AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“It doesn’t matter to me, Jon. I know what’s in your heart and how you deeply you love Dom and me. You’re the one I want.”
“I don’t like the way they make you upset,” he says with a stone-faced calm that would disturb most people. That, on some level, unsettles me too. “I won’t let them continue to do this. They can choose to stop of their own volition, or I can make them stop. By any means necessary.”
I’m well-versed enough in mafia language to understand what he means. I find myself struggling to come up with a reply. Mainly because I have no clue how I feel about his warning other than to admit it’s like being split into two.
One part of me understands where he’s coming from; his deep, unconditional vow to protect his wife and child at all costs against anyone. I feel the same about him and Dominic.
The other part lingers on the feelings I’ll always have for my blood family. My father and brother…
“We should have dinner,” he says suddenly. He closes the rest of the gap between us, drawing me into his arms for a kiss. His thumb strokes my cheek as he holds my face in his hand and peers into my eyes. “You need time away from this house.”
“But Dominic.”
“It’ll be a couple hours, Phi. We’ll have our phones on us. The nanny and Stitches will be with him. We’ll be half an hour away at most.”
I quell the concern rising up inside me and give a slow nod. “Okay, dinner could be nice. Just me and you.”
“You need this,” he says, rubbing his thumb along my cheekbone, the intensity of his stare sending shivers up my spine. “You’ve been too worked up. You deserve to have a good night out.”
I smile and lean up to touch my lips to his for another kiss. “You deserve the same. Let’s do it.”
7
delphine
“Areyou happy we’ve gone to dinner?” Salvatore asks. He glides the pad of his thumb over my knuckles as he holds onto my hand. The gentle touch feels nice after an afternoon fraught with anger and confusion.
I breathe easy, feeling less stressed than I have in weeks. Between worrying about being an adequate new mom to Dominic, Dad’s reemergence into my life, and finding a pattern for a normal life again, I’ve been tugged in too many different directions.
I see it now, how tightly wound I’ve been.
Amazing what an hour away from home, enjoying a nice long meal with the man I love, could do for my emotional state.
I’ve even allowed myself a glass of wine. My first in almost a year. I swallow a small sip and smile at Salvatore from across the table. “This is nice… and peaceful… and it helps me feel…”
“Yes?”
“Human again,” I laugh. “Sasha was saying I need to remember I’m still a woman. Not just a mom.”
Salvatore’s gaze sparks with unabashed lust. “Believe me, Phi,oneof us hasn’t forgotten for a minute.”
My cheeks warm up. “I guessed you’d say that. But it’s been harder than I thought it would be feeling like myself. It’s apparently normal during the first few months postpartum. Sasha says she felt the same.”
“But?” he prompts, still caressing his thumb along the back of my hand.
“But it doesn’t change how I feel in the moment. This helps… wearing a dress like this,” I say, gesturing to the simple black dress I’ve donned. “Even if it barely fits and pulls too much on my hips.”
“Keep talking,” he scolds. A sudden growl noise thickens in his throat. His hold on my hand tightens, lacing our fingers together. “You know I don’t have a problem showing you how wrong you are. Making you understand how fucking sexy you look.”
I sip more wine. “Maybe you should. So long as it ends with your big dick inside me.”
“Don’t tempt me, Phi. Don’t start when you’re not ready.” He pierces me with a hungry stare from his end of the table that elicits a flutter in my belly. It’s a predatory look that’s both dark and sexy and takes my mind to the X-rated places we once indulged.
Salvatore’s not kidding about his desire. He’s been patient. He’s lurked in silence, waiting for the first moment I would show I was ready.
More nerves dance inside me, turning me jittery. I distract myself with the wine glass, studying the way the restaurant lighting reflects off it.
It’s not that I don’t want Salvatore. That I don’t miss the passion we shared. If anything, I’ve felt starved for that level of physical satisfaction as much as he has.
