I blink, staring over at him. He’s genuine, so I smile. “You too, Cage. Thank you all for welcoming me.” My irises flitter over to catch Maximillian still staring at me intently.
I feel like I’m in the damn twilight zone or something.
“Tell me, Grace.” Max takes up my hand again and pulls me off to the right; I hear the other two following us behind. “Do you like sweets?”
“Um…I suppose, just depends.”
“I have some chocolate I got last time I was in the UK; would you like some?”
I don’t want to be rude; for once, this guy’s being friendly to me. “Sure, I’d love some.”
Thaddaeus growls behind us while Max smiles triumphantly. I have no idea what he’s up too, but it’s something. In the meantime, I’ll bite my tongue and keep an eye on him. If it weren’t for his close friendship with Thaddaeus, I wouldn’t give him the time of day after how frightened he made me at the police station.
He leads me into a massive-sized kitchen, over to a barstool next to Dillon, who’s currently inhaling the largest bowl of cereal I’ve ever seen.
“How can you stay looking like that eating all that cereal?”
“How do I look?” Dillion asks quizzically. His dark hair’s still perfectly styled. He’s in the same jeans as earlier, but his jackets gone, leaving him in a red shirt that appears to be specifically tailored to his body.
Um … like GQ? I don’t say that, but it’s on the tip of my tongue. Even Cage is freaking gorgeous. Scary, but hot nonetheless.
“I just mean in shape and by shape, not round.”
He snickers. “Well thank you, I think.” He takes another bite, not answering my question and it makes me even more curious as to what these guys are up to.
Maximillian brings over a sleeve of individually wrapped little squares of chocolate. “Enjoy, Poppet.”
And now he’s given me a nickname? I’m beginning to wonder if he’s going to poison me or something next—perhaps smother me in my sleep. I’m sure it wouldn’t be the first time he’s done something of the sort.
“One,” Thaddaeus grumbles, removing a chocolate quickly. He snatches up my hand and starts to pull me away.
“Thanks, I guess I’ll see you guys later!” I call, trailing behind and they chuckle.
“Everything okay?” I ask, moving my legs quickly to catch up to Thaddaeus and walk beside him.
“It’s fine.”
His good mood from earlier has dispersed and I’m sad to see it go. Something clearly has him agitated and I need to get to the root of it.
“So, that was weird back there.”
He grunts, starting up a staircase with exquisite hand-carved banisters. I feel a bit like Belle in Beauty and the Beast and I’ve just gotten caught going into the wrong wing. Will he punish me? But for what?
“Please talk to me.” I don’t like this. It’s my first time here and something is evidently bothering him.
After a trek down another long hallway, we come to the end where he throws the door open, towing me into a room.
Once the door’s closed and locked, he pitches my piece of chocolate at the wall right inside the door. It’s tossed so hard that I’m surprised it didn’t dent up the drywall.
“Explain or I’m going home.” Shit better be serious; he just wasted perfectly good chocolate. Or was it poison like I’d thought? Surely Max wouldn’t do it right in front of Thaddaeus.
“They were flirting.” He sounds like an angry child whose toy was just taken away from him.
“I wasn’t flirting back, and that was my chocolate!”
“No, but Max was and I had to grit my teeth as to not shove his hand into the garbage disposal.”
That image is enough to give me shivers and have me cringing. “Gross! I’ll never look at a disposal the same again. They’re your friends, right?”
“Even more of a reason they shouldn’t do it.”
I agree, but keep that opinion to myself as to not stir him up more.
“Can’t we just be happy that they were all nice to me for once? It was progress and you’re being way over-the-top alpha at the moment.”
He nods, “You’re right. I just don’t want anyone to come between us is all.”
This crazy man has lost it if he thinks his friends are any competition when it comes to him, or anyone else being competition for that matter. I can’t believe he just admitted that I’m right as well. Each little chink of armor he removes between us brings me closer and closer to him.
“No one can take that place. We’d have to let them, and I refuse too. You mean too much to me already.”
His lips turn up a bit, pulling me to his chest. Once he has his arms tightly wrapped around me, he mutters into my hair, “You’re everything, Bella.” He holds me close for a few moments before finally ridding himself of his shirt and jeans, setting them into a hamper under his massive bathroom counter. “You can put your clothes in here to be washed. I’ll have Dillion get you some in the morning or you can wear a T-shirt and pajama pants of mine until housekeeping has them clean.”
“You have a maid?”
“Yes, one who does all the cooking and two others who clean up around here; they make up my staff. Five men living in the same house can get messy and someone’s always hungry.”
“That makes sense. Can I just borrow something to sleep in though? I don’t have panties, remember?”
“Fuck no, you can’t. You can sleep beside me naked.”
Grinning, I kick off my boots. I absolutely love his body and to have it pressed up against me all night will be pure heaven.
“Fine.” I pull my shirt free and step out of my pants then wag my eyebrows toward him. “Don’t threaten me with a good time.”
Before I can register him moving, he has me against his solid bare chest, carting me to his king size bed. He lays me right in the center.
“Stunning, absolutely exquisite, ciccia.”
“Thank you.” I respond, growing bashful with his lingering gaze. His whispers of Italian transport me to another world entirely where no one else exists but the two of us.
I expect him to ravish me, but he does the opposite, climbing into bed beside me and pulling my body into his large frame. The man has the control of a saint I tell you.
“You’re not going to make love to me?”
“Yes, Bella Grace, that’s exactly what I plan to do. No fucking tonight, baby; just you and me and bliss.”
His lips sprinkle kisses over my shoulders and neck and he does as he promises. He makes sweet, tender, passionate love to me off and on all night long with more whispers in Italian that I swear are words of love.
Watching the little minx sit across from me eating her brekky with her hair in a loose bun, clad in my best friend’s pajamas and a white T-shirt is making me stiff as a fucking log. I can see her nipples for Christ’s sake as she isn’t wearing a bra under the thin tee. The view is straight on and has my cock twitching with every move she makes.
Her tits bounce and rub against the material; she doesn’t have a clue that we can all see her nipples in stiff peaks? She’s liable to have every lad in the house coming in their fucking briefs by lunch at this rate.
My best mate never should’ve given me the go ahead on a chance with her. Now it’s like a challenge, but I also know if I land her that he’ll hate me forever. How the hell do you be friendly with one of the most stunning women you’ve ever seen, who’ll end up being your boyo’s wife when you want to fuck her so badly?
Lord give me strength, because I’ll sure as fuck be needing it.
I told her last night that I love her in Italian. She has no idea what I was saying, but it happened. It came out right in the middle of me making love to her; I couldn’t stop myself. I came in her as well.
Grace was too far gone to register what I did. If she knew that I came in her on purpose she’d probably hate me. But just the possibility of her having my child has me wanting to lock her up in my roo
m and never let her out.
If she’s pregnant, she won’t leave me. She won’t give Max a chance, and she’ll be mine forever. She may hate me at first, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take. I’m a selfish man; I always have been when it comes to taking what I want. I’m not against doing what I can to shuffle the cards in my favor.
“Anyone have any updates on the turf war?” I ask everyone sitting at the table, and Grace glances my way, stunned.
She probably can’t believe that I’m speaking about it in front of her, but this discussion has to be had and touch over the threat about her. She needs to have a small idea of what’s going on so she doesn’t trip out later this evening when I ask her to move in with us. I don’t like her knowing about any of my business, and I don’t plan on sharing future work stuff with her, but this is important. I refuse to have her get injured in any way simply because she was unaware of the threat.
Grace will move in; I’ll do whatever I can to make sure of it. She can have her own room if she wishes, but I hope that’s not the case. I won’t offer it to her, but I’m not above using it as a bargaining tool. If I really wanted to be a dick about it, I could just make her stay here. I could send one of the guys to collect her little friend and bring her as well. They’d disappear and no one would have the slightest idea where to look.
I’m not going to put her through that though; I don’t want to have to fight her hating me in this. If I have to come and stake out her apartment or what not to keep her safe, I will. I’ll do anything to make sure whoever’s hunting her down gets nowhere near her and I take their life from them.
“T-turf war?” she stutters around her piece of toast and I nod. I’m confident she’s never been around such threats, and I’ll have to do whatever I can to reassure her of her safety.
Cage grumbles, pissed that I mentioned our business in front of her, but he can get the fuck over it. This is my operation and who I bring in or out is up to me. I’m aware of his feelings with me involving her in our conversation, but I think it’ll be key in persuading her.
“Yes, Bella. Someone always wants to take over what you’ve got in this world. You have to stay on your toes, always.” I told her damn near the exact same thing when she first discovered my tattoo. There’s always someone waiting for their turn.
“That must be exhausting; how do you guys deal with it?”
Cage’s glower shoots to her as he responds, “I fight. It helps.” He’s not being an asshole about it; he’s always grouchy in the mornings, so this is just who he is.
Dillion smirks, “Driving clears my head.”
“Oh, so that’s why you always drive Thaddaeus around?”
“That, amongst other reasons.” He takes a drink of his freshly-squeezed orange juice.
Thankfully, he leaves the part out about my brother dying because he was alone so Dillion or someone else is always around me. Paranoid? No. Cautious? Yes. Grace needs to adopt the same way of thinking too. I don’t want her going anywhere without one of us in tow to protect her.
“I fuck. A lot,” Max inserts, sending her a wink that has me wanting to stab him in his eye.
Her cheeks and neck flush so I draw her attention back to me. “You give me peace, Bella.”
“Me?” Her brows rise, caught off guard with my admission, probably more so with me sharing it in front of my crew.
So innocent, yet she hasn’t the slightest clue. She thinks she’s a tough one and she is in ways, but in my life, she’s untouched, and it makes her a thing of beauty. It’s been so long since any of us have known a life like that, if we had the chance at all. To see her so happy and sweet, it’s like being able to breathe again.
I swallow my blood beforeI swallow my pride.
- Al Capone
To say breakfast was interesting would be an understatement. I wasn’t too frightened by Thaddaeus’ lifestyle before, but after everything that I’ve heard straight from the horse’s mouth, I can’t help but feel intimidated. There are people out there who want to kill him all because of the money he makes. And he swears that he’s not even the worst one in this area. Apparently, he has family that runs the mob, and if I’m scared of anyone, it should be them.
Gee, I feel so much better now. Said no one ever! Kaleigh would’ve straight up shit her pants if she were here right now or if this were happening to her.
I have to give it to my man, though, after hearing their discussion, I sort of went mute. Drawing into myself to process everything and how I felt about it all. This is his life—his normal—and if I want to be with him, then this is something I have to get used to. He took me to his movie room, put on a chick flick, gave me a blanket, and left me alone for two hours. Somehow, he knew exactly what I needed to bounce back. Is that what he meant by me bringing him peace? Do I make him bounce back?
“Look, Bella, like I told you earlier; this sort of thing is common. It happens more than you’d think, there’s always someone stirring up trouble. My crew will handle it. In fact, the asshole who started it all is already gone.”
“Gone as in on permanent vacation or six feet under?” Do I even want to know the answer to that? The real one and not some made-up fluff?
“Enough. I’m not deliberating about the actions I took with him to you. He’s not the one I’m worried about. There is something serious going on, and I need to discuss it with you. It’s the real reason why I let you know about the turf war, so you could see how it’s come to this.”
“Okaaay.” I draw out the word and stare at him intently, waiting for whatever news he has to share this time.
“I’m not the only one they want dead.”
I swallow. Take a deep breath and swallow again.
“Excuse me?” Please don’t mean what I think it means.
“They know about you too.”
“Who is ‘they’ exactly, anyhow?”
“Dillion and Cage are helping me figure it out. We’ll fix it, I promise.”
“So, I’m in danger.” It’s a statement, because I already know that’s the case. He probably never would’ve brought me to see his home had this never happened.
“Yes, you are. I need to protect you. Would your boss mind if you took some time off?”
“I mean, I have some vacation saved up. I can say an emergency came up and see if he’ll let me use it.”
“Good, that’s perfect, Tesoro.” He kisses me on my forehead and I can’t help but bring up the thoughts bothering me even more than knowing someone may want to hurt me as well as him. If I’m honest about the whole threat thing against me, I’m not too worried anymore. Thaddaeus won’t let his best friends too close to me; no way is he going to let someone near me to hurt me.
“Is that the only reason why you brought me here?” I have to know. Is it the danger or is this thing between us as real as I keep painting it out to be. I like to think what we have is more and lasting, but I need to hear it from him as well.
“It’s one of them.”
“So, you wouldn’t have if there wasn’t some lunatic out there after the two of us?”
He reaches for me, the pad of his thumb trailing over my bottom lip. The caress has my eyelids fluttering closed, my body already trained to his touch, in tune with his movements.
“Of course I would have, Grace. I’ve wanted you here since the moment I sent you those flowers. I couldn’t stop picturing you everywhere.”
My gaze finds his, so full of warmth, and dare I say love? He always looks at me as if I’m the most precious thing there is. “Everywhere?”
“Yes. It’s how I knew I needed to court you. Every time I closed my eyes, there you were. That sexy little nose turned up, pretending to ignore me, while your body screamed something else entirely. The flowers were merely the beginning. I had to keep contacting you in some way; I couldn’t stop myself. Then we had dinner and I tasted you … I knew then you were made for me.”
“It is? What was so different about it?”
“You wanted
me, baby, and no matter how hard you tried to act like you didn’t, your body told on you—loud and clear. The way your throat was splotched with pink, your breasts pushed out, begging to be cupped and then your sweet little breaths as you panted. I only used two fingers to touch you that first meeting, yet you responded like I’d thrust my cock inside you. I knew I had to have you and that only grew each time I came face-to-face with you, the desire, the longing. I couldn’t get enough of you.”
What he says is completely true. I wanted him so fucking bad; I just wouldn’t admit it to myself, let alone anyone else. I tried to be stubborn, to fight it, but I didn’t even have a chance. It was over the moment he walked through the door to the restaurant that day. No one that I could’ve met afterward would’ve done it for me, because, like him, I would’ve pictured his face each time too.
He brings my fingers to his lips, brushing a kiss across my knuckles, making me feel worshiped and cherished. “So, what’s going to happen if I’m allowed to take vacation time?”
“Then you can relax here with all of us. We’ll keep you safe and I’ll make sure you have whatever you want. I can hire some of those nail ladies to paint your toes or give you massages if you’d like …Whatever you want, just name it.”
“I don’t need anything besides some of my clothes. I’m just afraid that if I take time away from work, then I won’t be able to visit my mom down the road.” He bought me that ticket to visit her and I’m beyond grateful for his generosity. The man really is kind hearted when it comes to me.
“Don’t worry about it. If I have to fly your familia here or talk to your boss personally, I will.”
I figured he was going to tell me to quit, because I know he hates my boss. I nod, putting him at ease. It’s the least I can do when he has so much else going on. I know he does, no matter how well he hides it from me. “Okay, Thaddaeus, I’m yours. I just need to call my boss really quick and confirm it.”
I wasn’t expecting her to give in so easily. Hence why I started sprouting off things she could do while she’s here. I can’t believe I offered to hire her own nail tech and masseuse. Yes, I can believe it. Because I would in a heartbeat if she requested either of them. I’ve already filled in the cook to make Grace’s favorites each night for dinner for the rest of the week and am having one of the maids clean up a guest room especially for her. Not that I’m offering it up for her to sleep in, but to keep her things in that won’t fit in my bedroom. Eventually I’ll have my room remodeled to give her all the space she needs. Hell, she can redo the entire house if she pleases. I really don’t care, as long as she’s here with me each day.
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