Maybe this family isn’t so bad after all. One day Cleo and I will have our own family. This time, there is no fear accompanying that thought. No panic. No hesitation. Only breathless joy.
CLEO
The list story distracts Ras from egging on Rafe any further, and we manage to wrap up brunch without anyone’s blood being spilled.
Phew. I was getting worried for a hot second there.
Even now, as everyone settles in the living room, I observe the Casalesi men. For all their bickering with Rafe, they’ve got more in common than they realize. For one, they’re all huge, handsome, and hardheaded. They’re all extremely protective of their women, of course. And despite being who they are, they’ve got a moral code they follow. Their word means something, and they don’t hurt people just for the sake of it.
None of them are like my father or Rafaele’s father, and that gives me hope. Hope that under their leadership, this world we’re all in might not be so bad after all.
Who knows, maybe with time, these four mobsters might actually become friends.
“Tesoro?”
I blink, snapping out of my reverie. Rafaele is standing in front of me holding two mimosas. He hands one to me. “Care for a walk around the property?”
I take the glass from him. “What are we celebrating?”
He gives me a crooked smile. “Us.”
We tap our glasses together, our gazes locked on one another. Something vulnerable flickers in Rafaele’s eyes before he blinks it away.
I still haven’t told him that I loved him. A mass of tangled emotion pulses through my chest at the thought of trying to say those words again after what happened last time. But things are different now. Rafe’s changed, and so have I. We’ve both realized what’s important to us and what we’re willing to do for the people we love. I have more faith in us than ever.
We step outside and make our way toward the trees at the back of the property. The backyard slopes downward, so when we reach the lawn behind the tree line, no one inside the house can see us.
A light breeze brushes over my skin. It’s a gorgeous summer day. I lie down on the grass, and Rafe does the same beside me. Above us, a flock of birds peppers the clear blue sky.
I find his hand and tangle our fingers together. His skin is warm and rough, and suddenly, I want nothing more than to feel that roughness elsewhere. When he turns to his side to face me, I can tell he’s trying to disguise his hunger, his need, but it’s no use. Not when that same need pulses deep inside of me.
He raises himself on one elbow and leans over me. His mouth hovers above my own. “I want you, tesoro.”
A grin tugs on my lips. “I want you too.”
His expression becomes pure rapture. He pulls off my shorts and settles between my legs, his movements smooth and sure. His fingers trace me over my underwear, setting off sparks across my skin. When he moves my panties aside and drags his tongue over my seam, my back arches off the grass.
Too long. It’s been too long.
He makes me come with his tongue before he drapes his body over me and rolls his hip, his length pressing against my still buzzing core. I moan. His muscles vibrate with tension as he licks and sucks on my neck, his palm wrapped around my breast, and his fist in my hair.
The weight of him is delicious. I squirm against him, meeting his thrusts, until I can no longer take it. I need him inside of me.
I widen my legs and pluck the side of my lace panties. “Rip them off.”
He does. Effortlessly. I reach between us, undoing his belt buckle, and shove his trousers and boxers down. There’s nothing left between us but heat. He lifts up on his forearms and looks down at me as he pushes inside, inch by inch, filling me so damn well. I arch my back and moan. His thrusts are slow and decadent, and his eyes glimmer with so much emotion, it's almost too intense for me to bear.
This isn’t just sex. He’s making love to me.
And suddenly, the words I was so scared to say earlier come spilling out of me. “I love you.”
His movements still. My pulse picks up speed. His blue eyes pierce through me, and there’s not a hint of ice inside them now.
My breath hitches. The mask is gone. All that’s left is raw vulnerability.
Slowly, a smile unfurls over his lips. “And I love you. You are perfect, my darling. You are the best thing that’s ever happened to me.”
Our gasps and moans echo through the air, masked by the wind and the trickling fountain nearby. We both find our release as my nails dig into his strong back. “Promise me you’ll always be like this with me. That you’ll never pull away from me again. Or I swear, Rafe, I’ll write up a new plan.”