Now Or Never (Erotic Romance) Book 2 (The DeLuca Brothers) (6 page)

For the past ten
days, every time the door to Rizzo's opened, Anthony had looked up, heart in
his throat, hoping beyond hope that it would be Cecile coming to tell him that
it didn't matter what he did, she wanted to be with him. He tried telling
himself that it was stupid to keep thinking that, but he couldn't seem to stop
himself. This was definitely not like him. He wasn't the one who fell hard and
fast, who couldn't get over someone. He didn't believe in that kind of love.
His mother had always said that that'd been the kind of love she and his
father'd had. Problem was, he remembered all too clearly how his mother had
been when his father had died. Even though he'd been a child, he'd told himself
that if that's what love was like, he wanted nothing to do with it. He wasn't
cold, but there was always a distance kept.

Until Cecile.
She'd crossed that distance without even trying and, despite his efforts, he
couldn't seem to close himself off again. Every time he closed his eyes, he
could see her, smell her, taste her. She was the first thing on his mind when
he woke up and the last thing he thought about before he fell asleep. More than
once he'd thought about picking up one of the women at Rizzo's who were always
flirting with the family, hoping to snare one of them, but every time he'd
tried to pick one, all he could think about was how she wasn't Cecile. Even
when he'd been attempting to relieve some of the tension himself, it was
Cecile's face, her body, that he pictured.

A couple of days
ago, he'd succumbed to temptation and asked one of his informants at Cecile's
precinct to keep an eye on her and report back if anything was wrong. He'd felt
like an idiot after he'd asked it, but he couldn't risk contacting his
informant again so soon. All he was able to do was wait. When Ian came to see
him, that'd be the end of it.

The door to
Rizzo's opened and, this time, when Anthony looked up, it was Ian walking
towards him. Anthony prepared himself to tell Ian that he could stop watching
Cecile. It was over. Time to move on. And then Ian spoke and everything
changed.

“She's
transferring back to Ohio.” Ian gestured to the bartender who nodded and
started to pour the older man's favorite drink.

“What?” Anthony
hadn't been expecting that.

“According to my
cousin, there's this old cold case that's been reopened, something she was
involved with when she was on patrol.” Ian threw back the shot and asked for
another.

“Is she just
going back to work the case or is she actually moving back home?” Anthony tried
to keep his tone only vaguely interested. There was no need for Ian to know
just how invested he was in the answer.

Ian shrugged.
“From what Fredericks told me, she's transferring back. I guess that means
moving for good. Can't say I really blame her. Night shift sucks.”

Everything went
cold. “Did he say when?”

“Said her last
day was today.”

Anthony jumped
up and grabbed the front of Ian's shirt before the smaller man could react.
“And you're just coming to me with this now?”

“I didn't know
until like ten minutes ago. You said not to do anything that would make anyone
suspicious, so I waited until I saw Fredericks at a family thing.” Ian's eyes
were wide, his hands up in a gesture of surrender.

“We got a
problem?” Little Marco called from his table.

Anthony lowered
Ian to the ground. “Just a little misunderstanding, right?”

“Right.” Ian
eyed Anthony as he spoke, as if the wrong word was going to make things worse.

“We're done,” Anthony
said. He barely noticed Ian scrambling away.

That was it
then. Cecile was leaving. They'd be in two different states, separated by
hundreds of miles and it'd be like this whole thing never happened. But it had
happened, and Anthony knew he couldn't forget it. If he was going to be totally
honest with himself, he didn't want to forget it. He didn't want to forget her.
He just wanted her.

He shook his
head. That wasn't possible. She'd made it perfectly clear that she didn't want
to be with him because of his family, and he couldn't choose her over them, not
like his father had done. He looked over at his uncles and their sons. They'd
embraced him, made him one of them. And in all the years he'd spent with them,
he'd never heard his uncles or aunt bad-mouth his father. In fact, one time,
not long after he'd started coming to Rizzo's, Little Marco had made some rude
comment about Angelo and Marco had backhanded his son so fast that Anthony'd
never seen it coming.

No, Anthony
realized suddenly. That wasn't loyalty. That was love. Marco, Ciro and Silvia
loved their brother even though he'd chosen to give up this life for his wife,
even though they rarely saw each other. They'd made different choices, but they
loved each other. And now, all these years later, Anthony was in the same
position his father had been in, choosing between his family and a woman. The
only question was, what was he willing to give up?

Even though no
one had said a single negative word about her transferring, Cecile still felt
like she was giving up, and she knew exactly why. It was because she
was
giving up. Not on her dream, not on the city or her work, but she knew it was
giving up nonetheless. Still, she turned in her badge and gun, and said her
good-byes. The lieutenant told her that if she decided to come back once the
Espinoza case was completed, he'd be glad to have her. She smiled and thanked
him, thinking that she doubted she'd ever be back in the city again.

The air was
crisp, the scent of autumn mingling with the usual smells of the city. She
wondered if it would snow here before it did back home. They tended to get a
lot off of the lake in Cleveland, but she wasn't sure if it'd be the same near
other bodies of water. Unlike a lot of people back home, she liked the snow,
especially after it had just fallen and everything was still clean and white–

“Cecile?”

She froze
halfway down the sidewalk. That wasn't possible. She had to be imagining it,
right? She looked up, her heart immediately taking off at a gallop. She hadn't
been hearing things. Anthony was standing just a few feet away, an unreadable
expression on his face.

“What are you
doing here, Anthony?” She forced herself to start walking again. She couldn't
let him see how much his presence affected her.

He waited until
she was directly in front of him before answering her question. “I'm done.”

Cecile blinked,
pausing mid-step. He hadn't said “we're done.” He'd said that he was done. She
tried to squash the flicker of hope that was telling her that he'd changed his
mind. She asked, “What do you mean?” The moment the question came out of her
mouth she almost winced at how childish it sounded.

“I mean,” he
said, face serious. “I chose you.”

At first she
didn't understand. What did he mean he chose her? Had he really left the family?
Was it really possible? She didn't want to believe it. She didn't want to get
her hopes up only to have them dashed again.

He took a step
towards her, and reached out a hand. She considered taking a step back, but the
need to feel his touch was too much. He paused before his hand reached her, and
let it fall back to his side. “Do you know why I worked for my uncles?” He
asked, his voice soft.

Cecile shook her
head, not trusting her voice to speak. She could barely breath, as if even the
slightest movement on her part would wake her and she would find that this was
all a dream. She didn't think her heart could take it.

“When my father
died, I felt like I'd lost my whole world. My mother was busy with my three
younger brothers and my older brother was trying to be a father to all four of
us.” The expression on Anthony's face said that this wasn't something he shared
very often. “Frank and I butted heads, a lot. Some of it was his fault, some of
it was mine. We were brothers, but our father's death made him the man of the
house. One day, I finally had enough.”

“And you went to
your uncles,” Cecile finished the story.

Anthony nodded.
“They didn't ask any questions, didn't criticize the fact that my father had
left the family business. They just loved me, and when I was older, they gave
me a job.”

Cecile shifted
her weight from one foot to the other. She'd suspected something like that, but
hearing him say it was different than just thinking it. She wanted to
sympathize, say that she understood his loyalty. If they'd both been younger,
she probably would have, but he was an adult and she just couldn't condone the
behavior. It tore at her heart.

“But I
realized,” Anthony continued. “I can't let that one moment keep me from doing
what's right.”

Cecile swallowed
hard.

“For years, it
was just easier to not think about it.” When he reached out his hand this time,
he didn't stop, taking her hand in his. “And then you came along and said
everything that I knew already, but didn't want to admit.”

“What changed
your mind?” She asked, taking a step closer.

“I heard you
were leaving and I realized that I had to choose. I told my uncles that I was
done. My family didn't disown my father when he left to marry my mother and
they aren't going to disown me now.” He raised their linked hands and pressed
his lips against the back of hers. “I'll do whatever you need me to do to prove
that I mean what I say. If you want me to give evidence against them...” he
paused, a pained expression crossing his face. “I'll do it.”

Cecile shook her
head. “No, I won't ask that.” She closed the distance between them and raised
herself up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his. “Thank you.”

Anthony wrapped
his arms around Cecile, a smile breaking wide across his face. He lifted her
off of her feet, spinning them both around. She let out a startled yelp and he
laughed, a relaxed sound that she'd never thought she'd hear from him. He
pressed his forehead against hers.

“Now what?” he
asked.

“Now,” she said,
“we go back to your place and try to make it to the bed this time.”

He undressed her
slowly, letting his fingers caress over each centimeter of exposed skin. When
there was nothing left to hide her from him, he removed his own clothes,
letting them join hers on the floor. She watched in silence as he stripped, her
enjoyment at seeing his body enhanced by the fact that she knew this wouldn't
be the last time. This was a start, not a finish.

He stretched out
next to her, leisurely running his hands over her body. He caressed her breasts
where he'd marked her before, dancing his fingers up over her nipples and then
down between her breasts and across her stomach. He teased his fingers along
her hipbones and down to her inner thighs, all the while staying away from
where she really wanted him. She made a frustrated sound that brought a smile
to Anthony's lips and then he lowered his mouth to her body. He planted soft
kisses across her breasts and nipples, barely a hint of tongue between parted
lips. Cecile watched, fascinated by each gentle touch of his mouth. His tongue
dipped into her belly button and she shivered.

“I want you in
my mouth,” she said, running her fingers through his thick hair. “And I want
your mouth on me.”

“I think that
can be arranged.” Anthony grinned down at her as he shifted. He put one knee on
either side of her head and leaned forward.

Cecile parted
her legs eagerly and opened her mouth. She couldn't get more than two inches
between her lips without lifting her head at an impossible angle, but she
lifted her hand to wrap around what her mouth couldn't reach. She felt
Anthony's fingers parting her folds, granting access to his tongue, and moaned.
It always felt different from this angle. His tongue circled her clit, each
pass sending a wave of pleasure washing over her. She began to mimic the
movements of his mouth with hers, teasing his slit when his tongue brushed the
top of her clit, sucking on his cock when he took the swelling bundle of nerves
between his lips.

She could feel
her orgasm approaching, different than before. This was a slow and steady burn
rather than an explosion and it rolled over her skin like a wave of molten
lava, coating her body with heat. Anthony rolled off of her even as she was
still climaxing, turning so that he was between her legs, lapping up her juices
as they flowed out of her. Each pass of his tongue triggered another wave and
Cecile cried out, her back arching, hands fisting in the sheets.

And then his
mouth was gone and he was leaning over her, his eyes nearly black. He kept his
body suspended above hers, but bent his head so that he could take her mouth
with his. She thrust her tongue into his mouth, tasting herself in every corner
of the wet cavern. She ran her hands up his arms, feeling the muscles ripple
under tanned flesh. Their tongues twisted together, a dance, not a duel,
advancing and retreating in kind.

When he finally
pushed himself back up, both were breathless. He started to stand and Cecile
knew where he was going.

“No,” she said.

He paused,
turning to look at her, one eyebrow raised in question.

“I don't want
anything between us.” Cecile considered telling him that they hadn't used
anything last time, since she'd thought she could trust him, but she wasn't in
the mood to have a full conversation. She trusted him now and needed him inside
her. It had been too long. “It's okay.”

Anthony nodded
and moved back between her legs. He propped himself up on his elbows, keeping
their bodies pressed together, but not resting his full weight on her. One hand
moved between them to position himself at her entrance and he paused, his eyes
locking with hers.

“I have to say
this,” his voice was rough with emotion. “I can't explain how it happened so
fast, but I need you to know that I've fallen in love with you, Cecile.”

Tears burned as
she fought them back. What was it about this man that could make tough cop
exterior melt away? She lifted a hand and put it on his cheek. “I've fallen in
love with you, too, Anthony.”

He slid into her
slowly, his eyes taking in every detail of her expression. Cecile's lips parted,
eyelashes fluttering, as he filled her, inch by delicious inch. Her body
quivered as it stretched, accepting him inside her. When he came to rest, his
cock fully sheathed in her pussy, she sighed. It was like a piece of her had
been gone, something vital missing for too long. She'd always dismissed the
clichés that her friends had used when talking about being in love, but now she
understood what they meant. With their bodies joined, she felt as if everything
made sense and nothing that didn't could be important. It was just him and her,
and nothing else mattered.

He stayed there
for a moment, his face tight with concentration and she knew he was fighting
his body's desire to cum. When he started to move, his thrusts were shallow,
never leaving her empty. His stomach rested against hers, her breasts crushed
against his chest. She wrapped her legs around his waist, raising her hips to
meet his. He moved slowly, stoking the fires inside her from smoldering ember
to the first flicker of flame. His lips never rested, starting on her mouth
before trailing down her jawline and to whatever parts of the neck he could
reach without parting their bodies. He took the skin beneath her ear into his
mouth, gently sucking on it until she knew she was going to have a mark. She
pressed an open-mouthed kiss against his shoulder, licking the salt from his
skin. He groaned as she worried at the flesh with her teeth, drawing blood to
the surface until she was satisfied.

A shudder passed
through him and she could feel the tension in his body. He was close. He rolled
his hips, his pelvic bone rubbing against her clit, sending sparks flying. She
raked her nails down his back, not hard enough to hurt, but enough to make him
suck in a breath.

“Cum for me,”
she whispered against his ear. “Cum for me, Anthony. You're mine and I'm yours.
Cum for me.”

He cried out her
name as his hips jerked, and he thrust into once, twice and then stilled. She
could feel him pulse inside her, filling her. She rotated her hips, flexing her
muscles as she milked every last drop out of him, seeking that last little bit
of friction she needed. Just the slightest shift and everything was rubbed the
right way. His name was a prayer on her lips as her body stiffened.

This wasn't an
explosion of light and heat, something to make her see stars and send her
spiraling into unconsciousness. This was the bliss of totality, every cell in
her body drawn to every cell in his until she didn't know where one began and
one ended. She rode the wave, clinging to him as he murmured declarations of
love into her ear.

Her body was
still trembling as he rolled them onto their sides, their legs still tangled
together. He pulled the sheet over them just enough so they wouldn't get
chilled and then wrapped his arms around her. He brushed sweat-soaked hair back
from her forehead and kissed the tip of her nose.

“So,” he said,
“tell me about Cleveland.”

Cecile gave him
a puzzled look. “Cleveland?”

“If you're going
to Ohio, so am I. It's not like I have a job here.”

“But your
family's here.”

“Yes,” he said.
“But I'm going wherever you're going.”

Cecile stroked
the back of her hand across his cheek. “I don't know. New York's kinda growing
on me.”

“Oh really?”
Anthony raised an eyebrow.

Cecile nodded.
“But we can figure all of that out later. First, we have promises to keep.”

“Promises?” It
was his turn to look puzzled.

“Sure,” Cecile
said. “Trust me, you can't get a balcony view like that in Cleveland.”

Her laughter was
cut off as Anthony's mouth came down on hers once more. It was a slow, deep
kiss, thorough and unhurried. There was no need to rush. The sun was rising and
the day was theirs.

The next installment of the DeLuca Brothers is now available!

Amazon US:
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00GLAAC42/

Amazon UK:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00GLAAC42/

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http://www.LucindaDuBois.com
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