Rock Hard Neighbor

by Rye Hart

  Not only was the mother of my child beautiful, innocent, and sweet; she was also devoted, protective, and fierce.

  Suddenly, a sound pulled me from my reverie. There was a loud thump and the boys called out. Then, I heard the rush of footsteps falling quickly in the main part of the airplane. I jumped up and strode out of the bedroom, shutting the door behind me and closing off the bedroom in order to save Rose and Ana in their vulnerable states.

  But the moment my eyes landed on Cassie, with her arms around both the boys, I breathed a sigh of relief.

  “I’m sorry, but knowing my family’s in danger, I can’t just go to New York,” she said.

  I saw Cassie through a different set of eyes in that moment and I nodded my head while the boys continued to hug her tightly.

  “Very well,” I said. “Does Crystal know?”

  “She’ll figure it out.”

  “Make yourself comfortable,” I said. “Rose and Ana are sleeping, and we should be taking off any second.”

  “Any chance I can know where we’re heading?” she asked.

  “In time,” I said.

  “You’re a pretty cryptic dude,” she said.

  “I try my best.”

  “What’ll happen when we land?” she asked as she sat down.

  “There’s a helicopter that’ll take us to our final destination,” I said.

  “Any chance there’ll be wine at this final destination?”

  “As much as you want,” I said, grinning.

  I picked up her suitcase and tossed it into the overhead compartment as she buckled herself in. The pilot came aboard and talked to me for a few seconds, letting me know the jet was ready for takeoff. I gave the go ahead and got the boys buckled in before I went into the room to keep an eye on Rose and Ana.

  The ascent would jostle them quite a bit and I wanted to make sure they stayed asleep.

  Once we reached cruising altitude, the stewardess came in and distributed a menu. Cassie was excited about the prospect of enjoying champagne on this plane ride, but I could tell the boys were confused by the menu. Almost everything was in Italian, so I knelt down and translated everything for them. They crinkled their noses at most of the food descriptions I was giving.

  “I’ll have a glass of champagne and the linguini with clam sauce,” Cassie said.

  “Wonderful choice. I’ll get it cooking. For you, Mr. Moretti?”

  “Just some water and a small helping of carbonara, please,” I said. “Boys, how do you feel about cheese, crackers, grapes, and juice?”

  “Is there apple juice?” Kevin asked.

  “Yes, there is,” the stewardess said, smiling.

  “Then that sounds awesome!” Kevin exclaimed.

  “Junior?” I asked.

  “Orange juice?” he asked.

  “We’ve got that, too,” the stewardess said. “I’ll get to work on everything.”

  I sat back in my seat, my eyes looking back toward the bedroom. If we were lucky, Ana would sleep most of the trip. By the time we landed in Italy, it would be around midday, which meant Ana would have to be up for another few hours before she went to bed. Plus, I knew Rose needed the sleep. As long as Ana didn’t budge, she wouldn’t either.

  “Can we go snorkeling?” Kevin asked.

  “And skydiving?” Junior asked.

  “Oh, what about racecar driving?” Kevin asked.

  “And horseback riding,” Junior said, smiling.

  “Well, I’m not sure about the racecar driving and the skydiving,” I said, chuckling. “But there is a reef not too far off the island’s coast. We can definitely go swimming and snorkeling.”

  “An island!” Kevin said. “Cool. I’ve never been on an island.”

  “Me neither,” Junior said. “At least, not that I can remember. Wanna play Marco Polo?”

  “We can’t play that game underwater,” Kevin said. “We’ll drown.”

  “I mean, when we get to the beach,” Junior said.

  “Only if Camillo plays,” Kevin said.

  “Oh, I’ll definitely play,” I said, smiling.

  “Good, because Rose and I are going to suntan while Ana plays in the sand,” Cassie said.

  “Good,” I said. “I hope you can help her relax. I get the feeling she’s never taken a vacation.”

  “Not since our parents died,” Kevin said.

  I could see the shocked look roll over Cassie’s face. My eyes descended onto Kevin’s and I could see the way Junior was studying him. He’d found a kindred spirit. A kid close to his age who understood the pain of losing their family.

  “My parents died, too,” Junior said.

  Cassie panned her gaze over to me with a quizzical look.

  “What happened to your family?” Kevin asked.

  I felt my heart racing as Cassie turned her gaze back to the boys.

  “I don’t really know. There was just… this guy who came in one night. My dad told me to go hide in the closet and not come out until my uncle came to get me. There was just a lot of screaming. That’s all I remember.”

  I felt Cassie’s eyes slowly bore a hole into my temple as I held my breath.

  “Mine died in a car accident,” Kevin said. “A drunk driver hit them.”

  “I’m sorry,” Junior said.

  “Me, too. For your parents.”

  The boys scooted a little closer before they lost themselves in their games again. In that moment, I had more respect for the bond growing between the two of them. The hurt they’d experienced was something no child should ever have to know and, as I digested what Kevin had said and what Junior had openly admitted to, I felt my chest swell with anger and sorrow.

  And that’s when I felt Cassie’s hand reach over and grasp my arm.

  “I’m holding you personally responsible for their protection,” she said.

  “They’ll be safe with me. I promise. Now you lay back and enjoy the glass of champagne coming for you. I’ve got the kids.”

  The stewardess handed me my water before she handed the champagne to Cassie. I watched her drink it down, her lips never once leaving the glass, her eyes filled with worry. The stewardess took her glass from her to refill it while I sipped on my water, listening for my two girls in the bedroom while my jet soared us through the clouds.

  They would be safe with me on the island I was taking them to.

  They would be safe from the wrath I was about to rain down upon the Del Vecchio family.

  Chapter Twenty-Five – Rose

  Ana and I slept the entire flight and when I woke up to Cassie sitting across from Camillo on the jet, I flipped out. I ran and embraced her, holding my cousin tightly while Ana ran into the arms of her father.

  “What in the world are you doing here?” I asked.

  “Girl, I’m not going to New York without you,” she said. “I can’t handle all of Crystal’s mess on my own, no matter how much tequila I drink.”

  The two of us giggled while Camillo began unloading our things from the storage units above our heads.

  It was pleasantly warm when we landed, easily in the high eighties. The sun was shining high in the sky, indicative of the fact that wherever we’d landed, it was still midday. I took Ana from Camillo’s arms so he could carry all the suitcases and, soon, he was tossing everyone’s things into a massive helicopter that was waiting for us.

  “Wait, can Ana fly in one of these things?” I asked.

  “Her car seat straps in the same way,” he said. “Come on.”

  We all piled into the helicopter and I got Ana seated before I buckled myself in. The boys were ecstatic, pointing out the windows and making jokes as we slowly rose into the air. Camillo’s personal jet became a small little toy in the palm of Ana’s hand as we rose up into the air and, soon, we were up in the air high enough for me to take in the bulk of the land around us.

  The helicopter flew us over the ocean until the city was nothing but a speck on the horizon. I looked over at Camillo and found him stari
ng at me, his hand tickling Ana’s stomach while his eyes scanned my body. I wasn’t sure what he was looking for or what he might’ve been thinking, but I felt my skin prickling underneath his gaze while Cassie kept the boys entertained.

  Suddenly, we began making a sharp descent. Ana giggled at the sensation as she put her hands over her ears and the boys were trying to make themselves yawn so their ears would pop. Cassie looked over at me with excited eyes, her happiness no longer containable as the helicopter descended onto an island.

  An island that had nothing else on it except for a massive home, a smaller set of quarters off to the side, and what looked to be a fire pit.

  It was literally a private Italian island.

  I gawked even as the descent made me woozy.

  His estate was enormous. The grass was green and the birds were chirping in the random clumps of trees that peppered the island. His massive mansion sat on one end of the island with the back porch dumping right out onto the beach. There was a smaller house situated on the western end of the island, about one hundred feet away from the main house. I saw people pouring out of its front door and heading to the house.

  The helicopter landed on the southern tip of the island, the massive house covered up by the trees and island foliage as we all poured onto the beach. The boys were practically jumping out of their skin as I clung to Cassie’s hand and Camillo climbed out behind all of us, with Ana giggling in his arms. A couple of Jeeps pulled up, driven by men who were nicely clad in work suits and they both began loading up our stuff onto the vehicles before we all climbed on and headed toward the mansion on the hillside.

  We were ushered into the building by a warm and welcoming man who sat us all down at a table. There was already a spread being set out for lunch while wonderful smells poured from the kitchen. The staffers who drove the Jeeps were hauling our luggage into various parts of the house and Camillo guided them with his smooth Italian tongue as decanters of wine and carafes full of water and juice descended onto the table.

  “For lunch, we have a choice of fresh salmon or homemade, in-house pasta,” the chef said through his accent.

  “Pasta!” the boys exclaimed.

  “The salmon sounds fantastic,” Cassie said, smiling.

  “I’ll have the salmon, too,” Camillo said. “Rose?”

  I was so overwhelmed with all that was going on that I couldn’t even formulate the words for my damn lunch order.

  “She’ll partake in the salmon as well, chef,” Camillo said.

  We all dined and drank ourselves into oblivion while Ana stuffed her face with pasta. I moaned at how easily the white wine slipped down my throat, providing a smooth aftertaste to the lemon-peppered salmon that had been set in front of me. The vegetables had been steamed perfectly, the french fries had a wonderful crunch to them, and before I knew it, Ana was playing with her pasta instead of eating and the boys were finding it harder and harder to swallow the food they were stuffing down.

  “Who wants to spend the day on the beach?” Camillo asked.

  “I do!” Kevin exclaimed.

  “Where’s our stuff to change?” Junior asked.

  “That’s actually a really good question,” Cassie said.

  “If you all want to follow me, I can show you to your rooms,” one of the workers said.

  Cassie had her own room and sprawling bathroom, complete with a jacuzzi tub I knew she would love. The boys were right across the hall from her, excited about sharing the same room as they ran and jumped onto their beds. Kevin started bouncing up and down on the mattress while Junior was rifling through his luggage. Soon, Camillo’s hand descended onto the small of my back and I turned to look at him.

  “Come on,” he said. “Our rooms are upstairs.”

  I ventured up the stairs with him while Cassie simply smirked at me. She started gathering the boys up and helping them get changed, wrangling their energy before they ran out the back door and right down onto the beach. Camillo led me into an absolutely massive room, with a four-poster bed sitting against the wall and, immediately, the memories of that first night came rushing back to me once more.

  “This is your room,” he said.

  “Wait, just me?” I asked.

  “Well, Ana can sleep in here as well, if you’d like. She has her own room down the hall, away from everyone except us. But her crib is easy to move.”

  I found myself disappointed in the fact that he wasn’t going to be sleeping in the same room as me.

  “I’ll be just across the hall,” he said as his hand rubbed my back. “Now, why don’t you get changed into your bathing suit? I’m going to take Ana to do the same.”

  “I don’t own a bathing suit,” I said.

  “Why don’t you open the closet door?” he asked.

  I furrowed my brow as he walked out of the room, Ana’s hands playing with his nose as he walked her down the hallway. I watched him open the door at the far end of the hallway, noticing how he placed Ana out of reach from anyone who might come running up the stairs.

  That stark reality pricked the smallest of holes in the pleasure bubble I’d allowed myself to dwell in.

  I walked over to the closet and threw it open. My eyes scanned the closet full of clothes, all of them in my size. I rifled through the beautiful fabrics and colors hanging off the hangers, my hands trembling as tears rose to my eyes.

  It was an entire wardrobe fit specifically to my body. My chest swelled with gratitude. My eyes fell to the bathing suit Camillo was talking about.

  It was a bikini. A string bikini, to be exact. My eyes widened as I picked up the green and yellow fabric, my eyes scanning it as I held it up to my body. I couldn’t wear something like this. Not in front of the kids. The top didn’t even have underwire in it. My breasts would sag all the way to my knees!

  But I still put it on and I was amazed at how wonderful it looked on me.

  There were still the faintest of stretch marks around my belly button, finally fading after the past two years. My thighs were a bit looser and there were feather-like stretch marks on the sides of my breasts, but the bathing suit still accentuated my curves in a way I hadn’t allowed them to be for years. I twirled around in the full-length mirror, studying the way my ass looked as a smile crawled across my face.

  I noticed Camillo in the mirror, watching me from the doorway. When my eyes met his, I felt my entire body blush with embarrassment.

  “It looks just like I thought it would,” he said. “You ready?”

  Ana was dressed in the cutest little bathing suit, a matching one piece with the same green and yellow swirled around on the fabric.

  “Is there something I could cover up with?” I asked.

  “Why would you want to cover yourself up?”

  “Because there are two boys down on the beach,” I said.

  “One of them’s your brother,” he said.

  “And the other isn’t.”

  “Fair point,” he said. “Look in the first dresser drawer right in front of you.”

  I pulled it open and gasped when I saw the white lacy overlay. I slowly panned my gaze over to Camillo, his smirk gliding across his cheeks. I giggled breathlessly. He knew exactly what he was doing and I loved every second of it. I draped the white lacy fabric over my body and I could feel him devouring my presence.

  “Seems familiar,” he said.

  “Oh, shut up.”

  “A good girl never speaks to her master that way.”

  The way his voice darkened caused me to whip my gaze over to him. His intense gaze had settled onto me and I suddenly felt on display. My ass cheeks already warmed at the idea of a punishment coming and I started wondering if it really was punishment at all. I swallowed thickly before I stepped into a pair of flip flops I’d found and when I was ready to go, Camillo held out his hand for mine.

  We all played on the beach until the sun went down. The boys played Marco Polo in the water, while Ana sat in my lap. Then, Camillo came and took her into the
ocean while Cassie and I lay out in the sun. For a while, I allowed myself to forget why we were on that island in the first place and I just soaked up the beautiful sounds of the boys laughing, while my pale skin deepened with the slightest tan.

  Before we knew it, it was time for dinner and the chef had prepared a mouth-watering spread.

  There was grilled chicken caprese for the kids and filet mignons for the adults. There were spiced mashed potatoes and roasted vegetables. There was a bright and decadent fruit salad, along with more wine than I could ever imagine. There were fresh breads and cheeses and jams to slather onto the slices of fluffy paradise and the boys stuffed themselves so full, they were practically falling asleep in their chairs.

  Cassie quickly got up and put them to bed before she went to go pluck Ana from her chair.

  “I’ve got her,” Camillo said. “You go get some rest.”

  “All right,” Cassie said. “I’ll see you two in the morning.”

  “If the boys get into bed and wake up again, there’s a game system with Minecraft on it, as well as a bunch of other pre-downloaded games. Just turn their television on to the second HDMI port and turn the system on,” Camillo said.

  “Of course there is,” I said, giggling.

  “I’ll take note of that,” Cassie said. “Might do that in the morning so I can sleep in.”

  “You do whatever you want,” Camillo said. “That’s what all this is here for.”

  Both of us took Ana upstairs and made our way into her bedroom. Camillo placed the tired girl into her bed, covering her with the soft blanket he’d probably had made specifically for her. I had no idea how he had the time to pull any of this off, but my guess was he placed a great deal of phone calls while Ana and I slept on the plane ride over. I stood at the doorframe as Camillo rubbed Ana’s back, singing her that beautiful Italian lullaby. I closed my eyes and simply took in the sound of his voice.

  By the time he was done singing, Ana was fast asleep and all I could think about was the fact that I had Camillo all to myself.