“I can be patient if I want to be. I won’t scream. Try again.” I hadn’t inherited our father’s impatience like Remo had.
Two hours later, we returned to the premises after a quick tour through Vegas. Gemma was beaming all over her face when she parked the Lotus in the driveway.
“You did good—”
She threw her arms around me and kissed me. Unbuckling, I leaned over to deepen the kiss. I could spend hours kissing Gemma.
A bang sounded, driving us apart.
Nevio knelt on the hood of the car, pressed his face against the windshield, and hammered with his fists against the glass.
I shoved the door open. “That’s it,” I growled. “I’ll dunk your head in the toilet, PIA!”
Turning to Gemma, I said, “Help me catch the monster.”
We both got out of the car. Nevio slid off the hood, giggling, and darted away.
Gemma sprinted after him, laughing. After watching her butt for a moment, I chased the little monster. Nevio dodged us like a fucking rabbit. Gemma was grinning all over her face as she faced off with my nephew who hid behind a tree.
I could have watched her all day, but Nevio needed to be taught a lesson. He shot to the left to avoid Gemma’s attack and I finally caught the back of his shirt. Jerking him toward me, I curled my arm around his waist and lifted him off the ground. Even head down, he kept struggling.
“Time for payback.”
“Noooo!”
Gemma stopped beside me, panting. “You’re not going to dunk him in the toilet, right?”
I’d intended to do it, but looking at her face, I realized that wouldn’t earn me any bonus points with her. “I’ll just dump him in the pool.”
Nevio kept screaming as I carried him over to the pool, then held him above the water. Unfortunately, Remo came our way with Greta on his arm. “Do I even want to know what’s going on here?”
“Probably not,” I said, still holding Nevio. “The kid is being a PIA again.”
Remo set Greta down and motioned for me to hand Nevio to him. With a sigh, I handed the kid to him. He put Nevio down and squatted before him. “When I tell you to stop, you stop.”
Nevio glanced at Greta, obviously hoping for her support. I snatched her up before she could help him. “How about you show us a few ballet moves, dollface?”
Gemma smiled as she followed Greta and me toward the house. Remo was still talking to Nevio. Most of the time, he was the only one the boy listened to.
I put Greta down. She looked shy.
“Come on, Greta. Show Gemma what you can do.”
Greta got into that ballet position and did a small curtsy.
Gemma pressed against me, kissing my cheek. “You are so cute with her.” Then she applauded. “I wish I could do ballet, but I’m too clumsy for it.”
Greta beamed before rushing over to me and hugging my leg in embarrassment.
Gemma was anything but clumsy. Her fight moves were graceful, and far more entertaining than ballet. I stroked Greta’s head and grinned at Gemma. “So, being cute with kids is the way to your heart?”
“You mean to my panties,” she said under her breath.
“That, too.”
Greta strolled to a butterfly and watched it in rapt attention.
Gemma didn’t roll her eyes like she usually did. “Why is sex so important to you?”
Greta was far enough away, but I kept my voice low anyway. I cupped Gemma’s head. “Because it’s an amazing feeling, like a high without drugs. And to be honest, I can hardly think about anything, but being inside of you.”
Gemma swallowed. “For me, sex is baring myself to you in more than one way. It seems like such a personal thing to allow you inside of me. I can’t even imagine. I’ve been trying to imagine how it’ll be to allow you this close…” She shook her head, and I didn’t know what to say. “It’ll be a special moment for me, and I want it to be for you as well.”
“It’ll be our first time, Gem. Of course, it’ll be special for me.” Maybe I should have said more, but emotional declarations were the bane of my existence. I almost longed for Nevio to barge in on us again.
A couple of days later, we sat on the couch again after watching a ridiculously bad horror movie. Those sofa dates had become my favorite.
Gemma caressed the back of my neck in a very distracting way. I slid my hand down to