Casa Corinthos: A Dark Series Interlude Between Books 2 and 3

Chapter 1

She was leaving. Again.

Sonny couldn't get the thought from his mind. Every summer for the past three years, he would enjoy the three months she and sometimes Tommy would share with him and then, he would prepare himself for the inevitable: her departure. By now it should have been easier, he grudgingly thought, but just like all the other times, it was hard. So very hard.

"Gracie and Georgie are amazing. I don't think you'd recognize them, and Benjamin, he tries so hard to—Sonny?" Simone's comments on her life away from him were cut short by the darkness in his nearly black eyes. She lowered her glass of Chardonnay to the table and sat up straight as she repeated his name. "Sonny?"

The concern in her voice brought him back to the here and now. She was right there in front of him. She hadn't left, yet. He had another day, but before that, he had that night. He smiled and the darkness left his eyes. "Yes, Dr. Hardy?" he asked, teasing her with a dimpled grin.

Simone was taken aback for a moment. She had never verbalized it to him, but the dimples got to her every time. She was almost positive that he knew it, too, and found great pleasure in tormenting her. She shook her head and a finger at him. "I'm not quite there, yet."

"But you will be," he said with confidence. "I never understood why you felt that you weren't. You didn't need to go back to school. Medicine is in your blood, Simone."

This time, a grin spread across her lips as she playfully rolled her eyes at him. "Medicine is in my blood? And, you know this...because...?"

"Because I know things," he said with a shrug. He rose from his chair and moved around the table to stand next to her. He lightly trailed his finger down her well-toned arm to rest at her hand. He placed his hand in hers and softly said, "Walk with me."

His gentle touch left a trail of tingles that ran up and down her arm. She drew in a sharp breath as her heart pumped wildly in her chest. He had touched her before. They were friends. They dined, they laughed, they argued, and they shared so many things. But, they had never—She looked into his eyes again, and she knew that he wanted much more than just a friendly stroll on the beach.

He wanted her.

~*~

A sandy beach, ocean breezes, and an orange sky provided a beautiful backdrop for the silent couple's stroll. Sonny's hand still firmly held on to Simone's. A few times, his thumb ran across the back of her hand. She trembled in response, and he felt it each time.

And her hand never left his.

Simone glanced down at their joined hands. Sonny's time in the sun had made his skin almost the same deep bronze as hers. The few black strands of hair on the back of his hand were barely noticeable in the waning sunlight. The gentleness of his hold on her contradicted his strength. His hand lightly squeezed hers and before she could convince herself not to, she laced her fingers with his.

In her silent way, Simone told Sonny that she wanted him, too.

"Here," he said softly, coming to a stop in the middle of the beach.

The waves licked at their bare feet, and Simone squealed and jumped back. "What's here?" she asked, almost breathlessly.

"The perfect sunset," he told her softly. With his free hand, he caressed her cheek as he carefully turned her head away from him to face the setting the sun. "See," he said, moving closer to her so that he could whisper against her ear.

Simone's breath caught in her throat as he moved behind her. His arms encircled her from behind and she drew in a deep breath. He barely touched her, but it was enough to inflame her. Her fears of intimacy had been a long, hard battle, and she had nearly given up any hope of winning...until now. Slowly, her feet slid backwards on the sand, bringing her closer against him. After endless seconds, she reached her destination. Her back rested against his hard chest and her hands closed over his. As his dark, stubble-covered cheek rested against her smooth soft face, she said hoarsely, "Yeah, I see."