Page 200 of The Enforcer
She started dancing as she sang, but screeched when he swept her up and tossed her over his shoulder. He took her from the sitting room into the bedroom, only the music was louder in there, like the room was right on top of the speaker, so when he dropped her on the king-size bed, she held out her arms and tried to continue the song until Tino clamped a hand over her mouth and whispered, “Never, ever do that again.”
Brianna cracked up and asked, “What’s it about, anyway?”
“It’s about a guy climbing a mountain with his girl and screaming from the top that they should get married.”
“Really?” She raised her eyebrows at him. “Is that what I was singing about?”
“No, that’s what the song is about. I haveno ideawhat the fuck you were singing about.”
She giggled again. “Teach me, then. Teach me to sing it right.”
“Your mouth is so tense. You have to feel the words. Italiano is very sensual. It has to come off your tongue the right way, or you shouldn’t speak it. You shouldn’t sing it either.”
She relaxed her mouth by sticking her tongue out.
“Stop that.” He grabbed her face and squeezed. “Put it back.”
She stuck her tongue out farther.
Tino groaned, “Madonn’,” when she started singing again.
She tried to climb off the bed when he attempted to cover her mouth once more, but he caught her, trapping her against the mattress, using his weight to pin her. He didn’t cover her mouth again, but he started saying the words correctly against the back of her neck, and even though it always sounded like a playful, kind of silly song, the way he said it against her sensitive skin made it suddenly sexual.
He wasn’t exactly singing, but it was sort of like he was making love to her with the words, because Italian was like that. As he said, it rolled off his tongue sensually, but then the song was over, and it left Brianna feeling a little bereft, until the next one came on.
“Oh!” She turned in his arms and looked at him. “It’sJersey Boys!”
“What the fuck is this doing on there?” Tino turned to look out the window like he was personally insulted. “Who makes these Christmas lists for him?”
“Dance with me,” she pleaded and hit his shoulder. “Please. This is my favorite musical in the whole world. I would die to be in it.”
“Youarein it.” Tino looked to the window pointedly as the lights cast a green-and-red glow over the room.
“Put me in it.” She ran a hand down his bare chest. “Dance with me.”
Tino grabbed her hand and pulled her up and then spun her until her back was pressed against his chest. The two of them danced and sang and were ridiculously silly, because Tino was a great one to dance and be ridiculous with and Brianna needed that. If she didn’t have a partner she could dance around a room with, it just wouldn’t work. The wholeJersey Boyssound track played from the musical, which made the night magical, because Brianna had gone to see it five times since she’d moved to Manhattan.
When “My Eyes Adored You” came on, they started with Brianna singing to him, just looking up at him as the two of them slow danced, but then Tino cupped her chin and whispered, “No,myeyes adored you.” He pushed her hair away from her forehead. “Though I never laid a hand on you, my eyes adored you.”
“Oh.” She pulled back, because something about the way he sang it stole her breath from the emotions that welled up.
He didn’t let her go; he pulled her closer and leaned down to whisper the lyrics into the curve of her neck. “Like a million miles away from me, you couldn’t see how I adored you.” He pulled at the top button to her scratchy red pajamas and breathed against her collarbone. “So close.” He undid the second one. “So close and yet so far.”
Brianna threaded her fingers into his hair, and she didn’t even try to hide the tears that rolled down her cheeks as he pulled her pajama shirt off and confessed, “My eyes adored you,” against her stomach like they were the most honest words that had left his mouth.
She didn’t know why she cried while he undressed her, singing that song to her, but it wasn’t just her. Tino was crying too as he pushed her against the mattress and crawled over her, unbuttoning his jeans as he went. Then he brushed her hair away from her forehead and held her face like he did, making her feel like she was the most precious thing in the world to him as he whispered, “My eyes adored you,” like he really needed her to hear it.
She nodded, and all she could say was, “I’m glad they did.”
“I’m gonna get to the other side of the board for you,” he promised with tears glimmering in his dark eyes. “If there’s a way, I’m gonna find it.”
“There’s always a way,” she reminded him with a smile.
Then the song switched, and Tino made love to her to the rest of theJersey Boyssound track, telling her how much he adored her until she was moaning against his rough palm, because she couldn’t seem to keep it in despite their neighbors.
Tino buried his face in her hair when the pleasure became too much. Then he said, “Ti amo,” when he started to come down.
She didn’t recognize it, so she asked, “What does that mean?”
