Like her.
It was in that moment I realized I loved her. Somewhere, somehow, I’d fallen in love with her.
But my debt to her was greater than anything I felt, any hurt or loss I’d experience. And because of that debt, I would never say those words aloud, not to her, not to anyone. She’d been locked away most of her life. All of her brief adult life. I was the only man she’d known—a cruel trick of fate. If I said the words, I knew what would happen. Lucia would mistake survival for love. Because right now, she needed me to survive. To survive my family. To survive the war that I’d mistakenly thought over. I would stay alive for her. I would fight for her. I would do everything in my power to save her. Nothing else mattered, not even my own life. Everything from this point forward would be for her.
“I want to make love to you, Lucia.”
She looked at me, confused, although her body began to prepare. I could see it in the slight dilation of her pupils, the stiffening of her nipples, the parting of her lips.
“I want you to want it. I want you to give me the word. Up until now, I’ve taken it from you.”
“Salvatore—”
I held up my hand. “I’ve taken it.”
She touched my arm. “Salvatore—”
I moved to stop her from speaking. She combed her fingers into the hair at my forehead and tugged.
“You’re so damn stubborn.”
She leaned in to kiss me, her mouth soft, her tongue sweet as it probed my lips. She pulled back and looked at me, swallowing.
“I want it. I want you. Make love to me, Salvatore.”
I wrapped her in my arms and kissed her, lifting her up as I stood, cradling her to me, carrying her to the door of my study. Our lips still locked, we entered. I took her to the couch, sat her on it, and kneeled before her between her spread knees. Her eyes on mine, she pulled first her top, then her sports bra off, her round breasts settling into place, the nipples already tight. I worked her other shoe off her foot and then slipped my fingers into the waistband of her shorts and panties. She lifted up a little, allowing me to drag them down and off so she sat before me naked.
“Spread your legs wider and lean back,” I said, tugging my shirt off.
She did as I said, opening herself wide, leaning back, offering me her pussy. With my thumbs on either side of her lips, I opened her farther and brought my mouth to her, licking her length once before taking her clit into my mouth, still watching her as she leaned her head back and closed her eyes.
“Fuck, Salvatore, I love that.”
I sucked, pulling her toward me so her ass hung off the couch. I pushed one finger inside her, and when she tightened her muscles around it, I stopped sucking, licking her clit instead, teasing it. She opened her eyes.
“You like when I eat your pussy?”
She nodded and tried to drag my head back.
I smiled. “Greedy girl.” I stood, rid myself of my clothes, and stroked myself, loving how she watched me, her hungry eyes never leaving me.
“I want to suck your cock, Salvatore.”
Placing my knees on either side of her on the couch, I straddled her and brought myself to her mouth. She took my cock in her hands, sliding one beneath to cup me, and opened her mouth, licking the tip before taking me into her hot, wet mouth.
“Fuck, Lucia, I love you sucking my cock.” I rocked my hips against her, moving slowly, relishing the wet heat of her on my swelling dick until I needed to fuck her faster. I pulled out then and lay her on her back on the couch before taking the leg she hadn’t hurt and pushing it back so I could see all of her. “I love looking at you too, at your dripping pussy.” I rocked myself into her, sucking in a breath as I did. “Knowing it belongs to me.”
“Hard, please.”
I shook my head. “Not yet.” I moved slowly, taking my time, penetrating her deeply before sliding out, feeling every inch of her until she nearly screamed for me to make her come.
“Please, Salvatore!”
“I want something else today,” I said, pulling out fully and going to my desk.
She lifted her head, her expression confused, annoyed. I opened one of the drawers and found what I wanted, a bottle of lotion.
She looked at it, then at me. “What?”
I took the lid off and squeezed some of the scentless cream onto my hand, coating my cock in it while she watched. It took all the restraint I had not to shoot my load right then and there while fucking my palm.
“What do I want?” I asked, smearing more of the lotion on myself.
She nodded. I pulled her good leg out, bent it at the knee, and pushed it toward her chest. I then squeezed half the bottle of lotion onto the flat of her belly.
“I want to fuck your ass.”
Her eyes went wide, and she opened her mouth, but I stopped her, dipping one finger into the lotion and taking the tip of it to her asshole.
“I think you’ll like it,” I said, circling the tight, virgin ring, smearing lotion all over it. “But first, I’m going to fill your sexy little hole with this.” I dipped my finger in the lotion again, and she watched, a slight flush to her cheeks, caution in her eyes alongside the curiosity.
After several times circling, I pressed against the hole, and she gasped as my lubricated fingertip penetrated. I waited, watching her face as she took it, relaxing enough a few moments later so that I could press deeper.
She sucked in a breath and gripped the side of the couch. I moved slowly until she was taking the length of one finger easily in and out of her tight little ass. I then pulled out to dip my finger into more of the lotion and repeated.
“You like my finger fucking your ass, Lucia?”
She made some sound and averted her gaze before giving me the smallest nod.
“No, look at me. I want to watch you take me.” I slid a second finger in, causing her to tighten all her muscles again, her eyes wide on mine. “Take it.” I thrust a little harder, then circled inside her, smearing lotion along her walls. “When I fuck your asshole properly, I’m going to watch you take me then too. I’m going to watch you when you stretch and come and I’m going to watch you when I fill you with my seed.”
“Salvatore, I…”
“Wait, Lucia. Wait until my cock is inside you before you come.” I pulled both fingers out and smeared the last of the lube onto them, dipping them back into her more easily now. “That’s it, it feels good, right?”
She nodded.
“When your ankle is healed, I’m going to have you bend over my desk and bare your ass. You’re going to like this so much that when I tell you to beg me to fuck your ass, you’re going to do it. You’re going to spread yourself wide and arch your back and beg me to fill your ass with my cock.”
“I can’t…I’m coming.”
She closed her eyes, and the walls of her ass clenched around my fingers. I watched her come, watched her slide one hand to her clit and rub herself as she moaned, her pussy leaking, my fingers thrusting in and out of her ass.
“Bad girl,” I said once she’d come down. I pulled my fingers out of her and lifted both her legs up, pressing them against her sides to make taking my cock easier. “I’m thicker than my fingers, but we’ll go slow until you’re ready.”
She nodded.
“Touch your clit, Lucia. Make yourself come again, this time with my cock inside your ass.”
She did as I said, rubbing herself slowly as I lined up the head of my cock against her asshole and slowly began to push into her, taking my time, stopping when her muscles tightened, watching her face, feeling her body to know when she was ready for more.
“Salvatore, it’s too big. It hurts.”
“Shh. Relax. Open for me.” I moved in and out of her, one inch at a time, slowly rocking my hips, wanting to drive into her but holding back until she came again. I was about two-thirds of the way in.
“Fuck, Salvatore!”
This orgasm took her more violently, her walls clenching, relaxing, opening for
me to fill her fully.
“God, you’re so fucking tight.” I held myself deep inside her for a moment, knowing I wouldn’t last long. When I began to move, she cried out, her fingers still working her clit, another orgasm on the heels of the last until she called out my name. The sound of my name on her lips, the feel of her around me, took me over the edge until my cock throbbed and I emptied inside her, filling her, owning her, owning every part of her.
I sat in the tub with Lucia between my legs, her bandaged ankle resting on the edge. We’d barely settled in when Marco barged into my bedroom, calling out my name, probably only stopping when he realized from the pile of clothes I’d dumped just inside the doorway that I wasn’t alone.
“Shit. Sorry.”
“Give me twenty minutes,” I called out.
“It’s urgent.”
I glanced at Lucia. Marco wasn’t one to cry wolf.
“I’ll be right back,” I said to her as I climbed out I settled her against the back of the tub.
“What’s urgent?” she asked.
I dried off and wrapped a towel around my hips. “No idea.” I went into the bedroom. One look at Marco told me this was bad. “What is it?”
He glanced toward the bathroom. I followed his gaze, then walked over closer to him.
“What’s happened, Marco?” I asked more quietly, so Lucia wouldn’t hear.
“There’s been a shooting.”
My entire body tightened. “Who?”
“Luke DeMarco. He’s being airlifted to Bellevue Hospital right now.”
“Fuck.”
“What’s happened, Salvatore?” I turned to find Lucia wrapped in a towel, hopping on one leg, leaning her weight against the wall.
“It’s Luke.” I went to her, put her arm over my shoulder, and propped her up by her waist. “He’s been shot.”
“Oh my God! Is he okay?”
“Not sure yet.”
“I have to call Izzy. She wasn’t there, was she?”
“I don’t know.”
“Shit, my phone is downstairs.”
“Here,” Marco said, handing her his.
She looked at him as if she were surprised, but took it and dialed.
A knock came at the door. Rainey peeked her head inside and held up the crutches Dr. Mooney had ordered.
“Already here,” she said, her smile fading when she saw the looks on our faces.
“Thank you, Rainey,” I said, taking them from her. “Maybe you can make us all a pot of coffee.”
Lucia looked up at me. “I’m on my way, Izzy,” she said into her phone. “I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She hung up.
“Salvatore, I have to go to them.”
I nodded. “We’ll get dressed and go.”
Lucia blushed, and Marco and Rainey awkwardly left the room. I went into her bedroom and chose some clothes: a dress and a sweater in case it was cool at the hospital. I helped her get her clothes on before getting dressed myself. I handed her the crutches that had just been delivered.
“Thanks.”
Since she had never used crutches before—and there was no time to practice—I ended up carrying Lucia down the stairs—it was just faster that way—and asked Marco to follow us.
“Did your sister know anything?” I asked Lucia once we were in the car and on our way.
“No. Only that he was in critical condition. He took two bullets, one to the stomach, the other in his shoulder. She’s a mess.”
I checked my watch. “It’s about an hour’s drive from here without traffic.”
“Crap.”
My mind raced with thoughts of who’d done it, and I couldn’t shake the feeling the assailant was closer to home than I’d like once I’d learned the truth. But we’d deal with that if and when we had to. Right now, I had to get Lucia to the hospital and find out what the hell was going on.
18
Lucia
Salvatore made call after call as he drove us to the hospital, first to his uncle, then to Marco who tailed us, then to Dominic. Dominic didn’t pick up his call. He also arranged for security to be added to the hospital, for which I was grateful.
I tried Isabella twice but never got hold of her. With traffic, by the time we got to the hospital, it was well over an hour later. Salvatore’s phone rang once more just as he parked the car. He checked the display, and I glimpsed the name. It was his father.
“I have to take this.”
I nodded, opening my door and setting my crutches outside. What a time to sprain my ankle!
“Marco,” Salvatore called out once Marco had parked his car. “Take Lucia upstairs, and stay with her until I get there.”
Marco nodded and took my arm, helping me out of the car.
“I got it,” I snapped, hating feeling helpless. I glanced at Salvatore, who walked away with the phone to his ear. Marco followed me into the hospital. At reception, I found out where they’d taken Luke. I went as quickly as I could to the trauma unit and found Isabella holding Effie’s hand, her face one of frustration and worry, her eyes weary and red.
“Izzy.”
She turned, a look of relief quickly replaced by surprise at my state.
“It’s nothing, just a sprain. I fell while running.”
She got up, and we hugged.
“Aunt Lucia, are you hurt too?” Effie asked.
“I’ll be okay. It’s just a sprain, kiddo.” I gave her a hug then turned to Izzy, who was watching Marco talk to two other men I just noticed.
“Salvatore?” she asked, gesturing toward them.
I nodded. “He wanted security for Luke and for us.
She snorted. “He’s probably the one who put Luke in here!”
“Wait. No, he was with me.”
She rolled her eyes. “Don’t be so naive, Lucia. All he has to do is give the word!”
“Mama?”
Izzy wiped away a tear and looked down at her daughter.
“Let’s calm down.” I touched my sister’s shoulder, and she sighed.
“Sorry, honey. It’s fine,” she told Effie. “Everything’s going to be fine.”
“Uncle Luke is hurt,” she said to me.
“I know. Hey, I saw a vending machine just around the corner.” I dug into my purse and found my wallet, took out some dollar bills, and handed them to her. “Go get us some chocolate bars, okay?”
She looked at her mom, who nodded.
“Marco, will you keep an eye on her?” I asked.
“Of course.”
Wow, this was a different Marco than the inflexible man I’d met thus far.
“Here, some sodas too.” I handed Effie more money to keep her busy. She went with Marco. “Let’s sit down. Tell me what happened,” I said to Isabella once Effie was out of earshot.
“He was at the stupid bowling alley,” she started, taking a crumpled-up tissue out of her purse and wiping her dripping eyes. “He always goes there in the mornings, so the bastards knew where to find him. He’d just gone to get a cup of coffee, and two guys came in and opened fire.”
“Jesus.”
“The owner who was working the bar took a bullet in his arm. He’ll be okay.”
“Anyone else hurt?”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Any idea who?”
She shook her head. “They wore ski masks.”
“I guess they would. Why do you think it was Salvatore’s men?” I asked.
She shook her head with a flat look in her eyes. “Who else but someone from the Benedetti family.” She turned her attention to digging for something in her purse.
“Dominic is part of that family,” I said, watching her.
She glanced up, her lips narrow, her face tight.
“He was at your house the other night.”
She stood. “This isn’t the time, Lucia.”
“What was he doing there?” I asked, following her, the crutches an irritating nuisance.
She kept her back to me, shaking he
r head, watching Effie push buttons on the vending machine.
“Izzy, what’s going on?”
She faced me finally. “A big fucking mess, that’s what.”
“Are you having an affair with Dominic Benedetti?”
Izzy threw her arms up into the air. “There you go again, another affair. First it was Luke, now it’s Dominic? Excuse me, sis, but I’m not going to justify that with an answer.”
“Ms. DeMarco?” a doctor called out, rounding the corner.
“Yes?” Isabella went to him, and I followed, hobbling behind her.
“Your cousin’s injuries are very serious. We’re operating now, but it will be several hours. I can’t speak to the outcome just yet.”
“He can’t die,” she started, her eyes watering, her voice desperate. “You can’t let him die.”
The doctor looked to be immune to her emotion. Probably so used to doling out bad news, it just didn’t faze him anymore.
“Mommy, I got you a Snickers bar,” Effie started, coming back toward us with the candy bars, Marco behind her carrying cans of soda, looking as much out of place following her as possible. It would have been comical if we weren’t standing in a hospital waiting room with Luke in critical condition a few doors down.
“What did you get for me?” I asked, lifting her up and turning her away while Izzy wiped her tears.
“A Twix. Same as me.”
“I love Twix. Good choice.”
“I thought you might.”
“I’ll check in with you as soon as I have some information, but it will be several hours before he’ll be out of surgery,” the doctor said.
I watched them. Izzy nodded her head. When I set Effie down, she went to her.
“Here, mommy.” She held out the candy.
Isabella took it then hugged the little girl. “I love you, honey.”
“It’s just a Snickers,” Effie said, confused, and tried to squirm out of the tight squeeze.
Salvatore walked in just then, and I felt an immediate sense of relief. His expression, however, showed how preoccupied he was. Isabella glared at him, but he watched her with concern.
“What are you doing here? Not enough that you had to attend my father’s funeral? You had to come see this too?”
Salvatore: a Dark Mafia Romance Page 17