Gabe

by Lagomarsino, Giulia

  “You want to demolish it?”

  “Well, that wouldn’t be up to me. I only call in the inspector. He takes it from there. If the owners want to fight it, they have to deal with the inspector and get it up to code.” I eyed him, wondering why I was having to tell him this if he wanted to rebuild it. He appeared as if this was all new information and he was trying to take it all in. “But I’m sure you already know about all that since you’re interested in working on the house.”

  “Right. Of course.” One side of his mouth went up in an awkward smile. “Just disappointed in the condition after wanting it for all these years.”

  I nodded, not believing a word he was saying. “Well, I have to get back to the office.”

  “Hey, when did you say the inspector was coming by?”

  “I didn’t. I have to call him first.”

  “Do you think that you could hold off? I’d like a chance to talk with the owners and see if I can buy the property.”

  “They hired me to handle the sale of the property. If you’d like me to start up a negotiation with them, I can do that, but the house would still have to be inspected first.”

  “Can I have your card? I’ll talk it over with my partner and see if he wants to look into it.”

  “Sure.” I pulled out my card and handed it over. Giving him a small smile, I headed for my car. That whole situation just seemed off to me. He certainly didn’t seem like someone who was familiar with building codes and renovations. If he was, he would probably take one look at the house and pass.

  I headed back to the office and filled Karen in on the house and the odd situation I ran into. I finished out the day with phone calls and paperwork and then picked up the kids, heading home for a rowdy night with Gabe by my side.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  I ran to the kitchen for my travel mug of coffee. If I didn’t get out of here, I was going to be late for work. Gabe was dropping off the kids for me this morning because he knew I was running behind. Racing around the table, I stubbed my toe on the chair, swearing and cursing the damn chair for being in my way. I grabbed my mug and brought it to my lips just as I saw the big, hairy beast that sat on top.

  Screaming at the top of my lungs, I flung the coffee mug to the floor and grabbed the broom out of the pantry. I beat the spider that was laying on my floor until it didn’t move. I slowly inched closer, trying to make out if it was dead, or if it was going to jump up and eat me if I got close enough. I shuddered when I realized that it had almost ended up in my mouth.

  When I got close enough, I nudged it with the broom, but nothing happened. Bending closer, I squinted until I could make it out. And I was pissed. I snatched my phone off the counter and dialed Gabe’s number.

  “Isa, I just want to let you know that you’re on speakerphone with me and the kids.”

  “You did that on purpose. You put a fake spider on my coffee mug.”

  “I didn’t. I swear.”

  “I don’t believe you.”

  I could hear Vittoria giggling in the background and it all fell into place. “How much did you have to pay her?”

  “Twenty dollars, but it was worth every penny.”

  “Why? You didn’t even get to see it.”

  “Oh, I’ll see it alright. I have some cameras hidden around the house and-”

  “Wait, since when are there cameras in my house?”

  There was a long pause and then I heard Enzo in the background. “You in twouble.”

  “Gabe,” I repeated.

  “Uh…what?”

  “You just said there were cameras in my house.”

  “I’m pretty sure I didn’t say that.”

  “Gabe.” I warned him not to mess with me again. This time he was really going to pay for it. “You made me spill my morning coffee.”

  “I’m sorry, baby. I couldn’t resist. Call it payback for what you did to me at work.”

  I snapped my mouth shut because after he told me about what had happened to him, I kind of felt bad that he was introduced to a new coworker that way.

  “We’ll call it square. Gotta go.”

  I hung up and headed for the door, but was stopped by my husband. “What do you want, Matteo?”

  “I don’t want any trouble, Isa.”

  “Really? Because the last time you were here, you threatened to have me arrested.”

  “Isa…” He ran his fingers through his hair, allowing me to see the dark lines around his face. He looked terrible. “Shit. I know I messed up. I can’t even begin to tell you how sorry I am. I was crazy out of my mind thinking of you with someone else.”

  “You did that, Matteo. You ended our marriage, not me. I have to go.” I pulled the door shut and walked toward my car.

  “Isa, wait! I don’t want it to end like this. Our kids still need us to get along and I really want that. Could we…I know you can’t forget what I said, but could we try to start over? I want to have a place in my kids’ lives and I know that won’t be possible with the way things are.”

  “Matteo, I’m going to be late. I have to go.”

  “Please. I know I’m asking for a lot. I know I don’t deserve this chance, but I’m asking anyway. You don’t have to like me and you don’t have to talk to me, but please give me a chance to make it up to you and the kids.”

  I couldn’t say no. Even with everything he had done, I had to give him a chance to be a decent human being for our kids. “Fine, but if you pull threaten to take my kids away again, I’ll make sure you never see them.”

  He nodded and I got in my car. What a shitty start to the day.

  ✯✯✯✯✯

  I had told my brother that I needed a night to myself and Vanessa was all too willing to help out. I had packed bags for the kids and taken them over to Sam’s after school. When Gabe got off work, he came right over with dinner and wine. It was so nice to finally have a night to ourselves.

  Gabe was kissing his way down my neck as we watched TV. His fingers were teasing my body, trying to distract me from my movie. He didn’t have to try too hard. I hadn’t been watching the movie anyway, but I liked all the foreplay. When he nipped at my ear and his fingers slipped below my shirt, I gave up pretending that I wasn’t interested and turned into his kiss. Everything about Gabe got me riled up, but there was something I really wanted to know.

  “Gabe,” I moaned. “Tell me, what was my brother talking about when he said you were into weird stuff?”

  Gabe groaned and sat back against the couch, rubbing his hand over his face. “Do we really have to talk about this now?”

  “Yes, I want to know what you like.”

  “I like fucking you. Isn’t that enough?”

  “But if there are things you like to do, maybe we should talk about it.”

  He eyed me warily and then picked up the remote. Not what I thought he was going to do. He flicked through some channels until he got to pay-per-view and scrolled through what I could only guess was porn. I was pretty sure that if I said why the fuck are you looking at porn? I wouldn’t get any more answers out of him. So, I waited and when he finally picked one, he looked back at me with a glimmer of mischief.

  “So, you like porn,” I said slowly. He shook his head.

  “Not particularly.”

  “But, you just bought it and put it on. I don’t understand…”

  He hoisted me up on his lap, facing the TV, and whispered in my ear. “I like to watch other people fuck.” His hand slipped under my shirt, skimming my stomach as he made his way up to cup my breast. “It’s sexy as fuck to watch someone else getting off, to see that moment when her face lights up and her eyes roll back in her head from coming so hard, she feels like she’ll pass out.”

  His other hand snaked down the front of me, pulling down my pants and cupping my damp panties. I could feel his erection digging into me, throbbing to be inside me. I leaned back to kiss Gabe, but he took my chin in his hand and forced me back to the screen.

  “Don’t lo
ok at me. Watch them. Watch his ass clench as he shoves his cock in her tight pussy.”

  “How do you know it’s tight,” I said, giggling nervously.

  His fingers slipped inside my panties and ran along my lips, pushing into me slowly, seductively. “Because, I’m imagining you when I see her. All I have to do is hear that moan and my cock goes hard thinking about being inside you.”

  He didn’t have the volume up on the TV, so I could hear his fingers sliding in and out of me. I could feel the wetness spreading to my thighs as he fucked me faster. My heart was out of control as I watched the couple on the screen, but it wasn’t them that was turning me on. It was just Gabe and if he liked it, I didn’t give a shit as long as he was fucking me.

  “I…I need you,” I cried when the rhythm became too intense. I didn’t know if I could hold on much longer. When his thumb brushed my clit, I was done for. I couldn’t hold on any longer. My body shook as he pinched my clit and sent me into a tailspin. He stripped me of my shirt and then tore his pants from his body. I took care of his shirt.

  The next thing I knew I was straddling him, looking into his dark eyes. He gripped my hips, lifting me just above his cock. I could feel him teasing my entrance and then he pushed me down until he was buried inside me. My legs were so weak that I could barely move. He was the one doing all the work as I sat back and enjoyed the ride. His eyes never left mine as he thrust harder and faster into me. I wasn’t sure why he even turned on the porn if he wasn’t going to watch it.

  His nostrils flared as he pulled me tight against him and came inside me. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kissed the side of his face, down to his lips. His eyes drifted down my body, his hands following the same path, caressing me. I had never felt so loved, so cherished as I had right in this moment.

  Then I saw movement outside the window and seconds later, the door was smashing open against the wall. My brother was standing in the doorway, face red and eyes oozing anger as they flicked from the TV to me straddling Gabe’s body.

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Gabe

  “WHAT THE FUCK is going on here?” Cazzo roared from the doorway. I snatched the blanket and threw it around Isa, pulling her off my dick and setting her on the couch beside me. My clothes were on the floor just a few feet away, but the way Cazzo was looking at me, there was no way in hell I was making a move for them right now.

  “I should have fucking known. It’s bad enough you’re screwing my sister behind my back, but now you’re sucking her into your twisted world, watching fucking porn while you screw her.” I didn’t say anything and he glared at me. “Have anything to say for yourself?”

  “Would you have preferred I screw her in front of you?”

  His eyes were wild and I knew that had been the wrong fucking thing to say. I didn’t wait for him to make the first move. I got my ass off the couch and snatched my jeans off the floor as I ran for the back door. Cazzo tackled me into the kitchen table and we both went sliding across it, taking everything with us. I landed on top of him, keenly aware that my dick was hanging out and awfully close to his face because of the way we landed.

  Doing the only thing I could think of, I punched him in the jaw, just enough to disorient him, and then took off out the back door. Glancing back, I saw that he was still on the ground and quickly slipped into my jeans, but I didn’t have time to buckle them as he jumped to his feet. Screw the stairs. I grabbed onto the railing on the porch and vaulted over it, just barely landing on my feet as I hit the uneven ground. I took off at a sprint, but I didn’t get far before I felt a sharp sting pierce my arm.

  “The next one goes in your dick!” he yelled from the top of the porch. Holding up my arms, I slowly turned around and prayed to God that he didn’t actually intend on putting a bullet in my dick.

  “Sam, what the hell are you doing?” Isa yelled at him from behind. She yanked on his arm, which made me really fucking nervous. We didn’t need any wild bullets flying around.

  “I’m about to shoot your fuck buddy,” he growled.

  “He’s not my fuck buddy, you jackass.”

  “Based on what I saw, he’s not asking for more. Trust me, Isa. A guy like him only wants one thing and it isn’t the house and the kids. He’s fucking using you. I tried to tell you!” Cazzo yelled.

  “He’s not using me! He’s the one that wants it all. He told me a long time ago that he wanted me forever. He’s not the one stalling. I am!”

  “Not good enough, Isa. Give me one good reason not to shoot off his balls right now.”

  “Because I love him!”

  Cazzo and I both stepped back in shock. She hadn’t said that yet and neither had I. Knowing she wanted to take things slowly, I hadn’t wanted her to feel rushed. But I showed her how much I loved her every time I made love to her.

  I didn’t fucking care if he did shoot me right now. There was nothing that was going to keep me from my girl. I ran over to the porch and up the steps, pulling her into my arms.

  “I fucking love you too.” My lips crashed into hers and then I was lifting her in the air, swinging her around as her tongue danced with mine. My heart felt like it would explode out of my chest. She had just made me the happiest man on the planet.

  “Somebody want to tell me what’s going on here?”

  I set Isa down and kissed her softly one last time. Cap was standing at the door with Sinner and Burg and he didn’t look too happy. All three of them looked out of breath, like they had just ran a fucking obstacle course.

  “Holy shit. You’re fucking bleeding,” Sinner said, instantly looking to Cazzo and the gun that he was still holding in his hand. “You fucking shot him?”

  Cazzo shrugged. “Thought he was an intruder. I was protecting my sister.”

  I wasn’t going to say anything. I didn’t give a shit. Isa loved me and that was all that mattered.

  “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what happened,” Cap muttered as he walked over to me, taking a closer look at the wound. “That’s why Isabella called me and told me to get my ass over here before her brother killed Gabe. Looks like it was just a graze. Either you got really fucking lucky or Cazzo’s a piss poor shot. I’m guessing it’s not number two.”

  “He was fucking lucky that I didn’t shoot him in the head,” Cazzo said under his breath.

  “Sam, you need to get over whatever this is you have against Gabe. What I do with him is none of your business. I get that you want to protect me, but you don’t have to protect me from him. If anything, you should be happy that after a lousy marriage, I was able to find someone that I love.”

  If I had expected Isa to be fawning over me and treating my wound, I would have been disappointed, but she was more concerned at the moment with putting Sam in his place.

  “You really love him?” Cazzo asked irritatedly.

  “Yes, I do, and you’re going to have to get past it if you want to stay in my life.”

  “Whoa, back up there, Isa. I just needed to see that he was serious about you. No need to start kicking me out of your life.”

  “You shot him to know if he was serious about me?” Isa said a little too calmly.

  “Now I know,” Cazzo said as if everything was now fine. Isa turned to me with a sweet smile. I might not have known her for that long, but it was long enough to know that Cazzo was about to get his ass beaten.

  “So, you’re okay with this now?” she asked.

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  She leaned in for a hug, wrapping her arms around his middle. “That’s good. You know I wouldn’t have been with him if you didn’t approve.” He gave her a tight squeeze and then pulled back, but not fast enough. Isa grabbed his nipple, yanking and twisting as hard as she could. His scream was deafening as blood began to seep through his shirt.

  “Goddammit, Isa.” He pulled his shirt up and blood smeared across his pec. She had torn his nipple ring out.

  “You’re lucky you got away with that. Next time you shoot him, I’ll sneak into your
room at night and do what I did in high school, only I’ll do it in a more sensitive area.”

  His face paled and he nodded slightly.

  “What happened in high school?” Cap muttered. “And why was she sneaking into his room?”

  I shrugged. I hadn’t heard this story yet.

  Sinner was obviously thinking along the same lines. “Are you two blood brother and sister?”

  “Yeah,” Cazzo answered. “Why?”

  Sinner stepped back, shoving his hands in his pockets. “I don’t want to know.”

  “I do. If I’m going to marry her, I think I deserve to know if they have some kind of kinky relationship.”

  “What?”

  “Ew!” Cazzo and Isa said at the same time.

  “Oh, come on,” Burg interjected. “You have to admit that what she said sounded a little disturbing.”

  “What’s that, Burg?” Cazzo said, cupping his ear. “You have a man in your bed?”

  Sinner busted up laughing, but Burg cut him off with a glare. “Really, limp dick? You want to laugh about how you couldn’t get it up for Vira?”

  “Am I never gonna live that down?” Sinner muttered. “Shit, I wasn’t into her. Give me some credit. At least I don’t have to watch people have sex to get off.”

  Cazzo shook his head as he covered his ears. “I don’t want to hear this shit. I just caught the live show.”

  “Speaking of the live show,” I grinned, “when are you performing again, Cap? Maybe I’ll take Isa to watch.”

  “Hey, I wasn’t fucking someone in front of an audience.”

  “Right, right. Just a tasteful strip show where you danced completely naked on the stage with a bunch of guys.”

  “Really?” Isa whispered. “When was this and who were the other men?”

  “Why don’t you ask, Gabe? Has he told you about his previous life as a stripper?” Cap winked at her, which just pissed me off.