by Stacy Gail
When the man was right, he was right. “You really think you’re got me twisted around your little finger, don’t you?”
“Sassy Pants, I know I do. I recognize the signs.”
It took her a second to figure out what he was saying. “I do not have you wrapped around my little finger. Or any other body part, for that matter.”
“Hell, yes, you do. Though you’re right—it’s not your pinky I’m obsessed with.”
“I knew it.”
“The world becomes insignificant bullshit whenever I’m with you. You’re all I see. And hear. And taste. Because you’re mine.” His head nudged hers in a way that made her raise her lips to his, and the heat of his kiss moved her so deeply the rest of the world really did cease to exist, just like he said. And when he finally raised his head, he smiled. “There. I’ll email our pic to the drugstore and we’ll pick up the print on the way home.” With that, he tucked his phone away and kept her between him and the basket while he steered them into the Christmas section. Dazedly she went along with it, deciding that her ban on PDAs was pretty much a thing of the past.
And she was okay with that.
Sass wandered into the bedroom, shopping bags in hand as she absently listened to Rude and his brothers linger at the front door over their goodbyes. It had been a hectic day, and coming home to a slow cooker full of the chicken tortilla soup she’d put on before they’d left had made her sigh with happiness. The soup’s spicy scent had soon mingled with the scent of the thin strips of tortilla she’d fried off, as well as the mixed berry cobbler she’d prepared and set in the fridge before they’d left, then popped in the oven as soon as they’d returned home. Rude, meanwhile, had waited downstairs for his brothers Anthony and Gino to show up. When the Panuzzi men had finally come through the door with the boxed-up TV, the shuffling of televisions had become less important than three suddenly starving men, who did a convincing job of acting like they had never seen food before.
By the time the cobbler was out of the oven and the vanilla ice cream to top it was softening, there wasn’t a drop of soup, a crust of bread, a strip of fried tortilla or a chunk of avocado left. The cobbler soon did a similar disappearing act, and while she dealt with getting the dishes in the dishwasher, the brothers tackled the great television swap. When it was all said and done, three hours had passed, Rude had things set up just the way he wanted it in both rooms, and she and Rude were slated to have Anthony and Gino over for dinner and movie night the same time next week, this time with their young families in tow.
Rude was right. Considering how large the Panuzzi family was, they definitely needed a bigger place, preferably with a banquet hall.
“Gino’s pissed,” Rude announced, strolling into the room just as she finished pulling the fitted bronze-on-bronze striped sheet over the mattress.
“Why?” Shocked, she tossed him a pillow and pillowcase, before shaking one of the new pillows into a matching case. “What does he have to be mad about?”
“Because he’s a jealous little bitch. I’ve got a smokin’ hot woman who cooks like a dream and digs football and hockey, and she doesn’t give a shit that a big-screen TV is now eating up an entire wall in the living room. His wife won’t let him get one,” he explained when Sass shot him a bewildered look. “Apparently it’d clash with their country-cottage décor.”
“Maybe I’m not playing the female role of this relationship right,” she drawled, shoving another pillow into a sham before tossing both pillows onto the bed and reaching for the top sheet. “When you’re happy, I’m happy, and you’re the same way with me. Maybe we’re doing it wrong.”
“Nah, we’re golden. They’re the fucked-up ones. Think we should tell them how it’s done?”
“I think we should stay the hell out of that stinker of a subject and just keep on being awesome.” She billowed out the top sheet a couple of times, then gasped when he dived under the bronze canopy before it settled. “Rude, how old are you? I bet you did the same thing when Mama Coco was trying to make a bed.”
“Yeah, but I didn’t do it for the reason I’m doing it now.” His head and hands came out from under the sheet, with his big hands wrapping around the backs of her thighs. “Get in here.”
She billowed the sheet up over him again. “I’m making the bed.”
“Sassy Pants, we’re just going to mess it up anyway.”
“I like to sleep in a neat bed.”
“You’re not going to be sleeping for a long, long while, baby.”
She paused. “You have my attention.”
He looked up at her with a dimple-flashing smile, his dark hair mussed, his cognac eyes promising wicked delights. He looked so damned cocky he knocked every coherent thought right out of her head. “Just your attention?”
She rustled the sheet, as if she had every intention of making the bed around him. “If you elaborated, maybe you’ll get more. Maybe.”
Without another word, he popped the button her jeans, unzipped them, pushed them and her underwear down to her ankles and pressed a kiss between her thighs.
Hello.
One hand came to slide up a thigh to push her leg to the side, clearly wanting more room to maneuver. She obliged him by stepping out of her clothes, because it seemed the polite thing to do and because she had lost all interest in making the freaking bed. “Okay. You’ve definitely got my attention now.”
“Yeah, but you’re still not getting that ass in bed with me where it belongs. Obviously I haven’t been convincing enough.” The hand at her inner thigh slid up to part her intimate folds, while his other hand cupped her ass cheek to pull her into him. And when his clever fingers found the spot that had already started to throb, her whole body jolted with the sudden flash of pleasure.
Her eyes fluttered closed. He was such a gift to her life, her heart, her soul.
And right now, her body.
“Hmm, even after that you’re still standing. Shit. I must be doing something wrong, yeah? Maybe I need to make more of an effort.”
She shuddered. “I seriously need to thank a higher power for sending you in my direction.”
“Babe, when I have you crying out ‘oh God,’ that should be thanks enough.”
Oh…God.
Rude pulled one of her legs up onto the bed so that her knee sank into the mattress, widening her further. He pressed a fingertip hard over her clit and circled it mercilessly, not even pausing in rhythm when she whimpered. Her hands, still gripping the edge of the sheet, leaned on his back because suddenly standing upright was almost impossible. The pleasure he gave her filled every part of her, and it was so good, so sweet, that it tightened her lower abdominal muscles until she thought she’d die of the pressure.
“Get your sweet ass in bed, baby.”
Without a word—at that moment she couldn’t remember how that whole language thing worked—she threw the sheet up to dive in under it, not noticing how it settled around them as they fought to get him out of his clothes in record time. Her top soon went the way of his clothes, and before she was done tugging off her bra, Rude had her under him, the backs of her knees up and over his shoulders, the sheet held up like a tent by her feet as he surged into her.
“I have your attention now, don’t I, Sassy?” The words growled out of him as he plunged into her all the way to his hilt, and the impact was exquisite. He was so big, so full, so perfect, she could feel him stretching her until she thought she’d die. “Don’t I?”
“Yes.” The sensations were building inside, folding in on itself, collapsing under its own weight like a star about to go supernova. Her head arched back against the mattress as his rhythm increased to a near-frenzy. “Yes.”
“What else do I have?” He leaned into her, lying on the backs of her thighs as he thrust into her, his hands coming to grip hers over her head. “Tell me what else I have. Tell me.”
“Me. My heart. My everything.” Her response was almost lost on an incoherent cry as at last the excruciatingly sweet tension inside
her snapped, causing a tidal wave of pleasure to roar through her. It continued to roar, wild and triumphant and completely insane, even as he did some roaring herself. And as she came down from one of the most intense orgasms she’d ever enjoyed, she knew she’d spoken the truth.
He had her everything, because he was everything to her.
Chapter Twenty-Two
The Secret Garden’s solarium was awash with the diffused, gray light of an overcast sky, but as Sass sat down at the table with Frankie, Tonya, Scout and Mama Coco, it may as well have been filled with sunshine. She didn’t even care if her smile made her look like a total sap. Damn it, she felt sappy. She was in love, she was surrounded by people who meant the world to her, and she’d had her hair washed by Rude in the shower that morning. It had been such an unexpected treat, she’d rewarded him by going down on her knees and waking him up the best way possible.
But most importantly, she was in love.
Rude had still been recovering from that particular morning delight when her phone sounded with Mama Coco’s ringtone. Sass had been so mortified—wildly she’d feared that Mama Coco had called to find out why her son had been shouting out as if in pain—that she’d barely been able to speak. All she knew was that she’d promised to meet everyone at The Secret Garden to go over Thanksgiving details. By the time she’d hung up, she was half-convinced Mama Coco was the one who had spy cameras all over the apartment, not PSI.
Rude, of course, had laughed himself silly over her aghast reaction. He’d helped her get over her horror by toweling her off, and even assisted her in applying body moisturizer. But in the end, he’d proven himself to be not much help at all. His brand of “helping” eventually led to her ass being up on the vanity with her ankles latched around his back, while he did his damnedest to make sure she got a turn at shouting out as if in pain.
Truly, a man with a strong sense of fair play was worth his weight in gold.
“It feels like forever since we’ve been here.” Frankie grabbed up the mimosa that was delivered to her and settled back in her seat with a happy sigh. “Do you believe the year’s almost gone? I’m still in denial that Thanksgiving’s next week. By the week after that we’ll be decorating Christmas trees, hanging wreaths on our doors and making ourselves crazy trying to figure out what to get Pop for Christmas.”
“Oh, that reminds me.” Sass dived into her purse and surfaced with a small wrapped package to hand over to Scout. “Open on December first. From Rude and me.”
“From Rude and you?” Scout took the gift with raised brows, her two-toned poppy and sable hair now swept up in a coronet roll that looked stunning with her pinup-girl makeup, cardigan and tight, flounce-edged pencil skirt. “You two have advanced to that level already?”
“What level?”
“Where you automatically attach his name along with whatever gift you give. That level.”
Her face grew uncomfortably warm. “No, smartass. Rude was with me when I spotted it in one of the stores we hit. In fact, he thought it was such a good idea that he made me get one for us as well.”
“Oh hell, now I have to know what it is.” Tonya, pausing in the act of stirring a meager packet of sweetener into her hot herbal tea, nodded to Scout. “Open that thing up and let’s see what it is.”
“Tonya, don’t be rude. Sass told Scout to wait until the first of December.” Reaching for the bread basket, Mama Coco poked through the selection before coming up with a croissant. “Sass, let Scout open it so we can see what you and Rudy were kind enough to give her.”
Sass sighed. Some things never changed, and Mama Coco fell firmly into that category. “Go ahead and open it, Scout.”
Ten seconds later everyone craned their necks to look at the ornament, now complete with a photo of Scout and Ivar from their wedding day.
“Aw, that’s so sweet. Thank you, honey.” Scout smiled down at the ornament, looking at the image of her new husband with loving eyes. “I was meaning to get one of these First Christmas ornament thingies, but it slipped my mind in all the craziness going on at the House.”
“Did you and Mary Jane ever get in touch with each other?”
“Yep, which means I’m now going to do the lion’s share of planning the anniversary party. A deal’s a deal.”
Mama Coco clapped her hands together. “Excellent! You girls always throw the best parties. The boys, God love them, they do their best and I appreciate all that they do. But let’s face it, most of them pretty much phone it in when it comes to putting things together. Because, you know—men.”
“That’s one of the reasons why I offered to help Rude out. I enjoy the party as much as anyone, and I want it to be amazing.” Scout grinned before turning her attention back to Sass. “This Mary Jane person seems really efficient. She’s already got a couple guys, Steele and Nix, slated to look the House over so they can come up with a plan. Do you know them?”
Sass shook her head. As long as it wasn’t the blue-eyed dickhead Lucien whatever-his-name-was, she was happy.
“I know we’re catching up on important things and all, but I need to get something straight before we go one more step,” Frankie said, staring at Sass as if she’d never seen her before. “You hit stores, as in, you went shopping. With Rudy?”
Sass blinked. “Yes.”
“My baby brother Rudy?”
“I don’t know anyone else named Rudy. Or Rude, for that matter.”
“I don’t believe it.”
“What’s not to believe?”
“A lot of things. First, my brother voluntarily went shopping with you without faking appendicitis to get out of it. Then he told you to buy one of those ornaments for the two of you.”
Danger, danger. “I did notice Rude’s not big on shopping. Has he always been like that?”
“Our First Christmas Together.” Ignoring the distracting question, Frankie pulled at Scout’s hand so she could read the ornament’s writing. She looked first at her mother, then at Sass with dancing eyes. “To-geth-er. As in, not apart. Isn’t that interesting?”
The key, Sass decided, was to play it cool. “I told Rude that it was meant for newlyweds, but since he’s not a fan of convention, he decided we qualified.”
“I can see why he thinks that, since he’s moved into your place,” Mama Coco said without looking up from buttering her croissant.
Oh, crap.
Scout dropped the ornament into her lap. “What?”
Tonya spewed her tea.
Frankie squeaked. “For real?”
Sass waited for the floor to swallow her up. Sadly, it didn’t happen. “Um. Could you repeat the question?”
“Gino’s always been a tattletale.” Mama Coco took a delicate nibble of croissant. Everyone waited, frozen, while she chewed methodically and swallowed. “You’d think he would’ve grown out of it, being a father of three. As his mother, I find it sad that he hasn’t.”
“Uh…”
“Sweetie, if you wanted to keep it a secret, you shouldn’t have let Rudy call his brothers to help him move in. Apparently Gino’s feeling like some poor sad sack—something about Rudy always getting the nice toys since he’s the baby of the family, or whatever. Honestly, I don’t know, I stopped listening to his whining after a few minutes. There’s only so much I can take.” Mama Coco shrugged before pinning Sass to the spot with her gaze. “What I want to know is if Gino’s got the right end of the stick. Did you and Rudy move in together?”
For only a heartbeat, Sass froze as a thousand possibilities whirled through her head. First and foremost surged the old instinct that all the Panuzzi strays possessed—whatever she did, she did not want to lose her position in her former foster family. Her conversation with Tonya slammed into her, assuring her that she’d never be accepted back into the Panuzzi embrace if she and Rude didn’t work out. It would be so easy to downplay it and keep it from blowing up like the potential powder keg it was.
Hard on the heels of that thought came the memory of Ru
de refusing to hide the change in their relationship as if it were something shameful. There was no shame. How could it be shameful that he was so wonderful she couldn’t help but love him? And he’d found something in her that was lovable too, a fact that sang through her like a miracle.
It was a miracle. Someone she loved had found a way to love her back.
For the first time in her life, her joy knew no bounds.
She looked Mama Coco right in the eye. “First off, I need to be clear—Gino and Anthony didn’t help Rude move in. All they did was help carry a huge TV up a flight of stairs, then went on a Panuzzi-style curse-fest as the three brothers went about setting it up. While this was happening, I made sure they were fed dinner and dessert, so Gino crying the blues after sucking up every last crumb in my house is a pretty sad thing.”
“So you’re not moving in together?”
“I didn’t say that.” Taking a deep breath, she plunged in headfirst. “Rude and I have never actually said the words moving in, but…yes, that’s what we’re working on now. And we’re going to keep working on it until we’ve got it right. That’s why Rude thought it was appropriate to get that ornament for us as well.”
“Daaamn,” Tonya muttered under her breath while Scout stared and Frankie somehow managed to hop in her seat.
Mama Coco didn’t move. “And how do you feel about this?”
This time it was easy to find the answer, and the smile that bloomed was part of it. “I’ve never been happier. I never even knew I could be this happy. I love Rude, Mama Coco, and he loves me. Isn’t that amazing? The man I love loves me back.”
“Wow,” Frankie whispered. Tonya and Scout just continued to stare, unmoving, while Mama Coco set her croissant aside, turned in her chair to face Sass… and burst into tears.
Oh no.
“I’ve been waiting for this for so long!” To Sass’s shock, Mama Coco threw her arms around her neck and held on tight. “You two have been impossible, did you know that? The sleepless nights you’ve given me. There were times when I’ve wanted to knock your thick heads together, you have no idea. Personally I blame Rudy. He was such a pissant when you first came home. Of course I think he was like that because he wanted you to notice him, and he was an idiot who didn’t know how to make that happen. He gets that from his father.”
