“I’ve never—you’ve never done this before.”
I had always wanted to, but I was usually so enraptured by him that all I could do was stare as he did it. “Does it bother you?”
He didn’t answer. He gazed at me with a look I couldn’t understand. Keeping my wrists in his hold, I leaned down, putting my mouth to his ear. “Let me do this for you,” I said softly. “I need to.” I moved my lips along his face real slow, a bare caress, until I came to his mouth.
I kissed him tenderly, and as I did, his hold loosened, but his eyes were even more intense.
“All right,” I said, breathless, putting a little space between us. That short amount of contact made me almost high. “I’m going to do what you always do. Comb it back.”
He nodded, and the more I ran my fingers through his hair, the more I could see that he enjoyed it. He sighed, his eyes closing, his mouth parting. Next, I used the comb to set the strip in place. Then I vowed to do it more often.
“You are so handsome,” I said, placing a kiss on his lips. Though handsome was a lame term in regard to him. “All done, my husband.”
I had to shake him to get him moving.
The romantic, seaside restaurant was located in the main building. It was all white linens, candles, and red roses. Rocco and Rosaria were seated already, along with Violet and Mick, Romeo, and Dario. Three burly men stood behind the table, their suits showing the handles of the guns under their jackets. Two girls in tight gowns leaned over, whispering in Dario’s ear. Romeo shooed a few away, but he watched them go with a smile, nonetheless.
When we approached the table, Rocco, Dario, and Romeo stood until Brando pushed my seat in. I thanked them all, and then we placed our orders. When the waiter went to pour wine into my glass, Brando put his hand over the rim and ordered lemon water instead.
The entire table seemed tense, especially Rosaria. She made snide comments all throughout dinner. “Not evenIcome to this place,” she said with disgust. She shot her husband a mean look. “But I have been summoned.”
I agreed. It was easy to figure out that the secret resort catered to the needs of single men and frequent adulterers.
You couldn’t have encouraged either Violet or Mick to smile; it seemed like ever since he arrived it had been an ongoing struggle between them. They didn’t fight. They just sneered in a way that made you hope sooner or later they would be at each other’s throats and be done with it.
Romeo seemed perturbed with the entire situation. The only settled one was Dario; the girls constantly hovering seemed to be taking most of his attention.
Brando leaned over. “You haven’t touched your food.”
I pushed it away, opting for more lemon water. “I’m not hungry.”
“Here,” he said, forking a piece of my fish. He held it closer to my mouth. “Open up.”
“Brando,” I said, moving my face away, grinning. “What are you doing?”
“Feeding you.”
“I haven’t worked for it though.”
We both grinned, remembering.
“You’re my wife,” he said. “That’s plenty enough work. Let me do this for you. I need to.”
I nodded, and he fed me small bites at a time. He held the fork out again, and when I opened up, he made a circle back to his own mouth. We both laughed and then kissed.
When my eyes opened, I found Rocco staring at us. He blinked, a grin coming to his face, and then he lifted his glass to me before taking a drink. He stood, setting down his napkin, announcing that the ladies would be treated to dessert, but the men had business to attend to. Mick excused himself to the cigar lounge. Brando had instructed him to stay out of the “business” portion of the stay for his own health.
Little was said about exactly what was going to happen—none of us knew the true reason why we were here. Brando and Rocco seemed to have an idea.
After word got back tola famigliathat Brando and Rocco had connected, they wanted a “sit down” with their estranged blood. The main mystery was why they requested my presence as well. Either way, Brando and Rocco didn’t seem to like the fact that they called on me too, and it was constant back and forth as to why.
“Rosaria,” I said, playing with my dessert. “What is this place?”
“Ah,” she said, snapping her fingers for a refill. “A place where the monsters of that world come to enjoy their whores.Mostro!All of them.”
“Why are we here?”
She laughed. “I am here because if my beloved did not deliver his newly acquired brother and his dancer of a wife, they were going to set us in a tower, never to be seen again. I do covet the life I live now. At this point in time.”
