Chapter 24: Chapter 24

C H A P T E R T E N

"Which one is it?" I inquired, cautiously.

"I told you I clocked you before I even stepped into the restaurant where you were sitting, entertaining every male in the room."

"I wasn't entertaining every male in the room!" I yelled.

"You were, Babe."

"I wasn't."

"Yes, you were."

I leaned in little. “Wasnot.”

"Sweet Pea, you were flippin' your hair, squirming on your stool, suckin' straws, yet your chuckle was enough to harden a man's manhood."

Another disadvantage. In a way. I mean, all those stuff I was doing forhim, and I was delighted to know that after all this time, he noticed, but I wasn't going to tell him.

And it was good that he enjoyed my chuckle.

Now, let's go on.

"And what does this have to do with Finn...?"

" I inquired.

"Do you see the trend here?"

"Uh… no."

"Were you in your yard with Magtanggol, Finn, and me yesterday?"

Uh-oh.

"I was there," I said.

"And you weren't in your living room when your boy Enrico came in?" ”

Hmm. I could see his point.

"That doesn't count; I've known Enrico for a long time -"

Falcone interrupted me. "That counts for him."

He was most likely correct.

Falcone went on. "That counts for me."

My arms were folded over my chest. "Can you please get to the point?" ”

"The point is, you're the type of lady who phones you when her furnace goes down, and you haul your a$$ over to her house to fix it, even if you're in the middle of a game."

Oh my god. That had occurred. When I called Enrico, he was in the middle of a Ginebra game.

I can't believe Falcone knew everything about me.

Another con!

"And you're also the type of woman who, when a man sees you curled up in a protective ball, he's motivated to do everything he can to ensure it doesn't happen again."

I noticed my eyes squinting. "Is that why you've come here?"

His head trembled. "I'm here because when you come, you come hard; you don't hold back, but you hang on tight." I'm here because I can feel it in my dick when you call me baby in this bed. And I'm here because you don't hesitate to hurl attitude at me when every other lady I know wouldn't dare to. "Seeing you terrified and wanting to do something about it was just one more reason I wanted to be here."

I didn't respond since I didn't have one.

"And Finn?" I asked instead.

"The attitude, lady, you threw a hissy fit in Grind and not a lot of women surrounded by Mayhem MC members would shout about her sister, Barbies, and a fuckin' TV show."

My pupils dilated. "How do you know this nonsense?" ”

"I've had my eye on Grind, Sweet Pea, I saw the whole program, and if you leak it to Finn, I'm not going to be happy."

"You have your sights set on Grind?"

“Yeah.”

"Why are you looking at Grind?"

"You don't need to be aware of that."

This was true. I didn't need to know, and I didn't want to know.

"OK, you made your point," I said. "May I go to the good news?" ”

"Yeah," he said. "The good news is that the fire was only in the living room. My brother works for the Manila Fire Department; he was there this morning and reported that your laptop is fine."

Did he have a brother? He had a crazy mother who called him something unique but absolutely awesome, and a fireman brother?

I was having trouble processing all of this information - a year and a half of nothing but nocturnal visits and countless orgasms, and now this.

"You have a brother?" I inquired.

"Yeah," he said.

"Do you have any siblings?" I inquired.

"Yeah," he said.

“What? A sister? Brother? Two? Twelve?” I pressed.

“Another brother,” he answered.

Good God. There were three Italian, Filipino, Puerto Rican male Cabreras roaming here on earth. How did I not know this? As a woman, I should have instinctually felt their presence.

"Where have you gone? " I resumed my questioning.

“What?

" he inquired.

"Where are you in the lineup?" First, middle, or last? ”

“First.”

It's no surprise he was bossy. The first of three sons.

"Did you hear what I said about your laptop, Babe?"

" Falcone said.

I blinked and turned to face him.

"What are their names?" I inquired. Eagle and Hawk? ”

"My name is Falcone," he said, his dimples showing.

“Your name is Falcone.”

"No, darling, that's my middle name. Falcone.”

I blinked once more. "Is Falcone your middle name?"

"I warned you that my mother was a crazy."

"What is it? Italian? ”

“Yep.”

"So, what are the names of your brothers?"

"Paz and Lur," they say.

Jeez. His mother was insane.

"Did your father have no say in the naming of his children?"

The dimples became deeper. "He strapped three males to her, Sweet Pea, she wanted girls." She knew she was in for a lifetime of battles, blood, drinking, puke, and pregnancy scares when she married my Dad, three boys from his seed. That's exactly what she received. He wasn't going to battle her about names after laying that trash on her."

He had to quit. He was terrifying me. This was too much information. TMI to the max.

"TMI," I whispered as I stared at him.

“What?" he inquired.

"Too much information, Falcone."

"Babe, we're all in our thirties. Paz is a married man. We matured, gained control, and learnt to be wise. The intoxication, vomit, and pregnancy worries have all passed."

He'd omitted the clashes and bloodshed.

Then it hit me: "You don't use protection with me."

"I did the first couple of times."

He did, in fact, do this.

"But -"

"I rummaged through your trash and discovered your birth control pills." I put you on my radar, realized you shared your body with no one except me, and determined it wasn't worth it."

My eyes squinted once more. "You went through my shit?" ”

"Gia, darling, listen up. I was claiming you. I do my homework when I make a lady mine."

I glanced at him, unsure what this meant and chose not to question for the sake of my sanity.

"I need a homemade doughnut," I murmured.

just because I did. I required three. Then I had to drag myself to the mall. Another little black dress it was on its way.

My plan of assault on the mall was thwarted when Falcone yanked me out of bed, twisted me, landed on my back, and was crushed into the mattress by his weight.

"See, you're becoming stressed out," he grumbled, his gaze searching my face and his fingertips stroking my body.

Mm.

"Last night, my childhood home was firebombed, and I don't know what to do about you." Of course, I'm becoming anxious."

"I can show you other methods to deal with stress than downin' doughnuts," he mumbled in my ear as his face vanished into my neck.

I knew this since he'd previously put in a lot of time and work on those lessons. Except for being concerned about why I was allowing him to visit me, a night with him felt like I'd gotten a one and a half hour full body massage from a master while in a steam room.

"My stepmom and your commandos are in the kitchen," I pressed my palms against his shoulders.

His head rose and he peered down at me, his eyes heated, and my stomach squished. "We'll be quick and quiet," he said quietly.

He might be quick? He'd never been quick before. He was a man who took his time, and he did so in a nice way.

"I can't have sex in a house with Melinda. And I can't have sex with you because I haven't determined what to do with you."

I wasn't paying attention, so when his hands touched the hem of my nightshirt, then moved in and up, the warmth of them light on my skin made me quiver.

"How about I help you decide," he suggested, then his head sank and his lips ran across my jaw, which felt lovely, and with his hands still working on me, I shivered again.

I gathered my courage. "No, I need to make my own decision." I'm making a mental list of the advantages and drawbacks of exploring topics with you."

His head raised, his lips in a small grin, but the dimples remained. One of his hands remained still, while the other emerged into my nightshirt, elevated, and ran up my hairline.

"What do you have?"

" He said quietly.

"You're arrogant, pushy, invasive, and unpleasant, and you squashed Enrico like an insect with no thought or remorse." "Those are disadvantages," I admitted openly.

His tiny grin widened.

See! Completely unapologetic.

"Oh, and you don't pay attention to me," I said.

"Do I have anything going for me?" she asks, beaming even more.

"You're a cuddler and you carried me out of a burning building on the extremely rare occasion that you can be kind." Those are the professionals."

"Am I a cuddler?

"You spoon."

His brow furrowed. "Do you think that's essential enough to include on your list?" ”

"Uh... sure."

He looked at me, virtually smiling, and said, "Fuckin' crazy what women believe is important."

"Con!" I yelled, my eyes squinting.

When he said, "You forgot a pro, baby," his grin softened into a smile.

"No," I clarified. "That list is, so far, exhaustive."

His hand slid up in my nightshirt, and the warmth of it clasped my breast. When the skin of his hand moved across my nipple, I took in air and stilled, then melted and let out the air with a faint gasp.

"Definitely a pro," he whispered as he watched my face, before dropping his head and kissing me. His tongue in my mouth, his hand at my breast (now with thumb motion that was wonderful), and his strong, heavy body crushing mine to the bed were all enticing.

He was correct, this was definitely a pro.

His mouth opened, his thumb ceased its magnificent torment, and his fingers grasped my breast, and I discovered my fingers curled around the back of his head, my other arm tight around his back, and one of my calves had slid to loop over the back of his leg.

I was looking up at him, strong in the idea that I needed to find out quickly, when he grinned and his warm hand squeezed my breast.

"Do you see what I mean, baby?" He said quietly. “Definitely pro.”

I made a blink. I then tensed.

"And see what I mean, baby?" I said. "Certainly arrogant."

He chuckled, dipped his head, kissed the indentation at the base of my throat, his hand vanished from my breast, and he slid off me, dragging me with him. Before I could blink, we were on our feet near the bed, his arms around me.

"You need to work, you need to get things done," he asserted. "I need you to concentrate tonight."

“On what? I inquired.

His arms tightened as his face drew closer. "On me."

"On me."

I informed him, "My folks are staying here."

"I've got a place," he said.

His lair. Hmm. Another shudder he felt, and I knew because it led him to grin yet again.

His arms squeezed mine. "Work, then I'll add to the right side of your list tonight."

I opened my mouth to warn him that I shouldn't let his superhuman sexual skills cloud my judgment, but I didn't get a word out. His head bowed, his lips brushed mine, and suddenly, poof! He has vanished.

I wavered for a split second without his strong arms around me and his solid body to lean on. I then turned to face the bedroom door.

"I detest it when he does that," I grumbled.

However, I did not. To be honest, I thought it was quite awesome.