Chapter 39

Luca

N erves were part of my daily life. When needed, I could harness them to pump me up, slow me down, and sometimes to stop me all together. But the heart stopping, bone shaking terror I felt approaching Polly, reached an unprecedented level of shitting myself.

What if she doesn’t like it? What if she just wants to go home? What if this is a giant, massive fuckup?

Nature had set the scene for my big surprise. The air was crisp but not cold. The water was calm with a glass-like finish, and the setting sun painted the sky above in ombré shades of rose, lavender, and lilac. But the thing that stood out above all the rest was the silhouette of my beautiful wife, nestled in the sand of our own slice of heaven.

Ours.

Polly’s and mine.

Ana, Mom, and I were so consumed by setting up the surprise that we didn’t notice Tilly’s message that they had arrived. I spotted her first, squatting before Polly, her hands bracing her hunched shoulders.

“Princess,” I called out, waving like I’d not seen her for six months. “How was the meeting?”

Polly snaped up straight, her tone unusually high as she replied. “Great. Yep, really good. Great.” She stood, brushed the sand off her plump bottom, and turned. Unease knotted my stomach. I knew that face. That plastic smile. We’d come so far … become so close. I thought it was a thing of the past, but there it was, that mask of hers, still sliding into place. “Polly, what’s wrong?”

“Nothing.” She replied with an indignant head shake. “I’m just tired. I think the jetlag had finally kicked in.”

“Jetlag? Polly, we landed in the states almost three weeks ago. It’s not jetlag. Tell me what happened.”

“Ahem,” Tilly cleared her throat, leaned in and whispered into Polly’s ear, before glancing back to me. “I’ll leave you two alone to enjoy your night.” She passed by me, reaching up to brush my arm as she did, “You did good, D’Cruz. She’s a sweetheart.”

“She is.” I nodded, my eyes never shifting from Polly. After waiting to hear the clink of the gate closing behind me, I stepped in and wrapped my arms around my wife. Just like always, her head nestled into the crook of my neck, and she sighed, melting further into me.

“I promise I’m okay, Luca. All this fresh air makes me a little homesick.”

“Promise that’s all it is?”

“I … I promise.” Her hesitation made the whispered reply hard to believe, but I was slowly learning when Polly could be pushed. This didn’t seem like the time. Luckily, I had something I hoped would bring her true smile back.

“As much as I want to stand here and hold you all night, I have something to show you. A few things, actually.”

“Are those things currently tucked into your boxers?” She giggled. It was genuine. Sexy. Relieving.

“Not this time, Princess.” Capturing a strand of windswept hair, I tucked it behind her ears. “As accommodating as my underwear has to be, the size and wriggly-ness of my surprises rule it out.”

“Wriggly-ness? Hmm.” She laughed again and leaned back, showing me her true, happy smile—the one that had my heart thundering against my ribcage each time I saw it. “Cowboy, you have piqued my interest.”

“Awesome, let’s go then before I change my mind about showing you what’s up in my boxers.” With a quick kiss to her forehead, I took Polly by the hand and led her back up the path, turning to the right at the fork that would lead either to the house or the gate to the street.

Polly hesitated. “Wait, don’t we have to go out there? This looks like a private yard.”

“It is a private yard.” Reaching over the weathered timber gate, I undid the salt-rusted latch and swung it open.

Her beautiful dark eyes, shining in the moonlight, narrowed. “Who’s yard, Luca?”

“Some really hot guy with massive arms. Heard his wife is smokin’.”, I bent, grabbed beneath her knees and swept her bridal style from her feet.

“Luca!” Her laughter as she kicked her dangling legs was joyous, “What are you doing?”

“Carrying you across the threshold of course. Welcome home, Princess.”

“Home? What are you talking about — oh my god, a puppy!” The multimillion-dollar beach house skidded into second place on Polly’s priority list when my second surprise, the four- legged one Ana helped me with made its attention-grabbing appearance.

“Putmedownputmedownputmedown,” she squealed, wiggling and swatting at my shoulder. Though it ruined the image I’d been picturing all day, returning Polly to the ground probably was the safest option, especially with a three-month-old Australian cattle dog yelping and bouncing at my feet. As soon as her toes touched the ground, Polly collapsed onto her knees, giving our yet-to-be-named baby all the kisses meant for me. “You are the cutest thing I have ever seen. Aren’t you? Aren’t you?”

“I am, thanks.”

“Not you, idiot.” she chuckled. “The puppy. Is she really ours, Luca? And the house?”

“Yes, and yes. I wanted us to have a fresh start and for you to have some company when I’m away. There’s no cuter company, and nowhere fresher in New York than Long Island beach … especially in winter.” Balancing the puppy in one arm and pressing herself off the sandy soil with the other, Polly stood and threw herself against me.

“I don’t deserve you.”

“That’s a filthy lie. You do, Pol. You deserve the world and so much more. I’m making it my mission to give it to you, too.”

Even as I said it, I knew it was a moot point. Polly was unstoppable. She didn’t need me to give her anything. She could take whatever she wanted. I just had to get her to believe it.

I was fairly certain Polly was paying more attention to her new baby than she was to me, or to our house. And I didn’t mind one bit. We had a lifetime to walk the halls. The pure bliss and happiness that radiated from within as she fell in love with her little Aussie mate was worth a million houses.

“This is the fourth bedroom,” I said as I opened the double doors that led her into the oceanfront room. “I thought this would be a guest room when Holly or your parents come over to stay.”

The puppy’s head continued to be stroked as Polly looked up at me through her hair. A tiny bit of that glow disappeared. “She called just before we got here.”

“Holly did?”

“No. Mum did.”

“Shit,” I said, wincing and rubbing my hands over the back of my neck. “Is that why you were sad on the beach?”

“How did you know I was sad?”

“Let’s just say you might be able to fool everyone else with that tough facade of yours, but you don’t fool me.”

Polly huffed, walking towards the windows and opening the plantation shutters. The chilled ocean breeze swept through the room, blowing her hair back off her face, creating something of a plaything for the puppy, who yipped and nipped at the flowing strands. “I’m not sure how I feel about that. Maybe I have to lift my game a little?”

I waltzed up behind her and wrapped my hands around her waist, resting my head on her shoulder. “Or you can be content in knowing you’ve finally found someone you don’t need to play games with?”

“Maybe … I do rather like playing some games with you, though.” Instantly hard, I ran my fingers through her hair and kissed my way down her neck, eliciting the exact kind of shiver I was aiming for.

“I will play with you all night long, however you like, if you tell me what your mom said on that call.”

“Conditioning sex games around me talking about my mum is … eww. But … I really want to be railed over the kitchen bench with the lights on and the blinds open, so I’ll do it.” Polly placed the wriggling pooch at her feet and laid her head on my chest. “Mum being mum, it was more of a prepared sermon than a talk, but in a roundabout way, she did explain a few things. Holly had told her about Luke, so she said a little about that. She apologized for what she said and for how she handled the whole Elias thing, and she may also have pointed out how similar we are.”

“Ahhh. The old two north poles repelled each other.” I sighed.

“What the hell are you talking about?”

“You know, like magnets? They’re south and north poles, just like you and me. We come from opposite sides of the world, but our attraction was so strong we couldn’t fight the pull toward each other. Instead, it drew and held us together. But when you have two of the same pole—south and south—they clash and push each other away. Just like Hermes and Nyx. Exactly the same but completely different.”

“Again. What are you talking about?” Her voice trailed off as she glanced up at me bemused.

“You know, your goddess friend Nyx and her daughter … the day … or was she the light and the brother was the day? I forgot.”

Polly grabbed my chin and pouted, “You remember Nyx?”

“I do. I even looked her up after the day when your dad caught us in his office. “

“Huh.” Her cheeks flushed as she turned her face toward the ocean.

“Why ‘huh,’ and why are you still so surprised when I remember things you tell me?”

“Dunno. Maybe it’s because it means you’re listening. I’m waiting for the novelty to wear off.”

“Princess, you could read me the ingredients on a box of nothing, and I’ll happily listen to it all day. I want to know every thought rattling around in that fascinating brain of yours. That’s not going to wear off.” In what was becoming a habit, Polly exhaled and melted into me as we watched the waves crash against the shore. Soon, it became so dark outside that all we could see was our own reflection. “Do you think you can forgive her, Pol? Move past it all?”

“I want to. And I think she does too. Maybe now that we have some space we can. Who knows.”

“I do.” I beamed a confident smirk at the window, one I knew would make her roll her eyes but also smile. “I’m sure you will. And I’m really proud of you for taking her call. It’s not easy to face your demons.”

“No, it’s not,” she sighed, pulling away from my hold and reclaiming the puppy who was chewing on the timber shutter. “It’s quite hard. Rather like those marble benchtops in the kitchen. They look solid. Perfect for some of those games we were talking about.”

“Ya know, I thought having sex on a kitchen counter with an unnamed dog yapping at my feet would be awkward. Turns out I’m okay with it.”

“Toto.”

“What?” I huffed, fisting Polly’s hair. “Her name … it’s Toto and … ooohhhh, fuck, do that again.” As requested, I gave another tug on her ebony locks, snapping her head back and claiming her mouth for a kiss that stole the last of my breath.

“Tell me you want me. Tell me I’m good. Tell me I’m yours.”

“Polly fuck. You’re my girl. My best girl. My only girl. My. Good. Fucking. Girl. ” With each word I pounded inside her wet cunt, the sounds were hotter than anything I’d ever heard. When I pressed forward, covering her body, so small and fragile beneath mine, I snaked my hand between her legs and brushed my fingers over her clit. She collapsed, her orgasm ripping through her as her cries echoed through the empty kitchen.

It was all too much. The way her pussy squeezed and pulsed around me. My balls drew up, my whole body contracted as I reached my own peak. “Coming,” I grunted, grabbing the base of my cock, pulling out, and covering her round, red ass and back with my endless come. “Fuck, Princess,” I huffed, slapping my still-leaking cock against her cheeks. “Your ass looks amazing pressed between my hips and a slab of marble. I can’t wait to compare it to the countertops in the bathrooms.”

“Me too,” she almost sobbed, “If I survive this, let’s do that next.”