Like Pizza and Beer. Elle Parker
yeah, I’ll bet.” Seth thrust a beer in my hand with a scowl.
“Hey, don’t be like that.”
“How am I supposed to be, Dino? You spent the whole damn day with your ex and then you tried to blow me off.”
“Until I saw you,” I pointed out. “It only took one look to change my mind.”
Seth leaned against the counter and folded his arms over his chest. He didn’t say anything.
“Come on,” I said, going to him. “She was ten years ago. You can’t tell me you’re seriously jealous over this.”
“You’re not over her.”
“Yeah, I am.”
He glared up at me through his eyelashes. “I saw the way you were with her last night, you still have feelings for her.”
“I still care about her,” I said. “I also care about the ladies in this building, but that’s never seemed to bother you.”
“It’s not the same thing, Dino.”
“I know that. Look, Gigi and I split up because we couldn’t live together. We both wanted different things out of life, and none of that has changed. If anything, it’s worse.”
“Are you kidding? She’s gorgeous, classy, Italian, smart, and single. She’s everything that’s perfect for you, Dino. If anything, ten years has probably given her a lot of time to reconsider. Give me one reason why I shouldn’t be a little worried.”
“Ah, well your dick is a lot bigger than hers.”
Seth rolled his eyes and took a swig of beer.
I was at a loss because insecurity is not a trait Seth Donnelly shows very often, and I wasn’t sure how to deal with it. There was only one way I knew to handle that kind of situation, so I pulled him into my arms and kissed his neck.
“I’m serious,” I said. “You’ve got nothing to worry about. I even told her I’m seeing someone.”
“Did you tell her who?”
I sighed and rested my forehead against his, then took a deep breath. “No, I didn’t, but that doesn’t have anything to do with you. You know that.”
He relented, finally, and slipped his arms around my waist. “Yeah. I know that. I don’t like it, but I know what it’s about.”
Not surprisingly, we wound up in bed about the same time everyone else was eating dinner. I know it makes me kind of a pig, but I was still at the stage where I could express how I felt about him through sex, easier than any other way.
I had him stripped naked and spread out on my bed, flushed and panting from twenty minutes of intense attention from yours truly that involved a lot of kissing, a lot of petting, and a lot of tongue. We were both halfway there already, and I was getting into position to finish us off when Seth pounced on me. He shoved me to my back and squirmed in between my legs, fitting his groin against mine in a way we had down to a science. His cock was hot and hard, and I moaned with satisfaction.
He’d once told me it was his favorite way to fuck, and then he’d promptly made it mine as well. It was comfortable and easy, and it got me hotter than hell. But more than that, it allowed me to hold him tight against me, absolutely as close as we could get. I’m a sucker for full on, skin-to-skin contact, and I like to wrap my arms around him and practically wallow in the sensation.
That’s what I was doing as our bodies slid together, slick with sweat and hot from the effort, when he bit down on the skin of my neck without warning. Sharp pain shot through me, and I swore out loud.
“What the fuck?” I snapped, pulling away as much as I could.
“Sorry,” he panted. “I didn’t mean to bite so hard. Let me kiss it and make it better.”
He rolled his hips just the way I like, and I shuddered with pleasure. I didn’t bother to resist when he nuzzled up under my chin and started to lick my throat. He worked his way around to the sore spot and kissed me hotly, then moved a little higher and bit me again. It wasn’t nearly so harsh this time, and I didn’t push him away.
But I did ask, “What the hell is with you tonight?”
“You just have me really hot right now, Dino.”
He braced himself on his elbows and ground down against my cock, hard and rough, pumping his body forcefully.
“Oh my God,” I moaned. My breath was thick and heavy, and forming sentences wasn’t all that easy. “I’m not really complaining, it’s just weird.”
“I bite you all the time, Dino,” he panted against my neck. Then he sunk his teeth into me again, just to prove his point.
“Shit.” I inhaled sharply. “Not like that you don’t.”
He lapped his tongue over the spot with a ragged moan, and came hard, losing control of his thrusts altogether. I held him tight and drew my knees up to hold him in place while he rode it out. Wet heat flooded my cock, and I groaned as my own orgasm hung just on the tipping point for a few moments before crashing over me. I jerked my hips and clutched Seth as hard as I could.
We both slowed until we were barely moving, and then just went limp. Seth’s body was totally relaxed on top of mine, and he was warm and solid. I love that moment and always lie there as long as possible, running my hands slowly over him.
Seth rested his head against my shoulder while he caught his breath, face tucked under my chin. I was so mellow I was starting to fall asleep when he bit me right over the collar bone.
I smacked him in the back of the head. “God damn it, knock that off.”
He snickered and said, “I’m sorry. I couldn’t resist just once more.”
“You are not sorry, you’re an evil little shit.”
“Well...you knew that before we started dating, so you only have yourself to blame.” He rolled off me and said, “Come on, let’s get cleaned up and then I’ll make it up to you.”
I turned to kiss him and get close again. “And how are you gonna do that?”
“I’ll take you out and buy you clams and beer, and you can tell me about the case so far.”
“Yeah, all right,” I said, “that sounds fair.”
Chapter 5
The next day I spent a few hours in the morning with my computer again, running background checks on all Gigi’s employees. Out of thirty-six employees, three of them had some prior offences. There was nothing especially heinous, a few misdemeanors for things like drunk and rowdy behavior or drug possession. One DUI. The offenders were a waiter, a busboy...and Marco. In fact, Marco had a fairly decent list of the kind of charges that suggest a misspent youth. Thing was, he wasn’t really all that old. All the crimes had occurred a few years before he went to work for Gigi, but not so long ago that you could call it ancient history.
I probably should have run a check on Gigi too, but I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I typed up all my notes, printed off the three rap sheets and slid everything into my briefcase.
Out in the hall, I ran into Della who was just coming up from the garden. She wore a big floppy hat and was putting pruning shears and dirty gloves into the small dresser that served as her foyer.
“Oh! Good mornin’, darlin’.” She beamed at me the same devious way she had before.
“Hi, Della, how are you today?”
“I’m just fine.” She eyed me curiously and reached up. “Here, honey, let me fix your collar, it’s all crooked.”
Having dressed myself effectively for the better part of forty-one years, I didn’t think it really