“Manipulation!”
“It’s what works!”
She groaned as he hit a spot inside her that made her stomach seize. “No.”
His eyes narrowed. “Clearly I need to work harder.” Pulling out, he flipped her over and filled her again. “Tell me no again, cara.” His hands sat on her thighs.
Being that she couldn’t breathe, that was kind of difficult.
That telltale tingle started in the core of her, working its way out, but the distinct sound of a door brought it to an abrupt halt. “Sansone?”
“Hmm?”
“Did you hear that?”
He never stopped moving, and it was becoming increasingly hard to focus as he pressed his chest to her back and sucked her earlobe.
“Hear what?”
His fingers found her nipples, tugging.
“I…” Nyssa’s voice trailed off as she hurtled toward another orgasm. As soon as she shouted out, “God!” his bedroom door burst open, and all she could hear was the sound of Luciano’s voice shouting, “I guess you say... OH, GOOD GOD ON HIGH! WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO NYSSA YOU SICK BASTARD?”
Squealing, she bucked Sansone up and off her then with a speed she wasn’t aware she possessed ran for the bathroom, slamming the door behind her. Breathing hard and completely embarrassed she slapped her hands against the sink. “Fuck. Fuck. Fuck!”
She caught the faint sound of Sansone shouting at his brother and the other man screaming, “Mine eyes! Oh, God! Mine eyes!”
Then there was nothing. Nothing aside from the fact that her sister’s boyfriend now officially knew about her and Sansone’s relationship; something they’d been keeping buried because they wanted to enjoy one another just a bit longer before their parents and the media invaded. After months of being careful, after planning, they’d been busted by an oversized male with the ability to pick locks and absolutely no discretion.
Nyssa bumped her head against the door. “Why? Why doesn’t baby Jesus love me?”
***
All his hard work had been completely unraveled thanks to his idiot sibling. Goddammit! Nyssa had run from his place this morning and refused to look back. The only reason he was currently seeing her now was because she’d promised the boys of Trenton Home she’d come today. He’d been so close to getting her to agree to move in with him that he could feel it, and yet she wouldn’t budge because he’d been caught with his hands in her cookie jar. Now he’d have to use other methods.
For six blissful months he’d been allotted the chance to listen to her “I swear I’m going to murder you” sigh over and over again, and no matter how much he aggravated her, she didn’t seem inclined to take away that particular privilege. Having her in his bed every night, waking up to her soft snores—that she insisted never happened—every morning was complete and total paradise.
As Samara and Luciano’s relationship advanced, so had their own. It grew each and every day. There were mornings that he’d roll over and find her watching him. There were nights he’d come home and find her curled up in the middle of his bed. She whispered that she loved him at the oddest times of day and screamed it when they had moments alone. Regular visits to Trenton Home had left him in awe of how in love the boys were with her. Nyssa had fit into his life from day one, and she continued to blend into every single part. Her compassion, her fiercely overprotective nature, her humor and clear, unadulterated love for him left Sansone speechless.
And yet, she was currently ignoring him. All because of the ham-handed bastard before him, lobbing accusations.
“I don’t want your excuses!” Luciano bellowed. “Nor do I ever want to discuss your nefarious activities again.” He pointed a finger in Sansone’s face as several toddlers and a few preschoolers hung off Sansone like marsupials, giggling. “But whatever you’re doing with Nyssa better end in love and marriage.”
“What do you think I’ve been trying to do for the last six years?”
Luciano waved a hand. “I don’t wanna hear it, defiler.”
“Hello, pot!” Sansone stuck out a hand. “I’m kettle.”
Narrowing his eyes at his sibling, Luciano took a few steps back and yelled, “Attack!” Then he watched in obvious glee as Sansone was pulled to the ground by dozens of boys jumping all over his nice new clothes and mussing all his hair.
“You bastard!” Sansone yelled. “I’ll get you for this!”
Luciano simply smirked and turned away.
***
“Those two look mighty happy about something.”
Samara looked up from coloring with the little guy beside her and stared across the yard where Luciano and Marco—a little boy who’d managed to steal all their hearts—were locked together in a tight hug. She smiled. “He must’ve told him about the adoption.”
“He’s finally going through with it?” Nyssa had known for a while that Luciano had a strong connection with the kid who seemed to be a carbon copy of himself despite the lack of genetic connection.
“Paperwork is already in.”
Nyssa’s squeal made Samara run a hand over her belly. “Bring it down a notch, woman.”
“Sorry. Can’t help it.” She clapped her hands. “You have a whole family coming together.” Seeing her sister so…complete was amazing. She’d watched her grow in the last few months by leaps and bounds, her bond with Luciano strong, her love for him tangible.
The pair had already started looking at houses and seemed to be on a dead set path to give their child everything Luciano hadn’t had. It was incredible.
“Anybody but me know how much of a hopeless romantic you are?” Samara questioned her sibling.
“No, and you’ll keep the secret or face my wrath.”
They both watched Sansone run past their table, screaming for help as a tribe of boys chased him down holding water guns and balloons.
“Your wrath look anything like that?”
Nyssa winced as Sansone tripped and hit the ground hard, the boys swarming like a group of bees.
“No.”
“Then I’m not as afraid as I should be.”
She turned to Samara. “I think you should tell Luc you love him.”
Samara’s eyes went wide. “I think you should never speak those words again.”
“Sammie, the man is head over unnaturally large heels for you.”
“He’s head over unnaturally large heels for the baby.”
“Wow, you’re stupid.” How did Samara not see it?
Gripping Nyssa’s shoulders, Samara turned her toward a struggling Sansone, who was now screaming, “Not the hair! Oh, God, not the hair!” They both grimaced.
She’d run out on him this morning and felt awful every time their gazes met. Panic had set in, and she’d gone on autopilot, but she’d promised herself she would talk to him later. Much later.
“We gonna discuss your apparent new habit of finding yourself under Sunny’s person?”
Fuck. “Never,” Nyssa answered quickly.
“Then this subject is closed.”
“I think you’re wrong about Luc.”
“I think you’re wrong about a lot of stuff.” Nyssa considering popping Samara in the mouth, but Sansone hollering, “Someone! Anyone! Save me from the demon seeds!” stopped her. With a sigh, she stood. “I’m going to help him.” She pointed at Samara. “The moment he proposes, I wanna know.”
“He’s not gonna propose!” Samara called after her, but Nyssa knew it wasn’t true. Her sister had found the love of her life. She just needed to stop being so goddamn stubborn and realize it.
Nyssa stopped before the mass of children rolling all over the love of her life. “I’m counting to two. One…” They all scrambled away, leaving him groaning.
Trying not to laugh, she dropped to her knees beside him on the grass and brushed pieces of it from his hair. “You’ve been abused.”
He pouted. “Not just by them.”
She bit her bottom lip. “I know.”
Sansone sn
iffed and looked away from her. “You left me this morning. Naked…vulnerable…”
The laugh got lodged in her throat. “I’m sorry.”
He grunted.
Nyssa reached out and he popped her hand. “Don’t touch me! I don’t want to hear any more of your beautiful lies!”
She would not laugh in his face. “Sansone…”
Folding his arms across his chest, he turned away from her.
Grinning, she wrapped her arms around his shoulders. “I love you.”
“You don’t.”
“I do.”
“Then why won’t you move in with me?”
Nyssa exhaled. “Because I’m scared again.”
His teasing stopped, and he grabbed her arm to pull her around to face him. “Do you trust me?”
The words sent a sense of déjà vu rushing over her. She gazed at him and nodded. She did. She trusted him more than anything. It was just that a step this big made her wary.
He brushed his thumb against her mouth. “You shouldn’t.”
When her brows drew downwards, he stood and started walking backwards. “Mainly because I have a moving company settling all your nice things in with my nice things as we speak.”
“Goddammit, Sansone!” She jumped to her feet as he took off running.
“Barracudas are voracious, opportunistic predators, cara!” He laughed. “Opportunistic predators!”
Insane, hair-obsessed, fashion forward, loveable bastard!
Epilogue
Present day…
“Sunny?” A hand waved before his face. “Suuuuunny?”
He blinked and looked down into the grinning face just beneath him.
Nyssa’s head tilted. “Where’d you go just now?”
“Uhh…” Sansone laughed a little. “On an amazingly insane, frighteningly beautiful walk down memory lane, baby.”
Her brows winged. “Do I want to know?”
Smiling, he shook his head. “Probably not.”
“Unh-hunh…” Her lips twitched and she tapped his side. “Off.”
“You’re supposed to be invading my boxers!”
She pushed at his shoulders. “Move it, man! I’m trying to show you something!”
Eyes narrowing, he lifted as she scooted from beneath him and headed for their closet.
When she returned, her hand was behind her back, her face a mask of complete innocence. He looked from her to her hand and back again. “What. Did. You. Do?”
She burst out laughing. “What?”
He jabbed a finger in her direction. “You’re standing there with your ‘I want you to believe I’m a good girl even though I do really naughty things’ expression, so I ask once more, what crimes have you committed?”
Shaking her head slowly, she walked toward him. “Paranoia doesn’t look good on you, baby.”
Snorting, he folded his arms. “Everything looks good on me, difficult female, and don’t you forget it. It’s one of my many attributes.”
Nyssa blinked. “If I searched the closet, would I find assless chaps?”
“I’m not at liberty to discuss that with you,” he retorted. “And this isn’t about the utterly devastating beauty I hold. This is about your evil misdeeds.”
She threw up her free hand. “What misdeeds?”
“You tell me!”
“There’s nothing to tell, you mental ward escapee!”
He ran a hand through his hair and gave a mock grimace. “Do I look that bad? I was going for adorably mussed bordering on sexily disheveled.”
Nyssa let out one of her sighs. It was the sigh that said she was contemplating whether she could manage to scrub his place clean of all DNA evidence after she murdered him.
“Am I making you want to leave me again?” he asked.
The look on her face told him all he needed to know so he patted his lap. “Sometimes a hug helps, cara. Sometimes a hug helps…”
Her lips twitched as she came to sit across from him. “I love you, but I fear for the mental stability of our future offspring.”
He leered. “Let’s think about that later and practice now.”
She shook her head. “In a minute. I have to do this before I lose my nerve.”
He swallowed and tried to determine exactly what her eyes were telling him. She looked…content—as if everything in her world was complete. Sansone had no idea what to do with that so he waved a hand. “Go ahead. Confess your sins.”
“I didn’t commit any sins.”
His brows inched upward. “None?”
“None.”
Sansone stared at her for a while, and she stared back before he bellowed, “Insidious female! I don’t believe you! Assume the position!”
“Sunny!”
“Argue not, just do as you’re told!”
“Why am I in a relationship with you?”
“Because I made your thighs tense so hard last night you had a charley horse for over an hour?”
Nyssa pointed in his face. “That was a muscle spasm because you wanted to try some unusual shit that I told you would result in injury.”
He nipped her finger. “But wasn’t it worth it?”
“Goddammit! All right!” Obviously exasperated with trying to do things the easy, rational way where he was concerned, she pulled her hand from behind her back and in it sat a ring box.
Sansone stopped breathing.
She went quiet then rushed out with, “I know this isn’t traditional but really, what about us has been? I can’t imagine my life without you. I never could from the moment we met, and I don’t want to ever try. I’ve fought you at every turn, I’ve run from you, and I’ve driven you to the madness that you exhibited just moments ago, but I wanted to do this one thing for you. I wanted to make this one thing easy. I wanted to ask you to marry me because as crazy as we are, as strangely frightening as our relationship is to the outside world, I love you with every strand of me. I am totally and completely yours, Sansone Sultana, and if you don’t say something soon, I’m going to redecorate the beauty that is this fine, Japanese-inspired duvet we picked out together.”
Utter disbelief caused his hands to tremble as he reached for the box. Inside was a simple platinum band, inscribed with, “Signed, Sealed, and Delivered. I’m yours.”
“Oh, cara.” Sansone looked up from the band and found her watching him, her pulse beating in time with his. Complete joy swelled within him, and he had to swallow for fear of his voice breaking when he spoke. “I am…you’re…” He sucked in a deep breath. “Yes.”
Ring forgotten, he caught her about the waist and rolled her beneath him, brushing her hair away from a face that had been his downfall so long ago. “I was going to propose later this week on the anniversary of the hurricane but this”—Sansone planted a kiss on the tip of her nose—“is so much better.”
She blinked back the moisture he could see building in her eyes. “Really?”
“Mm-hmm,” he murmured, pressing his mouth to hers. Then he added, “Even if it is missing the three-carat diamond I had put on yours. I’m willing to overlook that being that you’re about to get naked.”
He laughed as she slapped his back. “Goddammit, Sansone!”
The End
Nikki’s Other Works
Beautiful Trouble Publishing
Sweet Beginnings (Sweet Series)
Sweet Notes (Sweet Series)
Sweet Holidays (Sweet Series)
Truth or Dare
Mocha Memoirs Press
What a Bear Wants
One Shot Too Many
Talking Dirty
Under The Christmas Tree
Shara Azod LLC
Working It Out
Flaws And All
The Sweetest Thing
The Beauty and the Brawler
A SEAL’s Heart (Hero’s Crossing)
The Viking’s Pursuit
Vexed
Change of Heart
SEALed With a Kiss
Body
of Art
Words Never Said
Self-Published Works
Kiss and Tell
Beauty and the Barracuda Page 14
