CHAPTER 32 MAURO
Present day
When Jared, Tommy, and I come downstairs for breakfast, Renato, Gianni and Emilio are already sitting at the table, and Tony is finishing up serving the food.
When we reach the top of the stairs, Jared reaches out and takes my hand, carrying Tommy on his other arm, and that is how we enter the living room together.
Everyone looks up at us.
I immediately see the smile on Emilio’s face, while Renato gives a small nod of approval. Even Gianni has a shy little smile.
Tony gestures broadly for us to join them at the table, setting steaming platters in front of us. He also brings over a high chair for Tommy.
I feel something swelling inside me, a surge of happiness, the sense that my ship has finally reached the harbor, that I’ve broken through some kind of barrier.
Jared’s cheeks are flushed, excitement coursing through him, because he already knows, just as I do, that we’re entering a new phase. We’ll be building our life together, stepping into an entirely new chapter.
Six years… I waited for him.
The pain I felt, the pain he felt, is in the past now.
But there’s one more thing that needs to happen. For a moment, I hesitate about doing it, but I think this is a perfect time.
When I sit down at the table, I clear my throat and use my newly regained voice, even though it makes me deeply uncomfortable and doesn’t feel like me. But I want them to know that the magic between Jared and me worked.
"Hello, everyone."
All eyes immediately turn toward me, and Emilio practically bulges his eyes out of his head.
"What the hell is that?" he blurts out in shock, while Renato gives me a small smile.
Jared answers for me.
"The magic of True Mates happened." And he smirks.
"Well, holy shit!" Gianni mutters, gaping.
"I never would’ve expected that!" Emilio explodes. "No way! And I learned sign language because I thought it was going to be like this forever."
"Same!" Gianni huffs. "What the fuck?"
"Gianni, don’t swear in front of the child," Renato admonishes him, then nods in satisfaction.
"I’m very happy for you, Mauro. This will make a lot of things easier for us, especially running the company."
He leans slightly forward and looks at me with intensity.
"I’m already sixty, and in five years I intend to step down and enjoy my well-earned retirement, so you’d better get ready to take over the responsibilities, and you’re gonna need that voice with our employees!" he adds, with mock sternness.
Well, I don’t say anything because I’ve simply grown accustomed to not speaking much and only communicating when I truly need to say something.
But I’m not gonna object to Renato’s idea.
A couple of months ago, he officially made me his sole heir, with a notarized stipulation requiring me to provide for Emilio and Gianni if needed.
And I want that, since I want to give Jared a good, stable life, and owning a prosperous company is one way to do it.
Emilio turns to Renato.
"Wait. You’re not even a little surprised? Mauro can speak!"
Renato winks at me and then shrugs. "It was to be expected from the moment we knew they were True Mates. But he always could speak, Emilio. Just in a different way," he adds in a mildly admonishing tone, like a gentle reprimand.
"Of course!" Emilio nods so vigorously that his wire-rimmed glasses slip slightly down his nose. "I’m just a little shocked, but in a good way! During these… difficult days, every bit of good news is priceless," he adds somewhat apologetically.
Renato cocks his head, eyeing me. "It's also a matter of habit. It’ll probably take you a little while to get comfortable talking again, right?"
I make a sour face and nod because, truthfully, I’m still not entirely convinced about communicating this way. It feels awkward and uncomfortable.
For most of my life, I’ve been used to typing everything onto a screen and letting a voice read it for me, and in a way that also freed me from having to add an emotional charge to every message.
It was like hiding behind a mask, and there were days when I needed it so much, especially as a Ferro.
So for now, I still haven’t decided how often I’m going to use my voice.
Jared glances at me cautiously, as if trying to gauge my reaction to Renato’s words, but he doesn’t say anything. Instead, he looks over at Tommy, who is playing with the glass orb I gave him.
Tommy’s eyes, so much like Jared’s, turn toward me, and I smile at him. The part of me that connects me to the forest, which has grown stronger with every passing month since I returned to Rainbow Spring, shows me his true nature. Like Jared, he’s also from the forest folk.
Renato, who’s particularly attuned to these things, told me yesterday that Tommy’s abilities are much closer to the surface than Jared’s were when he arrived here.
Jared never developed his own abilities while living in the city, and it was only with Silvio’s magic that he was able to bring them to the surface.
With Tommy, his flexibility and youth mean that his green elf nature could emerge much sooner if he’s in the right environment, growing up surrounded by forests.
Renato believes that with Jared and Tommy here, the ancient alliance between the Virdelfi and the Silvari could become a reality again, and our bloodlines could work together as they did in the past, and even… merge.
I feel joy knowing Tommy’s here, and that his father’s dark energy won’t be able to cast a shadow over his childhood and innocence. I want to make sure he has the best possible environment here to grow, flourish, and enjoy a carefree, safe upbringing.
In the meantime, Tony, who is setting breakfast down in front of Tommy, unexpectedly says, "Listen, I have a swing in the trunk of my car that I bought for my friend’s kid, but I never gave it to him because it turned out his dad bought him a different one.
So I’m still driving around with it in my trunk.
" Tony chuckles. "Maybe you’d like to put it up in the yard for Tommy? "
Jared glances at me somewhat uncertainly.
Our relationship is still very fresh, and he probably doesn’t know how much he can ask of my time or whether he should even be doing that.
So I nod, and Jared gives me a shy smile.
Right after breakfast, I decide to put up the swing. As I’m heading outside, Renato tells me he’ll need my help with some work at one of the construction supply warehouses he owns.
I promise him I’ll take care of it. Out of habit, I use my voice app again, and Renato doesn’t comment on it.
I notice Jared glancing at me with his eyebrows slightly raised, but he doesn’t say anything either.
Once Emilio and Tony leave and Renato heads off to work, Jared and I choose a spot for the swing, and I get to work installing it.
Jared stands nearby, shifting from one foot to the other. It’s obvious that he’s struggling with what he should say.
"Listen, umm, I want you to know that I’m not going to pressure you to speak.
I understand that this is part of who you are, part of your…
personality, as I see it. I don’t want you to change for me or force yourself to do anything extra.
" His voice trembles slightly as he adds, "Also… I’ve secretly started learning sign language. I want to know it because it’s part of who you’ve been all these years. "
His big green eyes look into mine with this adorable uncertainty, as though he isn’t sure whether I’ll like the idea or what I think about it.
I don’t answer him with words.
Instead, I take a step toward him, raise my hand, and gently touch his cheek. I see the tiny flinch of surprise Jared makes, as if he isn’t accustomed to gestures like this, to signs of affection. He does it almost every time, as if this kind of tenderness is strange to him.
But at the same time, I can sense that he secretly immensely enjoys my touch, surrendering to it.
I slowly run my finger over his flawless cheekbones and those sweetest, plump, tempting lips. I can’t resist them, so I lean down and brush them with a kiss as light as a feather.
They immediately respond, parting as his tongue comes out to meet mine. Jared lets out a cute little whimper.
His fingers land on my chest, gripping my shirt. I can almost physically feel the desire building inside him, the longing for me to fill him, to thrust into him… it’s so shockingly intense, as if it were my own feelings.
Right then, I hear Emilio talking to Tommy.
"Hey, how about you come see Tony make some bread? He loves making things himself. Would you like us to make some animal-shaped cookies together?"
Jared breaks the kiss and steps back with an embarrassed expression.
But Tommy seems not to be an overly timid child. He trustingly takes Emilio’s hand, and Emilio gives us a meaningful look accompanied by a quick wink.
As soon as they start walking away, I reach out and grab Jared around the waist again. My fingers trail along his spine, and he lets out a short, breathless gasp.
Our mouths find each other again, our tongues brushing together, and I lightly suck on his lower lip, I simply can’t get enough of the voluptuous curve of his mouth.
His hands rise to the back of my neck and thread through my hair, his body pressing tightly against mine, his hunger seems barely contained.
It’s amazing how well I can read him, how intensely I can sense what he feels and what he wants; there’s something new in it for him: he’s enthusiastically responding to a sexual invitation, discovering his own sensual side.
But it leaves me with the sad realization that before, he was the one who only agreed rather than the one who initiated.
With a quick movement, I lower my hands to his ass, lift him up, and carry him back into the house, heading straight for my bedroom.
We don’t break the kiss, his soft lips almost plush beneath mine, open, letting me inside, tasting absolutely perfect.
As we collapse onto the bed, our hands move quickly, ripping our clothes off, while Jared keeps mumbling, "Put it inside me, put it inside me…"