Teddy Sinatra_Chains For Love Page 6

  For Teddy, it was the first time he made love to somebody he had real feelings for. Every single one of his other times had been all about sex and sex alone. About getting him through the night. But this time, sex, remarkable even to him, had little to do with it.

  He looked over at Nikki as they walked to his Corvette. This time, it was all about being with her. Entering her. Helping to get her through the night. It was a feeling that excited Teddy. But it alarmed him too because he didn’t know where their relationship was going. Or even if he wanted it to go that far.

  For Nikki, it was all about the odds. Despite the fact that he came to L.A.; despite the fact that he helped get her out of the toughest spot she’d ever been in, the odds of their relationship going to that special place was still in that pipedream world for her. Mainly because she’d never had a relationship that went there. But, also, because she wasn’t all that certain if going there with a straight-up gangster like Teddy Sinatra was a smart life plan.

  And the way he was always staring at her unnerved her too. What was he looking at that had him so captivated? Was it positive, or negative? Was he saying to himself what so many others had told her out loud: if you lost a little weight, you’d be gorgeous? If that was how he saw her, they had a problem. She was big-boned. She was curvaceous. She was healthy. She was satisfied.

  And Nikki, being Nikki, didn’t leave that conversation in her head alone. She looked at Teddy as they made their way across the tarmac. “May I ask you a question?” she asked him.

  Teddy smiled. “And if I say no?”

  Nikki smiled. “I’m going to ask it anyway.”

  Teddy laughed as they arrived at the passenger door of his waiting red Corvette. “Ask away!”

  “Does my size bother you?” she asked.

  Teddy’s smile remained, but she could see that his look changed.

  And she was right. But not because of the question. Teddy’s look changed because of the pain he saw in her big, amber eyes. The fact that she did not have the body type of some thin girl apparently caused her a lot of consternation in her life. She probably had to deal with the kind of guys he knew: guys who liked their women tight and right and thin as hell. If a girl had a little ass, it was too much junk in her trunk for them.

  But not for Teddy.

  “Your size is an asset in my view,” he said.

  “An asset? Are you being facetious?”

  Teddy laughed. “No!” Then his looked turned serious. “As you know now, if you didn’t already, I’m a big guy.”

  “Oh, I know.” His cock was so big, and had caught her so off guard, that Nikki felt as if it was still wedged inside of her. “I still have the soreness to prove it.”

  Teddy grinned. “Sorry about that. But thin has never done it for me. I need a woman I can wrap my body around. Somebody who can take all of me. You fit me perfectly, Nikki. And not just that.” His look turned serious again. “Your personality is big, which is another plus in my book, and you’re a strong lady. A very strong lady with a big heart. Your heart is what I’m after.”

  Teddy couldn’t believe those words came out of his mouth, but it wasn’t as if they weren’t true. He’d stand by them.

  His words were very reassuring to Nikki. “Thanks,” she said.

  “The real question is,” he added, “and it’s a big one.”

  Now Nikki was curious. “What is it?” she asked.

  “Does my size bother you?”

  Nikki loved how he reversed it on her. And she laughed. “It takes some getting used to, that’s for damn sure,” she admitted.

  “I would have thought you’d been with big guys before. Cock-wise, at least.”

  “I’ve been with guys with big dicks before, sure I have. But ba-by, yours make theirs look like pencils.”

  Teddy laughed.

  But then her look turned serious as well. She knew he meant more than his cock. The size of his life was big too. “Yeah,” she said, without a doubt, “I can handle it.”

  Teddy loved her confidence, and her courage. He opened the car door, and she got inside.

  Once he got behind the wheel, they were off. Teddy drove only one way: fast.

  Nikki was looking around. “This hunk of junk yours?” she asked.

  Teddy was, at first, shocked that she would call his hundred-thousand-dollar car a hunk of junk, but then he realized who he was dealing with. She didn’t take life so seriously that she couldn’t joke around. He smiled. “Yeah, it’s mine, motherfucker,” he said, joking around too as he shifted gears. “You got a problem with that?”

  Nikki was smiling too. “It’ll do,” she said. “I mean, I’m used to city buses and musky taxicabs to get around in. A Corvette is a little beneath my standards. Know what I’m saying?”

  “Yeah, it’s a hard luck car, alright. But I can take your ass to the bus stop right now, if you prefer?”

  Nikki was inwardly laughing. “No, I think I’ll endure the Corvette. But only this one time.”

  Teddy was inwardly laughing too. “Yes, ma’am,” he said, shifted gears, and flew.

  It was only when they drove down a quiet, seemingly isolated street, and then up to an electronic gate with armed men standing outside, did Nikki begin to wonder where they were going. Was that mansion behind that gate Teddy’s place? For some reason, he didn’t come across like a mansion-dwelling dude to her. He seemed more fast-car and condo to her.

  The men waved at Teddy and the gate automatically opened for him. And when Nikki saw the depth and breadth of the mansion, she looked at him. “All of this yours?” she asked as he drove through the gate.

  “No, it’s not mine,” Teddy said. “We’re going to my dad’s house for dinner before we head to my place.”

  Nikki was shocked. She nearly turned all the way around to Teddy. “Your dad’s house? But Teddy, I’m not ready to meet your father!”

  Teddy smiled. “It’s not about that,” he said. “It’s a prearranged meeting my dad called with me and my siblings. It was set up before I got that call from you,” he added as he continued to drive toward the main house.

  “Yeah, but still, Teddy.”

  “Don’t worry. It’s not that bad. My dad and my stepmom are cool people.”

  “Mick Sinatra cool?” Nikki asked. “I Googled him, Teddy. His photograph terrified me!”

  Teddy laughed. “Wait till you see him in person.”

  “Teddy!”

  “I’m just kidding, Nikki, dang!”

  But Nikki’s look wasn’t buying it. “No, you’re not,” she said.

  Teddy glanced at her, realized just how serious this moment was for her, and had to admit the truth, too. “No, I’m not,” he said.

  And as he stopped just behind his kid brother’s Dodge Charger, and the reality was right in front of them, they both sobered up.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  “Teddy’s late behind is here.” Gloria Sinatra was walking past her father’s bay window as she made her way from his kitchen to his living room. “He’d better be glad Dad’s not here yet.”

  “He is so lucky,” said Joey, who sat on the living room sofa. “If I had been late like that, Dad would have been here already and couldn’t wait to cuss my ass out.”

  But then Gloria noticed that Teddy was walking around to the passenger side of his car. She stopped in her tracks and moved toward the window. “Looks like he has a guest,” she said.

  “A guest for a meeting like this?” Joey stood up and began walking toward the window too. “That doesn’t make any sense.”

  “I’m sayin’,” Gloria said.

  “Who is it?” Joey asked.

  “I don’t know,” Gloria said as Nikki stepped out of the car.

  “He’s bringing a date,” Joey said. “I wish I would have known we could bring dates. I’ve got this hot blonde I’ve been seeing, and I would have loved to impress her by bringing her to Dad and Mom’s.”

  “Whomever she is,” Gloria said, “he’s taking owner
ship of her.”

  Joey was confused. “Ownership? How do you mean?”

  “His arm is on her lower back as they walk toward the house. Like he’s at least not ashamed of her.”

  “That’s where women always get it wrong,” Joey said. “When a man places his hand on a woman’s lower back, that’s not what that means.”

  “Oh, really, Mister Experienced? What does it mean then?”

  “It means they fucked her,” Joey said. “Probably just finished fucking her.” Then Joey smiled. “And he liked it.”

  Gloria pushed him. “You are so disgusting,” she said, as he grinned.

  But Joey was shaking his head too. “I didn’t know Teddy liked them plump like that,” he said. “And, no offense, Glo, black. But then again, Teddy never shows us his women so I don’t really know what he likes.”

  “That’s why this is so intriguing,” Gloria said.

  “Intriguing how?” Joey asked.

  “He’s showing us this one.”

  “Yeah, you’re right,” Joey agreed. “You’re right. Wow. This is one girl I wanna meet!”

  Then the door opened, and Gloria and Joey moved away from the window and made their way toward the sofa.

  “Hey, Teddy!” Gloria said with a smile.

  “Hey, Glo,” Teddy responded with a smile of his own. His smile weakened when he saw his troublesome kid brother. “Joey.”

  “Where your ass been all day?” Joey asked as if he, not Teddy, was the boss. But Gloria elbowed him in his ribs to more-than-gently remind him that they had company. “I mean, hey,” Joey corrected himself.

  Teddy, with his hand still on her lower back, walked Nikki up to his siblings. “I’ve got somebody I want you two to meet.”

  Teddy turned to Gloria first. “Gloria, this is Nikki Tarver.”

  Gloria extended her hand and she and Nikki shook. “Nice to meet you, Nikki.”

  “Nice to meet you.”

  “She’s my sister,” Teddy said proudly, “and my best friend. I’m sure you’ll see a lot of her while you’re here.”

  Nikki and Gloria were surprised for different reasons.

  Nikki was surprised that Teddy had a black sister. Nothing about him seemed to suggest biracial genes. Then she remembered, when she saw Rosalind Sinatra in L.A., that his stepmother was black. Perhaps they were half-siblings?

  Gloria was surprised that Teddy was speaking of Nikki as if she had come from out of town, and she was going to be around for a while. Which seemed so unlike her hit-and-run big brother that it kind of made her wonder if more was going on here.

  “And this is Joey,” Teddy said to Nikki. “My kid brother.”

  Joey extended his hand. And actually smiled. “Nice to meet you,” he said. “Nikki Tarver is it? T-A-R-V-E-R?”

  Nikki smiled. “Yes, that’s right. And nice to meet you too, Joey.”

  “Where are you from? I haven’t seen you around here.”

  “I’m from L.A.,” Nikki said.

  Teddy offered the sofa to Nikki, and he sat beside her. Gloria and Teddy sat in the chairs that surrounded the sofa.

  What Gloria immediately noticed about Nikki was that she was a snazzy dresser. Her clothes weren’t expensive, if Glo had to guess, but they fit her beautifully. The heels. The slacks. The waist-length cardigan that hugged her curves in just the right places. This woman had some sophistication about her that was refreshing. For some reason, Gloria always assumed Teddy never brought his females around because he didn’t think they were worthy of meeting his family. That he was ashamed of them. But this one was apparently different. He seemed so proud as he sat beside her. So happy! And Gloria could see why. She could hold her own against Teddy’s sometimes domineering personality. This woman was nobody’s easy lay.

  “Where’s Dad and Roz?” Teddy asked.

  Nikki knew that Mick Sinatra was married to the Broadway actress Rosalind Graham-Sinatra, and she assumed that was who Roz was. Nikki had never heard of her independent of knowing Teddy, probably because she wasn’t into Broadway, and maybe because this Rosalind Graham wasn’t a big enough star for regular folk like Nikki to have heard of. But regardless, she remembered seeing Rosalind Graham-Sinatra in L.A., on a stretcher, after Mrs. Sinatra had been viciously attacked. It would be nice to see her back on her feet again.

  “Dad hasn’t made it home yet,” Gloria said, answering Teddy’s question.

  Teddy smiled and playfully wiped his forehead with the back of his hand, causing Gloria to laugh.

  “Lucky dog!” said Joey.

  “And Roz had to take a business call,” Gloria continued. “She’s in her office.”

  “Oh, okay,” Teddy said. “And the twins?”

  “It’s almost nine at night, Teddy,” Gloria reminded him. “They’re asleep.”

  Nikki didn’t know who the twins were, either, but she remembered reading that Mick Sinatra had six children, including two toddlers, and a son that died. Nikki also remembered reading that there was some speculation, in law enforcement circles, that the son died at his father’s hand. Nikki had guts, but not enough to ever mention that kind of rumor to Teddy.

  “So,” Joey asked Nikki, “how long have you known our brother?”

  Nikki had already picked up on the tension between this one and Teddy. She treaded carefully. “Not long,” she said.

  “What does that mean?” Joey asked. “That could mean anything. From a few minutes ago, to a few months ago. Which is it?”

  Nikki didn’t respond to him, which Teddy appreciated. He knew how his brother could get!

  But Joey, being the most stubborn of the siblings, wasn’t about to let it go. “Which is it?” he asked again.

  “Recent, Joey, alright?” Teddy responded. “What difference does it make?”

  “You don’t just bring some anybody into the family home. That’s what difference it makes!”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Teddy said.

  “You’ve been making a lot of errors in judgment lately, big brother. I’m worried.”

  Teddy looked at Joey as if he’d lost his mind. “Your ass telling me about errors in judgment?”

  “I’m just saying what I’m saying,” Joey said. “I’m not taking it back.”

  “Joey, stop,” Gloria said, frustrated with him too. “Just stop.”

  “But we don’t know her like that, Glo. When Dad finds out Teddy brought her here, he might not like it either.”

  That little comment by Joey didn’t help Nikki’s already nervousness about being in Mick Sinatra’s home, a man who was reputed to be the king of mob bosses. And maybe Joey was right. Teddy really didn’t know her like that.

  “I’ll vouch for her,” Teddy said. “Don’t worry about it.”

  And there it was again: that feeling of protectiveness Nikki felt only once before in her life: when she was on that plane and in Teddy’s arms.

  “There’s Roz,” Gloria said, and everybody quickly rose to their feet. Including Nikki, although she found such a response kind of odd. And then she didn’t. This Roz was their father’s wife, which gave her the second highest place of honor in their family. Nikki had seen her once, when she was badly beaten in that Beverly Hills hotel, the first time she met Teddy. He said she was his stepmother. Nikki remembered commenting at the time that the stepmother looked to be about the same age as Teddy.

  But when she looked toward the far side of the room and saw that a woman had emerged, a regal black woman, she realized she was a little older than she had at first thought. But she looked too young to be Gloria’s mother. Unless she had Gloria when she was a kid herself.

  And for the first time, Nikki also saw a genuine smile on Joey’s face. “Hey, Ma,” Joey said happily.

  “Good evening everybody,” said Roz. She had that diction and strong voice of a Broadway actress, Nikki thought.

  “Mick not here yet?” Roz asked.

  “No ma’am,” Gloria said.

  “That’s your father,” Roz said. �
�All of our asses better be in place. But his?”

  “That’s what I said!” said Joey.

  Roz’s attention turned to Nikki by the time she made her way up to the group. “Who might this young lady be?” she asked.

  “This is Nikki,” Teddy said proudly. “You don’t remember her, but I met her when we were in California.”

  “Oh,” Roz said. And it sounded, to Nikki, like a don’t remind me kind of response. “Hello, Nikki, how are you?”

  “I’m good, thank you,” Nikki said and extended her hand. But Roz moved in to hug her.

  “I’m a hugger,” Roz said, as they hugged. It felt strange to Nikki to be hugging the wife of a mob boss, but this particular wife had a way of making her feel immediately comfortable.

  But when they stopped hugging, Roz did give Nikki a good look-over. “So,” she said, looking at her, “you’re Teddy’s friend?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Ma’am?” Roz said with a smile. “I’m not that old!”

  “Continue to call her ma’am,” Joey said, “or our dad will have a fit.”

  “He’s right,” Gloria said, nodding her head. “Don’t listen to Ma.”

  “Well!” Roz said with faked umbrage.

  “Come on, Roz,” Teddy said with a smile. “You know they’re telling the truth. And when Dad’s around,” he added, looking at Nikki, “she’s Mrs. Sinatra until he gets to know you better.”

  Nikki found that odd. “Not until she gets to know me better, but until he gets to know me better?” she asked.

  “I know it sounds crazy,” Teddy responded with a smile, “but yeah.”

  “Don’t listen to all of that,” Roz said.

  “Ma, it’s true,” Joey said. “Don’t get that lady in trouble!”

  “Alright, alright,” Roz said with a grin. “Now that they’ve scared you half to death,” she added, to Nikki, “have a seat, please. Rest your nerves!”

  Nikki smiled as she and Roz sat on the sofa beside each other. Teddy sat on the sofa, too, sandwiching Nikki in. Gloria sat back down as well. But Joey excused himself. He had to make a phone call.