20. Massimo
It's Christmas morning and the entire house is in chaos. Children are running everywhere, hyped up on biscuits and sugar and waking up all of the adults about an hour too early.
I'm lucky I'm a morning person, Vera - on the other hand - is not. She groans, dragging herself out of bed as Mateo and Bella run downstairs to see what Santa Claus brought them during the night while they were sleeping.
I hand Vera a cup of coffee.
"When in the world did you make this?" She asks, shocked.
"I've been up for about an hour already." I chuckle.
"How is your leg? Shouldn't you be resting?"
"No, it really was just a graze. It was more blood than it was worth. The stitches aren't going anywhere."
She sips the coffee and sighs contently .
"I'm so happy Bella is crazy about Mateo. She is really helping to bring him out of his shell." She smiles, looking toward the doorway where they both disappeared through.
"And she has been getting him to feel more comfortable around the cousins too. But I think he will have time to properly process everything and get to know us when we get back home - to the city. For now - he can just enjoy the family and the Christmas holidays."
"I can't believe it's already Christmas morning." She grins.
I take her coffee from her hand and set it on the bedside table. "I want to know what treats I am getting for Christmas." I chuckle, pushing her back onto the bed and pinning her down, kissing her neck and spreading her legs with my hips.
She laughs and wiggles in my grip, then gives in and wraps her legs around me.
I press my lips against hers. The kiss is beginning to heat up when we hear running footsteps rushing into the room. We quickly roll away from each other, laughing, as the kids leap onto the bed.
"Santi Claws did come." Bella squeals in delight.
"There was a present with my name on it." Mateo says in disbelief.
"Of course, there was buddy. Santa Claus knows you are with your family now. He always wanted to bring you presents he just didn't know where you were. But now - you'll get presents every year." I chuckle, ruffling his long, messy hair.
"Kids, just give me a minute, I'll get dressed and then we can go open presents." Vera says, climbing off the bed. I drag her back towards me and kiss her again. Then let her go so she can get ready.
The kids bolt back out of the room to wait downstairs.
"I miss being a kid at Christmas time."
"Me too." She giggles.
We walk downstairs, my arm wrapped around her, holding her close against me. I haven't felt this happy in a really long time. For the first time since I lost her, I feel like I am where I'm meant to be - and like my life is back on course. Everything that happened - it happened for a reason. All the tragedy, all the pain, all the loss - it led me to this moment. Right now.
Bella is sitting on Adrian's lap on the floor, next to the giant, towering Christmas tree. He's still in his sweatpants and hoodie, clearly not fully awake yet. "The coffee hasn't kicked in yet." He grumbles, grinning at me as Bella wiggles further onto his lap and demands we sit down too so we can open presents.
"Did the kids wake you up?" Vera asks with a grin.
"Jeez, they were both like a tornado on my bed. I was practically fighting for my life." He laughs loudly. Then he lifts Bella in his hands and wiggles her in the air. "She's too naughty."
"No, I good girl." She demands, mid-air. "I good girl, Santi Claws said so."
"Of course you are." Adrian chuckles, setting her back down on his lap .
Adrian’s phone buzzes, interrupting the laughter and excitement. He glances down, and his expression darkens.
"Adrian?" I ask, noticing the shift in his demeanor.
Without saying a word, he shows me the message on his phone from one of his contacts:
The operation's a go. You need to leave now.
I meet his eyes, already knowing what’s next. "You have to go right away?"
Adrian nods, his voice low and urgent. "I don't have a choice, Massimo. It has to happen now, or we lose the advantage."
I nod, gripping his shoulder. "Be careful. Don’t let them outmaneuver you."
Adrian glances at the kids for a brief moment, then back to me, his jaw set.
"I'll handle it. Watch your back here, and I'll deal with the rest."
He gives a final nod before heading out. As I watch him leave, I know what this means for the war with the Vitales. It’s far from over, but for today, my focus has to be on my family.
I exhale deeply, pushing the weight of it all aside—at least for now. Today isn’t about that battle. Today is about my family, about the moment we fought so hard to have.
The kids are laughing and tearing into their gifts with joy, and that’s where my focus needs to stay.
Luckily, we had so many presents for all the kids that it was easy to swap out some gifts and put Mateo's name on it. The rest of the family all helped out and all the kids are laughing and screaming with joy as they open gifts, tossing wrapping paper in the air and jumping around excitedly.
This is exactly how Christmas should be. Beautiful, happy chaos.
We watch the kids, playing and laughing, while Vera is snuggled against my side.
"Breakfast will be ready in thirty minutes." The chef calls out into the room.
"Thanks, Bennie." I shout back. Then I lean close to Vera and whisper. "I know what I want to do for thirty minutes."
She bites her lips and raises her brows at me.
With one last check at where the kids are, we see they are far too busy showing their cousins everything they got to even notice us sneaking away for a little while.
I hurry up stairs, pulling Vera with me.
We rush into the bedroom, locking the door behind ourselves and then it is just a frenzy of kissing and passion as I grab at her clothing and tug it off her body and she rips my shirt off, pulling the buckle of my belt until it's loose. I kick my pants away and let my hands roam her naked body.
I lift her up in my arms and drop her into the bed.
She laughs loudly as I grab her ankles and pull her legs apart.
But she stops laughing and gasps when I drop to my knees and dip my tongue right into her pussy. She arches her hips upwards towards my mouth and grabs the back of my head, pushing her pussy against my face .
"Oh fuck." She whispers, rocking her hips back and forth as I fuck her with my mouth.
I keep licking and sucking her and dipping my tongue inside her until her legs begin to shake. Then, to her horror, I stop. "Not yet - I didn't say you could come yet." I grin mischievously.
"Massimo." She says in disappointment, but I grab her thighs, spread her legs wide and thrust my throbbing cock into her pussy.
Instantly she cries out and wraps her legs around me, digging her nails into my back.
"Oh." She gasps as I thrust into her again.
I fuck her so hard the bed moves against the wall, banging loudly, but neither of us cares.
In the throes of desire, we are completely lost in each other.
Our bodies are tangled and moving together.
Her legs begin to shake, and her moans grow louder.
I feel her pussy tighten over me and then she explodes in wave after wave of pleasure as her orgasm slams into her.
I explode inside her, holding her tightly against me.
When we catch our breath, I kiss her gently and smile.
"I love you, Vera. I love you more than anything." I whisper.
THE END