Being In Love (Siri's Saga Book 5)

by Cindee Bartholomew

  When Zita spots them, she leaves Oriana and Augustus to greet them with big hugs and double cheek kisses. She is obviously very happy to see them and I grin, watching the family interact. Aurei whispers in my ear. "Zita grew up with Milo. She considers him more like a brother than a first cousin."

  "It’s obvious they have a special bond."

  Antonio also stops by to shake hands. His wife, Gio, who I notice is out of shape from bearing children, gives Aurei a cold bitch glare, ignores me completely and continues past us. Angelo stops to speak with Mia. She smiles at us both, but it’s definitely fake and she doesn’t hang around to be formally introduced to me. "Gio doesn’t like you at all and Mia is still very mad at you." I tell Aurei when Antonio and Angelo join their wives at the next table.

  "Affirmative." He says without any emotion attached to it.

  Zita takes her champagne flute and holds it high in the air. The conversations die down as everyone takes theirs. When all is quiet, she proposes the same simple toast Aurei did earlier. "To Big Al!"

  "To Big Al!" Everyone salutes him, then takes a drink and begins to sit. The noise level escalates immediately with people speaking to each other, and all the chairs sliding on the tile floor.

  Aurei winks at me as he pulls my chair out, waits for me to get the train on my dress lined up properly, then he helps me sit, and slides my chair under me. I pick the table cloth up and lay in on my lap so I don’t expose my pantylessness to the world, or Augustus. I’m positive he would look. When Aurei takes his seat next to me, he turns and grins. I smile sweetly at him and he leans over to me, putting one hand on the back of my chair and the other on my leg. As he approaches for a simple peck, my eyes grow more and more wicked. His reflects mine and he lets his hand slip under the tablecloth. I hear his throat hum and a sexy smile plays on my lips as his fingertips slip under the hem of my gown, checking my blue heart. I moan for him as soon as they touch and our eyes are locked on each other as he plants a smashing, hard kiss against them and he pushes the tip of his finger down to tickle me. The combo almost makes me come unglued and I struggle not to show what I’m feeling. As he pulls back, leaving both pairs of my lips saturated, I dart for his bottom lip before he gets out of range, and suck it hard, capturing it for just a second. Knowing he felt that all the way down to his tip too, I grin at him when I see a small flash of thunder.

  "There. We are even, Steven." I tell him, making him laugh and the thunder dissipates. I twinkle at him as his hand comes out from under the fabric to rest on my thigh.

  "You think so?"

  "Ummhmm."

  He leans back in his chair, and wipes my nonexistent lipstick off his lips.

  Oh! You rascal! My eyes narrow, trying to pretend I didn’t just see him lick my juice off his finger. Then he has the audacity to announce as he cuts his eyes at me and I have to look away to keep from giggling. "Umm. I’m so hungry."

  Vanessa responds in broken English with a heavy accent. "I’m hungry too. I hope we have fried chicken. It is my favorite."

  Aurei can’t resist and he tells her, "Siri’s my favorite. Finger licking good!"

  She just smiles, nods and agrees with him.

  I almost die! Looking down, my shoulders shake and then my head when his wicked crinkle eyes turn on me. "You didn’t just say that."

  "What? You do taste a little like chicken." His tongue touches the corner of his mouth, then slides across to the other side. He teases me so terribly with it, I can’t help but lick mine. Then I wipe my lips and we both chuckle at my inability to control my watering mouth. Then he offers his finger. "Want to taste?" And we both bust out laughing.

  I swat his hand away. "You better behave."

  He catches my hand and his eyes laugh evilly at me as he pulls it slowly to his lips. I try to resist, but it’s held in a vice grip. He continues teasing me as he starts to nibble on them. "Umm. Hot and spicy chicken."

  I squirm and want to pinch him, but I can’t because he doesn’t have any exposed skin in his monkey suit, so I lean toward him and say with a face full of hot and spicy, sassy attitude. "I taste more like Gong Bao Chicken, Buddy Boy." But I intentionally botch the pronunciation and it sounds more like Gun Pow.

  He throws his head back and laughs loud, making me bust into giggles too. Then I snatch my hand back and smile sweetly at everyone at the table, staring and smiling at us.

  Determined not to encourage him anymore, I turn to Augustus. Thankfully he offers to make small talk. Probably rescuing me.

  "Siri, have you had the opportunity to see the Arena yet?"

  "Yes. It is crucial! I can’t wait to watch the performances tomorrow!" I intentionally twist in my chair to face him and turn my back on Aurei. He pulls my hair and I blink, but continue to ignore him anyway.

  Augustus smiles. "It will be quite entertaining. You never know what will happen."

  I feel Aurei’s heat as he nears my shoulder. Then I hear his singsong voice laughing at me when he whispers, "Are you ignoring me?"

  "Ummhmm." I humor him without letting my conversation with Augustus be interrupted.

  "You’re forgetting something very important."

  I hear his lips open, expecting a sweet kiss. "I don’t play fair."

  "Hmph!" I sass him without changing my expression or moving my lips.

  "I don’t get even. I get ahead."

  "Oui," I flinch when he nips me with his teeth.

  Augustus’ face doesn’t show the amusement his eyes do, when I continue to ignore Aurei and keep him engaged in conversation. "You were saying?"

  Aurei chuckles softly then leans even closer and whispers loud enough in my ear that Augustus can hear. "Wild Thang, you never know what will happen."

  "Shush." I tell Aurei as my eyes twinkle to his cousin.

  "Don’t shush me." He singsongs again to me, "And don’t ignore me."

  I tilt my head to Augustus, clearing doing just that, and requesting he answer me.

  His eyes look at Aurei and he laughs.

  Now, Aurei is the one who says, "Hmph," making me grin.

  But then he boldly lays his hand on my leg, and rather than hide it under the table cloth, simply lets it slide down between them in full view of his cousin.

  My eyes flare and widen with my embarrassed shock. OMG! Bold Beast of a Bear! I quickly cross my legs to trap his hand before he goes too deep and totally embarrasses all of us, while I crinkle my nose at Augustus and tell him. "Ah.... Excuse me just a minute. Someone is desperate to tell me something super sweet." Lifting my leg was a tactical error. The carefully positioned train of my dress falls open and only Aurei’s hand blocks my nakedness from being exposed.

  Augustus looks down and his eyes linger. I am mortified and feel the flush of my skin as my face begins to turn red. He smirks, lifts his eyes to mine, then to Aurei’s and calmly turns back to Oriana.

  Aurei whispers in my ear. "You are beautiful when you blush."

  I cut my eyes at him. "For the love of Zeus! Behave!"

  He hums his throat sound in my ear. "Such an interesting find." He blows in it. "I like playing games with you, Siri Wright." Then his tongue touches the edges of my ear lobe and my breath locks in my throat. "You are my whore one minute and my good girl the next."

  "Is that what that was? A game?"

  "No, Angel Thang, that was proof."

  "Proof?" I turn to confront him, but my eyes meet Zita’s on the way. She was watching us and well aware of what was going on under her nose.

  Shit! I blush again. "Behave, your mother is watching us." I inform him, but when our eyes meet, his look tells me, he knew the good girl would dominate the whore and he wanted to make sure she knew too. "Oh, I understand now."

  His beautiful smile bursts across his face and his loving eyes devour mine.

  "That was Goddess training?"

  "Negative." His eyes grow serious and he commands softly. "Open your legs."

  "I will, but please behave." I open my legs.

 
He slowly pulls his hand away, then he lifts it to touch the side of my face gently. The soft caressing stroke makes my heart melt into a puddle right in front of anyone watching. "Thank you."

  "You’re welcome."

  He smiles again. "That was Goddess training."

  I smile and then grin. "Coupled with that fact that I had successfully pinned your hand with my pole dancer legs."

  We both laugh and he leans back in his chair. He looks around like a King surveying his court, then Vanessa engages him in conversation. He sits up in his chair and places his forearms on the table giving her his undivided attention. I look around and everyone is engaged in conversation with someone. Zita is talking to the head waiter now and Augustus is being the attentive husband while talking with Bob. I reach for my champagne flute and drain it. When I set it down, Aurei’s hand flips over and his palm opens, silently asking for mine. Without thought, I slide my fingers between his and he cinches us. He brings it to his lips and kisses it while he listens to Milo.

  The sweetest gesture ever!

  When he doesn’t let me go, I have to sit up in my chair too and join their conversation. Milo’s English is nearly perfect, but it makes me laugh listening to him because he talks with a heavy southern accent too. Aurei tells a very entertaining story about catching a big bass when he was fishing with Bob back in Alabama and how he fell overboard while trying to dip it up. Bob joins the conversation and tells his version and has everyone at our table laughing. I notice Zita’s eyes resting on us off and on during the conversation. Aurei holds my hand the entire time, not letting me go until we actually start to eat.

  The meal is steak and as I slice into mine, I frown and Aurei asks. "Is it cooked enough?"

  I open my mouth, insert steak, roll my eyes back and tell him. "It’s melting in my mouth."

  He smiles that 'sexy as heck' half smile as he takes a big bite and says, "I melt in your mouth too."

  "Is it Kobe beef?" I ask as I take another bite and let it melt in my mouth.

  "Ummhmm."

  As we eat, the noise in the room fluctuates with the conversations and laughter at the different tables. There are seven round tables that seat eight people and they are set in a horseshoe shape around a small dance floor. Our table is at the top of the horseshoe and we sit with our backs to it. I have to turn to scan the room and do a quick count. There are fifty-five here. I only see one empty seat and it’s at the table next to us. I realize I haven’t seen Quintus tonight, so he must be the missing person.

  When I reach for my glass of wine, Zita’s eyes lift from her plate and she smiles at me. Her eyes are filled with warmth. Suddenly it feels like I’m surrounded by family, not strangers. My hand finds Aurei’s leg under the table and I softly caress it. His gorgeousness falls peacefully on me. 'I love you dearly' my eyes tell him and his answer the same.

  Behind me, I hear the patio doors open. I turn my head to see who has come in and a man, apparently a DJ, enters the room carrying a small equipment case. He looks flustered and immediately sets about playing some easy listening music. When he has the music set, I see Zita nod and give him a little wave of acknowledgment. She is very much in charge and it’s a pleasure to watch a strong, confident and competent woman in control of her business. I can see why she and my mother are good friends.

  When the plates are cleared away, the waiter asks if we would like dessert. Aurei and I pass, then Aurei whispers to me. "I almost told him I was having your cherry colored nipples for dessert, but I figured he would want to have them too."

  "Don’t start!" I warn him and he chuckles as he pulls my chair closer to his. He puts his arm around the back of it.

  We sit and discuss music while everyone else is served. "How many songs do you have stored away in that beautiful mind?"

  "Oh I don’t know. Thousands, I guess."

  "Really?"

  "Yeah, I can hear a song once and remember the melody. I can hear it twice and remember the words."

  "How many times do you have to dance the choreography before you can perform it?"

  "Three or four to get a routine down perfect. It’s all about counting the beats and expressing the lyrics through your body. It’s like silent singing. It’s easiest when I relate to the song on a personal level."

  "Hmm. Are you a dance savant?"

  "Savant? Ha! No, I’m not that gifted or that smart. There are plenty of girls who are just as good if not better than me. They just haven’t had the breaks I did."

  "You’re forgetting I’ve seen you dance." His thumb strokes my back.

  I wink at him. "Karma has been good to me, but I was smart enough to capitalize on it."

  "Have you ever thought about moving into a different type of dance?"

  "Like what?"

  "Cirque Du Soleil?"

  "I’ve thought about it. Sure. It’s the ultimate venue. What Vegas dancer hasn’t? But I would never leave Bart or Cat. They are family." I look at his face and snuggle back under his arm. "I have the freedom as Seary to do whatever production I want. If I want to arrive on the stage in a swing, James will make it happen. Besides, why would I give up the fame and fortune of Surreal?"

  "Why don’t you sing at Been Jammin’s?"

  "It’s a strip club! The customers come to see you expose your flesh in small bite size pieces, not listen to someone sing about it."

  He laughs. "Fair enough. I know I wasn’t the least bit interested in your singing voice when I saw you come down that runway to "So Contagious." I turn my face to his again. This time for a butterfly kiss and he pecks my lips. "I was all about making you my Unforgettable Fantasy."

  I laugh and snuggle again.

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  We sit in silence for just a moment, then he says. "So let’s hear your Unforgettable Fantasy analysis of my family. Parents excluded, of course."

  "Of course." I giggle. "Parents don’t have sex."

  He chuckles. "Start with Antonio and Gio."

  "Okay." I turn to look at them and study their body language, confirming what I already sensed, then I lean up and rest my hands on the table, thinking. When I start speaking I’m in my guru zone, and I look down at my empty plate. "I see that Antonio is cold and distant to Gio. It goes beyond the surface. He is truly withdrawn from her. Although he is faithful to her heart, his body is no longer able to be. He has found solace with Yanni, but if it wasn’t Yanni, it would be someone else. Gio is cold to him, but it’s only because he took a mistress. She still loves him very much and she is very hurt."

  "But they agreed on that."

  I give him a small roll of my eyes and shake my head in disbelieve that he would actually believe that. "What else could she do when he asked? Say no?"

  "Yes."

  "No, Aurei. If she had said no, she would have lost him for sure. She was smart enough to realize that. She didn’t want to lose him. A mistress was a viable option." He frowns at them so I explain further. "She wishes he would never have asked."

  The light comes on. "Oh."

  "Yeah."

  "Is their marriage hopeless?" He frowns and leans forward to study me, resting his arms on the table too.

  "No. Their marriage is fine." I look at him as if he didn’t hear me.

  "But you said they aren’t happy being married to each other." He looks confused.

  "No, I didn’t say that. I said they aren’t happy with their relationship within their marriage. But they are happy being married to each other."

  "Ah!"

  "Unless something happens to change the dynamics of their relationship, they will more than likely continue to live like this for many years. Neither of them want a divorce."

  "Hmm."

  "You’re assuming everyone wants to be not only in love but happy with the one they are married to and vice versa, but when life happens and things change, a lot of people don’t find a way to keep being in love, or happiness, or both, alive. They let it go, but they don’t want to divorce either, so they live in m
ore of a partnership type arrangement. Which is very sad to me."

  "Hmm." He pushes a piece of hair off my face with his tender touch.

  "You asked for my Unforgettable Fantasy analysis of Antonio and Gio. I gave that to you, but you really want to know what Unforgettable Fantasy I would give them to help them."

  "I do."

  "This example will be just to demonstrate what I do so you will have a good idea. I read people’s sexual issues. Sometimes it’s really clear cut. Sometimes it’s well hidden." I smile at him. "Like mine and yours. We have learned to hide ours really deep."

  "Ummhmm." He smirks. "I like to hide my issue really deep in you."

  I roll my eyes. "Most everyone has a sexual tell like a poker tell that gives them away if you’re paying attention. I don’t go around looking for it, but I’m really good at reading people. When I do an Unforgettable Fantasy, I ask interview questions, and watch them as they answer, then I know where to go to work or what needs work. It’s hard to describe, but from there I construct a tailor made fantasy for them."

  "Okay. Now, you’re a savant."

  I smile and give him my Dr. Phil impression. "I prefer sexologist extraordinaire."

  He chuckles. "What fantasy would you recommend for them?"

  "For them as a couple?"

  "Affirmative."

  "Who asks for it?"

  He frowns and shrugs. I give him the look and he answers, "Gio, then. But what does that matter if it’s a couple’s fantasy?"

  "It helps to flush the issue out. But for this fantasy, we will assume they are both wanting it and both in on it."

  He nods.

  "Why are they in Vegas? Vacation, business, sports event?"

  "Say they are in Vegas celebrating a wedding."

  "And what outcome does Gio want to leave with? Does she want to leave Vegas with Antonio’s love again?"

  "Yes."

  "How many days do I have?"

  "What’s typical?"

  "Three days."

  His eyebrows raise surprised. "Three days then."