A Santini's Heart (The Santinis Book 10)

by Melissa Schroeder

  He lifted away from her, but kept his finger inside of her. Just as she was coming down from her orgasm, he pressed his thumb against her clit to send her soaring once more.

  “Fucking beautiful,” he said. She looked down her body at him, then closed her eyes. She could barely think of her name, let alone a response.

  Rising to his feet, he divested himself of his boots and pants. Holy lord, the man wasn’t wearing any underwear.

  “Do you always go around like that?” she asked.

  He looked down, then back up at her. “Only around you.”

  Her gaze went to his erection, and she felt her face heat.

  Carlos chuckled, but said nothing as he leaned down to cup her face. The gentle touch to her face didn’t prepare her for the kiss. He kissed her like before, but the urgency had increased tenfold. There, on the tip of his tongue, she could taste her arousal, and it pulled another moan from her. He tore away from the kiss, opened his bedside table drawer, and grabbed a condom.

  After rolling it on, he urged her back onto the bed and joined her, kneeling between her legs. He lifted her hips, and thrust into her, slowly, inch by inch. All the while, he kept his gaze on hers. When he was in her to the hilt, he leaned down and kissed her before he started to move within her. Tia had thought she wouldn’t be able to come again, but he took his time, teasing her with mouth, his hands, and his cock. She felt that familiar tension rise within her again. Thrust after thrust, he edged them both closer to their release. His rhythm increased, and she knew he was close.

  “Come on, Tia. Come with me, baby.”

  She looked up at Carlos, his gaze hot and direct. At that moment, she could not deny him anything. She bowed up off the bed and let go. Pleasure consumed her, as she felt him thrust one more time before he called out her name to follow her into blissful surrender.

  CHAPTER NINE

  Long moments later, Carlos stirred. He was still laying on top of Tia where he had collapsed after making love.

  “There is a very good chance that I am dead,” Carlos said.

  Tia laughed, a carefree sound he hadn’t heard that much of in the last few months. He pulled himself up and looked down at her. Her hair was a tangled mess against his comforter, and she still had her eyes closed. It was the sweet smile that made her look like an angel.

  “I like that sound.”

  “Of being dead?”

  “No, your laugh.” When she opened her eyes, he read the question in their depths. “I haven’t heard you laugh that much lately.”

  She was quiet for a long moment. “I do, but never to your face.”

  The comment pulled a chuckle from him.

  “Thanks for that.”

  “You’re very welcome.”

  Damn, but he loved her. Carlos waited for the panic to rise, but it didn’t. It probably never would again. The moment he had thrust inside of her, he felt that connection beyond the physical, and it became crystal clear to him. She was the love of his life.

  The rational side of him knew he hadn’t been ready for the revelation. It wasn’t like he didn’t know her, but he wasn’t sure he was cut out for the Santini curse. Now, though, he knew it without a doubt. There would be no way for him to fight it, and he didn’t want to. Of course, there was someone who would, and she was the woman who owned his heart.

  He gave her a kiss and lifted himself off her. After ridding himself of the condom, he made his way back to the bedroom. She had moved and was now leaning against the pillows.

  “You know you can’t talk. You didn’t laugh much when I met you either,” she said.

  “True. I was just pissed off.”

  She said nothing for a moment. “I always wondered if you had issues later on. Adrian said no.”

  The fact that she had asked didn’t embarrass him. If anything, it made him happier. It was nice to have a person who didn’t tiptoe around him. His family never had, but other people had. Women especially. A man would never have to worry about that with Tia. Straightforward and honest.

  He slid into bed beside her, then slipped his arm around her, and pulled her over to lay on top of him.

  “My main problem was being mad at the world. I had an idea of what my life was going to be like, and it didn’t happen.”

  “Hmm.”

  “What?”

  “It just seems so easy to identify. I am not knocking you or your PTSD, but maybe it’s because I work with some pretty severe cases.”

  That was true. While he worked with clients, Tia always took the worst cases. She had more than one person who had been through hell and had tried to commit suicide before taking classes with her. She had a very high success rate. Carlos had heard her claim it was due to her stubbornness. That was true, but a huge part of it was because she had a big heart. She wanted everyone to have a second chance.

  “I guess it’s hard to explain to someone who isn’t in my family.”

  “Try me.”

  He hesitated, a bit too long for Tia, apparently.

  “Never mind.”

  He saw the look on her face and stopped her from sliding away from him. “No. I’m trying to come up with the best way to explain it. You know my family.”

  She nodded.

  “We’re Marines.”

  She snorted. “Well, yeah. Kind of hard to miss.”

  “From the time I knew what it was to be a Marine, I wanted to be one. It wasn’t that it was expected of me. It was that I wanted to be one.”

  “But that changed.”

  Not a question. Just a simple statement. Her matter-of-fact tone told him she understood. He always knew she did. There was comfort in that, a connection.

  He nodded. “I wasn’t like Anthony where he got burned out and wanted something new. It was taken away from me.”

  “Because of your injury? I thought you were cleared to go.”

  He sighed. “Physically. Mentally…well, my therapist had concerns. Hell, I had concerns. I do okay now, but loud noises, explosions…they were hard.”

  “Hard?”

  Of course she was insisting on the entire story. This was Tia, and she never let up.

  “I couldn’t handle it. I remember the first Fourth of July after I got back. I almost had a breakdown. To handle the noise, and because I wanted to look like a big bad Marine, I drank. It was the only thing that kept me from losing it. That only added to the issues.”

  “That’s when you started doing the adrenaline junkie things. Dangerous things.”

  “Yeah. I couldn’t handle loud noises or flashes of light without liquor, but hell, I could go rock climbing—especially in places that were off limits. In fact, I was looking into a hike in Hawaii to Heaven’s Gate when Mom insisted I meet with you and Adrian.”

  Her eyes widened. “That’s the place where people get killed.”

  “Yep. I wanted to prove I wasn’t a coward.”

  She didn’t say anything for a very long time. She just kept looking at him with those amazing eyes.

  “How could you even think you are a coward?”

  “Look—”

  She shot up and shoved him back down on the bed. “No. You are going to listen to me. Right now. For once, you will zip it while I speak.”

  He nodded.

  “I can’t believe you even thought that anyone would label you with that handle. And your family…they would never think you were a coward. Good lord. All I ever hear from your mother is how wonderful you are. She thinks you were sent from Heaven above for the women of Earth to admire.”

  He opened his mouth, but she stopped him with one simple statement. Without breaking eye contact, she said, “You are one of the strongest people I know.”

  “Tia.”

  “No. You have to know I wouldn’t blow smoke up your ass. You didn’t want to be here the first time you came. I knew it from that chip you were carrying on your shoulder. But you showed up. Every day you were scheduled, too. You know the dropout rate can be high for us. We deal with
people who have seen some of the worst of society. But you came back. Every. Damn. Day. And you thrived.”

  “I had a good teacher.”

  She shook her head and blinked a few times. He had a horrible feeling that she was trying to hold back tears. If she cried, he would lose it.

  “I’m good, that’s for sure. But you were my most difficult student. I thought you might quit.”

  He frowned.

  “Yeah, that’s right. You didn’t. You want to know why? You’re a damned Santini. Being a Marine is part of your makeup. I get that. But what is beneath all of that is a good man. One who loves his family, loves this ranch, and loved my brother like his own. You are an amazing man and that is what made you a kick ass Marine. It wasn’t the other way around.”

  He said nothing. He couldn’t. He didn’t know she thought those things about him. If he hadn’t already known he was in love with her, he would have fallen right then and there.

  “Don’t look at me like that,” she ordered.

  “Like what?”

  “Just…don’t give me those big puppy dog eyes of yours.”

  He slipped his hand behind her neck and pulled her down for a kiss. By the time she pulled away, they were both breathing heavily.

  “I have a powerful need for you, Tia.”

  When she smiled this time, her eyes lit up with her happiness.

  I did that. Just me, and no one else. I made her smile like that.

  It was a power that he hadn’t known he possessed. The idea of it humbled him.

  “Carlos?”

  He shook his head and leaned up to kiss her again. She ended it too soon for him, but when he opened his eyes, he saw her devilish expression.

  “I think it’s time that you learn to let someone else take control.”

  Carlos smiled and folded his hands beneath his head. “I have no issues with control.”

  “We’ll see.”

  She kissed a path down his body, licking and nipping at his flesh between the pecks. Tia took her time exploring is body. Each time he felt the flat of her tongue or the scrape of her teeth, he tipped a little closer to demanding control back from her. But he would give her this moment, allow her to be the one in charge.

  Tia settled between his legs, then wrapped her hand around his cock. She stroked him a couple times…maybe more. He shut his eyes and leaned his head back. Lord, the woman had amazing hands. Of course, that didn’t prepare him for her mouth. The moment he felt her hair tickle his thighs, he knew what she was about to do. Still, it didn’t prepare him. She flicked her tongue over the head of his penis and he groaned. She continued to stroke him, as she took his entire shaft into her mouth. Soon, though, he couldn’t take it anymore.

  “Tia,” he said, grabbing for her, but she moved away.

  “Nope. I’ve been dying to know.”

  He opened his eyes as she leaned over to grab another condom. She ripped it open and rolled it down on him.

  “You’ve been dying to know what?”

  She straddled his hips, then sunk down on his cock.

  “Tia?”

  “I wanted to know what it was like to ride a Santini.”

  Then, she went about doing just that. She rode him in a slow sexy rhythm that pushed him to new heights. Soon, though, she quickened her movements, and he could feel that tensing of her muscles over his cock. He slid his fingers to her clit, teasing it to help her over and into her orgasm. She threw her head back and moaned, his name, long and loud.

  The sight of her and the sound of his name on her lips pulled his own orgasm from him. He thrust up into her once…twice…on the third time he gave himself over to pleasure.

  She rode him harder, drawing out his release until he relaxed against the mattress. Then, she leaned down, kissed him long and hard, and collapsed on top of him.

  He cradled her there, slipping his hand up into the tangled mass of her heavy tresses.

  “So, how was it?” he asked.

  “What?”

  “How was your first ride on a Santini?”

  She chuckled and he felt it against his cock because he was still inside of her. She leaned up enough so she could look him in the eye.

  “It was pretty damn fantastic, if I do say so myself.”

  She settled against him again, her head snuggled beneath his chin and her hand against his chest.

  It was just after five the next morning when Carlos was wakened by the sound of a car door. He frowned and rose from the bed. When he looked out the window, he noticed there definitely was a car, but it was mainly hidden by the front porch. What he did see of it, he didn’t recognize.

  His senses alert, he slipped on his jeans and then padded out of the room. It was probably nothing, but that didn’t mean he shouldn’t check it out. When he reached the front door, he saw a familiar face smiling at him through the beveled glass.

  He unlocked the door. “Nando, what are you doing here?”

  “Just on my way back through. I flew back to LA, then decided to drive to Dallas instead of fly.” He glanced over his shoulder at the two trucks. “Got company?”

  “In bed still. Come on,” he said, turning and walking into the house. “I’ll make coffee, but I can’t promise it will be good.”

  Nando laughed. “I’ll make it. I’ve tasted your coffee.”

  As he watched his younger brother make coffee, Carlos realized there was a difference in the way he held himself. Being the youngest wasn’t easy by a long shot, but Carlos could tell Nando seemed more mature. It was something he had not noticed during the craziness leading up to Anthony’s wedding.

  “Want to tell me why you’re here?”

  “Just as I said. Stopped by on my way to DFW.”

  “No way. Brando spilled the beans. You being deployed?”

  Nando rolled his eyes. “He still can’t keep his mouth shut. He was always telling on me.”

  “So?”

  He shook his head, a smile curving his lips. “Not deployment. Going to Kaneohe.”

  “Damn. Three Santinis in Hawaii? I’m not sure they can handle that.”

  “We shall see. And since Anthony is now out of the guest house at Marco’s house, I already have a place to stay.”

  Their brother had rented the guest house from Alana before they were married. Anthony then took it over, but with his marriage, it would be empty.

  “Damn. You get all the luck.”

  “Some say all Santinis have the best luck. Pretty nice set up you have here, bro.”

  “Are you going to have time to look around?”

  He nodded. “Planned on staying a few days, if that’s okay with you.”

  “I’d love to have you. I guess you can’t stay for the benefit?”

  “I wish I could, but I have to be back in Germany so I can start all the crap that goes with the move.”

  “I didn’t think you were due up for a move yet.”

  He shook his head as the coffee beeped. “Not really, but the guy I’m replacing got tapped for school. So, they needed someone quick. We have more than enough people, and they let me go.”

  And probably a few strings had been pulled, because his brother had a lot of connections. Add in that he’d graduated second in his class at Annapolis, and Nando had a lot of things going right in his career.

  “No one else wanted an assignment to Hawaii?”

  Nando shrugged, then a slow smile curved his lips. “Pays to be a Santini.”

  “Ah, so someone told you about the job.”

  “Yeah. I got a heads up from a friend. Pulled a few strings; and, hopefully, I can spend a little more time stateside. It’s been a long few years.”

  All of them had deployed through the years. It was hard to be in the military these days and not deploy. But Nando and Carlos had done it the most.

  “Understandable.”

  “So, is this company you have this morning the very lovely Tia that Mom is always going on about?”

  “Mom goes on about h
er?”

  “Yes. She’s always talking about how much she likes Tia.”

  “Huh.”

  “Yeah, I can see it now. I will be the lone Santini left in the family.”

  Carlos waited for the panic that usually hit him when he thought about marriage. But, just like the night before, he felt nothing but comfort. And resolve. He was resolved to convince her to take this thing between them seriously.

  Nando rolled his eyes again. “Oh, yeah, I’ve lost you. Damn.”

  “Your time is coming.”

  Nando shook his head. “Nope. At least not anytime soon. Why would I screw up a great assignment in Hawaii with something like get married?”

  Carlos remembered saying something like that to Anthony. He could argue with his brother, but Carlos knew better. As his mother said, arguing with a Santini was like arguing with a brick. It was just best his little brother found out all on his own.

  Tia woke the next morning, alone in bed. Morning was a relative term, as it was before sunrise. She figured Carlos was already downstairs, she just hoped he didn’t make coffee yet. In all her years of coffee drinking, no one made worse coffee than Carlos.

  She slipped out of bed and realized she was naked. Damn, where were her panties? She found them, but she didn’t feel like putting on her clothes from the day before. She could grab something out of the guest room, but she decided to invade Carlos’ privacy. She opened the second drawer and found t-shirts. After grabbing one, she tugged it on, then headed to the bathroom. After taking care of business, she headed downstairs. It wasn’t until it was too late that she realized Carlos wasn’t alone.

  Dammit. There were two men in the kitchen, one being Carlos of course. The second one was younger, had lighter hair that was fashioned in the typical military buzz cut so many Marines kept. Lord, this was the little brother Fernando. She had seen him in pictures.

  Not wanting to meet one of his family members with nothing but a pair of panties on and a t-shirt, she took a step back. The floor creaked beneath her bare foot. Both men turned. Carlos’ expression softened when he looked at her.