Crew, p.17
Crew, page 17
“I haven’t played tourist very often, but I have a feeling I’ll be doing it a lot more now that you’re in my life,” he said with a smile that could’ve melted butter. “Our train ride is only about forty minutes then another car will pick us up for the last leg of our journey.”
They rode the train through incredibly untouched land, Darla’s eyes glued to the window as she gazed at everything around her. The trip was too short and she was disappointed when it ended. They arrived in Santa Margherita early in the morning. It was a less known destination town, but still had a lot to offer tourists. They didn’t get to visit long, though. Maybe they’d come back.
Once they were in the car, the drive was astonishing. The entire coastal area was nestled into a natural hillside arch that hugged the entire town. It was a short ride, and again ended too soon. They stepped out of the car onto Portofino soil at ten in the morning.
“Oh, Crew, the pictures never do a place justice,” she told him. They were staying at the Belmond Hotel Splendido, which she could be certain was the nicest place she’d ever stayed. Elegance and refined, it stood among lush woodlands overlooking the calm sea. The hotel extended over the sea, a jeweled hideaway from the busy tourist center.
Their suite had a balcony where Darla could sit for hours fully content to sip on coffee or tea and watch the activity in the harbor, but she wanted to explore. So instead of resting, she took Crew’s hand and they went to the heart of the city.
They got their exercise as they walked along the steep, stone-paved streets, the town’s glory revealing itself in the multicolored homes and businesses. The delightful aroma of freshly made pastries and strong Italian espresso filled the air.
“I’m going to get very fat here,” she warned Crew as they stopped at a gorgeous café for an espresso and her favorite dessert, tiramisu. “I’m also never going to be able to eat tiramisu in America again. This is so moist, delicate, and flavorful. Maybe my cousins will be kind enough to give me a recipe from my great-great-grandmother. That wasn’t in the book I have. I think they were trying to save my hips,” she said with a laugh.
“I bet you can sweet talk them,” he told her. He was eating as much as she was, but vacation calories didn’t count. There was no way to enjoy their time if they worried about calories. She wanted to be a glutton for the entire trip.
They walked from one end of town to the other, enjoying the views high in the hills. It felt good to burn off breakfast calories so she could have an incredible lunch. They were meeting her cousins at noon at a central restaurant with outside dining that overlooked the sea.
“Darla,” a woman called in a sing-song voice that made Darla think of a princess in a Disney movie. She turned to find two stunning women, both with dark hair and eyes that were nearly black. Their smiles grew as they made eye contact with her. “Yes, it is you . . . finally!” The two women rushed forward and enveloped Darla in a group hug.
When they pulled back, Darla was grinning as big as they were. “I’m so glad to finally see you in person,” Darla told them. She turned to Crew who was looking very pleased he’d brought her there. She owed him a lot. Why had she attempted to stop him?
“Crew, these are my cousins, Carina and Bella,” Darla said.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, ladies,” Crew said. “Thanks for helping me kidnap Darla.”
The two young women giggled as their cheeks flushed. Yep, Crew had that effect on women of all ages. They were barely out of their teens.
“My grandmother, your aunt Alessa, loves matchmaking. The moment your man wanted to whisk you off to Italy to meet your family she told us he was a match made in heaven and that the two of you would have a beautiful life together with many young kids to drive you crazy,” Bella said.
“Many kids?” Darla said in mock horror. “I’m thinking one, maybe two tops, but not even that for a few more years.”
“Just don’t say that to your aunt Alessa or she’ll lay the famous Italian guilt on you for not continuing your family line properly,” Bella said with a laugh.
“I don’t know if I should meet this aunt then. I’m certainly the furthest thing from a proper Italian woman there is,” Darla warned.
“Ah, it’s in your blood, Darla,” Bella said. “And trust me, I know my grandmother, she’ll love both you and Crew.”
“I have a fondness for spitfire Italian grandmothers,” Crew admitted.
“Have you met a lot of them?” Darla asked.
The four of them sat at the table and ordered their food. Darla had authentic Italian pizza and wondered if she’d ever be able to have Americanized Italian food again. Hopefully her taste buds would forget the exquisite flavors of Italy when she returned to American soil.
“Only a few, and they’ve had an impact,” Crew said with a laugh.
“Only a few, huh?” Carina said. Darla already knew she’d have a lasting relationship with her cousins. They were bright, funny, and confident, and she wished she’d gotten to know them when they were younger.
“A few is more than most men can handle,” Crew said.
Carina and Bella laughed at his words. “That’s what Grandmama is always saying,” Bella said. “She’s told us many times she doesn’t understand how the Italian line continues because we women are enough to drive any man mad.” Bella winked at Crew. “But the secret is men can’t resist us and keep coming back for more.”
Crew burst out laughing, and Darla fell even more in love with him. He’d changed from the man she’d met only a few months earlier, though it felt as if they’d known each other for a lifetime. Maybe that’s how love worked. Maybe once you met your soulmate, you both knew it and you were back with your feet planted on solid ground.
The four of them finished their lunch then the girls took them on an adventure as they walked to their home up the hill.
Darla was instantly in love when Aunt Alessa looked up from her rocking chair and grinned. “Ah, sweet Darla, you have finally come home,” she said in a deep, raspy voice.
“I guess so,” Darla said. “It truly feels like home.”
“That’s because your heart belongs here no matter where you go in the world,” Alessa said with a smile. Then she looked Crew over and nodded her approval to Darla.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Alessa,” he told her. She’d insisted when he’d spoken to her on the phone that he wasn’t to call her by her last name. He’d been raised to respect women and had to add the Ms. before her name, though. She grinned at him as if she was pleased with their compromise.
“Come, come, let us sit and talk,” Alessa said as she took Darla’s hand in one of hers and Crew’s in the other. They moved to her patio.
“I’ll get tea and pastries, Grandmama” Bella said.
“I don’t know if I can eat another bite,” Darla said. Her stomach was seriously close to bursting.
“That’s nonsense. You’re Italian. You can eat more,” Aunt Alessa said.
Bella and Carina disappeared into the house.
“Are you trying to fatten us up before we’re sacrificed?” Crew asked with a laugh.
“Of course,” Aunt Alessa said without missing a beat. “We lure you here with beautiful views and mesmerizing scents and then throw you from the cliffs at midnight to please Poseidon. She said this with such seriousness it made it even funnier.
“Then I guess I better eat up. If that’s what it takes to maintain this piece of paradise, I’m a willing sacrifice,” Crew said.
“I truly like you, my boy,” Alessa said.
“And I you,” Crew told her.
“You knew my great-great-grandmother,” Alessa said, eager to hear about the woman in the pictures.
“Yes, she was my aunt,” Alessa said. “To be honest, she was my favorite, but we won’t let the other relatives hear that.” She laughed again, the sparkle in her eyes so much younger than the weathered skin of her face. Even at her age, she was beautiful.
“We’ve had a lot of people come to Portofino, and when I was younger, I enjoyed charming dazzling men. Now, I just feed them,” Aunt Alessa said as if reading Crew’s mind.
He blushed and Darla was fascinated by it. “I bet you’ve made grown men cry,” he said.
“No, I always left them with a smile,” Alessa told him with a wink. She and Darla laughed out loud when his flushed cheeks turned beet red.
“Enough of that, Grandmama. You’re embarrassing our guest,” Bella said as she set down a tray with wine, cheese, crackers, and miniature cakes.
“I thought you were bringing tea,” Darla said.
“Nah, we changed to wine. No one in the world can make wine like the Italians,” Carina said as she poured glasses for each of them.
“I agree, and spending the afternoon with your grandmother means I’ll need several bottles of wine. She quite enjoys flustering me,” Crew admitted.
“It takes a strong man to admit a woman can get to him. I like you, Crew,” Alessa said.
He sipped his wine while they all continued chatting.
“Now tell me about my great-great-grandmother,” Darla said. “I’ve dreamed about her, wondered what her life was like, who she was, and what made one of her children move to America.”
“Ah, I have many stories to tell you,” Aunt Alessa said. “Your grandmother was a wonderful woman, and she encouraged all of her children to fly far from the nest and explore the world. She told them their wings would always take them where they were meant to go, but those same wings would bring them back home. She always said home is where your heart is, not where your feet are planted.”
“Wow, she sounds like an incredible woman. I wish I could’ve known her,” Darla said.
“You do know her because she’s a part of you. And as long as we continue telling her stories she’s with us, just as my grandmother is,” Aunt Alessa said.
They continued talking, Crew and Darla both mesmerized by the stories Aunt Alessa, Carina, and Bella shared. They didn’t leave until long after sunset.
Darla and Crew spent the next several days in Portofino, taking advantage of the spa in their hotel, eating beautiful sunset meals, and spending time on the beaches soaking up the sun and splashing in the water.
Darla’s favorite haven was about twenty minutes from the center of the small town. They’d managed to find a secluded downhill path that led to one of the most intimate, tranquil beaches Darla had ever seen. She’d never imagined a place like this existed.
The water was vibrant greens and blues, ebbing and flowing over colorful pebbles that peeked at them from just beneath the surface. They spent enough time in that place that Darla knew heaven was real, and it existed right there on earth.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Their last day in Portofino came too quickly. They spent time with Bella, Carina, and Aunt Alessa daily, but Darla was reluctant to leave them. The girls promised to come visit them in the States, and they promised to come to Portofino at least once a year. Still, Darla felt sad as she looked out over the water from their hotel suite’s balcony.
“We will come back,” Crew assured her.
“People say that all of the time, and then life happens, time passes, and they never go back to where they found so much peace and happiness.”
He turned her around and held her, the moon a little dimmer on this night, but still bright enough to see the truth in his eyes. “I promise to bring you back as often as you please,” he told her.
“I love you, Crew,” she said before she even thought of stopping the words.
The warmth of his expression told her she’d said it at the perfect moment. She’d never said that to a man before. She didn’t want to take it back.
“I’m going to show you what you mean to me,” he told her.
She sighed as in a smooth, graceful movement he pulled her tight to him, his hands grasping her behind her back, sliding over her hips and letting her feel how aroused he was. He was both gentle and urgent, sending a slew of heat rushing through her.
He gazed into her eyes as those beautiful hands gripped her tighter and lifted her, urging her to wrap her legs around him. She felt safe in his arms, knowing he’d take care of her, knowing how much pleasure they’d bring one another. There was no better place she wanted to be — and no better way to pull her from sadness than to be in his arms.
After what seemed an eternity, his lips met hers gently as they skimmed over her mouth, his tongue wetting her lips before pushing inside to twist with hers. She sighed into his mouth as he carried her away from the balcony.
Darla felt as if she was floating as he carried her to their bed, never breaking their kiss, never loosening the grip he had on her butt until he laid her down, standing above her, gazing at her as if she was a precious jewel he knew he’d keep forever.
“Come here,” she uttered, her voice husky and sure. There was no longer any doubt the two of them would have a lifetime together. They’d make it through anything, even the rough stuff in the middle would work itself out over time.
He joined her on the bed, pressing between her thighs, his arousal throbbing against her core, making her want to tear the clothes from their bodies so he could sink inside of her. He leaned down and kissed her once more, sipping from her lips as if he was breaking a long fast . . . slow and steady, setting her body on fire.
He leaned to the left and raised his hand, his palm brushing over her breast, his fingers dancing across her aching nipple. She squirmed against him, needing their clothing gone.
He broke away from her lips and kissed her jaw as he slid his hand down her stomach so it could crawl beneath her shirt and run up her hot skin. He easily slid his hand beneath her silky bra, and she moaned as his fingers squeezed her nipple. She was so hot, her hips arched against him. This man could make her orgasm without ever touching her core. She was so in-tune with him, so in-tune with her own body when she was in his arms.
“Clothes . . . gone,” she whispered in a husky voice.
“Hmm, is someone impatient?” he taunted. She leaned forward and placed her lips against his shoulder then bit down. He chuckled a rich, deep, needy chuckle that went straight to her core.
“Very impatient,” she said. “Now, Crew. Quit with the teasing,” she said in practically a sob.
He leaned back and in seconds whipped off her shirt and bra, her nipples hardening even more as the breeze from the open patio blew over them. She groaned and arched her back, needing his mouth on the aching buds.
She reached for him, grabbing the back of his neck and leading him where she wanted him. He allowed it, and then she couldn’t think as his mouth fastened around one of her nipples and he sucked it deep within his mouth. She cried out as he sucked, nibbled, and licked the swollen bud while his fingers danced over her other breast, squeezing and rubbing. She was about to explode.
“More,” she begged.
He shifted to her other side, and took that nipple in his mouth, giving it attention as the ocean breeze swept over her other wet one, driving her mad. Heat and moisture built in her core. She ached all over; she wanted him deep, deep inside of her.
He let go of her nipple and leaned back. She gazed at him through half-opened eyes, her body on fire, her energy sluggish. She was his willing puppet, and she knew no matter how much they made love, it would always be this way. She’d found her soulmate.
“Please, Crew. I want you deep inside of me,” she told him, loving the fire that blazed in his incredible eyes.
He tugged her pants free, leaving her naked and wanton before him. She opened her legs, inviting him in. Lust deepened his dark eyes and she ached for his touch.
Before he moved he stripped his clothes away, the sound of ripping material hanging in the air as he tossed his shirt aside. He was so damn beautiful. It didn’t matter how many times she saw him naked, she’d never get enough.
As if he couldn’t stand the distance between them either, he pressed back against her, his mouth taking hers with urgency. She opened to him, their tongues dancing. His hands slid across her hot skin and she wiggled against him, wanting to ride that wave with him all the way to paradise.
But he wasn’t done with his torture. He whispered his lips across her jaw, then down the slope of her neck, taking his time licking and sucking her heated skin, swiping across her nipples, before lowering himself, and making his way down her belly. He moved into her open thighs, ran his finger across her heat, then moaned.
“So wet, you’re always so wet,” he said with a groan before closing his mouth over her clit and sucking. She screamed out his name, not caring if the sound carried all the way across the sea.
Her back arched off of the bed, whimpers escaping her as he swept his tongue across her clit, over and over, before sucking the swollen flesh inside his mouth once more. Her head thrashed on the bed as she gripped the sheets, her pleasure hanging on an edge he knew exactly how to control.
“Please, Crew, please,” she cried out as he swept his tongue across her flesh again before retreating. He kept bringing her so close, but not quite enough to finish. She needed to find that beautiful ending.
With one last suck, she knew he was done torturing her, done making her body heat to volcanic levels, and she came with a cry of his name, her body shaking, her skin tingling from her toes to her head. The pulses lasted and lasted, rushing through her in wave after wave of pleasure. He slowed his magical tongue, drawing out every single ounce of pleasure she had inside her.
He held her while she floated back down to the bed, even her soul satisfied. He gave and he gave and she didn’t want to hold a single thing back from him. “I’m yours, I’m all yours,” she said, her voice satisfied, her body warm and tingly.
“Yes, Darla, you’re mine,” he told her, a possessive light in his eyes as he moved over her. “All mine.” She’d never wanted a man to say that to her, but with Crew it was right. It was exactly what she wanted and needed to hear. She knew he was hers, too, but belonging to this man was even better than knowing he belonged to her.
