by Jade, Ella
“He’s worried about you.” I studied him, taking in his appearance and realizing this was not the put-together man I’d left a few days ago. “I’m worried about you.”
“Hmm...” He wrapped his arms around my waist and buried his face in my neck. “You smell good.”
“I’m glad you called.”
“I’m glad you came.” He unbuttoned my shirt as he kissed my neck. “I need you.”
“I want to explain everything to you.”
“Not tonight.” He guided me to his bedroom. “I’m drunk. I’m grieving.”
“That’s why we shouldn’t do this.”
“Would you rather drink with me?” He led me to the bed. “I could drink.”
“It looks like you have been.” I ran my hand along the overgrown stubble on his chin. “For days.”
“What else can I do?” He swiped his thumb along my lips. “Can I kiss you?”
Before I could answer his mouth was on mine. The faint taste of whiskey covered his tongue as he swirled it around mine. His hands roamed my stomach and chest as he fiercely kissed my lips, jaw, and neck. I should stop this but he was so full of want and need. After what had happened, I didn’t think he’d ever want me again.
“Sal.” My voice was weak.
“Please.” He took off my shirt. “I need to feel something. I’m dying inside without you.”
He traced his finger to the front clasp of my bra, unhooking it, and pushing the straps from my shoulders. Placing his hand on the side of my face, he kissed my neck. The heat of his breath set my flesh on fire as he worked his way to my nipples. He circled one with his finger while he treated the other to his hot, wet tongue.
“I’m sorry,” I whispered as he pushed my pants down my legs. “I never meant to hurt you. To betray you.”
“Shh...” He led me onto the bed. “I don’t want to talk about it.”
When he unzipped his pants and tugged them down his legs, it was evident in his stunning erection what he wanted to do.
“Okay.” I slipped my panties off and moved to the top of the bed as he removed his boxers. I wiped the tears from my cheeks and took a deep breath. I was here with him. The only place I ever belonged to. If this is what he wanted, I would do it.
“I need you.” He joined me on the bed. “I need us.”
He covered my body with his athletic frame, comforting me, needing me as much as I needed him. Spreading my legs, he pushed inside me. “Oh...” he grunted. “I missed you.”
Hooking my legs around his waist, he slid deeper, setting a pleasing tempo. I grasped his arms for support as he drove me into the mattress, each plunge becoming increasingly faster, harder. He gripped my left hip, applying more pressure than usual as he took my right leg and lifted it into the air.
“Sal...” I moaned when he hit me from this angle, taking me to new heights. As he continued his unwavering pace, my body responded, clenching around him until I couldn’t hold on any longer. I let it go. All of it. Pouring my climax onto him, setting my soul free. Surrendering to him in that way always seemed to get me to.
When I connected with his stare, an unsettled sensation came over me. His eyes held a dark, almost empty look. I closed my own, brushing it off. It was my imagination. We were going to be fine. My heart knew that.
“Look at me.” He thrust faster. “I want to see who you really are.”
“What?” I gazed into his eyes. “You know who I am.”
“I do.” He lowered his lips to my mouth. “Mine.”
“Always.”
With one final shift forward, he released inside me. When he filled me, his body relaxed and I realized I had given him what he needed tonight. In return, a calmness took over. For the first time in days, my anxiety was replaced with hope. Tomorrow I could explain everything and finally make this right. He let me in tonight. Now I had to make him see how sorry I was for all of it.
As we lay tangled together, his arms around me and my head on his chest, I indulged in his warmth. There wasn’t any place else I’d rather be.
“I’m glad you reached out to me tonight.” I kissed his chest. “I missed you too.”
“Remember when I told you that every scenario I ran in my head about the two of us had us coming out stronger on the other side?”
“Yes.”
“That’s still true.”
Chapter Eighteen
Salvatore
Regrets
I woke up feeling like shit. Why had I thought it was a good idea to drink so much? Now that I was up, showered, sober, and put back together, I had to face what I had done last night. Texting Hayden wasn’t my finest moment. Someone should have taken away my phone.
As I stood in the entryway of the kitchen, watching her make breakfast wearing one of my shirts, I realized I’d made a horrible mistake. Why had I invited her here? How had I allowed her to spend the night? In my bed. Because I was drunk. That was no excuse. I needed to make this right and move on.
“Good morning.” She graced me with a sparkling smile, looking every bit the part of my loving, loyal girlfriend. “I’m making you breakfast.”
“I’m going to have coffee.” My voice short, almost disgusted but this wasn’t how I wanted to be. Not with her. This day would be difficult enough.
“I made that too.” When she reached for a mug, I stepped into the kitchen, admiring her long, silky legs. Flashes of the night before cluttered my thoughts. Stay focused!
“I’m going to put it in a to-go cup,” I told her. “I have to go to Rocco’s memorial service.”
“Oh.” Her smile disappeared. “I didn’t know that was today.”
“His mother wanted a private memorial.” I poured the coffee. “I’m going to do something in a few weeks for the staff and any friends who’d like to pay their respects. I’m sure many chefs, critics, and bloggers will want to attend. He was very loved and respected in the community.”
“If you give me a few minutes, I can get ready.” She turned off the stove. “I still have some dresses in the closet.”
“That won’t be necessary.” I reached for her arm before she could leave the kitchen. “I don’t need you to come with me.”
“I want to come with you.” She stroked my cheek. “I want to be with you when you say goodbye to your friend.”
“No, it isn’t a good idea.” No matter how hard I tried to push this feeling away, a part of me blamed her for Rocco’s death. “I want to go alone.”
“Last night you said you needed me. You needed us.”
“I was drunk.”
“What are you saying?”
“I don’t know but right now I can’t deal with whatever we’re doing.” I motioned between us. “I’m sorry I texted you last night. I wouldn’t have done that if I were sober. I wouldn’t have slept with you either.”
“Sal?”
“You asked for clarification and I’m giving it to you.”
“You have to let me explain. I came here last night because you said you needed me. I thought I’d be able to tell you what happened.”
“I know what happened.”
“No, you don’t. You have to give me a chance to tell you my side.”
“You owed Franco a favor. He cashed in on it at my family’s expense. He put you in a horrible position. I get that!” My tone was louder than I would have liked. I wasn’t in the correct frame of mind to deal with this. “What I don’t get is how you continued to build a relationship with me, sleep with me, let me fall in love with you even after you betrayed me.”
“I screwed up.”
“When Franco first approached you, he threatened you. You screwed up then and I can’t say that I blame you. I could even say that when you opened that door for him, you made a mistake. How did you spend all that time with me? Say the things you did knowing you were lying to me?”
“Everything between us was real. None of that had to do with Franco.”
“At some point, you must have known telling me
the truth was a better option.”
“I do now.” When the tears streamed down her face I couldn’t handle anymore. “I was trying to protect you. I didn’t think it through. I never thought Franco would kill Rocco.”
“If you have any remorse for your part in this, you’ll respect my wishes and leave me alone today. You’ll let me grieve for my friend.”
The doorbell rang before she could respond. Now what?
“You can have breakfast but please don’t be here when I get back.” Not today. “I need space to process and I can’t do that if you’re here.”
She didn’t respond but the shock she felt over my words was displayed all over her face.
“David, the man that brought you here last night, will bring you home. He’ll be waiting outside when you’re ready. He’s with you until my brothers can neutralize Franco.”
“I don’t need you to protect me.”
“Yeah.” The doorbell chimed again. “You do.”
I left her standing in the kitchen as I tried to put her pain-stricken expression out of my head. When I opened the door, I found Vince standing by the elevator doors.
“There you are.” He walked toward me. “I thought you might be downstairs already.” He glanced at me. “You look pretty good considering the bender you’ve been on.”
“What are you doing here?”
“I wanted to ride to the service with you.”
“Why? Where’s Nadia?”
“She’s going with Dominick. Tommy will take us.”
“I don’t need a babysitter.” My brother was trying to help but I wanted to be alone.
Vince glanced into the loft, nodding inside. “Joey told us Hayden was here. Would you like her to go with us? We could wait for her.”
“No.” I stepped outside. “We’re going to be late.”
“Sal.”
“I don’t want to talk about her.” I pressed the down button on the elevator.
“I’ll talk and you’ll listen.” He patted my shoulder. “Nadia lied to me also when we first met. I felt betrayed because she could have put our family in danger. I didn’t understand why she couldn’t be honest with me.”
“Hayden did put us in danger.” Once the elevator arrived, we stepped inside. “We’re still at risk.”
“You need to look at it from her perspective.” He hit the button that led to the garage. “She isn’t a Marchelli. She has no idea how we live. Nadia didn’t either. She was afraid for her life when she met me. Franco murdered a man in front of her.”
“That’s not what happened with Hayden.”
“Ultimately it did. He killed Rocco in front of her.”
“She tried to cover it up and Rocco would still be alive if she came to me first.”
“She was afraid.”
“What are you saying? That I should forgive her? Forget that she betrayed me?”
“I’m not telling you what to do,” he said. “Only consider that not everyone can handle what we can. This isn’t commonplace for her. Franco put her in a difficult situation. She dealt with it the best way she could.”
“It shouldn’t be common for us either.”
“We can’t help who we are.” He shrugged. “I tried when I wanted to change my last name. So did you when you requested that we name the winery something other than Marchelli.”
“That didn’t go over so well.” My father wouldn’t even entertain the idea. “Now our chef was murdered in the kitchen and the place is swarming with media and patrons waiting for us to reopen. I read an article that said the winery would be in even more demand than it already is because of what happened here. This is fucked up.”
“It will blow over,” he assured me. “It always does.”
“Thanks for coming with me.” As much as I hated to admit it, I did need my brother. “I don’t want to walk in there alone.”
“You’ll never be alone.”
That was true. No matter how much of a curse I thought my family was, we always had each other’s backs. For better or for worse.
Chapter Nineteen
Salvatore
I Chose My Own Path
It had been a long, draining day. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Rocco’s nieces standing over that coffin. This was all so senseless. He was dead because he worked for me. How would I ever rectify that? As much as I wanted to blame Hayden, it wasn’t her fault. She was an excuse. Franco couldn’t have used her if not for my family. Someone would always find a way to get to us.
I’d come out to the lake to clear my mind. I tried to think of a way to honor Rocco’s memory. Maybe I could name a wine after him. Dedicate part of the vineyards to him. Make a donation to his favorite charity. Nothing seemed significant enough.
The sun had set and the water was calm. The fireflies fluttered over the lake, illuminating the distance. The peaceful summer night should have calmed me but it didn’t. When I heard the rustling in the trees behind me, I became annoyed. I’d asked my brothers and Joey to give me some space.
“Guys,” I called out. “I appreciate your concern but–”
“Hello, Salvatore.” Franco stepped out of the shadows, holding a gun in his hand. “It’s been awhile.”
“What are you doing here?” The rage bubbled inside me when I thought about what he had done to Rocco and Vincenzo. “Do you think it’s wise to show your face here?”
“Do you know how lax your security is? Dominick will be furious when he finds out there are multiple ways to get onto this property without being detected.”
“What do you want?” That gun was a bit unsettling, especially because I knew he’d have no trouble using it. What did he have to lose at this point?
“Because of what happened with Rocco there’s a bounty out on my head. My own father can’t help me.” He waved his gun in the air, making me extremely uncomfortable. “Dominick and Gianni will never stop coming for me. They made it clear that I wouldn’t get a second chance after what I did to Vincenzo.”
“If you knew that, why the hell did you come after us?”
“Your family has taken everything from me.” He shouted. “Everything!”
“That’s not true. They let you live after you shot Vincenzo.”
“Stop reminding me!”
“Okay.” I held up my hands. “Why don’t you put that away? I’m unarmed.”
“A Marchelli without a weapon.” He snickered. “How did you manage the straight and narrow?”
“I chose my own path.” And now that path was going to get me killed.
“Yet, here you are.”
“What does that mean?”
“What do you think it means?” He pointed the gun at me with a menacing glint in his eyes. “I told Hayden if she crossed me, one of you would pay.”
“Hayden didn’t cross you. She did everything you asked of her.” As much as I hated to admit it. “She betrayed me for you.”
“She didn’t know why.” He rolled his eyes. “Protecting you was her only motivation. Too bad it didn’t matter. Sabotaging your books, fucking up your shipments didn’t get me as far as I wanted with...”
“With who?” I thought for a moment. “Who are you working for?”
“No one!” he yelled. “I report to no one. I don’t care what he thinks.”
“Franco.” I tried to reason with him. “Walk away from whatever this is. My brothers will look the other way if you leave but if you kill me, you’ll never be free. They’ll hunt you down.”
“They’d have to catch me first and killing one of you would make it all worth it.”
When he raised the gun at me, I caught a glimmer in the woods behind him. Please let it be someone who could help me. I stared into Franco’s eyes as my own life flashed before me. All I ever wanted was to live a happy, safe, and normal life. Run my business free of my father’s past. I understood more now than ever how that would never be possible. I’d always be a Marchelli.
“You seem like a good guy, Sal.” He stepped
toward me. “Your blood will be on Dante’s hands. Nothing personal, it’s busin—”
Before he could finish that statement, a loud shot rang out from behind him. The burst of light came in an instant followed by the powerful force that propelled Franco forward, sending him flailing into the lake behind me. A splash of water catapulted onto the dock, spraying my face.
Holy shit! Franco’s lifeless body sank into the dark, murky waters. I took a deep breath, slowly regaining my momentum. I turned, fully expecting to find Dominick, Gianni or Joey. My eyes widened when my savior stepped out from the trees.
“Santino?”
AFTER THE SHOCK WORE off and the gravity of the situation settled in, I realized my world would never be the same. Somehow Santino got me to the restaurant and to the private lounge. I didn’t remember much after the shot was fired. He stood behind the bar, pouring me a stiff drink. My recollection of the last few minutes was a distant blur. Almost as if they hadn’t happened to me. As if I had read it in a book or saw it in a movie. Except, that wasn’t the case at all. I was really there, seconds away from being murdered. No defense, no protection. My whole life, I’d believed I was safe. No one could get to me.
“You... you saved my life,” I stuttered. “How did you know where I was?”
“I took a chance.” He chugged his drink. “We got word that someone was on the property. We called you.”
“Huh?” I took my phone out. “Oh, I silenced it during the service and I guess I forgot to put it back on.”
“You forgot? Do you know how irresponsible that was?”
“Irresponsible for me to not answer my phone on a day I buried my friend? I was on my property where I’m supposed to be safe. Away from all of this bullshit!” I downed my whiskey. “You’re supposed to be away from all of this too.”
“It’s a fucking good thing I’m not or you’d be dead.”
“I know.” I ran my hand along my chin. “Thank you.”
“Don’t mention it.” He smirked. “It was my pleasure to have a reason to put a bullet in that scumbag’s head.”