by Jade, Ella
“We should go to my room.” I tangled my fingers in her hair, kissing her as she inched down my shaft. “Hayden, I need...we need to hold up for a second.”
“I’m on the pill.” She stared into my eyes. “I wanted to tell you the other night but I didn’t know if it was a onetime thing.”
“We’re definitely not going to be a onetime thing.”
“Good.” She plunged down, coating me in her warmth. “Because I won’t make it to the bedroom.” She rode me hard, grasping my shoulders and rocking into me. Taking complete control of the situation. Hot!
“You have me captivated.” I kissed her neck, digging my fingers into her back. “Do you know that?”
She leaned back, setting her palms on my thighs. “No, it’s you who has me.” She clenched around me when I took her nipple between my teeth. “I want to be your everything.”
Licking and sucking her nipples, alternating between her breasts, we settled into a quick and deep pace. The more she gave, the more I took until there was nothing but the two of us.
“You are my everything,” I whispered. “And so much more.”
“Sal,” she yelled out as her muscles tensed. “Oh, God!”
It didn’t take long for me to follow her lead, within seconds of her climax, I released inside her. Uninhibited, bare, and completely hers.
She let out a long, loud breath before collapsing onto my chest. I ran my hands along her back, rubbing her neck and shoulders. “You didn’t answer my question.”
“Remind me.” She quietly laughed.
“Come to Italy with me. You can learn about the winery side of the business while you’re honing in on your superb cooking skills. We can make it a trip to remember.”
She didn’t answer for a few moments.
“What is there to think about?” I asked.
“It’s a wonderful opportunity.” She pressed her lips to my chest. “I’d be a fool to turn you down.”
“You’re not a fool.”
“Don’t be so sure.” She shook her head as her body tensed. “I haven’t made some great choices in my life. I’ve trusted people that I... it’s been difficult.”
“It’s time you put all of that in the past.” I caressed her back. “I don’t care what you had to do to survive. You’re on the right track now. That’s all that matters.”
“Why are you so good to me?”
“I’m an excellent judge of character. I know when something is right. You’re right and I’ll keep proving it until you believe me.”
“You don’t have anything to prove. It’s me who wants to show you that you’re right to put all this faith in me. From now on, I’m going to be that confident woman you created in those promos and interviews. I can show you I can do this.”
“It’s not me you have to show.” I kissed the top of her head. “Are you coming to Italy with me?”
“I’d love to.”
Chapter Eleven
Hayden
Girl Talk
Sitting along the river, overlooking some of the most expensive boats I’d ever seen, I enjoyed a chatty lunch with Nadia and Angelique. They chose a trendy cafe that had recently opened on the dock. It was pretty good. Learning from Rocco had given me a new appreciation for how food should be prepared and served. I’d always been a food snob but that was an occupational hazard.
“So?” Angelique picked around her salad. “What’s up with you and Salvatore?”
“That was fast.” Nadia sipped her iced tea. “Could you at least let her eat?”
“She has to get back to the winery,” Angelique said. “We’re limited on time.”
“What do you want to know?” I asked.
“Do you like him?” Angelique tapped her hand on the table.
Why did I feel like we were in high school? It wasn’t a bad thing. I hadn’t made any new friends in years much less talked about a guy I was dating. “Very much,” I responded. “What’s not to like?”
“That’s what he said about you.” Nadia grinned. “You two are very much alike.”
“Really?” Sal was so put together and responsible. He always had a plan and followed through. He was loyal and I was... “He’s great. It’s all so new but at times I feel like I’m in over my head. Does that make sense?”
They both looked at one another and burst into laughter.
“What?” My thigh began to do that jittery thing it did when I was anxious or nervous.
“You’re dating a Marchelli,” Nadia said. “You’re in over your head already.”
“Oh?” I glanced over Angelique’s shoulder to find two men sitting a few tables away. “Does it bother you that they have to go everywhere with you?”
“Jimmy and Wil?” Angelique turned and waved at their drivers. “They’re great.”
“It’s a godsend not having to drive in Manhattan traffic.” Nadia studied me for a few seconds. “Are you worried that life with Salvatore is too complicated?”
“All guys are complicated, right?” I focused on trying to get my leg to stop twitching.
“Some more than others,” Nadia agreed. “The Marchelli men are intense and there are rules that have to be followed but mostly for security.”
“The good stuff definitely outweighs the bad stuff.” Angelique glanced down at her growing belly. “The main thing to remember is they will protect one another at all costs. When they embrace you, you’re one of them. As long as you don’t put their family in jeopardy, you have nothing to worry about.”
“Oh?” Had I already done that? I hadn’t heard from Franco since that one night a few weeks ago. Whatever he’d done inside that winery hadn’t blown up in my face. Not yet...
“Even if you make a mistake.” Nadia pulled me from my gloomy thoughts. “They can forgive you.”
“What do you mean?” I sounded hopeful.
“I met Vincenzo under false pretenses. I didn’t tell him I suspected Antonio was my father. Because of that, there was this whole mess with Franco that could have ended a lot worse than it did.”
“Franco?” My stomach churned. “He’s your brother.”
“I don’t refer to him as such. I’m slowly building a relationship with Antonio. I’ve met my other siblings but they’re not as willing to get to know me as my father is. That’s okay. I can’t blame them. They think I’m the reason Franco left their family.”
“Franco is the reason he left their family,” Angelique said. “He kidnapped you and shot Vincenzo. Not to mention that before that he hired gunmen to shoot at the two of you outside of your office.”
“God!” I hadn’t known that. “You must have been terrified.”
“He wreaked havoc.” Nadia shook her head. “The Marchellis were stronger and with the cooperation of my dad everyone is safe.”
“Hey.” Angelique took my hand. “Don’t look so worried. Sal has nothing to do with any of this. You’re totally safe with him. His security team is discreet but they’re present.”
“You guys learn to live a normal life although something could happen?”
“Could happen,” Angelique said. “Something could happen to anyone. I struggled with Gianni’s safety at the beginning of our relationship but he made me realize none of us are promised tomorrow. It doesn’t matter what your last name is.”
“That’s grim.” Nadia smiled at the server who refilled our beverages. “But he’s right. You can’t dwell on it. Dante’s going to retire. Dominick will either continue in his footsteps or take the family in a whole new direction. Whatever happens, we all have one another. We’re a close, loving bunch. That’s all that matters.”
“If you like Sal,” Angelique said. “Do whatever you can to convince yourself you should be with him. You’d miss out on someone really special.”
“He’s a great guy,” Nadia agreed.
“You don’t have to convince me of that.” It’s me I have my doubts about...
SALVATORE
I ended my call with Gianni, feeling
less than confident about the distributor change. We’d always worked so well with our former company. Until a couple months ago when they stopped delivering on time. Gianni’s in-person warning didn’t work, so now they were out of business.
Was it too much to ask that I run my restaurant without any bullshit? I had no idea what was going on with the distributor who was paid rather well to get my shipments here on time. They were screwing with my business and Gianni fixed it. I should be grateful, and I was, but I didn’t want to have to deal with any illegal sideshows. I was clear that the winery would never become a front. My father agreed.
When I entered the loft, Hayden was sprawled out on the floor. There were papers around her, some wrinkled, others neatly in a pile. What are you up to?
“Hey.” She pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose. She didn’t wear the black framed lenses often but when she did, I couldn’t help but get aroused. Something about a smart, sexy, and determined woman did it for me.
“Is everything okay?” she asked. “Your conversation got a little intense with Gianni.”
“You mean loud?”
“Yeah, I tried not to listen.”
“I don’t have anything to hide.” I placed my phone on the coffee table. “We’ve replaced our distributor. Too many issues with the last one. Late shipments, missing products. I can’t run a business that way.”
“What does Gianni have to do with shipments?”
“I thought maybe he could help me get the other one in line but we’re all out of second chances. If it affects my business in a negative way, I can’t be patient.”
“I guess if they’re not doing their job you can’t keep them around.”
“It’s all taken care of.” I sat down next to her, trying to see what she jotted down. “What’s that?”
“A menu.”
“Let me see.” I held out my hand.
She shook her head and tried to crumple the paper. “It’s silly.”
“It’s not.” I took it from her before she could destroy it. As I looked it over, she spoke faster than normal.
“It’s something I’ve always done.” She shrugged. “I like to see what my creations would look like on paper. It helps me figure out the ingredients before I attempt the dish. I told you it was silly.”
“Why is that silly? Every artist has a process.” I studied her entrees. “These are very intriguing.”
“They’re only in my head. I haven’t tried them yet.”
“Let’s put them on the dinner menu for next week. I’ll pair them with summer wines.”
“What? No.” She took the paper from me. “That isn’t why I was doing that. I would never step on Rocco’s toes.”
“Then I’ll step on them. He has to listen to me.”
“That’s exactly why you can’t do it.”
“Can’t? Another word I don’t like.” It was my winery. I could put whatever I wanted on the menu. “He’s not going to mind.”
“Sal, no,” she insisted. “I’m still learning. Rocco has taught me so much. I don’t want any tension because I’m sleeping with you.”
“I’d like to think we’re doing more than sleeping with one another.”
“We are but I don’t want any special favors because we’re dating. That’s not fair to anyone.” She took my hand. “You know what I mean. Rocco is the head chef.”
“He’s extremely progressive and welcomes creativity. He’d respect your initiative.”
“Or toss me out of his kitchen.”
“He wouldn’t do that.”
“Because I’m sleeping with you.”
I grinned because she had a point.
“See.” She took off her glasses. “I don’t want to advance my career that way.”
“That’s not what’s happening but I understand your thinking and I respect it.”
“Thank you.”
“Show him that menu. Ask him to choose one entree to try out next week.” A compromise. “I won’t interfere. You can do it yourself.”
“I can’t.”
“You can.” I brushed her knuckles along my lips. “If you don’t, I will.”
“You’re impossible.”
“Am I?” I pushed her down, hitching her legs around my waist. “I thought I was charming.”
“Charmingly impossible!” She kissed me. “That’s why you get what you want.”
“I’ll eat anything you have to offer.” Reaching under my shirt she still wore from bed last night, I hooked my fingers on either side of her panties. “Right now, I’m starving.”
“I’m all yours.”
Damn straight.
Chapter Twelve
Salvatore
Stolen Moments
“Where are we going?” Hayden asked for the third time as I tried to take her on a stroll through the vineyards. “Why won’t you tell me?”
“Because we’re almost there.”
We walked along the stone path that led to the lake. This was her first night off in over a week, I wanted to do something special for her but I couldn’t be too far from the restaurant in case there was an emergency. My staff was capable of handling most problems but with my mother being in Italy, I didn’t want both of us away from the business.
“Almost where?” Hayden tried again. “Surprises make me anxious.”
“You should get used to them because I’m full of them.”
“I’ve noticed.” She rested her head on my shoulder as we walked hand in hand. “It’s not a bad thing.”
“You just didn’t have many of them growing up.”
“Not the good kind.”
She hadn’t opened up to me about her family. I knew about her father because Dominick told me. I wasn’t sure how much she knew but I assumed she thought it was a suicide. Maybe it was best to let her believe that. It had been several years and she didn’t talk about it. Perhaps she had come to terms with it. I didn’t feel it was my place to ask.
“I’m about to change that.”
Once we turned the corner and were in full view of the lake, she gasped. It was filled with sailboats, all decorated with white lights outlining their sails. The fountains in the water were timed to a soft orchestra that streamed from the speakers in the bushes. The water jumped from spot to spot, changing colors as it went. The trees surrounding the lake were garnished in lights, each twinkling in coordination with the water. The crickets chirped and the frogs croaked in unison with the music as the glow of the fireflies danced around the lake.
“What is all of this?” Her eyes wide with curiosity. “It’s beautiful.”
“We’re doing our annual wine tasting festival this weekend.”
“Rocco told me about it. He said it gets bigger every year but I had no idea you transformed the vineyards.”
“We get a little more elaborate every year. Now that Maria is on board, she tends to be over the top. They finished this afternoon and I told them I wanted a test run tonight. A private viewing for the two of us as we ate our dinner out here.”
“We’re eating out here?” She wrapped her arms around my neck. “I love this.”
“I thought you might.” I pointed toward the table set for two. “My staff has arranged for a stunning dinner flown in from Maine. I hope you like fresh lobster.”
“Are you kidding me?”
“Rocco is so busy in the kitchen that I didn’t want him to have to cook for us. I thought this would be something different. There’s this quaint hotel I stayed in and they have the most fantastic seafood selections. When the owner’s daughter got married, I sent Rocco to oversee the reception. As a favor, he sends me lobster whenever I want it.”
“So, you send a plane for it?”
“Not often.” I laughed because I realized how absurd the whole thing sounded. “We did it when my dad turned sixty. We save it for special occasions.” I pulled out a chair for her. “Tonight is special.”
“Why?” She sat down, placing her napkin in her lap.
> “I’m spending it with you.” I poured her a glass of champagne. “That should be celebrated. Don’t you think?”
“Any time spent with you should be celebrated.”
“To us.” I raised my glass, clinking it against hers. “And the stolen moments.”
“To stolen moments.”
When she pursed her lips on the rim of the glass, my gaze fixated on her mouth. I’d been losing myself in her beauty even when she wasn’t with me. By committing every detail of her to memory, it was easy to daydream about her. The more I got to know her, the more I realized how perfect she was for me.
“We have a lot in common,” I mused as she gazed out at the lake.
“Do we?” She returned her attention to me. “I’m in complete awe of all of this,” She motioned around us. “All of it.”
“It’s beautiful.”
“For you, it’s supposed to be like this. You expect it.”
“I appreciate it.” I wondered if she knew all of the proceeds from the wine tasting would be donated to a local charity that helped foster children and their families. I may have come from wealth but my parents kept me grounded and taught me to take nothing for granted. “I have money but that doesn’t mean I can’t identify with you.”
“I didn’t mean that.” She tossed her hair over her shoulder, revealing her neck and collarbone. Her skin was delicate, soft, kissable... “When I think about you and the relationship you have with your family, I know my experiences growing up couldn’t have been more different from yours.”
“Don’t all of us have different experiences?”
“I suppose we do.”
“Tell me about yours.” I took her hand. “You never talk about your past.”
“There isn’t much to tell. It was a pretty lonely childhood,” she admitted. “My father worked a lot. Drank even more. My mother dealt by sleeping with random men. He died and she left after she thought I could handle my own life.”