I mischievously grin and take a fingertip of the creamy goodness. I pull back the sheet covering her and rub it against her nipple. I offer her my finger as my mouth savors the sweetness on the taut ripe bud.
Tossing the metal container on the nightstand, she rolls back and I mount between her legs. Her hands pull the towel from me as we kiss and I demandingly take what is mine. Her arms drape over my shoulders as she whispers, “Make love to me, Sal.”
I lower to her breast again and slowly suckle. “How many?”
“What?” she asks as I relish in the divine glory of her boobs. “Orgasms? As many as you can handle. But if you don’t stop doing that, I’m going to come soon.”
I peek up and say, “Kids?”
“You mean our RanKet hellions?”
Settling between her legs, I stop and question, “… Babies with you?”
She giggles beneath me. “Yeah.” She nervously smiles as we dream of currently unobtainable nirvana. “I’d love a big family with you. Maybe four…five…six.”
“Shit, we’ll need to practice our maneuvers.”
“Maneuvers?”
“Uh huh,” I groan, sinking my cock deep into her. “God, you’re so wet.”
“I’m always this way around you,” she mumbles as we sway through our dance. We are hopelessly in love with one another, and nothing will ever stop the devotion. Her fingers slither down my back to grab my ass. She arches up into my arms, and I lift her with one solid move.
I’m thrusting up, and she’s riding—soaring—in ecstasy as we coalesce with her waters thrashing against my flames. She won’t extinguish me, but we sizzle and pop with hot steam.
“Lucas…I love you so much,” she weeps as I stay brave and refuse to give in to the dwindling clock. “Promise me we will get there.”
“I swear to you, Angel,” I vow with all that I am. “Come for me, baby.”
Puddling onto my body, she tightens around my shaft.
It is too good.
It is too much.
“God, baby… I’m about to blow. I love you…I love you…I love you, Iris…” My fingers spread wide against her back as I thrust and come deep inside of her. Hiding in her hollow, I am in the safest place I will ever be as my demons silence in the presence of my adoring angel.
Nothing else matters.
58
Evacuation Route
Everything about the next morning is in slow motion. I get up early at 5:30, only to find Anna on the back porch sipping coffee. I make a cup of hot tea and meander out. She welcomes me with a smile and a firm grip on my fingers.
“Did you have a good night, my Salvatore?”
“I had the best fucking day of my whole damned life,” I admit, feeling the pinch of the time.
She lays her hand on my arm. “You know these walls aren’t soundproof.”
With a light heat rising on my cheeks, I smirk, take a sip of my tea, and ask, “When does her flight leave?”
“Aimee will be here at ten.”
Pulling a smoke from my pack, I slump back into the chair, defeated. I keep going over every possibility, but there is no way I can agree to take her home to Boston knowing the war that waits for me. I flick the lighter and inhale. “What if we do something else?”
“Like what?” Iris asks from the doorway. She’s wearing my shirt and my heart aches. “Tell me. Because I’m willing to do almost anything at this point.”
“What if we put a hold on finding all the USB drives?”
“… And do what?” she asks as I invite her to sit in my lap. I hold her hand.
And her ass.
“You stay here with Anna,” I propose, glancing between the two women. “Assuming she will have you. Let me deal with the shit and my father. You’ll have Deacon to take care of you. And Trudy is amazing.”
“Nico is leaving with Serene…”
“Yeah, but you will be fine with Cruz,” I insist, trusting my boy to hold down the fort. “He’s got the entire Tennessee Twelve and Reckless Rebellion here at his disposal. Besides, we have the mayor, and the Sugargrove PD locked down.”
“Whose idea was this?” Anna asks.
“Mine,” I answer, taking a drag on the smoke before putting it out. “And Dom’s at four in the morning.”
Iris runs her fingers through my hair. “I heard you get up, but I was…exhausted.” She blushes and Anna giddily snickers.
Anna lays her hand on ours. “I will happily welcome your future bride if it means keeping her safe. I have four gun cases full of weaponry and ammo in the dungeon. I do know how to shoot, and I’m not afraid to if need be.”
I feel Iris giggling under her breath. “Thank you so much, Anna. I know you didn’t have to accept me after everything…”
“Sweetheart,” she whispers, staring at Iris. “This has absolutely nothing to do with my son and everything to do with your love of Salvatore. I love you. And I will gladly watch over you like a hawk. This love you have is special, and I will do all that is in my power to see your fairytales come true.”
With tears in her eyes, Iris says, “Thank you so much, Anna. I love you, too.” Her gaze shifts to me, and she softly mutters, “… You called Dom?”
“I realized something last night at dinner with Franco and Silvano. Dom isn’t screwing The Unholy over because we are family. We are thicker than blood. And if I’ve been too stupid to see that, I’m a fucking idiot. Everything he has done has been to bring us to this place.”
“He’s trying to get control from Vito.”
“I know that now,” I admit, blinking at her. “We knew it wouldn’t be easy.”
“Nothing worth having is ever easy,” Anna softly says.
I smile at Iris. “But he’s still a hard limit.”
She laughs. “And Amber?”
“She’s in West Texas at the Red Crow Recovery Center Serene and her built. She’s writing, staying low, and minding her own business. Dom agrees with the decision of her removal, and he swears to not go against me.”
“What about Jaid?”
“Dom signed the divorce papers, and Jaid is staying with her father in Florida for now.”
I don’t mention how my beloved partner is shadowing me to Boston because it isn’t important right now.
I need someone on my team. And if a sacrifice happens—at least it won’t be Iris.
We make choices.
We give ranks.
We pick favorites.
And we have to live with those decisions.
“But you need to stay low,” I encourage, hoping she doesn’t disregard me. “Don’t go shopping alone.”
She snickers, “You’re kidding, right? Deacon loves to shop. Have you bridged that gap yet?”
“No, I promised Trudy I wouldn’t interfere with his time.”
She rubs her lips together. “So, if I’m staying here. I guess you can go.”
“Ya,” I say as Anna gets up and walks to the edge of the deck. “But I will be back.”
“And what if you don’t come back?”
“Then I guess you become Mrs. Deacon Cruz and live happily ever after.”
Tears drip from her eyes. “Is he aware of that?”
“Yes,” I assure, popping my jaw. “We made a deal. If something happens to me, you belong to him.”
“Don’t you fucking die on me!” She screams, wrapping her arms tight around my body, as Anna lowers her head. “Don’t you come back to me in a casket.”
“Baby girl…trust me,” I promise, holding her close. “I got this.”
An hour later, I’m packed and loading the motorcycle into the back of the Raptor. It’s almost time. Iris is standing vigil, clutching to a cup of coffee like it’s the only thing keeping her standing.
“Be careful!” Anna says as I wheel the bike up the ramp. I bungee the bike down and hop off the tailgate. “Let me give you a kiss so you can say a proper goodbye to your doll.”
With a gentle embrace, I pick her up just to hear
her giggle. “Oh, Salvatore! You’re such an amazing man! Don’t you ever let anyone tell you otherwise. You go do what you need to do and make sure you eat plenty of crustella!” I set her on her feet, and she kisses me on the lips. “I love you.”
“Anna,” I mutter as my tears start to fall. “Thank you so much for everything. I love you, too.”
I hold her hand as she walks away until we separate. She disappears into the house, and I break down. “You keep an eye on her?”
“Of course,” she says, smiling and crying. “I have your digits, Mr. Raniero.”
“Yes, but will you answer when I call?”
Her eyes pivot back and forth as she teases, “Maybe. If you’re nice.”
“I’ll be naughty and nice,” I flirt, grinning like the devil. Gripping her arms, I look her directly in the eyes. “You need to trust me completely. No matter what rumors you hear, know I am coming back to you. I swear to you.”
If my years of training her have done anything, I pray she listens. I pray she takes my words to heart. And I pray she doesn’t ever let go of them.
“I will be good, Sir.”
“Run to Cruz,” I remind, remembering something. “Oh!” I open the door to the truck and pull out his cut. “Make sure he gets this.”
“No,” she says, shaking her head. “I’m not getting involved in this thing between you two.”
I scratch my head. “No?”
“No,” she firmly states. “He’s your collared submissive and my other Master. I will not be getting involved because it crosses a line where we are equals, and we’re not. He is who he is, and I am me. I cannot be any clearer than that.”
“Wow… Impressive, Miss Kettles.”
“Test me again, Sal.” She winks.
“You’re so ready,” I say, pulling her into my arms. I lift her, and she wraps her legs around my waist. “Time moves too fast. I’m not ready to go.”
“That makes two of us,” she whispers, sobbing against my neck. “It hurts—so bad.”
“I have to go, Angel.” I breathe against her lips and kiss her passionately one last time as I set her down and get in the truck. “More than words, Dandy.”
“More than words, Trotter.”
I’m trying to hold it together when she says, “Hey! Save some skin! We’ll have babies one day, and you’ll want their names.”
I grin and cry, bending my head onto the steering wheel. “Why do you think I’m leaving part of my back blank?”
“Take this time to get well, baby,” she whispers, blowing a kiss. “I know you’ve got other stuff to do, but don’t forget about you.”
I turn the truck on, but putting it in drive is the hardest thing I’ve ever had to do. “I have to go so I can get back and marry your ass, girl!”
“Hurry!” She smiles, waving as I pull away. “I love you!”
“I love you,” I shout. I peer in the rearview and see her breaking down. I jam on the brakes, throw it into park, and jump out. “Iris, run!”
And she does it.
As she is coming towards me, I flip back over all we’ve been through and know I want to spend every minute in the rest of my life with her by my side.
Leaping into my arms, I spin her round and round. I don’t know when I’ll see her again. She is the love of my life and everything I’ve ever wanted. She is my moon and my stars; my hurricane and the creator of my flame.
“When I come back, I’ll say—Hi! My name is Lucas Salvatore Raniero. I want to buy you a chocolate croissant and a latte. Will you marry me?”
“And I’ll say—Yes! Yes! Yes!” she squeals, wailing in my arms and kissing me with all she has. “Go destroy your fucking father for forcing this separation.”
“I will not stop until we can be free.”
“Go!” I set her down. She lowers her head and points towards the exit. I say nothing as I get back in because there is nothing left to say. She knows everything. I toss it into drive, hit the gas, and veer into the fields towards the back exit.
This place is mine.
I can drive on the fucking grass.
And I can stash the most important girl in the world here.
The gate opens, and I pull through, stopping at the sign. I get out and kneel before the JULIET.
“Keep her safe for me. Please, God, don’t let anything happen to her. Watch over her, Luca.” I don’t call him Old Poppa this time because this is man to man, and I hope he understands I’m not a boy anymore. I make the sign, kiss the cross, and press my lips to the L. “Keep her strong and help me be brave, Hope.”
I give two pounds to the stones and walk away.
“I love you,” I howl. Shredding through the gravel towards town, I wipe my tears which don’t stop; they’re a constant waterfall of everlasting love. We are fragile, vacant things until family fills our souls with love and builds us to be tougher than we ever imagined we could be.
But if that is true, why do I feel so broken? Why do I feel so lost?
Why do I feel like I’m abandoning everyone and everything that ever meant something to me?
Pulling into the gas station by the interstate, I hop out and start the pump when I spot the two-door red Mercedes-Benz in the parking spot by the door. I glance down, tapping my foot and wishing the gas would hurry the fuck up.
At my front bumper, Trudy strolls up all dressed in black, looking like MILF gone mad. “You’re doing it?”
“What?” I mumble, not wanting to talk.
She purposefully stomps towards me. “Leaving.”
“Ya, I have to.”
“You don’t have to do anything you don’t want to,” she curtly remarks. “You’re encroaching on a war zone without any fucking armor.” Her eyes scan over the boxes in the backseat and the bike in the bed. She gives the maternal scowl, crossing her arms, and exemplifying resting bitch face. I know she’s judging me, and I’m not happy about it one iota, especially now. “You’re planning on being gone for a long time.”
With my anger rising at her irrational behavior, I mumble, “I’m going to have to do whatever I have to do.”
“Okay, you do that,” she hisses, breathing heavily. “I’ll get to clean up more of your fucking messes. It’s not like I don’t have anything better to do,” she sarcastically exclaims, lifting her hands to the sky. “I’ve got a decimated kid in my car because of the shit you’ve done, Raniero.”
Lifting my sunglasses, I ask, “… He’s in the car?”
“Don’t, you dare,” she seethes, raising her finger and staring at my reddened eyes. “Don’t even think of saying goodbye. You’ve hurt him enough!”
I hang up the gas pump and try to veer around her as she grabs my shirt. “Leave me alone.”
“Then you leave my son the fuck alone,” she warns, spitefully. “Get in your fucking truck and go marry some little bitch to make Daddy proud! You won’t ever be happy. You won’t find what you’re looking for in Boston because they’re right fucking here. But guess what? By the time you realize that it’ll be too late because you already shit all over them. You are forsaking the only family that ever loved you for a pipe dream! You can’t take out a King by marrying a peasant!”
I love how she doubts me.
“Cruz!” I shout in the middle of the empty lot as she tugs on my shirt. “Cruz!”
“Salvatore,” she snaps, digging her red talons into my forearm. “Stop it! Right, the fuck now! You made promises you seem to have forgotten—to Deacon and Iris. Stay the fuck away from my kid and stay the fuck outta Texas! And don’t you even think about waltzing back into Sugargrove because you aren’t welcome back.”
Turning away, she gets in the car and recklessly drives off towards Juliet as I lay my arms and head across the hood of my truck. “Fuck!” I bellow, wallowing in a cesspool of my own shit. “FUCK!”
59
My Biggest Fangirl
I turn into the upper-middle-class neighborhood I grew up in, and I’m reminded how foreign this all is. Th
e young man I was at eighteen doesn’t know anything about this world at twenty-five.
I’m not the same; they aren’t the same.
Our relationships, conversations, and responses to one another won’t be the same. They may not like me; I may not like them. And even though we’ve had phone calls and brief visits, it isn’t the same.
Seven years is a lot of change.
I pull into the driveway and glance at the clock—1:23 in the afternoon. My father is likely still at the fishery, which is no longer the small dock-side service it once was. He’s built Raniero Fisheries into a well-established business, a staple for families and restaurants along the Eastern Seaboard.
I should be thrilled to be working there.
A lot of people covet the Vice President position I know he will give me, even if it means removing someone else. The one good thing about working at the fishery is my father’s right-hand man, Uncle Vinny.
Vinny Veramonte is from my maternal side, Italians, not Sicilians. He’s been with my father for years bridging the gap and solidifying the two family lines, not unlike the Gennaro’s and Campanelli’s. His mother, my Nonna, was the best thing I ever had in Boston. I love my mother, don’t get me wrong, but she bends far too quickly to my father’s will. I have issues with her because she never once stood up to him when he was beating the crap out of me.
I yank the keys from the ignition as Mama opens the door and two of my four sisters, Gabriella and Catarina, appear. None of us are married, and this is a huge sore spot for Mama.
My eldest witch, Stella, is vying for the position my father wants to give me, eventual head of the entire operation. She lives in Boston with her long-term Puerto Rican boyfriend, Durante Costa.
Catarina (Cat) is the quietest of the girls, sometimes even more so than me. She’s always been a bit of an anomaly in the mix – the pretty nerd – rarely speaking and always studying. Her brilliance earned her valedictorian in high school and left a legacy none of the other children could compete with.
Valeria (Val) is a CICU nurse, a self-proclaimed cardiac bitch, and highly vocal in the family. Her influence on Stella and Gaby is extreme, but she keeps to herself and is a rare-sighting at family functions.
Famous Last Words (a Tomb of Ashen Tears Book 2) Page 47
