All I Believe (Firsts and Forever, #10)(82)
I could tell Luca’s health turned a corner when his libido reappeared. I knelt between his legs one day after we’d been on the island a week, and sucked his cock while stroking his shaft. I took my time, edging him while he moaned softly. It was gratifying to see him so relaxed and blissful.
I knew his body well by then, and could tell when he really needed me to finish him off. I started sucking him harder and faster, pumping his cock with one hand while I jerked off with the other, and was soon rewarded with the sexy sounds he made when he orgasmed and the taste of his cum in my mouth. Once he was completely finished, I angled myself away from him and stifled a moan as I shot across the sand. When I looked back at him, he was propped up on his elbows watching me, and said, “You’re so f*cking sexy that I can barely stand it.”
I was grinning as I curled against his side with his arm around me and put my head on his uninjured shoulder. After a while he said, “We need to go home, Nicky.”
“Whose home?”
“Yours. San Francisco. We can’t keep hiding here being professional beach bums, we need to deal with Jerry and get our lives back. I’m strong enough now and my wound has healed. That was my excuse for staying here this long and avoiding reality, but we can’t keep hiding forever.”
“Dante, Vincent and Andreo are trying to come up with a solution. We should give them more time.”
“But it’s our mess, and I don’t feel right about putting it on their shoulders.”
“Yeah,” I said, “but let’s not forget there’s a hitman after us. Also, there’s no telling how much of the family Jerry’s turned against us. How are you and I supposed to deal with any of that?”
“I don’t know, but we have to figure it out.”
I sighed and traced his happy trail with my fingertips. “You’re right about going back, but I’m afraid something will happen to you.”
“I feel like I have to confront Jerry man to man and settle this once and for all. I can’t keep letting my brother and your cousins fight my battle, especially not now that I’m well enough to take care of this myself.”
I rolled onto my stomach, propped myself up with my elbows, and studied Luca’s face. After a while, I said, “Okay. I’ll borrow Gi’s satellite phone and make some travel arrangements this afternoon. Where do you suppose the nearest airport is, back in Papeete?”
“Probably.” Luca reached up and tucked a strand of my hair behind my ear. “I’ve been thinking about what happens afterwards, once the whole Jerry situation is resolved.”
“What did you come up with?”
“If he’s the only member of your family who poses a threat, I’ll be able to move to San Francisco after this.”
“Is that what you want?”
“I want to be wherever you are. If you’re staying in California for law school, then that’s where I’m going to be, too. Then there’s the question of living arrangements. I’ll obviously get an apartment, and here’s what I was thinking. We’ll pick it out together to make sure it’s a place we both like, but you only move in when you’re ready. It doesn’t matter if that takes a couple weeks or a few months, it’ll be there for you when the time is right. All of this has been moving at lightning speed, and I know you’re a cautious type of guy, so I’m not going to go in with the expectation that you’ll want to start living together immediately, just because I do.”
“I’m not going to want to wait, Luca. I love you. Just like you said, wherever you are is where I want to be,” I said softly before brushing my lips to his.
*****
San Francisco felt like a different planet after that little island in the South Pacific. It was cold and so foggy that it delayed our flight by nearly three hours. Dante and Vincent were waiting for us at the airport, their expressions grave. “This is a terrible idea,” Dante said as he gave me a hug. “You two are walking into a lion’s den.”
“I know. But you get why we couldn’t keep hiding, right?” I said.
“Yeah, but you’re taking a hell of a chance.”
Dante shook hands with Luca, who asked, “Has my brother arrived?”
Vincent shook his hand too and answered, “Andreo’s flight from Rome gets in this evening.”
Dante added, “He wanted me to be sure to tell you not to confront Jerry until he arrives. He said he has something that’s going to help you. Hopefully it’s not an AK-47.”
They led us to a big Land Rover that I suspected was armored. “How’s Nana?” I asked. “I’m looking forward to seeing her.”
“She’s under house arrest. We can stop by if you want. I have the place heavily guarded, so you should be fine there,” Dante said.
“Define ‘house arrest’.”
“She was all set to, as she put it, ‘bust a cap in Jerry’s ass,’ so I hired a team of bodyguards and instructed them not to let her leave the house,” Dante said. “I know that sounds extreme, but I think she might have literally shot him.”
“But he’s her grandson,” Luca said.
“And he’s our cousin, but that didn’t actually stop him from sending Nico’s brother the hitman to kill you in front of him,” Dante said. “Just because someone’s related to you doesn’t mean they’re family.” He had a point. “By the way, Nana still doesn’t know what Nico’s dad and brother do for a living, and we want to keep it that way. She’s upset enough as it is.”