra and had her wrists locked behind her instead. Pitch only needed one hand to achieve it. The other he used to rub the wavy tendrils that hung along her cheek outside the low ball she’d drawn her hair into.
“I’m in love with you,” he said and smiled at the absolute terror the words put in her eyes.
“Why?” she trembled in response.
“Why not?” Laughter hugged his voice.
Disbelief nudged her terror aside. “You’re a Tesano. You could have anyone.”
“Good to know, because I want you.”
She bristled. “I’m not a little girl who needs to be reassured, Vic. You don’t have to say you love me to get me into bed. I want this. You know I do.”
He marveled over how tough she seemed. His hand could span her entire waistline. She was half naked, straddling his lap with both hands behind her back in one of his. All that and still tough as shit...he didn’t know what the future held for them, but he knew no other woman would ever come close.
“I’ve never said this to another girl, Candace. I’m telling you now, so you’ll know what it means to me when I’m inside you.”
