by Anne Mercier
"Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. That's so good."
She hums her agreement as she licks my semi-hard cock clean. She lifts her head, licking her lips, holding my gaze as she does. Just that gets me hard again.
"Come here, Fee. I want you to ride me, but you can't come until I tell you you can, understand?"
She nods. "May I touch you?"
"You've been so good tonight, Fee. You deserve to be rewarded. Yes. You can touch me as much as you like now."
"Thank you," she says, smiling.
Her bent knees bracket my hips and I position my dick at her opening.
"Now, Fee. Slide down slow and take me inside you."
She does as she's told and those brown eyes are so dark now, desire taking over. I reach up and pull the pen from her hair, letting it fall down her shoulders and back in waves.
"You're so damn beautiful, Fee."
She smiles softly, almost shyly. She doesn't know she's one of the most beautiful people walking the Earth. She sees herself as good enough to model, but considers that to be average. Her beauty is like no other. She is like no one else. She's unique, my Fee, and she's mine.
She's getting wetter now as she raises and lowers herself a bit faster than before.
"I want you to come for me," I demand, then thrust my hips up, my cock going impossibly deep. Her breath catches. "Let me hear you."
Her mouth opens and she moans. "I—"
I nod, knowing what she needs. I change the angle of my hips and within minutes she's coming hot and hard on my cock. Her inner walls spasm so hard around my cock it's hard to move inside her, but I manage, and son of a bitch if she doesn't get me to come with her when she rides me faster, harder, coming again on the tail end of the first orgasm.
"Fee," I groan.
"Cage," she cries out.
When she comes down a bit, she collapses against me, her head resting on my shoulder. I wrap my arms around her, pulling her impossibly closer to me.
"I love you in incredible amounts, Fee."
I feel her smile on my shoulder. "I can't even explain how much I love you, Batman."
I lift a brow and grin. "Oh, now I'm Batman again?"
"After that marathon of sex, I have no doubts."
I chuckle softly. Oh, how I love her.
I lay her on the bed and go to the bathroom to wet a washcloth. When I return to the bed, she's fast asleep. I clean between her legs, and toss the washcloth, along with the towel, to the bathroom floor. I open the suite door and pick up the box of pizza and package of breadsticks waiting on a cart and take them to the bedroom.
"Are you awake?" I ask softly, waving the pizza around near her nose.
"Mhmm," she replies. I hear her stomach growl and grin.
"Let's eat our now-cold pizza."
I slide into bed beside my wife. We both rest against the headboard as we begin to eat. There's something I need to tell her. My timing sucks, but she needs to know.
"You asked to be part of the strikes against the Manzinis."
She stiffens then nods.
"Why, Fee?"
"They took my parents, Cage. They killed them and left them there like lambs led to the slaughter. Seeing that… I couldn't see anything but that for weeks. So much blood. They were still warm, my mom looked straight at me as she lay there dead. I can't let that go. I need vengeance. They need to pay for what they've done," she confesses, tears slipping from her eyes.
I turn to face her.
"There's something I don't think you know, Fee. I think someone overlooked telling you."
"What?" she asks cautiously.
"The one who ordered your parents’ murder? He's dead, Fee. He's been dead for a long time."
She sits up straighter. "What?"
I take her hands in mine, pizza forgotten.
"I was there that night. It was one of the first nights I was allowed to go along with Ernesto when they handled business. The Manzinis had stolen guns from us. Up until then, I'd been a runner mostly, doing the odd jobs. But that night, they handed me my gun and told me to remember to take the safety off when we got there."
"Where?"
"A warehouse. It doesn't matter where. What matters is that Cesare Manzini was there along with his cousin Massimo. Massimo was the one in charge under Salvatore as he was the second eldest behind your father, but Cesare had become a loose cannon," I tell her.
"I—" She shakes her head.
"It turns out Cesare hated your father. He thought his not participating was a betrayal, but mostly he hated him because without your dad there, Massimo was in charge when it should have been Tommy."
"What happened?"
"One night he was hopped up on drugs, drunk out of his mind, and he ordered the hits. I think he meant to kill you as well, but you weren't there."
She gasps. "We didn't do anything wrong. I don't… we were just living our own lives."
"You were, but Cesare lived that life and had to take orders from a cousin he loathed. You see, Cesare's wife was in love with Massimo. Cesare tricked her into marriage thinking she'd fall in line, but she didn't. It wasn't a fleeting love, it was like ours. One that would live on forever. So, Cesare's revenge against your father for forcing him to follow Massimo's direction instead of Tommy's was to kill him and everyone he loved."
"Holy smokes. He's warped. What happened to him? I need to know."
"He betrayed us and he betrayed Salvatore and Massimo trying to make some deals he wasn't authorized to make, deals that could have started a war. So we went to their warehouse and confronted Massimo. The truth came out as it always does. Cesare got in Ernesto's face, and back then Ernesto was even more formidable than he is now. Ernesto held his own, giving as good as he got. Massimo instructed Cesare to leave as we discussed business, but Cesare challenged the order even though he was told Salvatore didn't want him there."
"I can see where this is going," she whispers.
"Almost done, Fee. I'm sorry to tell you right after… but the other day when you mentioned wanting revenge on the men who killed your parents and the one who ordered the hit, I knew I needed to tell you all of it, and if I didn't tell you tonight, I'd never get any sleep. It's been hanging over us, have you felt it?"
She nods.
"I needed Gio to agree and he did. Cesare went to pull a gun on Ernesto, but Ernesto was faster as were the rest of us. He had so many guns trained on him, if he'd made a wrong move he'd have looked like Swiss cheese. They took Cesare out of the warehouse. Word would get to Salvatore about Cesare's insubordination and behavior, so Cesare would have to face the boss."
"Yikes," Fee whispers.
I nod. "Yes, yikes. Massimo apologized for his cousin's behavior. He and Ernesto both agreed neither wanted a war. That was when Giovanni and Salvatore walked in. Little was said. Gio instructed Ernesto and me to leave with him. When we got to the limo, not only was a Russo enforcer inside, but also Cesare."
Fee gasps. "Salvatore gave him to you."
"He did. We took him to our warehouse, but something felt wrong. I didn't know what, I was just uneasy, so I stayed alert. Ernesto asked Cesare if he was ready to die and Cesare responded with a smart ass 'Are you?' Then he sneezed, it was fake, and he bent forward. Before anyone could move he had pulled a gun from his ankle holster. He was still too slow because before he even had the safety off, I shot him in the head. He fell to the ground with an expression of shock on his face. That was the night Ernesto and Giovanni asked me to be second in command. Ernesto said he didn't want it. He had two kids he was raising on his own. That night I not only killed the man who ordered your parents’ deaths, I saved Ernesto's and Giovanni's lives. I've never regretted any of the decisions I made that night and I never will."
Fee's crying now, big fat tears falling from her eyes. "You… you not only saved me from myself, but you killed the villain who murdered my parents."
I pull her into my arms, holding her tightly to me, rocking her back and forth.
S
he sniffles loudly then mutters, "I knew you were Batman."
I kiss her forehead, grinning. "I'll always be your Batman if that's what you need, Fee, but most of all I'll be your protector, your confidante, and the one who loves you unconditionally with every breath he takes."
She looks up at me now, her eyes red-rimmed. "I know. I am the luckiest woman alive. How did I get so lucky?"
"Your grandfather brought me to his house when you were ten. My heart has been yours from that day."
"Just like that?" she asks.
"Just like that." I kiss her forehead. "Let's eat our now-cold pizza and try to get some rest. Who knows what we'll be dealing with in the morning."
Fee snorts. "Lucy might be in jail."
I groan. "Don't tempt fate. Please. That'd be a PR nightmare and I think we've had enough of those."
"Me too," Fee whispers, her head resting on my shoulder, her pizza untouched.. It's silent for a few minutes then she whispers, "Thank you."
"I'd do it all again for you, Fee."
She nods, yawns.
I set the pizza on the bedside table and pull her into my arms, lying back, and then covering us up. Within minutes starts to snore. I smile to myself in the dark. She's never been able to drop off into sleep that quickly—ever. It seems I've brought her some peace and this heals a part of my heart that aches for her.
All that's left is finding the fuckers who pulled the trigger. Their day will come. I'll make sure of it.
Chapter 7
SERA
"Here we go," I tease Cage as we walk into the restaurant toward our family. I do a head count. "No one's in jail."
"That doesn't mean anything. Look at Lucy," Cage points out.
Lucy's face is makeup-free, her hair a mess, and she's in her pajamas. She looks so sad, her eyes red-rimmed. "What happened?"
Lucy doesn't look up. She just pushes her scrambled eggs around on her plate with her fork.
Xander makes a sign of the cross. "Elvis is dead."
"What?" I ask.
Xan nods. "We went to Denny's last night looking for skinny Elvis, the one who married Jesse and Lucy. He told us there was an article in the newspaper that Elvis was found dead under one of the overpasses near LA."
"I'm sure it was bullshit," I placate.
Tera shakes her head. "It wasn't. There was a photo."
"A photo?"
Kennedy's grinning as he bites into his strip of bacon and Ethan's smirking. Ben and Nicole both turn away.
"Yes, a photo," Lucy says vehemently. She pounds a fist on the table. Jesse wraps his arm around her, biting his lip, trying not to laugh. "There was no mistaking it was him. It was a photo of him at the age he would be now."
Cage coughs into his coffee.
"I'm so sorry, Luce," I say, when in reality I want to laugh my ass off and tell her he's been dead for decades, but she's my sister. I'll give her this delusion.
She nods, sniffling again. "I just wanted to meet him."
"I know, baby," Jesse replies, rubbing her arm with his hand, pulling her closer to his side.
"Do you think he died happy?" Xan asks.
Cage opens his mouth to reply but I kick his foot under the table. Kennedy snickers and Ethan grins. Ben and Nicole still have their backs toward us, but I see their shoulders shaking in laughter.
"I'm sure he died happier than he would have had he died by overdosing on the toilet."
"He was homeless," she adds.
"Homeless or not, I'm sure he lived a happy life, Luce."
She nods. "We should go to Graceland sometime. Pay our respects to his memory."
"Yes. Let's do that soon," Xan agrees, Tera nodding along.
"We've got some gigs lined up in Memphis and Nashville next month. That'd be a good time," Cage offers, and I love him even more for it.
I smile at him and he winks back. My husband… my very own Batman. One day I'll tell Lucy about how Cage killed Cesare, but not now. For now, I want to work through this in my mind, take on more of an active role in la Famiglia, and find out who slit my parents’ throats. When I find out their names, they better say a prayer and ask for forgiveness from above because they won't get any from me.
"What time does the plane take off?" Kennedy asks.
"A couple hours so let's finish breakfast and head home," Cage answers.
Home. I felt lost for so long even though I had Regina and Anthony, Joey and Lucy. My home was with my parents back then. Now it's with a bunch of rockers, their significant others, and their kids.
Best family ever.
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Continue on for an unedited sneak peek at Xander: Part 1, The Beginning.
SNEAK PEEK
Xander: Part 1, The Beginning
Unedited and subject to change
©2017 Anne Mercier
Xander
The first day of school is always easy. The teachers are still unprepared and we're not ready to settle in. A day of screwing around is a pretty cool way to ease back into the thought of having to spend every day here until next summer. Lame.
We're walking outside on the playground and I realize we're the big kids on this side. See, Roosevelt Elementary has two playgrounds: One for kindergarten through second grade; and the other for third through fifth grade. This year we're kings. I'm going to enjoy it before we get knocked back down next year.
Jesse and Ben Kingston, Ethan Ashcroft, and Kennedy Caldwell are the guys I hang with. They're cool. None of them care that I come from money and I like that. My dad always warned me against the kids who like you only because you have money, so I'm always cautious with new people.
Speaking of new people. Jesse lifts his chin in the direction of the monkey bars. There's a girl lying at the end of one side, her legs bent, feet swinging. Her long black hair cascades down between two of the bars and I watch as the strands get caught in the breeze, blowing in a haphazard pattern. I lift my gaze to the girl's face and I see she's wearing sunglasses with a white frame that are way too big for her face. Somehow she makes it work.
She blows a bubble. We're not supposed to have gum, but she doesn't seem to care because she blows another bubble. If she's not careful, when the wind picks up, her hair might blow up into that wad of gum.
"Who is she?" I ask Jesse.
He shrugs a shoulder. "New kid. Tera Ramirez. She's got a brother in the same grade. She said they're twins but they don't look too much alike."
I grunt in response.
"Seems like she doesn't give a shit about anything," Ethan says.
"Yeah," Kennedy agrees.
I ignore their stares as I walk over to where she's butchering Alanis Morissette's You Learn.
"You can't sing for shit," I tell her with a laugh.
She turns her head and looks down at me. "Yeah? You can do better?"
"Hell yeah, I can."
She lifts a brow. "Go on then."
So I do. Her nostrils flare. Bam! I win.
She rolls her eyes.
"What's your name?" I ask.
"Tera. Yours?"
"Xander."
"Nice to meetcha," she tells me while chomping on her gum.
"Where are you from?" I ask, because obviously she's not going to tell me anything without my prodding her.
"St. Louis. Dad's job transferred us here." She turns her head. "Those your friends?"
I turn and see Jesse and the guys walking over.
"Yeah."
"Cool."
I introduce them and a kid with the same black hair as Tera comes walking up. He's big for a second grader and he's got an attitude.
"Who are these guys?" he asks Tera.
"Xander, Jesse, Ben, Kennedy, and Ethan. And this is my brother, Lincoln, but we call him Linc."
"They giving you a hard time?" Linc asks.
"Nope. They're cool."
Linc nods, and his fists uncurl.
"Were you going to kick our asses if we were?" I ask.
"I would've tried."
I nod. He just gained my respect.
That was the day we all became inseparable—including Tera. We found out pretty quick that Tera and Linc's parents were nearly as fucked up as my mom. They all spent most of their time at my house—and then one night when we were in fifth grade the shit hit the fan.
"Matthew, you know as well as I do this isn't working anymore. Why do you pretend?" my mom shouts.
I sit mute, staring at the blue wall of my bedroom, listening to my mother scream at my father. She's moving out, divorcing him—us.
"What about Xander?" Dad asks.
"What about him? He's safe here and all his friends are close by. I don't want to uproot him and move him to Paris where he knows no one."
Well, at least that's a plus. I was afraid for a minute she was going to drag me with her—and her boyfriend. She thinks she's so slick, but I know. I hear her on the phone sometimes and I know it's not my dad because he's either at the hospital or sleeping.
"I knew it was coming," I murmur to my silent room of friends. "It was just a matter of time. She was screwing around."
"That sucks, Xan. What can we do?" Ben asks.
"You're doing it," I answer.
It's the truth. Just them being here is making it easier for me.
Tera scoots next to me, her arm intertwining with mine, holding my hand that's resting on my thigh.
"I'm sorry, Xander," she whispers as she rests her head on my shoulder.
I suck in a breath, the pain of hearing what's going on outside my door. It hurts more than I thought it would.
"When will you see him?" my dad asks.
"He can come visit for holidays and for the summer," she tells him.
