His: Tony: The Sabatini Family by Fiona Murphy (mystery books to read .TXT) 📗

hate my parents went so young, I think it’s how they would have wanted—together.”

I’m drawn to him, and he pulls me into his lap. I love being in his lap, with him all around me. I feel so safe in his arms. “It was a car accident, wasn’t it?”

Nodding, he runs a hand down my back. “They died on impact, thank god. My wife was in the back seat. It’s how she got hooked on painkillers. Then she couldn’t even keep her shit together and overdosed on them a few years later.”

“I’m sorry you lost all three of them so close together.” I look at the picture of his parents on his desk. His father was as handsome as he is, and his mother was beautiful. Reaching for the picture, I run a finger over his father.

“I didn’t miss my wife but with her death, Anthony found out I supplied her with pain pills when she ran out of the ones the doctor gave her. He blamed me and went out on his own. She was a shitty mother in life and in death.” His bitterness causes an ache deep down. He’s had children, raised them and then lost them. Nodding at the picture. “My mother was the only real mother my sons had.”

I spot something in the picture. “Rosie? I thought your mother’s name was Sophia?”

He smiles as he nods. “It was. My parents didn’t have a conventional beginning either. Her family and mine had bad blood. My mother hated my father. He didn’t understand why. He fell for her, and he wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Remember I told you about her love of Shakespeare? My father called her Rose from those lines in Romeo and Juliet. Eventually, it became Rosie. It was just between them. She didn’t answer to Rosie to anyone but him.”

“So you get it from your father? The not taking no for an answer.” I trail a hand over his cheek.

“Hm, yes. I’m a Sabatini through and through. We go after what we want and we keep it once we have it.” He purrs as he grabs my ass and squeezes.

Laughing, I catch his hand. “What is this on your ring?”

Bringing up his hand, he shows me. “It’s a lynx. This was my great-grandfather’s. He had it made in honor of a lynx saving his life and it becoming the family pet.”

“A lynx as a family pet? How did a lynx save his life and not eat him or something?” I run a finger over the ring.

“Hm, the mother was killed. The lynx was a small one, no more than a few months old. My great-grandfather was on the beach bringing in cargo he was smuggling. Soldiers were close by and almost caught him. When they heard the lynx, they took off, saving him from being found and killed. He took the lynx home when he realized it was starving and close to death. They repaid each other for the rest of their lives. No one messed with him, as the lynx was extremely protective over the one who fed him.”

“Hm...” I trail my hand over his chest. “I often think of you as one of those big cats, all muscle and sinew then you get all growly. What did they name the lynx?”

He laughs. “Meatball.”

God, I love it when he laughs. I wish he did it more often. The sound sends heat from my chest to the apex of my thighs. And I can’t resist squirming in his lap.

His hands come up and cup my face, pulling me down to his mouth. Sweet and gentle, it’s so different from the way he usually kisses me it ravages me in a completely different way. I moan at the loss of his mouth. “Lisa is back in town. She called for you. I okayed her coming to the house today. We’ll see her together first, then I’ll let you spend some time with her alone.”

“Okay, I’m going to tell her I met you and changed my mind. She was right. When it came down to it, I couldn’t do it. I don’t want to do it.”

“Good girl.”

***

Christy

I was afraid of how seeing Lisa with Tony right there would go. But it went smoothly, and Lisa wasn’t surprised in the least. In the end, she couldn’t stay long though. Being away for a week her regulars were getting cranky. As Tony walks her out to the door, I look around the living room we’re rarely in. We usually spend our time in the kitchen or the library in the evening.

Tony walks back to me, “What?”

“You really want me to change things?” I motion to the room.

The dimple flashes at me. I melt at how happy he looks. “Yes, I want you to make this your home too.”

“Okay, I’ll start in here. I won’t touch the kitchen or your library because I love both.” I promise.

Walking toward me, he pulls me to him. “Next, you do our bedroom.”

“Or I could start in there.” I wrap my arms around his neck and bring him down to me.

12

Christy

It isn’t easy to redo the bedroom because I do like it. However, Tony gives me some ideas, and in a week, we have a brand new bed, complete with mattress and bedding. I went with one wall wallpapered and new art we picked out from his amazing personal collection he has in the basement. The collection Gertrude had mentioned was indeed real. He has two Cassatts, three Degas, a Monet, and a Renoir. Two of them were reported stolen by the owners, he admitted.

The day my period comes, I already start the day in a bad mood. I’m not able to go shopping for the new living room furniture because something takes Tony out of the house. I’m stuck in the house with Paolo who doesn’t want to take me shopping, in case I get away from him. Even though Tony told him to. He flatly refuses, saying