Tangled In Strings

Chapter Six

He looks up at me, his eyes lacking even a hint of what they have in the past week. Against the sun, they aren't charcoal black but gleam with a golden chestnut hue. His expression is unclouded, his features relaxed with a gentleness that tugs hard at my chest.

I feel his hand twist into my hair, grabbing a golden fistful, and just as I seal my mouth over his, he jumps, submerging us both.

...

We're both sun-soaked and swaying even though we're on dry land as we make our way back to the towels. Strangely enough, the nudity around us has lost its taboo awkwardness for me. I regard them briefly, actually envious of their confidence to lay it all out there.

Giovanni settles onto the towel, reaching for the lotion. I'm positive I've burnt in our time here already. I glance from him to the beachgoers, then to him again, a dangerous, bold feeling of courage coming over me.

"I think we should try this out," I tell Giovanni quickly, placing my hands on my hips. He squints up at me, his dark hair softened by the water, forming soft, luxurious waves. He doesn't get it.

I reach for the knot of string at the nape of my neck, pulling with a no-fucks-given kind of attitude. Giovanni's features suddenly pale with surprise, his eyes widening as I remove the strings securing the top to my back. I drop the bikini onto the towel with a deep inhale.

He doesn't yell or shout. Doesn't reach to grab something to cover me up with. His gaze melts as the seconds tick by, piercing my skin with a smoldering heat. They travel over my body slowly. I admit I lack the same amount of courage as I grab the corners of my bikini, letting my hands freeze against the string.

I guess the term 'When In Rome' still applies here.

When In Italy.

I pull the rest of my bikini down and step out of it, my heart suddenly lurching with nervousness. I hear a breathless explicit from Giovanni on the ground. I'm standing naked in front of hundreds of people.

Hundreds.

I straighten, biting down on my lip excruciatingly hard. Giovanni's eyes remain on my own, steady enough to light my cheeks on fire.

"Say something."

"I'm hard."

I laugh as the tension dissolves around us at his words. My eyes dart to his trunks, his hand pressed to a clear erection.

"Maybe you should wait to disrobe then, babe."

I regard him with egotistical pride, and he rolls his eyes.

"Get down here."

I bend down to my knees, and he grabs me, pulling me down the rest of the way. The water from his hair drips from my fingers as I run my hand over his silky locks. I feel my chest blossom with happiness, feeling so much as he lays kisses upon me with a rough, ungraceful forcefulness as if he cannot hold anything back.

...

My eyes flutter tiredly as I resurface, feeling warm sunbeams soaking through my skin. My head is rested on Giovanni's outstretched arm. Shit, I must have dozed off. I hope I applied enough sunscreen, or I will be in serious pain tonight.

I lift my hand to my eyes, rubbing them.

My gaze drifts to Giovanni beside me, laid out in all his herculean glory, one of my books raised over his face that he's reading. I have the grace to blush at the sight of us sunbathing in the nude, fitting in with all the people around us. It doesn't feel so strange anymore.

"Half the men on this damn beach have been looking over at you," he suddenly says, disrupting the silence. I scoff, turning to my side and then onto my front.

"I doubt it was me."

He laughs. "So, they were looking at me, then?"

I lay soft kisses along the soft inner skin of his forearm. "Wouldn't doubt it. You're quite something to look at."

I sense him lay the book down, and he turns onto his side, placing his free hand on my lower back.

"I've had to actively stop myself from looking at you like this."

"Is that so?"

His long fingers extend further as he drifts them over my spine slowly. "Mhm. Your breasts... your hips... your cunt on full display to me will never fail to arouse me."

"The fact that we're in public only makes it hotter," I whisper, meeting his gaze. He begins to grin mischievously.

"You're a freak." There's a hint of astonishment in his tone.

"So are you."

"That's what makes us perfect for one another."

I lean forward, and my lips caress his mouth searchingly. "I can't argue with you there."

His hand holds the nape of my neck as he stares up at me. The ocean rumbles with a satisfying groan behind us as the water clashes, the possibility of a storm brewing every second we're out here. Beneath his grip, as long as he remains close, staring at me like this, my happiness is sustained.