by Chelle Bliss
“There aren’t any red carpets here. Nowhere to wear your designer gowns.”
“Ah. That’s where you’re wrong. I’m going to be working at the Gallo Family Charity as head of donor acquisition and retention.”
“Oh,” she says, her eyebrows rising.
“I plan to put my Hollywood contacts to good use, and I’m also in charge of planning local events to help highlight achievements in the community.”
“That sounds really lovely, Jo.”
Nick stalks down the hallway, his gaze searching the people-filled living room until his eyes find mine. “Babe.”
“Be back,” I tell her, patting her hand before unlocking our arms. “What’s up, honey buns?”
“Honey buns,” Mammoth mutters as he leans against the counter in the kitchen, ankles crossed, sipping a beer. “Fuckin’ priceless.”
Nick turns his head, narrowing his eyes as he points at Mammoth. “Shut it.”
I slide my hand up his bare chest, not giving two shits he’s covered in sweat, until my fingers touch his face. With a little pressure, I get his eyes back on me. “What did you need, babe?” I say, using his word back at him instead of another term like sweet cheeks.
The attitude he was giving Mammoth vanishes the moment he faces me. The glare is replaced by a smile, and his gaze softens. “You want the desk by the window or in the middle of the room?”
He looks extra hot with his hair all over the place, covered in the right amount of sweat to make his body glisten. I’ve never been attracted to a sweaty human being before, doing everything possible to avoid coming in contact with them, but Nick’s different. There hasn’t been a thing about him that turns me off, even when he’s talking like a caveman.
I blink, confused. “That’s what you wanted?”
He reaches around, cupping my ass. “The thing weighs a ton. I want it right before the guys leave.”
“Middle of the room.” I brush my lips against his as he squeezes my butt.
“Good call,” he says, smiling down at me like I’m the very reason he breathes. “As soon as we’re finished, I’m kicking everyone out.”
“You are?”
His smile widens. “My girl’s been in Cali for a week, and I’ve missed her. I need a lot of Jo time.”
I snake my arms around his shoulders, shoving my fingers in the back of his hair. “Would that involve us being naked?” I whisper.
“You can bet your sweet ass, it does.”
“I’m out,” Kimberly proclaims, raising her hands high in the air as her stilettos click against the hardwood. “I’m going to the beach. I’ll be back tomorrow.”
“Want company?” Rocco asks as she moves toward the doorway where he’s standing, never giving up.
“You better keep your cute ass here, kid. I’m in no mood,” she tells him, giving him a little tap on the chest with her finger.
He turns, watching her sashay out the door, her hips swaying in her tight jeans. “Fuck. I think I’m in love,” he mutters, covering the spot her finger had been.
“Oh Jesus,” I groan. “He’s ridiculous.”
“At that age, all I did was…”
I cover Nick’s mouth. “Don’t say it.”
He laughs, his eyes twinkling in the sunshine streaming through the bank of sliding glass windows behind me. “Say what?” he asks as I drop my hand.
“Exactly.”
“All the shit off the truck?” he calls out to Rocco, still holding my ass as we stand plastered together.
“Yep.” Rocco glances out the doorway toward the driveway. “You need me anymore? I have something to do.”
“No. We’re done here,” Nick tells him.
Just as Rocco peels himself away from the doorframe, Carmello is at his side. “Come on, asshole. You’re not chasing after her. Get that shit out of your head.”
“Dude, don’t ruin my night.”
“I have something even better. Carrie and I are heading up to the cabin for a few days, and she invited one of her friends.” Carmello waggles his dark eyebrows with a smirk. “You in?”
“Is she hot?” is Rocco’s response.
Carmello stares at his brother and then smacks him in the chest. “Carrie doesn’t have ugly friends.”
Rocco moves his head from side to side like he’s mulling it over because the decision is so hard. “Someone from high school?”
“No, dipshit. It’s one of her sorority sisters. Now, get your ass moving because if I’m late, I’m going—”
“Fuck. I’m in,” Rocco replies, suddenly filled with excitement. “Let’s go, but I’m driving. You drive like an old woman.”
“Fuck you,” Carmello snaps. “I drive better.”
“Still not happening,” Rocco tells him, shaking his head.
“Bye,” I call as they head out the door, moving quickly toward Rocco’s car. “Have fun.”
“Wear a fuckin’ rubber,” Nick yells out to his horny younger cousins.
“We’re out,” Pike announces, with Mammoth right behind him. “We put the desk in the middle of the room. Our women are waiting for us, and it looks like you have your hands full for the evening.”
“Have fun, honey buns,” Mammoth tells Nick with a smirk.
“We’re alone.” I peer up at him with those eyes that tell him I’m having all kinds of sinful thoughts. “And the boxes can wait.”
“Have you missed me, babe?”
I slide my hand up to his face, scraping my fingers against his scruff. “So freaking much my body aches for you.”
“We better rectify that, then.” He kisses the corner of my mouth but doesn’t give me exactly what I want.
I press my breasts to his chest, plastering myself against him. “I could really use a shower. Care to join me?” I ask as I pull away, sliding out of his grip and slowly walking backward toward the hallway.
He watches me in sheer fascination as I lift my shirt over my head, dropping it to the floor. He takes a step toward me, only stopping when I reach for the button of my shorts.
I shimmy the material down my legs and then step out, leaving them a few feet away from my shirt. He moves faster now, removing his clothes as he follows me down the hallway to the master bedroom.
By the time he makes it to the bathroom, I have the water already running and am standing there in nothing more than my delicate black lace underwear and bra.
“How did I get so lucky?” he asks me, reaching out to pull me close and kiss my lips while the water warms.
I tip my head back, placing my hand against his chest, and look up at him like he’s everything I’ve ever wanted. “It’s all about this,” I say, sliding my other hand between us and grabbing his dick. “It holds your superpowers.”
He sucks in a breath as I stroke his length. “A week felt like an eternity, Josephine.”
“I’m here now, Nicholas, and I’m not going anywhere,” I promise him.
“You may get sick of me.”
My hand moves faster, squeezing his cock harder. “Do you love me?”
“I love you,” he tells me.
“More than anyone?” I ask, needing the reassurance.
“More than anyone ever.”
I pull him into the shower by his cock, and he moves with me step by step under the warm spray. He presses me against the cold tile. I gasp, but he quickly muffles the sound by covering my mouth with his.
His hands slide across my slippery skin, exploring every inch of me like he’s memorizing every dip and swell. He dips his tongue into my mouth, savoring the sweet taste of me.
I moan, shoving my fingers into his hair and holding his face to mine, deepening our kiss. His hands move to my back, skating down the ridge of my spine to my ass, cupping my cheeks in his hands again. As if on cue and without any words, I give him my weight, wrapping my legs around his body, using the shower wall to keep myself upright.
“Fuck me, baby,” I plead.
“Condom,” he mumbles.
&nb
sp; “I’m on the pill.”
“You sure about this?” he asks.
“I’m sure,” I promise, against his lips. “Never been more sure about anything or anyone in my life.”
With those words, he reaches between us, rubbing the head of his shaft against my middle, and I’m dying for him to be inside me.
“Don’t go slow,” I beg. “I want to feel owned.”
He smirks, loving when I talk that way to him. Without being gentle, he thrusts his cock inside me, slamming my back into the wall and stealing my breath.
I gasp, tightening my arms around his shoulders and pulling the strands of his hair harder with my fingers. “Yes! Just like that.”
Holding my ass, he pounds into me with his hard cock.
The sex is frenzied.
My hands are moving everywhere, my nails raking over his skin, sending goose bumps along my skin as he tips his head down, dragging his lips across the swell of my breasts. He raises me higher in the air to thrust harder and deeper.
I pant with each pump as my thighs tighten around his waist, and I dig my heels into his ass, wanting and needing more.
Within seconds, his breathing changes, and he follows me into bliss as the waves of pleasure splash over us, taking us over the cliff.
24
Nick
My father greets us at the door, looking like he always does…chill. “Hey, kids,” he says with a warm smile.
“Hey, Dad.” I reach out and wrap an arm around him, followed by a quick pat.
He does the same before turning his gaze to Jo. “It’s great to see you too, sweetheart.”
Her smile can’t be any bigger as he opens his arms to her completely, not going in for a bro hug. “It’s always wonderful to see you, Mr. Gallo.”
“Thomas or Pop, Jo. No more Mr. Gallo. I think we’re past that point.”
“Tommy?” she asks, peering up at him with a smirk.
“Whatever you want,” he tells her, surprising me as much as her.
“Old Man works too,” I add, earning myself a deadly glare from my pop.
“Honey, let the kids in!” Mom yells from inside the house. “Don’t let all the air conditioning out.”
My father rolls his eyes. “All I hear about is the air conditioning, and it’s freezing cold in here. Damn hot flashes,” he mutters.
“Hot what?” I ask.
Jo touches my arm, giving me a small smile. “It’s a woman’s thing, sweetie.”
“Someday, you’ll get to experience the joys, my son.” Dad laughs, moving to the side so we can make our way into the house.
“Oh, you two look absolutely adorable,” Mom says with her hands covered in oven mitts. “I’ve been cooking up a storm. I hope you brought your appetites.”
“I’m starving,” I answer as Jo kicks off her sandals, leaving them at the door with the other shoes. “Jo hasn’t eaten all day either.”
My mother’s eyes widen. “You two really need to stop and eat sometimes. It’s not healthy, and we need to make sure your body”—these words she says to Jo—“has all the vitamins it needs.”
My eyebrows furrow, and I turn my head to face Jo. She’s white as a ghost, blinking at my mother with her lips set in a firm line.
“Is there something I don’t know?” I ask, reaching out and grabbing Jo’s hand. “Anything at all?”
Jo shakes her head. “Um, no. Not that I know of, unless your mom has some weird voodoo skills.”
My mom laughs, her red hair swaying. “I’m thinking about the future.”
“Far. Far. Far in the future,” I correct her.
“Sometimes kids sneak up on you,” Dad adds like kids magically appear out of nowhere.
I pull Jo toward the couch next to my father’s favorite chair and settle in with her at my side. “Did I sneak up on you?”
My dad sits, glancing over at my mother, who smiles. “You were planned.”
“You sure about that?” I ask again because the way they’re looking at each other says otherwise.
“Planned. Completely planned.”
“But accidents do happen,” Mom adds, moving back toward the kitchen island.
“Do you need help, Mrs. Gallo?” Jo asks, tangling her fingers in mine against my knee.
“You sit and relax, baby. I got this,” she replies, glancing up from a pot to smile at us. “I made Nick’s favorite.”
“And that would be?” I ask.
I was blessed not to grow up in Gigi’s house, with Suzy as a mother. For as sweet as she is, she is the worst cook in the entire world. Gigi’s skills aren’t far off from her mother’s either.
“Homemade meatballs and ravioli from your favorite store in St. Pete.”
“You went to Mazzaro’s?” My stomach instantly grumbles, begging for a piece of the heaven that lies within those pots.
“Of course,” Mom says, stirring the sauce. “Always the best for you kids.”
“I get frozen ravioli,” Dad tells Jo and then tips his head to me. “But when he comes over for dinner, she’ll drive an hour each way to get him his favorite.”
“Stop whining,” Mom tells Dad, giving him a wink when he glances over his shoulder to look at her. “I spoil you in other ways.”
Jo giggles, knowing exactly what they’re talking about, but I can only shake my head, still not comfortable thinking about my parents having sex.
“You two are trying to kill me,” I mumble.
When I was little, I walked in on them. Took me almost five years to get that visual out of my head every time I looked them in the eye. Wrestling was never the same either. I immediately left the team, finding the sport way too sexual and the memory too much for me to shake.
“Any trouble from the press lately?” Dad asks Jo when he finally turns back around, thankfully changing the subject.
Jo scoots closer, pressing her side against me. “Not really. I take too many selfies and other photos to post on my social media. There’s not much else they can get that I don’t share myself. I took the power out of their hands.”
“Smart girl,” he praises her, smiling.
“I listened to what you said, Mr.…”
Dad raises an eyebrow.
“Thomas,” Jo corrects herself quickly. “They’re too busy following my mother’s court dates and cases, along with Jamison’s, to worry about me walking around barefoot on the beach. There’s no need for them to be way out here when there are no other celebrities for hundreds of miles.”
“It’s a slice of heaven, isn’t it?” Dad asks her.
“It is.” She smiles, squeezing my hand. “I never knew I could find such peace.”
“Dad, I was wondering if, tomorrow after dinner at Grandma’s, you’d go with Jo and me to the range. I want her to learn how to handle a weapon and shoot.”
My father’s eyebrows rise again. “You don’t want to teach her?”
I shake my head. “I think you’d be better at it. You taught me everything I know, and you have way more patience than I do, too. I can teach her the basics, but you’re better with the mechanics.”
“You want to learn?” Dad asks her, going right by me.
“Yes. I was never allowed to handle a gun before, but now, I feel like I need to at least know how to protect myself in case anything happens to me again.”
“Are you going to carry?” he asks Jo.
Her forehead wrinkles. “Carry?”
“Conceal and carry. You can get a permit to carry a gun in your purse or hidden on your person.”
Jo blinks. “Oh, no. I don’t want to carry it everywhere.”
Dad laughs softly. “We’ll see how you feel after tomorrow. You’ve been through a lot, and although you’re no longer in Cali, I worry you’ll always be a target, even a small one, for creepers who are fascinated with your mother.”
Jo pulls her lip in her mouth, chewing on the corner. I reach up, releasing the strong hold and rescuing that small patch of skin before she gnaws it away. “Ba
by, you’re safe here. Don’t worry. Dad’s always overcautious about everything.”
“Don’t listen to my husband, Jo. In his line of work, he’s always thinking about the worst-case scenario. He always goes overboard.”
“Babe,” Dad says, reaching back as my mother tries to walk by him and snagging her around the legs. He hauls her into his lap like two teenagers in love. “Even you got into some shit, yeah?”
“Yes, Thomas,” she says with so much attitude.
“I saved you, didn’t I?”
“Yes.”
“Could you have saved yourself?”
“No.” She rolls her eyes. “You’ll never let me forget it either, will you?”
He nuzzles his face into her neck, hugging her tight. “Could you save yourself now?”
She sags against him. “I could, but only because you taught me how to protect myself after, you know….”
“Right, baby. Every person, man or woman, should know what to do in case someone comes after them or puts their life in danger,” Dad replies, stroking my mother’s arm with his thumb.
“What’s ‘you know’?” Jo asks, and my mother straightens. “If it’s none of my business, please tell me to shut up.”
“No, darling. I don’t mind talking about what happened to me. It was a long time ago, before Nicholas was born.”
I pull Jo tighter against me with my arm around her shoulder, our other hands still locked together. “My parents had a wild past.”
“We did.” Dad smiles, tipping his head back to look at my mom. “I’m glad we made it out, but it was close and nothing I’d like to relive.”
“I know, sweetie,” she agrees, touching his cheek before turning her gaze toward Jo. “We met on the job. Thomas was undercover with a motorcycle club, working for the government, and I was working at an establishment owned by the same club. Well, after we broke free and Thomas brought me home with him, we thought we were done. But someone had other plans.”
