Extra Epilogue
Extra Epilogue
NIC
“ W ow. It’s beautiful,” Gianna breathed as she stared up at my cousin Raffaele’s house. Although mansion was probably a more appropriate word for the place.
I nodded, placing my hand on her lower back and guiding her up the steps of the giant wrap-around porch. “My great uncle Gino built part of it when he moved down here to establish the Family branch in Georgia. When our territory expanded into all the other southern branches, he added to the house. Then he was killed, and his brother, Salvatore—Rafa’s father—moved here to take over. After he married Guilia, they built the rest of it.”
“ Mamma lives in a smaller house on the property, though,” Gabriella added as she bounded up the steps behind us. Rafa’s nineteen-year-old sister had been staying with us in New York for the last year while she completed an internship at our art gallery in Gramercy. Now that she was home, she would finish school and eventually take over managing our biggest gallery in Atlanta.
When it was time for her to return to Georgia, we decided to bring her back ourselves and visit with everyone. Gianna had met most of my family when they’d come to New York over the years, but I’d never brought her with me to the south because I was always here to handle…business.
This trip was a vacation, but I also needed to meet with some of the men beneath me. Including Rafa, who was my current underboss and head of the family for the southern territories. There were rumblings about another organization trying to push their way into our antiquities import/export business. It seemed a show of strength might be needed.
Just as we reached the front door, it flew open and Chiara, Gabbi’s twelve-year-old sister, came flying out to throw herself into my wife’s arms.
“Aunt Anna! You’re finally here!”
Gianna’s face lit up, an expression that never failed to warm my heart and stir my body. She hugged Chiara tightly and chirped, “Hey there, pigtails!”
Chiara huffed good-naturedly and shook her head. “I haven’t worn pigtails since I was, like, eight.”
Gianna chuckled. “Maybe so, but you’ll always be that cute little pixie to me.”
“I’m feeling a lot like chopped liver over here,” Gabbi grumbled.
Chiara hugged Gianna again, then trotted over to give her sister a squeeze. “You know I love you, Gabs. But Aunt Anna is the best .”
“True.” Gabbi winked at my wife.
Gianna’s cheeks turned pink, and she cuddled into my side. I was never surprised that she had everyone eating out her hand. My wife was the most beautiful, charming, intelligent, and loving woman on God’s green earth. But it was her connection to the little children that always made me feel the fuzzy kind of shit that no mafia boss would ever admit to.
I pulled her deeper into my embrace and put my mouth beside her ear. “I love it when your skin turns such a pretty shade of pink, mia dolce . Makes me want to turn your sexy little ass the same color.”
Gianna gasped, but a shiver raced through her body, making me chuckle.
“ Cougino .” Gianna jumped as the sound of the deep, masculine voice. I looked from my woman to the front door where the man calling me cousin was standing.
Raffaele stepped outside, and we greeted each other with a grip of hands and a quick hug.
“Right on time,” he murmured as he gave my wife a kiss on the cheek, earning a deadly growl from deep in my chest as I yanked her against my side again. He just smirked at my reaction. “ Ciao , Anna.”
She greeted him brightly in return, then headed inside when he gestured toward the door. When I thought she was out of earshot, I glared at Rafa. “Cousin or not, you put your lips anywhere near my wife again, and you’ll be singing soprano after spending some quality time with my blade.”
“Nic,” Gianna huffed, shaking her head in exasperation. I winced when I realized I hadn’t been quiet enough. But the corners of my lips lifted when she didn’t say anything else before turning around and letting Chiara pull her through the entry toward the kitchen.
We’d been together for over a decade, and I was still as obsessed with Anna as the moment I first laid eyes on her. My possessiveness had only grown, and while she grumped about me being rude, we both knew she loved the Neanderthal inside me.
I walked into the kitchen to find a mass of people talking and laughing. Several were making food, even though the table was already covered with dishes. It seemed a lot of the family had gathered to greet us. I almost felt guilty that Gianna and I wouldn’t be staying long. Almost.
“Nicollo!” Aunt Guilia cried happily, rushing over to envelope me in a tight hug. I returned it and kissed her cheek.
“How are you, Zia?” I glanced around and smirked. “Still trying to feed an army, I see.”
She laughed and leaned to the side, staring behind me with a frown. “Where are your bambinos ?”
“At home,” I told her. “We’ll bring them next time, I promise.”
They’d begged to come, and I’d almost given in. However, they were still in school, and I was looking forward to a trip alone with my wife. We were rarely away from our children, preferring to be together as a family. But it had been far too long since I’d had a night with my Gianna that didn’t require my hand over her mouth while I made her come so we didn’t wake the kids.
Aunt Guilia smiled knowingly and chuckled. “I can understand that. Just so long as you bring them next time, and I expect it to be within the next year, not the next decade, il giovanotto .”
“Yes, ma’am.”
“ Mamma !” Gabbi called out. “The sauce is bubbling!”
Aunt Guilia jumped and spun around, hurrying off to deal with whatever problem had arisen.
I let the crowd have Gianna for another five minutes before I couldn’t take it any longer. Threading my way through the room, I took her hand as soon as I could reach it.
“It’s time to go, mia dolce .”
“But—”
I growled as I bent my head so she was the only one who heard me speak. “Unless you want me to throw you over my shoulder and march up the stairs—in which case, everyone will know exactly what we’ll be doing—I suggest you say goodbye and get moving toward that door over there.”
She glanced in the direction I indicated, then dropped her head back to meet my gaze again. I fucking loved how tiny she was compared to me. Yet, she could give as good as she got when things got rough in the bedroom. My sweet girl was a wild cat between the sheets. And my attraction to her had only increased in the years we’d been together.
“What’s out there?” she asked.
“A golf cart that will take us to the guest house.”
“The guest house?”
I knew she’d assumed we’d be staying in the mansion and had decided to keep our little retreat a surprise.
“All alone in the woods…with no one but me to hear you scream.”
Gianna licked her lips, and her hard little nipples brushed my arm as she pivoted and began saying quick goodbyes, with fake yawns when someone questioned why we were leaving so soon.
Damn she was cute. And sexy as fuck.
I watched her hips sway and willed my dick to go down so I didn’t have a tent in my pants as I followed her across the room. When she reached the door we would use to leave, she opened it, then looked back at me and winked.
“Hurry it up, husband. I want to go for a ride.”
My eyes heated, and I quickly pushed her out the door, slamming it behind me. “You’re playing with fire, belissima ,” I growled, dragging her toward the golf cart. “If you keep this up, we won’t make it to the cottage before I have you bouncing on my cock.”
“Is that supposed to be a threat, Nic?” she asked breathily. “Or a promise?”
“Both,” I grunted with a wicked grin.
Later, after I’d fucked her on the cart, in the front room of the cottage, and twice in bed, I stared down at my sleeping wife. I was still in awe that this angel belonged to me. My soul was as black as they came, but without her, I wouldn’t have one at all.