I bit my bottom lip to hide the pleased smile that wanted to spread across my face. Compliments tended to make me feel uncomfortable because I so rarely ever heard them from people close to me. But Tommy had always been generous in that way. “Thank you, Tommy,” I said quietly.

“Just stating facts,” he answered back just as quietly.

“Are you finished eating?” I asked, gesturing at his plate as I began to stand.

“No…sit. Enjoy your coffee. I’ll clean up.” He stood and began to stack the plates, napkins, and utensils. “Hey,” he said softly to get my attention as he leaned over me. I looked up at him, and he gave my lips a soft, sweet kiss.

I smiled against his lips and curled my hand around the back of his neck, prolonging the sweet press of his mouth against mine. Very quickly, it went from sweet to a hungry, but still soft, exploration that I wanted to take further.

“Hm, what are you thinking about, hermosa?”

“Who says I’m thinking about anything besides kissing you?”

“That little growl you just made. You really don’t hear yourself when you do that, do you?”

“Nope,” I said with a grin. “I didn’t even know I made it until you.”

“In that case, I’m claiming that as a sound that you only make for me.” He gave me another quick kiss, then took our breakfast dishes into the kitchen.

Shifting around the table, I claimed the seat that he’d just emptied to have a better view into the kitchen. I sighed and just drank Tommy in as he got to work tidying up.

He had a sun-browned complexion, and every inch of him was lean and muscled like he spent as much time working out as I did swimming. When he turned and caught me watching him, he offered me a smile and a wink.

“Hermosa,” he said with a tsk as if he wasn’t enjoying every moment of me watching him.

Damn. Those eyes of his. I wasn’t exaggerating when I said I would have complimented him on them if we met at a bar. They were the color of expensive dark rum, mischievous and friendly, and when he looked at me the way he was looking at me right now, intense enough to make me part my thighs.

And I did part them, letting my robe drape open just enough for him to see the place where I wanted him to be.

He bit his lip then glanced at the clock over the kitchen door. A frown creased his brow while he rinsed the dishes, loaded them into the dishwasher, and wiped off the countertops before making his way back out to the piazza.