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“Hmmm.” Andries examines me out of the corner of his eye. “As long as you’re not giving hertoo muchattention, if you catch my drift.”
“Shouldn’t you be spending time with Roxanne instead of worrying about what I’m doing, anyway?” I can’t help but snap back at him.
I know he wants to question me more, but Andries is reluctant for these small inquiries to turn into a full-blown argument, just like I am. He glances back toward the inside and makes his decision. “Yeah. I told her I’d be right in to shower. But seriously Dan, you and Elise—”
“Are nothing!” I insist, growing tired of his fucking, nosy behavior. “Now go find your lovely lady and stop spending time around me. You already forfeited the chance for this to be a bachelor’s only trip.”
He finally leaves, and while I know I should find Elise to discuss our next moves when it comes to owning up to Andries, there are much more pleasurable pursuits that are occupying my mind at the moment.
I knock on her door as quietly as I can, and she opens it wearing a white sundress that seems sheer enough that I should be able to see everything, but by some magic of fashion, I can’t. How many outfits did this girl bring?
She’s gotten some color from the sun, gracing her lovely cheekbones in dusky pink. Her face is bare of any makeup, her hair loose and wavy, freshly unbraided. I take a chance, unable to resist, and step just slightly into her room, kissing her sweet mouth for just an instant before returning to my spot in the hallway. She blinks, touching her mouth with her fingers.
“Let’s go get some sorbet and walk through theGiardini di Augusto,” I say putting my best Italian accent on.
“I haven’t even showered yet,” she complains, but I couldn’t care less. The idea of tasting the sweat on her skin has me half-hard.
“Me either, but we’ve only got a few hours before dinner. Let’s go!”
She pokes her head out and looks around, but once she confirms the coast is clear, she shuts her door, returning a few seconds later with her strappy saddles on and sunglasses sitting on top of her head. “Alright. Let’s go, then.”
We hurry up like two thieves out of the villa and to the public road. Adrenaline rushes over us as we pass the arched metal gate and hit the sidewalk.
As soon as we’re outside, the villa finally behind us, I can’t help but link my hand with hers, and she lets me, watching me with a soft look on her face as we walk away.
Like everywhere else on the island, there are lemon trees everywhere, filling the air with the scent of ripe citrus. It’s fitting because the sorbet shop I’ve picked out for us specializes in what else but lemon sorbet. It’s a quaint little shop, but we don’t stay, getting our cups to go and walking through the bustling downtown together. I have a destination in mind; Giardini di Augusto––also known as the Gardens of Augustus––where we can have some time alone on the paved switchback trails that lead down the cliff side of the island, shaded by palm and Italian stone pine trees.
“I feel like we’re two teenagers sneaking out of the house after dark,” she confesses as we enter the gardens, sucking the sorbet off her spoon.
“Well technically you’re still–”
“Don’t you dare!” she laughs, bumping me with her shoulder. “You know what I mean. Tworeally young teenagers.Aren’t you afraid my brother is going to catch us?”
“It’s not like I’m taking you somewhere to steal your virtue.” I sigh dramatically. “Alas, I’ve already done that back in Amsterdam.”
“Ugh,” Elise groans, before putting a spoon full of lemon sorbet into her mouth. “Don’t say it like that. But seriously… you’re not afraid of him catching on to what’s happening here?”
“I’m counting on him being so wrapped up in his fiancée that he won’t have much time to look outside of their relationship. It seems to be working for the most part, but I think we made him a little suspicious on the yacht.”
“I wish he’d just mind his own business,” she laments.
The sun is close to setting, hovering over the horizon and painting everything in gold. Even the blue of the sea can’t escapeits rays, shimmering with flashes of sunlight as the waves roll into shore over and over again. There are only a few other tourists on the winding path with us, and after finishing her sorbet and depositing it in a trash can, Elise leans on the stone balustrade to look out at the natural beauty coming to life right in front of us. Me, on the other hand… she’s all I can see.
I come behind her, resting a hand on either side of her body and leaning my weight in just slightly. “That’s the problem,” I murmur, kissing her neck and reveling in her scent. “He thinks everything is his business. Andries is a certified busybody.”
Elise snorts, but her laughter turns to a sigh of pleasure when I take her earlobe gently between my teeth. “If you’re still trying to pretend I’m invisible, I think you’re failing miserably.”
“I already told you. I’ve decided I can see you once more.” Her body is soft and willing as she leans back into my embrace. “You’re lucky, though. I could have just kept you invisible for the rest of the trip.”
“You kind of ruined that for yourself, having me sleep over with you the night before we left,” she points out.
“I wasn’t counting on having sex with you before coming here, you know?” I slide my hands over her ribs, making her squirm. “That kinda ruined the entire plan before it even started.”
There is more to be said about our one night together, but there are other things on Elise’s agenda. She leans her entire weight into me. “Speaking of sex, maybe we could go somewhere quieter…”
I freeze before exhaling in amusement. “So you really liked it?”
“Of course I did, why? You don’t think so?” Elise sounds incredulous. “I thought it was very clear that I was having a good time.”
