Page 92 of The Italian Reckoning
A rush of need that ignites heat across my skin and sends my heart racing as the first curls of pleasure warm my core and simmer through my veins. Rocky’s attention grows firmer and more insistent, reading each of my trembles, moans, and shifts like he’s fluent in my body’s language.
“Rocky!” I moan his name and arch my back from the couch, closing my thighs around his head as pleasure surges and every nerve inside me sparks like the flick of a match.
I come so hard my world briefly turns white and an overwhelming surge of heat rushes through my core. It’s overwhelmingly intense but through it all, I feel safe. Secure. Rocky’s right there and he holds and licks me slowly through every quiver of pleasure.
And with that ecstasy comes one single thought.
I’m going to be okay.
39
ROCKY
Things change after that.
One touch and suddenly, Sarah can’t keep her hands off me, not that I’m complaining. She’s eager for everything—a make-out session in the elevator, fucking on the roof under the stars, sucking me off in the shower, fucking in the kitchen, the bedroom, the laundry room. In short, we christen every room in her new apartment, and it doesn’t stop there. She wakes me up in the middle of the night excited to explore this new surge of feelings and lets me eat her out at every available opportunity until I know her scent and taste are more than enough to make me rock hard.
I sit her down one evening to talk about it just in case this sudden hyper-sexuality is another symptom of her trauma, but after a long talk, I’m assured that this is her taking back control of her body, and I won’t stand in her way. I’m more than happy to help her.
In between the rampant sex, Sarah returns to work. Domenico had a very stern, very aggressive chat with her boss and secured her job position in any department she pleased. Sarah used this to leave behind Homicide and settle into MissingPersons. Tracking down Bobby across the city ignited an interest in weaving clues together, and she decides to follow that interest into doing what she can to find people.
There’s the added perk of finding people alive, which makes it all the better. It helps that being with me means Sarah has the entire might of the Italian Mafia at her beck and call without having to abandon her morals. Cormac’s involvement in her rescue, as well as Anastasia’s help recognizing Bobby, give her a fresh outlook on what the Mafia does for this city, though she makes it clear that she won’t be giving any of us special treatment. Sarah reaches a shaky understanding with everyone involved. No special treatment means exactly that, but she’s not against us helping one another out. Especially when someone who deserves punishment slips through the legal net on a technicality.
As she throws herself into her new role, I make a similar agreement with my father. I’m not ready to take over yet and he’s not ready to step down, but the calls for a change in leadership don’t fade. So I step up and take on control of a large portion of our casinos and a more prominent presence at the important meetings. It’s enough to keep the rumblings at bay and gives me the chance to learn as much as I can from my father before he steps down, whenever that may be. While I hold no love for the man, I can’t deny everything he’s done for the growth of our organization and he’s worth learning from.
Even if our methods differ.
Sarah’s apartment becomes my home. I’m not exactly sure when it happens but suddenly, I have a toothbrush, my own coffee mug, and she clears out drawers for me. I go from squatting at her place to keep her safe to living there and nearly lose my balls when I make a joke that she only wants me here for sex.
She’s getting her fire back and it’s beautiful to see.
As September comes to an end, Sarah sends a cryptic text with an address and a request to meet her after work. I’d be worried if not for the fact that she sends several more texts about dinner and a desire to go dancing again. I try not to take credit in her recovery because ultimately, it’s all her own hard work, but I like to think I’m helping.
Getting through my father’s meeting is a bit of a slog and going over the expense and profit reports for the casinos are equally boring, but we’re gearing up for Christmas which means we’re about to make an incredible amount of money. My father seems happy with the progress and Domenico flashes me one of hisproud of yousmiles when I retake my seat.
A few hours later, I pull up outside the address Sarah sent to find her leaning against a wall with a cheeky smile on her face.
“You want to get a tattoo?” I ask, climbing out of my car and gazing up at the sign. “I didn’t think you were into ink.”
“It’s been on my mind,” she says as she walks forward and takes my hand. “Want to get one with me?”
“A couple's tattoo?”
Sarah rolls her eyes. “If you want to call it that, sure.”
A tattoo. Something like that is permanent, especially getting it with someone else. Sarah looks at me with such hope shining through her glasses that there’s no way I can say no. I don’t even want to. I’m so committed, I’d tattoo my whole body if she wanted me to.
Inside, we’re greeted by a heavily tattooed woman who checks our ID and has us wash up before taking us through a curtain to where a woman relaxes back on a chair with a smile stretching across her black lips.
“Sarah, I presume?” she says. “Hey, I’m Charlie.”
“I called ahead,” Sarah says to me, then she walks forward. “Nice to meet you, Charlie.
“And this is?” Charlie looks at me.
“Rocky.”
“Wait, do I know you?” Charlie leans forward with one thin elbow balancing on her knee. “Wait, I do know you. You’re uhm…” She snaps her fingers a couple of times. “Domenico’s kid.”
