Dinner went by in a blur, and then Serena and I were outside because going to my room just meant I’d get her naked, and then my mom really would use that gun. I mean, she knew, everyone knew we’d started having sex early, but that didn’t mean that they were handing us condoms and making signs that said, “get there faster.”
I wrapped an arm around her and let the silence descend between us. It was almost strange how weird it felt to be out in the open, to touch her without wondering if I was going to get my fingers cut off.
“You ready for this?” Serena asked.
I looked out at the field and then back at her. “Am I waiting for something to happen right now?”
“Don’t be a dick.”
“That’s literally all I know how to be,” I teased, pulling her against my chest and stealing a kiss, and then another, and then one more.
She laughed against my mouth and turned just as the sun started to set, and then very slowly, she twirled in my arms, once, twice, and exhaled. “I wondered how many more of these moments I would get with you.”
“No more wondering.” I tilted her chin. “You get all of them.”
“I asked my dad, you know.” Her full lips were so plump I wanted to take a bite. “Were they really going to let us die down there.”
My body tensed up because I’d asked my dad the same thing, and he’d refused to say yes or no. “And?” I didn’t want to remember that sick feeling in my chest, the hollowness that cut itself into my soul at the feeling of losing her. “What did he say?”
“He pulled me into his arms…” Her arms tightened around my body. “…and said, ‘what do you think?’”
I burst out laughing. “That’s the worst answer ever!”
“Exactly what I said, and his only response was to shrug!”
“Bastard.”
“Hey, that’s my dad.”
“And that’s a bastard move,” I pointed out. “If it makes you feel any better, mine didn’t answer me either.”
“Hey, I’m not finished with my story.”
My eyebrows shot up. “Oh, so it’s a story now?” I started toying with the straps of her tank top, then licked my lips when I realized she wasn’t wearing a bra underneath. “I think I’m going to go on a treasure hunt when this story’s done.”
She crooked her finger as we rounded the corner where the outdoor gym was located. It was an RV garage converted into enough weights and flat screens to make anyone happy, though dad denied it was a man cave.
I found great joy in making signs every year that he had to take down. I’d used two hundred nails last Christmas.
Nixon had helped.
“You’re distracting me,” she whispered as we walked into the gym.
The lights were off as I led her farther into the room until we were on the other side of the sitting area toward the wet bar my dad rarely drank from but always kept stocked.
I let her hand go and then went about getting each of us a shot of vodka, something we did every year on the day we remembered those who’d died.
“I live to distract you,” I said, handing her the shot glass.
We both tilted the alcohol back, and I poured two more. “Now, finish your story so I can see how fast I can finish you.”
“So charming, it’s amazing you landed me.”
“Ah, is that what you were thinking about this morning when I did that thing with my tongue? How fucking charming I am? Hey, are you blushing right now? I can’t tell it’s too dark,” I grabbed boob and got slapped.
“Girls don’t blush there.”
I snorted out a laugh. “But, you know where you do blush…”
“Sto-op!” Her laugh was like oxygen. “Okay, keep your hands and cock to yourself. So anyway I went and asked Uncle Chase, but that’s like asking the president for his secrets, same answer, right? So then I went and—”
One of the lights flickered on.
Serena dove behind the bar where I was. “I thought your dad went to bed early!”
“He does, he’s like a grandpa!” I hissed.
“Huh, hot grandpa—”
“Could you not right now?” I pinched her ass.
We both peered around the bar and heard footsteps, a lot of footsteps, and one by one, all the bosses casually walked into the place. Someone turned on the TV. Nixon grabbed two ping pong paddles and handed one to my dad.
My jaw nearly came unhinged when both our dads started a game of ping pong. Fucking ping pong!
“What sort of warped universe is this?” I whispered. “No guns? No violence? Nobody’s even bleeding!” I said.
Serena’s shocked expression mirrored my own as laughter ensued around the couch, where Chase was currently watching himself on TV with Uncle Tex, who immediately started throwing Doritos.
I think I nearly shit my pants when Andrei of all people joined in and then asked if we had any fucking chocolate chip cookies. What?
“What are they saying?”
We scooted away from the bar and hid behind another giant couch.
Nixon hit the ball. “We did good, didn’t we?”
“Better than I thought, honestly,” Dad answered as he slapped the ball back, his expression free. “I’m glad Ash isn’t such an emotional screw up like Chase. I imagined we would have had to intervene or something.”
“I was ready.” Tex popped something in his mouth. “I knew you guys were going to look for an out. They’re your kids, after all. But I was ready.”
Nixon and Dad said nothing.
And then Phoenix piped up. “Sad about Violet.”
Nikolai’s voice came next. The hell, he was still here? A week later? He scratched the back of his neck, giving full view to the sickle tattoo on his finger, the one thing that proved he was still with the Russians even though he was Italian. Andrei had the same one.
“What about Violet?” Tex asked.
“She’s leaving,” Chase muttered as he shared a dark look with Andrei only to have Nikolai change the subject.
I knew my dad did it on purpose; I just couldn’t figure out why.
I released a breath. “At least now we know they weren’t going to let us die.”
“Probably.” Serena sighed. “I mean, at least our dads weren’t. Tex, on the other hand…”
“Is he tossing a gun in the air and catching it by the tip?” I asked, risking another peek.
“Junior, Serena,” Phoenix barked. “Talk any louder, and your friends are going to hear you back at the house.”
I flipped him off.
“Saw that.” He grinned without taking his eyes off the ping pong ball.
Slowly we both stood.
Nixon gave me a sharp look.
I held up my hands. “Her clothes are on!”
“Dad…” Serena rolled her eyes.
“How’d you know we were even here?” I asked as we walked by my dad and stared at all the scary as shit bosses.
“You breathe loud.” This from Chase.
“Well, this has been fun.” I grabbed Serena’s hand, and we left before the Twilight Zone of the bosses playing ping pong messed me up for life.
Breaker was the first person I saw when we walked back in the house, and then I saw King and assumed they were probably all here.
“Movie Night.” Maksim jutted his chin out at me. “PS, you still look like shit.”
I grabbed my knife.
He grinned and walked in the direction of our rec room. Ash was already there, sitting in the corner, his expression brooding as hell, and everyone else was laughing. Maybe we did need time to focus on things other than death.
Maybe that’s what the bosses were doing out there with their weird ping pong tradition.
I sat down and pulled Serena onto my lap. She wiggled a bit too much and then lifted her skirt.
My cock strained through my jeans as I felt nothing but warm heat, naked skin.
I let out a pained groan as I immediately pressed up against her, hard, ready to j
ust unzip my pants and go to town.
Serena grabbed a nearby blanket and tossed it over us while Maksim turned off the lights, and my wicked princess reached behind her, and slowly unzipped my jeans, freeing me as though she did it all the time while watching movies.
This was a first.
My fingernails dug into the leather theater chair as she slowly appeared to move positions and fucking sank down onto me.
The amount of restraint it took not to grab her and just fuck her in front of everyone and tell them we’d be a minute was unreal.
My dick pulsed while she moved again. I gripped her by the arms and hissed out. “Hate you.”
She just laughed and said. “Hate you too.”
“Can you guys stop fighting for five minutes?” Breaker snapped back at me.
“I’d say… give it more like three,” I muttered.
“Two,” Serena countered.
I pinched her ass and whispered back. “I highly doubt I’ll even last that long. Just feeling you clench around me makes me want to—”
“Shhh!” Violet threw popcorn at us.
A jump scene happened in the movie.
And then… then Serena was off and back on—and somehow, I managed to get her off me, tuck myself back into my jeans like the calm adult I was, and grab her by the hand.
“Gotta make more popcorn,” I muttered.
Before I could even finish that sentence, we dashed to my room. Her shirt over her head, my jeans kicked off, and it was us again.
The love so strong that the hate spurned it on.
“Make it rough.” She winked.
I groaned. “I don’t deserve you.”
“Nope.” Her eyes twinkled as she grinned. “What now?”
“Now,” I growled as I crawled up to where she was lying sprawled across my bed like a present I couldn’t wait to unwrap, her breasts high and begging to be sucked, her thighs trembling just waiting for my touch. “I’m going to make you scream.”
“Good thing they’re watching a horror movie.”
“Doesn’t matter. They’ll still hear you.” I reared up and pressed a hand to her naked ass and then smacked. “Now beg.”
Serena’s blue eyes locked onto me and refused to let go as she bit down on her lip and squirmed beneath my touch.
I’d always loved looking down at her, drinking my fill, eating even more—because she was made for me, always.
I knew it the minute I set eyes on her.
I just never knew how dangerous loving her would be to my mental and physical health.
Until I was told to stay the hell away.
“Junior…” She reached for me, pushing my hair away from my forehead. “You’re mine too, you know. I own you the way you own me.”
“I thought you were begging,” I teased, lowering my mouth to hers. “And yet I don’t hear it…”
“You don’t need to hear it to feel the way my body begs you with every single tremor,” she rasped, grabbing my hands and lowering them to her hips. “I’m ready for you—I need you.”
“Have me,” I said, the way she had the first time all those days ago when we finally let go of the hate.
Her eyes filled with tears as I sank into her, pinned her hands over her head, and kissed her hungrily across the mouth.
She moaned with each slow pump of my hips, I was sinking so deep that I couldn’t think straight, and my princess just took every single slam of my body like it was a gift.
I’d always been afraid to be too rough with her. Now I knew; we were born out of murder, made for madness. Of course, she would take me however she could.
A tear slid down her cheek, and then she was holding me in place with her legs wrapped around me like we were getting ready to spar, making it so it was almost impossible to move.
She grinned. “Now, you’re trapped.”
“You call this trapped. I call this Heaven.” I moaned as my dick pulsed inside her, needing more of her heat, needing to move. Release was so close for both of us; I could always tell the way she tried to keep us from chasing it as if she was terrified of the fulness we experienced, that we’d never get it again.
“Serena.” I brushed a kiss across her mouth. “Princess, you can finally let go.” I hesitated. “We can finally let go.”
She nodded as more tears slid down. “You promise? This is it? Just us? Forever? No more—”
I devoured her mouth with mine, tasting the salt of her tears on my tongue as my lips slid along hers, and then I casually flipped us until she was on top.
“Us.” We broke apart. I was still inside her, but something told me she needed to have control, to know that this was it between us.
Finally.
Thank God. Finally.
“Look at us,” I encouraged. “Nothing but death will separate us, princess. And even then, I’ll fight it till the bitter end, to make sure I have as much time with you as humanly possible.”
She started moving slowly above me. “And even then, Junior, once death comes calling, promise you’ll follow.”
“Where else would I rather be than dying with you by my side?” My voice cracked, and then I gripped her ass and started moving while she went wild above me.
I couldn’t stop staring at the way her throat moved as she cried out my name, her swollen lips parted like a prayer.
She panted over me, and I felt her body finally understand, as she gave in fully to me—I was hers—she was mine.
She collapsed over me, her hair covering half my face as tiny tremors wracked her body, and then she shoved away from me and said, “Does this mean you’re going to marry me?”
“You already have my ring,” I pointed out. “But do you really think your dad would let me have sex with you, and not expect me to marry you? I mean, he’s old school. He’d probably grab his gun at the altar to make sure I didn’t bolt.”
She swatted my chest. “I’d shoot you myself if you did.”
“I know.” I laughed. “But sometimes a guy like it’s when a girl chases him.”
“You’d be a wounded guy, so maybe rethink that scenario.”
I burst out laughing. “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
We both fell into more fits of laughter as I pulled the blanket over us and tucked her beneath my chin.
Epilogue
Breaker
Two days later
I knew they were in there having sex again in Serena’s room, I mean, who the hell didn’t? They were loud, and this was Junior we were talking about, I was surprised he hadn’t just peed all over her in front of us the first day of classes this year. The guy was getting more and more possessive. If I even looked Serena’s way, he growled at me.
And I was her fucking cousin!
Adopted, but still!
It was madness.
Then again, it was Junior, so… we kind of let it pass. We were each a little mad in our own way.
I sighed and walked past their room, making my way into the rec room. Violet was sitting in the corner like she always was. Confident and calculating.
I wondered if anyone saw what she was about the way I did.
She had this outer persona of class and control.
But I knew the truth.
She was dying inside.
She was a woman trapped with expectations on her shoulders that nobody should have to deal with on their own.
Hell, even her smile was fake, I remembered her going on all those press tours with Chase when he got re-elected for a second term, she was slowly dying inside.
And I hated it.
Because I’d always liked her, but also because I’d always had a massive crush on her, I’d stayed far, far away. You know, death and all that.
I gulped.
My first mistake was kissing her when I was fourteen.
My second mistake was telling her I was in love with her.
And my third? Betraying her the minute I had a chance.
I took what wasn
’t mine, I took the prettiest thing on the shelf, destroyed it, then tried to put it back.
And now she was broken.
Because that’s what I did.
I broke things.
Not just hearts.
I fucking broke her soul.
And now she was leaving.
And it was all my fault.
“Breaker!” Izzy ran over to me. “It’s a party; you’re supposed to look happy!”
“I’m happy.” I had exactly zero smile on my face; my eyes kept flickering toward Violet.
I shoved away from Izzy and pulled out my phone, sending Violet a text.
Me: Can we talk?
Violet: Go. To. Hell.
Me: I live there. Try again.
Violet: Eat shit.
I smiled, well at least she was still angry? Was that a good thing?
And then I looked up.
Tears streamed down her face.
I had done that.
I was stuck between needing to confess my sins or let the one person I loved walk away forever.
And I hated that right then and there as she slowly walked past me, I chose the latter.
And damned love in the process.
Want more Mafia Royals?
Check out Scandalous Prince, Breaker’s story coming January 12, 2021!
Each Mafia Royals Romance is a standalone novel.
Acknowledgments
Sometimes I think this is the hardest part of a book because there truly are so many moving parts! I'm so thankful to God for giving me inspiration every day and allowing me to wake up and do what I love, to work with readers, bloggers, teams that are so incredible in this book world!
My husband has been so instrumental in helping me get these books done, always giving me those extra hours I need to write and taking Thor on the trampoline, so he doesn't interrupt mom when she's in the zone. He's the best partner a girl could ask for, and I always sprinkle a bit of him in every book I write! He's my hero and my best friend.
To my incredible editing team and beta readers who helped me make sure this book wasn't going to be a complete failure!
Thank you, Jill, for all of your hard work with this entire process! I could not do this without you, and I'm sorry for the constant stress I give you when I'm like hey I had another book idea, and you're like sigh let me look at your schedule!
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