“You couldn’t look better than you do, Dante. Right now you look like the man who saved me from death and the horrible life I had. You look like Dante, the man I knew I always should have been with, but was too stupid to realize I always loved you. That night you first asked me out I wanted to say yes, I was going to say yes, because I always felt the same way you did. I considered myself this person who was never a coward, but I was with you back then. I really was when it came to you. It wasn’t that anyone was better. I was just scared. I was scared. Maybe life and all of my bad choices had to happen to me. So, I could open my eyes to see what was in front of me the whole time. Please don’t ask me to imagine anything other than what I see in front of me. I don’t want to.”
She caught and held my attention in such a way that it wiped my brain clean of everything.
I squeezed her hand.
“My girl and my child. My girl. Maria you were always the one for me. Marry me?”
She gasped and her hands flew up to her mouth.
“What?” Now she started crying.
“Marry me doll, just say yes.”
“Yes.” She nodded. “Yes a million times, for everything.”
That was the very best thing I could have heard.
Chapter 33
Maria
6 months later …
One more secret …
This one was worth it though.
I couldn’t believe I’d managed to keep it from him for the last two days. All of two days.
We burst through the bedroom door. Me with my legs wrapped around Dante’s waist. Him pulling my dress over my head.
We’d landed at O’Hare International an hour ago from a beautiful three week honeymoon in the Bahamas. We could barely keep our hands off each other in the limo.
Now we were home to continue indulging for one more night before Flynn came home.
It was just that I had this secret, a surprise I was bursting to tell, but kept it since I had the perfect plan of sharing it.
If only I could bring myself to stop kissing my husband.
It was like breathing. If I wasn’t kissing him or touching him it felt wrong. Even sleeping felt like moments stolen away from me.
Any second that I wasn’t with him just felt odd to me, like I wasn’t living.
This was us—
Happy, alive and in love.
This was how it was supposed to be and how I imagined myself in my dream of happiness.
This was it me and him.
“Dante, I–”
He kissed the words away and anything I was going to say faded when we collapsed into the bed. The swirl of emotions that vibrated within me completely melted my resolve and I couldn’t resist him.
I was crazy to think I could have when most of our clothes had come off at the door.
This was it, I geared up for the moment I always longed for even if I’d felt it seconds ago.
It was the moment when my mind slipped away.
There it was …
It was like a dose of pure passion and desire that cleansed my mind of everything.
The very air around us seemed electrified and my heart danced with excitement with each kiss. Each and every passionate kiss that took me so high I had to look down to see heaven.
My mind slipped away. Slipping and fading more with every touch. Each touch he spread over my skin left me wanting more and more, and more.
Together we lay naked on the bed; skin to skin, body to body. Him and me together, completely lost in the waves of ecstasy.
With his hard body on top of mine he pushed my knees up and wedged himself between my thighs, satisfying the need I had for him. I moaned as he filled me right up and began to move inside me. Passion pounded the blood through my heart, heating up as it soared through my veins and set me on fire.
Together we found the tempo that bound our bodies together, soaring higher until we reached that peak. The glorious peak of sweet agony and love flowed through us in an explosion that sent me spiraling over the edge. The hot tide of passion swirled through us. I could feel it flowing through him too.
Shivers of delight followed his touch and we both surrendered to the call of passion, desire, love, everything.
Just like him it was everything.
We gasped and groaned as we both climaxed together, sharing the release.
He cupped my face, laced his fingers through mine and pressed his forehead to mine too.
“I can’t get enough of you.” He whispered against my hair.
I tilted my head slightly so I could look at him. “That works perfectly, because I can’t get enough of you either.”
He smiled down at me. That smile of his was as intimate as his kisses. “Then lets continue this in the shower.” He went to pick me up, but I remembered what I had to tell him.
“Dante no,” I swatted his hands away.
“Oh God no, not this. We’ve been married for close to a month and already you want to break our vows.”
I burst out laughing. “What on earth do you mean?”
“Pretty certain there was something in there about allowing me to touch you and have you whenever and wherever I want … forever.” He narrowed his eyes at me.
“You just made that up.”
“I absolutely did not.” He shook his head.
I cupped his face. “Dante fine, you win. I’m happy to be had and touched by you wherever and whenever you want forever. I have something to tell you first though.”
“Please God, don’t let it be that we have visitors. If Ava brings one more cupcake here I will shoot it.”
I giggled. “It’s not that and those cupcakes are delicious.”
“I don’t care how delicious they are. We’re busy for the next few years. The only person allowed to disturb us is Flynn and I can’t wait to see him.” His eyes sparkled.
“Well, that may change.”
“How do you mean?” He asked with a look of anticipation. He held my gaze and stared at me as something brightened in the depths of the blue. “Maria, what is it?”
Nerves and excitement filled me.
“I’m pregnant,” I said in a voice barely above a whisper. It was the emotions of saying it and telling him.
Then seeing his face, his mouth dropped and he sucked in a sharp breath. “What? Maria, say that again.”
“I’m pregnant Dante.”
His eyes filled with tears and one streamed down his cheek. “Oh my God. Oh my God. Baby, I’m going to be a father? I mean again. You know I love Flynn like he’s mine. He’s my son. Blood counts for nothing. That boy is mine. It’s just this is …”
He placed his hand on my stomach, looked down, and smiled.
“I know. You love Flynn like he’s yours and I love you for that. But this one is yours. It’s you and me.” I said it for him, I knew exactly what he meant.
I knew what he meant, because I felt the same way.
He leaned forward, kissed my stomach and then cupped my face.
“I love you, Maria. I love you so much.”
I would never get tired of hearing him tell me that. It was like renewing our vows every day.
“I love you too, Dante.”
He pressed his lips to mine giving me the sweetest kiss.
The type of kiss my soul could melt into.
Later that night as he lay asleep I went out on to the balcony to look at the stars.
It was a beautiful night, the kind of night Christina and I used to revel in since there were so many stars to wish on.
I sat in the chair and looked out at the night sky.
So many wishes had come true for me. So many things had happened just this year. Things I never thought I’d achieve.
I was the manager at the new branch of Delizioso. Me, a manager instead of a barmaid, or a waitress.
I was the manager. Ava gave me the chance and I did a damn good job.
I had a career, a beautiful son, a baby on the way, and a man who loved m
e to no end.
It was like I got to do everything all over again—a second chance.
I missed her though.
I missed Christina, my best friend.
She would have been proud of me.
I looked up at the brightest star and smiled, hoping she would hear my words.
“Thank you for being my friend. Thank you for choosing me. You meant so much to me, and I miss you.”
Words from my heart. With that I got up and went back to Dante, joining him in the bliss of our dreams.
Epilogue
Dante
Business …
Back to business, but I felt different today; more appreciative of everything.
We were just getting set up and waiting for Gio.
He’d met with Gibbs earlier after being informed him that he found something very interesting.
Gio just came through the door, face stern and a large envelope in his hands.
The pale look on his face told me something was wrong.
Claudius and Alex picked up on it too.
“What happened?” Claudius asked.
Gio sat and just shook his head. We looked at him as he balled his fists and released a sigh of frustration.
“Just look at it.” He handed Claudius the envelope.
He opened it and took out a file that was stapled together. I could see too there was a handwritten note attached to it with a paperclip.
“It’s a coroner’s report.” Claudius explained.
“That is Marshall’s original coroner’s report.” Gio answered. Marshall was Gio’s best friend from Philly. He was the one who he wore the cross for.
“Original?” I asked.
Alex instantly quirked a brow.
“The report we saw said he died of gunshot wounds from a gang shoot out,” Gio replied.
“This says he was poisoned.” Claudius held it up.
The hair on the back of my neck stood up.
“It says he was poisoned a whole day before the supposed shoot out. Gibbs found it along with the note.”
Claudius started reading the note. “Call me as soon as you see this. I saw something that I think you should know about. Only you have the power to sort this out. Marshall.”
Holy fucking hell.
“Jesus Gio, what the fuck?” Claudius hissed.
“I know. It was all a lie. All of it some kind of set up—everything. He saw something he wasn’t supposed to see and someone killed him for it. Someone killed him and covered it up.”
“What do you want to do?” Claudius asked.
“Claudius I can’t just accept it.” Gio shook his head. “Good on Gibbs for investigating and finding the answer, and thank you Claudius for finding him and hiring him. I got an answer to what happened, but I don’t know who killed him. I don’t know who did this to him. I have to go to Philly to find out. I know it’s’ not ideal I–”
“We’re all going.” Claudius cut in. “We’ll all go and take Gibbs with us.”
“No,” Gio held up his hand. “Your wife’s about to give birth at any time. You need to stay here.”
“Well I’m fucking coming whether you like it or not.” I told him. Sure I didn’t want to leave Maria. We’d just gotten back from the Bahamas. I just had the most amazing news ever that we’d be parents again. There was a lot to do and get used to. “My wife isn’t due for months and she’d kill my ass if I didn’t go to back you up.”
I’d kill my ass if I didn’t go too. I was going.
“What about me? I’ll come too.” Alex offered.
“No, stay with Claudius. He’ll need help,” I said before Claudius could answer. “We’ll go and take Gibbs with us. We got this.”
Claudius snapped his gaze to me. “Still playing Boss Dante?” he smirked.
“No, L.A. punk, I’m playing the friend.” I smiled and looked to Gio. “I’m playing the friend, now let’s go get them sons of a bitches who did this.”
Gio nodded with deep appreciation in his eyes. “I’ll book our flights.”
Stolen Kisses Page 23
