Simona bit her lip to stifle a laugh. When Miss Ellie turned his way, he quickly composed himself.
“Donovan, she’s a lovely girl,” Miss Ellie said.
“That she is, Miss Ellie.”
Facing Simona again, Miss Ellie asked, “What do you do?”
“I’m an emergency room nurse.”
“Really?” A huge grin blossomed on the woman’s face, and Simona felt the urge to flee.
“Grandma, are you over here trying to play matchmaker again?” Terrence asked, placing an arm around his grandmother’s shoulders and winking at Simona. “Simona, you’ll have to excuse my grandmother.” He kissed the elderly woman on the cheek. “Come on, Grandma. Stop scaring Simona, or she won’t want to come back.” He led her away.
When they were out of earshot, Simona said, “She is scary.”
Donovan laughed and placed a quick kiss on her lips. “I told you.”
* * *
Later, after mingling and consuming too much food, Simona sought out a lounger and collapsed. She hadn’t known what to expect when she arrived, but had found everyone to be friendly and unpretentious. Her gaze strayed to Donovan sitting in a chair holding Nadia. He seemed to love children, which gave her hope. Yasmine would celebrate her first birthday next weekend, and if things went well, maybe she would introduce Donovan then.
Earlier, Eve had taken Yasmine to her house so they wouldn’t be home when Donovan arrived. Simona had checked and triple checked to make sure all evidence of a baby in her living room was gone. A measure of guilt rose up, but she pushed it back down. She was just trying to protect her niece, she reasoned.
She had no idea how long she lay there with her eyes closed until Donovan’s voice filtered through her haze.
“Hey, sleepyhead. You all right?” He took a seat on the edge of the lounger.
Opening her eyes, she smiled. “Yeah. I guess I was a little tired and I ate too much,” she added with a chuckle. “It was a long week.”
He stood and extended his hand. “Come dance with me.”
“Dance?” Only then did she hear the music and see the couples—Terrence and Janae, Janae’s best friend, Karen, and her husband, Damian, and Terrence’s grandparents—swaying to the slow tune being filtered through hidden speakers.
She stood, and he led her over to where everyone danced. After what happened in her house this afternoon, Simona wasn’t sure she could take being in his arms for any length of time. He’d had every molecule in her body electrified.
Now he wrapped his arms around her and started a slow grind that made her nipples hard and her center throb. Donovan stared down at her with those magnetic eyes, communicating exactly what he meant, and she had no problem interpreting the message.
“I love holding your body close to mine,” he whispered in her ear. “I can’t wait to have you in my bed. You have to feel what you do to me.”
A soft gasp escaped when she felt the solid bulge of his erection pressing against her lower belly. A shudder passed through her, and she missed a step. His gaze never left hers as one arm held her closer while his other hand burned a path down her back and caressed her hip. All Simona wanted was for him to find a bed and finish what he’d started.
Donovan’s brow lifted, and a wicked smile curved his mouth. “Don’t tempt me, sweetheart.”
Her eyes widened. There was no way he could know what she was thinking. Could he? She was almost afraid to ask. “What do you mean?”
“You’re thinking we need to find the nearest bed and finish this.”
“How...how did you...?”
“Your eyes tell me everything I need to know.” He nibbled on her bottom lip, teased the corners with his tongue and plunged inside when she parted her lips.
Her eyes slid closed. Where in the world did he learn to kiss like this? Almost immediately, sanity returned and she remembered where they were. She pushed against his chest and broke off the kiss. “Donovan, did you forget we’re standing in a backyard full of people?” she whispered.
“Nope. Believe me, those men are so in love with their wives they aren’t paying attention to us. Take a look.”
Simona risked a peek over her shoulder and saw that what Donovan said was true. The couples were totally into each other. But still...
“See,” he said, gifting her with tender kisses along her jaw and lips.
She was glad when the song ended because she needed to go somewhere and get herself together. “Do you know where the bathroom is?”