Chapter 26: Chapter 26

Six weeks feels like an eternity when pussy is sleeping right beside you. The sweetness of her touch, her flavor, her essence, it calls to me like bait to a trap. I want Lia so bad it hurts, but pain is pleasure when it comes to me.

I do everything I can to distract myself from it, but one morning sometime during that seventh week, instead of waking up to morning wood, I wake up to Lia’s hand wrapping around my shaft.

‘Good morning, Val.’

‘Good morning, Lia.’

She giggles softly before dipping under the covers to wrap her mouth around the tip. Her tongue glides under the ridge and along the vein, making me harder by the second. I can’t wait to bury myself inside of her. First, I let her take her time, rediscovering what she likes about me, my manhood, and savoring every minute because it can change in a flash.

I don’t let her finish me off, pulling her face away from my cock, bringing her up to kiss me, and putting her on her back. I must return the favor, leaving a trail of kisses from her mouth to between her tits, leading to the apex of her thighs. The way she tastes is slightly different than I remember, but I’m eager for more.

I don’t want to come before I’ve had the chance to feel that familiarity. Neither does she as this time she pulls my face from between her thighs to kiss me as I nudge every inch inside of her sweet sheath.

The ripples of her walls around me envelop me in pleasure. My movements are slow at first, giving her time to adjust and giving me a moment to calm down. I don’t want it to end before it’s started. Lia’s moans, and slight whimpers come out louder than either of us expect.

I move to put my hand over her mouth and she sucks my fingers while I stroke in and out of her. Every thrust is smooth and gentle at the start. However, the more we get into it, the more we remember what we are together. Volatile, combustible, passionate.

My pace quickens as she takes every inch of me with stride. Her walls clench around me as if they’re trying to hold me in place. I keep moving, coaxing one orgasm after another out of her until I’m ready to come.

Every thrust, every stroke, every dive in and out of her sex brings me closer to that cliff of ecstasy where I’ve been waiting to fall over ever since she left. Now that I have her back, Lia’s never going to simply walk out of my life again. I’ll prove to her that I’m worth more than a letter and that she’s worth more than a virgin auction.

I owe this next phase of my life to her, and I don’t want to do it without her by my side. Love is one thing, but realizing that I truly want to marry this woman is something different. I can’t be without her and I don’t want to be.

It feels like every motion of my erection inside of her is to prove a point of how worthy I am of her love and affection. With every thrust, I catch a glimpse of our future together and she’s mine.

Mine.

All mine.

My climax shakes through my core, emptying myself inside of her until there’s no stamina left inside of me.

Just as I finish and clean up, the doorbell rings and Ava wakes up. Lia hops in the shower and I’m on breakfast duty as I open the door to see Cecilia, Armande, and Frankie standing there.

I step aside to let them in, wondering what’s going on.

‘What’s wrong?’ I ask them.

‘Nothing,’ Armande says in a nonchalant tone that still makes me uneasy. ‘This is actually a coincidence.’

‘Don’t believe in those,’ Frankie says, pushing me out of the way to finish cooking breakfast. ‘Coincidences are like winners of Publishers Clearing House. You hear about them, but never see them in real life.’

Armande chuckles. ‘This guy. We’re actually here for all different reasons and just happened to show up at the same time. A coincidence is exactly that.’

Frankie shrugs and I dismiss this insanity. ‘So why are you here?’

‘Oh, we got family business to handle,’ Armande says. ‘A little crime and punishment.’

I nod and look at Cecilia. ‘We have family business to handle. Hera’s been popping up at Barten, making a scene and telling everyone who will listen that her son is the don, the godfather of La Familia, and she won’t shut the fuck up about it to the point she might get the attention of NYPD. I have an affidavit drawn up for you to sign to put a restraining order in place to keep her out of the building and away from all of us.’

‘Oh, I like that. Can you give restraining orders to anybody?’ Frankie asks, piling pancakes high on top of one plate and sitting it in the middle of the table.

‘If the judge thinks the cause is reasonable. Pretty much, yeah.’ Cecilia replies.

‘Can I give one to Con Ed about my electric bill? I don’t like the way they’ve been talking to me about my late payments,’ Frankie jokes, which gets us laughing and talking about the stranglehold of adulthood.

This feels normal, so right. When Lia joins us, she grabs a pancake and eats before taking Ava from me so I can have breakfast. We’re all moving like a well-oiled machine. I don’t want to picture my life any other way. How did I get this fucking lucky?

We disperse after breakfast with Frankie taking Ava and Lia out for a walk. Cecilia has her court documents with my signatures all over them and heads to the courthouse. Me and Armande head to some pretty neighborhood in Brooklyn where Saul Caputo’s girlfriend works at a hair salon.

‘I want him punished, Armande, not his chick,’ I tell him as we sit in the car far enough away to remain out of sight but still keeping the shop in view.

‘This isn’t about her, I swear, Valley. This is about Saul. Look. He brings her breakfast every morning by ten. We can grab him right now, chop his hand off and be on our merry fucking way. It’s all good right? No fallout if we do it that way?’ he asks.

‘Alessandro said that’s what La Familia agreed on. That means there won’t be any fallout from the other dons. They can’t speak for Saul and I know that piece of shit is going to do something stupid. He’s not going to get away with everything that he’s done to Lia, her family, and who knows how many other businesses like them.’

‘We’re going to need a street sweeper for the goons that will come after us if we take his hand aren’t we?’ Armande levels, his eyes fixated on the door of the salon.

I tip my head up and down. ‘Yeah. This has got to be done with a level of precision that either Saul won’t know it came from me, or no one else will care that it happened to him.’

‘Fuck. I thought that’s what the kidnapping shit with Jimmy was supposed to do.’

‘It was, but I fucked that up. My timing was off. I didn’t count on Lia taking off and the idea of never seeing her again⁠—’

‘I know. It broke you, and that broke me. I hated seeing you like that, but seeing you like this? In dad mode, considering the weight of your choices before making them, it’s smartened you up.’

‘Yeah, well Lia has a strong right hook. Ava? Not so much. I’d rather they not have to look over their shoulder every time they leave the house. Do we have a team on them?’ I ask him. ‘Or just the house?’

‘We have two guys that keep their distance so Lia doesn’t get spooked like you asked and also so they don’t draw attention to her. The last thing we need is for Saul Caputo to learn that she’s alive, well, and has your baby.’

The sound of my phone ringing has my heart in my throat. I check the time and haven’t seen Saul at all.

‘It’s after ten, Armande. Saul still hasn’t shown up yet,’ I tell him as I answer the phone.

It’s Frankie. His words are clipped as he runs, panting, and breathing heavily into the phone. ‘They’re coming, Val. They’re coming after us. We’re on our way back to the house.’

‘Fuck.’ Armande slams his fist against the wheel as he starts the car and pulls out into the street. We’re barely at the stop light when a car slams into us from behind, sending us spinning into the intersection. Another car rams into the driver’s side, sending Armande’s body toward me before the seatbelt snaps him back into place.

The familiar taste of blood in my mouth doesn’t bode well as my head spins and my eyelids grow heavy. The last thing I hear is the sound of someone’s horn before our car gets hit again.