CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

DALIA

I whisper into Aries' ear, "If you were an animal, you'd be a boa constrictor."

He chuckles into my hair, and I love the way his chest vibrates against mine, "I hate to tell you baby, boa constrictors aren't animals, they are reptiles."

I giggle, "Either way, you're squeezing the life out of me and I need to get up."

Turning us over in one swift motion, so he's on top of me, he growls in my ear, "Request denied."

He places a leg of his between mine and kicks my legs further apart, and thrusts himself inside me, "Aries," I gasp loudly.

"We have to get ready," I complain.

Pulling back, he snaps his hips forward, hitting that spot that makes me moan, "We will get ready soon. I'm not going to be able to fuck you for an entire day, so I'm going to fuck you right now."

He lowers himself, putting his delicious weight on me, not enough to hurt, but to really feel him, and he fucks me into the mattress hard, leaving me panting. He changes position slightly and now he hits my clit with his pelvis on every thrust, and I nearly lose my mind, I dig my nails into his back, causing him to groan, "Fuck yes, baby. I love the way you squeeze my cock when you come."

Three thrusts later, he grunts his release, filling me with cum, only this time I don't have to worry about getting pregnant.

ARIES

After grabbing clothing from the car, I'm going through it in the bedroom trying to decide what to wear, and Dalia stares at me with a curious gaze, "Just put clothes on, it doesn't matter what."

I keep focusing, trying to decide between the black shirt and the maroon colored one, as I murmur more to myself than her, "I want to pick the right one. I don't want to fuck this up."

Placing a hand on my back, she giggles, "Either shirt will be fine. He's six. Trust me, he's not a fashion expert. If I let him, he'd be wearing his underwear on the outside of his pants."

I groan, still undecided, and ask, "Can you just pick one for me and put me out of my misery?"

"The maroon one."

As I get dressed, I wonder out loud to myself, "What if he doesn't like the gift I got him?"

"Excuse me, sir, what have you done with Aries?"

I chuckle, "Right here, baby. I'm just nervous. I've never met my son before. And if he doesn't like me, fuck, I'll lose everything."

She does up the final button of my shirt, and wraps her arms around me, "Baby, he's six. He's not really tough to please. Show interest in him and the things he likes. And if all else fails, offer him a Burger King cheeseburger, and you'll be the king of the world."

She kisses me quickly, "I'll see you downstairs. I need coffee."

Smacking her on the ass, I say, "Alright, I'll be down after I finish obsessing."

And obsess I do. Will he like the gifts? Will he like me? Will Dalia decide she doesn't want anything to do with me, because we don't connect like a father and son should?

Fuck this. You're the head of a mafia family. You've gone up against lethal men, you can handle a little kid.

Punctuality must be this nanny's middle name, because she shows up at ten in the morning on the dot, as she said she would. The door opens and he runs straight to Dalia's arms, "Mommy!"

"Do you need me to stay?" The nanny asks behind her, while eyeing me suspiciously over Dalia's shoulder.

"No. You can go for the day, but I'll need your help before the weekend to prepare for my family dinner."

Oh great. That's something to look forward to. The fucking De Luca brothers.

"Come sit down for a minute. I need to talk to you about something important."

He follows her and sits on the couch beside her, and the image of them together does something to me. If I don't fuck this up, then this is my family. Something I never thought I'd have. Hell, something I was sure I didn't want, but right now I fucking want this more than I've ever wanted anything. He glances from me back to Dalia, probably wondering why I'm in his house.

She waves me over, so I approach slowly, "This is Aries, honey, he's your Daddy."

Hearing the word ‘daddy' causes a thick emotion to swell in my throat, I swallow hard and squat down in front of him and offer my hand, and he takes it. I expect a ton of questions, including where the fuck have you been, asshole? Instead he looks up at me from beneath impossibly long lashes, "Do you like baseball?"

I nod, "I love baseball."

He claps his hands excitedly, "Good, because Joey said I need a dad to help me with my pitch. It's a dad's job to do that."

I can't help the grin that overtakes my face, "Joey is right, and I'd be happy to help you."

Jumping up off the couch, he says, "Great! I'll get my glove."

He runs off upstairs to his bedroom, I assume, as Dalia giggles, "We're working on his patience but we have a long way to go."

I shrug and defend my son, "Why put off until tomorrow what you can do today?"

Dalia shakes her head at me, "I prefer, why do today what you can put off until tomorrow?"

Rising to my full height, I take her face in my hands and kiss her quickly before he comes back, "We are going to need to work on your motivational quotes, baby."

He comes running back down the stairs like his feet are on fire, "I'm ready."

My son is the cutest kid in the world, wearing a helmet, knee pads, and elbow pads. I glance at Dalia with a smirk, "Surely all that isn't needed just for playing catch."

She shrugs, "Safety first, Mr. Lombardi."

"Where are we going?"

He points to the back door, "Hey, Mom. Are you coming? You can be our cheerleader."

Dalia gets up and walks with me to the backyard, I turn to her with a wink, "I can't wait to see you in the cheerleader costume I'm buying you."

She slaps me lightly on the chest, "Can you behave for five minutes?"

"That's pretty unlikely, baby, but I'll see what I can do."

She grins at me, "I'll give you ice cream later if you can manage it."

I rub my hand over my jaw like I'm mulling it over, "Mint chocolate chip?"

She nods, "In a bowl or in a cone," she says, thinking she's sweetening the deal.

"If you're the bowl, I promise, I'll behave all day."

Reaching out her hand to shake mine, she smiles, "Deal."

Fuck, I don't think I've ever been so excited for ice cream.

Ares comes over and hands me a glove, "This is mom's glove, but if it fits you can use it," he crinkles his nose, "She's not very good at baseball."

"Hey!"

I already know it won't fit, but I stuff my hand in as best I can, while making a mental note to get a glove that fits for next time. Glancing around the backyard, I take in everything he has, a swing set, trampoline, big slide, she's got a lot for him, but every boy needs a treehouse.

"Ready?" He yells.

I hold up the glove that only fits half my hand, "When you are."

He throws the ball and I catch it, but since I'm supposed to be helping, I ask, "Can you try throwing it overhand? I think you'll get more speed that way."

It takes him three or four tries, but eventually he gets it, and is wearing the biggest toothy grin on his face.

"Do you think I could be a professional baseball player one day?"

"I think you can be anything you want to be."

An even bigger grin overtakes his face, and then his cheeks blush just like his mother's, he looks at the ground while he kicks an imaginary rock, "I think I'm going to like having a dad."

I fight back the emotion once again swelling in my throat, "I already like being your dad."

Dalia turns away from us and I already know she's crying, so I turn to him and say, "Want me to push you on the swing? I'll be right over. I just need to talk to your mom for a minute."

Walking up behind her, I wrap my arms around her and squeeze her tight, while I whisper in her ear, "I love you. Thank you."

She continues to cry, "Don't thank me for keeping you apart for six years."

Kissing her neck, I say, "We can't go back, we can only move forward. Trust me, if we could, there are things I would do differently."

She turns to me, "Like forcing me to marry you?"

I chuckle, "I think I'd still do that. What I'd do differently is not giving you a reason for pushing me out of your life. That I'd never do again. Okay, my sexy little ice cream bowl, our son is waiting."

She giggles as I walk away to push our son in the swing. When I approach him, he has a curious look on his face.

"Something wrong?"

He shakes his head but I can tell something is up.

"You can talk to me about anything, buddy."

Tilting his head back, he looks at me earnestly, "Do you love my mom?"

I squat down so I'm eye level with him, "Yeah. I really do."

He smiles a little lopsided grin that matches my own, "Good, because sometimes she's lonely."

This kid is really perceptive for a six-year-old, but I respond, "Not anymore. I'm going to take care of you both."

He eyes me skeptically, "Joey says some dads are empty promise dads. They say they are going to do things, but don't do them. Are you one of those?"

I'm really beginning to wonder who the fuck this Joey kid is, and where he gets his information from.

"No. If I tell you I'll do something, I'll do it, unless there's a very good reason why I couldn't do it, and then I'll always explain it to you."

I always said I'd never have a kid, children are targets, and based on my relationship with my own father, I didn't really see the value in it. Yet, as I sit here staring at this kid, my kid, suddenly my entire world shifts. My criminal family is not my legacy, this is. Right here, this is everything I want. And I have no doubt if anyone ever touches a hair on his head, I'll destroy them without a second thought. He will live a good life, I will be sure of it. Our son will not work in either of the mafia families he comes from. The circle is closing and he will not be part of it. I want everything for him I wasn't permitted to have. Baseball. Art. Whatever the fuck it is. I've spent years being angry for being forced into my father's business. However, in this one moment, I'm fucking grateful because if it weren't for that asshole's choices, I never would've met Dalia. That's the funny thing about tragedy. Sometimes in the most tragic circumstances we find beauty. Look at me, being all poetic and shit. Happiness will do that to you. Let's just hope when her family shows up, it doesn't all fall the fuck apart like last time.