by Stormy Glenn
“Ciao, caro.”
I glanced toward the door, not realizing it had opened and someone had come in. When I saw the tall muscular man standing there, I very nearly swallowed my tongue. I quickly discovered that every part of my body worked just fine.
The man seemed a bit shy, sort of. He had his hands shoved into the pockets of his jeans. His dark eyes moved restlessly about the room before landing on me, and then I felt as if my heart was going to climb into my throat.
So much pain.
“I’m sorry I’m late. The doctor wanted to get all your tests done before I came in to see you.”
“Who are you?”
The big man sighed, and it did not sound like a happy sigh. “The doctor said you might not remember me.”
I shook my head. I wanted to remember him.
Oh god, did I want to remember him.
I didn’t.
“I’m Sal,” he said. “I’m your husband.”
Hot damn.
“How—” I cleared my throat and tried again. “How long have we been married?”
Sal smiled as he walked over and sat in the chair opposite me. “We’ve been married for about three years, but we’ve been together for four. This week is actually our anniversary.”
“Yeah?”
“We always seem to find a way to mess up celebrating it, though.”
That didn’t sound good.
“Are we happy?”
Sal’s coppery eyes sparkled. “Very.”
Well, that was good.
I couldn’t seem to pull my eyes away from Sal. I just wanted to drink him in. He was gorgeous. “Are you sure we’re married?”
The man held out his hand, showing off the platinum ring on his finger. “You bought our rings yourself.”
I had good taste.
I almost gasped when Sal pulled his ring off until he held it up to the light. “You had the inside engraved with ‘Ero fatto per te.’”
I blinked at the man.
“It’s Italian for ‘I was made for you.”
Oh, that was nice.
Sal slid the ring back on his finger before holding out his hand. “Can I hold your hand, Lany?”
It would be mean to say no, and god, I so wanted to touch him. I laid my hand in Sal’s, marveling at the size difference. Sal’s hand practically ate mine up. Our skin tones were different too. Mine was pale white. His was golden olive.
“Are there any questions you’d like to ask?”
Why did everyone keep asking me that?
“Do we live together?”
“Of course we do. We live in the penthouse your grandparents gave you when you graduated from college.”
My eyebrows rose swiftly. “We live in a penthouse?”
Were we rich?
“According to you, penthouse is just a fancy way of saying apartment. It’s still just a two-bedroom place. What you call it—apartment, condo, penthouse—totally depends on how much money you make or what it costs.”
“Then we are rich?”
“No, we live on our salaries alone. Your father and grandparents are rich.”
“Oh.”
“Disappointed?”
I thought about it for a moment before shaking my head. “No, I don’t think so. I guess as long as we can pay our bills and keep a roof over our heads, we don’t need much else.”
“Well, you do. Your father pays for a fulltime bodyguard for you.”
“Marcus?” I think that was his name.
“You remember Marcus?”
“No, he introduced himself earlier.”
Sal’s eyelashes lowered as if he was disappointed I didn’t remember Marcus and he didn’t want me to see it. “Yes,” he said when he looked back up at me. “He’s right outside the door. He goes where you go unless you’re with me.”
“Why?”
“Remember how you got in here?”
I raised my free hand to touch the back of my head. “I fell in the bathroom.”
“Right.” Sal nodded. “You have a tendency to get yourself into trouble. Oh, you have the best of intentions, but you still end up in messes that defy description. Marcus does his level best to keep those messes to a minimum.”
“What sort of messes?” My imagination started running rampant.
“We met when I saved you from getting your ass handed to you in a bathroom fight at a bar.”
“Oh.”
“You’re no longer allowed to drive. You’ve been through twelve cars since you started driving, and crashed each one of them.”
“Damn.”
I was lethal.
“Our friend Eddie was shot last year, and you—”
“How?”
A wrinkle appeared between Sal’s dark eyebrows. “How what?”
“How did Eddie get shot?”
Sal sighed, but I was pretty sure I detected a hint of amusement in his tone. “You, Lyn, and Eddie were going out to lunch at your favorite Thai restaurant. Some idiot decided to hold the place up. Eddie was shot during the hostage situation.”
“Oh. Is he okay?”
“Eddie?”
I nodded.
“He’s fine.”
“That’s good.”
“Yeah, so, as I was saying. Eddie had an art show coming up. With his injury, he couldn’t do it, so you and Lyn decided to help him. But of course, with the three of you involved, something was bound to go wrong. Three mob thugs came in and started destroying the place and knocking you around.”
“Mob thugs?”
Sal chuckled. “I’ll get to that in a minute.”
I nodded, but my curiosity was eating me alive.
Mob thugs?
“After I rescued you and sent you outside to sit with Lyn and Eddie, who had been hiding in the back, you couldn’t find them so you just started driving the SUV around the block. By that time, the situation inside the art gallery had escalated. When you saw this, you drove my SUV right through the front of the gallery.”
I gasped. “Did I kill anyone?”
Sal chuckled. “Just my SUV.”
“What happened to the mob thugs?”
“They went to prison.”
“For beating me up?”
“There was a little more to it than that. Eddie is the son of a local mobster, and the nephew of another mobster. Both ‘alleged’ mobsters as nothing has ever been proven.”
“Wait.” I searched what I had been told so far, looking for the tidbit of information that made this all really weird. “I work for the police commissioner, right?”
“Yes, you do.”
“Then how am I friends with the son and nephew of two mobsters?”
Sal’s mouth broke out into a wide grin. “Because you refused to not be friends with him, and once you make up your mind that you like someone, there’s nothing going to stop you from doing just that.”
I winced. “I sound like a delight.”
“You’re a hot mess, caro, but you’re my hot mess.”
“I am not a hot mess, Salvador Delvecchio, and you—” I gasped as something slammed into me so hard, my head ached. I glanced at the man across from me, who had gone tense at my words. “Sal, tell me.”
“Tu sei una stella…la mia stella,” the man whispered as tears sprang to his eyes.
“You’re damn right I’m your star!”
I launched myself at Sal, the man easily catching me. I wrapped my arms and legs around him like an octopus and buried my face in his neck, breathing deeply. I sighed when cinnamon and whiskey filled my senses.
“I know that scent.”
Sal gasped before his arms tightened around me. “You remember.”
The doctor said my memory could come back at any moment, or not at all. Apparently, it was back.
I leaned back so I could see into Sal’s eyes. “Come potrei dimenticarti? Tu sei tutta la mia vita.”
The large man seemed unashamed of the tears that trailed down his cheeks. “You’re my world too,
Lany.”
Chapter Five
Salvador
I knew I was driving Lany insane. I had been watching him like a hawk for the last two days, ever since he came home from the hospital. Lany had amnesia for just a few hours, but still. I never wanted to be that scared again.
Bad guys I could fight.
Amnesia, I couldn’t.
The doctor said it could happen that way sometimes, especially with Lany’s type of amnesia. He could go years without remembering anything or just a few short hours. We had been lucky and it had only been hours.
There were still a few things he was having a little trouble with, but he remembered me and the girls as well as the rest of his friends and family. His continued loss of memory seemed to be everything within the twenty-four hours before his fall.
“Sal.”
I winced at the censure I could hear in Lany’s voice. “Sorry, caro, but I can’t help it.”
“You’re driving me nuts. I’m fine, I promise. Besides, we’ve been through worse than this.”
I wasn’t so sure about that.
Lany walked over to wrap himself in my arms. “I’m fine, Sal.”
“You don’t know what it was like, Lany.” I shuddered at the memory. “You looked right at me and you had no idea who I was.”
It had been my worst nightmare come to life right before my eyes.
“But only for a little while.”
It had been long enough.
“Sal, I’m here now. I know who you are, and I love you.”
I knew I was crushing Lany as I held him tight, but I couldn’t seem to help it. Those minutes when Lany hadn’t known who I was came too close to my idea of hell. I couldn’t seem to shake my terror that I would go through it again.
“I know what you need,” Lany said as he pushed away. He grabbed my hand and dragged me toward the bedroom.
“Lany—”
We hadn’t been intimate since Lany came home from the hospital. I wasn’t sure now was the right time either. It had been just two days ago that Lany was languishing in a hospital bed, no idea who he was.
“Do you love me, Sal?”
I reared back at Lany’s question. “Of course, I do. You know that.”
Hadn’t I shown it?
“Then stop treating me like I’m going to break.”
My shoulders slumped. “I just…”
“I know, love.” Lany was back in my arms again, wrapping around me like he did. “But I’m here, and I’m okay, and we need to celebrate that.”
I groaned as I rubbed my nose against Lany’s warm skin. Maybe he was right. Even if he wasn’t, I wasn’t sure I could resist him.
“You smell so fucking good, caro,” I murmured. “Right here, doesn’t matter how long it’s been since you showered or what you’re wearing, you smell like hot summer rain.”
I alternated between sniffing Lany’s skin and licking it. Lany tasted as good as he smelled. I wanted to eat the little man up. I wanted to start at the top and lick my way down to the bottom. And then maybe I’d lick my way back up.
I gently edged Lany down onto his back and started pulling at his clothes. I wanted more skin. When Lany’s shirt was up around his armpits, I moved from the man’s neck to his chest. I latched onto one of Lany’s dark-hued nipples, stroking my tongue over the hard little nub. The cry that fell from Lany’s lips made my cock rock hard.
Had anything ever sounded so perfect?
“Arms up, caro,” I said as I tugged the shirt up. I definitely needed more skin, preferably naked skin from head to toe. When Lany lifted his arms, I whipped the shirt off over his head and tossed it on the floor, and then I went to work on his jeans
Once Lany was naked, I stood back and started stripping off my own clothes, going slow. I knew Lany liked to watch me strip off my clothes. I slowed down, taking my time. I was horny as hell and couldn’t wait to get to Lany, but the man’s arousal saturated the air.
Once I was naked—and Lany was panting from watching me—I climbed up on the end of the bed between Lany’s legs. I stroked my hand down one leg, awed at how smooth it was. My baby had the silkiest skin.
I levered myself up Lany’s body until I reached the hard cock jutting out from Lany’s groin. I grabbed Lany’s thighs and pushed them up so I could get a better angle then made one long lick with my tongue from Lany’s perineum to the top of his cock.
Lany’s loud wail filled the air.
Music to my ears.
The man really did taste fantastic. I could lick Lany all day long and be a very happy man. I used my tongue to bathe Lany’s body, moving back and forth between his ass, his balls, and his cock.
After a few moments, I licked my fingers then started applying pressure to the man’s little puckered hole, slowly inserting them into Lany’s ass, one at a time. By the time Lany was humping into the air, his head thrashing back and forth, I was about ready to explode.
I finally lifted my head and scooted up to kneel between Lany’s thighs. The sight of Lany lying naked on the mattress with his legs spread wide, his pale skin flushed with arousal, and his mouth slightly parted as he panted was the most erotic thing I had ever seen.
I stared for a moment, drinking the sight in, then leaned over Lany. “Venire per me, caro. Come for me,” I whispered as I wrapped my fingers around Lany’s hard cock and quickly jerked him off. “I need you to come for me, caro.”
I could see the edge of an orgasm riding Lany hard in the widening of his amber-green eyes. Lany was close. I quickly leaned over and covered Lany’s lips with my own, thrusting my tongue into Lany’s mouth, swallowing his cry as hot spunk shot all over us.
Before Lany could come down from his high, I sat back on my knees and grabbed the bottle of lube off the nightstand. We had long ago given up on condoms. We were in a committed monogamous marriage. We didn’t need them.
Lube was another story.
I quickly lubed up my cock and then smoothed some more lube over Lany’s hole, pushing some deep inside of him. Once we were both ready to go, I grabbed Lany by his hips and flipped him over onto his hands and knees. I yanked Lany’s ass up into the air and lined up my cock with his glistening hole.
My cock felt as if it was sinking into a silky hot grip as I thrust into Lany’s tight ass. When my balls rested against Lany’s ass, I stopped and took several deep breaths. If I didn’t slow things down, the show would be over before it began.
I was that close to blowing.
“Ready, caro?” I asked as I started moving. I nearly swallowed my tongue as I watched my cock move out of Lany’s ass then sink back in. I wasn’t sure I had ever seen anything so hot. It was a sight that never got old.
Lany’s body seemed to swallow me up every time I thrust into the man, squeezing my cock and massaging me as if that alone could get me off.
It just might.
The sounds of Lany’s cries mingled with the sound of our flesh slapping together. The more I moved, the louder Lany became. There seemed to be a direct connection between Lany’s cries and the force of my thrusts. I went with it, grabbing Lany’s hips and pounding into the man as fast and as hard as I could.
I knew I was close, but I’d be damned if I’d blow before Lany did. I hunched over Lany’s back and reached under him to grab his cock. I started jerking Lany’s cock to the rhythm of my thrusts.
“Come for me, caro,” I demanded.
Lany screamed and shot all over my hand. The scent of Lany’s release flooded the air, filling my senses. I growled and thrust into Lany’s tight ass one last time. My orgasm hit me with the force of a freight train.
I shuddered before carefully pulling free of Lany’s body and collapsing down on the bed next to him. I pulled the panting man into my arms and tucked him close to my chest.
I was still reeling from the orgasm that had racked my body, hitting every nerve and taking me to heights of ecstasy I only ever felt with Lany. No man had ever taken me there before. Just Lany.
&
nbsp; Everything in my life was due to Lany.
“Tu sei una stella…la mia stella.”
Lany turned a sleepy, satisfied smile toward me. “I love you, too, Sal.”
Yep, everything.
I smiled into the mirror as I watched Lany stretch and open his eyes. “Morning, caro.” After the spectacular night we had spent together in bed, I was surprised Lany was even moving.
“Hey.” The man pushed himself up before looking around. “What time is it?”
“A little after seven.”
Lany’s eyes rounded. “In the morning?”
I chuckled as I turned. “Yes, love, in the morning.”
Lany’s eyes darted to the door. “Are the girls okay?”
“Still sleeping,” I said as I pulled on my gun holster and then suit jacket.
“Then why are you up?” Lany asked in a tone that said he clearly thought I was insane.
“Do you remember me having to go to court?”
Lany’s frown made my heart sink. This was one of the memories Lany hadn’t gotten back yet. Hopefully yet. “I was called out to a domestic dispute awhile back that turned into a hostage situation. We went in, secured the hostages, and took down the bad guy, one Jose Juarez.”
“Did you kill him?”
“No, no one was hurt.”
“Then why do you have to go testify?”
“I don’t know, caro, but both the judge and the DA were nice enough to file a continuance once they learned of your accident, giving me the time I needed to be with you. I thought showing up this time would be the courteous thing to do. They could have put my ass in jail for not showing up at court.”
“Oh.”
Lany looked so dejected, I couldn’t stand it. “Want to meet down at the courthouse around noon and we can go have lunch together?”
“Oh.” Lany perked up. “That could be fun.”
I chuckled because I knew where Lany’s mind was going. Not too long ago, my mind had gone to the very same place.
I leaned down and pressed a kiss to Lany’s forehead. “Stay out of trouble.”
I left the room to the sweet sound of Lany sputtering. I did like getting in the last word. It didn’t happen often. I grabbed my stuff from the bowl by the entrance and then headed downstairs to meet up with Clarke, who was driving me in again today.
