Chapter 37
CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN
GABE
We cracked open the expensive booze when we returned to the limo. That Pappy Van Winkle went down smooth as silk. Despite his protestations, comparisons to Tony Soprano abounded in the car, especially after Marco described how his brother had put on his “mob boss” voice with Kendrick. To celebrate, we decided to take our fancy selves out for a late dinner at a steakhouse off Madison Avenue. Tony called Michael to tell him to join us since he was part of this victory too. The poor waitstaff didn’t know what to do with the nine of us until I suggested they put us in their upstairs dining room where we wouldn’t disturb the other patrons.
The whole time, I stuck to Nico like glue. Watching those two goons attempt to draw on him had nearly put me over the edge. Logically, I knew Marco was exponentially better than anyone Kendrick could hire. It hadn’t stopped me from nearly launching myself across the room when I saw their hands move.
When the team got a few bottles of wine for the table, Nico leaned close to me and said, “Don’t drink too much. I have plans for you tonight.”
That brought my internal spiraling to a screeching halt. I put my mouth next to his ear and whispered, “Is that so? Care to elaborate?”
He shivered, and a delicious blush tinged his cheeks. He turned his head and met my eyes with a heated gaze. “Let’s just say it involves lube.” He paused before adding, “And condoms.”
My body flushed with heat, and I could almost feel all my blood rush south. I blew out a soft breath. “That was not nice, Nicolas Galinas. We are in a public place, and I’m not allowed to strip you down and devour you here.”
My boyfriend snickered and kissed me. “Anticipation makes everything better.”
I pressed a kiss to that sensitive place behind his ear. “Now you’re just being mean.”
Someone cleared their throat, and I sighed. “They’re all staring, aren’t they?”
“Yep,” he replied with a hint of amusement.
“Assholes,” I muttered. I lifted my head and saw all my so-called friends grinning at me like idiots. “Don’t you all have food to eat or wine to drink?”
“This is much more entertaining,” Liam said.
I pointed at the sassy nurse. “You are a troublemaker.”
He grinned wickedly. “Guilty. You two are fun to mess with.”
The sound of silverware repeatedly tapping a wine glass interrupted them. Tony raised his glass. “I’d like to propose a toast. To the best team of people I’ve ever worked with.”
That shut us up pretty quickly. We all raised our glasses and took a sip.
“Thanks, boss,” Pete said. His sentiment was echoed by all of us.
Nico cleared his throat nervously. “I want to thank you all for everything. You welcomed me onto your team without knowing anything about me. You embraced me and my son and made us part of your family.” His eyes got shiny and his voice was hoarse as he went on. “You saved my life. I am a very lucky man.”
I put my arm around Nico’s shoulders and kissed the side of his head. “We’re all glad you’re here, baby.”
“We’re all sorry you got stuck with that guy,” Dante said, pointing at me.
I tossed a roll at him. “Shut up.” He caught it neatly and put it on his plate.
Nico leaned his head against my shoulder. “He’s okay.”
I poked him in the ribs. “Just okay, huh?”
He grabbed my hand and brought it to his lips. “You’re amazing.”
Before the rest of the team could start on us again, the servers arrived with our main courses. The aroma of grilled steak made my mouth water. Pretty soon, the only sound from the table was the clinking of silverware against ceramic.
The food was delicious, but my mind kept fast-forwarding to after dinner. The anticipation was killing me. I was fairly certain Nico wanted me to top him, but I wasn’t one hundred percent sure. Did he want to top me? I hadn’t bottomed in a very long time. I was trying to test how I felt about that. I didn’t love the idea, but I didn’t hate it either.
A nudge from Nico’s elbow brought me out of my reverie. “I can hear you thinking from over here,” he said quietly. “Is everything okay?”
I nodded. “Everything’s fine. I was just thinking about after. When we’re alone.”
His plump lips curved into a smile. “Is that right? I was thinking about the same thing.”
“Hopefully, we’ll get out of here soon,” I said.
The eating had definitely slowed and my teammates had started chatting among themselves. I noticed Tony checking his phone and frowning. I was about to ask him if something was wrong when our server returned to take our plates and ask if we wanted dessert. I shook my head. I wanted to get out of there. I had a man who wanted my exclusive attention.
No one else wanted dessert. It had been a pretty long day and a stressful evening. Once Tony paid the check, we headed out to the waiting limousine.
Outside the restaurant, Tony and Michael stood to one side when the driver opened the door. “Michael’s going to take me back to my apartment. Have a good night, everyone.” We all took turns giving Tony a hug goodnight and he and Michael headed off to the parking garage across the street.
I turned to Marco. “Is something wrong? Tony looked upset.”
Marco let out a soft sigh. “Man troubles. I think his boyfriend is cheating on him.”
“That sucks.”
He nodded. “It does. Tony thought this one would stick.”
I watched the two brothers walk away, noting the defeated slump of Tony’s shoulders. That killed me because he always projected confidence and strength. Whoever his boyfriend was had better hope he never met up with one of us.
The ride to the hotel was quiet. Nico snuggled into my side with a happy sigh and stayed there the whole time. Fortunately, traffic was light at this time of night, and it didn’t take us long to get to the hotel. I didn’t care about the snickers and comments I got as I hurried Nico to the elevators. My boyfriend just smiled and shook his head. Thankfully, the elevator was fast and our room was close.
Once inside, I crowded Nico against the door and took his mouth in a ravenous kiss. He put his arms around my neck and pulled me closer to him. I slid my hands down to cup his perfect ass and align our hips so our hard cocks were grinding together.
When we finally pulled apart, we were both breathless. “I want you so bad,” I rasped.
“Same,” he replied. His gaze dropped and his cheeks reddened. “I want to shower first.” He looked up at me, a slight frown creasing his brow. “Is that okay?”
I kissed him tenderly. “Of course it’s okay.” I took his hand in mine. “I just want to be sure we’re on the same page. Do you want me to top you?”
He nodded, the blush on his cheeks spreading down his neck. “Yeah.”
My heart burst with pride that he trusted me enough to try this with me. I kissed him one more time. “I’ll be waiting for you when you get out.”
Nico headed to the bathroom, stopping at the closet to get the hanger for his tuxedo. He picked up his duffel bag and brought it to me. “I packed lube and condoms.” Then he continued into the bathroom.
I stood staring at the closed door for a long moment. He was serious about this. He’d planned it ahead of time. The sound of the shower turning on spurred me into action. Following Nico’s example, I undressed and hung up my tuxedo. I got the lube and condoms out of Nico’s bag and set them on the nightstand, then switched off all but the lights by the bed.
I was pulling down the blankets when I heard the bathroom door open. I turned to find Nico standing there with a white towel wrapped around his narrow hips. His dark hair was messy from being towel-dried and beads of water clung to his shoulders and chest. His defined muscles highlighted the tattoos adorning his chest and arms. I let out a breath. “You’re so beautiful.”
A shy smile curved his lips. His eyes scanned my naked body. “That’s you. You’re the beautiful one.”
I stepped into his space and cupped his face in my hands. I brushed my thumbs along his sharp cheekbones. “You are beautiful inside and out. You were dealt a bad hand and could have been bitter and resentful. You could have given up. Instead, you work hard every day to make a better life for yourself and Cody. You give so much of yourself.” I kissed him softly. “Let me take care of you.”
“Okay,” he whispered, his eyes bright in the low light of the room.
I took his hand and led him to the bed. Resting my hands on his hips, I asked, “Is it okay to take off the towel?”
He swallowed and nodded. “Yeah.”
I slipped my fingers under the towel and tugged until it fell to the floor. “Lie down,” I said.
Nico grabbed my hand. “I can’t…” He paused, took a breath, and went on. “I have to see you. I need to know it’s you.”
“Of course, sweetheart. Whatever you need.”
His body relaxed with my reassurance, and he lay in the middle of the bed. I walked around to the foot of the bed, just gazing down at my beautiful man spread out like a feast for me to devour.
I crawled onto the bed, kissing my way up his muscular calves and along the inside of his thighs. I paused at the junction of his thigh and abdomen, running my nose down the deep crease to the dark curls surrounding his hardening cock. “You smell so good.” I ran my tongue up his shaft, circling the plump head, tasting the salt of his precum.
Nico moaned and arched his back. “Gabe,” he gasped.
“You like that?” I moved lower down his shaft. “How about this?” I took his balls in my mouth, licking and sucking, turned on from his groans of pleasure. I pushed his legs back, tracing his taint with my tongue.
“Oh god, that’s so good.”
I eased his legs down and crawled up to kiss him. “You taste so good, baby. I want to eat you out. I want to make you feel good. Are you okay with that?”
“Please, Gabe. Yes,” he gasped. He looked up at me with beautiful blue eyes full of love and said three words that wrapped around my heart and soothed my soul. “I trust you.”