* * *
Nico pulled out of Eve and then flipped her onto all fours. Eve instinctively arched her back, exposing her pussy to Nico. He looked down and considered shoving his thick cock deep inside her. Eve’s delicious looking exposed pussy was too great of a temptation for Nico to ignore.
* * *
He bent his face between Eve’s legs and first stuck his tongue out between her pussy lips. Eve gasped and attempted to wriggle her legs away. Nico held her still and began to allow his tongue to lap against her pussy lips passionately.
* * *
Eve moaned and thrust her hips back to meet Nico’s tongue. He drove his tongue far between her pussy lips and swirled it around until Eve was going mad with desire to cum. He suckled on her pussy lips until that climax finally took over her body.
* * *
“YES! YES!” Eve cried out.
* * *
As she trembled in pleasure, Nico stuck his cock between her thighs. Eve cried out as the size stretched her wetness out yet again. She arched her back to allow him deeper access to her pussy. Nico began to thrust into her pussy hard and fast. He gripped Eve’s hips tightly as she moaned and pushed her hips back to meet him.
* * *
“Cum again for me baby…”
* * *
“Yes! Yes!” Eve moaned.
* * *
She obliged, and quickly reached a second climax. Nico couldn’t hold back much longer. He squeezed Eve’s thick fertile hips and then grunted as he released. Eve felt his massive cock twitching between her legs. Already, she was craving more of him. Eve started to worry she was getting addicted to that thing between Nico’s legs.
* * *
He pulled out of her and then cleaned up. As he moved across her bedroom, Eve found herself ogling at Nico. Who was this guy really? On one level, she felt like it didn’t matter. On another level, Eve worried that she was getting herself into a boat load of trouble that she wouldn’t be able to handle.
* * *
Nico ran his hands through his facial hair a couple of times, enjoying the stubble beneath his finger tips. He looked at Eve who had now covered herself with her blanket. She looked at him so curiously, he almost wanted to just spill every detail of his life to her. But there were some aspects of his past that would take a hell of a lot more explaining than Nico was willing to do.
* * *
He joined Eve in bed. She lay her head on his shoulders. The small act of intimacy felt almost as bonding as their morning romp had.
* * *
“Well, what do you want to know about me?”
* * *
He asked the question despite knowing there were some questions he flat out couldn’t answer.
* * *
“You’re Italian?”
* * *
Nico laughed, “Yes. Of course. But you already knew that. I lived in America as a child and teenager. I spent most of my adult life in Italy. But recently, I’ve had to come back.”
* * *
Eve could see that he didn’t want her to ask “why”, even if that was the most pressing question on her mind. She leaned forward and pressed her lips to his, regardless of whether it was a good idea or not. She kissed him again deeply, thrusting her tongue into his mouth and grazing it against his.
* * *
Nico pulled away and replied, “I’m thirty-seven years old. I’ve never been married. I work for myself. I like Italian wine and I abhor smoking.”
* * *
“What else is there? You said you lived here?”
* * *
Nico nodded.
* * *
“Grew up in Boston. North End.”
* * *
Eve smiled, “It figures.”
* * *
“Yes, I’m your stereotypical Italian. Dark hair, light eyes, stunning good looks, Catholic to boot…”
* * *
“Mafia?” Eve offered, raising an eyebrow.
* * *
She knew it was a risky thing to say. She knew that Nico could just shut down the moment that he heard it. But he didn’t shut down he just smiled.
* * *
“I don’t consider myself mafia.”
* * *
“I don’t believe you,” Eve said.
* * *
Nico sighed, “Fine. It’s complicated. Is that good enough for you?”
* * *
Eve looked at him; Nico looked at her. They both chuckled. It wasn’t good enough for her.
* * *
“Fine. I’ll explain a little bit. I’m trying to break free. I’m trying to leave it behind.”
* * *
“Bullshit.”
* * *
“Bullshit?”
* * *
“Yeah,” Eve said, “I call bullshit. If you really wanted to leave, you’d leave.”
* * *
“I could say the same about you,” Nico offered.
* * *
“Excuse me?”
* * *
“I saw all the travel magazines downstairs. You’ve been thinking about leaving, but you can’t either.”
* * *
“That’s different.”
* * *
“Oh?”
* * *
“I don’t do anything dangerous,” Eve said.
* * *
Nico replied, “Yes you do. You lied to Giuseppe.”
* * *
And Eve snapped into her present fear once again. Nico had a point. She had gotten herself embroiled in something dangerous. There was a chance that she and Nico were just the same people at different points in their journey. Perhaps he’d just made a mistake like hers.
* * *
Nico’s phone rang thrice.
* * *
He checked it.
* * *
“It’s from D.”
* * *
“Who?”
* * *
“My cousin…”
* * *
“Oh…”
* * *
“At least it seems to be. He says he’s in trouble. Eve… I need to go.”
* * *
Eve stood up and wrapped her arms around Nico. What she felt was crazy. Every cell in her body was urging her to beg him to stay, even if it was unnecessary and even if it made no sense. Nico kissed her lips gently and then pulled away.
* * *
“Come back?” Eve asked.
* * *
“I’ll try.”
* * *
He ran downstairs and then he was gone just as quickly as he’d come. Eve looked out her window worried as she watched him running down her block as fast as he could go. Eve knew she was in trouble and that she’d have a hell of a time getting out of it.
* * *
When he was gone, Eve tidied her house and then took a shower. She almost didn’t want to scrub Nico’s scent off her body. Once she was clean, Eve decided that she was going to just accept her attraction to Nico. He was strong, he had the commanding demeanor of a real masculine guy and he had been there for her when she needed him. There was no need to overthink it.
* * *
At this point too, Eve had no choice but to trust Nico. He was right when he’d pointed out that she’d done something very dangerous by lying to Giuseppe. She’d done something dangerous by sleeping with him too. She’d mixed herself up in problems she had no business in and getting out of Boston was only getting more complicated.
* * *
Eve hoped that she wasn’t wrong for placing all this trust in Nico. He had proven that he could go out of his way to protect her, but if he wasn’t as nefarious as Giuseppe, how could he ever hope to stand up to him? Eve just prayed that she’d fall off the radar soon. Maybe this young Italian boy would be found by the right people and everything would just die down.
* * *
Eve had a sneaking suspicion this was just wishful thinking on her part, but she needed that wishful thinking. She nee
ded to believe that everything would be alright. She needed to believe that the fate of the two teenagers found gutted in the park would be a fate she could avoid. She needed to believe that whatever chemistry she had with Nico was pure lust — lust that would disappear.
* * *
Eve tried to make herself believe all the half-truths or lies that she needed to. It was the only way to keep sane in her ever changing world.
5
Unwelcome Visitor
May 2017
* * *
Two weeks had passed. Eve had been closing up shop early. Everyone in the city understood that. She’d seen Nico a couple times, but each time was filled with hasty love making. Nico still gave very few details about his life. Sometimes, Eve noticed he’d have a bruise on his shoulder. She would notice puffiness around his eyes like he’d been fighting. But Nico refused to tell her anything. There were some parts of his life that he wanted to protect Eve from.
* * *
Eve could sense that her feelings for Nico were growing and that his feelings for her were growing two. They both wanted to do normal things, not just meet up under the cover of night. They wanted to go on a normal date. But neither of them asked because they knew that was just out of the question. Nico didn’t lead a normal life — and that determined everything that they did.
* * *
Eve didn’t know how to tell anyone in her life that she was seeing someone and she didn’t know if she should tell anyone anyway. Once they asked “what does he do for a living”, Eve would be stuck. She hated thinking about the truth, but the truth was that Nico was in the mafia. He was a criminal, even if he didn’t feel like a criminal from the way he talked to her, from the way he stroked her hair.
* * *
But the truth was, he had a dark past. Eve could see it behind his blue eyes, in the way he winced when she asked certain questions. In the way he tossed and turned in bed with her, thinking she was too fast asleep to notice his mind’s endless whirring. Eve knew that she loved him. She knew that she’d fallen in love with him from the moment he’d first pressed his lips to her skin. But that love was in limbo. She couldn’t move forward, not when there was so much danger all around her. Not when she didn’t know who Nico was when he wasn’t in her bed.
* * *
The neighborhood was starting to change as the mafia’s infectious tendrils slithered into the neighborhood’s economy. Non-Italian family restaurants in prime locations became the victims of mysterious fires. There were whispers of murder threats and plots to take over local politics. Giuseppe had his hand in every pot and he was feasting on the fear his presence created. Even Eve wasn’t above it. If it weren’t for Nico’s protection, she might have closed up shop entirely and lived on her savings. Eve had the sense she was being followed sometimes just walking during the day. Eve was sure it was Giuseppe, keeping an eye on her.
* * *
But she wouldn’t see Domenico again, she was sure of it. Nico had found the boy. He must have. Eve tried not to ask him about those sorts of things. She hated reminders of the life he was involved in. She dreamed of persuading Nico to leave the city and leave the life he led behind. She didn’t think he would.
* * *
Gangsters never change. Eve thought to herself, wondering how she could have allowed herself to fall for a man so different from her in every way.
* * *
When Eve had walked to work on a particularly sunny day, she noticed the charred remains of one of the burnt restaurants. Thick sheets of plywood had been clumsily hammered across the windows to prevent theft of whatever remained inside the former restaurant. This place wasn’t too far from her candy store. One wrong move, and she could be one of the hapless business owners receiving pitying looks as they walked down the street.
* * *
The morning at Eve’s store was busy. Her intermittent hours meant more people were desperate for fudge, candies, cake and now hot chocolate, tea and coffee. Eve had been so swept up in her bizarre infatuation that she’d forgotten the new machine she’d ordered that upgraded her candy store to a small café. Her expanded inventory played a part in her shop’s new appeal.
* * *
In the afternoon, Eve spotted a man across the street. Giuseppe. Just seeing him sent chills down her spine. He dressed in all black with a long wool peacoat despite the fact that spring was warming up fast. Eve prayed he wouldn’t come towards her shop, but she already had a sense that was the precise reason he’d come. She took a deep breath in. No matter what, Giuseppe was a citizen of the neighborhood just like everyone else. He was bold, but he wouldn’t harm her in broad daylight. He had enough self-interest to restrain himself.
* * *
When he pushed the door open to her store, Eve smiled like she was any other customer.
* * *
“Good afternoon! Welcome, what I can I get for you.”
* * *
Eve tried to hide her surprise as Giuseppe returned her customer-service-smile with a big smile of his own.
* * *
“Hot chocolate my dear and a piece of hazelnut fudge. It’s my favorite kind.”
* * *
Eve made the hot chocolate for Giuseppe.
* * *
“Whipped cream?”
* * *
“Yes, dear, grazie,” Giuseppe replied.
* * *
Eve squirted the whipped cream into a delightful cone and handed it to Giuseppe. He smiled and took his fudge too, sitting down on one of the little tables Eve had set up in the middle of her store.
* * *
“Will you come join me Eve?”
* * *
Eve was scared to say no but equally scared to leave her register unmanned.
* * *
“Uh…”
* * *
“If you have customers, you can attend to them.”
* * *
She took off her apron and joined Giuseppe.
* * *
“This hot chocolate is very good Eve,” He said with a smile.
* * *
His friendliness made Eve even more uneasy than aggression would have. Perhaps Giuseppe really had nothing on her. Perhaps she had gotten away with lying to the boss of the mafia and he was genuinely here for a chat.
* * *
He threatened to sell you, don’t let your guard down. Eve warned herself.
* * *
“Thank you. It’s my mama’s recipe.”
* * *
“Right. Your mother does not live within Boston, no?”
* * *
“No. She doesn’t.”
* * *
“Does she miss you?”
* * *
Eve shrugged, “I think so.”
* * *
“Parents always miss their children. Especially when their children are adults. We miss the time when they were so small… and cared for no one in the world but us.”
* * *
“You have kids?” Eve asked before she knew why she was asking.
* * *
Giuseppe smiled and took a big sip of his hot chocolate.
* * *
“Yes. I have two sons. Twin boys, Nico and Luca.”
* * *
Eve’s heart was pounding.
* * *
Luca R.
* * *
Nico R.
* * *
They were brothers and Giuseppe was their father. It was a little detail that Nico had failed to mention. The man he had made an enemy of was his own father. Eve wondered if he’d lied about anything else or more likely, what else he had lied about.
* * *
Mad Mafia Love Page 7