by Piper Rayne
“And that woman is you?” A hollow laugh leaks out of her. “Slow down there, Madison, you two aren’t married.”
“Cailin,” Mauro warns, his eyes shooting me a look of apology.
“What? I was just saying you guys have been dating for like two days…”
Mauro removes his attention from her causing her gaze to fall at her feet.
“Madison, I’m sure my mom would love the help. I’ll be right up to join you.”
I walk up the steps wondering what their conversation will consist of now.
“I thought we were clear about this,” Mauro says to Cailin before I’m out of earshot.
“I know you said you like her, but come on, Mauro, you just broke up with Jenna. She’s a rebound and she’s acting like—”
“Enough, Cailin. I’m not sure where you think you get any say in the person I decide to spend time with.”
Not really interested in hearing any more from Cailin’s mouth, I wind my way back to the kitchen. I will busy myself with whatever task Mrs. Bianco deems me worthy of.
I wasn’t expecting the small space to be packed full of people, all speaking Italian with their hands moving around like rapid fire. There are mostly women, but a few men are sprinkled around the table, eating the samples the woman are shoving in their faces.
“Welcome to Italian life.” Cristian’s voice from behind surprises me and I jump. He grins. “Where’s Mauro?”
“He’s downstairs with Cailin,” I say.
His lips draw straight, but he smiles to try and cover it up.
Yeah, I feel the same.
For the next three minutes, Cristian introduces me to his aunts and uncles, cousins and family friends who don’t have family nearby. Everyone seems confused as to why if I belong to Mauro, Cristian is the one introducing me. I ignore the ache in the pit of my stomach as I wonder whether Cailin might always be a problem for us.
Quickly, I refute my assumptions. She lost her husband, I can’t be that heartless to not have empathy for what she’s going through. Finding comfort with the man closest to her husband doesn’t seem that strange. Even if her husband was a piece of shit, but she doesn’t know that.
Mrs. Bianco sits me at the table, placing lettuce on a cutting board. “Salad?” she asks like this is the only thing I could really help her with.
“Got it.”
She smiles, her palm rubbing on my shoulders before she walks away.
I’m busy cutting the lettuce and the tomatoes up while running through the possibilities of what could be going on downstairs. Eventually Mauro appears in the doorway.
At this point I’ve worked myself up so much I’m not sure I can even look at him. All those doubts from ten years ago have resurfaced. Cailin is the tall, curvy blonde that someone like him belongs with.
“Mauro!” an uncle hollers and pulls him into his arms. He smacks his cheek, says something in Italian and both their eyes wander to me.
Mauro’s lips tip down and he nods to his uncle, responding in Italian. An aunt smacks him on the back of the head on his way over to me, but then grabs his head and kisses him on the cheek. The entire way, Mauro ignores the pats, hugs, and kisses from his family as his gaze stays glued on me.
Once he reaches me, I’m a ball of nerves, trying to cut up a cucumber nonchalantly. I don’t even know how that’s supposed to look, but I don’t want him to know all the messed up things that have been going through my head.
Bending down, he kisses my cheek. “Sorry about that,” he whispers and sits down next to me. The air between us crackles with electricity like it usually does when we’re less than six feet apart.
I shrug, continuing my job of making the salad.
“So Ma gave you a job?” He smiles, watching me.
“I think this might be the only thing she trusted me with, but it’s something.”
His arm stretches across the back of my chair, his lips landing right below my ear. “I want you so bad right now,” he says softly.
The heat he stirs in my body rises up to my cheeks. “Sure, elbow deep in lettuce? That’s your turn on?” I whisper.
He slides his chair closer to me, his knee pressing against mine, his hand finding my thigh. Way too high on my thigh I may add.
“I want you every second of every day, but the fact that my mom trusted you to make anything says how much you already fit in here. My uncles scorned me for leaving you alone. Said I’m lucky my uncle Mikey isn’t here. He’d kick my ass. Or hit on you.” He winks and I can’t help but smile. “They’re right. I shouldn’t have left you alone.” His teeth snatch my earlobe and when he pulls, shudders travel all the way down to my clit.
I hope this phase of never getting enough of one another never dies. Though I know in the back of my head that I’m bound to lose my shine as far as Mauro is concerned at some point.
“Mama!” Cristian yells and Mauro bolts up out of his chair.
I turn to find Mrs. Bianco’s hand on the counter as though she’s holding herself up. Cristian grabs her by the waist and she lets him hold her until Mr. Bianco comes over and takes the place of his son.
“Maria. Maria,” he says her name like it’s a prayer.
“LUCA!” Mauro yells. Everyone else is looking around for the paramedic in the family.
“A fire again? That’s Mauro’s department…” His voice dips seeing his mom in the arms of his dad, pale and tired. “What’s going on?” He rushes to her side, his fingers already on her neck. “Ma?”
She shakes her head, speaking in Italian and shooing all of them away from her.
“No. Let me grab my bag.”
“I’ll get it.” Mauro claps him on the shoulder and then weaves through the throes of people.
“It’s too hot, that’s all,” his mom says. “Everyone give me some space.”
The aunts and uncles yell at one another or what sounds like they are since it’s all in Italian and I’m quickly figuring out that if I want to come to more of these dinners, I really need to learn the language.
I join the family in the dining room right as Mauro comes back in with his brother’s backpack. He shoots me a look of worry, but I try to reassure him with my eyes that she’ll be fine.
“I’m sorry, Madison,” Cailin says, coming to stand next to me as I wait along the wall.
I give her a small smile. She seems sincere and I have no choice but to give her the benefit of the doubt.
“It’s just his last girlfriend treated him so poorly. Always making him do everything, making him take her to the latest restaurants and shows. He spent so much money on her it was ridiculous. I mean firemen don’t make a ton of money, I’m sure you know that.”
“It seems unfair since the job they do puts their lives at risk.”
She nods, looking behind her to find Devin playing with Legos with one of the aunts.
“Exactly. She liked him for the title he had, not that man he is.”
I desperately want to ask who she thinks that man is, but that would be wrong. If I want Mauro to be part of my life, Cailin and Devin come with him, so I need to learn to play nice.
“Well, I assure you that’s not me. If anything, his profession scares the crap out of me.”
Her lips dip to a frown.
“I’m so sorry, Cailin. I’m an idiot. I shouldn’t have…”
“No, you’re right. The danger is there every time they leave the house. I think I took the years of safe returns for granted. It becomes a part of your life. I wish I would’ve hugged him hard every day he came home. Instead, I usually handed him Devin and said he’s yours for twenty-four hours now.”
My hand finds her shoulder and I let her vent as long as she needs to.
“I’m sorry.”
It’s now that I understand Mauro’s decision to not tell her about Jenna and Hunter. She already holds enough guilt, and although she shouldn’t hold any guilt that he cheated on her, let’s be real, she would dissect their relationship from beginning to
its end.
Mauro comes out of the kitchen and the two of us approach him at the same time. I’m not sure I’ll ever get used to that.
“She said she just felt faint and that her heart was racing, but Luca said she seems good right now. He’ll make a doctor’s appointment for her. I guess it could have just been the heat in the kitchen.” Mauro doesn’t seem completely convinced and if I had to guess, he’s realizing that his parents are growing older.
I hug him. “I’m sure she’s fine. I was sweating in there. It is really hot.”
Mauro glances down at me a small smile in place. “I like you sweaty,” he says.
“And that’s my cue to leave.” Cailin turns around as Mauro’s lips descend down on mine.
For the entire meal, everyone’s eyes stay on Mrs. Bianco instead of their overfilled plates. The aunts don’t let her clean up one dish even though she seems okay by that point.
Thankfully, Cailin and Devin leave right after dinner which gives me some time with his family without the awkwardness of feeling like she’s watching my every move.
When we leave his parents’ house, I’m so exhausted I fall asleep in his truck, content and happy.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Mauro
“Lunch delivery?” I ask Madison as she hands me a bag of food.
“Well, I want to see where you work.” She steps into the garage. “You do eat lunch, right?”
“I do.” I smile down at her.
“So, are you going to show me all your cool tools?”
She’s covered up today, thank God. Jeans, ankle boots, and a jacket. Perfect to keep what’s mine from being seen around here.
I wrap my arms around her waist. “I think you’ve become well acquainted with my biggest and best tool.”
She giggles, her forehead falling to my chest. “True.” I love the blush my comments pull out of her.
“Do you want me to put on the sirens?” I ask, holding my arm out for her to enter the truck.
She takes no time at all to hoist herself up and pretend she’s driving the truck.
“Press the button right there.” She follows the direction my finger is pointing and the sirens blare. She quickly retracts her finger and covers her mouth with her hand, eyes wide.
A few guys head into the garage, seeing her in the truck.
“Bianco, you hiding gorgeous women from us today?” Lloyd calls out.
I roll my eyes. “I’m hiding my girlfriend.”
Madison climbs out and I catch her in my arms as she slides down my body before her feet land on the cement floor.
“You make it impossible not to hold onto my hero complex. Just an FYI.” She kisses me briefly and then walks over to my buddies. “Hi, I’m Madison.”
The guys each shake her hand in turn.
“Jack.”
“Lloyd.”
“Trevor.”
The three youngest members of our squad blatantly appraise her and I’d like to gouge their eyes out of their sockets.
“You dating this guy?” Lloyd asks, running his hand through his short blonde hair.
Madison looks at me, smiling widely. “I am.”
“How did he manage to get you?” Jack asks.
Madison scrunches her eyebrows. “I think you mean, how did I get him?”
Trevor bends over laughing. “You’re a ten and he’s like a six.”
I wrap my arms around her, my hands resting on her stomach. “Even so, she’s mine and don’t you forget it. We’re going to eat. The three of you, make sure everything’s ready to go in case we get a call.”
The three probies walk past us and I grab my girl’s hand, leading her into the firehouse.
“I agree with their line of thinking but…”
I cage her against the wall, swallowing her doubt with a kiss. Her hands never miss a chance to thread into my hair and she does just that as she grinds against me, lifting one leg to wrap around my thigh.
“Every night away from you is excruciating,” I mumble along her lips, closing our kiss.
“I know, but the good news is that the countertops are coming in today.”
I draw back. “Here I am laying my feelings out there and you’re thinking countertops?”
We walk up the stairs and I drop the bag of Portillo’s on the table and take a seat. Patel isn’t on shift tonight so I expect dinner will be nothing special.
“Well, you or the countertops.” She pretends to weigh the options with her hands teetering up and down like a scale.
“I don’t think countertops can make you scream like I do.” I wink at her.
She pretends to look at the ceiling, nibbling on her lip. The one move that drives me batshit crazy. “I might scream when they get installed. I’m really excited about them.”
Standing from my chair, it falls down to the linoleum floor and I take her head in my hands, kissing her feverishly until her head spins. By the time I release her, her eyes are dilated and dark with arousal. Exactly what I was going for.
“Okay, one point for Bianco.” She swipes an imaginary line in the air.
I pick up my chair and unwrap the food she brought me.
“Why is there nothing in here for you?” I ask, taking a second glance in the now empty bag.
“I already ate.” She sits down and crosses her legs, placing her phone on the table.
“What? A granola bar?”
She cocks her head to the side. “I’m sorry, are you judging me?”
I unwrap my beef sandwich. “I’m just saying you need to eat more. I hate that you watch everything that goes into your mouth.”
She digs into her purse and wiggles the bag of M&Ms in her hand until some fall out, like that’s proving a fact.
“Case in point. You don’t even eat the entire bag. You eat five in a sitting.”
“Hey now, don’t ruin my M&Ms for me,” she warns.
The conversation is turning to where it might not go the way I want it to.
“One bite of my beef and I’ll leave you alone.” I smile at her.
“You act like I have an eating disorder. I don’t.”
I blow out a breath. There’s no turning back from this conversation.
“I don’t think you do. I just hate that you worry so much about it. I’ll like you no matter what.”
“You didn’t even notice me when I was ‘Fatty Maddy’ with braces and glasses, Mauro, let’s be realistic.”
Anger boils inside of me. She just doesn’t get that I might not have noticed her back then, but that doesn’t mean it was right. That right now, in this moment, it’s not her beauty that has me, it’s her heart, her mind, her personality. I could list twenty things about her that I’ve fallen for but it feels like she’ll always see the most important of them as her beauty.
“That’s so unfair.” I slide out my chair, patting my leg, needing to feel her body because I do not want us to spend a night apart in a fucking fight over how much she eats.
“No.” She crosses her arms over her chest.
“Come here, you know you want to.” I hold out my arms, inviting her.
“No.”
Stubborn, one quality that I haven’t fallen for. Yet.
“I’m sorry, I just want you to see why I’m with you and how it has nothing to do with your perky tits and great ass.”
A slight smile forms at the corner of her lips.
“I need to feel you.”
She looks around, stands and then sits on my lap.
Moving her hair off her shoulder, my lips find the spot right under her earlobe that gives her goose bumps. She wiggles in my lap, stirring my dick in my pants.
“I’m sorry, baby, but I need you to know that I don’t care about your body. You’re so much more than just a beautiful woman and I want you to see that when you look in the mirror.”
She nods, but I know she doesn’t believe me.
I turn her face toward me and capture her lips with my own.
My to
ngue slides through the part of her lips and the anxiety in my chest brought on by our fight diminishes. I know it won’t always be this easy to end our fights, but I’ll take what I can get tonight.
My fingers push through her hair, the silky strands wrapping around my hand. I swallow her moan and my hand slides up the side of her ribcage.
The bell goes off and I blink my eyes open to see Madison’s eyes shifting in every direction as men from all different areas in the house head in one general direction.
She jumps up from my lap.
“I gotta go, babe. Grab your things.”
She frantically gets her cell phone, puts it in her purse and positions it crossways over her body.
Some guys are heading down the pole and others the stairs. Madison runs down the stairs trying to stay out of everyone’s way before I even see that she’s left. I slide down the pole, then get my gear on. All the guys pile into the truck.
I spot her off to the side so I race over to her.
“Like I said…hero complex.” She smiles as I kiss her one last time.
“This is just my job.”
The horn honks on the truck, the sirens blaring.
“Go.” She shoves me but I slide my tongue into her mouth one last time, my body not wanting to leave her.
“BIANCO!” someone shouts.
“Gotta go. Remember, no hero.” I shake my head.
“Call me after?” she hollers out as the truck starts to leave and I grab on to the handle and climb into my seat.
“I will.” I wink and she watches the truck race out of the station.
I’m always concerned about returning whenever we leave on a call. But watching the look on her face as I race toward danger makes coming back feel that much more important.
Chapter Thirty
Madison
I was torn whether to be worried or horny watching Mauro hop on that truck as it was pulling out of the station. It was like a scene from a movie and he was the heartthrob hero.
Pulling into my own garage, I climb out of my car and for the first time in a long time, I’m home at a decent hour. Walking the path from the detached garage to the back door I see my neighbors out in their yard.
