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Siri
In the early morning darkness, the world seems like a small place. Only the occasional sounds of cars passing tell me the world is still here. My eyes are closed, and my head lays sleepily on my Golden God's pillow of an arm as he drives us into the country to his family's Villa. I hear him humming to himself.
I think it's "Dark Side" by Kelly Clarkson, but I can't be sure. He isn't humming enough of it to identify, but it doesn't matter. He's happy, and I'm happy. Life is good.
He leans over and kisses the top of my head. "Time to wake up, Sleepy Thang. We will arrive in about 20 minutes."
I turn my lips to kiss his arm. His skin is warm and soft against them. Umm. He tastes good. I put my hands over my head and stretch my legs out on the front floorboard. "I'm really nervous about this, Aurei."
"Don't be."
"What kind of crazy advice is that?"
"That's good, sound advice."
"Of course, I'm nervous."
"Don't be. That's simple advice too."
"It's more complicated than that, and you know it."
"It shouldn't be."
"And yet it is."
"Don't be dramatic, Siri."
"What?" I cut my eyes at him.
"Don't make it more than it is."
"I'm not being dramatic, Mr. Moore. I'm being wise. It is more than it really is. It's not you bringing a girlfriend to meet the parents and family. It's not even you bringing a Vegas star to the Villa for a romantic interlude. It's you bringing a stripper, you know the word, to the compound and on the weekend of the family celebration at that! The press blasted you, and for that, I'm truly sorry."
He rolls his eyes. "Don't pay them any attention." He opens his hand, and I automatically slip my fingers between his. He cinches us, and I feel grounded in his touch, but the nervous butterflies remain. We are heading straight to his family, and it feels like I'm the lamb being led to the slaughter. He brings my hand to his lips and nibbles the back of it. I sigh, and my heart lurches with his love. He states simply. "I got this. Stop worrying."
My heart begins to race when he hits the turn signal and slows the roadster down to make the turn. I pull the visor down, and it
illuminates my face. I smack my cheeks with my palms, trying to wake my skin, then fuss with my hair. Even though no one expects us, I don't want to look bad if we are caught coming in. "How do I look?"
"You look stunning, Siri. Simply stunning." He teases me. "You always do."
I sigh and look at him. "You're such a beautiful, sweet man!"
As the first rays of light find their way over the horizon, we travel down a small country road. To the left is farming country and to the right is a solid wall that looks like an old castle wall. Its height ranges between 8' and 12' tall, and the top edges flow with the landscape. It adds to the view, like an ancient architectural design. I see the big arching entrance as Aurei slows down to enter the gate. Over two large stone columns is a sign that reads "Big AL's."
"Who is Big Al?"
"My Grandpa, of course."
"How do you get Al from Aurelius?"
"The A is for Aurelius, obviously, and the L is for Liotine and Big because he was larger than life."
"Big Al," I muse. "I like it. I wish I could have met him."
"I wish you could have too." He tells me as he spools the window down. "I think he knew about my sex life. Although I paid to keep it quiet, he could have paid more to know about it and probably did."
I lay my hand on his bicep and give it a gentle squeeze. As he enters the code for the gate and it swings open, I see a small sign that reads "English only."
"Why the English only sign?"
"Because Zita is American."
"Oh! I just assumed she spoke fluent Italian too."
"She does, but Bob and Ann don't."
"Oh! Well, that makes sense then."
"Affirmative." He grins at me and then says, imitating his Grandpa's accent. "Welcome to the Farm."
I giggle at that. "Can we ride with the windows down?" He doesn't answer. He puts my window down too. I look out over the beautiful landscaping. "It does look more like a sprawling Texas Ranch with the white picket fencing than an Italian Villa."
"That's why we nicknamed it, The Compound." He smiles at me. "My Grandfather loved his Texas Ranch, and when he moved home to Italy, he brought as much of it with him as he could. The
main house is a replica of his ranch house, and the cabins are replicas of his first house. Mine is the first one. Ann's is the second one. Everyone else will be staying up in the Big House."
"How many will there be?" I ask curiously. He cuts his eyes at me, and my panic button is pushed again. "Never mind! No need to know."
As we get closer, I see the sprawling ranch house sitting on top of a small hill. It overlooks the pastures and is made of white and gray stone with gray roof tiles. To the left are a giant red barn and matching stables. To the right is a rustic wood cabin with a front porch with rocking chairs.
Aurei takes the drive to the cabin and circles behind. It is surrounded by its own white picket fence and covers roughly 3 acres. It is breathtaking!
"Wow! This is a shocker."
The 'front' is actually a false facade, and the 'cabin' is a full-size house. We pull into a separate garage that's connected to the porch of the house by a trellis covered with ivy.
Aurei laughs. "Yes, like I said, Grandpa didn't do anything small." He pops the trunk as the automatic garage door lowers. "Stay."
"Yes, sir." Fidgeting, I watch as he hauls out my luggage, then comes to get me.
He leans in when he opens my door and offers his hand to help me up. My converse sneakers touch the ground of the compound first, and I place my small hand in his massive one. He pulls me easily to my feet and says. "Come on, Shorty. Let's get you settled in."
Without my 6" heels, I feel completely dominated by his towering person, and the Godlike presence he holds in my mind is reinforced. I smile up into his laughing eyes. "I prefer Petite Thang, thank you very much." I stick my nose in the air and give him a full drama queen hair toss.
He laughs, grabs my luggage, and tells me. "Follow me, Petite Thang."
We exit through a side door and come out under the covered trellis. Early birds chirping fills the air, and the clip-clop of horses being exercised floats to me when we exit the ivy and go up the stairs to the porch. I know from the familiar sound that multiple horses are being ridden.
At the front door, Aurei enters the code. The locks open, and he turns around to tell me. "Remind me later to reset this."
Siri
In the early morning darkness, the world seems like a small place. Only the occasional sounds of cars passing tell me the world is still here. My eyes are closed, and my head lays sleepily on my Golden God's pillow of an arm as he drives us into the country to his family's Villa. I hear him humming to himself.
I think it's "Dark Side" by Kelly Clarkson, but I can't be sure. He isn't humming enough of it to identify, but it doesn't matter. He's happy, and I'm happy. Life is good.
He leans over and kisses the top of my head. "Time to wake up, Sleepy Thang. We will arrive in about 20 minutes."
I turn my lips to kiss his arm. His skin is warm and soft against them. Umm. He tastes good. I put my hands over my head and stretch my legs out on the front floorboard. "I'm really nervous about this, Aurei."
"Don't be."
"What kind of crazy advice is that?"
"That's good, sound advice."
"Of course, I'm nervous."
"Don't be. That's simple advice too."
"It's more complicated than that, and you know it."
"It shouldn't be."
"And yet it is."
"Don't be dramatic, Siri."
"What?" I cut my eyes at him.
"Don't make it more than it is."
"I'm not being dramatic, Mr. Moore. I'm being wise. It is more than it really is. It's not you bringing a girlfriend to meet the parents and family. It's not even you bringing a Vegas star to the Villa for a romantic interlude. It's you bringing a stripper, you know the word, to the compound and on the weekend of the family celebration at that! The press blasted you, and for that, I'm truly sorry."
He rolls his eyes. "Don't pay them any attention." He opens his hand, and I automatically slip my fingers between his. He cinches us, and I feel grounded in his touch, but the nervous butterflies remain. We are heading straight to his family, and it feels like I'm the lamb being led to the slaughter. He brings my hand to his lips and nibbles the back of it. I sigh, and my heart lurches with his love. He states simply. "I got this. Stop worrying."
My heart begins to race when he hits the turn signal and slows the roadster down to make the turn. I pull the visor down, and it illuminates my face. I smack my cheeks with my palms, trying to wake my skin, then fuss with my hair. Even though no one expects us, I don't want to look bad if we are caught coming in. "How do I look?"
"You look stunning, Siri. Simply stunning." He teases me. "You always do."
I sigh and look at him. "You're such a beautiful, sweet man!"
As the first rays of light find their way over the horizon, we travel down a small country road. To the left is farming country and to the right is a solid wall that looks like an old castle wall. Its height ranges between 8' and 12' tall, and the top edges flow with the landscape. It adds to the view, like an ancient architectural design. I see the big arching entrance as Aurei slows down to enter the gate. Over two large stone columns is a sign that reads "Big AL's."
"Who is Big Al?"
"My Grandpa, of course."
"How do you get Al from Aurelius?"
"The A is for Aurelius, obviously, and the L is for Liotine and Big because he was larger than life."
"Big Al," I muse. "I like it. I wish I could have met him."
"I wish you could have too." He tells me as he spools the window down. "I think he knew about my sex life. Although I paid to keep it quiet, he could have paid more to know about it and probably did."
I lay my hand on his bicep and give it a gentle squeeze. As he enters the code for the gate and it swings open, I see a small sign that reads "English only."
"Why the English only sign?"
"Because Zita is American."
"Oh! I just assumed she spoke fluent Italian too."
"She does, but Bob and Ann don't."
"Oh! Well, that makes sense then."
"Affirmative." He grins at me and then says, imitating his Grandpa's accent. "Welcome to the Farm."
I giggle at that. "Can we ride with the windows down?" He doesn't answer. He puts my window down too. I look out over the beautiful landscaping. "It does look more like a sprawling Texas Ranch with the white picket fencing than an Italian Villa."
"That's why we nicknamed it, The Compound." He smiles at me. "My Grandfather loved his Texas Ranch, and when he moved home to Italy, he brought as much of it with him as he could. The main house is a replica of his ranch house, and the cabins are replicas of his first house. Mine is the first one. Ann's is the second one. Everyone else will be staying up in the Big House."
"How many will there be?" I ask curiously. He cuts his eyes at me, and my panic button is pushed again. "Never mind! No need to know."
As we get closer, I see the sprawling ranch house sitting on top of a small hill. It overlooks the pastures and is made of white and gray stone with gray roof tiles. To the left are a giant red barn and matching stables. To the right is a rustic wood cabin with a front porch with rocking chairs.
Aurei takes the drive to the cabin and circles behind. It is surrounded by its own white picket fence and covers roughly 3 acres. It is breathtaking!
"Wow! This is a shocker."
The 'front' is actually a false facade, and the 'cabin' is a full-size house. We pull into a separate garage that's connected to the porch of the house by a trellis covered with ivy.
Aurei laughs. "Yes, like I said, Grandpa didn't do anything small." He pops the trunk as the automatic garage door lowers. "Stay."
"Yes, sir." Fidgeting, I watch as he hauls out my luggage, then comes to get me.
He leans in when he opens my door and offers his hand to help me up. My converse sneakers touch the ground of the compound first, and I place my small hand in his massive one. He pulls me easily to my feet and says. "Come on, Shorty. Let's get you settled in."
Without my 6" heels, I feel completely dominated by his towering person, and the Godlike presence he holds in my mind is reinforced. I smile up into his laughing eyes. "I prefer Petite Thang, thank you very much." I stick my nose in the air and give him a full drama queen hair toss.
He laughs, grabs my luggage, and tells me. "Follow me, Petite Thang."
We exit through a side door and come out under the covered trellis. Early birds chirping fills the air, and the clip-clop of horses being exercised floats to me when we exit the ivy and go up the stairs to the porch. I know from the familiar sound that multiple horses are being ridden.
At the front door, Aurei enters the code. The locks open, and he turns around to tell me. "Remind me later to reset this."
He pushes the door open and waves me in. I walk through, and I'm stunned again by what I see. The living area is huge and richly decorated with heavy, oversized, dark leather furniture—a man's decor. Off the left wall are a small foyer area and two closed doors. Probably bedrooms. My eyes travel clockwise and see that on the back wall, there is a small dinette set that adjoins a full-size kitchen separated from the living area by a full-length island counter with bar stools. Continuing my scan, I find a long hallway on the right wall. The end is out of my sight.
"Wow!" I utter, and he laughs as he rolls the luggage in and stands beside me.
"The door there on the left is the guest suite and a bathroom. The door at the end of that hall is my suite." He grins as I try to pass, eager to explore on my own like I did in his Rome apartment. "Hold on." He scolds me and holds out his hand. "I'm the tour guide this time."
I reluctantly give him my hand.
Opening the door to the guest bedroom, he leads me in, then stops and lets me absorb the details. I see raw, heavily lacquered wood furniture, with different sizes and colors of Mexican-style rugs littering the wood floor, and on the walls hang colorful Mexican blankets. The windows on the left run the wall length and are solid sheets of glass. They are framed as if they are pictures and the view through them is of the rolling pastures. It looks like a picture from a professional studio. The bathroom is across the room. Against the back wall on the right in the center sits a king-size bed. The headboard is large and has intricate wood carvings of Cowboys and horses. Surrounding the bed on the walls are western paintings from oilfields to cowboys. Very masculine.
"Sweet!" I tell Aurei. "Who stays in here?"
"No one." He laughs. "It's a 'just in case you want a guest' room, and I've never wanted one."
"Mmhmm." I give him my 'I find that hard to believe look.'
He grins but doesn't respond to my doubtful face. "Now on to the Master's Suite." He tells me as he pulls me out the door.
I giggle. "I hear what you did there."
He laughs out loud, and the sound fills the room with warmth as we cross the living room again. At the luggage, he stops and tells me as he bends down. "Climb on."
Thinking I'm going to ride him piggyback style, he braces for my jump, but I put my hand on his shoulder and my foot on his bent thigh, swing my leg over and hoist myself to sit on top of his shoulders.
"That's not what I had in mind ... but comfy?"
"Very," I tell him as I hook my feet under his arms and squeeze him. I wiggle my ass to get my balance.
He carries me down the hall, and when we arrive at the end, there are a set of wooden double doors with arched tops and a big growling bear carved in it. The same growling bear as the one on the door of his studio in Rome.
"Beautiful," I tell him as he pushes them open.
"I see you have a thing for bears." He doesn't have to bend over very much for us to enter, and as soon as I catch my first glimpse of the room, I gasp. "Oh my Fucking Golden God! This is gorgeous! Absofuckinglutely gorgeous! Let me down." I say as I let go of my foot hooks.
He grabs my knees. "Just a second."
Knowing he won't drop me, I fall over backward and hang upside down. I can see the backside of the double doors. They also have a growling bear on them, but this side is of Italian inlaid wood art. The bear is golden, and the inlaid wood is intricate, showing the tiniest fur details.
I reach for the floor as he slowly lets his grip go, and I slide down his body.
