The Twelve Vitali Ch. 29

"Okay, one chapter, then I'll try and get some sleep," she said, knowing that's what he was asking without saying it. "Unless I fall asleep while reading too, then I may just sleep with your brother after all." Cat teased.

"There are worse things that can happen," Ricco chuckled, and turned back toward the office where Matteo still sat with Thomas and Cosimo.

"The first line says it all," Thomas said. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend." He quoted the letter Matteo had received. "There are no threats here, just information which we can verify ourselves. No one could be that stupid to think we would go to war with another table without doing our own investigation. Even though there has been bad blood between the Martino's and us for generations, it is hard to believe, so we must investigate ourselves."

"So just to recap from the beginning," Cosimo said, studying the photographs emails and texts messages spread out on the table in some form of a timeline. "Vanessa tells Mario that the ghost town is real, and about seeing her mother, who was once a Martino and had a dubious love affair with her brother, Mario's second cousin. Mario then talks to his cousin, telling him Maria is alive," he looked at the younger men for confirmation and saw that Thomas was creating the timeline on his tablet as his father talked.

"That was the end of January," Matteo put in. "Possibly the last week, or first few days of February at the latest."

"That matches the dates on the evidence. So, January, we find out about Maria and the ghost town and Vanessa confided in Mario," Thomas read his notes. "February..." he looked up at his father to continue.

"I guess I have to wonder when these people started looking at Cat... If the evidence dates back to January before any photographs of Cat emerged in the media, or anyone even knew of her relationship with Matt or our family?" Ricco asked.

"There were a couple of photos from the book launch in Brisbane and the art gallery, maybe, though I'm not sure about that," Matteo considered the question.

"Let's just deal with what we have in front of us first before we begin to speculate on the why's and wherefores," Cosimo said. "The Martino technical engineers knew they couldn't cover their tracks well enough, I imagine, which is why they sought our help from the dark web. The evidence shows their inquiries about an impregnable system, and one of the Tatar took the job, which is why there is such a great amount of evidence here. It won't be hard to verify it with the Papillo when the data mining started, and if these breaches actually occurred in any of the facilities listed, even if they didn't get any information on the ghost town."

"I'll call Rick first thing," Matteo said. "If we were being watched at this time they may have seen Cat and questioned where she came from."

"During March you both had trials, and then you went overseas without Cat, but your official engagement pictures were published, and they have those," Cosimo shuffled the pile of evidence for March into one pile. "The lack of evidence had been obviously frustrating the Martino's, which is how they came up with the look-alike idea, which the Tatar provided facial recognition software for, and Mario and Giovanni took the lead on using information from Vanessa, which is why Mario had spent so much time in Melbourne over the last few months."

"The Tatar backed off at that point, according to this, because they became aware of Seubi involvement. They hadn't identified themselves to the Martino's as Tatar, so they just fell away from the situation, but their involvement had allowed them to leave surveillance in place in the Martino technologies," Thomas continued for his father.

"It's rare for the Tatar to get involved in any of the other family dynasties," Ricco considered what was being said. "Why this time? Was it just because they were curious about Cat?" A memory niggled at the periphery of his mind, but he couldn't quite catch hold of it, and it bothered him, but nothing he was hearing was jogging his memory enough to recall it.

"Maybe it's only that they are particularly good at hiding their tracks that we think they don't get involved?" Thomas said. "They have always been unthreatening. They're nomads, travellers, gypsy's, whatever you want to call them. But can we truly be sure about their neutrality where we are concerned? They obviously think of the Suebi, and maybe even the Martino's as an enemy. That certainly doesn't sound neutral. And did we even consider until now that they had resources comparable to ours? Seriously?" He directed his question to his father. "The Suebi are bottom feeders, we are used to having to deal with them. But the Tatar? Who will reveal themselves next? The Salians?"

"The fact is we don't know if any of this is true. Or even if the anonymous sender is Tatar," Matteo sighed. He had a headache now, and he knew he needed answers for Cat. "There is nothing more we can do tonight. Let's gather everyone tomorrow. I'll get Hilary to set up the large conference room for the full table. We can't keep squeezing into Papa's with our numbers, and, to be honest, it will draw less attention if everyone gathers here in HQ."

"Yeah, alright, we could all use a little rest," Cosimo said finally. "You've sent through copies of the documents?" He asked Thomas, who rolled his eyes at his father for asking such a question.

"Yes, Papa, let's go," he sighed and stood. "We'll work it out, Matt, get some sleep. There is no threat in this, just information that we can verify, for the most part. Probably worth keeping a closer eye on Vanessa, though, until we work out the truth of it."

"Yeah, she wouldn't have done it purposely though. I would bet she was just confiding in the man she should have been able to trust," he sighed, defending his sister, despite the evidence that she had been an integral part of the strange happenings around them lately. They'd all known the consequences of talking about what they had seen in the ghost town.

*****

Cat woke in her own bed to find Matteo asleep beside her. She was grateful that he had managed to shut his eyes, if only for a little while. It was rare for her to see either of the men she loved sleeping, and she stayed very still, not wanting to wake him.

"You slept with another one of my brothers," he murmured without opening his eyes.

"What?" she gasped.

"Ricco carried you in here last night after he found you asleep beside Lucca," Matteo grumbled, rolling over and trapping her below him. "You don't have to sleep with all of my brothers, you realise."

"True, Leo and Raphael are a little young for my tastes, but some of your cousins are pretty handsome," she teased.

"No more brothers or cousins!" he growled, but there was a glint in his eyes that told her he was more amused than unhappy.

"How will I find out all your deep dark secrets if I don't snuggle up to the people who know you best?" she asked.

"Just ask me. I know me best!" Matteo bent his head to kiss her. Deepening the kiss, he moved between her legs, widening them and pressing against her, making sure she knew just how much he wanted and needed her. Their whole relationship seemed to be one crisis after another, and he felt like they had never truly just had time to enjoy each other and their relationship since returning from Brisbane together.

"I thought you would be rushing off to meet with all those brothers and cousins this morning," she whispered as he broke the kiss. "Not that I'm complaining," she wound her arms around his neck.

"Ricco and Thomas are getting everyone up to speed while I take my time saying good morning to my wife," he grinned and kissed her again. "You seem to forget you married me, not my whole family," he admonished her.

"Well, I see them more often than I see you lately," she giggled, and Matteo leant down and bit her lip gently.

"Perhaps, but I am going to remedy that, starting today," Matteo murmured, pressing against her again and feeling her raise her hips to meet his.

"Tell me more," she whispered, squirming beneath him.

"Maybe," Matteo murmured huskily, "But first," he teased. His kiss was as gentle as a butterfly, at first this time. The next movement of his mouth brought a little more pressure, her lips opened slightly at the feel of the tip of his tongue gently teasing the tender flesh of her lower lip.

He smiled as a soft moan escaped her lips. His fingers tightened around the back of her neck, and he pulled her body closer to his, deepening the kiss, leaving no doubt that he intended to be exceedingly late for the meeting with the men of his family. He wrapped his arms tightly around her; one across her shoulders and the other under the curve of her bottom, then he rolled onto his back, taking her with him in one fluid movement.

Cat's bright blue eyes widened in surprise at finding herself neatly planted atop him, her thighs splayed on either side of his hips. Rolling her hips, she could feel the hard ridge of him pressed into the soft flesh of her pussy, so she took advantage of the new position. Bracing her hands on either side of his head, she pushed herself up. Her sleep-tousled hair fell in a curtain across her face to tickle at his chest, and a wicked grin spread across her lips as she lifted her hips a fraction of an inch and arched her back, rolling her hips again and pressing down onto his hard cock. She heard his breath hiss in through his clenched teeth, and she peeked at him through her lashes, and wiggled a little more, setting him more firmly into her moist folds. Grinning at having affected him enough to hear a muffled groan, and feeling his hands reach for her hips to still her movements, Cat stilled momentarily.

Having kept her still for several moments, Matteo relaxed back and gazed up at her, a sly smile on his face as one hand quickly left her hip and smacked her ass. As she yelped in surprise, he quickly pulled her back down on top of him and smacked her ass twice more. His smile faded, his dark eyes bright with undisguised lust as she began to rotate her hips, pressing down on him again.

Her eyes closed, and small white teeth glinted behind warm pink lips as she bent to nibble his neck, paying particular attention to the tender spot just below his ear. She distantly registered his hands gliding over the hot pink flesh to cup her bottom. He lifted her slightly away from him so that she could feel his cock glide between the hot wet folds of her pussy. Sinking her teeth into his neck to distract him slightly, she reached back and took his hands, pulling them up above his head in the way he often pinned her to the bed. She knew she couldn't restrain him if he really wanted to be loose, but it excited her to have him at her mercy, if only for a short time.

Matteo raised his eyebrow at her and smirked, and she leaned forward to lick over the bite mark she had left on his neck. She heard his soft moan and grinned to herself as she licked her way down his throat to his chest, nibbling here and there. Her tongue flicked out and gently teased his nipple, knowing this would excite him. His hips insistently pushed up into her, proving that she knew her man well, and a thrill ran through her when he finally broke free of her grasp, is hands moving to her rotating hips once more.

Enjoying being the tease for once, she wriggled free of his hands again and slid down the length of his body, pausing to nip the flat belly with her teeth. She was on her knees between his legs, running her hands up his thighs. Looking up at him, she lowered her head, taking his hard cock into her mouth, never breaking eye contact.

His legs tensed, and his fingers twined into her hair. She'd smiled around him, running her tongue up the underside of his shaft. She felt his little shiver and slid her mouth back down on him, taking all of him and feeling him press into the back of her throat.

Her left hand curved under his ball sack and cupped him, stroking with soft, gentle fingers. She felt him pulsing on her lips, and she moved down onto him. His fingers twined to the point of pain in her hair, his hips thrusting up, forcing more into her mouth, making her gag slightly, but she loved the taste of him and kept her head low, devouring him. She distantly heard him moan, and she gave a small gurgling whimper in response.

Matteo decided she had had her own way long enough, and pulling on the hair that was wrapped around his fingers, he led her back up his body, smiling at her small whimpers of pain and disappointment. With the grace of an athlete, he changed their positions, pushing her down onto the bed and rearing up above her.

It was his turn to taste the sweetness of her skin, his tongue running down a similar path to one Cat had taken down his body. He loved her breasts, the small pale pink nipples puckered sweetly, and he sucked them between his lips, making her breasts rise into pointed mounds of flesh. His hands rested on her breasts as he kissed his way down her body, nipping the soft skin below her navel and kissing her flat belly.

His hands spread her thighs wide and he nipped at the soft white flesh there, listening to her sigh of pleasure. He placed extra pressure on her thighs, watching the lips of her pussy part, and leaned forward to flick his tongue over the centre of her being at that point in time. A wicked grin curled his lips as he felt the pleasure ripple through her, making her thighs tremble and his cock harden further.

His lips closed over the tiny bud, and he began to whip it gently with his tongue. Her fingers threaded through his hair, pulling his mouth closer to her as her hips came off the bed to meet him. Her lips parted with soft whimpering gasps. He ran his hand up her thigh and slowly pushed his fingers into her, first one, then two, marvelling at how tight she always felt. She moaned, thrusting her hips upward once again onto the fingers and into his mouth. His tongue began to work at her faster, and he could feel her wetness begin to coat his hand. Her muscles tightened around his fingers, and he knew she was close to the edge of that abyss of pleasure that would wrack her body and leave her weak and trembling.

Pulling free of her grappling hands, Matteo rose above Cat, again guiding his throbbing cock into her. He slid in only a fraction at a time, and the excruciating slowness of his movements nearly sent him over the edge along with her as she mewled at him for more, harder, faster, rougher. Finally embedded in her to the hilt, he felt her muscles grip him, and a groan of pleasure rumbled from his throat as he began to answer her pleas and fuck her hard and deep. He guided her legs up the length of his body from where they had wrapped around his hips, essentially doubling her in half, and watched her breath shorten even more as she cried out her need.

Cat dragged her fingernails down Matteo's back, enjoying the added grunts of pleasure he issued. He stiffened, moaning her name and, unable to hold back the tide, began arching harder into her, wanting her to cum with him. He looked at the glazed eyes and the wide panting mouth of the incredible woman he married and growled loudly as he came. She matched him completely, and he felt the muscles around his cock pulse with her own orgasm milking the cum from him.

Matteo collapsed beside her, allowing Cat to unfurl her legs, and they both lay breathing raggedly for long minutes. Cat turned to look at him, leaning up on her elbow, and smiled crookedly. She loved him, they were an odd couple to have found each other, but what they had was incredible, despite the other people in their lives and relationship, and as she gazed at him she knew he felt the same.

"Tell me about this remedy you have to see more of each other," she finally said, going back to the conversation they had started before their desires had gotten the better of them.

"We can discuss it over breakfast, I think I need a shower after that," he chuckled.

"Oh no you don't!" Cat yelped and jumped up, racing him to the bathroom, "I get the shower first!" she challenged him. After a brief tussle they showered together, continuing to tease and stroke each other. Cat finally disengaged herself before she got too distracted again and made them both even later to start the day. By the time Matteo had finished showering and shaving, Cat had dressed, done her hair and make-up, and felt prepared to face the day, no matter what it brought. They went out to the kitchen and sat together in cosy comfort as Lisa prepared their breakfast.

"So, this remedy?" she asked again, more than curious now.

"Ricco and I thought it would be a good idea to spend a few days, or even a week, out at the house on the hill with you. You could meet with the renovation team, and we could talk about the changes he and I would need now that our lives have changed so dramatically since I gave you the house. That is, if you still want that house to be our main residence," Matteo said.

"What sort of changes?" she asked, frowning.

"I am going to need an Athenaeum, for starters," he said. "The big room with the big table and all the chairs, like Papa has," he explained as her frown deepened.

"That makes sense, I guess," She acknowledged.

"We have to plan for our future as leaders of the family now. Not just our little family," he said, touching her belly. "We hadn't expected Ricco to be part of our relationship, or have so many people intimately involved in our lives. We will need a separate server, a generator for emergencies, and possibly quite large additions to the house. As it is, even though I built it for a big family, it will need to be bigger. You need a studio, and Ricco will want a meditation retreat, and me, well, I need both of you to be happy and safe no matter where we are."

"Will you commute to work? Lucca isn't well enough to take over again if you are not here," she said, thinking about what he said. "We don't have to stay out there. We can do it all by plans and discussion, with maybe just a day trip this weekend."

"I have great people working for me, trust me, the company will not grind to a halt if we are not here for a week or two," he chuckled. "The family, our family, has to be my priority now." He reassured her. "Besides, Ricco came up with an interesting suggestion for the commute to and from our home here and the house on the hill," he smiled enigmatically.

"Oh, did he?" she asked.

"This building has a helipad on the roof, and there is enough room out there to land one," he gave her a boyish grin. "I think he's always wanted to fly, and I have to admit the idea is appealing."

"Do you have a helicopter?" she asked, stunned by the idea.

"No, but we could charter one for a while and see how the idea works," his grin got bigger. "If we liked it, we could buy one for us. I'm sure I'd have volunteers to take flying lessons," he chuckled.

"You know that will be another toy your youngest brothers will want to play with," she laughed at him.

"Probably, but you know how that has gone for them so far," he continued to chuckle, enjoying the relaxed morning with her and remembering how and why they had fallen in love so fast. The more he considered spending time with her and Ricco out at the house on the hill, away from the dramas that plagued their lives, the more he looked forward to it.

*****

Matteo had reluctantly agreed to go down to the meeting of the tables once Arturo and Bradbury had arrived, leaving Cat to tend to Lucca, who was now awake and in need of assistance and company. He made sure both men knew that if she wanted to go anywhere, he needed to be alerted immediately.

"Stay home this morning and look after Lucca for me, please?" Matteo asked, pulling Cat into his arms one last time and kissing her.