Reign (The Larussio Legacy Book 3)

by Via Mari

  You might want to buy her a mouth guard!

  If all of my family and hers heard us from downstairs, that won’t be good for anyone, especially me if her brothers were privy to it.

  Fuck! Who heard?

  Couldn’t hear from downstairs. I had to get a few things out of the office on the second floor. Damn, we need more sound proofing!

  I have never worried about what the hell anyone else hears or thinks, but with Serena, it’s different. Even the thought of Sal hearing my sweetheart moan with pleasure pisses me off. That was meant for my ears only. I make a mental note to have some of the rooms in this safe house soundproofed, and to purchase a gag.

  She walks into the room and her long silky mane is brushed out, long, dark, and shiny. Her face is devoid of any makeup and she is the most captivating woman I have ever seen. She has a towel wrapped around her body and tucked into her ample cleavage, holding it together.

  I’ve given her clues, other instructions, but she should know, going in, I don’t want her body hidden from me. “Drop the towel, Serena, I want to see all of you.”

  She slowly stops walking. I watch as she takes in my request, her cheeks turning an embarrassing color of pink. After what we’ve done in bed, and multiple other places, the fact that she still gets embarrassed by my commands of intimacy is a turn-on that will never tire. I raise my eyebrows and gesture for the towel to hit the floor with my finger and she takes a deep breath and then swallows. I watch closely because every emotion playing over her lovely features is like an aphrodisiac to me, and the haziness in her eyes lets me know the power exchange is doing the same for her.

  She lowers her eyes as she opens the towel.

  She couldn’t be more submissive if she tried. “Serena, look at me when you bare yourself to me,” I instruct, watching as her eyes immediately find mine. This time the swirling of emotion is clear to see, pure hazy desire and lust. Exactly what I want to see when I give her sexual instruction. Her towel drops to the floor, pooling around her delicate coral-painted toes.

  “Walk to me.” I know we should get downstairs, but don’t give two fucks if they have to wait. Her breathing is heavy, and I tuck that knowledge away for another time. My beauty is so new to her submissive side, and the thought of teaching her all the pleasures that come with this dynamic in the future is heady.

  Right now, she is going to learn what comes with the pleasure of delayed gratification and anticipation, although my cock vehemently disagrees with this thought. “Serena, put on your clothes, slowly, I want to watch.”

  Her eyebrows crinkle and her lips turn into a little frown, making it difficult to keep a straight face and not laugh out loud at her clear disappointment. “Do it now, Serena. I want to watch you before we need to go downstairs.”

  Her eyes lower and my cock lengthens and throbs. They will both have to wait! She reaches for her clothes, which are still at the end of the bed, and begins to pick up her lilac-colored panties. “You won’t need those, Tesoro,” I say, gesturing to the rest.

  Her eyes narrow slightly, but she slides her skirt on first, stepping into it and shimmying it up her calves and thighs and over the curves of her hips, before reaching for her bra, which she wouldn’t be putting on if we weren’t going to meet the family and her blouse wasn’t so thin. I watch as she covers her breasts with the lacy material before covering the rest of herself one button at a time.

  “There, now, come to me and bend over,” I say.

  Serena

  I don’t know why my body responds the way it does when Giovanni gives me instruction and takes charge. It just simply does, and he seems to know exactly what I need at the very moment I need it. I can tell from the darkened eyes that instructing me gives him as much pleasure as I find in receiving it.

  I follow his direction and lean over, tentatively, unsure what to expect, turning in front of him and bending at my waist.

  “All the way down,” Giovanni says, pressing his hand firmly on my lower back. “Touch your toes, Tesoro. I want to examine your ass.” My cheeks heat with embarrassment and the moisture at my center beads with his command.

  I bend, sliding my hands down my legs, letting my body slowly acclimate to the stretch on the way down. I feel completely exposed, because in this position he can not only see what he’s asked for, but my pussy as well, and I know how wet it must still be, and now he will be able to see it, too.

  He runs a finger down the length of my slit, circling around my center, dragging the moisture he’s stolen from my center to paint my folds and clit. He glides his thumb over the delicate nub, and it is impossible to stay quiet.

  “So sensitive already, Serena,” Giovanni says, caressing me until I feel the pleasure building in waves, but he must feel it, too, because he moves his finger just off the mark.

  “Patience, Serena, you’ll come much later tonight, but until then I want you without panties so I can bend you over throughout the night to make sure your pussy stays wet,” Giovanni says, letting his finger slide in and out of me.

  The fact that Giovanni wants me pantiless so he can bend me over and have his way with me at his wish might turn other women off, but it turns my center into a creamy pool of need. He removes his finger, and I feel the very real loss of his touch and heightened sense of anticipation.

  “Stand and face me, Serena,” Giovanni says.

  I lift and turn to look into the deep dark pools of desire that are watching me intently.

  “Tell me if there’s anything that I asked you to do that you find uncomfortable, Serena,” Giovanni says, trailing his finger along the curve of my breast and over the hardened peak of my nipple.

  “No, nothing,” I say, finding it difficult to say much more than that in my state of embarrassment and sexual need.

  “Very good, now let’s pull your skirt down so you’re decent when we meet with our families. Give me a moment to get cleaned up and dressed,” Giovanni says, kissing my lips. “You are perfect, Tesoro. I want to spend the rest of my life making you happy,” he says, and my heart tightens.

  “I love you, too, Giovanni, so very much,” I say, snaking my hands into his hair as he kisses me.

  “Why don’t you use my phone and call Nonna before we go downstairs? The team has been giving her updates and have assured her you are fine, but she’s upset that she hasn’t had a chance to talk to you. Once we start talking with Great-Uncle and the rest of our families, we may not be able to break free until she is already asleep for the night,” Giovanni says, standing up, completely comfortable with his nudeness.

  I take him in with my eyes and he smirks, kissing my lips briefly. “Later, Tesoro,” he says walking to the bathroom.

  I curl into the reading chair in the bedroom and hit Nonna’s number. She answers almost immediately, making me feel guilty that she may have been sitting there for hours waiting for my call. “Nonna, it’s me, Serena. Giovanni said you may be worried about me. I’m fine, really.”

  “Well you’re the only one that is fine! The security team moved me over to the big house when the boys left, and the walls need a little more insulation. I’ve been hearing bits and pieces of your adventures all day long. Do you know how worried we were about you? Do you know the length of security measures these men put in place to keep you safe? What the hell were you thinking? What possessed you to do something so brash, so stupid? If you were here and a few years younger, I’d take you over my knee and give you a sound spanking,” Nonna chastises.

  I feel horrible hearing firsthand just how worried she was and all the trouble that I caused for security. “Nonna, I am so very sorry you were worried. I needed space to sort my feelings out without being in the same space with Giovanni, but I know what I did was irresponsible. If I had just asked him, he would have given it to me and kept me protected, I know that now.”

  “I don’t think me and that man will ever become the b
est of friends, but I spent hours listening to him bark out commands to make sure you were okay, and the things he ordered cost millions of dollars, Serena. Helicopters, aerial surveillance, squads of elite security officers. But it wasn’t the cost of all of those things, it was the sheer desperation in his voice. Serena, that man loves you with all of his heart. I didn’t see that before, but I do now. I want you to be happy, and if he is what makes you happy, I will do my best to put my feelings about his Family aside.”

  I wish that I could hug her, wrap my arms around her frail little body and feel her heartbeat, but hearing her voice will have to do until morning. “I love you, Nonna. Thank you. This is going to mean the world to Giovanni. He didn’t think that you would ever accept him.”

  “That young man is on a short leash with me. He steps over the line one time and I’ll hire someone to cut off his balls,” Nonna says, and I laugh right out loud as Giovanni comes walking out of the bathroom, dressed to the nines in a dark suit, crisp white shirt, and patterned tie.

  “I’ll be sure to tell him that, Nonna. Get some sleep, and please don’t worry about me any more today. I’m not sure what the plan is yet, but as soon as I know I’ll give you a call. I have to go now though, my brothers are all downstairs waiting patiently for an explanation of my behavior, too,” I say.

  “Hurry back. The ladies are anxious to have their men return.”

  “We’ll be back as soon as we can. Enjoy a little peace and quiet until then. We’ll call you as soon as we can,” I reiterate to her, and Giovanni nods his head in agreement. I disconnect and hand him his phone, unable to control my happiness or the big grin on my face.

  Giovanni raises his eyebrows and smiles at me. “You want to tell me about that lovely little smile, Tesoro?”

  “Nonna heard you ordering people around trying to find me. She said she didn’t care about the money it cost you, but she could tell by your voice how much you cared. Giovanni, she gave her approval,” I say, running to his arms.

  He pulls me close and spins me around. “That’s wonderful news. I have to admit, that’s the last thing I thought would come out of that call, but I couldn’t be happier. The Larussios will do everything in our power to make her comfortable and make sure she knows that you will always be safe with us. That’s always been her concern, making sure that you are okay,” Giovanni says, his dark eyes looking down at me.

  “I know. She wants to pass knowing that I’m settled. I think she was really conflicted for a while, scared I was getting into a relationship that wouldn’t be good for me.”

  “Oh, this relationship will be exceptionally good for you, Serena,” Giovanni growls, lifting me and kissing my mouth before setting me on my feet again. “Come, I’m anxious for our families to put eyes on you. They want to make sure you are okay, too.”

  I grasp his hand and keep him from turning. I’m not sure how to ask.

  “Tesoro, what’s the matter?” Giovanni asks, kissing the hand that just captured his.

  “I don’t know what I should say to your great-uncle. I mean, what I asked him to do, it was in the heat of the moment. I was just sick of these people trying to get to you through me, trying to make you hurt, but now, after all the trouble I’ve caused, I’m not sure what to say that will make this situation better for any of us,” I say.

  “Serena, the Family will come to learn of your passion as I have. It will take time. You can just be honest. Great-Uncle has already acknowledged that he believed you from the start and should have never ordered the test, protocol or not. Come now, it is time to face the music? No?”

  Gio

  I take Serena by the hand and guide her downstairs. I am not prepared for the angry eyes that glare at us as we make our way into the dining room where Salvatore and Great-Uncle are entertaining Serena’s three brothers.

  They are sitting around the table with drinks in hand, but as soon as they see us, her three brothers rise. Sal and the security team, who are standing at various points around the room, tense in readiness. Jesus, if I thought security used to be tight, it is nothing compared to now, but I wouldn’t change a goddamn thing knowing how close Serena was to getting taken. These men have saved not only my life and my great-uncle’s, but Serena’s, along with the people that welcomed her into their home in Naples, while they were at it.

  Her older brother is the first to speak. “Serena, what the hell were you thinking! Come here,” Aramis says, pulling her into a tight hug.

  She didn’t know what to expect from the family, and the tenseness in her shoulders and the tightness of her jaw and mouth relax as her brother takes her in his arms. “I wasn’t thinking, I’m so sorry I made such a mess for everyone,” Serena says.

  I watch as Great-Uncle and Salvatore watch the display of emotion as her brothers pass her around from one to the other, smothering her in brotherly affection. My great-uncle clears his throat and all eyes turn to him. I’m not quite sure what to expect when he stands, and I don’t think the security team or Salvatore do for that matter, either. Her brothers have flanked her, making it clear that anything Great-Uncle has to say will be said to all, and they are in full support of Serena.

  Great-Uncle makes his way toward her, coming to stand right in front of her, extending his hand to take hers. I watch as she takes a large inhalation of breath, uncertainty displayed all over her lovely face. The last time she spoke to him, she was sent to the depths of our home to get strip searched for wires. I don’t blame her one little bit for the fear that I see reflected in her eyes as she watches him take the hand she’s reciprocated by extending.

  “Serena, I owe you the gravest of apologies. I have lived by Family protocols for years, and make no mistake, while they have served us well, I knew without a doubt that you were not a threat and still forced the protocol, simply for the fact of the rule. You have my deepest apologies,” Great-Uncle says, and I watch as the tears of relief pool in her dark eyes and spill down her lovely cheeks.

  Her eyes lower for just a moment. I know she must be thinking of what happened in the lower level, and my jaw tightens with refreshed anger at myself for allowing it as I wait for her response. “I don’t blame you; I shouldn’t have asked such a question. It was improper and would have put us all at risk if others had overheard. I don’t blame you for safeguarding the Family,” Serena says.

  Salvatore’s eyes raise in surprise. He glances at me, and then back to Great-Uncle, who is most certainly taken off guard. It takes him a moment, but he finally nods, kisses her hand, and then pulls her to him and kisses first one cheek and then the other. “You are a treasure and we are honored, Serena. While I appreciate your kindness, know that you will never be subjected to that treatment again. You have my word.”

  She nods, and he pulls her close to him, hugging her. Sal gives me a what the fuck is going on look, but I can only shrug and take in his uncharacteristic display of affection for the woman I love. Great-Uncle has gone outside of protocol, talking about things that should never be caught on mics or in front of others that don’t have a level-one clearance. It’s something he’s never done, but that’s exactly what he just did without any prompting from us.

  Her brothers are taking it all in. They don’t have any idea what happened to Serena, but they know something Great-Uncle did hurt their baby sister. Our security team has stepped closer, just monitoring the situation, at the ready for these unpredictable brothers.

  “Gentleman, I think we need to clear the air here,” I say. “A protocol was broken that is in place to ensure the Family is safeguarded. In the process of dealing with it, Serena was hurt. I will allow her to share the details with you, even though you are not yet cleared on every level.”

  Great-Uncle and Sal’s eyes have both gone wide, like I’ve gone completely crazy, while the security team remain calm, just like they always are, just waiting and watching in the event they need to intervene.

  Gr
eat-Uncle clears his throat, but says nothing to supersede my instruction. I know this is difficult for him. He’s gone against traditional protocols by even allowing Serena’s brothers to be on the Family jet, helicopter, and now in our home, but he did not anticipate me giving her free rein to divulge Family business to them, and that may just be overstepping the line too much.

  The rest of my family and Sal are watching it play out. My cousins, other than Sal, are clearly upset with my directive. My family can keep looking at me like that all they want, but I will not allow the fault of this to only fall on the shoulders of Serena, who was not trying to do anything but prevent me and our Family from being hurt.

  She looks from Great-Uncle to Salvatore, to her brothers, and then to me. “Serena, this home is secure, and our security agents are sworn to secrecy. You are free to tell your brothers whatever you would like,” I tell her.

  She inhales deeply. “Thank you both, Great-Uncle, Giovanni. I am humbled and appreciate your willingness to overlook my inappropriate overstep, but you are the ones owed my deepest apologies. These protocols have kept your Family safeguarded for years. I was, at first, admittedly shocked, and I needed some time and space to reflect. I was treated more than fairly and have the utmost respect for the protocols that have been utilized, especially in direct comparison to other families across the globe that I have researched,” Serena says.

  Great-Uncle and Salvatore’s eyes both go wide at the same time. Her brothers are watching both of them warily, first their sister, and then Great-Uncle, unsure of what they are really talking about, but they do know this could be a life-or-death situation in mafia families, and they aren’t wrong.

  Great-Uncle is the first to speak, but does not address the protocols further. “You, young lady, will always have a special place in my heart, whatever you choose to do in the future. You and your family will always be protected, Serena.”