Falling For Rome 2

by Edwina Fort

  I knew what I was going to have to do…I was going to need to put some distance between us. For the next few days, I was going to have to stay away from the barn. That will keep me safe for a little while.

  The first stop I made was to the nursing home to pick up all of my mom’s belongings. They already had another patient waiting for the room. I thanked Sister Sousa for all her help and reimbursed her the money she’d used to bail me out of jail.

  Then I decided to go and visit Mr. Olivera before I left and read to him for a bit. But when I got there the room was empty and the bed was neatly made.

  “No…”

  I turned to find a nurse… “Com licença…” or “Excuse me, where is Mr. Olivera?”

  She took my hand patting it gently. “Oh sweetheart, he died a day before your mom.”

  I slowly shook my head. “Nossa!” What was happening? I had been so wrapped up in making funeral arrangements for my mom that I didn’t even think to check in on Mr. Olivera. I felt like crap.

  “I feel so bad…” I said to nobody in particular.

  The nurse gave my hand a gentle squeeze. “You shouldn’t, you made his last days very pleasant. It was good of you to read to him every day. He died happy. And it’s all because of you. We can’t control death…but we can try to do for people while they’re alive. You made a difference in his world. Now go out there and help somebody else.”

  I felt numb as I left the nursing home. A reason, a season and a day. Mr. Olivera came in my life for a reason. I touched the small Bible that was in my cargo pants. But it seemed like I’d only had him for a day.

  Goodness! It felt like my world was tilting on the edge. And if I’m being honest with myself, I was so glad Romeo was here with me. All this time, I’d convinced myself that I wanted to be alone secluded on my farm cut off from the world.

  But that’s not what I wanted at all. I didn’t want to be alone. I didn’t want to die and nobody comes to my funeral. Mr. Olivera, like my mom, had pretty much died alone. The only person they’d both had in their last days was me.

  And although my mom still hated me in her right mind, I was glad I decided to come back to the nursing home and be with her these last few months. It almost felt like she’d waited for me before dying.

  I inhaled… Now I needed to do something else. Rome was my season…he is the one that was made to be in my life. He had traveled a long way to find me. And he’d come back to me broken…and it was my fault.

  Now I needed to fix him.

  The first thing we needed to do was to get him back eating right. After I left Chicago I had not gone back to my horrible diet. I'd continued eating the way Rome had shown me. And now I needed to guide him back to the path.

  I stopped by the market and bought some live foods. How many times had he given me the live food speech?

  “Baby, eat foods that are alive and they will give you life. Eat foods that are dead and they will bring you death.”

  I’d gotten so tired of hearing him say that, I’d threatened to shoot him if he said it again. Of course, he did anyway.

  Tonight, I will make him a feast of live foods…

  When I finally got back to the house, I sat staring at it with my mouth open. There were several trucks parked around it and a whole crew of men in and out of the trucks. I picked Giant up in my arms so that he didn’t get stepped on and made my way to the barn.

  When I got there, I found Rome standing over a makeshift table looking over some blueprints with another man, who looked as if he was the boss of this crew.

  “What the hell is going on here?!”

  Rome looked up and smiled. “Baye, you were right. I didn’t care for getting my hands dirty. However, my friend here doesn’t mind at all. Meet Francisco, he and his crew are going to build you a brand-new barn.

  Chapter 19

  Tension…

  Nakhti

  With a perfect arch in my back, I bent over to pull the spinach lasagna I’d made for dinner out the oven right as Rome came in carrying his bags.

  Had I timed it this way? Maybe…

  “Dear God!” He called clutching his chest, I heard him stumble back in the door a bit. Biting my lip so that my smile didn’t escape, I slowly stood placing the lasagna on the stove.

  I had started going through me, my mom and my avozinha’s things trying to clear out the house a bit. And I had found a bunch of my clothes from high school, including an old pair of my gym shorts. When I used to wear these things in gym, the boys and the gym teacher could barely focus on anything other than my hips.

  “There you go wearing them little bitty a** shorts again!” Rome growled as he came farther into the house.

  Making sure to keep that little arch in my back that causes my hips and butt to poke out just right…

  Come on, ladies, y’all know the one…

  I turned to look at him with feigned surprise on my face, now poking out my breasts that were braless under my tank top.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about. It’s hot outside, I was just dressing for the weather.”

  What a load of bull…

  He dropped his bags. “Nak…I swear to God, if you wear that outside, I will put you over my knee and spank yo’ a**.”

  That he said while grabbing himself readjusting his erection in that vulgar way that he does.

  Goodness, I’ve missed that.

  I threw my head back and laughed. “Don’t be jealous, Romeo.”

  The frown was still on his face. “Yeah, I got yo’ don’t be jealous…you gon’ keep f***ing with me and get somebody killed. Where should I put my stuff?”

  The sneaky bastard!

  You should be putting your stuff in the barn. But thanks to the construction crew that had taken a wrecking ball to my barn, his sneaky a** was now a guest on my couch, which was why I was torturing him.

  Two can play at this…

  “You can use the hall closet," I told him pointing to the third door on the left before I turned back to the sink to rinse off the tomatoes for the salad…careful to keep that arch in my back.

  I didn’t hear him move for a good minute; I could feel his gaze raking over my butt as if it was a caress. I damn near closed my eyes and moaned thinking about his big strong hands palming my soft flesh.

  When he finally did move, he mumbled something about me getting in trouble playing with grown men.

  Screw him!

  He thinks he’s so damn slick. Let me tell you guys what he did…

  My house only has two bedrooms, the one I slept in that used to belong to my mother and my avozinha before her and my old bedroom that was being used for storage. It was safe to say my place wasn’t that big.

  Which is why I told him if he was going to be staying here, he needed to sleep in the barn. Him being in the house was way too dangerous. But nooooo…. Guess who had found a way in anyway. And believe me, I’d put up a fuss, including telling the workers to stop because I couldn’t afford them.

  “We’ve already been paid for the job, senhorita. Excuse me.” Francisco replied as he walked around me to start instructing his men on the destruction of my barn.

  I turned angry eyes back to Rome’s face and there lurking was a knowing grin.

  “Romeo, what are you doing? I can’t afford this!”

  “Did you not hear the man say he’s already been paid? Watch out…” He said taking my arm moving me to the side just as a man rode past me on a forklift.

  It was all too much…I shook my head trying to find something to grab onto that will make this stop.

  “What about Pedro and Antonio? I’d already hired them for the job. This is going to put them out of work and they have to feed their families.”

  Rome took my arm again moving me out the way of another forklift. "Already handled. I talked to Francisco and got the fellas on with him. They now work for him making triple of what you were paying them…” He turned those
clever honey eyes of his to me.

  “So, you see, you’re helping them and their families out tremendously. In fact, they were so overcome with emotion, I believe Pedro actually shed a tear. He said something about now being able to send his daughter to music school.” And then he smiled, knowing damn well he had me.

  I wanted to call him a liar. However, Pedro constantly bragged on how talented his daughter was and how he and his wife were saving every penny to send her to music school so that she could learn her art. They believed she could go all the way.

  My gaze went to Pedro, who sure enough had an extra pep in his step as he helped unload one of the trucks before it settled back on Rome’s handsome smiling face.

  The clever bastard had boxed me in. I didn’t doubt he’d planned this to the tee. That’s how his mind worked.

  And so, you guys are saying, what’s the big deal, Nak?

  Well, the big deal is this… I was trying to hold out as long as I could and not give in to him too soon.

  If I gave in to him now, he would think it was okay to break my heart whenever he feels like it. I had to hold out for a good while…I had to make him sweat, make him feel as if he wasn’t going to get me back.

  And I know some of y’all out there believe I am playing games, especially dressed the way that I am right now.

  Maybe I am, but like I said earlier, there must be some repercussions for what he did. And since I don’t have the strength to run away from him again, the least I can do is make him sweat a bit.

  Something that would have been easily done if the sneaky bastard had not found a way to get into my house.

  He wasn’t playing fair.

  Rome

  Hell no, I wasn’t playing fair. I was playing to win.

  I was well aware of the little game she called herself playing by putting me in the mutha f***en’ barn. What the f*** I look like? Nah, there will be no barriers between us. Yesterday when I’d found her, I’d accepted that sh*t because I was tired from searching for her nonstop. My mind needed a good night’s rest, something I definitely blame on my diet. Before I started eating this crappy food, my mind never got tired. No…not ever.

  Hell, most times I couldn’t turn it off…

  Anyway, I digress… the answer to my problem came to me as soon as I opened my eyes. How the hell could she make me sleep in the barn if there was no barn? When she’d found me this morning working on my computer, I was in the midst of making arrangements with Francisco. I’d even paid extra to get him to leave the project he was working on to get started on the barn himself.

  I told him it was imperative for it to be demolished before nightfall…As you can guess, that came with a hefty price tag, but I didn’t care. There was no price I was not willing to pay to be back between Minha Anjo’s thighs. I was starved for the taste of her.

  Now that I was in, it was only a matter of time. I stashed my bags in the hall closet as she said, but by week’s end, I plan to have them moved to her bedroom closet.

  When I came back into the kitchen, I paused for just a moment to take her in. She’d worn those little bitty shorts that hugged her lush a** perfectly on purpose. Knowing her, she probably called herself paying me back for getting her barn demolished.

  I repositioned my erection for the second time because it was pressing painfully against my zipper.

  Damn! She was finer than a mutha f***a. She’d partnered those little shorts with a white wife beater that she wore with no bra, so every time she moved, her pretty breasts jiggled in a way that made my mouth water.

  Nak’s body was banging. Because she was a warrior and was damn serious about her work out, it was beautifully muscled. But because she was all woman, she also had those curves that drove a man to distraction.

  She stood barefoot at the sink cutting lettuce, her curly hair rolled up in a bun on the top of her head. A few soft tendrils escaped laying against her long graceful neck that my lips longed to kiss. She looked soft and sweet, till your gaze fell to her sleeve of art and the dog tags around her neck, and then you’ll realize she was really a bad a**.

  You know what she reminded me of? That character from Shrek…the pussy cat. I think his name was Puss in Boots or some sh*t like that. She was sweet as f*** at a distance, but as soon as you got within reach of those claws, it’s been one, she was going to f*** you up.

  Speaking of her f***ing some sh*t up…I may have left a few things out of our conversation yesterday, like the fact that she and I were now both employed by Joseph’s older brother, Judah and some branch of the government that I have yet to figure out.

  She was not going to like that; she’d told me a hundred times how much she was looking forward to retiring. At some point, I was going to have to tell her what the man with no shoes said about her.

  She was born to be a warrior. She didn’t know it, but that’s why she always got in trouble. She wanted to live a civilian life, but it wasn’t in her to do so. She just wasn’t wired that way.

  Silently, I approached as she stood at the sink and wrapped my arms around her waist pulling her back against me.

  Dear God, that felt so good. As I searched for her, I’d been worried to death. Like I said, my little thug misses had a tendency to get into trouble. All kinds of scenarios went through my head about what could have happened to her.

  She stiffened when she felt my arms around her and that sh*t hurt. She used to melt in my arms. I didn’t like this…

  I didn’t like the fact that it didn’t seem as if she needed me the way I needed her.

  “Mmmm, something smells good," I told her before I moved her hair to the side and gently kissed her neck.

  The way she sucked in her breath before a little moan escaped her throat told a different story. Maybe she did need me as much as I needed her and she was just playing hard to get.

  Women…

  Nahkti

  Be strong, Nak!

  Even though his soft lips on my neck felt so damn good and made other parts of me come awake wanting to feel his lips as well, I slid out of his arms. But as I did it, I made sure to rub my supple behind against his erection that he shamelessly pressed against me.

  A groan left his lips.

  “Uh oh…I’m sorry about that,” I told him as I picked up the lasagna and took it to the table.

  He chuckled with that knowing grin on his face as he sat at the table. “Yeah, I just bet you are.”

  Once I got the food situated on the table, I slid in the chair across from him and watched as he looked around for more food.

  I had to bite my jaw not to laugh. “What’s the matter? What are you looking for?”

  “Where is the meat?”

  I shook my head. “We don’t eat meat, sweetheart, we’re vegetarians.”

  His surprised gaze came back to me…

  Damn! This man was fine…

  “Since when were you a vegetarian? You just ordered tuna steak salad at the Ranch.”

  Hmmm… I did, didn’t I?

  I held my head up and shrugged… “Since today.” Me going vegetarian was a small price to pay to get him eating healthy again.

  He arched a doubting eyebrow at me and reached for the knife to cut the lasagna and for some reason, I embodied his mom and popped his hand.

  “We say grace around these parts before we eat our food.”

  He chuckled. “Since when? You’re a little savage heathen.”

  My mouth opened insulted. “I am not.” I stood from the table and went to the room for my little Bible, then I came and plopped it on the table in front of him.

  “You’re not the only one that has been studying, Mr…” I opened it to show him my highlights and notes. “Look, I’ve even taken notes.” I was very proud of myself.

  He stared at it for a minute, the amusement left his face. “Nak…I have to tell you something.”

  I shook my head, I was on a roll. “Not before we pray.”

&n
bsp; Closing my eyes, I bowed my head. “Dear Heavenly Father,” I said repeating after Rome’s mom. “We come before you today to give thanks.”

  I spent a good while giving thanks in my prayer because although I thought my life was so bad, it wasn’t. God has been good to me; I was just too blind to see it. I thanked him for bringing Rome, his family, Jo, and the Oldman out of that situation safely. I’ve seen enough carnage in the field to know that could have gone much different. They all could be dead right now and I wouldn’t have known because I’d ran away to Brazil to have a pity party.

  “And finally, Father, I’d like to thank you for allowing my life to settle down in peace…it feels good. All these things we pray in the name of your son, Yahusha HaMashiach …Selah.”

  Something else I got from Rome’s mom.

  When I opened my eyes, Rome was looking at me in wonder. “You spoke Hebrew.”

  With a huge grin on my face, because I felt like a million bucks, I nodded. Instead of telling him the truth, that I got that from his mom, I decided to nail the fact that I was not a heathen in his face.

  “Yeah, well, that all comes with studying the Bible, right?” I said nonchalantly.

  And then before he could ask any more questions that I surely didn’t have the answers to, I cut the spinach lasagna.

  “Oh…what did you have to tell me?”

  He thought for a moment before he shook his head. “Nothing… just that it feels good to be eating healthy again. I’m really glad we’re here.”

  I didn’t know if here meant sitting at the dinner table or us being at this point in our relationship, but I was really glad we were here too.

  After dinner, Rome helped me clean the kitchen and somehow managed to accidentally rub against me and bump into me so that he had to wrap his arm around my waist to catch me many times.