BOUNTY: A Bad Boy Mafia Romance (Giustini Family Mafia)

by Sophia Gray

  “It’s okay.” Cherry brushed off the comment but not before Josephine noticed the hurt expression.

  “No, it’s not.” Josephine touched her forearm. “I’m really sorry. That was horrible of me to say.”

  “What was horrible?” Lucas’s deep voice penetrated the tension lingering between the two ladies.

  “Hey, what’s going on?” Cutter showed up behind Cherry, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her into his chest.

  “Nothing. It’s nothing.” Cherry waved a hand and reached for her beer still sitting on the bar.

  Josephine chanced a quick glance in Lucas’s direction and wished she hadn’t. His stare was hard, unyielding. Without a word, he reached past her and snatched up her drink, taking a long sip. “Regular?” He held the drink between them.

  Josephine could feel the blush creeping up her neck and wished the floor would just open up and swallow her whole. It would be better than this. Between her recent behavior and the hard look he was giving her, the night was quickly turning into a disaster.

  “What did you say to Cherry? What was horrible?” Lucas demanded again, his arms crossing over his chest after he put the drink back down and waved the bartender to take it away.

  “Lucas. It’s okay,” Cherry tried to interject, but Cutter pulled her back against him again.

  “If you won’t tell me, I’ll ask her,” Lucas warned.

  She swallowed the thick bile that threatened rise up. She’d been horrible. How could she admit that to him? It was the group of men in the room she had worried would treat her badly for being an outsider, but she was the problem.

  “Cherry—”

  “Can we talk about it privately?” Josephine stepped forward, putting her hands on his arms. A dark eyebrow arched. “Please. I’ve already apologized to her. I’ll tell you, but in private.”

  His jaw worked while he thought her request over. Cherry didn’t say anything else, and Cutter, thankfully, remained silent, as well. “Fine.” He snatched her arm and yanked her to follow him. She apologized to everyone she bumped into as he dragged her through the crowded room.

  His grip was tight on her arm, but she didn’t fight him. He hadn’t heard the situation, but he was already angry. What would he do when she fessed up to being a bitch? A judgmental bitch? He pulled her down a hallway to a small office. Once inside, he slammed the door shut and leaned against it, finally letting her go.

  She rubbed the tender spot on her arm he’d been gripping. “I’m sorry. I said something horrible. Something I didn’t mean.”

  “What was it?” his hard voice demanded.

  Josephine took a deep breath and slowly began to explain. She relayed the conversation exactly as it happened. What she didn’t do was confess that she’d been jealous of Cherry. He could either figure that out on his own or he wouldn’t.

  “You called her a whore?” The softness of his tone didn’t diminish any of her fear that he was pissed. In fact, it only amplified it.

  “That’s not how I meant it. She’s not—”

  “But you think I treated her like one?”

  Her chin rose up. Why was she the only one on trial here? He had used Cherry like a whore. That was his sin, not hers. Her problem was vocalizing her damn thoughts all the time. “Didn’t you?”

  She hadn’t thought his gaze could get darker, but it did. A shadow crossed his features, and his eyes narrowed in on her. “That’s what you think of me?”

  “I don’t know you!” she exclaimed. “I don’t know any of this.” She waved her hands around the room. Framed leather vests lined the walls with pictures hanging below them in some sort of memory of brothers lost.

  “You asked her if we had fucked?” Lucas wasn’t moved by her outburst.

  “Yes.” She nodded and crossed her arms over her chest in harsh movements. Two could be just as pissed as one. “I shouldn’t have said what I said. It’s not her fault. I mean, you—”

  “I never promised her anything more than she was willing to give. Nothing we did together was nonconsensual and never in the context of a relationship. That doesn’t make her a whore, and it doesn’t make me an asshole either.”

  “Maybe that’s it. Maybe we are just too fucking different.” She could feel the tears start to race toward her eyes, and she clenched her teeth to try to stop them. Crying wouldn’t solve anything. “I mean, really, what the fuck was I thinking? You offered to fuck me in the storage closet of the hospital to relieve my tension.” The anger began to simmer, but she didn’t even know who she was angry with anymore. “That’s all I was to you, too—a whore.” Fat tears spilled down her cheeks before she could stop them, so she turned away, not wanting him to see her. She scrubbed her face clean of the tears and hugged herself.

  He didn’t say anything, and she didn’t hear any movement, but his arms found her. Wrapping around her, he held her against his chest. He spun her around and rested his chin on top of her head, letting her take her time to calm down.

  “It was a horrible thing to say to her,” she whispered into his kutte.

  “Yeah, it was,” he agreed but didn’t sound angry anymore. “She’s young. Younger than any girl should be when she has to fend for herself.”

  “I’m not a judgmental person.” She sniffled. “I don’t understand why I said something like that.”

  His chest rumbled beneath her ear as he chuckled. “Well, I’d say it has something to do with the hormones running fucking crazy in your body right now, coupled with your jealousy that I had my hands on another woman before you, and then you had that soda—which I haven’t forgotten about—that was fully caffeinated.”

  Even in her teary-eyed state she managed to roll her eyes at his statement. Of course he’d latch on to that stupid detail.

  “But you’re wrong. I never saw you as a whore, not for one second.” He pushed her away from him and captured her face between his hands, bringing his face closer to hers. “Not for one fucking second did I think that about you. I’m not gonna lie: I was hoping to get in your pants the moment I laid eyes on you, but not because of that. Before you, I just wanted sex. A quick fuck and that’s it. But with you…it’s different. I want it all, Josephine. Everything. All of you.”

  “Did you really let her suck your dick in front of everyone?” She whispered it while staring into his eyes. No longer hazed with anger, they were soft and concerned.

  “Not my best moment.” He released her face and took a step back. “She had a thing for me. I knew it, and I shouldn’t have let her do most of what I let her do with me, but I did. Because I was an asshole.”

  “And the other girls? The really pretty ones with the sexy bodies?” She dragged her wrist under her nose, feeling like she was going to start crying again soon.

  “Some of them, yeah. But that’s done with. You are mine now, only mine, and I’m yours. There’s not going to be anyone else.” He looked so sincere when he said it; she didn’t want to question him further. Not then. Not at that moment. At that moment, she just needed to feel him.

  He must have sensed that, because before she knew it, she was swept up in his arms, and he carried her to the large chair in the corner of the room. Sitting down, he cradled her in his lap. “I should have warned you about Cherry.”

  “Cherry was fine, is fine. It’s not her. It was me.”

  “Not your finest moment, but I think you were insulting me more than her.” He ran his hand up and down her back, trying to comfort her. The big biker guy was snuggling her and trying to comfort her for being a bitch.

  She sighed and rested her head against his chest. “I’m sorry.” She snuggled further into him and let the warmth of his body soothe her. “What happened with that guy who came? He looked mad.”

  “Nothing you need to worry about.” He patted her hip. “Let’s get back out there; Cutter is going to think I’m in here whipping you or something.”

  “Does he do that to Cherry? That slap he gave her…”

  �
�Cutter takes care of Cherry how they both agreed to take care of her. Don’t worry about her. I think he’s actually into her much deeper than he’s even letting on. Now, let’s get out there. You can make one more apology, then we are heading home. We still need to discuss that soda.”

  “Jesus.” She shoved off his lap and put her hands on her hips. “It was a soda. Let it go already.” The fire was definitely back in her belly and back in his gaze.

  “Once we get home,” he agreed and stood up. Pressing a kiss to her cheek, he plucked up her hand and pulled her back out into the crowded lounge area.

  # # #

  The drive back to his house had been quiet. Josephine stared out the window mostly, watching the street lights dance along the road as he drove past them.

  “How was work today? I never asked.” He broke the silence once he had the truck parked in his driveway.

  She gave him a wary smile. “Fine. It was fine.”

  He was starting to hate that fucking word. More often than not, that was her answer for almost everything—fine. How’s your mom? Fine. How was work? Fine. How was the earthquake that opened up the earth’s core and sucked you in? Fine. It was driving him batty.

  Usually, he couldn’t care less how someone else’s day had been, so caring about hers and not getting an honest and open answer was starting to piss him off. She hadn’t been wrong. He’d fucked Cherry. He’d used her in the ways she allowed, and it was always consensual, but he hadn’t treated her any better than a whore. Cherry never asked for more than he gave—physical attention. But she needed more from him, and he had turned a blind eye to it. Maybe he was being selfish or he just didn’t care enough. But now, seeing her on Cutter’s arm, seeing him take care of the needs that he had ignored, reminded him of what an asshole he’d been. And how much just knowing Josephine had changed that part of him.

  He didn’t want to ignore Josephine’s needs; he wanted to fulfill all of them. He wanted to take care of every last thing she needed. Except she kept holding back on him, kept pulling away whenever he got a little bit closer to her. She’d been hurt in the past, but no more than anyone else in the grand scheme of things. Someone always got hurt during a breakup. As far as he knew, no one had torn her heart out. She wasn’t pining after some lost love. But she still hid herself behind an almost impenetrable wall.

  Except when he had his hands on her. She couldn’t hide her emotions then. No, when his fingers were toying with her plump, wanting clit or his cock was thrusting into her tight, hot pussy, she was all real. Her eyes portrayed every desire, every need, and he fulfilled them all.

  The jealousy she’d shown at the club was the first sign of something real between them, and he held on to it. He couldn’t even be mad at her for insulting Cherry or him, because she’d done it out of jealousy.

  Lucas climbed out of the truck with a new plan in mind for their evening. She needed to understand that she couldn’t pull away, that he wasn’t going to play that game or allow her to keep herself secluded from his life or the rest of the world. She was tired. He knew that. Working all day, visiting her mother afterwards, and then going out with him to the clubhouse had drained her. Her mom was just finishing the last round of chemo, then she’d be able to have surgery. It was at Lucas’s insistence that she be moved from the depressing atmosphere of the hospital back to her own home. A full-time nurse moved in to care for her while Josephine worked.

  He’d taken that weight from her, but she still needed rest. She needed to unload and release the stress building inside of her.

  “Maybe you should just take me home.” She sighed heavily as he opened her door. She swung her legs to the side but didn’t hop out like she usually did.

  “No.” He gripped her waist and easily removed her from the truck, still marveling at how light she was even pregnant.

  “Lucas…” She sighed again.

  “I said no. You’re sleeping here tonight. You don’t have work in the morning, and your mom is being taken care of. You’ll sleep here, you’ll sleep late, and you won’t lift a fucking finger tomorrow. You need more rest.” He shut the truck door, harder than he intended but still finding some satisfaction in the little jump she gave from the sound.

  “I—”

  “You are going to do what I say. You’re exhausted and stressed. Your behavior tonight is proof.” He linked his fingers with hers and walked her to the house. She didn’t complain again, just walked silently beside him. As he slid his key in the lock, a rumbling engine grew louder and headlights swept over the yard and into the driveway.

  Lucas recognized the biker and quickly unlocked the door and pushed it open. “Get inside. Do not come out here, no matter what.” She started to argue, to question him, but he gave her a hard look that stopped her. Once she was inside, he pulled the door shut, trying to ignore the frightened look in her eyes as he did so. Locking it, he pulled the key back out and tucked it in his jeans before turning to deal with the asshole in his driveway.

  Clay hadn’t dismounted his bike. He just sat on it, letting the engine rumble away in the quiet of the night.

  Lucas walked up the driveway, not glancing back at the house, instead taking faith that Josephine had listened to him and stayed inside. Clay wouldn’t be stupid enough to do anything right there in his driveway, but there was no reason to take any chances, especially not with Josephine inside.

  “What do you want?” Lucas took a defensive stance, his legs spread and his body tense, ready to take on whatever Clay had brought with him.

  Clay eyed Lucas for a long moment, then cracked a smile, letting a laugh loose. “Chill.” He waved a leather-gloved hand at him. “I’m just here to talk.” He leaned forward and cut the engine to the bike. “Your president isn’t doing well.”

  “Joe is fine.” Lucas stated flatly.

  “Right. He can barely catch his breath after walking from the door to his desk, but he’s fine.” Clay shook his head. “And as I hear it, your VP hasn’t been well enough to even make it into the clubhouse.”

  Nothing he said was untrue, but still it triggered Lucas’s anger. “What does any of that have to do with why you’re sitting in my driveway?”

  “I’m saying, your leaders aren’t well. They aren’t making good decisions. I’m saying, if it were my club, I’d want my president to be able to hold up a fucking bike.” Joe hadn’t ridden a two-wheeler in over a year. No one gave him any shit about it. A lot of the old timers switched over to the three wheels, but to an outsider, it probably made Joe look weak since he was the president

  “Good thing it’s not your club, then.” Lucas heard the lock of his front door unbolt, and his muscles tensed. If she came outside, he’d be distracted.

  Clay must have heard the sound as well because he looked over Lucas’s shoulder at the front door. “The deal I gave to Joe, it’s the only one he’s getting. If he doesn’t take it, your club dies. We’ll still take the routes, the cash, and your club won’t get a single percent. Without that run, you’ll dry up.” He glanced back over at the house, then settled his eyes on Lucas. “I’m coming to you because you have sense. Take the deal.”

  “You think my club should become your little lackeys? Fuck that.” Lucas clenched his fists at his side. “We don’t work for you. We don’t work for anyone. Joe will bring the situation to the table, and the club will decide.”

  “Right. I know. What I’m saying is, you need to sway that vote if you want your club to survive.”

  “I’ll do what’s best for my club.” Lucas heard the screen door open, and he tensed. A simple command, stay in the house, and she couldn’t listen to that? Did she think she’d be of any fucking help on his driveway?

  “Your old lady don’t listen too good, huh?” Clay grinned. “Hopefully you will. Your club needs to make this deal. If you don’t, it will all die. Got it? I’m not fucking around, Lucas. The route will be ours. We don’t need to cut you in. It’s out of respect that we do. A vote any other way would be disrespect
ful to the Iron Rebels. You got it?”

  “Lucas?” That soft voice nearly undid his temper.

  “Get the fuck off my property,” Lucas snapped at Clay.

  Clay shook his head and turned the key to the ignition, giving life to the engine once more. “Do yourself a favor and think about it. You and I, we aren’t that different. We both want what’s best for our clubs, for our brothers. Put some real thought into it.” He flicked his chin over Lucas’s shoulder to where Lucas assumed his errant woman was standing. “Mine never listens either. Damn woman thinks she knows better than I do.” He gave a different sort of chuckle, like the two of them were talking over a couple beers about how their girls gave them trouble. “You’ll want to keep her safe. Taking this deal, that would keep her safe.” The smile dropped from his eyes, and his lips thinned into a straight line.