Twisted Hearts by Cora Reilly

The day after our first shared intimacy and our talk, I was almost delirious with happiness.

Savio had really allowed us to get closer, and not only on a physical level. It was difficult for him to allow honest emotions; I could see that now. Everything was tinged with humor, sarcasm, or arrogance. It was his armor, his way to cope with a cruel past and a brutal present.

While he and his brothers brought Adamo to the airport so he could return to the hub of the racing scene, I tried my hand at some baking. So far I’d stayed clear of the kitchen because I didn’t want to intrude on Kiara’s territory, but she’d encouraged me to see it as my own. Maybe she wanted help cooking for so many people. No one else seemed to be able to prepare a decent meal except for her. It was one of the things Nonna had taught me when I was a little girl. I cherished the memories of our baking and cooking adventures.

Wistfulness overcame me as I prepared her famous pistachio cannoli. They took time, but they were worth it in the end. When the dough was in the oven and the pistachio cream in the fridge, I grabbed my phone.

When Mom picked up, she sounded hoarse.

“What’s wrong?”

“The flu, nothing to worry about.”

Easily said, but she didn’t have Nonna as support anymore. She coughed. “Should I come over and help you? Maybe bring you some soup?”

“Your aunt is coming over in the afternoon with chicken broth, but if you could take Carlotta, that would be wonderful. Your sister misses you anyway.”

“I’ll pick her up.”

I waited for the cannoli to be done before I went in search of Kiara and Serafina. The dough needed to cool off anyway before I could fill it with the cream.

Kiara sat on the sofa with her two boys, looking at a picture book.

“Do you know when Savio and his brothers will be back?”

Kiara shook her head. “I think they wanted to head to a casino to speak to the manager after dropping Adamo off, so it could be a while. Why?”

“I promised my mother to pick up Carlotta, and I hoped Savio could drive me there.”

“I’m not a very good driver, or I’d offer to drive you. It gives me anxiety.”

“I have a license, but I don’t have much experience driving.” Not to mention that said license wasn’t exactly legal and my experience consisted of trying to drive twice while Diego screamed at me not to crash his car.

“Serafina is at ballet with Greta. You could take one of the cars and drive yourself.”

“Which of the cars are Savio’s?”

“The Bugatti and the Ferrari, and that one Audi.”

All of them were sports cars of course. I took the keys to the Bugatti because I found them first in the heap of car keys belonging to the Falcone car park.

Once inside the car, my stomach plummeted. I’d completely forgotten that most European cars were stick shift. After some cursing and fumbling, the Bugatti roared to life, making me jump. It took a few more tries before I figured out to get it to drive without killing the engine. The next problem arose in front of the gate. I’d parked too close so it couldn’t open. That was the moment I gave up on the whole thing. If I couldn’t even get the car off the premises, driving through Vegas sounded like an extraordinarily bad idea. Fumbling with the stick once more, I pressed down on the gas. A second too late, I realized the car wasn’t in reverse. I shoved my foot down on the brakes. Too late. With a leap, I crashed into the gates.

Heart beating wildly, I got out of the car wide-eyed to inspect the damage. The hood of the car was compressed, smoke rose up and some kind of liquid dripped down, probably cooling liquid. The gates weren’t in much better shape than the car. Savio was obsessed with his car. And Remo probably wouldn’t be too happy about me destroying his gates either. What a wonderful way to start off with my new family.

Kiara came running down the driveway, looking alarmed. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, but the car isn’t.”

“Who cares about a car?” She looked into my eyes. “How are your neck and head?”

They hurt a bit. It wasn’t anything serious, though. I’d fought long enough to know it was like a hit to the face. “I don’t suppose there’s any way I can keep this from Savio?” We’d just made progress, I really didn’t want to ruin it.

Kiara smiled understandingly. “The moment you touched the gates, an alarm was raised that pops up on their phones. They’re already on the way. Nino called me.”

My stomach tightening, I checked my phone which was on silent mode. Two missed calls from Savio. Crap.

Ten minutes later, a car pulled up. Savio, Remo and Nino got out.

Savio came to the gate, inspecting his car with drawn brows before he looked at me. I waited for the inevitable outburst. Men and their cars were a relationship that I’d never understand.

“With the car in that position, we can’t open the gates,” Nino said coming up behind Savio. “I’ll have to disable the electricity so we don’t get zapped when we climb over.”

“I thought now that Adamo can’t steal our cars to crash them, my Bugatti was safe. But you, Kitty, keep me on my toes.” Savio reached for the fence and began to climb over before he landed with a low thud on the other side. Shaking his head, he touched my neck. “Are you okay?”

I nodded. “I’m sorry. I wanted to pick up Carlotta and no one was home to drive me, so I thought…”

“You thought it was a good day to crash a three-hundred thousand-dollar car.”

My heart thudded. “That expensive?”

Savio chuckled. “Don’t worry. I wanted a new car anyway.”

“Didn’t you only buy the damn thing six months ago?” Remo asked as he inspected the fence.

“You’re not mad?” I asked.

“No. But we’ll have to do something about your driving skills. I think I need to teach you more than I thought.”

My cheeks heated.

Remo gave him a dark look. “Since we know where your priorities lie, it would be good if your next car was an automatic.”

It took sixty minutes to drag the car away from the gates and open them despite their compressed state. After that, Savio drove me to my mother in Nino’s Tesla, because that one already had child seats in the back.

“I baked cannoli for you,” I said, feeling guilty for my mess up.

“Trying to make up for what you’ve done? Which makes me think you might have planned the whole thing.”

“I didn’t!” I gasped. “And you’re really not angry?”

“Life’s too short to get pissed off about every little thing.”

Crashing his Bugatti was a small thing? I touched his wrist with the speared watch. When I brushed the scars there, he tensed but didn’t pull back. “Thanks. Do you think Remo shares your mantra?”

“Don’t worry about him. He doesn’t care about material things or money. He’ll have the thing repaired and won’t mention it again unless he wants to rile you up… so probably at dinner tonight.”

We grabbed flowers on the way, which was Savio’s idea, and made me really want to kiss him.

Mom looked pale, with a red nose and hollow cheeks. Dad’s death had left its marks, and Carlotta’s care took a lot of energy as well, but she shared my stubborn streak and rarely accepted help from us.

Her face lit up when Savio handed her the flowers and she gave me a pleased smile. “A gentleman after all.”

For some reason, the comment made me blush, which Mom chose to ignore and which Savio answered with a cocky half smile.

Carlotta sat on a blanket on the floor and played with a wooden train that had been Diego’s before it was mine. Her head shot up and a big grin split her face. Some color finally filled her cheeks, but she was still a small, thin child. Much smaller than other kids at eighteen months. She pushed herself up, rushing toward me. I picked her up and crushed her to my chest.

“She looks like a little version of you,” Savio said with a smile, which filled my belly with familiar butterflies.

“Say hi to Savio,” I told her.

“Hi Savio,” Carlotta piped, grinning sheepishly.

“Are you sure you’ll be fine taking care of her? She needs to take her medicine and if she turns blue, you need to take her to the ER right away and her scar…”

Savio touched my mother’s arm. “She’ll be taken care of. Nino will notice if something is wrong, and she’ll have my nephews and niece for company.”

Mom nodded slowly and finally led us to the door. After a kiss to her cheek, I followed Savio to his car with Carlotta in my arms.

Savio helped me put her in the seat then we headed back home.

“You sure nobody will mind?” I whispered.

He gave me a stern look. “Gem, you’re family, so your sister is family too. It’s fine.”

God, I loved him. My heart thudded wildly as I considered telling him. Yet, knowing Savio’s reluctance to talk emotions, I swallowed the notion.

Once back in the driveway of the Falcone mansion, Savio lifted Carlotta out of the seat and she clung to him, so I let him carry her inside. He handled her with so much care and gentleness that the anger I’d felt in the past felt like an unnecessary weight I wanted to lose.

The common room was deserted but the French doors were open, so everyone was probably at the pool. “How about we check on the sweets your sister promised me?” Savio suggested.

“Nonna always said sweets are the way to a man’s heart,” I said, remembering her secretive smile whenever she told me.

“Your nonna was a very wise woman.”

In the kitchen, I quickly filled the cannoli with the cream, but Savio and Carlotta were already stealing half of it before I got my hand on it. I swatted his hand away, but his quick reflexes proved difficult to outsmart even in the kitchen.

With Carlotta on his lap, he finally settled at the table and stuffed his face with my cannoli. Carlotta dug in, too, which made me smile even more considering how bad of an eater she’d always been in the past.

“Delicious, Gem. Like all of you.”

My eyes widened and I gave him a warning look. Even if Carlotta had no clue what he meant, I’d kick his ass if he said something like that again.

He took another bite. “I’ll definitely keep you. A woman who can bake like that needs to be my wife.”

“I am your wife.”

“See, I made the right choice.”

I shook my head. The door swung open and Kiara came in with Massimo and Alessio. They were a year and two years older than my sister, but much taller than their age gap suggested. Savio set Carlotta down, but she was too shy to approach the other kids. Savio bent down, took her hand and introduced her.

My heart melted.

Kiara came to me and squeezed my arm. “Things going well between you two?”

I nodded.

“I’m so happy. I always hoped Savio would find a good girl who’d take care of him after everything he and his brothers have been through.”

I didn’t know what to say, so I only smiled. I’d take care of him if he let me. Carlotta spent the night at the mansion so Mom could get a full night of sleep. The Falcones had a spare bed that we put in our bedroom. Carlotta was used to sharing a bed with Mom, though, so she cried until we allowed her to join us. Within minutes she fell asleep and lay curled up between Savio and me.

He gave me a knowing look over her tiny form. “You’re playing dirty. Do I really scare you that much?”

He didn’t scare me, nor did his touch, but my body’s reaction to it, definitely. It was like I was losing control of my body.

Carlotta was a cute kid and she got along well with the other kids. Gemma was beaming all day, impossibly happy that her little sister was doing better. I had to admit I was relieved when we returned the little girl to Gemma’s mom the next day. Sleeping with a toddler in your bed was a challenge and eventually I’d given up and slept on the sofa.

“I still feel so bad that you had to sleep on the sofa,” she said after we’d taken Carlotta home. Her guilt over something like that was too adorable.

“You can make it up to me by having a movie night with me. Popcorn and all.”

“Really? Like a date?”

“Like a date. I want to stream a few fights that took place in L.A. last night.” With Carlotta around, we hadn’t been able to watch them live. I could have joined my brothers in the common area, but I didn’t want to leave Gemma alone with her sister.

“With the Madman from L.A.?” Gemma asked curiously.

“Fuck, I love that you know these kinds of things and enjoy more than girl things.”

That evening we settled on the sofa together and I locked into the Darknet part where we always streamed our fights and races, so people could watch them and place bets.

Gemma came in with a bowl of popcorn that smelled divine. I grabbed a handful and stuffed it into my mouth, groaning at the salted caramel note.

“I made the caramel and added some sea salt.”

I pushed another popped kernel into my mouth. “It’s perfect. I want this every evening.”

“Won’t you get bored of it soon?” she said in a strange voice, voicing it in a way that suggested she didn’t mean popcorn.

“If something is this good, how can I resist?”

Turning on the stream, I wrapped an arm around Gemma’s shoulder and pulled her against my body. She was dressed in sweatpants and a tight Tee, her hair pulled up in a messy bun. “You really went all out for our date.” I, too, was wearing sweatpants and a shirt but I couldn’t resist teasing her. It was too much fun.

She frowned. “What’s the use of dressing up for movie night?”

“You’re sexy as fuck as you are anyway. No need for fancy clothes or makeup.”

Obviously pleased, she snuggled against me, the popcorn wedged between us.

“I always dreamed that it would be like this. Us being together.”

I had never given it much thought how we’d spend our time outside of the bedroom. I’d been so obsessed that the rest had blended into the backround. But this, spending time together because we enjoyed the same things was amazing. I tightened my hold on her and focused on the screen where the first fight began.

“His high kick was badly executed. Not the right angle and no tension,” she said. “It’s like he’s a newbie. If you had done this kick, the other guy would have been on his back.”

She sounded almost proud, which gave me an unexpected sense of satisfaction. I kept sneaking glances at Gemma throughout the fights, relishing in her intense expression and fascination with the brutal sport. Thinking that I’d almost lost her, lost this, to another man, made me so fucking furious at myself. I’d been a major dick.

When the last fight ended, I wasn’t sure how I’d ever gone through watching a fight without her commentary.

“What are you thinking?” Gemma asked.

For some reason, I couldn’t tell her the truth. “That I need to teach you how to drive a stick.”

She sighed. “Are you really not mad?”

I kissed her throat. “Really. But if you want to make it up to me, I won’t say no.”

Gemma tilted her head to give me better access as I nuzzled her neck. “I could bake you something.”

“I’d prefer something else.”

“Savio…”

I chuckled. “It was worth a try.” I stretched out on the sofa, taking Gemma with me. Our bodies pressed against each other, we kissed. My hand squeezed her firm butt before I hooked her leg over my hip. “Are you sure your brothers won’t walk in?”

“Trust me, they won’t. They can guess what we’re up to.”

A blush spread on Gemma’s cheeks. “They think we’re having sex?”

“Probably. Come on, Gem. Is that really so bad?”

Instead of a reply, she kissed me. I wasn’t going to complain. Despite my words, I couldn’t convince Gemma to do more than kissing on the couch. Yet, she couldn’t resist my charm and my fingers once we were in bed. Getting Gemma off with my hand was fucking addicting, even if my body screamed for more, but I wouldn’t push her this time. For once, I’d keep my dick in check.

Gemma gnawed on her lower lip, worried as she sat behind the steering wheel of Nino’s Lotus. It was a car he rarely used because of the kids.

“Are you sure your brother won’t mind?”

I hadn’t asked Nino. He’d taken his Tesla to work today and wouldn’t need his Lotus. “Focus, Kitty.”

Gemma sent me a scowl, then finally started the car. She forgot to put her foot on the clutch and the engine died with a pitiful stutter.

“Don’t say it!” she hissed.

I pushed my seat back to relax, stifling a grin. “Do your thing then.”

She started the car again and put it in first gear. Frowning, she set the car in motion, but disengaged the clutch too fast. The Lotus jerked forward, then died.

“Again,” I said. “Slower this time.”

“Because a Lotus was meant to go slow,” she muttered. Oh, my Gem hated to be bad at something.

“You have to learn to crawl before you can try to walk.”

She narrowed her eyes. This time, she did as I said and the car rolled down the driveway slowly.

“Now press the gas.”

She did, but too hard. The engine roared, begging to be put in second gear. Gemma panicked and killed the engine once more.

Sighing, she shook her head. “Are you sure you want to teach me this? Diego would have started screaming by now.”

“I can be patient if I want to be. I won’t scream. Try again.” I hadn’t inherited our father’s impatience like Remo had.

Two hours later, we returned to the premises after a quick tour through Vegas. Gemma was beaming all over her face when she parked the Lotus in the driveway.

“You did good—”

She threw her arms around me and kissed me. Unbuckling, I leaned over to deepen the kiss. I could spend hours kissing Gemma.

A bang sounded, driving us apart.

Nevio knelt on the hood of the car, pressed his face against the windshield, and hammered with his fists against the glass.

I shoved the door open. “That’s it,” I growled. “I’ll dunk your head in the toilet, PIA!”

Turning to Gemma, I said, “Help me catch the monster.”

We both got out of the car. Nevio slid off the hood, giggling, and darted away.

Gemma sprinted after him, laughing. After watching her butt for a moment, I chased the little monster. Nevio dodged us like a fucking rabbit. Gemma was grinning all over her face as she faced off with my nephew who hid behind a tree.

I could have watched her all day, but Nevio needed to be taught a lesson. He shot to the left to avoid Gemma’s attack and I finally caught the back of his shirt. Jerking him toward me, I curled my arm around his waist and lifted him off the ground. Even head down, he kept struggling.

“Time for payback.”

“Noooo!”

Gemma stopped beside me, panting. “You’re not going to dunk him in the toilet, right?”

I’d intended to do it, but looking at her face, I realized that wouldn’t earn me any bonus points with her. “I’ll just dump him in the pool.”

Nevio kept screaming as I carried him over to the pool, then held him above the water. Unfortunately, Remo came our way with Greta on his arm. “Do I even want to know what’s going on here?”

“Probably not,” I said, still holding Nevio. “The kid is being a PIA again.”

Remo set Greta down and motioned for me to hand Nevio to him. With a sigh, I handed the kid to him. He put Nevio down and squatted before him. “When I tell you to stop, you stop.”

Nevio glanced at Greta, obviously hoping for her support. I snatched her up before she could help him. “How about you show us a few ballet moves, dollface?”

Gemma smiled as she followed Greta and me toward the house. Remo was still talking to Nevio. Most of the time, he was the only one the boy listened to.

I put Greta down. She looked shy.

“Come on, Greta. Show Gemma what you can do.”

Greta got into that ballet position and did a small curtsy.

Gemma pressed against me, kissing my cheek. “You are so cute with her.” Then she applauded. “I wish I could do ballet, but I’m too clumsy for it.”

Greta beamed before rushing over to me and hugging my leg in embarrassment.

Gemma was anything but clumsy. Her fight moves were graceful, and far more entertaining than ballet. I stroked Greta’s head and grinned at Gemma. “So, being cute with kids is the way to your heart?”

“You mean to my panties,” she said under her breath.

“That, too.”

Greta strolled to a butterfly and watched it in rapt attention.

Gemma didn’t roll her eyes like she usually did. “Why is sex so important to you?”

Greta was far enough away, but I kept my voice low anyway. I cupped Gemma’s head. “Because it’s an amazing feeling, like a high without drugs. And to be honest, I can hardly think about anything, but being inside of you.”

Gemma swallowed. “For me, sex is baring myself to you in more than one way. It seems like such a personal thing to allow you inside of me. I can’t even imagine. I’ve been trying to imagine how it’ll be to allow you this close…” She shook her head, and I didn’t know what to say. “It’ll be a special moment for me, and I want it to be for you as well.”

“It’ll be our first time, Gem. Of course, it’ll be special for me.” Maybe I should have said more, but emotional declarations were the bane of my existence. I almost longed for Nevio to barge in on us again.

A couple of days later, we sat on the couch again after watching a ridiculously bad horror movie. Those sofa dates had become my favorite.

Gemma caressed the back of my neck in a very distracting way. I slid my hand down to her waist then thigh. She cast her eyes up and I almost groaned at the desire in her expression. Grabbing her by the waist, I hoisted her on my lap. She grabbed my shoulders and kissed me, a hesitant, probing kiss at first then almost desperate. I pulled her even closer, my need for her taking center stage. “What do you want, Gem?” I said between kisses.

“Upstairs,” she whispered.

I grabbed the firm globes of her ass to steady her as I rose from the sofa. Gemma wrapped her legs around me at once, her arms clinging to my neck. I carried her upstairs and into our bedroom. When my legs hit the bed, I pulled out of the kiss and carefully lowered Gemma to the mattress. I followed immediately, molding our bodies. The heat of her pussy seemed to singe my cock even through the fabric of our clothes.

I took my time discovering every inch of her beautiful mouth, my hands sliding below her sweater, stroking along her stomach up to her breasts. Gemma arched up against my touch with a soft moan.

Kissing and touching, I undressed Gemma until she lay before me naked, stealing my breath just like the first time. I kissed a path down her stomach, dipping my tongue into her belly button until she bucked up her hips and tried to shove me away. With a grin, I trailed my lips lower, brushing a kiss across the trimmed triangle.

Gemma tensed, her palm coming to rest on my head. The tantalizing scent of her arousal flooded my nose, calling to my dick like a Siren’s song.

She tensed when my face got closer to her adorable pussy. “Relax, Gem. This will be amazing.”

She stayed tense, and then I knew the problem. Half of the things I wanted to do to her were probably regarded as sin by the Traditionalists, but I’d be damned if I didn’t do them all anyway. “I’m your husband, Gem. Nothing that we do is bad, you got it?”

She relaxed slightly. Still such a good girl, my Gem. How long would it take for me to lick, fuck and finger that out of her?

I kissed her pussy lips. She sucked in her breath. The muscles in her thighs quivered in anticipation and that little button was already glistening. I leaned closer until my mouth was almost touching her and she stopped breathing. The first swipe of my tongue along her heated flesh made me groan and her gasp. I took my time, bringing Gemma close, only to pull back and nibble at her thigh. Her moans were growing louder as she forgot everything around her.

I parted her even farther with my shoulders and dipped my tongue into her pussy. My cock throbbed against my sweats, imagining how it would be to finally be inside of her. Soon Gemma began to quiver uncontrollably. This time I didn’t pull back. Instead, I sucked her clit into my mouth and she exploded under me.

I kept sucking gently until she stilled. Pressing another kiss to her pussy, I kissed my way back up to her mouth, settling on top of her with a cocky smile.

Gemma was flushed. Her eyes registered my smile, but she didn’t roll her eyes like she usually would have done at my cockiness. She stroked my back through my clothes. This had been about her, so I hadn’t bothered undressing. Her fingers curled around my neck and the longing in her expression intensified.

Fuck. I knew what she wanted. Suddenly I felt fucking nervous. I’d never been nervous before sex, not even my first time. Yet, seeing Gemma’s expression and realizing how much this moment meant to her, my own pulse sped up. Gemma had waited for this moment, for me, for so many years, I wanted this to be perfect for her. “What do you want, Gem?” I rasped, even though I could see it in her expression. I wanted her to say it. This was her choice. Not because she was finally allowed to have sex in marriage or because someone had given their okay. This was supposed to be what she desired. “It’s okay to say what you want, Gem.”

Ignoring my own need and the throbbing in my balls, I waited for Gemma, for my wife, to say what she wanted, even as her cheeks turned a darker shade of red.