Dominic had been in New York with Lia for about 3 weeks when he got a call from his agent advising him that date set for filming his upcoming project was pushed up and he had to be ready to travel to Thailand in three weeks.  Unfortunately for the couple, that meant he was going to have to fly back to Los Angeles in three days in order to prepare for the trip.

Lia and Dominic were sitting on her sofa, fingers intertwined, her head on his shoulder.

“Well, we knew you’d have to go back at some point”.  Lia said sadly.  “It sucks though.  I’ve gotten used to you being the last face I see at night and the first face I see in the morning”.

“Me too, angel.  And even if I weren’t traveling to Thailand, I hate the thought of being 2000 miles away from you.  So I was thinking that I’d move to New York once I get back”.

Lia pulled her head back to look him in the eye.  “Don’t joke around, MacCleod.  Are you serious???”

“I want to be with you as much as humanly possible, Li.  I can’t do that with you here and me in California.  You said Mimi’s sister is a real estate agent, right?”

“Yeah, but why would you need a real estate agent when you could just move in here with me?”

“Babe, I love this place, but it wouldn’t be big enough for you, me an ornery cat and a 90lb dog”.

“Yeah, I suppose you’re right”.

“But you do want to live with me...right”,  Dominic asked.  He looked at her like he was afraid she’d say no.

“Are you kidding?  After these past two weeks, I couldn’t imagine a scenario where we were in the same city and NOT living together”.

Dominic looked relieved.  “Okay, so while I’m out of the country, you can start checking out spaces big enough for all four of us and you can keep me updated through Skype”.

Lia straddled Dom’s lap and kissed his forehead.  “We’re doing this?  Because once you, me, Shamey and Lolli are under one roof, that’s it.  We’re in for the long haul”.

“Ms. Mariani, you are IT for me.  The only place I want to be is wherever YOU are”.  He lifted up her left hand and kissed her ring finger.  “Make no mistake, I WILL be putting a ring on this finger, but in my mind and my heart you are already my wife.  We are definitely in for the long haul”.

Lia had tears in her eyes as she pressed her forehead against his.  “Have I told you today that I love you?”

“You did indeed, but I wouldn’t mind hearing it again”.

She cupped his face in her hands and kissed his lips softly.  “I love you.  So much”.

“I love you, too my angel”.  Dominic wrapped his arms around her and pulled her tightly to him, lifted her up and took into the bedroom.  He laid her on the bed and nestled between her legs, kissing her softly.  He stroked her hair, staring deeply into her eyes.  “I love you, Lia” he said as he nuzzled and kissed her neck.  Lia moaned softly, running her fingers through his silky hair.  He peppered her neck with kisses.  He sat back on his haunches, pulling her with him then pulled her baby tee over her head.  Dominic wrapped his arms around her unclipping her bra and sliding it off of her shoulders.  He laid her back on the bed and began kissing her dark brown peaks.  He swirled his tongue around one of her nipples then lightly sucked on it.  He suckled and licked until Lia said, “I have two of those, you know”.  Dominic chuckled and moved over to the other breast and lavished it with as much attention as he had to its twin.  Lia arched her back and moaned in appreciation.

Dominic slid lower, caressing her smooth skin as he went.  Lia reached down and relieved him of his shirt and pulled him up so that she could kiss him passionately and feel them chest to chest.  She ran her fingers up and down his back sensually, enjoying the feeling of her hands against his muscles.  Dominic reluctantly removed himself from her grasp and continued his previous task, ghosting kisses on her stomach.  He hooked his fingers into her yoga pants and slid them off of her, taking her panties with them.  He spread her legs tenderly and lowered his head to her mound, inhaling her heady scent.  He licked and sucked her outer lips before sliding his tongue upward, gathering her essence, eliciting a moan from Lia.  He savored the taste of her, drinking from her, intoxicated by her sweetness.  He probed her center with his tongue, causing her to squirm and moan.  Then he sought out his prize, swirling and sucking and nipping at her clit. “Dominic!” she cried out as he flattened his tongue and rubbed it against her bud vigorously.  Lia’s legs began to shiver as he took her higher and higher.  She clamped her thighs around Dominic’s head as her orgasm hit her like a tidal wave.  “Aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah...Oh my...nnnggggh!”  Lia jerked and cried out as Dominic continued to torture her with his mouth.  When she couldn’t take anymore, she pushed his face away.  She was gasping and sobbing, overcome by the extreme pleasure he gave her.  He watched her as she finally started to come down from her climax.  When her breathing was finally under control, Dominic kissed his way back up her body, reaching her mouth, capturing it hungrily.  Lia loved the taste of her juices on his lips.  It caused another wave of arousal, her essence rushing from her like a river.

Dominic pulled away from Lia long enough to remove his jeans and underwear.  He reached into the nightstand, grabbing a condom packet, removing the latex and sliding it onto his shaft.  He spread her legs a little wider and placing the head of his manhood to her entrance.  He glided into her slowly, enjoying the feeling of her sheath closing around his cock.  He made love to her languidly, taking his time to savor the feeling.  Lia wrapped her arms around his shoulders, pulling him to her.  He buried his head in her neck and she combed her fingers through hair.  He then lifted up onto his arms and they gazed at each other, their eyes communicating every emotion they were feeling.  Lia felt herself once again closing in on her second orgasm.  “Oh, oh, ooooh, baby.  I’m coming!” she said breathlessly.  “Let it go, angel.  Don’t close your eyes...look at me. Look at me baby.”  Dominic said huskily.  Lia began to tremble, then arched her back, crying out Dominic’s name as her orgasm crashed down on her.  He slowed down his thrusting, allowing her time to come down from her high.  Once her breathing returned to normal, he began to pound into her.  He felt the familiar tingle in his balls and began thrusting frantically.  “Are you gonna come for me baby?” Lia whispered. “Come for me”.  Dominic thrusted twice and then exploded, shooting rope after rope of semen into the condom.

Dominic rolled off of Lia, landing on his back.  She laced her fingers between his, pulled his arm around her and rested her head on his chest.  He sunk his fingers into her hair and rubbed her scalp.  No words were spoken, they just listened to each others breathing before sleep took them both.

*************************************

Because Dominic would be leaving town soon, Lia’s parents arranged a bon voyage dinner in his honor.  Dominic was looking forward to the get together.  He had really grown very fond of the loving and boisterous Mariani family.

Lia and Dominic entered into the Mariani home to shouts and cheers.  

“Good the guest of honor is here”, Lia’s uncle Paolo said over the din of voices. “Now can we PLEASE eat?”

“Oh essere tranquilla, Paolo!”, Giulia admonished. “Un paio di minuti non ti uccida’! (Oh be quiet Paolo! A few more minutes won’t kill you!)

It WILL kill me!  I haven’t eaten all day.

“Hai mangiata tre ora fa, avidi porco!” (You ate three hours ago you greedy pig!) laughed Paolo’s wife Anetta.

Everyone sat around the table filled with enough food to feed a small country.  They laughed and ate and enjoyed the each other the way only a tight knit family could.

Gabriele tapped his glass with his fork and there was quiet in the diningroom.  Everyone turned to him as he spoke.

“It has been a few weeks since I have met the young man we are celebrating today.  I will say, I was prepared not to like him.  He had designs on taking my only daughter from me, after all.  But in this all too short period of time, I have seen what an honorable man he is.  Family is important to him, as it is to all of us at this table.  A man with a sense of family understands what is important and what will be important when he closes his eyes for the last time.  That is a real man.  That man”, Gabriele said, pointing at Dominic, “is a real man.  And I am happy that my Lia has someone who will love and protect her in the same way that I have for the past 26 years.  It is no surprise to me why my baby gave her heart to him.  He, in this short time has become part of this family.  Another son to me.  We welcome you, Dominic.  Saluti!”

“Saluti!” The whole room intoned.

Dominic was touch by Gabriele’s speech.  I meant so much to him that the family of the woman he loved and intended to marry welcomed him so warmly.  And with his family still in Scotland, having these people in his life was like a slice of home.  He looked over at Lia who was looking back at him with a smile that said everything words could never express.  He pulled her close and kissed her softly.  Of course, the room erupted.  Dominic heard Gabriele say “you’re pushing it, boy”.  Dominic raised his hands in apology.

As the night wore on, the family began to trickle out.  Lia’s brother Giuseppi and his wife April had to get home to their brood.  They were being watched by the daughter of a good friend and they wanted to hurry and relieve the girl.  After a while it was just Lia and Dom, her mom and dad, her uncle Paolo and her aunt Anetta, Gianni and Tira and Gio and Mimi.  They sat in the livingroom and watched a couple of episodes of Game of Thrones before Mimi decided to call it a night.

“I’m gonna head out, too.  Permit me to walk you, Mouthasaurus?” Gio said with mock formality.

“Whatever, butthead”.  They hugged and kissed their goodbyes and headed out.

After they left, the remaining group sat in silence.  Tira spoke up first. “So...you guys want to start a pool predicting when those two idiots will finally admit that they’re in a relationship?”

The room erupted in laughter.

********************************************

The next two days passed way too fast.  Lia and Dominic spent most of those days in bed, saying the “long goodbye”.  She’d wanted to go with him to the airport, but they were recognizable now and the two of them together would just start unnecessary chatter.  They both valued their privacy, and now that they were official, they were even more protective of it.  Gio offered to take Dom to the airport, an offer he was grateful for.  Plus, he had something he wanted to talk to Giovanni about before he left for Thailand.

On the day Dominic left, Lia couldn’t help but be emotional.  They’d spent almost three weeks together, but it had felt like they’d squeezed several months of intimacy and friendship into those almost three weeks.  She was sad to see him go, especially because she wasn’t going to be seeing him for two and a half months.  The bright side was that when he came back to the states, they’d be merging their households, the prospect of which made her grin from ear to ear.

Gio arrived at 10am in order to get Dominic to the airport before his departure time of 12:45pm.  

Dominic pulled Lia into a hug then lifted her chin.  “Skype me every other day to let me know how the house hunt goes.  I’ll be home and we’ll all be together in no time at all. Okay?”

“Okay”, Lia said, blinking back tears.  “I love you.  Call me as soon as you land”.

“I will. Now kiss me”.  They kissed each other passionately before Gio cleared his throat.  The pair hugged each other then Dom and Gio headed out.

Lia plopped down on her sofa and sighed.  Lollipop jumped up on the arm of the sofa and gave her a kitty headbutt before curling up in her lap, purring.  Lia scratched the cat behind the ear.  The apartment suddenly seemed so quiet and lifeless.  What was she going to do with herself for the next two and a half months?