by Ali Parker
"Brr..." Drake wrapped his arms around himself and jogged toward the truck. He got in and started it, turning on the heater and beginning his search for something that would give him relief.
He clenched as the first of ten sneezes attacked him. There was no fighting it, but by the time he was done going through the spell, his eyes were watering and face burning like hell. His phone buzzed in his pocket, but he ignored it as he leaned over and dug through the glove box.
"I know I have something in here. Come on. Shit." He jerked as someone beat on the passenger's side window.
Sicily wiped the frost off the window and pointed down. "Unlock it."
He smiled and unlocked it, pushing it open. "Get in, you silly woman. What are you doing?"
"I was worried about you. Jake came in the kitchen and said that you were allergic to the tree." She gave him a look and closed the door before reaching up toward the heater and shivering. "You should have told me. You promised to stop keeping stuff from me."
He chuckled and pulled his phone out. "Baby. I didn't think much of it. We're not staying at your place much this week, so there was no reason to mess up your fun. It's fine. I just need some medicine and I'll be fine."
The text was from his brother, Demetri, on his phone. Fuck. Never anything good when he calls.
"Okay, but I still wish you would have thought about yourself. I don't want you to be miserable."
"I won't, sweetheart. Get in that glove box and find me something for my nose." He sniffed and fished the blue phone out of his console in the truck. "I need to call my brother, D. Just be quiet while I'm talking to him, all right? He wouldn't be too thrilled about me calling with anyone around."
"Not even me?" She gave him a hurt look.
"Not even you, kitten. Just be quiet for a second." He reached over and touched the side of her face, loving the way her little button nose turned pink due to the cold. She was beautiful, precious, too good for a bastard like him. And yet, he was too greedy to let her go or deny her a damn thing.
"Okay. I will." She moved toward the glove box and scrambled around as Drake pulled out the blue phone and put it to his ear.
"What's up, brother?"
"Drake. How are you, man?"
"I'm alive and kicking. Sicily wanted a real tree this year, so I had to man up and go out there and chop one down with an axe today." He chuckled as she glanced over and gave him a look. He flexed his arm and kissed his bicep in show for her.
"Oh shit. You didn't tell her you were highly allergic to the damn things?" D sounded good, which was rare. With all the shit going on in his world, the last thing Drake expected was for him to sound peaceful. It was a front. It always was with D.
"No way. I love her, man. I'd sleep on a bed of Christmas trees if it would make her happy." Drake winked at Sicily.
"Pussy."
"You're one to talk. I'm pretty sure you're going to get shot by Joe when he finds out that you're in love with his little girl." Drake smiled. Izabella Castaletta was the hitman for the Castaletta syndicate, and she only answered to Joe and Demetri, Joe's right-hand man. It was all very incestuous in appearance.
"I'm pretty sure Joe is well aware of me and Izzy's horrid relationship." He let out a sigh. "I wanted to touch base with you just in case you heard about Freddy through the news or something. Some shit went down a few weeks back and he didn't make it." D sounded devastated. Where he wasn’t related to Freddy, he still treated the little shit like a brother.
Shock raced through Drake. Freddy didn't make it? Freddy was Drake's little brother, and Joe's youngest son. "What? What the fuck happened?"
Sicily reached out and took his hand, moving closer to him.
Drake lifted his hand to warn her to stay back a little.
"Long story. I'll tell you the next time we're together." Another long sigh. "I just wanted to share the news. It's getting fucking ugly over here."
"You need me, D? All you have to do is say the word." Drake wrapped his hand around Sicily's as she stiffened beside him. She knew enough to know what he was offering D.
"No. Not yet, and I'll not ask that favor from you until I've got my balls in a wood chipper and you're the only one capable of saving me. I'm not sure I'd drag you back into this mess even then. Merry Christmas, little brother. Take care, and I'll be in touch."
"D. Wait. Did they find out who killed Vivian Castaletta?" Drake leaned back against his seat. It was too odd that Drake's own mother had died the same weekend as Vivian, the don's wife and Izzy's mother.
Luckily enough, Drake and D's mother had passed away from an illness, but poor Vivian was raped and gunned down in a dark, wet alley. The thought made Drake's stomach turn.
"Yeah, but we'll talk about that later too. It's shocking and almost tore us all apart."
"Take care, D. Merry Christmas, tell Izzy I said hi." Drake set the phone on the dash and shivered before glancing over to Sicily. "Well, things in Chicago are as fucked up as usual."
"I'm sorry, baby." She let out a sigh. “I’m still a little lost though. Who is Freddy?”
“He’s my little brother, Joe’s son.” Drake ran his fingers through is hair. “D and I share a mother, and Izzy, Freddy and I share a father. I’m the result of an affair between Joe Castaletta and my mom, Maria. Joe was best friends with my mom’s husband, Big Pappa.”
“And Big Papa is D’s father?”
“Yes, but the man raised me as his son too, thinking I belonged to him and never learning about mom’s affair with Joe.”
“Good grief.” She touched her head and closed her eyes. “So D and Izzy aren’t related, right?”
“Not at all. I’m a connection between them thanks to my mother’s lust for Joe, and his disregard for my mom being a married woman. It’s honestly fucked up.”
Sicily nodded as if she understood. She handed him the pills, looking sheepish. "I did find these for you, but you're still in trouble for not telling me about your allergies."
He chuckled and took the pills from her. "I was going to be in trouble for something. Why not this?"
"Awww... I wish I could feel sorry for you, but you're a bad boy. Bad boys are most comfortable in the middle of trouble."
"Sounds like you know from experience." He popped the pills and pulled her into his lap, wrapping his arms around her and kissing her long and hard. "You like bad boys?"
"I like you." She went in for another long kiss, stealing his breath and leaving him aching for more of her.
She always did.
Chapter 4
Sicily
"Hey. You okay?" Kari moved up beside Sicily as she stood in the kitchen, fixing some of the icing on the cake she'd prepared for the evening with her friends.
"I'm good." She knelt and continued to swirl her knife through the icing. "Who the hell ran their fingers through my icing?"
"Marc." Kari chuckled and moved to hop up onto the counter beside her. "You know how he is."
"Yep, and he's lucky we love him for it." She snorted and stood, finishing the job and walking to the sink.
"Wait! You're not going lick the knife?" Kari motioned for Sicily to give it to her. "What are you, crazy? You used to always lick the knife."
"You're going to cut your tongue off." Sicily tried to mimic her grandmother, but it came out all wrong. "I stopped awhile back when I was trying to lose weight."
"And you lost too much. Lick the knife." Kari tilted her head to the side and reached for Sicily, pulling her into a warm sister-like hug. "I'm going to miss you and Lisa this year. It's not the same without you."
"I agree." Sicily wrapped her arms around her friend and pressed her cheek to Kari's shoulder. "I'm scared to go home and see my family. This is our first Christmas without Momma. It already feels hallow and cold."
Kari forced Sicily to move back a little as she squeezed her shoulders. "It's going to be a great Christmas. You just call me or Lisa anytime that you get down. Focus on your family and on Drake. If you both lost you
r moms this year, then you're going to need each other a lot more than you think. Lean on him. He'll love being your strength. It might help him get through some of his own shit."
"That's true." Sicily patted her friend’s hand as it rested on her shoulder. "I think we're going to sneak out a little early. Drake got a call that has him a little moody. I think a cup of hot chocolate and some snuggles on his couch are what the doctor ordered."
"All right, well, leave the cake. You guys don't need to worry with dealing with it." Kari wagged her eyebrows, and Sicily laughed.
"Thank you for thinking of us." Sicily took the knife from Kari and licked the side sticky with icing. "Wow. This is really good."
"Of course it is. Are you doubting yourself?" Kari hopped down off the counter and walked to get a big cake knife. "Take some of it with you."
"No, we're good. Seriously." She shook her head and picked up her purse. "Say an extra prayer for Drake and my brother Johnny. You know they didn't say more than ten words to each other after Johnny acted like an ass last month. I knew better than to let him come visit, but he just had to come check out Drake for himself."
"They both love you. They'll work it out." Kari leaned against the counter and gave Sicily a motherly look. "Have fun and be careful."
"You too. Take some pictures of Texas so I'll know what it looks like to not freeze during the holidays." She gave Kari a quick hug and walked into the living room, finding Drake laughing with Jake, Marc and Lisa. "You ready to go, baby? My stomach hurts and I'm ready to lay down somewhere."
"Is that code for, 'let's make love'?" Marc stood and gave Sicily a silly look as he walked toward her.
"No, it's code for leave me alone and let me sleep." She gave him a quick hug before giving one to Jake and stopping in front of Lisa. She'd been best friends with the crazy girl since grade school. It was going to be a rough holiday for Lisa as well. She was going back to New York to visit her mother, who had done nothing but tear her down her whole life.
Lisa's mother had been the opposite of Sicily's.
"I'm going to miss you." Lisa smiled and pulled Sicily into a warm hug, pressing her mouth again Sicily's hair. "If you need me, just call, and I will come over. You're just down the road from me."
"I know. I'm going to lean on Drake and see how that works out." Sicily moved back and reached up to run her hand down Lisa's hair. "Just remember that your mom is the Grinch, and nothing she says is true. Her heart is too tiny to really understand love. Let her nasty words roll off your back. We all think you're perfect."
"Me especially!" Marc lifted his hands as they all shared a laugh.
"Thanks." Lisa's eyes filled with tears. "She does have a way of making me feel two feet tall. I just hope I don't have to spend too much time over there."
"Well, if you need someone to come bust you out of there, just call me, and Drake and I will be on our way. No questions asked." Sicily glanced over at Drake, who watched her intently.
"Hell yeah we will." Drake winked and extended his hand to Sicily. "Come on, baby. Let's get home before the next snowfall starts."
"Is that code for something hot?" Marc moved to the door and opened it.
Kari walked into the living room and put her hand on her hip. "Is everything sexual to you guys?"
"Duh." Lisa snorted, and Sicily walked out into the snow with Drake close behind her.
***
"I love it out here." Sicily walked into Drake's house, the masculine tones and the hint of his cologne lingering in the air turned her insides to mush. She spun and reached for him, grabbing the front of his jacket and tugging him into the house.
He laughed and reached back to slam the door shut. "Frisky, beautiful?"
"Always around you." She pressed herself to his chest and shivered. "It's freezing in here."
"Let me start a fire. Go put on something comfortable and meet me on the couch?" He touched the side of her face lovingly before leaning in for a long, probing kiss.
"I'll help with the fire and then-"
He put his cold finger against her lips. "You'll go change clothes and be back in a few minutes while I build the fire."
"I sure will." She nipped at his finger before turning and walking toward their bedroom. They were splitting their time between his place and being apart. He didn't like staying overnight at the big white house she shared with Lisa and Kari. It was okay, but not having him to snuggle against during the night left her feeling slighted.
She quickly changed into a pair of furry sleeping pants, a long sleeved shirt and some thick socks. After pulling her long, dark hair into a ponytail, she padded out into the living room.
Drake was bent over, working on the fire.
She couldn't help but stop and enjoy the view of him. His strong back pressed against his t-shirt, his arms thick with muscles that stretched his sleeves a little. He glanced over his shoulder and smiled. "Like what you see?"
"I'd like it more if you'd take a few things off." She licked at her lips and tilted her head to the side. "You want hot chocolate?"
"Yeah, in a minute. I want you first." He stood and pulled his shirt over his head, leaving his dark, smooth skin on display. "Come here."
She didn't say a word. Nothing needed to be said. He wanted her? He was having her.
His dark eyes moved across her face as he tugged her against him and locked her in place with a tight hug. "You belong to me. You know that, right, baby?"
"I'm glad I do." She lifted up and pressed her lips against him, opening her mouth as he licked at her mouth, beckoning her to let him in. The thick press of his erection against her stomach had her body tight, needy.
"Good. I've never wanted anything more than I want you." He ran his hands down her back, cupping her butt as he dragged his lips down the side of her neck, sucking on the soft skin at the base of it.
"Oh God," she whimpered and tightened her grip on his shoulders. "You feel so good."
"It's only going to get better." He moved up and nipped at her lips before pulling from her. "Let me grab a condom, baby. Take off those pants."
She pulled them off and tried to fix her panties to make her butt look bigger, but he was right. She'd lost a little too much weight. Weird. All those years of struggling to get it off, and now it was gone and she wanted a little bit of it back.
"Beautiful." He walked back into the living room completely naked, his cock thick and hard, his chest chiseled with muscle, and legs beyond sexy.
"No shit," she mumbled and pulled her shirt over her head before working on her bra.
He dropped down on the couch and reached for her, pulling her toward him as he tore the condom packet open and rolled the tight blue plastic over his swollen shaft. He pressed his lips to her stomach and reached around to grip her ass, massaging it.
"I wanna taste you. Come ride my face, Sis."
"What?" She swatted at his shoulder. "No. You can be dirty later. Make love to me first."
He chuckled low in his chest and slid his fingers into the top of her panties, sliding them over her legs slowly.
She stiffened, not quite sure she would ever feel worthy of a beautiful man like him.
"Dirty? I don't think of anything we do as dirty." He pressed a kiss to her mouth, licking a few times before leaning back and motioning for her to crawl into his lap. "I can show you dirty when you're ready."
"What makes you think I would ever want dirty?" She gave him a cheeky grin and crawled into his lap, moving up to take him into her body. The moan that left her echoed around the room. She gripped his shoulders and let her head fall back as she lifted up and pressed back harder, enjoying every thick inch of him.
"It's just me, lover. Stop playing games." He sucked her nipple into his mouth and used his hold on her ass to pull her up and down his shaft as she rolled her hips and moaned over and over again.
"I like dirty. I lied." She moved forward, pressing her mouth to his and pumping her hips faster and faster.
He broke t
he kiss, reaching up to wrap his fingers around her ponytail. "I know you do. I taught you too."
She laughed and let out a scream as he flipped them and pinned her to the couch. She couldn't help but watch as he bent his knees, driving himself into her over and over again. Pleasure swelled in her stomach, and she tightened her hold around his neck.
"God, you're good." She closed her eyes and wrapped her legs around him as he hovered above her, working her over the edge. The world exploded, and nothing mattered but him loving her, fucking her, making plans for the future with her.
The want turned into a need. She'd gone from wanting their relationship to needing it. It was a scary realization, and one she planned to keep to herself.
They groaned in tandem as Drake hit home, forcing the last inch of his thickness inside of her.
"That's so hot, baby. The way you take me inside of you. Your little nipples are so tight, your body so pliable, Sicily." He reached down and pinched one of her nipples between his fingers, causing her to clench and cry out.
"Asshole," she whispered roughly, and damn if Drake didn't wrap his arm around her and pick them up, moving to fuck her against the wall as she came again.
"Such dirty language from a good girl." He rocked against her as his eyes closed. "I'm coming. Join me."
She couldn't refuse his request. No good girl would.
Chapter 5
Drake
He hated to leave her the next morning, but he had a ton to do before the fire station teddy bear drive. Ben was starting the next week, and Drake needed to make sure that Jasmine had the kid on the schedule and had worked through his paperwork with him.
Sicily slept with her back to him, the blanket wrapped around her shapely legs. He leaned over to kiss her goodbye and let his hand run down her side, enjoying the softness of her skin. If he had time, he'd have forced her on her back for a long session of his head between her thighs. There was almost nothing he enjoyed more.