Unforgivable Ties

Chapter 24

Vincenzo

I awoke and saw Stephanie’s sleeping form next to mine. She wasn’t sleeping gracefully, like how romance novels or TV portrayed it. Her hair was tangled and sticking different directions from how long we had gone at it last night, and drool was leaking out of her mouth and on to the pillow as she slept soundly. Her brows were furrowed slightly, as if she were trying to solve a complex math problem in her dreams.

Last night had been better than I could have ever imagined. Being inside of her for the first time had been a collision of chemistry and pent-up desires, a volcano of emotion that erupted into something far bigger than I could have ever imagined. The feel of her skin against mine, the scent of her hair, the little gasps she let out as we moved together in perfect harmony—I knew I’d never be able to let her go now.

Stephanie was mine. I would kill any other men who hurt or touched her, just like David.

As I lay there next to her, taking in the sight of her, I couldn’t help but trace the delicate curve of her shoulder with my fingertip, lingering on a small birthmark that I’d discovered last night. It was shaped like a tiny star, and I remembered how it had felt under my lips when I kissed it.

Her eyelids fluttered open, but she was so sleepy she hadn’t quite joined the world of the living. Stephanie wiped the drool off her lips, blinking rapidly to wake up.

“Sorry,” I said, retracting my hand off her birthmark. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

“It’s fine.”

She had wiped the drool off her chin and was now rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. Even when she looked like a hot mess, she was adorable.

“How’d you sleep?” I asked, pulling her naked form into mine.

“Like the dead,” she sighed. “I’m surprised my body still works after how hard you fucked me.”

My dick twitched at her response, remembering the feel of her underneath me last night.

“Then I did my job well,” I grinned, running my hands along her back.

I could get used to this; waking up next to her every morning, our bodies intertwined from post-sex bliss. Yes, now that she was mine, I would keep her in this bed, my cock buried inside her cunt as long as she could handle it.

“So, um,” she hesitated, slightly moving away from me. “I think I should move out.”

All the visions I had of keeping her close to me cracked into jagged shards of glass, piercing the tranquil morning with her words. No, it wouldn’t do, not now. Now that I knew what it felt like to have her in my arms.

“What? Why?” I said, trying and failing to hold back the panic and anger in my voice.

“Well...you said it yourself. You don’t bring women home,” she paused, chewing on her lower lip. “Let alone have one live with you. And I don’t want things to get weird.”

“Weird? Everything about us is weird, Steph. We met when you found me bleeding out on a warehouse floor,” I said, trying to tame the mess of her hair. “I near blackmailed you into working for the mafia, and in a twisted turn of events, we ended up in bed with each other like those romance novels on your Kindle.”

“You know about those?!” she sputtered, her face turning bright red.

“You bet I do. I couldn’t help but notice you have a thing for reading mafia romance novels,” I stated, an eyebrow raised in amusement. “An oddly specific taste, if you ask me.”

I thought she might turn into a tomato with how red she was. Her red face and auburn hair contrasted starkly with the white sheets of the bed. She was avoiding my gaze now, fidgeting under the covers, her fingers twisting in the fabric.

“But I know you’re sleeping with other women. I just think it might hurt me too much, being just another one of them,” she confessed, her voice barely above a whisper.

“What?” I said, confused by her words. “I haven’t slept with anyone since before we met. Where did you get that idea?”

“When I was doing your laundry, one of your shirts reeked of floral perfume and had sparkles on it. You don’t have to lie.”

“God damn it, Felix,” I sighed, rubbing my temples.

I told Stephanie about my night at the club, and how the woman had been all over me, but I did nothing.

“Oh,” she responded, biting her lower lip. I swore I saw a hint of a smile play at the corners of her mouth. “I see.”

“You are the only one I want,” I said, flipping her on to her back. “And we’re going to stay in bed until you understand that.”

My hand made its way to her clit, and I traced lazy circles with my thumb. Her sudden gasp made me grin, all traces of her earlier anxiety vanishing in the heat of the moment. She looked at me with those bright brown eyes, full of surprise and something else, something that sent warmth coursing through my veins. The warmth was new to me, but I was pretty sure I wanted more of it.

After a few more filled condoms and hickies left on her legs, we collapsed next to each other. We were gasping, sweating, a tangled mess of limbs and satisfaction.

“Tell me you understand,” I panted, cupping the side of her face.

“I understand,” she breathed out, her voice languid with a hint of vulnerability. Her eyes met mine, and I felt a pang in my chest when I saw the sincerity in them.

I pressed closer to her, pulling her flush against me and sighed deeply, inhaling the faint scent of her vanilla shampoo. We lay there, breathing heavily. There was no need for words, not anymore.

“I thought you would’ve hated the idea of getting a Christmas tree,” Stephanie said.

I did sort of hate the idea. They shed and left pine needles everywhere, and no matter how hard I vacuumed, I’d still be finding them until 4th of July. And buying a shit ton of decorations for something I’d use a month out of the year seemed stupid to me.

But I knew Stephanie’s family had a giant tree every year, and that she loved it. When she had talked about it, I could tell how sad she was that she wouldn’t be able to get to see it. So, of course we were getting a Christmas tree, because even though it wouldn’t be her family’s, it would be ours.

“Eh, the idea grew on me,” I responded. “I thought I’d try it out.”

Stephanie grinned at me, her eyes alight with excitement. “Well, we’re going to find the best tree here.”

“Oh really?”

We walked into the lot and were quickly bombarded with options. I didn’t even realize how many different types of Christmas trees there were. Douglas Fir, Balsam Fir, Noble Fir—all these names sounded foreign to me. And each one came in different heights.

“Seriously?” Stephanie laughed as she caught the confused expression on my face. “You didn’t know about the different types of Christmas trees?”

“Hey, I’m learning here,” I defended myself, my voice tinged with slight amusement. I looked at her, my eyes wide, reflecting the lights strung on the trees around us.

She just shook her head, still laughing, and grabbed my hand, pulling me towards a cluster of towering firs. “Come on, Mr. Christmas Tree Virgin,” she teased.

“That is the only time you will ever call me a virgin,” I retorted, keeping pace with her.

She let out a peal of laughter that rang through the cold night air, causing heads to turn in our direction. It was a delightful sound, one that echoed in my head and made me want to make her laugh again.

Stephanie was giddy, her eyes flickering between the rows of trees. She’d stop occasionally, running her fingers over the pines and inhaling their fresh scent with a contented sigh.

We spent nearly an hour, maybe longer, navigating through the forest of trees. Stephanie would pause, assessing a potential contender before shaking her head and moving on. Stephanie finally paused in front of a tree.

“This one,” she declared confidently, pointing at it. Her eyes sparkled brighter than any of the twinkling holiday lights surrounding us.

“That one,” I agreed.

I would have grabbed the tree closest to the entrance and left if it were up to me, but seeing her happiness finding the perfect tree was worth it.

I didn’t realize just how big the tree was until we had purchased it and wheeled it to the car. I stared at it, then at my very expensive car, then back to the tree. The thought of tying it to the roof and scratching the paint killed me a little inside, but there was no way in hell it was fitting in the backseat.

“Alright,” I muttered, easily picking up the eight-foot tree. “Let’s do this.”

It was an adventure getting the tree tied to the top of the car, back to the apartment, and finally up the elevator. By the time we finally got it standing upright in the living room, we were both exhausted. But as I watched Stephanie’s face light up as she stared at the tree, I decided it was all worth it.

“Let’s decorate it!” she exclaimed, diving for the box of ornaments and decor we had bought before getting the tree.

“Right now?” I asked.

We were covered in sweat, pine needles, and reeked of sap. The only thing I wanted to do was shower with her. And fuck her against the tile once we had cleaned off the remnants of our tree adventure. But then again, I’d take any excuse to have her under me.

But Stephanie was too busy pulling out garlands, tinsel, and strings of multi-colored lights to hear my question. In her eagerness, she knocked over one of the smaller boxes, spilling a dozen glass ornaments onto the floor.

“Careful, careful,” I said, walking over to help her with the excessive amount of decorations.

“We’ll put the lights on first!” She declared, shoving the fallen ornaments aside with no regard.

I groaned internally at the thought of entangling myself in a web of twinkling lights. A jaunty Christmas tune was already playing in her head, I was sure, as she pushed the box towards me with a gleeful twinkle in her eyes.

“Fine,” I surrendered, pulling out the twisted mass of lights from the box. Stephanie clapped her hands in delight and helped me untangle the string, her nimble fingers moving with the familiarity of years spent untangling Christmas lights.

The heat of her body close to mine was more electrifying than the Christmas lights that danced around us. It was as if her body had a magnetic pull, calling out to mine with an invisible force.

We worked together, with Stephanie leading the charge on how we should decorate the tree. Before long, her phone began to play soft Christmas carols in the background, adding to the festive ambience.

In the middle of hellish decorating, I found myself unexpectedly enjoying the task. The way Stephanie’s eyes glowed from the twinkling lights, her laughter ringing in my ears like a beautiful melody, made the otherwise tedious task bearable. I watched as she adorably struggled to hang a red ornament on the highest branch, her tongue sticking out in concentration, her brows furrowed in concentration.

“Here,” I said, walking over to her.

I picked her up by the middle and lifted her so she could easily reach the top branch. Her squeal of surprise was quickly replaced by a sound of contentment as she hung the ornament at the perfect spot. She wriggled in my arms, her legs swinging in the air. Chuckling softly, I set her back on the ground, but didn’t loosen my hold on her. Instead, I pulled her closer, our bodies aligning perfectly like pieces of a puzzle. Her warmth seeped into my skin, her scent filling my nostrils and intoxicating my senses.

“Oh,” she whispered, her cheeks coloring with surprise as she looked up at me.

“Hm?” I asked.

I leaned over and gently kissed her forehead. Her eyes fluttered shut and she let out a content sigh, leaning into my touch.

“You know,” I said mischievously. “We forgot one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Mistletoe. I was thinking there should be one in every doorway—”

“You’re ridiculous,” she laughed, swatting me and trying to pull away.

But I tightened my grip around her waist, lifting her up and walking the two of us to the sofa. I gently lowered us onto the sofa, positioning ourselves so that we were facing each other. We clicked together like magnets and our bodies molded against one another.

“Time for a break,” I said, rubbing small circles into her hips.

“But we were almost done,” she pouted, jutting out her lower lip in a way that was almost comically endearing.

“With decorating. But we still have all that packaging to clean up.”

“Oh,” she said, her face falling at the thought of having to clean up the mess. “I didn’t think about that.”

“Mhm. So, I think we’ve earned a little break.”

We sat in silence for a few moments, just enjoying the feeling of being next to each other.

“What do you normally do for Christmas, Vincenzo?” Stephanie asked.

My Christmas celebrations were a complete 180 of what she did. I always sat at home and ordered take out, or went into work if something came up. I would leave my family a voicemail because I knew they’d be busy and wouldn’t answer my call.

“I just spend it by myself,” I responded, my voice quieter than I intended it to be.

Stephanie’s eyes filled with a pool of sympathy and concern that made me feel naked. But she quickly stopped herself from saying anything pitying. Instead, she squeezed my hand, a small yet warm gesture that silently voiced her understanding.

“Well, you have me to spend it with this year,” she said, a soft smile on her face.

And the year after, and the year after that. I had no plans of letting Stephanie go back to the Midwest; I would keep her in New York by any means necessary.

“I do,” I said, bringing her knuckles to my lips and placing a kiss on them. “We can make some new traditions,” I added, flipping over so I was on my back and she was on top of me. “Like no opening presents until we’ve had sex at least once.”

“You really are insufferable!” she said, laughing and slapping my chest lightly. Her cheeks were flushed a rosy hue, her laughter bright and infectious. It filled the corners of my apartment with a warmth I hadn’t realized was missing.

It was a warmth I wanted to keep with me forever.