Page 43 of Under the Influence

“It is, but don’t get used to it,” she says, giggling into my chest.

“Your chest is huge,” she says as her hands move up my body.

“I can say the same thing for you.”

“Cro—Rocco!” she says, poking me playfully.

She moves her head up and kisses me gently, sending an electric sensation through my body. Without thinking, I pull off her nightdress, leaving her soft body naked against mine but suddenly then, I feel her spasm mid-kiss as she puts her hand to her head.

“Let’s raincheck tonight. You’ve gone through a lot,” I say breaking the kiss.

“You’re not mad like last time?” she mumbles.

“No, jeez, Soph, I’m not a monster. You need to rest.”

“You called me Soph.”

“I guess I did.”

“All it took was a concussion for you to warm up to me, huh?”

I pull on her nightdress as she nestles back into my chest. Within the hour, she is asleep, but my mind is racing to put together a potential list of men who tried to kill my wife tonight.

“I never lie to any man because I don’t fear anyone. The only time you lie is when you are afraid.”

—John Gotti

IHEAR THE SHOWER RUNNING AND WHEN HE ENTERS THE BEDROOM, HE IS ALREADY UNDRESSED FOR BED.

I feel a secret thrill run through me that he is planning on staying with me all night.

I have been fighting against falling asleep for the last hour, I want him to stay with me tonight. I feel vulnerable and surprisingly he is the one I want the most to comfort me. I won’t let him switch off the light because I’m scared somebody is still waiting in the darkness, but when he tells me to trust him—I do. When the lights are out, I find myself drawn to his body as I nestle into the nook of his arm.

Like a beacon, I feel myself being pulled to him. When he tells me he will keep me safe, I believe him. Every touch, stroke, and kiss is pulling me irrevocably to him. When I lean up to kiss him, it starts an electric jolt of passion that doesn’t stop until I feel a twinge of pain in my head. He didn’t seem to be too worried about abstaining again. Instead, he pulled me in tighter towards him as I pushed myself deeper into his chest before falling into a dreamless sleep.

I don’t wake up until past noon the next day feeling like I’ve been drugged. My headache has faded into a dull ache, thankfully. The other side of the bed is empty again and it’s like last night’s small act of intimacy never happened. There is a knock at the door, and the doctor from last night appears. She does a few small vision checks on me, but everything seems fine. She wants me to rest for another night, but I can’t stand the monotony of being in bed another day. I wanted to leave this house as soon as possible. I hear Lucia knock on the door and then gasp at my appearance.

“Is it that bad?” I say faintly.

“No,” She lies.

“You need a few lessons from Rocco on a poker face.”

“You’re okay, though, right?”

“Yeah, just a little bruised,” I say, shrugging.

“Bet this really put a dent in your wedding night plans.” she says smirking.

“Not really,” I say but regret it as soon as it comes out.

“What do you mean?” she asks, narrowing her eyes. “Wait, have you not-”

“Forget I said anything,” I say quickly, but she cottons on.

“He sleeps in here, but you don’t do sex.” Her eyebrows shoot up.

“Do sex?” I say, trying to stifle my laughter.

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