by Nicole Fox
Tonio shook his head. “I’m ashamed of what you’ve done, Bruno, and I’m ashamed of myself for not seeing it more clearly. You were the one who suggested to me in the first place that we legitimize our businesses. I thought you were looking out for our own interests, but I see now that you were just finding a way to weaken the Santoras. If we let go of our grasp on the city, then it would all be yours for the taking once you took over the Vincenzo family. You’re a liar and a cheat, and I’m sad that I ever called you my friend.” His pistol was out of its holster in a moment. Mack and Ray leaped aside. Three flashes and there were three matching holes in Bruno’s chest, spilling red liquid down the front of his shirt. Bruno gasped and looked up at his best friend as the light went out of his eyes.
My father waved his gun at the body. “Take care of that for me, would you?”
Mack and Ray instantly began making the preparations, while Big T’s heavy footsteps plodded up the stairs.
Chapter Twenty
Sophia
“You be good, okay? Don’t annoy Nana Carlita.” I bent down to give Christopher yet another hug and kiss. I had been able to spend so much time with him since we had moved in with Ciro that it was hard to let him go. Still, I knew he would be safe. There was no better place to leave him, and he refused to go without Jimbo. They would have a long evening of fun at the Santora mansion.
“He’s always wonderful,” Carlita assured me. She watched as Christopher ran off down the hall, out of earshot. “I never thought I would have a grandson who looked so much like my own little boy.”
“Mom, stop.” Ciro shifted uncomfortably. Even a bold, confident man like him could only take so many compliments, and they had been coming in swiftly now that everyone knew who Christopher’s father really was.
“I won’t,” she argued. “You’ve made a beautiful son together, and now I get to spoil him. You two go and have a good night. Why don’t you plan on just letting the little guy stay the night? Stay out as late as you want.” She looked so happy for us. She was a woman who had all the money in the world and a beautiful mansion to live in, but I had noticed how her demeanor had changed now that things were beginning to settle down. She was enjoying being a grandmother.
“Thank you. I think we could really use it.” I looked up at Ciro hopefully. “Call us if you need us for anything.”
We got back into the Jaguar and Ciro pulled onto the street. I watched him carefully in the corner of my eye, wondering if I was getting my hopes up. I couldn’t bear for them to be dashed again. It was nice of Ciro to want to take me out on a real date, but I knew I was going to have to find out the truth. There was no better time than now.
He’d made a reservation at Alongi’s for the best table in the house—a spacious booth secluded at the back of the restaurant and hidden from other diners by several tall, potted plants. It was just the sort of place the son of a Don might take his new wife. It was a nicer restaurant than I had been to in years, and I wasn’t about to complain.
“I know things have been rough, and I’m sure it’s been particularly hard on you,” he said once we had ordered. “I’m glad we have this chance to do something more normal.”
“Same here.” I took a sip of wine to prepare myself for the conversation to come. “Things have been strange for a long time, though. I spent the last several years looking at other people and wondering why they got to have such an easy life and I didn’t.”
He smiled. “I like to think that’s changed. There are plenty of women who would rather have your life now.”
I knew what he meant. I didn’t have to worry about paying bills. The small credit cards I had charged to the limit had been taken care of with a wave of Ciro’s hand. I had a new BMW in the garage, parked right between the Jag and the Mercedes. My clothes were new—not purchased from a thrift store—and they actually fit. How could I complain? “Still, I can’t help but think that I want something more.”
He looked at me warily. “What do you mean?”
I sighed. “My time with Joe was terrible. That’s no secret. Life with you, even with all the mafia business underfoot, is infinitely better. But I still wish that, this time, I’d had a chance to marry for love. No, it’s okay,” I said quickly to keep him from interrupting me. “I know you don’t love me. Carlita explained to me that you have other women in your life, and that you wouldn’t give them up just because you’ve been forced to take care of me. I appreciate everything you’ve done, and I don’t expect a real relationship from you. But I would like to know exactly where you stand, so that I’ll know where I stand as well.” I blinked. I had promised myself I wouldn’t cry. What was the point in crying over a mobster? But I loved him. Damn me, I loved him very much.
Ciro stared at me, his mouth open and his hand around the stem of his wine glass. The seconds seemed to tick slowly by, as though he had been frozen in time and might never recover. “My mother said what?”
“Don’t make me say it again. It’s been hard enough.”
He leaned against the back of the booth, his eyes wild as he thought things through. “My mother is a good woman,” he finally said. “She has seen a lot of awful things and she does her best to make up for that. She works at the soup kitchen in her free time and she reads to little kids at the library. She probably thought she was doing you a favor by explaining my life to you, so that you would know what you were getting into. I can’t believe she said that.” The last sentence was only a whisper.
“Look, I didn’t mean to make any trouble with you and your parents. If it was a secret, then you can pretend I never knew about it once we’re done with this conversation. But if I’m to be your wife, at least in name, then I need to know what you expect from me. I don’t mind sleeping in a different room and yet hanging on your arm when we go out. I understand if you want to live your own life, and I don’t expect you to change just for me.” I clamped my lips shut to stop the flood. I would never be able to stop talking if I let myself keep going.
Ciro reached across the table and grabbed my hands. “Sophia, don’t. Don’t even think that’s how I want the rest of our lives to be. My parents married for love, but it doesn’t mean they don’t have a good marriage. My mother was right in that I used to enjoy a bit of carousing. It went with the lifestyle, and I never found anyone I was interested in staying with. But it hasn’t been that way for a while, and especially not since I found you again. You were the one woman who made me stop and think that maybe all the late nights weren’t really worth it anymore, but I knew you were married. There was nothing I could do at that time, but there is now.”
My breath quickened. I wasn’t sure I was hearing him right. “So, you’re saying there isn’t anyone else?”
He smiled, a slow, sweet smile that melted my heart all over again. “No, Sophia, and there never will be. I don’t want to live my life separately from you. I want you in my bed with me, every night, snoring away.”
“I don’t snore!” I tried to pull my hands back, but his grip was too strong.
“Even if you do, I want you there. And I want you by my side when we go out, and I want you at home to greet me when I walk in the door.” He clutched harder at me, forcing me to understand.
“What if I want to get a job?” I asked, my eyebrow raised. I was testing him—teasing him—and I was making it seem like I was joking. On the inside, I felt desperately serious.
He shook his head. “Then, by all means, get a job. I want you to be happy. That’s the most important thing to me right now. Whatever it takes, you’ve got it. I love you, Sophia.”
The tears did stream now, and there was no way I could stop them. I grabbed a napkin to dab at them, trying not to remove my makeup. “You have no idea how much that means to me, Ciro. I love you, too.”
Ciro stood and leaned across the table to kiss me. We were hidden from the other customers, but I would have gladly kissed him in front of a whole crowd. His lips were warm and inviting, and a thrill of excitement shot thro
ugh my body. I had thought we would be sitting here hashing out the rules of our new lives, but there was no need. He felt the same way I did, which was more than I ever could have asked for.
Someone cleared their throat, and Ciro sat back down to allow the waiter to deliver our food. I smiled at him across the table. The steak and shrimp was delicious, but I didn’t really need to eat. There was something else I was craving.
Ciro read my mind, and he stood when he was done and held his hand out to me. “I think I’m ready to leave. How about you?”
With those piercing, green eyes and full lips, I couldn’t resist. I would do anything for him. “That sounds lovely.”
He wrapped his arm around my waist as he escorted me out of the restaurant and put his mouth close to my ear. “I want you to know that I had lots of other things planned for tonight. I thought about taking you to a play or a concert, and then maybe having drinks afterwards. I wanted the chance to truly get to know you. But I have something else in mind now—something that absolutely can’t wait.”
My cheeks burned pleasurably. “We can still have drinks afterward,” I suggested.
He laughed and opened the door to the car. On the drive home, he could barely keep his hands on the wheel. Ciro ran his palms down my thighs, caressed my arm, touched my hair, and traced the outline of my jaw with one gentle finger.
“You’re going to run us off the road,” I said with a laugh, even though I didn’t want him to stop.
“It’s not my fault you’re so amazing, Sophia.” The garage door hadn’t even closed all the way before he had come around to my side of the car and swept me out of the seat. He spread kisses over my face, neck, and cleavage as he carried me into the house, kicking the door to the kitchen open and heading straight for the stairs. “I can’t keep my hands off you and I don’t want to.”
Once in the bedroom, he finally set me on my feet. He was breathing heavily, but it wasn’t from the exertion of carrying me. He traced my shoulders with his lips as he worked at the zipper on the back of my dress.
I luxuriated in the feeling, tipping my head back to give him all the access he wanted. Ciro was strong and powerful. He could have any woman in the world, but he wanted me. I flicked my arms to let the dress drop as a silvery puddle on the floor. As he went to work on my lacey, black bra, I slowly undid the buttons of his shirt, revealing the wide expanse of chest underneath. Dark curls graced his skin and trailed downward toward his pants, reminding me of all that I had yet to discover that night. We had been together before, but it had never been like this. Those other times were wild passions, born from pain, heartache, and frustration. This was altogether different—an intimate moment between two lovers that had been frozen in time.
I peeled back his shirt and tossed it aside, pressing my now-naked breasts against him. He pulled my chin up to kiss me once again, deeply and passionately, our tongues exploring each other as though we couldn’t get enough. His big hands seized my buttocks to pull me closer to him, and I could feel his hardness underneath the material of his trousers. It turned me on that much more to know I could do that to him, and I took my arms from around him to undo his belt and zipper.
To his surprise, I dropped to my knees in front of him. His member was big and quivering, eager for my attention. I took it into my mouth, gliding my lips all the way down to the base. I had to open my throat to let him inside.
Ciro threw his head back and groaned. His hands gripped my hair. “You are too good at that.” His muscles tensed.
His words made me work harder at my task, running the tip of my tongue up his shaft as I sucked. I could tell he was trying not to ram his cock down my throat, and I delighted at how much of his self-control I was able to destroy so quickly. Taking his balls into my hand, I brought him all the way in my mouth and thrust my tongue out to flick the base of his dick.
He groaned again. “How did I get this lucky? I love watching your lips on me, but I need you.”
I shook my head without letting go of him. He made this such a pleasurable task that I never wanted to stop. I liked the idea of turning him on.
“Come here,” he demanded, and he pulled me to my feet as soon as I no longer had him in my mouth. Ciro laid me on the edge of the mattress. My ass was almost hanging off of it, but he kept me suspended in his strong grip as he brought my legs up in front of his chest and around his neck. He bent his head to put a quick kiss on my calf as he penetrated me.
I gasped. The angle was just right, and he sank all the way inside me. I grabbed at the sheets, twisting them around my fists as he slowly pulsed his hips. I closed my eyes.
“No, keep them open.”
Looking up at him, I saw that he was looking back. His eyes were intense as they stared down into mine. He was not just penetrating my body, but my very soul, claiming me as his forever. An electric shot of bliss flared out from my core and rose up through my body, warming me all over despite the cool air in the room.
Ciro pushed my legs gently aside, and I wrapped them around him. He leaned forward, his tongue flicking my breasts. “I want you on top of me,” he whispered.
He was underneath me before I could say a word. I straddled him and impaled myself, curling my hips back and forth as I moved so that I could feel the entire surface of his member inside me. His hands were on my hips, and they glided upward so that his thumbs played along my ribs. I felt so beautiful, so confident, and so wanted. I was growing wetter as we worked together, Ciro gently bucking underneath me to keep me going. His hands roved further up until he had them on my upper back, and he pulled me down toward him. I complied, and he buried his face in my breasts.
I trembled inside as he suckled and nipped, worshiping me with his mouth and his hands. “Oh, Ciro …” But I couldn’t say anything more. He had taken the very breath away from me. I felt everything inside me tighten into itself before it shot back outward again, radiating from my very core. I had all of him, but I needed more. I shoved myself down onto him further, forcing the last fraction of an inch inside me.
As my body calmed, his came to life. The girth of his cock increased, pushing even harder on me. His hands clamped down on my hips in a death grip. I was determined to make this good for him. He had done so much for me, and I wanted to give him everything. Leaning forward to put my weight on my arms, I slammed my hips up and down on him. His howl of satisfaction thundered through the room, vibrating through me and getting me going all over again. I felt him ripple and pulse inside me as he came, and my body responded in kind, coming to him for the second time. We collapsed next to each other, breathless, spent, and supremely satisfied.
Chapter Twenty-One
Ciro
The honeymoon was over, at least as far as business was concerned. I had promised Sophia that we would have a real honeymoon at some appoint—a private vacation on a remote island where nobody was around for miles—but there were things I had to attend to.
Regretfully, I extracted myself from the warm sheets and sat on the edge of the bed, looking back at her. Even sound asleep, she was the most gorgeous thing I had ever seen. Her hair fell in soft waves over the pillowcase and the sheets gently outlined the curves of her body. If she hadn’t taken everything from me the night before, I would have woken her up and asked her for more.
I was distracted as I got dressed, my mind pivoting between thoughts of Sophia and the decisions I knew were coming. It was the middle of the day, but I hopped in the car, unshaven, and headed for the pub.
Judging by the cars that were already in the parking lot, several of the men had decided to show up early. If they were smart, they would be drinking already, despite the early hour. The things we had to talk about weren’t going to be pleasant.
There had been nothing left for Big T to say after he had killed Bruno two nights ago, and the weight of his actions showed on his face and his body. He sat at the head of the table with his shoulders slumped. His eyes, always bright and looking for the next opportunity, were dull and t
ired. He didn’t even watch the other men as they filed into the room, even giving me only a passing glance.
Usually, while the capos waited for a meeting to start, they sat talking and laughing with each other. Most of them had become good friends over the years, and they never missed a chance to socialize a little. Today, however, they were so quiet, I could hear their footsteps squeak against the old wood floor. They sat down soberly, waiting and worrying. Everyone carefully avoided Bruno’s former seat next to Tonio, not even looking at it.
“I want to thank you all for being here and for being such devoted men. I couldn’t run this family without all of you, working together and doing everything you can for the greater good.” My father didn’t bother standing up to address the group. He didn’t have the energy. “As I’m sure you’ve guessed, Bruno’s betrayal was quite a blow. He was a man who I had trusted with my life, and if things hadn’t gone the way they had, he probably would have killed me in my sleep and I never would have seen it coming. I thought of him as a brother, and that was my mistake.” He sighed heavily. “It pains me to admit that I’m fallible, but I’m human after all.”