Affirmation (17 page)

He missed the wise old gent and wondered what he’d say now
if he saw the mess the family was in. Nico gave a futile sigh. He’d probably say
,
“
D
o
something about it, you set the ship astray when you lost sight of shore, now steer the vessel in the direction it ought to go.
”

His first course of action consisted of making sure Ari and the boys were safe and
get his
stubborn ex-wife
to
follow an order. Sergio’s problem
didn’t concern him as much as the unease he had
when
he thought about Alfonzo. The bond they had fractured, yet it hadn’t severed his ability to tell when something was wrong. Alfonzo hadn’t said
it;
in fact he didn’t have to. It was in his
body language and a contemplative expression noticeable to someone who studied him up close and from afar. The jab at Nico wasn’t about Selange or Luzo, was it? No, it wasn’t that at all. Alfonzo carried a weight and it grew too heavy. Giuseppe’s preoccupation and immaturity made him useless. Alfonzo didn’t have another set of hands to help carry the burden. Nico decided sitting idle
isn’t a protector’s role, besides if he didn’t get back into the
action;
his family was likely to get flushed down the toilet bowl.

“Nico, I asked a question.”

“Something’s come up
that warrants immediate attention or else it’ll expand
into a major problem for the family.”
Is the only explanation he cared to share. He operated on a need to know basis and a probing attorney tends to
dig. Occasionally, she slipped into lawyer mode and forgot
she forfeit that life when she screwed with shithead who kidnapped their kid.
He wasn’t mad at the
woman;
he understood the pregnancy created a hormone imbalance. She wasn’t this way with the twins and he figured they were having a girl to pay daddy back for his womanizing years.

“Let Alfonzo or Giuseppe handle it. We’re supposed to
remain invisible,
remember?”

“Of course I remember!”
Damn woman was right, although technically, she’s the person of interest
in the predicament and not him. One tip to the NYPD
Ari
was alive
and
jail
or
dead
is where
she’d find her stubborn ass head.

“Then you’
re coming home with me and the boys, to
Eritrea
.
I’m not having this baby without
you and you promised to stick around
.
” She turned her head sideways to view his face and as usual, it was unreadable. He looked
like a biker with that
sparkly
earring and Mohawk
. She didn’t like the look
,
a matter-of-fact, she was angry he let the boys get their ears pierced
,
too
. They resembled hoodlums and their father was the ringleader. She loved Nico to death, but he didn’t understand
this baby was making her irritable and the last thing she
needed is a deserter sperm donor, for goodness sake
!

“Ari, I’ve
already
arranged everything. You and the boys will go to Palermo
and stay with Sophie
.
You don’t get a say.
”

“Are you serious, I don’t have a choice?”

“That’s what I said.” H
e replied and
flipped
on his side
.
Alfonzo’s comfy bed
had
a sleeping pill
effect
.
He was dogged tired and his crankiness stemmed from sleep deprivation. However, he considered her feelings and stroked her with words. In a tender tone he spoke
in
French, since she considered it the language of
love
,
“G
et some rest
Ari
and don’t
take what I
’m saying
personal.
You and
my children
are everything
.
I’m looking out for
my family and I’ll do it with
my dying breath
.
”
This w
as
Nico’s final
statement before he conked out.

CHAPTER S
EVENTEEN

Giuseppe
had
an
arm around Shanda as she slept
like a baby
.
A petulant scowl and a hard-on is what he had. His earlier attempt at seduction went awry. Apparently his romantic
feelings weren’t
reciprocated. She refused to give him heaven, not even a sample and he considered it a crime. The woman told him to lie quietly or sleep on the floor with Gee as if he was a dog. He could do nothing, except take a cold shower, raid the fridge and join the men in the living
room as they watched porn.
When he tired of the artificial
visual he went to jerk off in the bathroom, muttering obscenities that this is what it’d come to for a man of his stature.

Women!

Finally, he joined her in the small bed and spent most of the hours watching her sleep. The pretty woman put him at a disadvantage. He would never force himself on a woman, no, he was far too arrogant. If she did not want to have sex, other women gladly would, except there were none accessible to polish his wood.

At least one of the
men
slept because he could hear the loud rattling snores. The walls of her home were paper thin and the cutesy bed was meant for feminine creatures and not large men.

He propped himself up on his elbow to get a glimpse of her swollen breasts straining the bodice. Her belly was big. Not as large as Amelda’s prior to birth, but perhaps two to three months shy. During his sister’s pregnancy, everyone doted on her.

Matteo acted an ass
and Giuseppe often cringed or teased when he visited each time he heard Matteo ask
. “What would you like bella
? W
hat can I do for you donna
?”

Giuseppe did not understand. But, an emotional attachment formed simply by the possibility this woman carried his seed. A seed which grew each day and
would
soon make an entrance into the world. The thought excited him, but he would not tell her. A Giuseppe the Second had an aristocratic ring to it.

A long exhalation occurred
, “Santi io prego questo è mio figlio.”

She stirred and snuggled closer to his body. He frowned. Perhaps he should sleep on the floor. This closeness and inability to consummate amounted to torture. But first, he wanted a kiss and he took it
and the sweetness of her lips ignited a desire for more. His hand massaged her breasts and they were soft, beautiful. She was kissing him in return and he smiled. The liar!

Suddenly, her eyes opened and she pushed at his chest, “Ummm…stop it…what are you doing?” Were the words mumbled in his mouth.

He slid his hand free
as she rolled
over
with
the
fat belly
. To av
oid squishing her or causing harm, Giuseppe moved away and fell off the bed
.
“Cazzo!”

“What the hell are you trying to do Giuseppe?”

He jumped to his feet. “What do you think?”

“Are you such a pervert you can’t sleep next to me and not try to screw me wh
en
I’m sleeping?”

“I
am a man who likes sex with
women;
I apologize if you believed otherwise.”

“There are many straight guys who can lie next to a woman and not want to fuck her?” Shanda said, although shirtless and in his boxers, Giuseppe did look delicious. She just wasn’t giving in, especially after the way he treated her.

Giuseppe snickered, “I suppose if they must share a bed with their mother or someone they are not attracted to this is true.”

Shanda wondered whether he was attracted to her personality or her
pussy.
There’s a difference. “Either, keep your hands to yourself or like I said cuddle up with the dog big guy.”

Giuseppe climbed into bed and gestured for her to turn on her side. How else would he fit? He grumbled as she returned to a left lateral recumbent position and he had nowhere to rest his arm except over her breasts, stomach or thighs. “And what am I to do with this?”

Shanda swiveled her head to see his arm
sticking
vertical
ly
in the air, “Oh my goodness, you are worse than my little nephew Tyquan.
Damn
!”

“
I am not comfortable.”

“This is not the Ritz-Carlton Giuseppe. Make the best of it. You’re an uninvited guest, be grateful I let you
lie here
in the first place!”

“Do you know how I sleep best?” Giuseppe grinned as he spooned her
and put his arm around her breasts
.
She did not protest and he scoot
a bit
closer to her warm body.

“Let me guess. With your dick in a woman’s hole.”

“Sí.”

“Pull another move like that again and I’ll find a nice dark hole to bury you in, capisce?”

Giuseppe laughed hard and curled his body protectively around her
.
“
You threaten death. But, as long as I am wrapped in your arms
I am not afraid.”

Shanda pushed him back with her ass, “You’re too much Giuseppe,
and I
can’t believe women fall for your corny lines. Scoot your ass back a bit and behave.”

“Did you miss me bella?”

“Nope!”

“I thought about you.”

“When you finished fucking and slept alone?”

“Yes.”

“At least you’re honest.”

“I will never lie about such things. I am a bachelor and enjoy the freedom of it.”

“I bet.” She scoffed.

“You are a free spirit. We are the same.”

“No we’re not.”

“You enjoy freedom
. You are a bachelorette. You speak your mind and do not apologize for it. See, all the things we have in common?”

“Those are superficial similarities. What music do I like?”

His eyes twinkled humorously
.
“Sexual music.”

“Now that’s retarded.”

Giuseppe recalled the R&B and Pop CD’s lying about the table in the sitting room. “You love soul
music
because it touches you, but you like Pop for the nights you party with your friends.”

Shanda was silent.

Giuseppe continued, “
You went to college, not because you wanted to but because you wanted to please your parents. The sword of your tongue is to hide the fear, but when observed more closely it is really a butter knife.”

She closed her eyes again and listened to him breathing. Her body wanted him, damn it wanted him badly but she refused to listen and paid attention to her brain instead. She couldn’t keep giving in to her urges and had to take a stand. She didn’t want sex as the only thread holding her to a man. She wanted a meaningful relationship for a change. Just because she was pregnant with his child didn’t give him carte blanche to her pussy. Giuseppe wasn’t the committal
type.
The only future they shared consisted of
rearing a
child and being
good
parents.

CHAPTER
EIGHTEEN

“Well I’ll be damn
ed
.” Selange mumbled when she emerged from the bathroom after changing
into a sexy
costume
and found Alfonzo snoring.

The outfit she wore was only one of many she packed to make him drool. The only spittle occurring tonight would be from his mouth to the pillow. She sighed, went around the room blowing out
scented
candles
before climbing into bed. She’d try again in the morning. She slid beside her husband
, put her head on his chest and within minutes went to dreamland.

Flapping trees and the pap pap pap sounds
woke Alfonzo first. Groggy and
slightly hung-over he craned his neck to see rain striking the glass patio doors. The weather canceled his plan to go yachting with his wife. He yawned and when his mind was clear he realized he slept in his clothes.