We crossed the edge of the patio, walked past the covered pool, and ended up in a grassy area beneath some tall trees. ‘Grassy’ being a loose term, since anything once green on the ground died months ago. Not far off, a tall iron fence signaled the end of the property. Through another line of trees hints of another house were just visible. I started to turn away but stopped when I noticed the security camera mounted on the fence.
Sliding my eyes towards the other end of the yard, I spotted another one.
Again: Just when I’d conveniently forgotten about the big-time Mafia family my boyfriend came from...
Franko explained the rules of the game, ones which barely made sense, then split everyone into two groups. As Tre played college football, he counted as two people.
I went where I was told to, ran where it seemed I needed to, and even managed to evade capture for a few seconds the one time I had the ball.
Surprisingly, the game that at first seemed so boring turned out to be loads of fun. Mrs. Salvatore, delicate though she looked, was a badass on the field. Having her on my team became a plus.
It was probably a good that Franko declared the game over when he did. I was panting and perspiring underneath my sweater. Bits of hair stuck to my face and I probably looked a mess, but I didn’t care. I wasn’t wheezing.
Angelo came over from the other team and planted a kiss on my lips. “Sorry to have to beat you.”
I shrugged as he looped his arm over my shoulder. “All’s fair in love and war, right?”
His mouth dropped to right next to my ear. “I’ll let you win at something else later tonight.”
A wonderful shiver went down my back.
Mrs. Salvatore checked her wrist watch. “Dinner is in twenty minutes.”
We all tramped across the yard. I glanced surreptitiously around, thinking Lia might still be watching me.
Instead, though, she ran past me and Angelo and jumped onto Franko’s back. He wailed and tried to shake her off. Refusing to go, she locked her arms and legs around him.
“Carry me back to the house!” she demanded.
“I’ll dump you in the pool, that’s what I’ll do.”
Nearby, Tre watched with what seemed like a look of longing on his face. He had it bad for Lia.
“Huh,” I said out loud.
“What?” Angelo questioned.
I quickly shook my head and gave his waist a squeeze. “Nothing. I just can’t believe how hungry football made me.”
Angelo
The long dining room table was done up to its regular caliber, with a giant centerpiece made from a small frosted pine tree. Gingerbread cookies and little glass birds dangled and perched from the tree’s limbs. Paige and Sophia oohed and aahed over it, showering my mom with the compliments she loves.
“My designer in New York helped me with it,” Mom explained.
We all took our seats and I made sure to claim mine right next to Paige. Mariel brought the soup in, going into some lengthy explanation of what was in it, but I couldn’t listen. All I could think about was the conversation with Pops and Dominic.
Make my move… Stake my claim… I’d figured I did that months ago, and now here they were telling me I had to make my actions bigger.
Ideas began to form in my head as I watched Paige talking and nodding. The soft light from the chandelier made her hair and cheeks glow. I reached under the table and ran my thumb across the top of her thigh. She shot me an admonishing look.
Oh, but you like it, I wanted to say. Biting back a smirk, I picked up my soup spoon.
“Ugh, don’t even mention that,” Lia was saying, pointing her finger at Dom.
“What’s that?” I questioned.
Dominic chuckled. “I was just remembering the perm she got for her prom. Or, rather, the perm she tried to get. It looked like a rat’s nest remember?”
“Shut up,” Lia snapped. “Or else I’m going to tell everyone about your high school stash of magazines...”
Dominic’s mouth got tight and his nostrils flared as we got in a good laugh at his expense.
“Let’s all speak nicely to each other,” Mom said, picking up her wine glass and giving the contents a light swirl. “I’m certain there are better memories to discuss.”
Lia spoke up. “Remember those matching giant teddy bears Angelo and I got that one Christmas? He tried to take his to school with him he loved it so much.”
She giggled. “That’s so cute.”
“What about you girls?” Mom asked, looking from Sophia to Paige. “What are your best Christmas memories?”
The twins exchanged a glance.
Paige’s mouth fell slightly open. “Uh...”
“Last year,” Sophia quickly said. “We got a real tree for the first time. Remember Paige? We’d always wanted one but it always seemed like a hassle any other year so we always put up this fake one that comes in a box. Last Christmas, for the first time, it smelled like pine in our apartment. It was so great.”
“Yeah,” Paige said in an oddly thick voice. She nodded vigorously then looked at the table.
A lump formed in my throat. It was bothering her again. The Christmas thing.
I started to reach out to put my arm around Paige, but before I could touch her Pops reached across the table and patted her hand. “That sounds nice. Hopefully this Christmas will give that one a run for its money.”
She gave him a smile. It was dim, but she tried. “Thanks. I hope so too.”
A hush fell over the table, making the place feel more like a church than a dining room. Everyone knew what Paige had been through, and they consequently tended to tread carefully around her. Though they hadn’t been directly mentioned, the thought of Paige and Sophia’s parents was in the room.
The moment was broken by Lia clearing her throat. “What time is the mall closing?”
The mood gradually picked up from then. Desert helped, at least for Paige, who seemed content. I skipped the night cap, using exhaustion from the flight as an excuse, and took Paige to show her our room for the week.
“Wow,” she breathed, drifting into what had once been my childhood bedroom. All remnants from my Star Wars and guitar shredding days were gone, replaced instead by the simple furnishings. The best parts of the room were still there. Right above the bed a sun roof showed the crystal-clear night sky and wedged between the two floor length windows were the double doors leading out to a balcony.
I wanted that room when I was a kid, always eager to stay in it the few months of the year I was at the house. It wasn’t until I turned twelve that my parents thought I was old enough to stay in a room with a second-floor balcony.
In the summers between tenth and eleventh grade I’d snuck my fair share of girls in thanks to that balcony. If you climbed onto the garbage can around back and pulled yourself up to the first level roof you could then climb onto the second roof and, then, my balcony.
My parents would probably be horrified to find out that, while their security system did a good job of deterring burglars, it did nada in the face of hormonally charged teenagers.
“This is so nice,” Paige cooed, going to the double doors and opening them. A swift wind swept into the room and she quickly closed the doors.
Smiling, I walked over to her and wrapped my arms around her. “It’s damned cold out there.”
“Yeah it is.” She shivered a bit in my arms.
I pushed some hair away from the back of her neck, breathing in a mix of her sweet shampoo and floral perfume as I grazed over her skin. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.” She tensed slightly in my arms, and slowly turned around to face me. “I’m sorry I didn’t tell you before about how I’ve been feeling. I didn’t want you to worry.”
“I can understand that, but you need to take care of yourself.”
Her lips twisted and she looked away. “Okay.”
“Hey,” I softly said, pulling her to me and putting my face within inches of hers. “I love you, a
ll right? I want to make sure you’re happy.”
She nodded. “Do you think…”
“What?”
“Do you think Lia doesn’t like me?”
“Huh?”
With a sigh, she pulled away and walked for her suitcase. Flipping it open, she pulled out pajamas and a toiletry bag. “She kept staring at me.”
I started to smirk, but quickly corrected my face before Paige saw it. “Why would she not like you?”
“Exactly. I don’t know. It just doesn’t make sense.”
“Paige.” I walked over to where she knelt on the floor zipping her suitcase back up. “You were probably imagining it.”
She visibly bristled.
I quickly back tracked. “Not that you’re...” I gritted my teeth, lost for words.
Shit, was basically all I could think.
Paige stood up. “It’s okay. You’re right. I probably am. I’m just tired and maybe a little stressed out from the holidays.” She ran her palm over my arm.
“Was that weird for you, talking about Christmas before?”
She thought about it. “No. It’s the best Christmas I do remember. The ones when we were sixteen and seventeen were pretty awful, since we lived with our aunt. She wasn’t exactly a cheerful person.”
I planted my hands on her hips and pulled her to me. “Well you’re here now.”
“Yes,” she softly mused, looking up at me through thick black lashes. “Yes I am.”
Angelo
I took her chin in my hand and brought her lips to my mouth. She seemed to be crumbling down to the ground, all of her weight coming forward pressed into mine.
My arms looped around her, pulling her even tighter to me. Warmth swelled up in my core, seeming to come right up out of the ground. Parts of me awoke, the ones I kept at bay all day long, all through family dinner.
There, finally, locked away in our room I could let loose.
I twisted Paige’s sweater in my hands, pulling it slowly over her shoulders, over her head. Our kiss broke, but only for a second.
The sweater done with, I worked on her shirt, her pants, her bra, and finally, her underwear. She stood naked before me, an ivory goddess, something akin to a Grecian statue.
A deep frenzy overtook me, the kind I only feel every once in a while. I pushed her down onto the bed.
Keeping my eyes locked on her smooth, silky body, I undid my pants. Paige gazed up at me, seductive, innocent, and sultry, although she meant to be none of those things. With my clothes on the floor, I got into bed beside her, already hard and wanting at the sight of the tender skin between her thighs. Paige moved over in bed, making room for me beside her.
With a growl, I pressed my forearms down onto the sheets, one on either side of her. Her head fell to the side, exposing her long neck. I licked a slow trail, first up her neck, then down along her collarbone and across her breast, moving smoothly around one nipple.
She made a little excited noise, her legs squirming a bit. I had her locked into place and though she acted as though she hated it, I knew it was exactly where she wanted to be.
I growled a little bit, just to remind her who was in charge, and pushed my weight against her, nudging my hard tip against her silken folds. Just before entering her, I pulled back. A surprised look crossed her face and she opened her mouth as if about to protest. Before even a peep came from between her lips, I clamped my palm down against her mouth.
Moving swiftly, I flipped her around and onto her stomach. Before she even had a chance to react, I landed a hard smack against her ass. She cried out, the noise a combined result from pain, shock, and pleasure. To keep her on her toes and unsure of what to expect, I sank two finger into her opening. She whimpered in response, back arching off the bed from sheer pleasure as she bucked her hips to get more or me inside.
My cock was aching to take my fingers’ place. Pre-cum dripped off the tip from need. Each bit of me throbbed, desperate to get inside of her, to feel her flesh against mine. I waited, though, the painful anticipation just part of the fun.
I slapped her ass again, and after she whimpered out a moan, I dug my nails into her flesh, kneading her ass cheeks. Paige relaxed a bit, her head falling down onto the bed.
She wasn’t expecting me to sink every inch inside her at full force. I put my hand against her mouth just in time to muffle what would have been a loud whimper.
I rammed into her, relishing the muffled noises she made against my palm. She opened her mouth and grazed her teeth against my hand, then bit down slowly onto one of my fingers.
A swell of pleasure surged through me and Paige arched her back and made that moan that told me she was close.
I went faster into her and she shook, her pleasure exploding and wrapping all around me. Her walls tightened on my cock and my own dam burst.
Panting hard, I climbed off of her and flipped her around. Her cheeks were flushed and her lips cherry red. I smoothed my palms over her torso and thighs, leaving a delicate kiss here and there.
“Do you think anyone heard?” she panted.
“Hopefully,” I seriously said.
Her eyes went wide. “Angelo!”
I chuckled and reached up to twirl a strand of her hair around my finger. “No, they didn’t hear. This house is gigantic and the walls are thick.”
“Oh,” she shyly smiled. “Good.” Her eyes shone and she batted her lashes. “Why are you still looking at me?”
“I’m looking,” I slowly said, “Because I’m the luckiest man in…”
“Don’t say the world,” she grinned. “That’s so cheesy.”
I chuckled. “How about both Chicago and New York?”
“I’ll take that.”
But it was the world.
Right then, I knew for sure what my big plan needed to be.
Paige
Clattering, chattering, and all other sorts of noise filled the dining room. I sunk back into my seat and relaxed as the sounds wrapped around me.
So far, being around such a big family proved to be extremely comforting. The noise level, contrary to being a disruption, became a protective shield against the world.
Or rather, the thoughts in my own head.
With Franco and Tre shouting at each other from opposite ends of the table, Mrs. Salvatore and Dominic discussing Easter plans at a thousand miles per minute, Pops and Angelo talking shop, and Lia and Paige gushing about New York’s last fashion week, it became pretty hard for my own neurotic worries to find space in my brain.
I sipped some orange juice and smiled to myself. From down the table Angelo caught my eye and sent me a wink.
Mrs. Salvatore clapped her hands together. “Who’s coming to pick out the tree after breakfast?”
“Huh?” I couldn’t help but mutter.
“It’s a Salvatore tradition,” Franko explained, adding extra maple syrup to his already soaking pancakes. “No tree till two days before Christmas.”
Pops waved his hand. “That American tradition of getting it on Thanksgiving is ridiculous. Families used to put trees up on Christmas Eve. They decorated them together, made a ceremony out of it.”
“People still decorate them together, Pops,” Lia pointed out.
“But they get them too early,” he said.
Sophia opened her mouth to add something, but her words turned from syllables into a long, sustained buzz. I was hundreds of miles away, trapped in a place from years ago.
My heart clenched. Nausea filled me.
I’m going to vomit. Right here at the table.
I stood quickly and ran for the doorway.
“Paige?” Angelo said from somewhere far away.
I sped down the hall and into the closest bathroom, slamming the door behind me. Going to the sink, I grabbed both sides of it and held on for dear life.
The walls spun and tilted. I kept my gaze down, focused on the sink’s drain. It became my life saver, the only thing anchoring me in reality.
My breath
came short and labored. I felt in my jeans pocket for my inhaler and took a hit.
Someone knocked on the bathroom door. “Paige?” Angelo asked. “Are you all right?”
I took another deep breath and straightened up. The pale girl in the mirror looked back at me, both of us uncertain as to what to do.
I’d broken down enough in front of Angelo. He didn’t need to see me broken up all the time. I liked Sunny Paige better. Loving Paige was great. Joking Paige was a good one too.
“Paige?” he asked again.
“I’m fine,” I said in a cracked voice.
“I’m coming in.”
I straightened up, about to protest, but the door was already opening.
“What happened?” Angelo asked, coming in behind me and closing the door.
I watched him in the mirror. At least I could now look at something other than the sink. That was good.
“It just… I had a memory come back.”
He tried to hide his surprise, but his eyebrows flew up a little bit. “Of what?”
I sighed. “Of the first Christmas after my parents died… The first year that Sophia and I lived with our aunt.”
Angelo put a hand on my shoulder. “And?”
“And it sucked,” I bitterly said.
“Was this one you repressed?”
I nodded. “I think so.”
“Hey,” he softly said.
I turned to face him. “She didn’t know how to deal with us. I had all my stuff going on, was probably a wreck. Sophia was…what some people would call a problem. She stayed out late, came home drunk… got into any kind of trouble I think a teenage girl can. Other than getting pregnant. She escaped that one.” I smiled slightly to lighten the mood, but Angelo didn’t buy it.
“What was Christmas like?”
“It wasn’t,” I simply said. “We didn’t celebrate it. We didn’t even get a tree.”
“That’s awful.”
I shook my head and looked at the floor. “Our aunt had her own fair share of issues. She was my mom’s sister. She didn’t even know about our parents’ involvement in the mafia until after they died. She just… I guess she knew how to deal about as much as I did.”
The Billionaire and The Virgin Page 25
