Satisfaction Guaranteed (13 page)

to his body. Sela stirred beside him. He reached out and touched the curve of her

sweetly rounded shoulder. She wasn"t unusually cold. The comforter had covered

her throughout the night. He breathed deeply, drinking in the scent of sex,

amaryllis, and vanilla.

They had played with food earlier.

He smiled at the memory. A glance at his watch confirmed they"d slept in. It

was near noon. He felt he deserved it after last night. Rome hadn"t been able to

keep his hands off Sela. She seemed to feel the same way.

The shrill sound of the telephone demanding his action sang through the

pungent air. He picked up the phone on the third ring. ”Hello,” he said groggily as

sleep slowly filtered out of his system.

“Rome?”

He woke with a jolt, the languid comfort of sleep leaving him so quickly it

shocked him. “Mom?” Unconsciously, he rubbed his hand over his shoulder, across

the flesh that had broken out in goose bumps.

God, please don’t let her have killed him
. Over the years, he had read up on all

he could find about battered women, determined to help his mom. To figure out why

she stayed with the man. He knew all too well about battered women"s syndrome, a

psychological condition that led many abused women to kill their husbands in order

to stop the beatings.

Many nights he had woken, skin drenched with sweat, mouth dry, and mind

chaotic with the visions of his mother asking him to bail her out because she had

finally decided she"d had too much.

“God, how I love the sound of that.” He heard the smile in her voice, and a

little of the aching terror that had clogged his chest dissipated. But the vast

majority of the fear was still there.

Something was definitely wrong. “What is it, Mary Beth?” he asked slowly

without any real inflection, because he knew she needed his strength.

“Nothing is wrong. Finally something is right.” She paused. “I"m leaving,

Rome. I packed my stuff. I just can"t take it anymore. Enough is enough.” She let

out a sob.

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For a moment he couldn"t process her words. His mind was too full, filled to

the brim with thoughts, feelings, and memories. All the times he had prayed God

would give his mother the strength to leave coalesced in his mind at that moment.

Then like a ray of sunshine shimmering through the clouds, the true implications of

her actions broke through.

She was truly leaving his father. “Where are you?”

“Here. Outside your hotel.”

“Okay. I"m coming downstairs now.”

He got out of bed, his mind already focused on all the things he needed to do to

make sure his mother and brother were safe. And stayed safe. His fingers curled

around the bedroom door with savage joy. Finally!

At the last moment he looked back and glanced at Sela. She was still sound

asleep. He could see the curve of her left butt cheek peeking out from the covers. He

turned back and lifted the fabric over her before he pressed a soft kiss to her

shoulder. A smile flittered across her face before she rolled over.

Feeling content that Sela would sleep a little longer and never notice his

absence, Rome grabbed his pants and a clean button-down shirt and walked out of

the room. He glanced at the bedroom door once, before lifting the phone in the

sitting area. “Where exactly are you, Mary Beth?” he asked once he heard the

resounding click of the door handle.

“I"m in the parking lot, sweetheart, but I"ll meet you in the lobby.”

“Okay.”

“I love you, Rome,” she whispered and then hung up. For several moments

Rome stood outside of his bedroom door staring at the darkness. Then Rome

realized what he was doing. Standing there, thinking while his mother was

standing in the hotel"s parking lot. He quickly dressed, grabbed his keys, and

marched out of the hotel room.

Breathing deeply, he pressed the button for the elevator. It didn"t seem to come

fast enough. He strode into it and jammed his finger onto the button for the lobby.

At the same time he flipped open his cell phone and dialed his real-estate agent. He

hadn"t purchased any property in years, but he was a chronic renter, changing

addresses as often as most people changed their schools. Jane Kim was the woman

he went to whenever he felt the need to move. The first time he called, the phone

went to voice mail. He growled and hung up, feeling frustrated and angry.

“Damn it.” He started to call her back when his phone rang. He glanced at the

name and almost sighed in relief. He connected the line. “I need a house tomorrow.”

“Okaaay.”

Rome didn"t blame her—even for him, his request was unusual. “My mother is

moving.”

“Yes, your mother.” He could hear the surprise in her tone. He understood the

source. Jane was more than just a Realtor. Over the years she had become a friend.

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Never once had he mentioned his family. Then again, never before had he felt the

need to talk about them.

Before now they hadn"t been a part of his life, but the past he was trying so

hard to deny.

“Yes, she needs a house. It needs to be somewhere safe, beautiful, and I don"t

want the house in her name.”

“Hmmm.” She paused for a moment, no doubt considering what he was and

wasn"t saying. “Are we renting?”

He paused as the elevator reached its floor. “Yes, we"re renting.” He didn"t

know where his mother intended to live. He only knew he had to get her out of town

as soon as possible.

Rome knew his father. The man would come looking for Mary Beth the

moment he realized she was gone. Then the hell would begin all over again.

Anthony did the same thing every time Rome had run away from home. Tony hadn"t

wanted Rome in his house, but he hadn"t been about to let Rome leave. He stopped

trying when he was in middle school, at least until he made his final break after

graduation. “Tomorrow, Jane. I need the house tomorrow morning.”

“Okay. Do you have a specific neighborhood in mind?”

“It has to be outside the city, upstate or Connecticut. No more than three hours

drive away from the city.” He wanted to be able to visit his mother whenever he

wanted.

“Okay. I can do that. Don"t worry about it, Rome. I"ll have a list for you

tomorrow.”

“Thanks, Jane.” Rome hung up and almost ran out of the elevator when it

opened its metal doors. Rome found his mother striding through the hotel lobby.

His heart stopped when she was fully standing under the building"s luminous

lighting. He felt his heart resume beating and even pick up its pace until the blood

seemed to be rushing through his veins. He recognized the attire. He"d seen it too

often growing up to mistake it for anything than what it was. The battered woman"s

mask.

Mary Beth"s scarf was perfect, tied around her head and draped across her

nape to hide the marks he knew would be there. Bruises. Vestiges of his father"s

attempt to choke the strength out of her. Over her eyes were big black glasses. She

had been wearing them long before they became fashionable. They were meant to

cover her black eye. Proof that no matter how much Tony Vicenza beat her, she

refused to stay down. Last but certainly not least was the long-sleeve blouse meant

to hide the black and blue bruises from a night of hell.

“I will fucking kill him,” he raged and marched through the lobby to grab her

into his arms.

Mary Beth tried to evade him and walk across the reception area. He held her

tightly.

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She lowered her head and murmured, “Leave it alone, Rome. I don"t want you

to get hurt.”

His body shook against hers as the anger he felt threatened to consume him.

The lights above them seemed to spark and then dim. Almost too late, Rome

realized he was about to lose it. He took a deep breath and tried to calm the

turbulent emotions within.

He focused on his mother. She needed him to be strong and calm.

“Don"t worry, Mom. I"m going to take care of you from now on. It"s over.”

“I know, baby. I know. Just be happy I decided one more bruise was one too

many.”

He held her, trying to think of what to say in response. He decided there was

nothing he could say that his mother hadn"t heard a million times before. He pulled

her close and wrapped his arms around her, holding her as he silently promised her

his father would never hurt again.

“Where is Turin?” he asked, realizing that his brother wasn"t there.

Tension rode her frame, stiffening her limbs. “He decided not to come with

me.” Her voice was low, defeated. It broke what was left of his heart.

“I"ll talk to Turin after I talk to him and remind him why a real man doesn"t

touch a woman in anger.”

She took a step back and looked into his eyes. “Promise me you won"t go

looking for Anthony. He"s so angry. I"ve never seen him like this. He was so mad

when he heard you were back in town. Then I told him I went to see you. He just

lost it. I don"t want him to hurt you.”

I told him I went to see you
. The implications of her statement horrified Rome.

He stared back at her, loath to give her the assurance. The man hit her because he

couldn"t hit Rome. Well he was back in town and more than willing to give the man

the fight he was looking for. Tracking his bastard father down was the first thing he

wanted to do.

“Rome, please promise me.”

Looking into her eyes he saw the fear she had for him. Mary Beth was

genuinely afraid of what would happen if he met up with his father. Though it left

his gut burning with impotence, he gave her the promise she needed. “I give you my

word I won"t go looking for him.”

He didn"t promise he wouldn"t respond if Tony came looking for him. Or her.

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Chapter Nine

Sela considered the items displayed on the shelves around her. She was there

to purchase gifts for her sister and mother. Both women deserved some kind of

thanks for being so accommodating. Sela hadn"t spent nearly enough time with her

family, but neither woman said a word about her spending a fair amount of her

time with Rome. If anything, they both seemed very happy that she was with Rome.

Sela pursed her lips. No doubt her mom and sister hoped she and Rome started

dating. When they were younger her sister used to teasingly call her “Mrs. Rome

Vicenza.” Sasha probably wanted to be proven right, even after so many years.

Not going to happen, she thought as she eyed a gorgeous watercolor-patterned

sundress in Sela"s size. She wanted to be smart about Rome. She slept with him,

spent last night and this morning in his bed doing things she only dreamed about,

but that didn"t mean she was going to let herself fall for him.

The back of her neck tingled slightly. She was no longer alone. “Is that for

you?” Rome asked, his voice rough and low with just a hint of interest coloring it.

She laughed lightly and glanced over her shoulder to look at him. “Goodness,

no. This is way too small for me. Plus, it"s bright. I don"t do bold colors.”

He eyed her from head to toe. The concentrated nature of his gaze warmed her

blood. “I imagine you"ll look good regardless of what you"re wearing…or not

wearing.”

For one second she was too flustered to say anything. Words shouldn"t be able

to affect someone so quickly and so easily. One sentence and she was aroused. Sela

ignored the desire to shift her hips to ease the ache between her thighs and stem

the growing wetness of her sheath. “You"re good,” she said, trying to put as much

amusement into her tone as possible. She wanted to give him the impression that

she was taking his words in stride. The last thing she wanted to do was let him

know just how much he affected her.

He took a step forward. “And you"re better.” He breathed the words against her

nape. Sela couldn"t help the shiver of pleasure that ran down her spine in the wake

of the heated statement.

Lord, if we weren’t in public.

Unfortunately, they were in public, and she was not into exhibitionism. She

took two steps forward, moving away from his tantalizing body. “Did you get what

you came for?” she asked.

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He held up a plastic bag that bulged with something large and heavy. “Yes.

Thanks for allowing me to tag along. I probably would have put this off until I

returned to the city if you hadn"t mentioned you needed to pick up some things.”

“Well, you"re welcome.” When Rome first said he would meet up with her while