Page 38 of Reign of Hope

“Staring at the door won’t make it open any earlier. When Reno is at work, the best thing to do is let him be,” Anna says.

“How do you stand it? Not knowing, I mean.”

“Reno’s job is to keep the family safe. He would willingly die to protect us. I would die for him.” Her voice is strong and assured. “That means that when the enemy comes, our men need to know that we’re as strong as they are. Ally, Zano needs you to believe in him and inNostra Casa.If you waver, then his attention will be divided, and that could be the difference between living and dying when the fight commences.” Anna leads me away from the children before going on to say, “I saw the look in my husband’s eyes. There’s a war brewing. We will win, because I won’t lose the man I love.” Anna’s voice clogs with emotion.

I put my arms around her to console her. “We will win.” I close my arms as we hold each other tight. I love Zano. I won’t lose him. Not now!

* * *

When Zano emerges from the office, he looks tired. Our drive home is fairly quiet, and when we get home, Zano drops into our armchair, tips his head onto the back of the padded chair, and shuts his eyes. I tiptoe around the apartment, careful not to disturb him.

An hour later, Zano is still napping. I set about in the kitchen making brownies with chocolate frosting while deciding on what to make for dinner. I take the brownies out of the oven to cool and put in chicken and potatoes with rosemary, olive oil, and loads of garlic and onion.

The apartment smells heavenly, and the aroma must have woken Zano, because I hear his deep, sexy voice from the other room, saying, “Jesus, babe, what smells so good?”

I turn off the whirling mixer, where the chocolate frosting has been whipped into creamy goodness. “Sorry! Did I wake you?”

“How long have I been out?”

“A couple of hours. You needed it.”

Zano sits up straight, running his hand over his face. “You’ve been busy.”

“I thought I’d make us dinner.” I lift the bowl of frosting. “I make brownies with chocolate frosting,” I tell him happily. He returns a lopsided grin, glancing at the bowl. His grin turns into a mischievous smile. “That’s a whole lot of chocolate.”

“I can make cupcakes tomorrow and use it up,” I say, not wanting to be wasteful. I drop dollops of the creamy goodness onto the brownies and spread it evenly over the pan. I’m concentrating on what I’m doing so I don’t notice Zano has left the chair and is standing behind me until his finger dips into the bowl and scoops up a delicious swirl of frosting. I look over my shoulder and see him pop his finger into his mouth, enjoying the sweetness.

“This is really good.” He presses his front to my back. I feel his hardness, and my mouth goes dry and I nearly drop what I’m holding.

“Thanks,” I manage to croak out.

“I bet this would taste delicious on just about anything.” He dips a finger into the bowl once more and runs it over my lips, being quick to lick them clean before I can utter a word. My knees begin to wobble, and I feel a pool of wetness between my thighs. “Yeah. I’m right. Tastes great on lips too,” he teases.

“I…I haven’t tried it on lips.”

“Give it a go,” he urges. I scoop up some frosting and smear it over his full lips, then reach up on my tiptoes to taste him, only to have his hand come to the back of my head, engaging us in a kiss that curls my toes and whooshes a wave of desire through my body. I nearly drop the bowl, but Zano takes it from me and sets it on the counter before passionately kissing me again. “I feel like dessert before dinner,” he murmurs against my lips.

My head is muddled, and all I can think about is pulling his mouth back down to my own. “Pardon?”

“How long until the oven goes off?” He jerks his head toward the stove.

“Um, about forty-five minutes.”

His sly smile reappears. “Plenty of time.”

“For what?”

“To lick off the chocolate I plan to spread over your delectable body.”

I think I had a mini orgasm! I’m not sure how I summon the courage when I ask, “Can I have chocolate too?”

“Absolutely, cuoricina. I have just the spot.” He bends his head down to nip at my lobe. “Go get naked for me. Be quick. We’ve only got until the timer goes off.”

I practically race to our bedroom, undressing as fast as I can. Zano is right on my heels, pulling off his shirt as I’m tugging my panties down over my legs. I step out of them and kick them off to the side.

I’m already breathless, licking my lips as he strips down to nothing. I pat myself on the back for making brownies today. Creative cooking is definitely high on my list of fun things to do.

TWENTY-ONE

---