He was pulling her into his arms before she finished talking. And his tears flowed. He was so afraid of losing her. He’d been told he wasn’t good enough so many times that when Tommy and Reno said so too, it almost killed him. But Gemma wasn’t going along with the haters. She wasn’t going along!
“Oh, babe,” he said as he held her. “Oh my baby!”
And later than night, after they were home, showered, and in bed, he held onto her as if he was holding onto the most precious gem in the world. She slept like a baby in his arms. He barely slept at all. But he held onto her. He held her all night.
CHAPTER TWELVE
By the time Gemma had showered and was fully dressed in her Versace pantsuit and heels, and had grabbed her briefcase and handbag and was heading downstairs, Sal had already been up for nearly three hours. He was seated at the small kitchen table, sipping coffee and looking out of the window. Still in his bathrobe.
But if she expected to find a morose Sal, or an even depressed Sal, she was mistaken. When he looked up and saw her heading her way, looking so sexy, he smiled.
“There’s my lady,” he said as she approached him.
She smiled too. Surprised to see him so upbeat. “How long have you been up?”
“Few hours, I don’t know.”
She leaned over and kissed him on the lips. But he loved her kiss so much that, as she was about to lean back up, he grabbed her back down and then sat her across his lap. And gave her a long, proper kiss.
“Of what do I owe this great affection?” she asked him when he allowed her to come back up for air.
“Just wanted to make sure you’re alright. Kissing you does that, you know.”
“Oh really now?” Gemma said with a smile. “So your kiss holds that much power over me?”
“Hell yeah.”
“And my kiss? What kind of power does it hold?”
“Nothing,” Sal said. “Not a thing.”
Gemma ribbed him and they laughed. But then they both couldn’t help but think about the elephant in the room, what happened last night, and they both turned serious. Even somber. Gemma began to play around in Sal’s thick hair.
“I’ve been thinking about us,” he said.
“So have I,” she said. “I used to always cringe when I heard my clients talk about how it’s them against the world. Yeah, right, I used to always say. But now I know what they mean. Because, in our case, Sal, it’s true. It’s us against the world.”
Sal nodded. “It is. That’s the truth. And I’ve been thinking about that.”
Gemma looked at him. “Please don’t tell me I should leave you and the marriage is off. Please don’t even go there, Sal.”
“What do you take me for, Gemmanette? Do I look crazy to you? Do you think I’m going to have myself this prize from heaven and just give it back because other people don’t want me to have it? You know me better than that.”
“You were talking that way last night.”
“I was pissed last night. I was . . . hurt last night. But this is a new day.”
“And?”
“And I’ve made some decisions.” He lifted her off of his lap. “You’d better take a seat.”
“Oh, Lord,” Gemma said as she sat on the table chair across from him. She sat her briefcase and handbag on the table and looked at him. “Okay, sock it to me.”
Sal smiled. “Oh, I will,” he said, looking down the length of her. “I’m going to sock the shit out of you.”
“I just showered, Sal. I can’t go to work smelling like. . .”
“Like what?”
“Like I’ve been rolling in the hay giving it up to you!”
Sal laughed. “Then you’ll just have to shower again, won’t you? Because I don’t know about all of that rolling part, but you’re definitely going to give it up.”
The thought of being with Sal again, after such an emotional night, was appealing to Gemma. She’d gladly shower again if it meant being with him that way.
“But first,” he said, “I need to talk to you. I need to make some things clear.”
Gemma braced herself. “What do you need to make clear?”
“That I was wrong,” he said.
Gemma stared at him.
“I wasn’t wrong to go to your parents first, and then to my family with what I thought would be good news. That wasn’t wrong. But I was wrong to expect them to understand. They know I love you, and I think they know that I’ll take good care of you. But they’re afraid, Gemma. Your parents are afraid for you, and I know Tommy’s afraid for me. He knows me. He knows what it will do to me if something were to happen to you. Especially if my own actions caused it.”
“But you can’t,” Gemma implored, and Sal looked at her. “We can’t allow our emotions to rule us like that, Sal. I’d be devastated too if something were to happen to you. Of course I would! I think I would want to die. But I’m not going to die. I wasn’t raised to give up like that. If the unspeakable happens, I’m going to pray and live and carry on. I have to. And you have to also. You’d do me a disservice if you don’t, Sal. You’ll break my heart if you give up.”
Sal nodded. “I understand what you’re saying. And you’d better live on and be happy if something happens to me. But your blues aren’t like mine, sister. Trust me on that. I’ve got a lot of fools out there who have shit against me I don’t even know they have against me. So let’s get that straight. Marrying me is not going to be any picnic for you.”
“Understood,” Gemma said with a smile.
“You’re smiling now, Gem, but it won’t be funny when we’re going through that shit.”
“I get it, Sal. I know what I’ve signed on for. But I had a decision to make too. Either I be with the man I love and want to be with, or I play it safe and be alone or with some joker I can barely stomach. Every time I think about it, you win, Sal. Hands down.”
Sal smiled. That warmed his heart. “Glad to hear it,” he said.
“And don’t ever believe that talk about how you’re selfish for wanting to marry me. That’s bullshit, Sal. You love me and want me to be your wife and the mother of your children. And that’s what I want. That’s not selfish. That’s love. Don’t let anybody make you think it’s anything else.”
“Love with baggage, right?”
Gemma would admit that. “Right,” she said. “But love first.”
Sal nodded. “Right. That’s why I’ve made a few decisions.”
“Such as?”
“I’m not going to uproot you from your businesses and Vegas.”
Gemma was confused. “But what about your businesses?”
“I’ll have to commute.”
“Every day?”
“I won’t be here every day. We won’t have that kind of marriage. But being with you will be first. This will be my home base.”
But Gemma was already shaking her head. “No, Sal,” she said. “I can’t let you do that. You have too much going on in Seattle. My little law practice and clothing store pale in comparison to your businesses.”
“That’s true.”
Gemma smiled. “Says Mister Modest.”
“I mean the truth is the truth,” Sal said. “I’m not going to lie and say the Gabrini Corporation and the restaurants we own and the Wingate luxury apartment building that I own are small potatoes. Come on. Not one of those businesses are. But after you marry me, Gem, your sacrificing days are over.”
“My sacrificing days? Marrying you is not a sacrifice, Sal.”
“Yes, it is! And I promise you I’m going to do everything in my power to stay out of dangerous situations, but that doesn’t mean dangerous situations are going to stay away from me. Old shit is old shit and it can come back to haunt me at any time. But there won’t be any new shit, I can promise you that.”
Gemma smiled.
“That’s reassuring?”
“Actually, it is, Sal, yes. Thanks.”
He nodded. “So,” he said, “I have canceled all o
f my meetings and will stay right here in town. We aren’t having any long-ass engagement. You and I are going to pick a date, decide on a venue, and select a wedding planner. I’m sure we’ll need one of those, since neither one of us are the girly girly types.”
Gemma laughed.
“And we’ll find a house. Maybe not in Vegas proper, but near Vegas.”
Gemma was perplexed. “A house? But we have a house, Sal. This house.”
Sal looked at her. “What are you needling me?”
Gemma wasn’t joking in the least. “No. I’m serious. What’s wrong with this house?”
Sal leaned forward, as if he was about to school her. “Gemma Jones, I currently own the Wingate luxury apartment complex. I live in the penthouse apartment inside that luxury complex. Correct?”
“Correct.”
“That penthouse is approximately ten thousand square feet. Correct?”
“I didn’t realize it was that large, but you should know. So yes, correct.”
“This house is what? Eighteen hundred, give or take?”
“Sixteen hundred, give or take.”
Sal leaned back. “And you think this will do?”
“It did for me!” Gemma shot back.
“You were a single, hardworking young woman who was barely getting by. This worked out beautifully for you. And I want you to keep it. You don’t have to rent it out, it can stay empty forever. But this is not going to be our family home. No. Sorry. I’m not setting my wife up in this.”
Gemma smiled. “But I thought you said I won’t have to sacrifice anymore.”
“Oh, I see. So moving from here into your dream home would be a sacrifice for you?”
“Just kidding, Sal, geez! I’d love to start fresh with you. I think it’s a good idea.”
“Good,” Sal said, satisfied. “You’re going to be my wife, and I can’t wait to get started. And if we have to go it alone, Gemma; If my family and your family don’t want to be a part of this wonderful, beautiful union, then you know what?”
“What?”
“They can kiss my ass.”
Gemma laughed.
“Fuck’em!” Sal said seriously. “I mean it. You’re going to be happy for once in your life, and I’m just the man to make you happy.”
Gemma’s smile left and she considered what Sal had just said with the gravity she felt it deserved. “You are,” she said. “I think a part of me knew it when we first met in Trina’s office. Every inch of me knows it now.”
Sal’s heart swelled with love. And the longer he stared at her, that love morphed. He untied his robe, revealing his toned, muscular, naked body. And his fast-expanding member. “Come here,” he said to her.
Gemma didn’t hesitate. She stood up, walked over to him, and stepped out of her heels. She allowed him to unbuckle and unzip her pants, and then slide them, along with her panties, to the floor. She stepped out of them.
With her bottom half as naked as a jaybird’s, she got on his lap, straddling him. And they began to kiss. Sal eased his fingers between her legs and began to massage her as they kissed. She was so ready that her vaginal juices began to release around his fingers almost immediately. He loved her reaction.
But they didn’t rush it. He continued to kiss her, and fondle her, and she continued to ruffle his hair and turn her head from side to side as she fully enjoyed his kisses. Until she was so wet, and the enjoyment was affecting her so much, that she had to have more. Without waiting for him to prompt her, she took her hand, encircled his engorged dick, and pushed that juicy joy inside of her.
She moaned out as soon as she felt it again. It was like food for her hunger and water for her thirst. That rod of Sal’s filled her pussy until it was so full that it was pulsating from the contact.
It was the friction for Sal. She still felt as tight as the first time he did her. But it was unbelievably better every time since. And when he began to move, and her vaginal muscles began to constrict his movement, he let out a moan that filled the entire house. It was early morning, they should have been getting on with it because they both had things to do, but it felt as if they were making the best love of their lives.
For the longest time he fucked her. He pumped into her and she rode that rod as if she was catching wave after wave. She leaned down and kissed him in the mouth, tonguing him, as he fucked her.
And Sal was into it with a passion he didn’t think he had the strength to mount. After one of the worse nights of his life, this morning was one of the best. Not only did they decide to move full steam ahead, despite the haters and people who thought they knew what was best for them, but they decided to do it with gusto. To rub it in. To let this entire world know that this was their live, their love was their decision, and they were no longer giving anybody else a vote. It was a democracy of two people: Sal and Gemma. Nobody else would have a say.
And when they came, it felt like an exclamation point for both of them. It felt as if they were making a statement.
Don’t tread on us.
Don’t bother us.
Don’t fuck with us.
And when they finished fucking with each other, and their cum was as strong as their love, Gemma didn’t wait for the pulsations to ease. She knew she didn’t have time. She kissed Sal one last time, got up, grabbed her pants and panties, and hurried back upstairs to shower. Sal smiled as he watched her tight ass run off. But he couldn’t move as fast as she did. He no longer had the strength, for one thing. His dick was still feeling her, for another.
He even fondled it, as the feelings were still so potent. It would take several more minutes, and many more strokes of his penis, before he was fully back at ease.
He finally got up, went to the downstairs powder room, and cleaned his penis and the overflow on his thighs. He would shower later, but not yet. He didn’t have the strength yet to climb anybody’s stairs.
By the time Gemma showered and dressed and made it back downstairs, Sal was lying on her sofa. And he was fast asleep. She smiled. But decided not to disturb him. The man had been through enough, she felt, to warrant a little extra rest.
She grabbed her briefcase and hand bag off of the kitchen table and made her way to the front door. She was late enough.
But as soon as she opened her door, she was shocked.
Tommy was standing on the other side of that door, about to ring her bell.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
If Gemma and Sal looked refreshed and renewed this morning, Tommy looked drained and, for a man always so well put together, almost disheveled. He had on his usual Armani suit. His thick, blondish-brown still swept along his head and framed his big greenish-blue eyes and gorgeous face. But he looked bad. He looked as if he’d lost his best friend.
Gemma exhaled. “Hello, Tommy,” she said.
And just saying that name was apparently enough. Sal, who had been asleep on the sofa behind her, opened his eyes.
“Good morning,” Tommy said. “Headed to work?”
“Yes.”
“Courthouse or your office?”
“My office.”
“Ah. I heard things are picking up for your practice.”
“It is. I’m real pleased.”
“Good. That’s good, Gemma.” Then a hesitation.
Sal was still lying there, but unbeknownst to Gemma, he was awake now.
“Is Sal around?” Tommy finally asked her.
Gemma was afraid to wake Sal up and tell him Tommy was there because he might not let him in. But they needed to talk. In Gemma’s mind, they needed to talk desperately.
“Yes, he’s here,” Gemma said, walking out of the door. “Go on in.”
And she quickly left. She didn’t want him to apologize to her for anything, or explain his meaning. It was Sal, she felt, who needed the apology.
Tommy watched her leave, and then he went inside her house and closed the door.
Sal was still exhausted, and was therefore still lying on the sofa. But he was wide awake.
His eyes, in fact, were barely blinking.
Tommy was at first surprised to see Sal downstairs, lying on the sofa, but given the seismic shift their relationship undertook last night, nothing was all that surprising anymore.
“I thought you were asleep,” Tommy said as he walked further in.
“I was,” Sal said, his big, blue eyes following his brother’s every move. Tommy’s hair was flapped down over his forehead, making him looked years younger, but a dullness, and a tiredness was in his eyes.
He sat in the chair flanking the sofa. “Gemma looked lovely today,” he said.
“She looks lovely every day,” Sal responded.
Tommy knew he didn’t mean it the way Sal was implying, but he didn’t have the energy to argue about it. He looked at his brother. “When are you leaving for Jersey?”
“I cancelled the trip.”
“You canceled it? Why?”
“I have a wedding to plan. I’m not going to leave Gemma here to do it alone.”
“So it’s going to be a big wedding?”
“Absolutely. She deserves nothing less. Nobody has to show up. We don’t give a shit. But we’re going all out.”
Tommy didn’t respond.
“Where’s Grace?” Sal asked.
“She went back to Seattle last night. She has a company to run.”
“Smart lady. She takes her responsibility seriously.”
“Whereas you and me on the other hand,” Tommy said with a smile, and Sal smiled too.
“We’ll get it together,” Sal said hopefully
Tommy looked at him. “You’re upbeat.”
“What else am I supposed to be? I’m getting married. This is the best time of my life. We’ll planning our wedding. We’re going house hunting. We’re doing what we need to do.”
“House hunting? Where? Here?”
“Yeah. Around here.”
“Sal, what are you saying? Are you saying . . . You’re leaving Seattle? You’re moving here, to Vegas?”
“One of us has to move. And I’m not uprooting Gemma. It’s enough she’s marrying me.”
Sal Gabrini 4: I'll Take You There (The Gabrini Men Series Book 7) Page 9