Loving A Romano (19 page)

“Then put us both out of our misery already.”

Wade pulled out of her before thrusting back in hard. She gasped at the shock of how deep he was. But she had no time to ponder it because he was pulling out of her and thrusting back in again and again. Her screams of pleasure matched his as her muscles clenched around his thrusting dick and her insides flooded with her cum as an orgasm took hold of her.

“Oh Nicki I’m cumming,” she shouted, her arms wrapping around him to hold him close.

He gave a final thrust and hot cum left the head of his dick to spray her insides, mixing with hers.

Chapter Twenty-two

Wade lay with his arms wrapped tightly around Ashley’s shoulders later that night at her house. After their round of mind blowing sex at the guesthouse he had followed her back to the city where they had stopped by her house for her to change before heading out for dinner.

He waited in the family room flipping channels waiting for her to come down when her perfume had caught his attention. It was a smell unique to Ashley. He had actually done a double take when he had seen her. She’d showered, curled her hair and put on light makeup.

Ashley walked towards him and it was with nothing short of gracefulness. In that moment, Wade realized just how lucky he was.

A soft snore came from the woman lying beside him and the smile he had been wearing grew along with his ego. It was almost three o’clock in the morning and she’d just drifted off to sleep. He kissed the shoulder closest to him.

“Ti amo Ashley.”

She made a soft noise and snuggled a little closer to him as if she had heard his softly spoken declaration of love. His grip around her tightened as he thought back over the years he’d spent dreaming of this very moment. He had put up the outward appearance of confidence when it came to his eventually winning her over but always in the back of his mind there had been that little bit of insecurity. A nagging little voice constantly telling him he wasn’t good enough for her. A voice which sounded suspiciously like Heather's. He could hear her even now telling him Ashley was a real woman. With real friends who had real jobs. And she deserved a real man. How could he argue with the truth? She surrounded herself with friends who had the same drive and energy she had. It was the same with the men she’d dated for as long as he’d known her. His smile faded a little as he thought of what he was doing with his life.

When he was in high school it hadn’t bothered him to be heading off to college without a plan. The only thing he knew was that he loved to draw and create. And he was pretty good at it too. Everyone had expected him to continue his education and branch off into architecture and admittedly he’d thought about it until he realized how much more school it meant he would have to endure. He’d opted out of that. Working off of plan B he had reluctantly gone to work for his dad the summer after he had graduated college. Even now Wade didn’t know why. He had known from the beginning it wasn’t what he wanted to do.

Being outside in the heat and telling other people what to do when he wasn’t sure of what he was doing himself didn’t sit well with him. He’d stuck it out for two of the longest months of his life until he just couldn’t take it any longer. Wade could still recall how bad he’d felt when he had finally told his dad. The disappointment in his father’s eyes had haunted him for days, causing him to waiver back and forth with his decision. Ever since quitting his job he’d been living off of a trust fund left to him by his maternal grandmother. The trust had been large enough to guarantee he wouldn't have to work for a very long time. With the help of his dad’s financial advisor it had almost doubled. If things kept going the way they had he’d probably never have to work. But was that what he wanted to do with his life?

Suddenly feeling restless, Wade moved his arm slowly from under Ashley’s shoulders and got up from the bed. He glanced around on the floor and didn’t see his boxers anywhere.

Walking naked out of her bedroom, he headed downstairs. He found his boxers a few steps from the bottom. He pulled them on before continuing down the stairs. He shook his head as he picked up various items of clothing as he retraced their movements. He pulled his jeans on before taking the rest of the clothes to the laundry room.

His thoughts crowded in on him once more. Wade leaned against the cool exterior of the washing machine, his head in his hands. Sure he knew his sister had only been on him in hopes of spurring him to do something with his life but he couldn't deny the truth.

Cool fingers brushed against his back before arms closed around his waist from behind. He jumped.

“What are you doing down here?” a sleepy Ashley asked kissing his back.

“I came to get our clothes. They were scattered everywhere,” he said his thoughts still distracted.

“That could have waited until morning,” she said trailing her hot tongue down his back.

Ashley sat up on the edge of the washing machine. Her legs wrapped around his waist pulling him into her embrace. She lightly stroked the side of his face.

“
Che cosa è esso Wade ?
What is it? The softly spoken question asked in perfect Italian took him by surprise. The concern in her voice and on her face had him wishing he’d been able to better hide his reaction to her words. Soft hands stroked the side of his face. He glanced up into her warm brown eyes and felt his insides weaken. He turned his head and brushed his lips softly against her palm.

“È niente.
It’s nothing.”

Doubt filled eyes gazed back at him. She opened her mouth to speak but he moved in to block any further discussion. He took her mouth with more force than he’d intended. All the emotions he was fighting were in that kiss. He wanted to imprint himself on her mind, body and soul. Wade thrust his tongue deep into her mouth. It battled for control with hers. When he felt her respond he gentled the kiss and finally released her lips. His forehead rested against hers
.

“Li ho bisogno Ashley.
I need you Ashley.”
Wade heard the desperation in his voice. He knew it wasn’t all due to his rising desire to be inside of her one more time before the sun came up. It had to do with his need to keep her in his life and the feeling of pending doom he now felt hanging over his head.

Chapter Twenty-three

Another week down. Ashley parked her truck outside the Romano house. She checked her reflection in the mirror. The look of anticipation in her brown gaze could not be missed. She now readily admitted the cause. A giggle escaped before she could stop it but then why should she. It was the happiest she’d been in a long time. Deciding to give Wade a chance was turning out to be the best decision of her life and things couldn't be better between them. They’d officially been a couple for a month … Ashley paused, her hand in her hair.

“We’re a couple,” she told her reflection.

Another giggle of pure giddiness passed her lips. Ashley wasn’t sure what she’d been expecting when she’d finally stopped fighting what was happening between herself and Wade. It felt like it always had between them. Comfortable and right. They had spent all the free time she could find together and sometimes even when she was working. She was finding Wade surprisingly helpful. He had a good eye for details.

Everything was going better than expected between them. From where she stood the only box left unchecked was Joey and Maura. They still hadn't told them they were together. There had been several conversations between her and Wade and then her and Heather about how and when to tell them. For the first time Wade and his sister were both on the same page. They didn’t see the big deal and seemed to think their parents would be perfectly fine with the situation but Ashley still had her reservations.

“We’re going to have to tell them,” she said to her reflection before putting the mirror up.

She made sure she had her briefcase before stepping into the Austin heat. Inside was the final guest list and menu for Wade's party. They needed to get invitations in the mail this week. As it was it was later than she’d wanted but Wade had insisted his friends didn’t need that much notice and had even questioned the need for an official invitation. He’d actually suggested word of mouth. Joey and Maura had nixed the idea almost immediately. She guessed the thought of their property overflowing with twenty-something year olds was not a pleasing one.

Ashley was glad this was the last meeting before the actual party. With this one thing off her plate she’d be free to focus all of her attention on the Blaze event which was closing in on her faster than she’d prefer. There was still so much to do for the damn thing it sometimes kept her up at night.

She glanced over to where Wade normally parked his car but didn’t see it. A little of the joy she’d been feeling dimmed. Where was he? She’d reminded him about the meeting before he’d left her house last night. For some reason he’d decided to go home instead of remaining at her house where he’d been pretty much every night for the last month. She didn’t want to know what he’d been telling Maura. She knew it had to be something because there had been no frantic phone calls wanting to know his whereabouts. Maybe they already knew about them and were just waiting for a chance to say something to her.

She was about to ring the doorbell when it was opened wide and a very animated Jesse Romano stood in front of her. She could swear these damn Romanos had some sort of sixth sense when it came to the door.

“Hey there,” she said giving the young girl a hug.

“Hey Ashley. See ya later I’m meeting friends at the mall,” Jesse said and rushed off.

Ashley shook her head and laughed as she watched her drive off. She could recall a time when that had been her and Heather. Not a care in the world except for which store was having the biggest sale and what cute guys they thought they would see at the mall.

She closed the door behind her and luxuriated in the coolness of the house for a few moments before heading for the kitchen where she heard voices. Ashley spotted Maura at the stove, as usual, and Heather sitting at the table with her briefcase open. She glanced around but didn’t see Wade.

“Hey guys,” she said making her presence known.

She walked over and gave
Maura a hug and kiss on the cheek.

“Ashley how are yo
u?” Maura said returning her hug.

“I’m good. A little tired.” She headed for the table to sit with Heather.

“You girls work too hard,” Maura said turning back to stir the pot she had on the stove. “You need to take some time off and relax.”

“There’s enough time to relax when I’m dead,” Ashley and Heather both said at the same time.

They looked at each other and burst into laughter. Maura turned from the stove, a frown on her face. They both straightened instantly.

“Sometimes I wish you girls hadn’t listened so well to the lessons of your fathers. By now you should both have young men in your lives.”

Heather jabbed Ashley in the ribs. She tried to contain her laughter.

“I’m not getting any younger you know,” Maura continued. “I’d like to have grandbabies running through this house.”

“Mama you haven’t gotten all of your kids out of the house yet,” Heather reminded her.

Joey and Maura had five younger Romano kids still living at home. Well four. Joey Jr. was almost eighteen and would be on his way to college in the fall. It left four who were fifteen and under still there.

“Your father and I didn’t build this big old house to let it sit empty with just us. We always knew we wanted a huge family.”

Maura turned from the stove.

“The way I figure it, you have approximately another six years to get yourselves together and start giving me some grandbabies to spoil.”

Ashley could tell Heather was doing the math in her head as well. That would be when the youngest, Marco, would graduate from high school.

Tick. Tock. Tick. Tock.

Had they gotten a new clock? She looked all around the kitchen but didn’t see it. She heard it again and glanced at Heather on to see her sitting deep in thought. It looked like Maura’s words had gotten to her as well. She’d grown up as an only child until she’d met Heather and after being exposed to such a large family she wanted to have kids. An image of a baby boy smiling up at her with sparkling blue eyes caused her to gasp.

“Ashley you okay?” Heather asked.

She nodded. “Yeah I’m fine. Where’s your brother?”

“Not sure,” Heather said hunching her shoulders. “Mama where’s the kid? I don’t have all evening to devote to this. I have tons of work to do.”

Maura turned from the stove where she was continuing dinner preparations, a huge smile on her lovely rounded face. “He’s at work.”

Ashley and Heather both looked at each other, bewildered expressions on their faces.

“Work,” they said together and burst out laughing.

Once she was able to speak, Heather turned to her mother.

“No really Ma where is he? We need to get a move on this thing.”

Maura walked over to the table. “He’s at work with your father. When he came in last night he asked to speak with Joey in private and asked for his old job back. Your father couldn't believe it himself. He told him yes of course. Wade started today. Can you believe it?”