One Step Closer (Erotic Romance) Book 1 (The DeLuca Brothers)

by Lucinda DuBois

  A sharp pain went through her and she cried out. It took the edge off of her pleasure, but it was quickly replaced by a new feeling of fullness, of completeness. Frank rested there, his expression one of concern, his cock fully sheathed in Sofia’s pussy. He waited, giving her a moment to adjust and let the pain subside. After a minute, Sofia began to rock her hips, needing Frank to start moving. He pulled back, taking just a few seconds to rest before pushing forward once more.

  He moved slowly, taking great care to use each stroke to his advantage. The first time his cock brushed across Sofia’s g-spot, her entire body shuddered and white spots danced across her vision as something more intense than she’d ever known raced across her nerves. Time seemed to stand still as the pair moved their bodies together, finding that ancient rhythm that she knew only soul-mates could understand. Sofia could feel the pressure building inside of her, something strong and wild and light. Frank’s pace began to increase, the sound of their mingled pants loud in the room as their breathing increased.

  “I love you,” his breath became words. “I love you, Sofia.”

  She couldn’t reply, too overwhelmed by what she was feeling. This was far beyond physical pleasure and, as her climax neared, she felt that only now did she truly understand what people meant when they talked about a couple ‘becoming one flesh.’

  “I need you to cum for me,” Frank was nearly begging. “I need to feel you cum before I can. Please, Sofia, cum for me.”

  ***

  She had cum for him, she remembered. It had been an explosion she’d never felt before or since, the first forever etched in her mind. He’d climaxed shortly after and the memory of his seed spurting inside her was something that still made her pussy throb. In the five years they’d been together, they’d never used condoms. While neither one were technically practicing Catholics, both had understood that their families wouldn’t have approved. Fortunately, because she’d been taking the pill for other medical reasons, Sofia had been able to keep taking it without feeling guilty and without any real disapproval. Besides, she wasn’t truly taking it for contraceptive reasons. That was just a side benefit.

  The thought of that little round container pulled Sofia the rest of the way out of the past, or at least a little closer to the present. One of the reasons they’d liked their arrangement had been the fact that it was known to be effective. If, of course, it was remembered.

  The familiar guilt washed over her. Even after all these years, it was still there. She’d thought she’d put it behind her. After all, she’d come up with a solution that had worked for the past eight years. But still, it came forward, the memory of the little round blue disc, the one with a filled spot that was supposed to be empty. How could she explain that to Frank? He would think that she’d made it all up to get to his money. Even back then he’d been worth enough that most people would’ve thought what she’d done had been intentional.

  The sound of the front door opening made Sofia get to her feet. She hurried to the kitchen sink and rinsed her face. She needed to get dinner started and an after-school snack out. As she started pulling food from the refrigerator, she heard him come into the house.

  “Hey, I’m home,” a cheerful voice came from the living room. A few moments later, a boy with coal black hair and serious blue-violet eyes appeared in the kitchen. He smiled, looking just like his father. “So, Mom, you’ll never guess what happened at school today.”

  Chapter 5

  Frank stood on the porch for several minutes even after the gate swung shut. He didn’t feel the bite of the wind as it cut through the backyard. He didn’t hear his mother calling after him, or his brothers talking in low voices even though, on some level, his brain registered what was happening. All he could think of was how close she’d been and that he’d missed her.

  A car backfired down the road, the sound jarring Frank back to reality. He forced himself to push thoughts of Sofia from his mind and went back into the house. Whatever attempt he’d made to forget about her was lost as soon as he saw the man sitting on the couch next to Maria. Giovanni DeLuca hadn’t aged as well as his cousins. His black hair was thinning and he had the look of a muscular man who’d let himself go. Part of Frank wondered if that had been a recent development or something that had happened after the divorce.

  “Frank,” Gio jumped to his feet, his dark eyes darting every which way. “How’re ya doing?”

  Anxiety rippled off of him in waves, and, in Frank’s opinion, for good reason. Gio had never disguised the fact that he’d always had a thing for Sofia, but he’d always acted as if he’d never do anything about it because she was with Frank. When he’d heard that Gio and Sofia were engaged, Frank had been just as mad at his cousin as he had been at Sofia. At least, at first. As time wore on, Frank had come to sympathize with Gio. After all, Gio’d had a crush on Sofia for years, one that she’d never requited. Could Frank really blame him when, after all that time, she had finally acknowledged him? It wasn’t like Gio’d had someone that he’d supposedly loved that should’ve taken some time to get over. Sofia’s betrayal was so much worse than Gio’s weakness.

  Frank smiled at Gio and held out a hand. “I’m doing great, Gio. How’ve you been?”

  “Good, man, thanks,” Gio remained standing as Maria announced that dinner was ready.

  Gio visibly relaxed as Frank motioned for Gio to join them in the dining room. Maria glanced at her son, raising an eyebrow in question, but he didn’t answer her unspoken inquiry, instead focusing on Gio talking about his job at his father’s auto-body shop. He nodded in all of the right places, asked polite questions about his cousin’s life, all the while skirting around the very large elephant in the room. For once, Anthony even kept his mouth shut and no one mentioned Sofia. After several minutes of making banal small talk around a delicious meal, Frank excused himself, claiming to need a refill for his drink.

  Once in the kitchen, he leaned against the counter and closed his eyes. He was trying, but even if he wasn’t angry at Gio anymore, the sight of his cousin was just a reminder of all that had been lost. Even the food didn’t taste as good as it should have.

  “Francis,” Maria’s voice startled him.

  “Ma,” Frank straightened and hoped that the expression on his face was one of pleased surprise. Judging by the fact that her lips were pressed together in a tight line, he didn’t think he’d succeeded.

  “You’re not as good of a liar as you seem to think you are,” Maria got straight to the point. “Or maybe I just know you better than most, because you may be fooling your cousin, and maybe even your brothers, but you’re not fooling me.”

  “I don’t know what you mean,” Frank was intentionally evasive. He turned his back on his mother to take a bottle of water from the fridge.

  “Bullshit.”

  Frank spun around, his eyes wide. Had his mother, Maria DeLuca, the woman who’d once put him in a headlock and washed his mouth out with soap for saying ‘damn,’ actually cursed?

  “Ma?”

  “You heard me, Francis Russo DeLuca,” Maria crossed her arms and looked up at her son, the use of his full name telling him as much as anything just how serious she was.

  In that moment, Frank saw every inch of steel that had given his mother the strength she’d needed to raise him and his brothers on her own. Still, he played dumb. “You’re gonna have to help me out here, Ma. What are you talking about?”

  “You’re still in love with Sofia.” When Frank started to protest, Maria raised a hand. “Don’t bother. I saw the look on your face when you saw her. Your brothers might think that you followed her because you’re still upset and wanted to confront her, but I know better. I know you’re still in love with her.”

  Frank started to shake his head, to deny it, but Maria kept going.

  “You need to go talk to her, Francis.”

  “I don’t think there’s anything left for us to say to each other,” Frank managed to get a sentence out. Something crossed M
aria’s face, a strange look, as if there were something important he needed to know, but that she wasn’t sure she should say. “Unless you know different.”

  “I know that you two left things unsettled. You need closure. Both of you,” Maria’s tone was firm, leaving no room for questions.

  Frank sighed, suddenly weary. “I’ll go see her.” Before Maria could say anything, he clarified. “Tomorrow. I’ll see her tomorrow. Right now, I’m tired. I’m going to head into the city, find a hotel for the night.”

  “You don’t need to do that,” Maria’s voice and expression softened now that Frank had agreed to see Sofia. “It’s only Salvatore and me here. Your old room is still set up. You can stay here and I’ll make you breakfast before you go to see Sofia.”

  Frank immediately understood that his mother’s offer was two-fold. She wanted him here because they hadn’t seen each other for a long time, but she also wanted to keep an eye on him to make sure he followed through on his promise and didn’t leave before he did as he’d said.

  “Ma, I have some work I need to do.” The lie was out of his mouth before he’d realized he was going to say it. “If I stay here, I’ll be up all night talking to you and Sal, and that’ll mean I have to go back earlier than I’d planned because I’ll be behind.”

  The skeptical look Maria gave him said that she didn’t believe him, but she didn’t press the issue. “All right, but you be back here first thing in the morning. I’ll be making your favorite breakfast.”

  “Cinnamon rolls?” Frank’s lips curved upwards in a smile.

  Maria chuckled. “Of course.”

  It was only after Frank had said his good-byes and gotten back into his rental car that he allowed himself to admit the real reason he hadn’t wanted to stay the night at the house. Every inch of the house was filled with memories of Sofia. He’d been able to ignore them at first, but once he’d seen her, they’d all come rushing back and he couldn’t shut them out.

  The time they’d spent together as children, playing with his brothers.

  Coming home from his classes at NYU to find her reading a book to Sal or helping Maria cook dinner.

  Her lips under his for the first time.

  Sneaking her upstairs to his bedroom for a make-out session.

  Watching a movie together, huddled under a blanket in the dark, his hands beneath her clothes.

  Making love to her in his bed while the rest of the family was out.

  Fucking her in the shower after coming home from the gym to find her babysitting Sal.

  Sending Sal outside to play so Frank could bend Sofia over the couch.

  Sofia sitting on his lap at Christmas time while Sergio and Sal passed out presents, trying to resist the urge to just take her upstairs right then.

  Holding her in his arms as she cried after hearing about her grandfather’s death.

  They flashed through his mind, one right after the other, creating a virtual movie of moments he and Sofia had spent together in that house. With them came a rush of emotions. Betrayal. Hurt. Abandonment. Love.

  His mother was right, and Frank forced himself to acknowledge it. He’d been in love with Sofia Bianchi since she was seventeen and, despite everything that had happened, he was still in love with her. A part of him realized that he always would be. Now he just had to decide what he was going to do about it.

  Chapter 6

  Sofia tossed her keys on to the counter and kicked off her sensible work shoes. She’d just finished her shift in the oncology ward and had about an hour before Tommy got home. She sighed as she padded up the stairs to her bedroom. As she walked, she stripped off her scrubs and tossed them into her hamper. She had a few things to do around the house, but the first thing she needed was a shower. She’d been thrown up on twice that afternoon.

  Fifteen minutes later, she came back down the stairs, feeling much better. She loved her work and never resented the patients for being ill, but being vomited on was never fun. Now that she was clean, she could focus on the rest of the night. She’d pulled her hair back into a sloppy ponytail and the still-wet locks soaked into the back of her ratty t-shirt. She hadn’t bothered with make-up and was wearing her oldest pair of sweats to go with the Knicks shirt, but she was comfortable and that was what mattered. It wasn’t like she had anything planned for the evening aside from dinner with her son and then maybe a game of cards or a board game until it was time to put Tommy to bed. Then it would be some alone time, maybe with a glass of wine and the toy she kept in the bottom drawer of her nightstand. After the events of her last two days, she needed some stress relief.

  She was tidying up the living room when someone knocked on the door. Her first thought was that Tommy had forgotten his key, but a glance at the clock told her that she still had at least a half hour before he’d be home. She sighed as she crossed to the door. She wasn’t fond of people who went door-to-door, but she understood the need to make a living. She always tried to be polite.

  “How can I…” the words died in her mouth as she saw who was standing on the other side of the doorway.

  Frank didn’t say a word, didn’t even offer a greeting. The expression on his face was as familiar to Sofia as her own reflection. She had only the briefest of moments to register it though before Frank’s hands were cupping her face and he was kissing her, his lips hard and demanding against hers. Her mouth opened in a gasp and Frank slipped his tongue between her parted lips. He tasted the same, a faint hint of beer and the spearmint gum he always chewed. Her body reacted automatically to the familiarity and she moaned, her stomach tightening. The sound seemed to spur Frank forward and his hands slid down her neck to her arms.

  Sofia was only dimly aware that she and Frank were moving backwards into the living room. She heard the door close and thought for a moment of how Tommy would be home soon. Then Frank’s hands were under her shirt, palms skimming over her bare skin, setting it on fire, and the only thing she could think about was him.

  Frank shoved a hand down the front of Sofia’s pants, easily moving under her panties as well. She caught his bottom lip between her teeth, biting down as his fingers delved between her folds. She was relatively dry and the friction was rough, but it was exactly what she wanted, what she needed. Her clit throbbed as he stroked it and she shivered as the first waves of pleasure washed over her. His kisses were anything but gentle, instead all need and hunger and a primal desire that Sofia could feel being matched in her own body. In that moment, it seemed as if she’d never needed or wanted anyone or anything as much as she wanted the man whose hands were on her.

  The backs of her legs hit against the edge of the couch and the pair tumbled onto the cushions, mouths barely pausing in their near-frantic movements. Frank tugged the tie from Sofia’s hair, sending her wet waves spilling free over her shoulders. Her hands were just as busy, yanking off Frank’s shirt so she could run her hands over the once familiar planes of his torso. His skin was just as soft as she remembered, his chest and stomach as firmly muscled. He still gasped when she ran her fingernails over his small, flat nipples, and she felt his hard length press against her hip. Her pussy throbbed in remembrance.

  As Frank’s lips moved from hers to worship at her jaw, Sofia knew what he wanted and tilted her head, granting him access to her neck. His mouth moved over her skin, teeth nipping and tongue soothing the sting. When he reached the collar of her shirt, he growled in frustration, eliciting a chuckle from Sofia. The laughter quickly died as Frank tore the worn material in two. Sofia had a split second to be mad and then his hands and mouth were making their way across her collarbone and over her cloth-covered breasts. He mouthed at the white cotton of her bra for a moment before shoving it up over her breasts and attacking the soft flesh with his mouth and hands. She arched her back, pushing her breasts towards him even as her hands dropped to his pants.

  He swore as she cupped him through the denim of his jeans. She gave him a gentle squeeze before her fingers went to work on the button and zippe
r. She needed to feel him in her hand, to know that this was real, that he was real. She didn’t bother trying to remove his pants but took a page from his playbook and just went straight for her prize. Her fingers closed around him and she smiled, immediately beginning to stroke the hot flesh. Frank stilled above her, her marked flesh falling from between his lips. His skin was so soft. She’d often marveled at how something so hard could be so soft at the same time. When she was younger, she’d wondered if it was something unique to Frank or if all men were like that. When she’d married Gio, she’d come to understand that it was a combination of both. Nothing, though, could compare to her first love. Frank’s cock was silk-covered steel and she let herself enjoy the feeling of him swelling under her hand.

  Frank pulled back suddenly, the expression on his face fierce. He grabbed her around the waist and flipped her so suddenly that she barely had time to catch herself on her elbows. His hands were at the waistband of her sweats, tugging them and her underwear down to her thighs. It was only as her skin was bared that she understood what he was doing. Something low in her belly coiled tight and hot as she realized that his need was as great as her own. She glanced over her shoulder to see him shoving his pants down far enough to free his cock. It, too, was just like she remembered, thick and long and perfect for reaching all of those places deep inside her where she needed it.

  She raised her ass and parted her legs as best she could with her pants and underwear still around her thighs. Frank wrapped one arm around her waist, holding her as his other hand lined up his cock at her entrance. He paused, locking eyes with her. He didn’t speak, but she knew the question anyway. No matter how much he wanted it, Frank would always leave the decision up to her. She nodded, knowing that she wasn’t quite prepared enough and not caring.