The Santinis: Vicente, Book 4 (8 page)

Her doorbell rang and she rushed out, her hair still damp. She peeked out and saw Vince on her doorstep, a pizza box in his hands.

She opened the door smiling. “Hey, I was going to call you after I got out of the shower.”

One eyebrow rose in typical Santini fashion. “Really? After? Why would you wait for that?”

For a second she didn’t get his meaning, but it hit her and she felt her face heat. “Oh get in here.”

He stepped through the door and Rufus came shuffling out. He gave a happy bark and moved over to Vince.

“
I thought you said he didn’t like men.”

“
He only likes you because you brought pizza. You know men just want to be fed.”

He laughed and set the pizza on the table. He bent down and gave Rufus a scratch behind the ears. Vince straightened, grabbed her by the hand and in the next instant, he was kissing her breathless.

“
I’ve been waiting to do that all day,” he said giving her a little kiss on the nose.

“
Yeah?” She couldn’t stop the grin. Having someone preoccupied with her was a new feeling. “I had the same problem.”

“
Do you have any paper plates?” She nodded and retrieved them from the kitchen. When she returned, she found Vince pulling off a piece of his pizza slice and about to throw it to Rufus.

“
Don’t you even dare. That dog cannot handle pizza. Especially with pepperoni on it.”

And then she realized it had pepperoni and mushrooms. Her favorite pizza. Well, half of it was. The other just had the pepperoni. She looked up at Vince.

“
You remember my favorite pizza?”

He looked a little sheepish and nodded. How could she resist a man who remembered things like that? It was useless in her opinion.

“
Why don’t we eat this in the living room?”

He nodded and grabbed some napkins and followed her in. Rufus followed him as if he was his long lost father.

“
You disgust me. I saved you, rescued you, and took care of you. And you abandon me for a man with pizza.”

“
Us guys have to stick together, right, Rufus? Even if she stole your manhood.”

She chuckled. “That was gone before me.”

“
Jesse Johnson came by to my office today.”

And just like that everything in her tensed. “Yeah?”

He nodded and played with the remote control trying to find something to watch. “He said that Mike was booted out.”

She sighed. “He was. I told you that before.”

Vince looked at her then, his gaze direct and his expression serious. “He said he was drinking and cheating on you.”

She was going to have a talk with Jesse. A very loud talk with him. She knew he was just trying to look out for her, but this was stepping over the line.

Vince shook his head. “No, don’t look like that. You have nothing to be ashamed of.”

Jules set her pizza down. “I don’t like talking about it.”

“
We don’t have to. I just wanted you to know I knew about it. Of course, Mike was an asshole.”

He took another bit and turned the channel to an old NCIS episode.

“
You think your best friend was an asshole?”

He shook his head and swallowed. He faced her. “We weren’t friends by then, Jules. You know that we drifted apart after your marriage. It started before that when he didn’t make it into Annapolis and I did. You knew he blamed me for getting in.”

She nodded remembering how bitter Mike had become. Even the mention of Vince’s name would send him on a tirade about how the process was screwed up./

“
Then, when you got married, it was just too hard. I couldn’t see Mike with the woman I loved for the rest of my life. It had been bad enough in high school.”

She blinked. “What did you say?”

“
I love you, Jules. I don’t see a reason to pretend I don’t.”

He took another bite of pizza and watched the show. He said it as if it was no big deal.

“
Listen, Vince…”

He looked at her again. “I am not asking you to do anything about those feelings. I just thought I should tell you right off.” He gave her a quick kiss. “So, are you an NCIS fan?”

She glanced at the TV then back at him. Suddenly, her heart felt lighter, her outlook cleared.

“
Yeah. I have a bit of a crush on Gibbs.”

He gave her a wink. “Of course you do. He’s a Marine.”

She laughed. “You are full of yourself.”

“
How can I not be? I have NCIS to watch, a pretty girl, pizza and an ugly dog. Pretty good night if you ask me.”

She grabbed up her pizza and snuggled up against him. Vince was right. A pretty damned fine night.

A month later, Jules was still in a haze of happiness. There were moments she thought it was all a dream. She had never been this happy with anyone in her life.

“
Why do I have to plant it?” Vince asked as she watched him pummel an impatient. They were in his backyard. Although there was still work to be done, the yard and flowerbeds were starting to look almost manageable. She had insisted that he help her with it because it had been fun to do. Until now. If he massacred any more flowers, she might have to hit him.

“
Stop abusing the flower. And you have to do it because you’ll value it more if you do it with your own hands.”

He snorted and she had to fight a smile. He’d been bitching since she’d dragged him out into the backyard earlier. His idea had been to stay in bed and make love. Again. It had been tempting, but they needed to spend time out of bed. Although, now that she thought about it, she couldn’t come up with a reason why.

“
What’s next?”

She glanced at the flower. It was barely alive, but at least he’d done the work. And he looked so damned hot doing it. He was wearing a pair of faded, holey jeans and no shirt. It was enough to make a girl lose her head.

“
Jules?”

“
Oh, sorry. They need water. Let me get the hose.”

Not that they would survive his abuse, she thought, feeling safe to smile. She turned on the water and headed back to the flowerbed.

She had her head down and was messing with the nozzle. “What’s wrong with this thing? You need a new one.”

“
I don’t need a new one. This one works just fine.”

He stepped in front of her and reached for the hose. She finally got it to work. The hard spray of water hit him smack in the chest. She didn’t say anything for a moment or two. Then she started chuckling.

“
I’m sorry.”

He cocked his head to the side and frowned at her. “That’s funny. You don’t sound sorry.”

The gleam in his eyes warned her he was after payback. She dropped the hose and ran, squealing. He chased her up the steps and into the house. She barely got in the door when he grabbed her. He slammed the door shut and crowded her up against it.

“
Think you’re funny, do you?”

She was giggling when she shook her head. “It was an accident.”

“
Yeah?”

She nodded, and another bubble of laughter escaped. He was frowning at her one instant, then the look changed. His eyes heated.

“
Jules,” he whispered. She barely heard it, but she felt it. He smoothed his hand over her face, brushing her hair out of her face. “I love you.”

For him, it was that simple. He loved her and it was all he needed. In that instant she knew she didn’t have to hide her feelings.

“
I love you, Vince.”

He crushed his mouth against hers. Saying the words freed her, and in that one moment, it was just the two of them. Vince pressed his body against hers and she felt his arousal. Her need soared.

“
Now, I have to have you now, Jules.”

The words thrilled her. The dark, dangerous voice had her head spinning.

I did this
. That was all she could think. He tugged off her shirt and made a sound when he realized she hadn’t worn a bra.

He said nothing as he tried to undo the snap on her jeans.

“
Damn,” he said, embarrassment coloring his voice.

“
What?”

“
My hands are shaking so bad, I can’t do it.”

She laughed and he looked up at. “Oh, you make me happy, Vince. I never thought I would inspire such lust in a man.”

He smiled and she undid her jeans. Together they worked them down her legs. He didn’t even do that much. He undid his pants then lifted her off the floor and thrust into her in one motion.

She gasped at the intrusion.

“
Sorry, baby,” he said, pressing his mouth against her throat.

Jules wrapped her legs around his waist. “Don’t be.”

He chuckled. “I should say I really am, but I’m not.”

He started to move. Again and again, he thrust into her as he continued to kiss her throat. Power and need entwined within her, sent her body into overdrive. Every thought dissolved. It didn’t take her long to reach orgasm. Vince thrust into her once more then groaned as he came.

Moments later, he said, “I’m sorry.”

She cupped his face and looked at him. “Don’t ever be sorry for doing that.”

“
I should have more control.”

She shook her head. “I like it. No one has ever done things like that for me. It makes me feel wonderful.”

Then, slowly, his lips curved. “Yeah?”

She nodded and kissed him. Then, he carried her into his bedroom, barely making it to the bed. He shucked off his jeans and crawled into bed beside her.

“
I think I’m getting a handle on this gardening,” he said yawning.

She chuckled.

“
I’d say you were an expert.”

She cuddled closer, happy to have a man she reduced to such animal instincts. It was definitely a banner day for her.

* * * *

Vince walked out of the bedroom the next morning, a stunned look on his face. “Jules, we didn’t use a condom yesterday.”

“
Oh.” It was all she could think of. “There’s no worry. I’m on the pill.”

“
Ah.” He kept staring at her. He was dressed for work, but he was going to be late if he kept standing there.

“
You need to get going, yeah?”

He nodded. “Just so you know, if something happened, I’d insist on marriage.”

Her heart almost stopped beating right then and there. Something close to fear gripped her. How did that happen so fast?

“
Why would you do that?”

He blinked. “If you were pregnant, I would insist on it.”

“
I understood the statement. Why do we have to screw this up with marriage?”

“
Where did you think this was going?” he asked.

“
Not to marriage. I will not marry again.” Now panic has set in. She had to fight to breathe evenly.

“
Jules, I would never cheat on you like Mike. You know that. I love you.”

Oh, damn, just hearing those words were the sweetest joy. It was also the worst temptation. She wanted to say yes. What woman wouldn’t want to marry a god like Vince who said sweet things to her? She’d never known someone who could engage her on so many levels.

She just couldn’t. Not again. “I do. I trust you Vince or I never would have gone to bed with you. You’re the most trustworthy man I know. I just can’t get married again.”

Just saying the words had her head pounding.
Married
. Getting married just screwed everything up.

He frowned. “What are you not telling me?”

She looked at him then, and realized if she loved him like she said she did, she had to tell him the truth. She didn’t want to tell the story. Her parents knew. Jesse knew…and her therapist. Otherwise, she hadn’t told anyone else. But this man who had made her feel so loved and wanted deserved the truth.