SALT #6
After thinking it over for a bit and trying to figure out different ways to ask it in my head, I finally go for it from a tentative angle:
"When you were on the mainland, were you ever worried Rocco might track you down?"
His answer is weird. He gets all stiff. When he responds, he sounds careful, like he's picking his words to avoid saying too much.
He says that when he was there, he barely hung around people at all.
He either stayed at Storm's place or focused only on why he went there, what he calls a ‘solo mission’.
But I feel something is fishy here, so I push a bit to know more about the Rocco situation. He finally gives in and tells me more details. As he talks, I can feel how tense he still is.
Apparently Rocco has a reputation: if someone from the soldati families tied to the Ferros left without the capo's blessing, Rocco would hunt them down.
If the guy was attractive and young enough, Rocco would have his way with him, and then put a bullet in his head.
Eliano says Anzo and Rocco used to talk about it casually over meals, that any betrayal gets paid back with the ultimate price. He saw it happen with his own eyes.
As for what Eliano was actually doing in the city on his ‘mission’, I still can't make myself ask him point-blank.
I kinda accepted the fact that he didn’t go to the mainland to get revenge for Senu.
The question is whether it had anything to do with me, or if it was mafia business.
Maybe Eliano tried to cut some kind of deal out there, but it went sideways, which is why he came back with that scar on his cheek?
There's this weird vibe around the whole thing, like it's something huge, something really heavy that I'm not ready to hear yet. But I know we'll have to talk about it eventually.
Our day-to-day life goes on.
Almost every morning when I wake up, I look over at Eliano next to me. I stare at his soft violet-black curls, his long eyelashes. And something inside me pulls tight, because… I desperately want us to have our happy ending.
For now, all I can do is build us step by step, working on it every day. I grow bolder with touching him, welcoming his touch with less and less awkwardness.
Yet on another level, there are moments when fear grips me, and the future seems hazy… I’m carrying his child, the change is coming, and this constant voice in my head keeps saying I should sit him down and talk about everything: my fears, my doubts, the secrets, just… clear the air.
What are we going to do, Eliano? Sometimes I whisper it, leaning over him as he sleeps, after an evening of carnal pleasures.
But the more days go by, the bigger it feels, like some giant dragon I have to slay with a superhuman effort, something we both tiptoe around and pretend isn't there.
One interesting thing worth mentioning is that something happens during the first week after Eliano’s return.
Eliano has a meaningful conversation with Bashir about what happened while he was gone.
I don't hear the exact words, since they talk outside, but I peek through the window. Eliano has his brows furrowed, his jaw clenched tight. So I figure Bashir told him about the alphas harassing me.
Suddenly Eliano spins on his heel and heads down the promenade. I rush out of the unit, eager to know what he’s up to.
My first instinct is to take off running after him. I don’t even know exactly why. Maybe to get a closer look at what he’s going to do, or maybe to stop him because digging this up isn't worth it.
But Bashir grabs my arm and holds me in place.
"This is alpha business, Salt," he says, his voice hard.
I roll my eyes and make a face, but… I stay put. I just shift so I can still watch the promenade and the units lined up along it.
First Eliano knocks on Steph's door, the alpha who bothered me in front of the dining hall.
As soon as the guy steps out, Eliano lands one precise and brutal punch. Steph drops flat, lights out. Then he just casually walks off, like nothing happened.
Next stop: the unit of the other alpha who'd harassed me before the dining room, Carl, I think.
Door opens, one punch to the face, down like a sack of bricks, out cold.
"Fuck, he’s good," I mutter.
Bashir glances at me in amusement. "Yeah, he told me he trained every day since he was six years old. It’s no surprise, he has it basically in his blood."
Eliano doesn't stop. There are four more, the ones who'd graffitied our unit’s walls and knocked on my door at night. Same thing. All of them end up like Steph. No resistance.
When Eliano turns and starts walking back, he locks eyes on my flushed face.
Bashir quickly removes himself from my proximity. I'm pretty sure he would not want to fight Eliano. He ranks second here, but he's nowhere near Eliano's level of prowess in fighting.
The moment Eliano is about twenty feet away, I duck back inside, yank my pants down, and by the time he walks in, I’m on the bed on all fours, presenting my ass high like an omega in heat, making a sweet AO calling sound. Yeah. ‘Invitation’.
Eliano’s on the doorstep, eyes dark and still wired from the fight, focusing on my shameless hole. I’ve heard alphas after a fight have a spike in testosterone and in libido, so… why not!
No words, just an AO growl rumbling in his chest as he crosses the room in two strides. His hands land on my hips, yanking me back so my ass slams against his crotch. I feel how thick and hard he already is through his jeans.
He doesn’t bother with teasing. One hand fists my hair, pulling my head back just enough to make me arch, the other pushes my thighs wider.
And suddenly he’s pressing on my open pucker, just raw arousal, forcing his way past the ring until he bottoms out in one powerful thrust. I choke on a moan, from discomfort but also with pure fucking bliss, my hole clenching around him.
Eliano starts pounding fast, deep, hips snapping and the bedframe bangs the wall.
Every stroke hits that sweet spot dead-on, sending white-hot shocks up my spine.
My arms shake, knees slide on the sheets, but he hauls me back by the hips, leaning over my ear and growling "Mine" against my neck.
Sadly, it’s over quickly. My cock jerks untouched, spurting across the blanket in thick ropes while my ass milks him dry.
Eliano slams in one last time, buries himself balls-deep and comes with a rough grunt, flooding me so full I feel like my belly is bulging with cum, jizz is leaking out around his base before he even pulls back.
We stay locked like that for a second, breathing ragged, his chest pressed to my back, his lips kind of lazily mouthing my nape, his nose sniffing my hair.
"Nuddu si po’ permettiri di tuccari u me Salt!" (No one fucking dares touch my Salt!)
Again, I have no idea what he says but I’m pretty sure it’s something possessive, as I can sense him now much better than before, especially with his cock inside.
"I need to learn Sicilian," I say seriously. "I want our son to speak it fluently. And I want to understand what you two are talking about!" I blurt out, staring at the ceiling, basking in the pleasant afterglow.
Eliano chuckles, then turns his head to me, and smooches my cheek.
"You have no idea how happy that makes me!"
Neither of us says more beyond that, no need.
In the room, the only sound is our breathing slowing down together. But that’s not the end. Soon, everything starts all over again. We fuck for a full two solid hours after that.
◆◆◆
The next day the alphas go whining to Gomez, some of them with teeth knocked out, but the complaint goes nowhere.
A few days later they try to jump Eliano as a group. Bad move on their part.
We are walking along the promenade in the evening, hand in hand, when five of them come at us.
Eliano rips a metal rod off a nearby bench and makes it very clear he has a third dan in kendo. Even more knocked-out teeth, broken noses, and jaws that have to be wired shut follow.
After that they leave us alone and accept Eliano’s position as the top alpha in Sector C.
That's how it works with alphas, the strongest one rules the chain, no debate.
Simple.
And after that little incident, the next days just roll by.
Sometimes I watch him when he doesn't know.
He spends a lot of time on his laptop, but he's also started hitting the gym the alphas use in the rec building. Usually an hour and a half a day. He invites me along, but I don't go. The gym is full of alphas, and I don't want to be around them. Maybe he dealt with them and they’re cool now, showing him respect, but I just can’t force myself to feel relaxed in their intense presence. My dislike of alphas hasn’t gone away.
I just made a small exception for Eliano.
He and I keep moving forward in our relationship, getting closer, even though Eliano doesn’t have the kind of personality people often associate with Italians: talkative, open, expressive.
He’s basically closed off, keeps to himself, doesn’t say much.
I figure that’s probably how his life used to look, training, solitude, just him and his own head.
But every day brings little, subtle changes in him.
Sometimes there are moments where we laugh together, sharing small stories from the past, just the light, harmless ones.
Sometimes we watch movies, me curled up in his arms. Sometimes he leans toward me, his golden eyes warm and soft, and kisses me gently on the forehead.
That space for affectionate gestures is becoming real. It’s a work in progress!
Soon a new thing emerges.