Chapter Eighteen

Damon

After sending the text to Geno, I sent an update to Dad and my brothers so they weren’t blindsided by any sudden move from the opposition. After all the shit Geno had caused my family, I wanted him to bring the fight to me. The time to end all the bullshit passed long ago. He’d already taken way too much of my time and energy as it stood.

He didn’t reply to my text, but then, I didn’t think he would. Texting wasn’t really his thing. But he’d make a move soon enough. He’d verify the screenshot I sent him was accurate, then he’d be out for blood. In the meantime, I just had to make sure Jillian was far out of his line of sight.

Surprisingly, weeks went by without a word from Geno or even a sighting of him. Our men had their ears to the ground, but there weren’t even any rumors floating around about him. I would’ve liked to have believed he’d vanished into thin air, but the warning in the back of my mind told me to remain on guard. I’d humiliated him and bankrupted him in one fatal swoop. We were cut from similar cloths, and there was no way I would ever let something like that go unanswered.

The contract on the house Jillian and I wanted was accepted as soon as we submitted it. The previous owners had already moved out and were anxious to close. As soon as we were given a set of keys to the place, Jillian dragged me out shopping for furniture on a daily basis despite my best attempts to pawn that task off on my mother and sister. Not that I didn’t want to spend every waking minute with my fiancée, but I’d rather that time be when we were naked and writhing in the bed or against the wall or the floor behind the couch. Shopping for one room at a time was killing me.

We’d been to Mama’s every weekend for our standing family dinner, and every weekend Mama and Jillian spent more time planning our wedding. Watching Jillian get so excited over every little detail thrilled me more than I let show. My chest swelled with pride knowing she wanted to be mine for all eternity. Truth was, I didn’t care how big or small the wedding was. All I cared was that it happened and that it happened soon.

The fourth week after taunting Geno, we walked into Mama’s dining room and found Aunt Maria sitting in her usual spot at the table. I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me for a minute until she spoke. I could hear a smile in her thick Italian accent, though it was still mixed with a hint of sadness. She was happy to be back in the fold, even if she was without Leo for the first time since they were teenagers.

Beside me, I felt Jillian’s entire body tense when she saw Maria. Even if my aunt didn’t know the truth of what happened, facing her again would be hard for Jillian. Her soft heart and tender nature just didn’t lend to the characteristics of a hardened hit man. Even though she saved my life and avenged her mother, Jillian would look at Maria and only think about what she’d taken from her.

“Who have we here?” I asked loudly when we entered the room. “Have we met?”

Aunt Maria jumped from her chair and rushed toward me with tears in her eyes and a small smile on her face. She wrapped her arms around my waist and squeezed me tightly. “Damon, thank you so much for what you did. Lina told me the money came from you, Jillian, and Carrie.”

“It was actually Jillian’s idea. She found all the accounts, she came up with the plan to redirect the money to you, and she worked with Carrie to make sure it could be done. I’m not taking any credit for this plan. My only part was to sanction it.”

She turned to Jillian and only held eye contact with her for a couple of seconds before Maria’s eyes dropped to the floor. “Jillian, you helped me after what my Leo did to you and your mother?”

Jillian’s eyes flew up to Marco’s, looking for direction on what she should say. He shook his head from side to side then she looked at me for confirmation. When she saw I agreed with Marco, she closed her eyes for a second and steadied her breath.

“I don’t blame you for what Leo did, Maria. None of this is your fault, and you shouldn’t be punished for someone else’s crimes.”

After Maria and Jillian finished their reconciliation hug, and Maria spent a few minutes rubbing Jillian’s growing belly, we all took our seats at the table for dinner. Any remaining discomfort dissipated when the platters of food were passed from person to person. Soon the clatter of silverware and the chatter of multiple conversations filled the room, and we fell back into our old comfortable routine.

“Jillian, cara.” Mama’s voice cut through the clamor of the multiple conversations, getting everyone’s attention at once. “Since we only have four weeks until the wedding, we’re having your bridal shower here tomorrow at four. Damon, you make sure she’s here on time.”

“I have a great idea. You two could go furniture shopping tomorrow morning, then she can come back here with you tomorrow afternoon for the shower.”

If looks could kill, I would’ve been dead at that moment.

“I would love to go shopping with my cara, but I’ll be very busy tomorrow getting everything ready for the shower. We’ll go one day this week, yes?”

“Sure, Mama Lina. I’d love that.”

After dinner, the ladies moved to the den while the men went into Dad’s office. The topic of Geno’s location was always first on the list.

“We’ve gone weeks without hearing anything about Geno. All of a sudden, a rumor surfaced last night. After losing all his money and his alliances, he has left the Tri-State area and moved to Las Vegas. While it’s true he has family there, I think this story was concocted to throw us off. Keep your eyes and ears open—he’ll resurface somewhere nearby, mark my words. He’s trying to catch us off guard.” Dad didn’t normally share rumors, even with his top tiers. He thought rumors were nothing more than made-up tales meant to scare people, and he didn’t scare easily. For him to share a rumor with us meant his gut was strongly warning him.

“Do you have an extra burner phone here, Dad?” My gut said to follow my dad’s instincts.

“I’m fairly certain I do.” He rifled through his desk drawers until he found it. I took it from his outstretched hand and slipped it into my pocket. “What’s on your mind, son?”

“Just a bad feeling. Rather be safe than sorry.”

Mama cracked the door open wide enough to stick her head inside. “You boys come have some dessert and coffee with us. We’re testing wedding cake flavors and want to use your taste buds.”

“Cake? You don’t have to ask me twice.” Marco jumped up and rushed out of the office, my other brothers close on his heels.

Carrie was standing at the dining table, slicing the different types of cake for the taste test. I slid up next to her and took one of the prepared plates. “Can you pinpoint the location of a burner phone if it’s on?”

“Sure. It won’t be as precise as a smartphone location, but it’ll still ping off the two closest towers. Why do you ask?”

“Checking for security reasons.”

She didn’t buy my excuse, but she didn’t have to. All I needed to know was if she’d be able to find it in case of an emergency.

After we’d devoured all the cake and drank all the coffee, I finally convinced Jillian it was time to drive home. After two full weeks in our new house, we still hadn’t christened all the rooms, and I had big plans to rectify that oversight. When we pulled into the garage, I glanced over at her and was immediately enraptured with her beauty. The most peaceful, contented expression covered her face. She seemed to glow with happiness.

As the automatic garage door lowered, I turned off the car and remained in my seat, staring at her. “I love you, Jillian.”

My words jarred her from her inner thoughts. She jerked her head to the side, meeting my stare, and searched my eyes. “I love you too, babe. What’s on your mind?”

“You mesmerized me. You looked so happy just now, I couldn’t resist watching your expressions.”

“I’m incredibly happy, Damon. I love our home—that’s why I’m taking my time and finishing one room at a time. I want everything to be perfect for you and our babies. I love our life together. I love planning our wedding and knowing we’ll be official very soon. I love being pregnant and feeling these two little lives growing inside me. And, most of all, I love you. I couldn’t wish for a better husband-to-be.”

She certainly knew how to make me feel ten feet tall. After I got out of the car, I walked around to her side and opened her door. That small act had been the source of many discussions between the two of us. She reminded me she was fully capable of opening her own door, and I assured her I was well aware of that fact, but that didn’t stop me from wanting to spoil her, so she should let me do the little things.

She usually gave in to my request—except the times when the twins jumped up and down on her bladder, causing her to make a mad dash for the bathroom.

“I don’t want to lose my title as the best husband ever to have lived throughout all of history, but there is something I want to ask you about. Something you don’t talk about.” With my extended hand, I helped her out of the car.

We walked into the house—me first, as usual, in case someone waited inside—but she remained quiet. After I checked the alarm and was satisfied we were alone, I walked back to my love and tipped up her face with my finger under her chin. “Look at me, doll.”

Tears glistened in her eyes, though she visibly worked to hold them at bay. “I know what you’re thinking, Damon. Yes, I miss my mother so much. Sometimes I can barely breathe when I think about how much I wish she were here with us. She’ll miss our wedding and the birth of our babies. But I don’t blame you for her death anymore. I can’t hold the actions of your uncle against you. Had you been able to prevent it, I know you would have.”

For the mere fact that Leo hurt Jillian so badly, I wished he were alive again. So I could kill him. The pain of losing her mother would never subside. Time would not lessen it, because all the firsts our children experienced would serve as reminders of what she couldn’t share with her mother. She would learn to live with the constant ache, but she was right. If I could’ve changed it, I would have, without a doubt.

She stepped into my waiting arms, wrapping hers around my neck and stretching up on her toes to reach my lips. “I’m getting better at reading your mind. You were just thinking about going back in time to fix everything for me, weren’t you?”

“Something like that.”

“For the record, I miss Daddy too, and wish he were here to walk me down the aisle. I want him to be a grandfather to our children and to come visit us so often you start dreading his arrival. But he died long before I met you, so you can’t take the blame for his absence either. This is the hand we were dealt, Damon. We’re doing the best we can with it. Your parents have been wonderful surrogates to me. I’m grateful to have them in our lives. And I’m very thankful to have the best husband ever to have lived throughout all of history.”

“Maybe we should trademark that title. Have a special font created for it, put it on a plaque, and hang it over the fireplace.”

“Yeah, I’ll get right on that for you.”

“There’s the feisty mouth I love so much. Pick a spare bedroom and let’s see what else you can use that mouth for, doll.”

“We haven’t made it up to the top floor yet. We’ll work our way through those rooms tonight.”

She turned to walk away, leaving her clothes where they dropped on the floor as she went. By the time she reached the right side of the dual curved stairs, she was fully naked—and I was fully trotting after her. When I caught up with her and my hands touched her supple skin, I decided I couldn’t wait long enough to reach the top floor.

The stairs needed breaking in too.

I lowered my head and took her lips, forcefully and without a second thought. My tongue dipped inside her mouth and curled around hers with smooth, gliding passes. Her unique taste drove me wild. The scent of her arousal tested my restraint. The soft moans and purrs that escaped from her throat spurred me on.

My fingers moved over the softness of her skin, over her swollen stomach, to the apex of her thighs. I moved my mouth down the side of her neck, nibbling on the sensitive skin that made her knees weak and her heart race. Her fingers dug into my arms and she held me tightly, on the verge of succumbing to her desires. When shudders overcame her body, my name fell from her lips in such sweet surrender.

Then she surprised me when she slid down my body, taking a seat in front of me on the stairs. The sight of her plump lips wrapped around me nearly unhinged me, but when I felt the back of her throat tighten around me while her tongue curled around me, I thought I’d died and gone to heaven. On the edge but not ready to dive headfirst off the cliff just yet, I begrudgingly stopped her vigorous attention.

I sat beside her and pulled her onto my lap. “Ride me, doll. Ride me hard and put me up wet.”

She straddled me, taking every inch inside her, tortuously slow on purpose, until I was at the hilt. Her hips rocked back and forth while mine surged up and down, creating perfect synergy—the same way our personalities complemented and completed each other. Beads of sweat covered our skin, gasps and cries of pleasure echoed in the vaulted entryway, and we tumbled over the edge of ecstasy together, arms and legs entangled, completely wrapped in our love.

I wanted to take my time and make our love last all night, claiming every room in the house as ours. I wanted her to know, without a single doubt, that she was my world and there was nothing I wouldn’t do for her. I wanted to show her, tell her, and make her feel it with my every caress, every kiss, every thrust of my hips and arch of my back. But everything about her made it hard for me to hold back.

She made it so fucking hard.