by Bethany-Kris
But when he threw on a leather jacket?
A pair of ripped jeans?
Combat boots she loved?
Yes.
It was like he walked back in time and she was staring at that boy she’d met on the streets of Brooklyn all over again. And she truly loved nothing more than that feeling of nostalgia.
He closed the door behind him, giving her a sly grin as he did so. “What are you doing back here?”
“Working—like always.”
“Mmhmm. You got five minutes for me or what?”
“Always.”
Just to prove her point, she reached over and turned the table off—so the light dimmed entirely—before setting the print aside, too, for safe keeping.
By the time she turned around to face Renzo again, ready to ask him what was up because she was sure he said he would be visiting with Rose today, there he was. Right there behind her, already reaching for her and closing all the distance between them in a blink.
His kiss took her breath away.
His hands grabbing to her waist had her moaning.
“Didn’t get to do this last night,” he murmured against the column of her throat, “so I figured I better make time for it today.”
“Oh, my God.”
“Yeah, you’re gonna be saying that a lot.”
It took him all of a blink to lift her from the floor and twist around to set her to the closest flat, sturdy surface. Which just happened to be the illumination table she thankfully hadn’t been using for that very expensive art print. He bunched her skirt up around her waist, his hand slipping between her thighs to grab her panties and rip them away from her body.
She couldn’t widen her legs fast enough because he helped, those strong fingers of his digging into her thighs hard enough to make her moan.
“Wet for me?” he asked.
Lucia licked along the line of her bottom lip, replying, “You know all you have to do is be near to get me fucking wet for you, Ren.”
And he did know that.
What she knew was that he fucking loved it.
“Fuck, yes, that’s what I wanted to hear. And people wonder why I miss you so fucking much when I’m gone. They don’t know what kind of woman I got here, huh?”
“Shame.”
“Fuck ‘em.”
Lucia laughed, but it was quickly swallowed by his lips finding hers again for another bruising kiss that would certainly ruin her makeup … but fuck, she couldn’t find it in herself to care in that moment.
“God, I missed you,” she breathed into his kiss.
Renzo’s laughter coated her in the most sinful and delicious way. Especially because while his dark amusement mixed in with his pleasure, his cock filled her in one hard thrust. He had her flat to the table in seconds, hands slipping under the stretchy fabric of the top of her dress to splay against her stomach as he started a rhythm that would have her flying in no time at all.
He knew what worked best for her body.
How to get her so high, so fucking fast.
And after he’d gotten her off, she knew he would then take his time to drive her crazy before he made her fly one more time. Just because he loved to see her high off him.
Like a drug.
“Jesus Christ,” Lucia mumbled against her palm, “you do know I’ve got a meeting in like … twenty minutes, right?”
That tempting, husky laughter of his filled the room again. His pace never faltered even once as he fucked her closer and closer to an orgasm with every goddamn thrust.
“Oh, no … I just had your next week cleared, Lucia.”
Her gaze flew open.
He smirked above.
“What?”
“Exactly what I just said, babe. Time for a break. Now, come.”
She did.
God.
She loved this man.
Entirely.
SIX
At one point in his life, Renzo thought there would never be a time when he walked into Lucian Marcello’s house, and have it feel welcoming to him like a home should. And yet, with years put between their wrongs, time spent respecting each other for more things that were good around them, and a mutual love between them in Lucia, Lucian’s home felt like one of the most welcoming places he’d ever been to.
And more often than not, when Renzo needed that fatherly figure in his life that he still didn’t have in anyone else, he went to Lucian. He didn’t know when it’d happened, or why he’d started crossing that bridge with his father-in-law, but he did it and he couldn’t find a single reason to regret it, either.
Lucian came around the corner of the kitchen entry as Renzo entered the man’s house, already hearing Jordyn Marcello’s laughter drifting from somewhere behind the man. He wasn’t privy to whatever joke Lucian had told his wife before their guest arrived, but he didn’t feel like he needed to know, either.
Something else Renzo had come to learn about Lucian?
He loved one thing the very most.
His wife.
And the man he became around that woman, in private when he thought no one could see, was someone the outside world never got to see. Their children did, sure, but no one else.
And when he did see Lucian share those moments of affection, Renzo never said a word. But it did make him respect Lucia’s father more to know there was a woman in his life who made him just as crazy in love as the rest of them, really.
“You owe me and my wife big time for this one,” Lucian said, giving him a wag of his finger. “Jordyn’s been planning this thing to Bali for months now.”
“I know, I know—”
“And I know you appreciate it!” Jordyn shouted from the kitchen.
Lucian rolled his eyes. “Come on, woman, I’m fucking trying to make him at least think he could owe us for it.”
Renzo just shook his head. “No, I do. I really appreciate this. Turns out you can’t actually plan a whole vacation in a day, no matter how hard you try or what amount of cash you say you’re willing to pay. So, yeah, I appreciate you letting me do this.”
“So, you’re good, then?” Lucian asked him.
Renzo shrugged. “Just a few last-minute details.”
“Ah.”
“I need to get some shit packed, but without, you know, people finding out. So, I was wondering if maybe Jordyn could—”
Lucia’s mother’s answer came fast in reply. “I can get that done for you, Ren!”
He laughed. “Well, I guess there’s one detail figured out.”
Lucian nodded. “And one more for you—thank my brother’s wife, because it’s Catrina’s jet.”
“Got it. So, I’ve got like an hour to get back to the city before her spa appointment is over. Is that going to be possible—”
“No worries,” Jordyn said, coming around the corner of the kitchen entryway to join her husband in the hallway with Renzo. “I’m leaving right now. I’ll get her all packed up and send the bags to the strip with a driver. He’ll be there and it’ll all be loaded before you even arrive. Don’t worry, it will go off without a hitch. She’s going to appreciate this.”
Renzo blew out a hard breath.
Fuck.
He hoped so.
Lucia deserved this.
So did he.
For once in his life, literally, everything just wanted to align to make it happen. Along with the generosity of Lucian and Jordyn Marcello, given the Bali trip had originally been theirs. They were kind enough to give it to their daughter. Who was he to fuck with the stars, and all that shit?
Besides … Lucia had said she needed a vacation, hadn’t she?
“Have fun,” Lucian told him, “and no worries, John will check in with Diego to keep an eye on him, huh?”
“Thanks.”
Yeah.
A lot of shit had changed.
Like now?
Renzo had a family.
He’d had a small one before, sure, and he loved his brother and sister more than an
yone would ever know. But Lucia gave them people, too. More big brothers to watch Diego’s back. Mother figures who taught them how to cook or answered late-night questions about sick kids. Male role models who were actually there.
Renzo might not need those things at his age. And maybe neither did Rose, in some ways.
But he and Rose couldn’t be all those things to Diego, all the time. They were humans doomed to fail sometimes, but Lucia gave them a family in hers that really stepped it up when it counted.
He wouldn’t give that up for the world.
• • •
“Hey, Ren!”
“Diego,” Renzo said back, “did you ace that test or what, man?”
“You know I did.”
Renzo chuckled. “Better have.”
His brother’s sigh echoed throughout the speakers of the Maserati he’d bought for himself as a gift the year before. The first time he’d ever allowed himself such an extravagant gift without the usual guilt that accompanied it. The memory of being dirt poor was never going to leave Ren, and, fuck yeah, he still sometimes thought he wasn’t worthy of the life he now had.
Just how it was.
Not that he intended to give it up.
Ever.
“Told you I would,” Diego replied.
“I’m joking. Knew you were gonna kill it. So, hey, listen … I know I said maybe this weekend we could do something, but you know how I say sometimes we gotta take care of us first, instead of everybody else? Be a little selfish sometimes, so then we can go back to being the people everybody needs us to be?”
“Yeah, of course.”
Renzo smiled to himself, the miles on the highway coming at him faster and faster as he approached the city limits. Twenty minutes before Lucia’s spa appointment ended, and he had to be there to pick her up because it was meant to be a no stress day before he really finished out her surprise.
“All right, well, Lucia and I gotta do that. We need to take some time to just be us, away from everything else. It’s been a long time since we could do that. So, I know I said we’d try for something this weekend, but—”
“Yeah, it’s okay, Ren. Next weekend, then?”
“Absolutely, kiddo.”
“Ren.”
He laughed. “You know you still like it when I call you that, Diego. And buddy, too.”
“Mmm.”
“Anyway, just … promise me you’ll stay out of trouble, huh?”
It took his brother a second.
Then, two.
Finally, Diego said, “I disappointed you when I got in trouble last year. Was worse than when you were mad that time, ‘cause I lied about that party after baseball. That really fucking sucked, Ren, so I’m not gonna do it again. Just so you know, and all.”
“Yeah?”
“Yeah, Ren.”
“I just … you know I want you to have every chance that I didn’t and more, right?”
Like Diego was his own fucking kid.
Because he basically was.
Renzo raised this kid for most of his life.
“Oh, and tell Lucia to have fun,” Diego said, “guess I’ll call Tessa and see what she’s doing.”
He cleared his throat, knowing exactly who Tessa was in Diego’s life.
“Be safe, huh?”
“I know.”
“Just … I don’t mean it to put you on the spot. Like, I think it’s gonna happen with you and her because I know what you told me. But it doesn’t have to be right now for me to remind you of this stuff, okay? Remember everything I’ve told you, yeah?”
“I do, Ren.”
Yeah, he knew.
Still, he worried.
Because that’s what people who loved you did.
“Okay, I gotta hit the gas a little harder here or I’ll miss Lucia coming out of the spa—she thinks it’s gonna be a driver to take her home, but it needs to be me.”
“All right, Ren. Love you.”
Still cool to say that, he guessed.
“Love you, too, buddy.”
SEVEN
“Here’s your tea, Mrs. Zulla, and when you’re ready to leave, your driver is waiting outside for you.”
Still wrapped tightly in the silk robe provided by the spa, Lucia felt appropriately buffed, shined, and pampered. From the bottoms of her toes to the very top of her head, her body had never been more relaxed than it currently was. She had to give Renzo credit for knowing what she needed, and right where to send her to get it done.
“Did you enjoy the treatments?” the blonde woman asked, gathering the small plates next to Lucia’s chair that had held pastries.
“More than you know.”
The woman grinned. “Oh, trust me, I know. Sometimes, we all need one of these days. And I am sure you deserved it.”
“I will be back.”
“Well, no one here will complain about that.”
She bet not.
Hell …
This place probably ran Renzo a couple thousand dollars, easily. From the mud bath to the honey wrap. Then the heat capsule where everything but her head had been closed into an egg-shaped, pod-looking thing. Steam cleaned out every pore in her body and sucked all that bad shit out.
The dirt.
Her stress.
Whatever.
It had taken it all away, and she still thought her feet floated above the floor. It really spoke to the spa’s abilities to make a person forget about the outside and whatever had brought that person running here to make it all go away. Next time she came, if Renzo didn’t join her, then she was certainly bringing one of her cousins or sisters.
Or all of them.
They all deserved a day here, surely.
“Your driver said no rush on finishing up,” the woman said before heading out of Lucia’s private room.
“Thank you.”
She did exactly that, too. Took her time to finish the Earl Grey tea, which was her favorite, and only then did she finally shed the silk robe to get dressed in the clothes that waited, folded, on the table next to the chair. When she finally left the room and headed to the waiting room of the spa, the women behind the front desk waved her goodbye.
Distracted by the kind women and wondering when she might be able to sneak back here, Lucia didn’t even notice who her driver was, who had apparently been waiting for her outside. His low whistle, however, had her spinning around fast to face him where she found the sexiest sight leaning against a familiar, black Maserati.
Renzo.
Damn.
And he loved that car.
Looked so good on it, too.
She didn’t expect him to be standing there, considering it was him who had told her that another person would pick her up and take her home after this little spa day of his. And despite the fact he’d told her that her entire schedule for the week had been cleared, he’d refused to explain further on that topic.
“Look at you, huh? They have you glowing, babe.”
Lucia grinned. “You think?”
“Should this be a regular thing?”
She didn’t even have to think about it. “Yes, yes it should.”
Renzo flashed her with a blinding smile. “Will do.”
“Back home?” she asked, coming closer until she could grab the hand that he held out for her. “Or do you have something else planned?”
He winked. “You know me so well. Definitely something else. Get in the car—we gotta head out of the city.”
“To where?”
“You’ll see.”
This man was lucky she loved surprises.
• • •
“Ren—”
It was like he could hear the concern in Lucia’s voice as she finally recognized where they were, and what the private air strip meant. Not to mention, the damn jet at the end of the runway looked as though it were on standby and ready to fly.
“Let me talk,” he said, never once taking his gaze away from the window while he navigated the Maserati do
wn the long strip, “and then we’ll see how you feel, okay?”
She passed him a look.
He still kept his stare on the road.
Dammit.
She loved this man, but she didn’t know if she liked this idea of his very much, considering everything that she was now seeing.
“Fine, talk,” she said.
“Six days in Bali—a private residence with maids, a cook, and everything. There’s even a damn waterfall in the back, Lucia, and a pool that has one glass wall, so it looks like the water just drops off all of the sudden. Can you imagine the views? There’ll be no working, nobody bothering you or me, and time for us to get back to what’s important here. Tell me that doesn’t sound fucking amazing.”
“That’s my mother and father’s trip.”
“No, it’s ours because they decided to give it to us to use. Don’t feel guilty about that—we’re just going to pay them back times a hundred for their anniversary or something, okay? So, six days in Bali, think about it.”
She sighed.
That did sound lovely.
Perfect, really.
Still, she had to think about everything else she had going on, too. Life couldn’t be as simple as Lucia just packing up her shit and heading out of town for almost an entire week. Even Renzo had to know that, but his next words made it seem like he had all those bits figured out, too.
“Nothing on your schedule was so important, according to your assistant—you know, that person you hire to take care of these things for you and be aware of this shit—that it couldn’t be moved. Oh, and that showing you have for the artist? It’s not for another two weeks, and since I know damn well it’s been a major source of stress for you, it would be good to get some time away from it.”
“But—”
“Not done, Lucia.”
She pressed her lips together, trying to hide her smile. She loved that somehow, he’d managed to pull this together for her in a day. How, she didn’t know.
“Your aunt, Kim, is going to handle the gallery for the week,” Renzo added.
He pulled the car to a stop a good fifty meters away from the private jet—she recognized the plane well enough because it belonged to her other aunt, Catrina. In the driver’s seat, Renzo turned to face her with a grin and his eyebrows raised expectantly.
