11. Gia

Wakingup in Sal's arms has always been a treat.

I stir slightly, stretching my arms as I take in the smell of the morning. The sheets smell like Sal. The air smells like Sal.

I'm pretty sure that if I could smell the sunlight, it would also smell like Sal.

"Morning," he rumbles behind me.

I shuffle back slightly, arching my back against his front.

"Good morning," I whisper.

Sal gives a little grunt, and I scooch my butt back so it's rubbing against his cock.

Which is predictably quite hard.

I smile.

We've spent so many mornings pretending that the attraction between us doesn't exist.

It's kind of nice to admit that it does.

"Gia," Sal grunts. "You're killing me."

"It's a nice way to die though, right?"

He laughs, but his hands skate over my hips. "I'm definitely putting it on my list."

"Your list?"

"Of pleasant ways to die."

I pause. "There's more than one?"

Behind me, Sal shifts. He moves forward, one arm banding around my waist, his lips caressing my neck.

"Yes, Gia," he breathes. "I have several preferred ways to die."

"Why?"

He kisses the shell of my ear. "Because I've seen a hell of a lot of terrible ones, so I thought I might as well come up with some more pleasant ones."

In that moment, my heart aches for him.

"I know what you mean," I whisper.

"So, are you going to have a list now?"

I shake my head. "No. I'm just never going to die." And neither are you, I add silently.

If I have to, I'll tear the world apart to make sure that Sal never has to consult his list.

Sal laughs, and the sound rumbles through his chest. "Your confidence is simultaneously very sexy and a little terrifying."

"Sexy and terrifying is basically my brand," I whisper.

Sal's laugh feels like a balm on my soul. I can't remember the last time I felt this airy and light.

Maybe… never?

He holds me close again. "We should probably get up," he murmurs.

His impressive cock twitches against my butt, and I grin.

"Maybe," I say.

Before Sal can ask any questions, I turn in his arms. My hand glides over his chest, tracing the tattoos there, before I run my nails down his abs.

I see him gulp in a breath, the movement reflecting in the flex of his stomach.

"Gia," he murmurs.

I can't tell if it's a plea or a warning.

I blink and look up at him. "Yes?"

"What are you doing?"

Innocently, I tilt my head to the side. "Last night's rules don't apply anymore, right?"

He doesn't answer, but I see his eyes go dark with lust.

"I didn't get to touch you last night," I whisper. "It was in the rules. Which I was so good and followed just like you told me to."

I don't really care that the words sound perilously close to begging. There's something to this game between Sal and I, where we both adopt personas that are a little different than who we are normally, that's hot.

No.

That's not right either.

Because Sal is exactly the type of person who would enjoy being a pleasure Dom. Someone who notices so much. Someone who wants to be in control, even if he knows that he can't.

And I guess I'm a little bit of a manipulative princess.

I pout. "I didn't get any chances to touch you, and you were so good to me," I say.

Sal's eyes narrow, like he's fighting to keep them trained on me. "No. You didn't."

"I think I get to have my chance now, don't I?"

"That depends."

I blink. "On what?"

"On how you take me," Sal says in that voice that's so full of desire, it makes my heart slam into my chest in response.

I don't respond.

The shirt I was wearing flies over my head. My panties? Gone.

I hook my thumbs in the waistband of his soft linen pajamas, and he lifts his hips, letting me pull them down his legs.

"Jesus, Gia," he moans. "Excited much?"

I don't respond.

Instead, I smile and pull the sheets back.

I slide down the length of his body, my fingers resting on the tattoos on his thighs. They're beautiful, and this isn't the first time I've noticed them. It is, however, the first time that I've examined them up close.

One is a scorpion, twisting over his olive-skinned thigh, the details pointed and crisp.

The other is more… nebulous. It looks slightly fresher, like it was done recently. It's darkness, and there are two eyes peering out.

I gently graze that one with my fingertips. "I like these," I whisper to him.

"Thank God," he bites out. "I'd have to remove them if you didn't."

I laugh at that.

Leaning forward, I gently lick the scorpion's claws, then bite gently on its tail.

Sal rumbles in response.

I pull the covers down more, revealing his naked cock. Gently, I put my hands on it.

We both gasp.

"Shit, Sal," I murmur, my hands taking in the feel of him. "You need to come with some kind of warning label."

"Warning?"

"Impossibly huge cock. Pretty. Looks nice to lick," I say, flashing him a grin.

His eyes roll back in his head. "Gia…"

I don't let him say another word.

My lips do exactly what they've wanted to ever since I first exposed his thick length to the light of day.

I wrap them around him.

Sal arches up off the bed, hissing between his teeth. "Gia," he groans, sucking in a huge breath. "Fucking hell."

I guess that's a good thing.

One of his big hands descends on my neck, pushing me forward. "More, baby," he whispers.

Well.

He did say that I could touch him if I took him well enough.

I grin and start working him. My tongue wraps around the head of the hard column of flesh, and I use my hands to cover what my mouth can't.

"Oh, darling," he murmurs. "That's so fucking good."

I can't.

This man is a study in contrasts. He's totally in control, but willing to give it over to me. He uses language that belongs in a history book, then has the dirtiest mouth I've ever heard.

I can't fucking handle him.

I groan, shifting so I can take him deeper. I'm getting wet through this whole process, which is pretty shocking, because it's not every day that giving a blowjob turns me on as much as this.

Actually, it's never.

I don't even like blowjobs.

But for Sal?

I fucking love them.

His hand pushes me down. "Deeper, Gia," he rumbles.

I look up at him and he's watching me, his pupils blown wide. The image of him looking at me through those eyelashes, over the canvas of tattoos covering his chest, is just erotic.

Pure and simple.

I groan, and my pussy clenches with need.

Somehow, despite the fact that his fingers are nowhere near the center of my pleasure, he seems to know this. "You like this, don't you?" he purrs.

I nod.

His hand pushes me forward. "Take more, belissima," he whispers.

I comply.

For Sal, knowing that I like it is at least as important as liking it himself. His cock twitches in my mouth when I free one of my hands to drift down and touch myself.

Holy shit.

I really like this.

"You wanted to touch me so badly last night, didn't you?"

I have no response, and I suckle more of him.

"Now that you can, are you pleased?"

Glancing up at him, I make a frustrated sound. I can't exactly nod with him in my mouth.

Sal grins. "Let me go Gia. Just for a second."

I think about saying no. Keeping my lips wrapped around him.

But…

I release him.

Sal's strong arms are at my waist in seconds, and I give a little shriek as he turns me. Before I know it, my core is positioned over his face.

And his cock bobs in front of me.

"Keep going," he murmurs.

I do. His abs flex underneath me, and it's the only warning I have before his lips descend on my aching wet center.

Oh. My. God.

From there, it's kind of a mess. I can't focus on Sal when he's lapping at me, and I can barely hold him in my mouth because I keep gasping.

I try to arch down so he can get a better angle, but that makes him pop free from my lips.

Hell.

"Keep going, Gia. You're doing such a good job. I'm so close," Sal murmurs.

The encouragement is exactly what I need. I double down, sucking him down my throat as far as I can. I'm not exactly the type of person without a gag reflex, so I do my best.

And apparently, my best is exactly what Sal wants.

"Gia," he murmurs from between my legs. "I'm so close. But I need you to come first. Can you do that for me?"

In response, I shift my hips back so I'm smothering him.

He doesn't say anything, but his tongue says plenty.

Within moments, I feel the orgasm explode over my skin.

I can't focus on him anymore, not when I feel like my body is shining. Not when my vision goes dark, and when I cry out his name.

He likes that.

He grunts, and I'm moving through the air again. I'm on my back when I open my eyes, and Sal is looming over me.

"Let me show you how much I liked that," he groans.

With one of his hands palming his thick cock, I watch, mesmerized, as he leans forward. It takes two rough jerks for him to come.

And when his hot liquid sprays over my chest, I arch my back, giving him a better canvas.

"Gia," Sal groans.

Oh my God. That noise, that sound. It's hotter than anything we've done so far. I totally understand the whole pleasure Dom thing in that moment.

Because knowing that I made Sal feel that much?

It's like a lightning bolt straight to my veins.

When he's done, he leans back on his heels. His chest is rising and falling like he ran a marathon, and he's staring at where he came on my breasts and stomach.

My nipples tighten in response.

"Fuck, Gia," he breathes.

I smile. "I like to touch you."

"I fucking like it too."

His weight shifts off of the bed, and he pads to the bathroom. Minutes later, he's back, and a warm towel cleans me off. "Meet me downstairs," he rumbles.

I give him a mock salute.

A few minutes later, I'm dressed in yet another set of Sal's clothes. I walk quietly down the stairs, marveling at the house in the sunlight.

When I get to the kitchen, Sal is there, coffee in hand. He hands it to me.

I breathe in and shut my eyes. "Italian coffee really is better."

"Agreed."

Opening my eyes, I sip and wander over to the living room.

The sunlight is just barely kissing the lake, making it look like some kind of metal in the morning light. There's no one out there right now, not even fishermen.

The view is stunning.

I breathe out. "This house… it really is fantastic."

"I bought it thinking of you."

The words make my heart stop.

"What?"

Sal comes to stand by me. "The house. It reminded me of you."

I know that I should think that's romantic. I do. I really do.

But it also makes my stomach squeeze.

I always knew that Sal was interested in me. Hell, I've always been interested in him. But this? It comes a little too close to something that we haven't talked about.

The reason that he left me to go to Europe.

The reason that I told him, all those days ago, that it wouldn't work between us.

I thought I might have hinted at it last night, but apparently, I'm going to have to say it out loud. I can fool around with Sal all day. I can spend many happy hours engaging in hot, sweaty stuff with him.

But at the end of the day, I need to be able to put the business, the family, first.

I thought Sal understood that. I thought that when we gave in to this thing between us, he knew that I could be his, if that meant having fun.

And I am. His. As of right now, anyway.

But will he be able to let me go?

My lips purse in a frown. "How did you…"

Sal sighs. "Don't freak out. I just… when I saw it, I saw the listing picture of this room," he gestures to the living room that's overlooking Lake Como. "And immediately, the image I had was of you, here. Having tea or coffee with me. Overlooking the lake."

It's heartbreakingly beautiful.

I can picture it too.

I'd love to wake up, have a morning like the one we just did, and then have breakfast (with coffee, since I hate tea) overlooking the lake.

Then, we could wander around the town. Go for a boat ride.

Literally do anything, as long as we were together.

I love the vision too.

But…

That kind of domestic bliss isn't the only thing that I want.

"I'm flattered, Sal," I say softly.

He tilts his head. "Are you?"

I consider this. "I am. It's really thoughtful and really nice that you pictured me here."

"You're saying that like it was neither thoughtful nor nice."

I sigh. "It is. I think it's just… I'm not only that type of girl, you know?"

He studies me. "What do you mean?"

I'm not really even sure myself what exactly I'm trying to say.

"I love the image of us waking up here together. I love the idea that you and I would just enjoy the day. But at the same time, I can't picture it without also thinking about the fact that I'm not sure how much of that I could do before it becomes…"

I stop.

Boring.

That's the word that's pounding through my mind.

Boring. Mundane.

A life where I'm completely wrapped up in someone else instead of living for myself.

Where I, like the generations of women who have come before me, don't live for what I want.

Where I live for what he wants.

And my dream of being the boss?

Just a dream.

"It's just a house, Gia," Sal murmurs. "Just a house. I can sell it. I can get rid of it. I can burn it down if you want."

"That would be an actual crime." I roll my eyes at him. "No. I don't want that."

But I don't want to live in that impossible dream either.

Sal studies me for a little while before he gives a sharp nod. "Well. What's next?"

I can hardly believe that he's just going to accept this and move on. I raise my eyebrows. "What do you mean?"

"Ireland?"

I sigh. He's right. It's time to focus on the task at hand. Sal and I can do… whatever this is. The fun, sexy stuff.

But when it comes down to it, business is business. While the world thinks we're dead, we need to find Marco.

And we need to find out why someone tried to kill us.

"I guess. Ireland it is."

I flash Sal a confident smile, but inside I don't feel confident at all. I feel… tangled.

In a way that definitely doesn't feel good. It doesn't feel bad.

I honestly have no idea what to feel.

So, I focus on what's here. What's now. I have Sal. We have a lead on Marco.

For now, I guess that's all that matters.