He concentrated on rubbing her bottom. “I love your ass.” He did. He was an ass man; well, he was also a breast man. Right now, he could see that bitable, spankable bottom, so he was all about her ass, but if she rolled over, his fickle cock would be all about her breasts.
“Good, because I’m madly in love with your cock. I love how it feels right now, pressed against me. I’m thinking about going to sleep with it in my mouth. I used to suck my thumb when I was little. It drove my mother crazy. I might have to have a substitute to get to sleep.”
“You’re supposed to be so exhausted you can’t move.”
“Well, I can’t. I’m contemplating whether or not I have the energy to put my plan into action, or whether I’ll have to wait until tomorrow night.”
“While you’re contemplating, consider marrying me immediately. We’ll get a license and get Goodman to agree. He will. He wants a new wing and more equipment. He also wants a Ferraro on their board. It always helps with fund-raisers.”
“He’s gouging you for money because my brother’s there. That’s not right.”
“That’s the way the game is played. We could do some good though, baby. I’ve been thinking about it. I hate that you’ve had to work so much just so your brother could have decent care. There are so many families that can’t afford the Center, families with loved ones that really could benefit from the therapy. We could establish a scholarship in your brother’s name and pay for the care and therapy of recipients.”
He felt her swift intake of breath. Her eyes met his again. Liquid turned the sapphires to sparkling gems. “You would do that?”
“We would do that, Sasha. What’s mine is yours. Remember? There isn’t a divorce in the conventional sense of the word. If our shadows are pulled apart, you would never remember being married to me. All the pictures in the world won’t allow you to remember. The money belongs to my family. We might be wealthy and have the ability to use the money any way we want, but in a divorce, the family trust can’t be broken. What that means is, there isn’t a prenup. Once we’re married, all you have to do is say, I would like to build another wing onto the Center, and we get the people in place to make it happen.”
“I don’t know if I’m ready for that.” Reluctance was clear in her voice.
“Then put the money aside. Are you ready for being with me? Living here with me? Being part of my crazy family?”
“I want to be with you more than anything, Giovanni. Tonight really showed me that trying to stay away from you wasn’t going to work. And I hated that I put you and everyone else in danger because I was so confused.”
“You’re allowed. Marriage with someone like me is a big step. I know coming into my world can seem overwhelming, but I swear to you, baby, I’ll take care of you. I’ll be with you every step of the way.”
“I want to keep working.”
“In the club?”
“Maybe not there, but I like working.”
“Have you considered a stable of horses? We could put riding trails in the park and you could take kids out occasionally, kids with disabilities who might not be able to ride otherwise. The world is open to you, Sasha. Once we’re married, if you want to quit the club, whatever dream you have, you can do.”
“I never thought of something like that here in Chicago. You’re amazing. Horses actually are very good for therapy. I had been taking classes before my parents’ accident with the idea of using horses for therapy, but then I stopped just short of my degree when they were killed and Sandlin was injured. You must be psychic.”
He wasn’t about to tell her the investigators, both teams, had been digging up everything they could on her once he showed real interest. “Say you’ll marry me immediately, and then we have to get some sleep.” He was one to take advantage when he knew he had it.
She laughed softly. “You have a one-track mind.”
“Is there a reason you’re hesitating?”
“Everyone is going to think I’m pregnant.”
His cock jerked. She laughed. “Oh my God, you’re hoping I’m pregnant.”
“Then you’ll have to marry me.”
“No one has to marry in this day and age. Women can cope with having a child without marriage.”
He smacked her ass hard. “You are deliberately making me suffer. Admit it.”
She laughed again, her body squirming over his, rubbing deliciously over his growing cock. “Absolutely I am. Yes, I’ll marry you, because if I don’t say yes, we’ll never get any sleep.”
“We’ll get sleep,” he said and rolled her to her side. “Because I’m going to make sure your mouth is so stuffed full you can’t talk anymore now that I’ve got your promise.”
She laughed softly, and slid her body down just enough in the bed that when he turned on his side, she could slide his cock into the hot haven of her mouth.
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
“The rifle was registered to Aaron,” Stefano said, reaching across the table to pull the bowl of pasta to him. “He was arrested and taken into custody this afternoon.”
Sasha gasped and looked up at Giovanni. His face was absolutely blank. He could have been carved from stone. She put her hand on his arm. It felt like a block of marble, not real flesh and blood. “I’m sorry, I know you didn’t want it to be him.”
“It isn’t him.” Giovanni’s voice held absolute conviction. “No way would he ever use that rifle and then drop it. It wasn’t his. His friend was a sharpshooter. They went through boot camp together and deployed together. His friend was killed in a shootout when they were on a routine patrol. Aaron hauled his body back and that rifle. The widow gave Aaron the rifle. She kept his tags and the flag. Aaron might have used a different rifle to try to kill me, but not that one. He showed it to me and told me it was the only rifle he kept in his house.”
There was silence while his brothers and sisters all let that sink in. Taviano handed Stefano the spaghetti sauce. It was Taviano’s recipe, and Sasha thought it could win awards.
“He has no alibi for any of the times something happened,” Stefano continued very calmly. “He claimed in each case, he’d either been alone asleep or he’d been alone in his home gym training.”
“It isn’t him,” Giovanni said stubbornly.
“If not Aaron,” Vittorio said, “then who?”
“And why?” Emmanuelle asked. “None of this makes sense, especially if it isn’t Aaron. Who is targeting Sasha and you? Even Sandlin?”
“Sasha, are you very certain you have no enemies? Sandlin? Could the driver of the other vehicle blame him and want the two of you dead?” Ricco asked.
She gave it some thought. She hadn’t lived a fast-lane lifestyle. “My life was easy and uncomplicated. I worked on the ranch, went to school and barrel raced. I didn’t leave a string of broken hearts behind me. I grew up with the boys there. We were more like brother and sister than sweethearts. I swear, there isn’t anything I did that could have prompted this kind of retaliation.”
“Sandlin?” Stefano prompted, heaping pasta and spaghetti sauce on Francesca’s plate.
“Stop.” Francesca caught his arm. “That’s too much.”
“No, it isn’t.” His voice brooked no argument.
Instantly, all eyes were on Francesca. She moved closer to her husband. “I can’t possibly eat that much, and all of you stop staring at me.”
“You’re so pregnant,” Emmanuelle said. “Aren’t you?”
“It’s too early to get excited,” Francesca protested. “I’ve lost two already. The doctor says there’s no reason, but I didn’t want anyone to know because it’s so horrible when I don’t carry …” Her eyes filled with tears.
“That’s why it was so much easier to say she hadn’t gotten pregnant,” Stefano said. “Or,” he corrected, “to imply it. She’s edging toward the three-month mark. She lost the others at six weeks so I think we’re past the crisis point.”
“Maybe she should be lying down,” Vittorio said.
“I’m for that,” Ricco agreed. “Stefano, shouldn’t she be on bed rest?”