I love that the next morning I wake him up with breakfast in bed and a present and manage to surprise him.
“Happy Birthday,” I whisper as I give him his gift.
“You didn’t have to get me anything.”
Rolling my eyes. “Please, after everything you’ve given me, I did. I asked Dominic, and he helped me get this for you.”
He opens the box. I sigh with relief at the way his eyes light up. “L’Adone by Marino? The two books published in 1623. They are gorgeous. How in the hell did he find these?”
Joy unfurls in me at how happy he is. Dominic said me being the one to give this to Tony meant I owed him one. At first, I worried at owing Dominic. Now, I’ll owe him a dozen for helping me make Tony this happy. “He said he had a guy. And he even handled the sale of my car, so I could afford it.”
“I love it. Thank you,” he whispers as he pulls me down to him.
We make love often over the next three days. I hate when we have to go home. Even though I knew our time away was Tony’s concerted effort to get me pregnant, it doesn’t feel like it’s just about that. He’s sweet and gentle, then greedy and hungry. I lose track of how often he drives me out of my mind. By the time we leave, there’s no denying it anymore. I’m in love with him. As crazy as it sounds, I fell in love with him the first moment I laid eyes on him.
The next few weeks float by in a sweet, dreamy haze. My Italian is almost good enough Dominic barely winces as Tony forces him to practice with me, when he comes over. Carmella finally accepts me, even if there are times I find her watching me with a question in her eyes.
I’m tucked into the corner of the couch in Tony’s office downstairs at his bookstore when his phone goes off. I can’t hear the other person, but he tells them to bring the man here, that I can take care of the gunshot.
Gunshot? I sit up as I meet his eyes across the room. Ending the call, he presses a button. A drawer opens up, and he pulls out the bag. “Both family doctors are on the other end of town. The bullet is buried deep, if we wait for a doctor or even try to get him to one of the doctors, he’ll bleed out.”
I nod as I take the bag from him. I start pulling out everything I need. They weren’t kidding about having everything I could need. There’s even a rig for blood transfusion. Which is good, because the guy will likely need it. I’m scrubbed up and ready to go when a man is carried into Tony’s office.
Joseph is the lone person in Tony’s crew who has O negative and is the go-to for blood transfusions. He’s ready and knows the drill. It takes longer than I want, and things get really fucking scary for a solid five minutes. Finally, I remove the bullet, and stitch him up. Almost thirty minutes from when he’s brought in, he’s stable enough to be moved to his home to rest and recuperate. I sag a little when he’s carried out.
Tony is watching me. “You did good. Thank you.”
I have no idea why I blush. “I’ve seen the exact wound more times than I can count in the ER. But it was touch and go for a minute there.”
“No, you had it.”
The high from Tony’s compliment lasts until that night when I get ready for bed and find spots of blood on my panties. No. I hadn’t felt like it was starting, not even a hint this time. I was so sure I was pregnant. I’d been light-headed twice in the last week and so tired. Closing my eyes, I swallow the tears. No. Tony is already in bed. I will not cry, not this time. For him and me. It will happen. I have to be patient.
I go into the closet to get new panties and put on a nightgown I bought at a trip to Gertrude’s store a week ago. Tony is watching me closely. He doesn’t say anything when I get into bed. Pulling me into his arms, he presses a kiss to my forehead.
Over the next few days, I’m out of sorts, trying not to be disappointed even as Tony is the sweetest he’s ever been. My light period stops after a few days. It surprises me, but I refuse to dwell on it. I reach for Tony, whispering it’s done, and I need him.
His hands go into my hair holding me in place as he kisses me breathless. Hot and demanding his mouth moves down my body. I beg him for more, for his teeth, and he gives it to me. Pain, bright and sharp explodes behind my eyes. I welcome it, need it. Rough fingers enter me going straight for that perfect spot. In minutes, between his fingers and his mouth I’m breaking apart with an orgasm. I’m still shaking as Tony rolls me onto my stomach. He spanks my ass until I’m pleading for his cock. He enters me from behind, hard, fast, and so deep. When I’m close to coming again can almost touch it, he stops and sticks two fingers deep inside my ass. Oh god, how can fingers feel so thick? Pain feel so good? I don’t know; I just need more of it, all of it.
Tony is teasing me. Slow, he’s moving too slow. I plead for faster, deeper, more. Cruel, he’s so cruel as he works the first few inches of his hard cock in and out of me for too damn long. I need him all of him. His other hand smacks my mons hard. I can’t keep from gripping him tightly inside me. With a growl, Tony pulls out and oh god now his thick cock is pushing into my ass. No, it’s too big. I can’t. My pleas don’t stop him. In minutes, I can’t believe I don’t want him to stop. I’m pleading for more. This time he gives it to me. Deeper, harder, and faster, my orgasm slams into me with such intensity the world goes black around me.
The next morning we make love slowly and sweetly. For the first time, he asks me if I want to go with him to the office. I say yes because I realize I don’t really like being away from him.
***
Tony
I wake up with a start. It’s the middle of the night. Christy isn’t in bed. Sure it’s a late-night need for the restroom, I turn over, only to hear her crying in the bathroom. My chest goes tight. Fuck. Not again. This is the third damn month. I was so sure she was pregnant this time. Her breasts have changed, the feel of her sweet cunt around my cock was different. I read those were hints. Then again, maybe it was nothing more than wishful thinking. It’s killing me to hear her cry. I want to go in there and pull her into my arms, only I need to give her some room to let it out on her own. Tomorrow, I’ll give her what she needs.
My alarm wakes me. Shit, I hadn’t meant to fall asleep before Christy came back to bed. I hit my alarm and look down at her. She’s still sleeping. I decide to let her sleep in.
By the time I’m ready to leave for the day she still isn’t awake. Damn it, who knows how long she cried last night. I leave in a bad mood, not liking that she isn’t with me.
At the office, I spend too damn long on websites for fertility treatment places in the city. After several hours I’m looking at starting with a medication to increase her egg production. She’s already on prenatal vitamins, mixed into her morning orange juice. Carmella is only making her decaffeinated coffee so it wouldn’t be an issue when she did become pregnant. Her cycle doesn’t make any sense. One time it had come too soon after her previous one, the next one only lasted three days. I’m almost positive it’s too soon again based on everything I’ve been reading.
Vito knocks. There’s a problem with Johnny’s heroin shipment, he’s hoping I can help. I close out of the website and nod.
***