Santori Reloaded, page 4
part #3 of Santori Series
Z’s voice saying, That man is twice your age, kitten.
Gio’s voice saying, Our line of work is not the safest. And, We can’t know what tomorrow will bring.
And worst of all, I am not immortal.
Chapter 4
PETER
I leaned over the pot and took a big whiff of my creation. It was spaghetti from a recipe I’d found in Cosmopolitan magazine at the end of an article titled Six Ways to Drive Your Man Wild. I’d expected some tips on oral sex or some dirty phrases to spice things up in the bedroom. Not that we needed any spicing-up, but it was always nice to learn new things.
Instead of dick-sucking techniques, I’d learned that, apparently, the way to a man’s heart is through his stomach. There had also been some ideas about how to plan a perfect date, but that was Gio’s territory. Cooking was something I could do.
Or at least in theory.
Gio and I had been together for more than three years, and unofficially married for a little over a year, and I hadn’t brought much to the relationship besides conversation, cuddling, and sex. It felt one-sided. Gio took care of every little thing, and I wanted to show him that I could do things for him, too.
He seemed content with our dynamic, and he certainly never complained, but there was this tiny little voice in my head that said, what if.
What if he gets bored? What if he gets sick of me? What if he sends me away?
It was irrational, I knew, but I was determined to learn some new skills and prove my worth to him anyway. It couldn’t hurt to learn how to cook, right?
I’d had Carlos pick up the ingredients from the supermarket, but the cooking was all me, and the food was nearly done. The noodles were drained, and the sauce had a few more minutes to simmer. The wine was chilling in an ice bucket on the table, which was set with our best dishes, and a pan of garlic bread was toasting in the oven.
I felt like Julia Child—except younger, more masculine, and far less talented.
As I lifted the lid of the pot and bent to smell the sauce, a plume of steam engulfed my face. “Shit!” I snatched my head back, convinced that there were third-degree burns on my chin and lips. I rushed over to the sink and splashed cold water on the bottom half of my face. “Nobody warned me that cooking was dangerous,” I muttered as I patted my skin dry with a paper towel.
“Cooking is dangerous,” Gio said from behind me, pressing in and pinning me to the counter with his hips. “And with an ass like yours, so is bending over the sink like that.”
I bucked against him and laughed. “You scared the crap out of me.”
“You deserve to have the crap scared out of you. How many times do I have to tell you to keep that deadbolt locked?”
I sighed. “Sorry, I forgot.”
I hadn’t forgotten. I’d done it on purpose.
“Forgetting is not a good enough excuse,” he said.
I saw his reflection in the window over the sink. His eyes were thunderous, his lips tight.
“We’re talking about your safety,” Gio continued. “Why is it so hard to remember to keep yourself safe?”
“I don’t know, Gio. Maybe I need a spanking.” I bit my lip and bent lower over the sink, wiggling my shorts down and pushing my bare ass back against his crotch. “What do you think, daddy? You wanna spank my little ass and then fuck it?”
Gio clapped his hand over my mouth. It was the first time he’d ever done that. He always encouraged and even ordered me to talk dirty to him. To always let him know what I was feeling.
Instinctively, I squirmed against him and tried to speak through his hand. To protest. To ask what the fuck?
Gio’s free hand went to my thighs and pulled my shorts gently back into place, and hot shame replaced my confusion. Did he not want me?
But then I heard Theo’s voice from behind me. “Jesus Christ, Pete.” His tone was shocked. Breathy.
Affected.
Gio released my mouth and stepped back, allowing me to turn around. Theo was sitting at one of the barstools, his eyes bugging out of his head.
Now that the initial shock of the moment was over, Gio had regained his usual composure. He met Theo’s gaze head-on. “Didn’t you say you had to go to the bathroom?”
Theo blinked and slid off of the barstool. “Oh, yeah. Shit. I forgot.”
“Forgot what you came up here for?” Gio muttered under his breath as Theo walked off toward the master suite. Then, when we were alone, Gio turned to me and said, “You need to be careful, baby. You can’t do that kind of stuff in front of him.”
“Well, I didn’t do it on purpose. But it’s okay. Theo won’t say anything.”
Not to anyone else, anyway. I was sure I’d get an earful from him at some point.
“It’s not him saying something that I’m worried about,” Gio said, his voice low and strange.
I took his chin in my hand and made him meet my gaze. “What’s wrong? You seem agitated.”
Gio breathed out a small laugh. “It’s nothing. Just—”
Theo came back into the room rubbing his hands together. “So what’s for dinner? I didn’t know you could cook, Pete.”
“Ummm…it’s spaghetti. I got the recipe out of Cosmo. But…”
“But what?” he asked.
I had been about to explain that this dinner was just for Gio and me, but it seemed rude, and I couldn’t make the words come out. Instead, I offered him a warm smile. “Nothing. I just don’t know how good it will be.”
Gio must have been thinking along the same lines as me, because he took a bite of toast and said casually, “Don’t you have a hot date lined up or something?”
Theo laughed. “Since when have I had a date? Besides, after the day we had, I think we both need to unwind.”
Gio fixed a narrowed gaze on Theo and said nothing.
Just to break the silence, I did something I rarely did. I asked about work. “Rough day at the office?”
Theo glanced at me, and then at Gio. “You could say that. Your man’s a little bit mad at me, but he’ll get over it.”
Gio turned away and absently dragged the wooden spoon around in the spaghetti sauce before turning the burner off. “Let’s eat, and then Peter and I have to go to bed.”
I grabbed another place setting for Theo and hurriedly filled our plates with spaghetti, adding a slice of toast to the side of each. Then I poured three glasses of wine and sat down to eat.
The awkwardness at the table was so palpable it was like an extra dinner guest. Theo wasn’t supposed to be here, and he was throwing off the vibe of the whole evening. I wondered if he could sense that, or if he was as oblivious as he seemed.
Gio cleared his throat. “This looks wonderful, Peter.” He twirled a mass of noodles onto his fork, took it delicately into his mouth, and immediately started coughing.
“Oh, my God. Are you okay?” I reached over and pounded him on the back, terrified I was about to have to remember how to do the Heimlich maneuver. I mentally berated myself for not paying more attention in health class.
“I’m fine,” he said in a choked voice. “Just went down the wrong way. But it’s delicious, baby. Thank you.”
I narrowed my eyes at his traumatized expression. “You’re lying.” I took a tentative bite and grimaced. “Yuck. This is disgusting.”
Theo, never one to be left out of anything, shoveled in a mouthful of his own food and muscled it down his throat. “Salt,” he gasped. “Too much salt.”
“It’s not,” Gio said, taking another small bite and trying for a smile. “It’s delicious.”
Theo let out a laugh. “If you’re a cow, maybe. Dude… did you put a whole box of salt in there?”
Gio glared at him.
“I may have misread the instructions,” I admitted. “Or forgot I’d already salted it and did it again. Something is definitely off. I messed up, as usual.”
“Sweet pea,” Gio said. “Don’t talk yourself down.” He took another bite and hummed as he chewed. “Mmmm… fantastic.”
I stood up and went around to stand behind his chair, running my hands down over his shoulders and pressing a kiss to his temple. “It’s okay, Gio. I know I’m not a chef, but I’m learning. You don’t have to eat it. Let’s eat something else, and I’ll get the recipe right next time.”
He grabbed my hand and turned his face to give me a soft peck on the lips. “I love you.”
I kissed him back. “I know.”
“No shit,” Theo said. “You must love him a lot to take a second bite of that.”
I stuck my tongue out at him. “He took three bites, asshole. That’s the forever kind of love.”
Theo shrugged. “At least the toast is good.” He ripped off a piece and popped it into his mouth. “It’s because I helped with it.”
“You took it out of the oven,” Gio said irritably.
“Yeah. If not for me, we would have had salty spaghetti and burnt toast.” He got up and moved to the couch, stopping to grab another piece of toast on the way. “Hey, it’s time for the news.”
Gio’s shoulders tensed beneath my fingers. “It’s getting late. I think we should just turn in.”
“It’s only six o’clock,” Theo said from the sofa. Ignoring Gio’s not-so-subtle hint, he turned the TV on to the local news and cranked the volume.
On the screen, a young, dark-haired man was reporting live from a street I recognized. It wasn’t far from the pool hall where Theo and I used to hang out. Not a very good neighborhood, to say the least.
Police lights flashed in the background, and there was yellow tape strung up everywhere. The usual crowd of nosy onlookers milled around, jockeying for position to get a better look at whatever was going on within the perimeter of the police tape. A lady dressed in a housecoat and slippers shuffled past. Why was there always at least one of those in every crowd?
The reporter spoke loudly into his microphone, trying to be heard above the chaos behind him. “This is the second body in two months that has been linked to known crime boss Luca Ricci, who is currently serving a six-year sentence for tax evasion. Both of the victims were discovered in alleys, both naked and bound, and both with similar wounds. Detectives are saying this could very well be the work of a serial killer, and there were at least two other victims found within the past year who could be linked to this killing spree. Details are being withheld pending further investigation. In the meantime, police are urging citizens to be cautious. They are also asking that anyone who thinks they may have information about these—”
Gio grabbed the remote from the coffee table and clicked the TV off, interrupting the report. Then he turned to Theo with an expression of barely-contained rage. “Peter doesn’t need to see this,” he growled. “He’s already scared enough as it is without you filling his head with that vile, depressing garbage they call the news.”
Theo held up his hands in surrender. “Fine. I apologize. I’ve just been following that story. It hits pretty close to home, if you know what I mean.”
I didn’t usually get mixed up in their business discussions, choosing instead to tune it all out and pretend it didn’t exist, but I couldn’t help myself this time.
“Are you afraid they’re going to start targeting us?” I asked Theo. “I mean, Gio is in sort of the same business as Luca Ricci. I’ve heard you guys talking about him before. You said he was encroaching on your territory or something, right?”
Theo laughed. “Well, I don’t think I ever would have used the word encroaching, but yeah. Something like that.”
I turned my attention to Gio, whose face was like stone. “Are you afraid something is going to happen to us? I don’t really get all of this stuff, but you seem upset.”
“I’m not upset. I just don’t like Theo bringing shit like that into our home. I want you to feel safe.”
“I do feel safe,” I assured him. “You make me feel safe. We have a deadbolt on the door—”
“Which you won’t keep locked,” he snarled.
“I will. From now on, I’ll be sure to keep it locked when you’re not here, okay?”
He sagged a little and took a deep breath. “Swear to me.”
“I swear, Gio. I swear I will keep the door locked when you’re not home.”
“And you won’t forget.”
“I never forget.”
He gave a dark chuckle. “Yeah, right.”
“I—” Fuck. I was going to have to come clean. “I never forget to lock the door. But sometimes, when I know you’re about to come home, I unlock it on purpose.”
He pulled away from me and grabbed onto my shoulders. “I have a key, Peter. Why on earth would you do that?”
I wound my fingers into the fabric of his dress shirt and pressed in close enough to speak softly in his ear. “Because sometimes I’m a bad boy.”
He slid his arms around me and squeezed, and a tremor rippled through his body. “You don’t have to do that, baby. Please. Next time you want that kind of attention, just…leave the cap off of the toothpaste or something.”
I laughed against his ear. “Is that what’s got you so upset? That I left the door unlocked?”
“Yes,” he breathed, squeezing me even more tightly to him until I thought he would break me.
“Well,” Theo said loudly. “I guess I’m gonna head on out before I get a cavity. This is all too sweet for me.”
“Oh,” I said, remembering we had an audience. “Yeah, we’ll see you later. Sorry about the ruined dinner. Maybe you can pick up a burger on the way home?”
“I’ll figure something out,” he said. “The night is still young. I’ll probably go blow off some steam at a club.”
“You do that,” Gio said. “We’ll talk later.”
Theo swallowed, then gave a casual shrug. “Sure thing, boss. But maybe ease up on the safety thing a little bit. Those guys who got killed are scum. The world is a better place without them.” He skated his palm over my back in a tender caress. “And nobody’s gonna lay a hand on our boy.”
Gio pulled me out of Theo’s grasp. “Peter, go take a shower and get ready for bed. I’ll be along after I lock up.”
Theo’s hand fell limply to his side, and he let out a beleaguered sigh.
I went into the bedroom, but when I heard voices speaking in hushed tones, I backtracked, peeking around the corner so that I could see the two men standing at the front door. Eavesdropping was wrong, but after everything that had happened, I felt uneasy. I was missing something, and I needed to know what it was.
It was hard to make out everything they were saying, but when their voices rose a little, the conversation became clearer.
“Chill out,” Theo said. “You’re overreacting.”
Gio grabbed him by the collar and backed him against the wall. “And you’re taking too many risks. It was only supposed to be a warning. You were only supposed to rough one of them up. Now there are two fucking dead bodies, and since those Keystone cops have decided to treat this like a serial killer investigation, it’s going to get huge. Meanwhile, what if some of Luca Ricci’s people decide to try to get at me? For what you did. I’m not talking about these lowlife drug dealers he’s got on the street corners.”
“They’re not on the street corners anymore,” Theo said with a satisfied grin.
Gio shook him by the collar he still held wound in his fists. “I’m talking about the big guys. A warning would have sufficed, but you had to go and start a fucking war. If they decide to retaliate, hurting Peter would be the perfect way to do it. And even if they only went after me, where would that leave him?”
“Okay, I get it,” Theo said, pushing out of Gio’s grasp and straightening his collar. “That was the last one, okay? They’re running scared by now. I made sure they know… If they send anyone else into our territory, they’ll get more than a slap on the wrist.”
Gio laughed darkly. “You definitely gave them more than a slap on the wrist. Fuck, Theo.” He ran a hand through his hair and growled. “This is bad. Do you even get how bad this is? Ricci is not someone to be trifled with. He’s not like the guys we’ve dealt with before. And now that the cops are talking about a serial killer—”
“Like I said, you’re overreacting. Nobody cares about two lowlife drug pushers. This will be old news within a week or two, you’ll see. The cops aren’t going to be able to connect us, and Ricci’s people will get the message not to fuck with us.”
Gio huffed out a laugh and shook his head, clearly not convinced.
Theo’s eyes slid to me. Recognition flashed in them, but he didn’t give me away. He quickly turned his attention back to Gio, who was still fuming. He placed a hand on Gio’s shoulder. “Everything will work out perfectly. You’ll see.”
“It had damn well better,” Gio said. “Now get the hell out of here. I need to see about Peter.”
Chapter 5
PETER
I ducked back into the room and hurried to the shower, shucking my clothes to the floor in record time. The water was cold when I stepped under it, but it warmed up quickly, and by the time Gio made it into the bathroom, I had done a quick soaping of my hair and hit the crucial body parts with shower gel.
“Ummm… could you hand me a towel?” I asked Gio, trying to get my erratic heartbeat under control. “I forgot to get one.”
Gio bent and picked my clothes up. Shaking his head slowly, he dropped them into the hamper. Then he retrieved a towel from the linen closet and handed it to me. “Forgot to lock the door, forgot to get a towel, forgot to put your clothes in the hamper…” He shot me a reproachful look that sent my blood rushing south. “You have been a very bad boy today.”
I felt a blush creep over my cheeks, and I glanced nervously away. This is what I’d wanted, and now that I was getting it, I felt strangely shy and vulnerable. It was a rush, the feeling of shame, but it was multiplied tenfold by the fact that I truly had been bad this time. I’d eavesdropped on Gio’s conversation, and I’d discovered things he wanted to keep from me.
Gio’s demeanor tonight made the situation all the more delicious. His anger. His volatility. The fire and ice in his eyes was enough to make me tremble.
