Page 26 of Blood and Penance
“Well, hi to you too, baby boy.” I laugh. “I promise that I’ll be home as soon as I can. Mama misses you.”
“I miss you too.”
My eyes fill tears. “I have a surprise for you,” I say.
“I love surprises,” he says which causes me to laugh. “What is it? Did you get me a puppy?”
I can feel his excitement through the phone. I can imagine him jumping around and smiling. He’s always a ball of energy.
“No, I didn’t get you a puppy.” I laugh. “Do you remember when I said that your Papa had to go away?”
“Yep. He’s on a very special adventure taking care of the bad guys and when he comes back, he’ll come see me. I’m ready for him to come home.”
He sounds so sad. I know he misses his dad because he tells me almost every day that he wishes he would come home.
I’ve told Giancarlo about Gianni. Not that I’d ever believed he would be in our lives. I never wanted my son to believe his father abandoned him because he didn’t. I didn’t tell him Giancarlo existed, which is a decision I live with every day. It’s a decision I’ll have to explain to my son when he’s old enough to understand. But our nightly bedtime stories center around the adventures of Gianni Puglisi, the superhero who takes down the bad guys.
“That’s right.” Emotion rises in my throat. “But now he’s finished keeping the world safe for us. And he’s here with me right now.”
“Yay!”
Both Gianni and I laugh. I nudge Gianni. “Go ahead.”
He blows out a breath. “Hi, buddy,” he says with a tremble in his voice. “I…”
“Papa, I’ve missed you,” Giancarlo says, cutting Gianni off. “Can you come see me now?”
Of course, our son doesn’t miss a beat. He talks to Gianni like he’s always been in his life.
Gianni wipes the tears from his eyes. “I’ve missed you too, son. As soon as I get the chance, I’ll come and see you.”
He looks at me as I intertwine our fingers together, smiling at him. I’m happy about us being able to have this moment because my son misses having a relationship with his father. And Gianni deserves to love and have a relationship with his son.
As Gianni and our son have their moment with one another, I get lost in my thoughts. What’s next for us? When something good happens, you just have to prepare for the other shoe to drop. And Lio is the other shoe that will drop. It’s not a matter of if, but when.
Lio will not give up and his visit tonight proves I have to meet Lio D’Amico head on. Force with force. There’s no running or hiding from a man like him. He’ll always come after me as long as he’s breathing. I just wish I could have killed him the first time.
We have to figure out a way to end this. I’m not sure if Gianni will go along with what needs to happen since he’s a priest but we won’t have any other choice. Lio D’Amico has to die in order for our child to be safe.
***
I’ve been lying in Gianni’s bed at the parish unable to sleep. The unknown has always been something that has kept me anxious and this situation with Lio is no different. How do we survive this?
I rub my tired eyes as the faint smell of his cologne clings to the air bringing about memories of our past. When we were together, it was a scent that calmed my nerves and my anger, now it makes the anxiousness worse.
Giving up on sleep, I toss the covers off me, then swing my legs over the edge of the bed. Since I didn’t bring any clothes with me, Gianni was nice enough to give me a pair of his boxers and a T-shirt.
Barefoot, I walk down the hallway toward the small kitchen as quietly as possible, so I don’t wake up Gianni. It’s been a very emotionally, draining day for both of us but mainly forhim. However, my steps falter at the sound of running water emanating from the small guest bathroom a few doors down from Gianni’s bedroom.
The slightly open door offers a view of Gianni’s glorious body, glistening under the shower spray behind the misted glass.
I know I should leave, but I can’t look away from the mesmerizing scene. His muscular hands rubbing all over his tanned, soapy body causes mine to heat with a desire I haven’t felt in a long time.
His large palm hesitantly grazes his erection, like he doesn’t want to touch himself. He does it a few more times before he sighs and grabs his dick tightly. His jaw is clenched as he moves his hand up and down furiously, like he’s pissed.
He plasters his forearm against the shower wall over his head, moaning while the sounds of his grunts and movements mix with the patter of water as it drenches his body.
Heat pools between my thighs as I grasp the doorframe transfixed on the beautiful scene in front of me. One of the biggest turn-ons a man can do is masturbate. And I loved watching Gianni whenever I had the chance. Like now, the way his muscles shift under his skin as he continues to jerk himself off is one of the most erotic things to witness. I would love nothing more than to kneel in front of him, like he’s my religion, and take his hardness into my mouth and worship him like he’s my God. But I know that can never happen again.
