The Power of a Woman: A Mafia Erotic Romance (30 page)

I reached out and touched his face, hoping to convey all my love in that one touch. “Stefan, you can’t possibly believe I even remotely enjoyed his hands on me. The only man I
ever
want to touch me is you.”

“Did you
have
to give him your panties as a parting gift?” Jealousy and humor warred in his intense gaze.

“It was the only way I could leave the table.” I released a soft giggle as I thought about it. “And it should satisfy you that he licked your cum from them. Not mine. He got nothing from me.”

A small grin pulled at his lips as he settled his burning palms on my bare thighs. “Now tell me what he said so I can finish what I started in the car. I need to hear you come apart—
taste
it—before I lose my damn mind.”

“I don’t know if any of this is important to you, but he said Nico was shot with his own gun—a Smith and Wesson .38 Special with pearl grips, which he implied he still has.” I watched Stefan impatiently nod, and then I continued. “He said some other things, but he could’ve been lying about it all just to goad me.”

“Tell me,” he demanded with a husky, intimidating tone, his fingers digging into my thighs. “I want to hear everything.”

“I don’t know…” I paused, not wanting to tell him the unsavory things Antonio had said about his brother, but his narrowed gaze forced me to. “He said Nico cried, and begged for his life. He said he pissed himself.” I cringed, knowing no one would ever want to hear this about their loved ones.

“Did he tell you why?”

“No. I only got what you asked me for. But I don’t know if it’s proof or not. I don’t know anything about Nico to know if this was nothing more than Antonio fucking with me.”

“He wasn’t fucking with you, Tesoro. And you did great.”

“How do you know?”

He dragged himself off the ottoman to kneel on the floor in front of me, sliding his torso between my legs as he gripped my hips to pull me closer to the edge of the cushion. “Because Nico did have that gun. My father gave it to him for his eighteenth birthday, had the handgrips specifically made for him. No one has been able to find it since he died.”

“Maybe Antonio just knew about the gun…”

“No one knew about the gun,” he said, sounding as if we were talking about someone other than his brother. He hiked the hem of my dress up over my hips, and licked his way to the apex of my thighs. “He kept it holstered since it wasn’t a throwaway. Only way he’d know about it is if Nico pulled it on him. You did good, my love.”

And then he was done talking, using his lips for other useful things. My mind spun with the situation I’d found myself in, but didn’t question it. Stefan had a tendency to compartmentalize things. It was his armor, his shield to protect himself. He put up the front of only needing the information, the proof, to keep from showing the emotions I knew he felt deep down. Losing a loved one like this isn’t new to this family, it comes with the territory. Crying over it won’t make it any better. But that didn’t mean it hurt any less. And that’s all Stefan was doing with this distraction of sex. He was dealing with it the only way he knew how. And right now, that was giving me the orgasm he’d started in the car.

Once he licked me dry, he took me back to his bathroom so I could get dressed. Sunny was still downstairs waiting to take me home, and I was sure my father had decided to wait up for me, to check up on me. Any longer and he’d be blowing up my phone.

“You have one task tomorrow, and that is to pack your bags. I’m coming for you, Tesoro. We won’t be apart much longer, I promise you this.” He kissed me passionately until the elevator doors opened to the parking garage below. “I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

He helped me into the car and then winked before closing the door, tapping on the roof to let Sunny know it was time to take me back home.

For now.

My father had spent the entire day out, which left me with nothing but time to pack my belongings. Stefan hadn’t given me any definite plans, other than to pack. So that’s what I did without question. The hardest part was deciding what to take with me, knowing I couldn’t very well back a moving truck up to the front door and load everything inside. So it came down to as many clothes as I could fit into my suitcases and my keepsakes I couldn’t live without. Most of which were from my mother. Everything else could stay behind.

It wasn’t until three o’clock before I heard anything from Stefan. He called to tell me to meet him at a restaurant with my belongings packed inside my car at five. He would be taking his wife home tonight, and I couldn’t have been more excited. I began frantically packing the back of my car while also trying to get ready for dinner. Somehow, by the grace of God, I managed to get it all accomplished and left the house before my father came back home.

My mood had switched so many times during the day I worried I’d have to be medicated before nightfall. I went from excited to stressed to blissful all within a few hours. But nothing came close to the anxiety that pressed against my chest like a lead weight. If Stefan intended to take me home, having me pack my belongings, that meant his plan was going into effect tonight. It meant our secrets would be out. If he had me meeting him at a restaurant where others could see us, it meant he was finally ready to tell the world about
us
. That part made me happy. I would no longer be his secret, and we wouldn’t have to sneak around anymore. However, the fear of the unknown was like a bucket of ice water dumped on my head. How would the family take it? How would my father respond? I didn’t want to see the disappointment in his eyes.

As long as you see the love in Stefan’s eyes, it doesn’t matter how anyone else looks at you
. That thought eased a bit of the apprehension on my drive there.

I made it to Amichi’s with five minutes to spare, but the entire parking lot was empty. The eerie quietness of the place sent shivers up my spine. The increased rhythm of my heartbeat now took on a new meaning. No longer was it out of excitement, but out of fear, trepidation…concern. I wanted to get back in my car and turn around. I wanted to go back home. But the door opened and a short man in a black tuxedo stepped out, nodding at me.

I glanced around, wondering if the nod had been meant for someone else, but I couldn’t see anyone. No one in sight. So I turned back to face him and dug up the bravado needed to take confident steps in his direction. With a smile on his wrinkled face, he opened the door wider and led me inside.

All the lights were off, but the room was lit by the glow of hundreds of candles. It felt like a scene from a movie. Soft music played around the empty area, and only one table, covered in white linen, was positioned in the center with only two chairs.

My breath stilled as a hand came to rest on my lower back, the heat from the touch spreading through me like wildfire. It only took a second to know whose hand it was. I’d recognize his warmth anywhere. I spun around, causing his arm to wrap around my waist. One glance into his chocolate eyes, glistening with the glow of candlelight, flipped my stomach upside down. The word “love” didn’t even come close to what I saw looking back at me.

“This is quite the surprise.”

He returned my smile and leaned down to press a quick kiss to my cheek. “You’ll never forget this night as long as you live. But I wanted to give you a memory that’ll stick out above the rest.”

Stefan took my hand and led me to the small, intimate table, and pulled a chair out for me to sit, then sat across from me with a single candle between us. Not once did he take his eyes off my face, intensely admiring me with his chiseled jaw set and his head slightly tilted.

“Why are you looking at me like that?” I asked, feeling a little overwhelmed.

“Like what?”

“I don’t know…like you want to devour me.”

The corners of his lips turned up as he pressed his forearms onto the table and leaned forward. “Maybe I do want to devour you. Maybe I have something special planned after I get you back home in my bed—in
our
bed—and I can’t stop thinking about it.” He licked his lips and it sent a pulsating need to my pussy.

“And when might that be?”

“Patience, Tesoro. We have many other things to do before then.”

“What kinds of things?” I couldn’t tell if he’d meant it sexually, or if he’d been talking about business, but my clit began to throb regardless of the promised “things” he had in store for us.

Before I could get an answer, the waiter came to the table with two glasses—one was red wine and the other ice water. The short, balding man set the wine in front of me, gave Stefan the water, and then walked off.

I raised an eyebrow at Stefan. I’d never been to a restaurant where I didn’t order my own drinks, but knew enough to assume he’d planned the entire meal out. I more than likely wouldn’t see a menu, either. “No wine for you?”

He reached across the table and took my hand in his. “No, my love. Not tonight. My mind needs to be clear when taking care of business, and then later when we get home.”

Leave it to Stefan to take charge and make all the decisions, leaving me with no options. That’s how it was with him, and how the rest of my life would be. But I could handle that. I
wanted
that. I had enough control in other aspects of my life that I didn’t need it with him. And he’s the one who made me realize it. He was the only person to help me see what I’d been missing, what I needed—desired. Before Stefan, I never felt complete. I never felt genuinely happy. But then he came along, and even with the hiccups in life, he showed me what the true meaning of happiness is. He gave me a life I couldn’t have ever dreamed of without him. And now, not only was I living it, but it was mine forever. I’d never have to lose it or give it up.

“So…are you going to tell me what your plans are? Or are you just going to keep me in the dark?”

“You’ll know when the time is right. All you need to know is how it’ll end. Which will include you and me, alone in
our
own place. Ever since making you my wife, I haven’t been able to properly celebrate it. But that ends tonight. I will show you what it’s like to really be
mine
.”

“I’ve always been yours, Stefan,” I said truthfully and without thought, looking deep into his eyes.

“I know, Tesoro. But now…now it’s recognized by the state. And after tonight, it’ll be recognized by
la familia
. I will be able to have you on my arm, in my bed, next to me, anytime I want. No more hiding. No more secrets.”

Goose bumps covered my bare arms, leaving me with a slight chill. Not out of fear, but born from excitement. His words, his tone…they had the ability to make me come on the spot. One look from him and my panties were soaked through, my arousal heavy in the air.

Stefan moved his chair next to mine, so now he sat next to me instead of across the table. He lifted my glass and held it to my face. “Take a sip, Tesoro.”

I did and then licked my lips, which earned me a throaty growl from him.

“Nice, isn’t it?”

“Very.”

He then lifted his own glass of water, taking a healthy drink as my gaze remained glued to his every move. His pronounced Adam’s apple dipped as he swallowed, and then he pulled me by the back of my head, meeting my lips with a heated kiss. The second he pushed the frigid cube of ice into my mouth, I gasped and backed away. His eyes glistened as they studied me, a slight smile appearing.

“Don’t swallow that, Tesoro. It belongs somewhere else.”

I didn’t need him to tell me where he intended it to go, it was written all over his sexy face. I took it from my mouth and discreetly moved my hand beneath the table, all while our stares remained locked tight. His eyes daring me, mine questioning him.

I took in a deep breath, moving my panties to the side, and then pushed the cold ice into my canal. The freezing temperature stole the air from my lungs and caused all my muscles to tighten up. I removed my hand, the fabric of my panties going back in place, and I squeezed my thighs together. But no matter what I did, the ice slid right back out. However, it situated itself between my folds, pressed firmly against my most sensitive spot. The sensation was so cold, it became like a fire, burning me, yet the torture stayed localized in that one place instead of flowing throughout my body.

His fingertips grazed my thigh from beneath the table, causing me to clench my legs together even more. The entire experience shoved me forcefully to the brink of an orgasm, but nothing to push me over. I felt stuck on a perpetual cliff, needing to either back away or go over. My burning clit ached with need, my folds begged for the heated warmth of his tongue. It was a desire unlike I’d ever felt before.

Just as the intensity started to wear off—the fiery tingles still very much present—the waiter came with two plates. One was warm mozzarella di bufala dressed with shredded fennel. The other was an assortment of shellfish. There was stuffed shrimp, a braised lobster tail, and lightly sautéed scallops. He set them down on the table in front of us. And again, without a word spoken, he turned around and left us alone.

“I’m going to feed you, Tesoro. This is our first meal together, and I want to pamper you.” He cut into the mozzarella and picked it up with his fork. Holding it at my lips, but not letting me take it into my mouth, he said, “While I feed you, I’d love nothing more than to watch you tend to the ache between your legs. But please, don’t come. Only touch your clit, and don’t stop until I say so.”