Alessio groaned as he stretched. His body stiff and still sore and not used to having to sleep in the same position. Moving his head to the left, he saw Cheri's head laying on the edge of his pillow, her hand curled around the fabric of his shorts.
He loved seeing his rings on her finger, she was his, his wife and he felt so unworthy of her but he was profoundly glad that she was in his life. She definitely made him feel like there was so much more to life than what he'd thought.
Gently loosening her hands from his shorts, he swung his legs from their bed, grimacing as his right leg had to bend. He stayed in that position for a moment, letting it get acclimated to being bended.
Putting his weight on the bedside table, he was able to stand with little trouble and limp into the bathroom. Quietly shutting the door, he started the shower.
He knew that she had set up meetings with Don Silveri and the other families but what she didn't know is that he wanted her to be present in those meetings. She earned it.
The shower felt so welcoming on his body as the warm water hit all the points that needed attention. Getting his hair and body washed, he turned off the water and grabbed his towel and dried off.
Wrapping the towel around his waist, he limped to the counter and brushed his teeth. He studied his upper body in the mirror and saw the scars, cuts and bruises. Sighing he headed back into their room and to their closet.
Alessio noticed green eyes peering at him as he limped by. "Did you sleep well, fiore?" he asked from inside the closet. Cheri sat up and stretched, then walked into the closet, wearing only a white tank shirt and panties.
He already had his underwear on, pants and belt, next he was slipping on a white dress shirt but before he could start buttoning it, Cheri stepped in front of him to take over.
Placing her hands on his hips, she stared up into his beautiful eyes. The emotions that traveled between the two of them was evident. He was holding in all the restraint he had not to take her in the closet.
"I won't break if you touch me baby" his voice low. Cheri moved her hands further inside his shirt until she was embracing him and it felt so good having his wife this close.
He felt her lips placing kisses all over his chest and for the first time in five weeks, his cock was stirred. He wanted to be inside her so bad, but with his leg, their normal positions would be out of the question for now.
"Cheri?" he called out to her. "Hmm?" she said, still driving him crazy with her mouth. "I need to ask you a favor" he replied. "Anything baby" she replied, now licking and sucking on his skin.
"Merda" he cursed. "I can't concentrate with you doing that, gattina" he said. Stopping, Cheri placed her chin in the middle of his chest and looked up at him. "I'm sorry" she whispered. "I got carried away" she winked.
"Believe me I would take you in this closet if I could" he smirked. Cheri started working on buttoning up his shirt while she asked about his favor. "I want you to attend the meetings with me today."
She stopped mid-button and looked at him surprised. "Why?" she questioned. "You're our Don, you're back now and I'm not needed." He shook his head, smirking at her he replied "You really are modest and humble, aren't you baby?" What did he mean by that?
As if answering her silent question he responded. "You kept our family running for five weeks. According to Lorenzo, you handled yourself professionally and grieved in private. You garnered a lot of respect from the five families and from Don Silveri.
Lorenzo also told me that you took a meeting with Angelo the day after the explosion. He said you were more concerned about how our family would look than you were about your feelings. You deserve to be in that meeting, if nothing else, but to get me up to speed."
"If it means that much to you, I would be honored to be by your side" Cheri said kissing his chin. She reached for a dark navy blue tie, put it around his neck and tied it professionally. When she was done, he tucked in his shirt and went to grab his shoes.
His wife beat him to it and walked out of the closet and over to his dresser where she grabbed his black dress socks.
"Sit down, Mr. Castellano" she said sounding more like a boss than his wife. "Yes m'am" he smirked which got him a huge eye roll. They seemed to be bouncing back into their old routines and joking with each other and it felt so good.
Once his socks were on, he stood and slipped his feet into his dress shoes. "Well" he started. "How do I look?" Cheri grinned up at him and said "Good enough to unwrap and eat." That comment got her a gentle swat on the butt as she turned to walk back into their closet.
"Castellano" she said, sounding irked. But she wasn't. She was thankful for this. It meant he was back, to stay.
She pulled out a red, three-quarter sleeve length dress. It had a V-necked neckline and once her body was in it, it would look fitted because of her belly. She grabbed her black heels and underwear and headed into the bathroom.
Alessio said he was going downstairs for some coffee. She noticed he didn't take his cane and she was not going to push for it or say anything for that matter. If he needed it later, he would get it.
Taking the fastest shower known to mankind, she did a quick makeup, covering up any dark circles, threw on her underthings and then pulled the dress over her head. She left her hair natural, spritzed on some Poppy perfume by Coach and grabbed her heels.
Once she reached the bottom, she slid on her heels and made her way to the kitchen. Alessio, Lorenzo, Mas, Rico, Sal and Diego were all in there enjoying coffee when she walked in.
Taking in his wife's beauty, he couldn't help wonder how he got so lucky. That she wanted him and agreed to marry him. His eyes fell on her baby bump and that put a huge smile on his face.
Making his way to her, he let one hand splay across her belly, waiting for any movement at all. Nothing. So he bent down, kissed her belly and then talked to the baby in Italian. Cheri's stomach went crazy.
Laughing, Cheri moved his hand again and they both felt a pretty good kick. "I told you she knows her daddy's voice" Cheri said smiling at him. They'd forgotten they weren't alone while they were participating in their little family moment.
Lorenzo cleared his throat, as Cheri blushed and Alessio rolled his eyes at all the smiling faces that surrounded them in the kitchen.
"So, a little girl, huh?" Mas asked her, grinning like a cat that ate the canary. She shrugged. "I can't explain why I think that way, I just do" she said a little defensively. Mas busted out laughing.
"Alright little gattina, I was only joking with you" he said playfully, making Cheri laugh as well. "You're such a brat" she said under her breath. He nodded, looking very proud of himself.
Lorenzo had told Alessio that the heads were starting to arrive so the men took their leave, along with Cheri, and headed to the assigned meeting room.
They were all there. Michael Reinaldo, Benny Sarzo, Vinny Bonnati, Marcus Zantini, and Rufus Scalarzo. Alessio had also requested that Alberto Morelli join them as well. He'd been instrumental in bringing Frank Lantana to justice and helping to keep his family together, behind the scenes, in his absence.
Don Angelo Silveri was the last to arrive with his men. Once seated, Alessio had asked Silveri to speak first, to kick off their meeting.
"Gentlemen and Mistress" he started. "First off, let me just say that this is a time of great rejoicing for our famiglia. Once thought lost, we are joined today by Don Castellano. Alessio, all of our hearts are glad that you have returned to your family.
Second, we had a situation come up that has never, to my knowledge, presented itself until just recently. Mistress Castellano, would you please stand?" Silveri asked of Cheri. She blushed, but did as her Don asked.
"This beautiful and courageous woman, came to me, only one week after she thought her husband dead, and wanted my blessing for her to continue running the Castellano syndicate. It was very important to her that the Castellano name remain strong in integrity and in its business relations.
I never doubted that she could do it but she completely exceeded, I believe, against all odds in not only keeping up cherished and established business relations, but she also established some new business relationships that have turned out to be very advantageous to all of us.
Cheri, you are truly famiglia, and you have the honor, loyalty and respect of every man sitting at this table. You have made your family proud and you have done right by your Don. You truly are a queen in every respect."
There was a smattering of applause after he spoke. When everyone was seated, Cheri was given the floor and allowed to bring everyone up to speed, including her husband, on the day's business and the transactions from the last five weeks.
Alessio was so completely proud of his woman. In fact, she had blown him away, how she stepped in, took control and kept his business running.
The mold was destroyed when she was made. He'd never felt so much love, never thought his heart had that much capacity for it, but when he looked at her, that was all he felt.
Watching the way she conducted herself in the meeting, the way his colleagues respected her and listened to what she had to say was inspiring.
"And in conclusion" Cheri stated. "I'm so truly blessed, looking around this room, at the people that had my back. You are mi famiglia" she said. "And I thank you for all the support that you gave me during a very difficult time. Having said that, I could not be happier to sit down and let my husband talk now." Everyone laughed as she sat down and Alessio stood up.
"Gentlemen, I know you all would like to get back to your homes and businesses, so I won't keep you much longer. I just wanted to verbalize my gratitude for the support and encouragement that you gave my wife and family in my absence. I'm very proud of her and again, my thanks to you all."
After the meeting, Alessio said that he needed to take a short meeting with his men in his study and then he would join her in their room. She turned to walk away but was grabbed by the wrist. "Cheri, what you did...how you handled things..." he just shook his head.
Placing her hand up to his face, she looked deep into his eyes. Those cerulean eyes that could see clear through her and said "I did it for you. For us. For our family, tesoro." That earned her a very public display of affection but he didn't seem to care who saw and neither did she. She had him back and that's all that mattered.