“Please,” I cried.
“Please, more?” he whispered.
“No…yes.”
My brain was scrambled and I was a bundle of static. I lifted myself on one elbow and reached lower so my fingertips brushed against his balls. My stomach ached from the intensity of my orgasm and quivered with the effort. I brought my knees up and placed my feet flat on the bed, it quietened the ache a little. Robert had raised himself on his hands, his arms shook until he threw his head back, called out my name and came himself.
I fell back on the bed as Robert collapsed on top of me.
Our bodies were slick with sweat, with his come, but I didn’t care. I wrapped my arms around him and held him close. I couldn’t speak as my throat was so dry. I could hear him dragging in a large lungful of air as he tried to slow the racing heart I could feel pounding against my chest. His head fell into the crook of my neck.
“Fuck,” he said.
“Not again,” I replied and he chuckled.
After a minute or two he rolled to one side. I turned my head to face him and he grinned back, pleased with himself.
“I’m sore,” I said.
“Good. Means I did a great job.” He rolled to the edge of the bed and held out his hand. “Shower, you’re in a mess.”
I looked down at my body. Yep, I was in a mess, a sticky mess, and I laughed out loud as we headed for the bathroom.
We stood under the shower and he washed every inch of my body. When he was done, I did the same to him. Once dried, we climbed under the duvet, and I snuggled into his side. He wrapped his arm around my shoulders and we stayed that way all night.
Chapter Eighteen
I had laid some pastries on the breakfast bar and was waiting for Robert to join me. I was pouring his coffee when the front door opened. Heavy footsteps pounded up the stairs, and I winced, convinced the noise would have Gerry awake. Travis rounded the corner. Without a word, he sat on a stool, stuffed a pastry in his mouth and sipped at Robert’s coffee. I sighed, grabbed another cup and looked at him.
“What?” he said.
“Last night, what happened?”
“You the police now? Or just plain nosey?”
“Nosey, obviously. Now, tell me,” I smirked. I loved morning banter with Travis.
He took a deep breath and opened his mouth as if to speak. “Nah.”
“Then give me back that plate of pastries.” I reached forward to drag the plate across the counter top.
“That’s blackmail. I’m sure that’s illegal.”
“You know fuck all about what’s legal and what’s not.”
“Oh, such a dirty mouth.”
I laughed as Robert walked towards us.
“Your wife has a filthy mouth,” Travis said.
“I know. Struggling to walk straight this morning,” Robert replied with a wink to me.
“Too much info, bro, and not what I meant at all.”
Robert took a seat beside him. I slid the plate back towards them and poured Robert a coffee.
“Well?” Robert asked.
“Can’t a man have a private life?”
“No, how was your date?”
“It wasn’t a date, as such. Just dinner.”
I raised my eyebrows at him. “In the real world, that’s usually called a date.”
“And we live in the real world? It was just dinner. We ate food and she talked a lot.” He really wasn’t giving much away.
Robert stood; it was time for them to leave for the office.
“To be honest, she scares the fuck out of me,” Travis added with a laugh.
I didn’t stop laughing until after I’d heard the car make it’s way down the drive.
“That’s a lovely sound,” I heard. Evelyn made her way up the stairs with Harley in tow.
“Just something Travis said. I’ll tell you later. How are you this morning?” I asked Harley.
“Okay. Is Gerry up?”
“Not yet. Why don’t you go and wake him.”
Harley ran down the stairs.
“He seems better today,” I said.
“He does, doesn’t he? It’s strange, Gerry seems to have accepted what happened a lot quicker than I expected.”
“Oh I don’t think he’s over it yet. I suspect he’s just buried it for the moment. I’m waiting on a major meltdown at some point.”
“What does Katrina think?”
“The same, but it’s his way of coping so we decided to go along with it. And speaking of Katrina…”
I repeated the conversation I’d had with Travis that morning. As much as Evelyn said it was nice to hear me laugh, I felt the same. Neither of us had really had a good belly laugh for so long. Her laugh was infectious and before we realised, we were wiping tears from our eyes.
****
“Where are my favourite nephews?” I heard from downstairs. Sam had arrived.
“We’re your only nephews,” Gerry said as he ran across the living room.
“That’s why you’re my favourites.”
Sam was visiting for lunch and a much needed catch up. Both boys loved him and before he’d even reached the top step, they’d thrown themselves at him.
“Be careful, you’ll have a fall,” Evelyn said.
Getting up to greet Sam, I suspiciously eyed the plastic bag he was waving in the air. Judging by his broad smile and both boys bouncing on their toes, I assumed it was a gift of some sorts.
“What do you have?” Harley asked.
Sam placed the large bag down on the floor and they tore into it.
“Mom, look! It’s an Xbox!” Gerry said. The excitement he felt made his voice squeak.
“Sam! We don’t have those here,” I said.
“That’s why we needed one, wasn’t it boys?” Sam replied.
Both Harley and Gerry rushed off with the bag to the TV room. They wanted to set it up immediately and I helped Evelyn lay out lunch.
“Lunch first,” I called out.
The look of disappointment on their faces had me sighing. “Fine, I’ll bring in some sandwiches or something.”
“You’re compensating,” Evelyn said with a smirk.
“I know, last time though. So, give me all the gossip,” I said turning to Sam.
“You have no idea how hard life has been lately without you to chat to,” he replied.
The three of us sat at the breakfast bar, perched on our stools and ready to gossip.
“First, Bailey is dating Jennifer, your assistant. I saw them at a bar.” Sam held up one finger. I guessed we were about to get a long list.
“I know who Jennifer is and I thought Bailey was engaged.”
“Well, that’s the gossip spreading around the office like wildfire. I think he’s having an affair. If I was that way inclined, I’d bang your assistant.”
I screwed my eyes shut. Jennifer had only been with the company a short period of time and I loved working with her. I’d worked with Bailey for a while in rentals. He’d been fun and I enjoyed my time in his team. I hoped Sam was exaggerating.
“You don’t know that, he might have called off his engagement. They might have just decided on a drink after work, you know, like friends do.”
“Mmm. Second, guess who I saw picking out wedding rings? Go on, guess.”
I shook my head. “I give up, who?” Sam actually didn’t like anyone guessing, he was too impatient.
“Petra and Dan.” He folded his arms in a smug gesture.
“Dan?”
“Yeah, Dan as in security Dan or whatever you call them.”
“Oh, Dan as in the one Robert held a gun to his forehead, Dan. Dan, who I thought was married. How do you know they were picking out wedding rings?”
“Because when they left, I stood in the exact same spot and that’s all that was in the window. Oh, they were holding hands too.”
“There’ll be trouble if he is married,” I asked.
“Maybe he’s divorced. I wonder if Mack knows about
them?” Evelyn added.
Sam started to clap his hands and bounce on his seat. Number three was going to be exciting.
“Lastly, I’m coming to Italy with you.” He smiled as he rested back in his chair.
“Wow, when did you decide that?”
“Scott and I talked about it yesterday. I know she called us the old queens, or was it queers. I tried googling a translation but I can’t remember. Anyway, I liked Sofia and I wanted to come.”
“It was queers and that’s a lovely gesture. Franco will be honoured,” Evelyn added.
I wished I hadn’t taken a sip of the wine I’d just poured. Evelyn’s blunt statement had me laughing so suddenly I nearly choked.
“We need to go shopping. I have nothing for a funeral, let alone Italy.”
“It will be blistering hot, Sam. You’d be better off in a shorts,” Evelyn said with a wink to me.
Sam was the most fashion conscious person I knew, but also had the worst legs. I couldn’t recall a time I’d ever seen him in shorts other than the odd times we went swimming. Even then, he wore board shorts.
“Evelyn, I’m pretty sure I can find a suitable linen suit. Now, are we walking up and down hills and are the pavements smooth? I need to think shoes.”
“Sam, we’re going to a funeral.”
“No, Brooke. We’re going to a Mafia funeral. Oh, all those hot Italian men.” He fanned his face.
I thanked God that there was a whoop from the TV room to cover the word Mafia. I guessed the boys had got their Xbox going.
I looked over to Evelyn and sighed. No matter what the occasion, Sam could make a drama out of it.
“I saw a programme yesterday, men were carrying the coffin through cobblestoned streets. It looked idyllic,” he added.
“Probably not to the family or the person in the coffin,” I answered.
“Oh, you know what I mean. I liked her, okay?”
I sensed a sulk coming on. “It’s a great idea and flat shoes would be best.”
We chatted more about work as we ate lunch. Jonathan had been priming his son, Marcus, to take over from him, and Sam had been made aware that he would be his assistant when the time came.
“So, how are they?” Sam asked, indicating with his head towards the TV room.
“Gerry seems to have come to terms with it too quickly for my liking and Harley is still anxious. They’re working it through with a therapist,” I said.
“And you?”
“Filed away in the ‘do not open’ box in my mind for now.”
“You should get therapy too, you know.”
“Sam, if I should ever open that box, I’d be locked up. I’d be shuffling corridors like Jack in One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest. I’m fine.”
“I need to get back. Don’t want to upset the boss, he might cancel my leave,” Sam said as he checked his watch.
He popped his head into the TV room for hugs and goodbyes before I walked him down the stairs. Gary was waiting to take him back to the office.
“I could get used to being driven around,” he said with a laugh.
I wrapped my arms around my best friend and squeezed him tight. I’d missed his company the past few weeks.
“Seriously, Brooke, are you okay?” he asked.
“I am. I was terrified for a while, I even thought of taking Gerry and running home but this is my life. Do you remember when I said I could stop searching, I found someone I feel I’ve known forever? I can’t walk away from that without crucifying him, me and Gerry.”
“As long as you’re safe.”
He kissed my cheek before climbing in the car and leaving. I stood for a while watching the car disappear down the drive. Then I chuckled. Sam in Italy, at a funeral—no, a Mafia funeral—was going to be not only interesting but would probably test Robert’s patience to its limit.
“I would have done that,” I said as I walked across to the kitchen.
Evelyn had cleared the dishes away, stacked the dishwasher and was drying glasses.
“It’s okay. I feel a little redundant at the moment,” she said with a laugh.
Because I’d not been to work, she hadn’t been ‘mum’ to us all. She had made it her role to take care of Robert and Travis from childhood and to then take care of me, Gerry and Harley. I guessed she didn’t like downtime anymore than I did. Downtime meant thinking time and that wasn’t healthy.
“You can pop those bowls in the fridge, though. I have a game of soccer to play with the boys,” she said as she dried her hands.
A message pinged on my phone. I read the message from Robert as I listened to laughter from the TV room.
Be late home, don’t wait up. Did I tell you today I loved you?
I smiled as I tried to think back to when we had started to say that to each other.
You did, and I love you back. Wake me up if I’m asleep.
****
An hour later, Evelyn finally emerged from the TV room with the boys.
“She only beat us,” Harley said with such surprise it made me laugh.
“I had two good teachers. We’re going out to the trampoline for some air and to work off all that excitement,” she replied.
As I stood, Gerry said, “It’s okay, mom. You don’t need to come.”
“You don’t want me to?” I asked.
“You can if you want to but if you’re working, it’s okay. Evelyn can look after us.”
It would be the second time he’d been out of my sight, and the last time the three of them had been together, Gerry had been kidnapped. A knot formed in my stomach. However, I sat back down.
“Okay, maybe I’ll join you later,” I said.
I took a deep breath as they left. I would be horrified if Evelyn thought I didn’t trust her with the boys and at some point I would need to get into the office. I had to overcome my panic. For now, I settled for finishing my work from the sofa so I could see out the window.
I opened my emails and noticed one from Robert. It wasn’t unusual to see an email from him; we worked together. What caught my attention was that it had been sent from his personal account and had the heading ‘Private’ typed in the subject. I opened it and was glad I was alone when I did.
An image appeared—a photograph of me, on my knees, naked and blindfolded with the silver vibrator in my hand. My head was thrown back and my mouth was open as I pleasured myself. I quickly typed a reply.
Oh my God! When did you do that and why an email?
I sat waiting for a reply, and when none came I grabbed my phone and texted the same message.
Email safer. Great pic. Took it with my phone. You were too busy to notice. ;)
I smiled at the wink.
****
I felt the bed dip as Robert climbed under the duvet, and I turned on my side to face him.
“Hey, how’s your day been?” he asked.
I smiled. “Sam brought the boys an Xbox today. Evelyn beat them at a football game.”
He chuckled as he tucked a piece of hair behind my ear then kissed me on the forehead.
“Go back to sleep,” he said.
Chapter Nineteen
It was a mammoth task coordinating our trip to Italy. I packed for Gerry, Robert and myself. Flights were organised for Sam, Scott and a detail of security. Gina had sent me details of the most amazing villa perched high on a hilltop and overlooking the village that we were to stay in. Cars were hired ready to collect us from the airport and I suspected Rocco had a hand in securing us drivers. I was both nervous and excited. Although the village was a long way from Rome, I was anxious for our safety. Time after time Robert had tried to assure me we would be safe, probably safer in Italy than we were at home.
I had dropped Gerry and Harley off at the home. It was a place I felt comfortable leaving them while I shopped with Sam. He insisted that I had an input in his choice of suit.
“A black suit is a black suit. Why do we need to look at three different versions,” I grumbled as I sat in Ta
ylor’s store.
“Honey, let him play. Have a glass of something bubbly with me,” she said.
It had been worth the trip just to catch up with her. I’d missed the girls and missed our weekly lunches. She handed me a flute of champagne.
“Did you see the villa we’re staying in?” I asked.
“I did, it looks gorgeous. Who knew there were so many wonderful properties in that tiny village.”
Robert had decided that we wouldn’t be staying in a hotel. He felt it was less of a risk if we had our own place.
Just as I was about to take a sip of my drink, Taylor gripped my arm with such force I nearly dropped the glass.
“Oh my, look, quick,” she said.
I followed her gaze and looked out the store window. Across the street stood Travis—he wasn’t alone. Katrina was standing in front of him, close. We watched as he tucked her hair behind her ear before placing his hand on the back of her head and kissing her. I’d never seen Travis show any affection to anyone in public.
Taylor looked at me, wide eyed. “That boy’s in love finally.”
I laughed. “I remember you saying the exact same thing about Robert.”
“How long has he been seeing her?”
“I don’t know really. They had a dinner date a little while ago but he hasn’t mentioned her since. He told me she scared him, he didn’t seem that interested.”
“I’d hazard a guess that this isn’t their second date by the way he just kissed her, and in public too. Let’s get closer.”
We shuffled to the end of the sofa that backed up to the store window.
“I feel like a stalker,” I said as we watched them laugh.
“Voyeurism is my favourite past time,” Taylor said.
Travis ran his hand down Katrina’s arm. It was a tender gesture that took me by surprise. She gave him another brief kiss before turning and walking away. Travis stood for a while, watching her leave. It was his slight nod to someone in the opposite direction that caught my attention, and I watched as she was shadowed by one of his security team. He was in love, for sure.
Fallen Angel, Part 4 - A Mafia Romance: Fallen Angel Series Page 21
