by Rye Hart
That word.
Love.
It rumbled down my body and sent shivers up my spine.
“I’m still that man, Julia.”
“Can you promise me that?” she asked. “Because what you’re saying, it’s almost too good to be true.”
I took a step toward her and took a chance. I slid my hand from my pocket and raised it to cup her cheek. At first, she backed away. Clearly uncomfortable with my touch. But I tried again, and that time she didn’t move, and I felt it.
For the first time in almost seven years, I felt her skin against mine.
“Almost, but not completely,” I said.
Her eyes danced between mine as I leaned my lips into hers.
“Don’t give up on me just yet, Julia.”
I pressed our lips together and every single guarded wall I’d thrown up after that dinner came crashing down. Her hands flew to my hair, and I wrapped her up tightly, picking her up against my body.
Fuck.
Her tongue was hot against mine, tasting of coffee and apples. I walked her through the foyer and into the dining room, then laid her down on the table. I shoved her dress up her legs, unable to keep my hands off her. I was magnetized, under her spell once again.
“Romeo,” she said breathlessly. “Your hands. They’re—”
I spread her legs wide and placed my face against her clothed pussy. I breathed in her scent, allowing it to wash over me. She smelled perfect. Reminiscent of the woman I’d taken all those years ago. A young woman who had captured my heart and my attention. My cock and my soul.
A young woman who had born me a son.
I nipped at her thick thighs and felt her stretch marks underneath my tongue. I shoved her dress all the way up her body and cupped her breasts in the palms of my hands. Her hair was sprawled out over the family dining room table, and her legs parted for me. I threw them over my shoulder and reached down, releasing my cock from its confines. I slid my pants down around my ankles and shoved my boxers down, feeling my cock leaking with want to be inside her.
But I wanted to taste her first.
I nuzzled her panties off to the side and watched as she dripped for me. My cock jerked at the sight, and I stuck my tongue between her folds, finding that beautiful spot that made her jump.
“Shit. Romeo.”
Her hips rolled down into my mouth, and I groaned into her pussy.
My tongue lapped at her slit, gathering her on the tip of my tongue. I’d missed her taste. Her texture. The sweetened salty desire that leaked from her heated entrance. I slid my tongue into her body and curled it deep, watching the way she jolted as my tongue stroked her walls.
I spread her legs wider, opening her to me before I curled her knees into her chest.
Her hands twisted in my hair and dragged my tongue back up to her clit. I pressed deeply into her core, making her bounce and jump with pleasure.
She was dripping down my chin. Her fluids were heavenly, and her breathless pants sparked a fire in my toes.
I needed her.
Desired her. Dreamed of her for years.
How her body had filled out. How proof of our son marked her. I was mesmerized by the tiger stripes along her stomach. Showcasing the strength she had cultivated in a want to protect our son.
Our son.
My tongue flicked her clit at lightning speed, and her back began to arch. Her hands raked along my scalp, and she tugged me deeper into her pussy. I moaned, watching as she shivered and jumped for me.
I remembered every stroke.
Every button.
Every movement she enjoyed.
And soon, those obscene words I’d only heard in my dreams echoed off the walls of my dining room.
“Fuck me, Romeo. You know how I want it. Oh, yes. Fuck. So good. Yes. Yes. Yes. Right there. Right there. Deeper. Press deeper. Please! Deeper! Yes!”
Her mouth opened and her eyes screwed shut. I drew myself back as her body shook with pleasure and slid my cock into her vibrating pussy. Her walls clamped down around me, trying to push me out as she clung to my shirt, pulling me closer as I inched my way in, my legs shivering as her heat pulsed around me.
Fuck. She was as tight as she’d ever been.
My hands fell to the table, and her lips drew up to encompass mine. Her tongue licked herself off me, and I grinned into her lips. Her eyes were half-hooded with lustful desire, and I knew exactly how I was going to take her. I stood to my feet and gripped her legs, then pulled her all the way to the edge.
I looked down and withdrew my cock, then I pounded back into her and left both of us breathless.
Her body jiggled for me as I tossed her legs over my shoulders. I grabbed her hips and pulled her close to my body, my hips delivering their assault. My balls smacked against her ass, and I could feel her juices splattering against my skin as her legs curled around my neck. Her hands grabbed the edge of the table as she rolled into me. I could see her tits bouncing underneath her pale pink bra, and the sight of that innocent color against her skin caused my cock to pulse.
To grow.
To thicken inside of her.
“Julia. Fuck. You have no idea how beautiful you look right now.”
I picked up the pace, rocking her body as her head bounced. Her hands clung to me. Gripping onto my forearms as her fingernails left marks behind. My toes curled into the ground, and I could feel her shaking, her pussy readying itself for another explosion. I rolled my hips. I ground into her clit. I bent her in half and slid as deeply as I could into her body. I watched her jump and moan. I heard her whimper as sweat began to permeate her brow.
But the second her hands cupped my cheeks and crashed our lips together, I couldn’t contain myself.
My cock released, pulsing against her as it shot streams of cum into her body. Pump after pump, until I was resting on the backs of her thighs. My legs gave out as our tongues collided and her pussy came around my girth, milking me dry and greedy for all I had to give as our lips swelled against each other. I buried myself inside of her, feeling her walls stroke me until there was nothing left. Until my balls were empty, and my arms were shaking, and her body was trembling.
I nuzzled our noses together and allowed myself to bask in the moment. But it was gone once I felt her hands on my chest.
She pushed me off her, my cock sliding quickly from between her legs. She slid off the table and fixed her clothes, then ran her fingers through her hair. I reached for my pants and stuffed myself back in as she looked around the house.
There was confusion in her eyes as she headed for the front door.
“Julia,” I called out.
She spun around on her heels and gave me an eyeful of that healthy flush to her skin.
“Are you thirsty?” I asked.
I watched her roll the question around in her head before she shook it.
“No,” she said. “But I, um, Matteo. I promised him—a thing.”
“Of course,” I said as I tucked in my shirt. “Of course.”
She rushed out the front door. I looked back at the table. Fuck. Now there was a mess to clean up. I went into the kitchen and got some cleaning supplies, then wiped down the table before Antony had a chance to ream me for this.
I wish she had stayed.
I would have willingly given that woman another round of passion, had she let me.
CHAPTER 5
ROMEO
“I saw Julia rushing from the house,” my mother said.
“You don’t waste any time, do you?” I asked.
“Why was she practically sprinting away?”
“She’s just getting back into town, Mother. Nothing more.”
“Do you think I was born yesterday?”
“No, I don’t think you were born yesterday,” I said.
“What happened?” she asked. “Julia looked happy when she arrived.”
“I think you mistook ‘happiness’ for a pleasant nervousness.”
“Did you give her
a reason to be nervous?”
I shot my mother a look as I fixed myself a cup of coffee.
“Care to make your mother one of those?”
“Whose do you think this is?” I asked.
“Yours until I asked for it,” she said with a grin.
“And you wonder why father stayed mostly quiet around you.”
“He knew who ruled this house. You’d do well to abide by the same principle.”
I made myself another mug of coffee before I went to sit with my mother at the kitchen island.
“You know I know,” she said.
“And I’m thankful for you keeping our secret,” I said. “But Julia didn’t come over to rehash the past.”
“Then it doesn’t look good for a Bianchi to stop by the way she did. You need to be careful, son.”
“I’m aware of that, and I’m being as careful as I can.”
“So, if she didn’t stop by to relive the glory days of the two of you sneaking out, then why was she here?” my mother asked.
“Yeah, this conversation goes no further,” I said.
“You know things are different now. We aren’t dealing with your respective fathers any longer. Her father’s reaction to your teenage love affair was timid. But now that Stefano sits in that chair? He won’t hesitate to kill you over it.”
“Julia wasn’t over here for anything like that.”
“She just came to see how you were?”
“Something like that,” I said.
“Stefano’s dangerous, Romeo. You and I both know what he’s capable of. The manipulation. The psychotic tendencies. That man enjoys having blood on his hands.”
“He does. I know all too well what he’s capable of,” I said.
“All I’m saying is be careful. The last person we need breathing down this family’s neck is Stefano Bianchi.”
“I promise,” I said. “I’ll be careful.”
I understood why my mother was worried, but my mind was elsewhere. I was still pissed off with the way Julia left things. What the hell had she come over for? I mean, it was mutual what we did, but still. She didn’t have to rush off the way she did. We didn’t do anything wrong. We had a past. A history. Hell, we had a son.
What the hell was so wrong with fucking the mother of my child?
The love of my life.
I wasn't going to let her get away from me again. Nor was I going to let her keep me from my son any longer. I got why she was overprotective. But that was the thing. I got it. I understood it. I didn’t want to expose my child to this lifestyle, either. Hence why I was trying to change things. To shift the tides and make our business more legal and less bloody. I wanted that legacy for my family, and now?
I wanted that legacy for my son as well.
I knew Stefano was dangerous, but not even that man would keep me from Julia and Matteo. I would do whatever it took to see my son, to be a vital part of his life. I knew I could rationalize with Julia. I knew I could talk sense into her eventually.
But Stefano would be a hurdle.
Especially considering what he had done.
“Do you want to talk about it?”
“Hmm?” I asked.
“Whatever has got you so troubled, my son. Do you want to talk about it?”
“Julia thinks I’ve changed,” I said.
“So you two did talk.”
“What did you think we did? Stood around for an hour and stared at one another.”
She sipped her coffee and hooked her gaze with mine, and I bit back a groan.
She knew.
How the fuck did she always know?
“Yes, we talked,” I said with a sigh. “And she told me she was disappointed in me. That she never expected me to take my father’s place, and she thought that I had changed because of that decision.”
“Have you?” she asked.
“Come on, Mom. You know my plans. You’re the only one who does.”
“But have you changed?”
“No,” I said hotly.
“Then prove that to her. Carefully, but prove it. Prove you’re still a good man.”
“Wait. Was that an approval?” I asked.
My mother took another sip of her coffee as I set my mug down.
“Are you giving me permission to pursue Julia?” I asked.
“I came down on you hard when I found out. And I never told your father about it. It was the only secret I ever kept from him, and I’m still not sure I did the right thing. But I knew you were in love with her then, and I know she still means a lot to you. So, if my approval will make you do what you need to do as a man, then, yes. You have it.”
I looked at my mother in shock as she set her coffee mug down next to mine.
“Please be careful. Stefano isn’t going to be as easy to deal with as Julia’s father. He took a more diplomatic approach. But Stefano?”
“I know,” I said as I took her hands. “I know.”
“I’m not losing someone else I love to this feud,” she said.
“You won’t have to.”
“You better make sure of that,” she said.
“I will,” I said as I kissed her hands. “I promise.”
And if I had it my way, she would even add someone to her family. But I had to convince Julia of it first.
I had to convince her to let me be a part of my son’s life.
CHAPTER 6
JULIA
“Thank you so much for watching him for me, Enrico.”
I walked into my son’s bedroom and found the two of them sitting on the floor. Matteo was building with a set of wooden building blocks that had the paint chipping off the side. Enrico was sitting there, helping him to stabilize the building. I smiled at the two of them and leaned against the doorway as Enrico’s eyes turned up to mine.
“It’s not a problem. How did things go?” he asked.
“Better than the first time, though I’m still not convinced things will go the way my uncle hopes.”
“Did something happen?”
“Relax,” I said with a grin. “Nothing happened.”
I wasn’t about to tell Enrico that Romeo and I had sex on the man’s dining room table. I still couldn’t believe it had taken place. I pushed off the doorway and crouched down beside Matteo, relieving Enrico of his babysitting duties.
“Did you have fun while I was gone?” I asked.
“My blocks are old,” my son said.
“Yeah. They’re looking a bit worn. Why don’t we go out shopping tomorrow and get you a new set?”
“Can we fix these?”
He held up a chipped block to my face. I took it between my fingers. This was a block set my father had gifted him when he was two years old. My father said he’d have plenty of time to grow into them. What I didn’t plan on was them being his most favorite toy. The wood was beginning to chip, and I was starting to fear things like splinters. Scratches. Cuts and bruises from the jagged corners of the chipping wood.
“We could sand them down,” Enrico said. “Slap some more paint on them.”
“Please?” Matteo said. “Grandpa gave me these.”
I sighed as I looked into the eyes of my sweet six-year-old little boy. He had always been sweet, but headstrong in what he wanted. If he didn’t want to give up these blocks, then there was no way I would be able to convince him. But the pain in his eyes was unmistakable. My son, whom I’d tried to shield from all the pain in the world, missed his grandfather. His “boombah.” These blocks were one of the few connections he still had to the man, and he wasn’t willing to give it up.
And I knew all too well how that felt.
“Then how about this? You take a nap, and when you get up, you and I will go to the workshop and fix these blocks up. How does that sound?” I asked.
My son flashed me a smile before he threw himself into my arms.
I picked him up and settled him into bed before I tucked him in tightly. Then, we went through our routine. I kissed his f
orehead, the tip of his nose, and each of his cheeks. I ran my fingers through his hair as he smiled up at me, then I drew in a deep breath. I knew that our time with naps was coming to an end. There were hardly any six-year-olds I knew that still took naps and I considered myself lucky that Matteo still settled down for them.
“Repeat after me,” I said. “You are smart.”
“Smart.”
“You are capable.”
“Capable.
“And you are loved.”
“Loved,” Matteo said.
“You get some good rest, sweet pea. And when you wake up, we’ll get a snack and head to the workshop.”
“Thanks, Mommy. Love you.”
“I love you too, baby boy. So much.”
I walked out of the room and turned off his light before I shut the door. I drew in a deep breath and headed for the stairs, my mind spinning with the events of the afternoon. My encounter with Romeo served no purpose except to remind me how weak I still was to him.
And I didn’t like it.
