“Call me crazy if you want, little man,” I say, “but I know you had something to do with this. The way you took to Daniella… that’s not like you, is it? You’ll never know how thankful I am, boy. I’m so damn sorry that anybody was ever cruel enough to leave you in a dumpster. But you’ll always have a home with us. Always.”
He moans softly and clambers up, trying to climb into my lap.
I chuckle. “I think you might be a bit big for that, boy…”
He whines insistently and I drop onto the grass, letting him sprawl halfway across my lap as he rolls onto his back and offers his belly.
“Alright, you needy little soldier,” I say, tickling him up and down his belly. “You’ve earned it.”
As I scratch him, I think about Flavio and the Italians. Now that Luca has taken control of the mob, business is going back to normal. Flavio and his men are facing federal charges for the shit they pulled.
They’re going to spend the rest of their lives in a high-security prison, and the families of the union boys are safe.
But there’s still one thing I have to take care of…
“You’re up early,” Daniella calls over to me.
I look up to find her standing on the balcony in her silk robe, tied at the waist so the surrounding fabric billows out around her body. My body stirs and I stand, smirking up at her.
“So are you,” I say.
“Well, somebody snuck out of bed before sunrise. So I went searching.”
“We’ve got important plans,” I tell her. “In fact, you might want to get dressed.”
“Plans? What plans?”
Before I have a chance to answer – goddamn, I couldn’t have timed it better – the blades of the helicopter start to cut the air. I reach down and grab onto Lucky, making sure he doesn’t spook at the noise.
The helicopter surges overhead and moves toward the rear of the estate, lowering itself down on the field behind the pond.
I grin. “Those plans.”
“I can’t believe this,” my Dreamer cries as the helicopter ascends to the sky, surging toward the clouds.
I smirk across at her, studying the way the safety harness presses into her body, highlighting all the most perfect parts… which isn’t saying much, because every part of her is perfect.
She’s changed into a light-fitting spring dress, the sort that flows down her body, giving me a generous hint of her cleavage that makes my manhood pulse.
I glance down at the estate, watching as Lucky runs happy circles in the lawn, yapping up at us as though in encouragement.
Then I sit back and smile at my woman. “Aren’t you going to ask where we’re going?”
She giggles. “Whoah.”
“What?”
“What is that thing on your face?”
I reach my hand up, confusion prodding at me. “What thing?”
“You’ve got this weird thing, sort of like a semicircle… it almost looks like a smile. But I must be wrong, right? The badass Bratva boss doesn’t smile.”
I grin even wider. “Are you complaining?”
She looks at me seriously, emotion glimmering across her eyes. “No freaking way. Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
I take a breath, feeling something press against my heart from my inside jacket pocket. It’s fitting because that’s what my woman has done to me… shown me I had a heart when I was never sure before.
I was never heartless. I had Lucky. I had Kesha.
But my woman has opened me up in ways I could never have foreseen, showing me parts of myself I would’ve laughed at in disbelief before.
“Nope,” I say. “You’ll have to wait and see.”
“It must be somewhere really inaccessible if we’re taking a helicopter.”
I chuckle, shaking my head. “No, I just want this to be memorable for you. We’ll be there in a few minutes. Sit back, Dreamer. Enjoy the ride.”
I’m not just talking about the helicopter.
I’m talking about our lives, the glorious ride it’s going to be, carrying us into a future I’ll do anything to keep safe.
I spend the flight watching her, captivated by the way the helicopter’s vibrations cause her body to shimmer and dance for me, ripples moving across her breasts.
Daniella looks down at the ground, her mouth open in an adorable O.
“This is amazing,” she says. “I’ve never been in a helicopter before. This is so magical, Dom.”
“So you’ll remember it?” I say passionately, with urgency in my voice.
I can’t help it. I want her to be able to replay this morning over and over for the rest of our lives, to sink into the intimate glory of all we’re going to share together.
Forever.
“Yes,” she giggles beautifully. “Of course I am. Why, hmm?”
I smirk at her. “There you go again, Dreamer, trying to ruin the surprise.”
Soon we’re descending, the helicopter landing just outside the city, in a field behind the building.
Once the blades have stopped spinning, I unstrap myself and leap down, reaching up to grab my woman by the hips and lower her to the ground. She makes a breathy noise as I put her down, going right to my manhood, but I have to remind myself this is about love.