The phone rang.
I answered it right away. “Cato?”
“It’s me, baby.”
“Are you alright?”
“I’m in the same condition as when I left.”
I closed my eyes as the relief swept over me. “When will you be home?”
“About ten minutes. Bates is with me.”
“So…is it over?” I didn’t ask for the details because Cato said I wouldn’t want to know. Maybe he was right. I’d seen enough violence in the last year, and I couldn’t handle any more.
“It’s over.”
“He’s dead.”
“Yes. My men are taking over his facility as we speak.”
I didn’t care about that. I just wanted to know that no one was going to hurt us anymore.
“Bates is going to stay with us tonight, but he’ll move out in the afternoon.”
“He can stay as long as he wants. We’ve got plenty of room.”
“No, he’s not welcome with us. He does a lot of kinky shit you don’t know about. Trust me, you don’t want that depravity in your house.”
“Fair enough.”
“I’ll see you soon. Love you.” He said those words to me almost on a daily basis now, and it seemed like he always meant it. It rolled off the tongue so well, like he’d been saying it since the day we met.
“Love you too.”
“I’m going to make love to you when I get home.” He said the words without shame, not caring if his brother heard every word.
I was so hard up, I didn’t care about the breach of privacy. “You better.”
When Cato came home, he was in a different outfit. He wore jeans and a t-shirt, and the suit he left in was nowhere in sight. He walked into the bedroom a different man than when he left. He was relaxed, relieved, and happy. The corner of his mouth rose in a smile as he looked at me, like he’d been waiting for this moment for a long time.
His shirt came off over his head, and his jeans were next. He stripped down until he was nothing but skin, a hard cock between his legs. He moved into me and slowly pulled his t-shirt over my head, his face close to mine without kissing me. My panties were his next target. He dropped to his knees in front of me and slowly peeled them away while he kissed my inner thighs.
I closed my eyes and dug my fingers into his hair.
He moved his mouth farther up until he kissed my nub, his lips sucking my clit into his mouth. He kissed me with the same passion he would give my mouth, his eyes closed and his hands shaking.
I didn’t care that he’d just killed someone. That was the furthest thing from my mind.
He rose to his feet and kissed me on the mouth. “Am I wearing a condom tonight?”
My eyes flashed open. “Why would you wear a condom?”
“You aren’t on birth control.” His hand slid into my hair, and he breathed close to my mouth. “Unless that means you want to start on baby number two.”
I hadn’t given it any thought since he’d walked out the door. All I’d cared about was him coming back. “I don’t know if that’s what I want…but there’s no way you’re wearing anything.” I wanted Cato inside me, skin to skin, and I wanted his come inside me for the rest of the night. If that meant we would have another baby, so be it.
He lifted me into his arms and carried me to the bed. “Good answer.”
All of Bates’s things were packed into the car, and he was ready to leave. “So, I guess this is goodbye.” Bates walked up to his brother and clapped him on the shoulder. “We’ve lived through some pretty crazy shit, huh?”
“Hopefully, this is as crazy as it’s going to get,” Cato said.
Bates shrugged. “It would be boring if it was. So, are you going to miss me?”
“Not at all.” Cato clapped him back. “Giovanni won’t miss cleaning up after you and doing your laundry either.”
“I don’t believe him,” Bates said. “It gives him purpose. Well, I’ll miss you. It was nice spending that time with you.” He didn’t look at his brother as he said those tender words.
Cato’s eyes softened. “Alright…I’ll miss you a little.”
Bates grinned. “You’ll miss me a lot. I know you will.” He came to me next. “I’ve got your back for the rest of time, Siena. Regardless of what happens between you and my brother…I’ll always be there for you.” His eyes looked down at Martina in my arms, and he smiled.
“I know you do, Bates. I’ll miss you.”
His eyes flicked up to mine. “You will?”
“Of course. Water under the bridge, Bates.”
He gave me a slight smile before he turned away.
“Wait, aren’t you going to say goodbye to your niece?” I placed her in his arms and stepped back so he could hold her.
Bates flinched on the spot, overwhelmed by the gesture. He looked down into Martina’s face and wore a subdued look of joy. “Hey, sweetheart. I know we don’t spend a lot of one-on-one time together, but I’m your uncle. We have the same eyes.”