Loveshed: Married to the Mafia

by B. Love

  Ai hadn’t even realized that Duke had come outside with her but feeling his arm wrap around her gave her peace.

  “Okay. Thanks. I guess I’ll call Diem and see if I can stay with her for a couple of days until I can get this shit cleaned up, and I’m certainly not doing it today.”

  Duke turned her in his embrace to face her. “Why do you have to stay with her? You know I don’t mind you staying with me.”

  She smiled for the first time since they arrived. “I know, bae. And I would like to, but when my family finds out about this, they are going to want me close. It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just know how they are.”

  Duke nodded as he dropped his arms from around her and took a step back. “And I know that you know that they wouldn’t want you with me, would they?”

  Ai couldn’t pull herself to say yes, but her eyes said it for her. Duke released a hard breath as he took another step away from her.

  “So what, Ai? Do you plan to hide what we got going on until it’s over?”

  Her shoulders slouched as she walked over to him and took his hands into hers. “Of course not. Quite frankly, I don’t want what we have to be over. It’s just… things are moving really fast between us, and I want to be secure in what we have before I start that fight. My dad may no longer be here, but they are going to honor and uphold the life he wanted for me, and that includes not being with a man in the streets.”

  “But what life do you want for you? What man do you want at your side?”

  Lowered head, Ai thought over his questions. Truthfully, she didn’t give a damn how her man made his money or what side of the law he was on, but she’d never said that to her father or anyone else for that matter. As the baby, she simply went along with their guidance because they had never steered her wrong. But now that she was experiencing such happiness with Duke, Ai was starting to question if this was one thing they were wrong about.

  And if maybe, deep down, her father knew that – and that’s why he kept them away from each other.

  “I want you at my side, Duke. No question about that.”

  “Then they will have to get used to seeing me there because that’s where I want to be, too.” Ai smiled, but it dropped when he added, “I need you to set up a meeting for me and your family.”

  “What?” He removed his hands from hers and began to walk back into her apartment. “That’s not a good idea.”

  “But it’s a necessary one. Make that call to James or Cash, or I will.”

  Chapter 24

  James looked from one file to the other, trying to put the pieces together. He had dug himself into a majorly deep hole – one that would trap him and his family if he didn’t move quickly. Removing his reading glasses, James rubbed his eyes hardly and exhaled a hard breath. Moments like this made him wish he was still on good terms with Estella. Though Pamela would be there for him in any way she could, no woman eased her nerves and gave peace to his mind like Estella.

  She was truly one of kind, which explained why Trevor and so many other men wanted her.

  But she chose him. She chose him to love, honor, cherish, provide, and protect her. Out of those things, James could confidently say that he provided and protected with ease, however, if he didn’t handle this situation with the DEA and FBI, his ability to protect her may soon be in question too.

  “Mr. Salzano, Mr. Byrd is here to see you. Shall I send him back?”

  James sat back in his seat as he rolled his eyes. The last thing he wanted to deal with right now was Duke’s bullshit, but he didn’t have much wiggle room to ignore him – especially now that he’d established a relationship with Ai. They may not have known he knew, but he knew. Out of respect for Trevor, James had been keeping a close eye on both of his girls.

  “Yea, send ‘em back.”

  With a sigh, James stood from behind his desk and walked over to the large window that gave him a beautiful view of Downtown Memphis. Even though he loved what he did in the streets, James also had a love for stocks and exchange. He said it was a form of legal dealing. Having a stock trading company gave him an interest and pleasure that he could discuss freely with anyone he came in contact with and not have to worry about it sending him to prison.

  A part of him also loved stocks because it allowed him to clean his money in a way that wouldn’t draw too much attention to himself when receiving a return that was anywhere from one to ten times the amount he’d put up.

  His door opened, and James didn’t bother giving Duke the respect of turning to face him. As far as he was concerned, Duke hadn’t done anything to earn his respect. Hell, Duke was borderline an enemy at this point, and the only reason he hadn’t been dealt with yet was because James hoped knowing what he knew would keep him away. But with this random visit, James could only believe that would no longer be the case.

  “What do you want, Byrd?” James asked, placing his hands in the pockets of his slacks.

  “Ai is going to ask you to have me over for a family dinner.” Slowly, James turned in Duke’s direction. “When she does, I need you to lead your family into accepting our relationship.” Duke shrugged as he unbuttoned his blazer, lifted his pants, and sat down. “She’s mine whether y’all approve or not, but I know her mind will be more at peace if you do.”

  “Why on earth would I do anything to help you?”

  Duke smiled with one side of his mouth. “Because I know that Trevor was about to split from the family to create his own. That he wanted to bring his children too. And your wife. Which would have left you to fend for yourself with the FBI and DEA. So you did what you had to do to keep that from happening.”

  They stared at each other as James walked over to his desk and sat in the chair next to Duke’s. “You don’t know a motherfucking thang. I ain’t new to this shit, young blood. Whatever I do I do well.”

  Duke’s smile formed fully. “Do you want to risk finding out what I know?”

  Quite frankly, he didn’t. If anyone knew about the problems he and Trevor were having, it wouldn’t surprise James for it to be Duke and his father. They were his closest confidants. And the only reason Trevor didn’t try to bring Duke into the family sooner was because he knew how attracted to each other he and Ai would be. He would always tell James about how much alike Duke and Ai were, and how there was no doubt in his mind that Duke would be his son-in-law if given the chance to court his daughter.

  When James made the decision to kill Trevor, he felt as if he was killing himself. Trevor had been his best friend all of his life, but if the choice was Trevor or his freedom and family, James didn’t have to give it a second thought. For years, James had been able to run the family with Trevor with little to no issues because of the connections they had within law enforcement and the government.

  Unfortunately, FBI Agent Jack Neely became aware of their dealings, and he made it his mission to bring the Salzano family down. James tried to bring him into the fold, but Neely declined, using the bribe as more ammunition against James and Trevor. Instead of finding a way to make it out of this with no issues, Trevor took this as a warning that it was time to start working on getting out of the streets. He had the idea to create a black wall street that served the community and eventually leave the streets altogether.

  But first, Trevor wanted to distance himself from James because of how reckless he had begun to move. After years of getting away with so many things, James started to think he was untouchable. And with that kind of pride came mistakes. Not wanting anyone caught in the crossfire of James’ demise, Trevor spoke to Estella about his plans to break away and mentioned it to Cassius as well. He hadn’t gone into full detail with Cassius yet, only mentioning his desire to change suppliers and start the black wall street.

  If Trevor would have been able to successfully break away from the Salzano family, he would have not only taken all of their kids with him plus Estella, but he would have also become competition for James while leaving him to fend off the FBI and DEA on his ow
n. The only way to keep that from happening was to kill Trevor. That way, the family would stay under James’ control. If he went down, they all went down.

  It may not have been what they wanted, but it was the life they had been prepared for.

  Once you entered the Salzano family, there was no way out. If that meant serving time together… so be it.

  “If what you’re saying is true, and I did what I did to him, what makes you think I won’t do the same damn thing to you?”

  Standing, Duke released a full sigh – as if he hated even being asked that question. “Because I have an insurance policy just as Trevor did. I am his policy, and someone that you would never suspect is mine. If you fuck me over, I’ll make sure your entire family knows you had Trevor killed. The only thing I’m asking for to not tell them your secret or kill you myself for taking a man that was like a father to me is to help me secure a future with his daughter.”

  “She will hate you if she finds out the way you’re blackmailing me.”

  Duke buttoned his blazer and walked away, tossing over his shoulder, “I’ll take my chances.”

  James waited until Duke closed the door behind him to growl and shove the papers that were on his desk down. When he made his plan, it never crossed his mind that Trevor would have told Duke about his suspicions. He didn’t consider that until after the hit was done. Now, he had to not only live with the paranoia of the law coming after him… but Duke and his children if they ever found out what he did as well.

  Before the storm…

  Chapter 25

  It felt corny as hell, but Cassius wouldn’t want to spend his night any other way. Treasure had finally graced him with a date… after he and Kameron came to an agreement about him dating his sister. Kameron made it clear that he didn’t have an issue with it, as long as Cassius was always upfront with Treasure and gentle with her heart. She was way more open and loving than Cassius was, so she could be hurt twice as hard and deeply.

  Aside from Kameron not wanting Cassius to hurt his sister, he didn’t want their friendship to be ruined either. Cassius agreed, and he assured Kameron that he would do whatever it took to protect Treasure’s heart. After their conversation, he asked Treasure out for the evening, and when she agreed, he told her that he would be back at five to pick her up.

  They went out for dinner to a bougie ass restaurant that was high as hell with small ass servings. Cassius was cool with that, though. He already knew Treasure called herself a rich ghetto bitch. She was the type to go to a hood party and act classy and go to a classy party and act hood. When they were done with dinner, he took her to a salsa class because she loved that sensual shit. It caused them to work up an appetite, so they went to the store and grabbed what they would need for a late night dinner.

  Instead of cooking as soon as they made it home, they changed clothes and headed over to James and Estella’s place. Something was off with James, and he wasn’t saying what, but he’d tried to take his frustration out on Estella. Things didn’t get too physical, but she was emotionally distraught more than anything. The altercation made her miss Trevor more, and she was on the verge of having a breakdown.

  Treasure volunteered to spend the night with her, to which Estella declined. She loved that the young couple was finally giving love a chance, and she didn’t want to do anything to get in the way of their progress. Still, Cassius called the rest of his siblings over, and they spent a few hours listening to music, dancing, smoking and drinking, and cracking jokes to lift Estella’s spirit. By the end of the night, Pamela was shooing them all out, promising to stay with Estella until the morning.

  Once they made it back to his place, they cooked together, and this was the first time Cassius understood why people loved cooking with their spouse. It was a lot of fun, and it made him feel closer to her. They talked about everything under the sun and over the moon, rapped to hip hop songs and danced to love music as they alternated between playlists. The smothered chicken, savory baked rice, southern green beans with bacon, and corn filled cornbread that they created together came out perfectly.

  After dinner, they showered, then climbed into bed together. But instead of laying down, they were sitting across from each other playing some intimacy game Treasure had read about. She was cheesing hard as hell, bubbling over with excitement as they asked and answered questions about each other. The current question they both had to answer was how they perceived each other and what was the strength and flaw that they saw in each other’s character. It was a little odd for Cassius at first, because he wasn’t used to having such a deep conversation with a woman, but eventually, he started to enjoy it almost as much as Treasure was.

  “I think you’re a classic leader,” Treasure shared, running her fingers up and down her leg as she sat Indian style. “You have to fix problems, and you have to be in control. Sometimes you can seem detached, unemotional and harsh, but you genuinely love everyone in your life.” She massaged her chin and looked towards the ceiling. “What is yours – you keep. You’re very protective and possessive. And that’s how you most show love. Not with emotion and talking like most, but with action. Making sure your family is straight.” Cassius gritted his teeth and lowered is head. “You hate relying on people. For help, or for love. I don’t think you’ve ever considered romantic love to be a necessity, and I guess that’s a good thing because it doesn’t drive you like the average person. I would say your strength is your intelligence and ability to take charge and lead and control. And I would say your flaw is that you live what you know. Personally and professionally. The things you hated seeing growing up you make sure never happen in your life, but I think you have gone to the extreme with it of not trying to attach yourself to anyone at all.”

  “I’m working on it, though.”

  She lifted his head by his chin and smiled at him warmly. “I know. That’s why I’m here. Now you do me.”

  “You’re a nurturer. The calm in those that you love’s storms. You’re a balm. Loyal. You need to be needed, so you often attract niggas with issues like me.” They shared a soft laugh even though he was dead fucking serious. “You high a very high sense of self-worth and confidence. You know who you are and what you deserve, so that adds to your value. I love the way you place all bets on yourself in your relationships and your business and always come out on top. I would say your biggest strength would be your patience, and I see no flaw in you.”

  Treasure’s head tilted as she smiled. Pulling his face to hers, Treasure kissed him passionately. Slowly. Tenderly. And when she slid her tongue into his mouth, the intimacy game was officially over. Well, the talking part at least. Lowering the top half of his body onto the bed by a gentle push to his chest, Treasure straddled Cassius. His hands roamed her body, settling on her ass that he began to squeeze and tap.

  The sound of her moan was like music to his ears. A melody that he wanted to hear every night for the rest of his life. Treasure broke the kiss and pulled her shirt over her head, allowing her breasts to spring free. Cassius wasted no time palming them as he lifted his body and kissed her neck.

  “I’ve wanted you inside of me so bad,” she confessed softly, grinding her hips against him.

  The warmth of her pussy had Cassius biting back a moan as he lifted his head from her neck. “Then slide down on this dick and give us what we both been wanting.”

  Treasure smiled as she lifted slightly and pushed her panties to the side. Their honest and intimate conversation had her pussy soaking wet. If this was the result of communicating, they would definitely have to do this shit more often. The moment her walls were wrapped around him completely, Treasure let out the sexiest moan he’d ever heard as her arms wrapped around his neck.

  She began to ride him slowly, just to stop abruptly. “Cash, we haven’t used a condom not once.”

  “Fuck,” he grumbled, placing his forehead on hers as he gripped her waist.

  Lord knows he didn’t want her to stop. Didn’t matter much at this p
oint anyway. Weeks had passed since the first time they made love, and he’d been cumming in her ever since.

  “Are you on birth control, Treasure?” Her head lowered and shook. “So I could have a baby in here?” His hand went to her stomach. She nodded her head. “Look at me, what you hiding for?”

  Treasure lifted her head, letting him see her watery eyes and pouty mouth. “Because this was so damn reckless of us, Cash. We are just now getting to a good place, and if I’m pregnant that will fuck it up.”

  “How? You don’t want to have my baby?”

  Her eyebrows wrinkled and head shook. “No. I mean no, that’s not it. I just… didn’t think that you would want that this soon. We discussed you leaving the business when you got married and started your family, but with everything going on I don’t expect you to do that now.”

  With his hand around her neck, Cassius pressed her into the bed and switched their positions so that he was in control. As he gave her that first, long stroke, Treasure squeezed his arms as she bit down on her lip. Wrapping her legs around him, she began to lift her hips and match every breath snatching stroke he gave her.

  “If you’re pregnant, I’m out the game, and it’s as simple as that. You know how I’ve felt about you, and I won’t ever put anything or anyone above you or our baby. I’ve seen the effects of that my whole life, I would never do that to you.”

  “But Cash, I don’t want to force you…”

  Kissing every reservation she had away, Cassius continued to stroke her deeply. Showing her with the passion of his lips and dick that he was committed to this. And by the time his strokes grew sporadic, Treasure was so deep in bliss that she was begging him not to pull out and give her a baby.

  After their lovemaking session, they headed to the bathroom to shower together, where Cassius reinstated that as long as she was ready to start their family, he was too, and that he would never engage in anything that could potentially put them in harms way. His assurance led to a second round with her pressed against the shower wall as he fucked her deeply from behind. And it was there that Cassius made up in his mind to give Chief his place in the family business whether she was pregnant or not.