“I know. Saw them downstairs.”
“How did you-”
“All the kids are down in the lobby playing while the adults sit around talking and looking after them. One of your seamstresses told me where you were.”
She stiffened. “You should go. Liam could be home any moment.”
“Didn’t look that way before I left the factory to come here. Spending so much time from home... must be tough on the family.”
“Liam is a wonderful father,” Athena quickly championed.
“I don’t doubt that,” Giaimo raised an agreeing hand. “I can see the boys are his world. He’s working himself into an early grave to build a kingdom for his kids and their kids.”
She shrugged. “As I said. A wonderful father.”
“And husband?” Giaimo moved closer to where Athena stood. “Is he a good husband, Thea-”
“Don’t call me that!” She set out to move around him.
Giaimo barely had to shift his weight to stifle her escape. Athena dashed in the opposite direction and he caught her arm.
“Let go,” she snapped.
He responded by lifting her higher. He took her with him, stopping to settle them both to an old armchair between several folding lawn chairs in a makeshift living area in the center of the garden. The larger chair was intended for Liam whenever he joined her on the rooftop with the boys. The boys visited often. The times Liam had joined them, she could count on one hand.
And yet...it felt vile to be there now with Giaimo and...in such a state.
“This isn’t the place,” the words held a panicky current on her tongue. She wanted to resist him and couldn’t.
It had little to do with the way he kept her slender wrists trapped at the small of her back, smothered in his big grip. Athena believed he would let her go if she protested hotly enough. She didn’t want to protest. Not when his mouth at her earlobe felt like the most exquisite treat.
He suckled the lobe fiercely, one hand still restraining her wrists while the other was at work on her dress. The bodice gaped wide amid the unbuttoning. Her very full bosom spread the material even further.
“No,” she moaned when his head dipped suddenly to pull a nipple between his lips. When had he removed her bra? She moaned a second denial, arching her back into a sharp curve that drove more of her breast into his mouth. Her moans were mixed with quiet gasps, a reaction to his silken whiskers scratching her skin deliciously. The hand that had been instrumental in undoing her dress front, was then at work on its hem. Without a care for the garment, he shoved the plum material higher against her thighs straddling either side of his hips.
Athena only wiggled in what was meant to be an urgent message for him to stop. Her wrists were still tightly secured at her back. She was slowly becoming oblivious to all else- a dangerous thing as she wasn’t altogether certain whether her husband might arrive home earlier than expected. Giaimo didn’t seem to care either. His mouth was hungrier at her breast. A hand tunneled beneath her dress hem and was intent on fulfilling its purpose.
“No,” she wiggled once more insistently then and approved of the firmness in her voice. “No, Gi-Giaimo...”
He abandoned her breast and brought his mouth back up to hers, crushing it under the pressure of his. Eagerly, she engaged in the erotic and brutal battle between their tongues. She met his sensual fire with her own and gasped sharply into his mouth when a thick finger invaded her sex.
Sensation funneled outward from that possession until the effects rippled through her entire body. The effect was so savage, she could have sobbed. Athena could no longer take part in the explosive kiss and put her forehead to Giaimo’s shoulder while giving herself over to all he roused inside her.
Giaimo seemed equally approving if his quiet moans and the explicit curses he growled into her ear were any example. Athena didn’t care how satisfied he was. Her pleasure was paramount. It had been too long since she’d enjoyed a man’s touch. It seemed she’d sacrificed the enjoyment of her husband for the success of their livelihood.
None of it mattered now. She would have killed anyone who tried to take this from her, including her own husband. She spasmed as a more shattering wave of pleasure echoed through her. She literally panted as she tumbled closer to the edge of her sanity. Her hips rose and fell on Giaimo’s lap in a display of visceral abandon. His finger was long, wide and immensely pleasurable. She felt not an ounce of shame soaking it in her body’s moisture.
She climaxed in a waterfall of shudders and sobs. The result was wildly exciting and yet she hungered for more. When her breathing managed to level, Giaimo released her wrists. Immediately, she fumbled for his trouser fastening. She wanted more than his fingers.
He cupped her chin and waited for her eyes to meet his. They did and her lashes fluttered when he slowly withdrew his middle finger from her drenched core.
“You’re right,” Giaimo put a lingering kiss to Athena’s mouth, set her away from him on the chair and stood. “This isn’t the place,” he spoke the words over his shoulder while leaving the roof.
~13~
Over the next several weeks, Athena felt as though she were moving around outside of herself. Her employees had to call her more than once to get her attention. She lost track of Liam’s comings and goings to the point that she couldn’t recall when or if he kept her informed of his various meetings and deals.
She came alive for her boys, however. Humphrey and Aaron were responsible for her happiest times. Moments where she found fulfilment with her work or marriage began to wane into dim light.
Aaron was quickly coming into his own as if he were determined to ready himself for the precise purpose of being able to follow his big brother around. Whether his pudgy legs were ready for such activity or not. Still, the toddler was pleased to cuddle with his mother whenever she requested. Athena wondered whether her second born sensed the strength and serenity those moments infused her with.
While Aaron seemed to sense his mother’s need for calm and contentment, his brother’s role took center stage when Athena wished to be more vocal about her concerns...and displeasures. She talked with Humphrey as she would a close confidant, sharing insights into her business and even her thoughts on the rooftop garden. She even gave her oldest, the job of building delivery boy. It was a task for which Humphrey proved himself extremely capable. The building tenants approved as well. Athena’s garden had become so popular, a side business had emerged. The tenants made requests from her crop when they made soups or sauces for the most special occasions.
Athena’s boys were unarguably her life, but she was still tortured by a woman’s needs. She hadn’t seen or heard from Giaimo since that night atop the roof and she knew he was waiting for her to do whatever came next.
In the back of her mind, she heard a bell and wondered if it was a sign- to go forward or a warning to retreat. Retreat for the good of her marriage. Giaimo Tesano was no good for her marriage. The liberties he had taken with her body held her attention captive even during the busiest times of her day. At night, the images attacked her dreams. She had awakened twice over the past week alone to find her underthings damp with her need.
The ringing continued. Athena surfaced from her ravaged thoughts to realize it was the phone. Liam. He greeted her warmly and asked how the boys were. They spoke with genuine happiness as their sons were the topic.
“Ari insisted doing the knocking while Humphrey delivered the vegetables,” Athena told her husband. “The jobs take Humphrey an extra twenty minutes to finish since no one can hear Ari’s tiny knocking.”
When their laughter had ended, Liam’s sigh dimmed the conversation.
“I’ll miss dinner tonight, I’m sorry Athena.”
“Is something wrong at the factory?” her fear mounted when he didn’t answer right away.
“All is well. I’m having dinner with some of the captains.”
