by Bethany-Kris
Unless …
“She likes you,” Lucian said, voicing his inner thoughts. “Trusts you.”
Jordyn slowly turned in his embrace, staring warily at him. “Is that a bad thing?”
“No. Mio Dio, no,” he breathed through a laugh. “It’s … great, actually. I was so distracted over my father I kind of thought Cecelia would be the easier one and she’d be her normal, polite self. And she was, but in a really telling way for me. No, this is good.”
Jordyn still seemed unbothered by it all. That was exactly why Lucian found himself so strangely, unexplainably caught up in everything about this woman. She had her insecurities, but she was confident in ways that no one understood until they were right there facing them.
Perfect, that’s what she was.
“Okay. Do you want to try the sauce now?”
“Sì, bella, I’ll try your sauce.”
Jordyn turned and grabbed a cleaned spoon off the counter, dipping it into a pot before turning back to Lucian. Those pretty, pink lips of hers pursed as she blew cool air onto the red sauce, keeping his attention focused solely on her mouth for those brief few seconds, before offering the spoon to him.
Lucian tasted it without question.
Cazzo.
Holy fuck.
Something exquisitely rich crossed his palate, zinging his taste buds and making him moan deep in the back of his throat. The sauce was always good, no doubt about it, but whatever Jordyn added just enhanced it tenfold so that it wasn’t simply a taste, but an experience.
“Damn,” he muttered when she took the spoon away. “That’s …”
“Good,” Jordyn finished, smiling.
He answered that by crushing his mouth to hers.
Jordyn wasn’t expecting the kiss, because her cute little squeak of surprise was drowned out by Lucian’s tongue spearing into her mouth. He still couldn’t get over how much he enjoyed kissing this woman, and how badly he wanted to.
Lucian was so lost in Jordyn and her wandering fingers tangling up into his hair, he didn’t register the voices getting closer to the kitchen until they were at the entrance.
“Well, isn’t this a cute sight.”
The sweetest pink colored Jordyn’s cheeks as she hid her face from view. Lucian was anything but embarrassed, considering the first person to speak made his blood boil just by being near him.
Kate Catrolli Grovatti was a lot of things. Being an annoyance for Lucian was only one of them.
“Good evening, Kate,” Lucian greeted, urging Jordyn to turn back to the stove with him moving to her side.
There were quite a few people who were expected to attend the family dinner, as they did every Sunday. Not all were actually related, but they did relate to the Cosa Nostra in some way. Usually close capos, important affiliates, and guests of any of the brothers. The only actual family that attended was Kate, Antony’s younger brother who was one of their lawyers, and a cousin or two.
Currently, the group of three standing in the kitchen and watching Lucian and Jordyn with extra interest only included Kate, Gio, and a man Lucian wasn’t familiar with.
Lucian briefly wondered if he’d been invited by Kate, or one of his brothers.
It was only proper Lucian find out immediately. “Uh, Gio, who’s this?”
“Lucian, Salvatore. A friend of mine. Salvatore, Lucian, my brother.”
Lucian nodded, understanding immediately. It was a friend of his brother’s. By introducing this Salvatore as a friend of his, Gio made it perfectly clear without outright stating it that the man was simply an associate, and only affiliated with the business. Had he introduced the man as a friend of ours, specifically, it would have meant he was a made man in a Cosa Nostra family.
“Is this everyone?” Jordyn asked.
She waved at the stove as if to say there was much too much food if it was.
“No,” Lucian said, chuckling. “There’s still a few more who’ll show up.”
“Dante invited Jess, or Mom did for him,” Gio added. “Plus, Dad’s talking with Camden and Ross.”
“Our cousin and uncle,” Lucian explained to Jordyn before she could ask.
“And who’s this?” Kate asked, peering at Jordyn as if she was all too curious for her own good.
Lucian hated this woman. Despised her, even.
“This is Jordyn.”
“Jordyn who?”
Lucian’s jaw clenched, but Jordyn’s hand slipping into his at his side calmed him instantly.
“Uh, Mom knows Jordyn is at her stove, right?” Gio asked, stepping around his aunt in an almost dismissive fashion.
“Yeah, she knows,” Lucian replied. “Even let her mess with it a bit.”
“What? And the house is still standing?”
“I know. Don’t question it. Probably best you don’t ask Mom about it either.”
“Jordyn who?” Kate asked again, more pointedly the second time. “Is this your new kitten for the month, Lucian?”
“Kitten?” Jordyn whispered. “I feel like that should offend me, somehow.”
It should, but Lucian shook his head to ward off Jordyn’s concern, trying desperately to ignore Kate at the same time. The woman had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. There had never been one female brought into this home by a Marcello brother unless it was a friendship sort of relationship. Jess was an exception for Dante, and that was mostly brought on by their mother, not because Dante wanted her there.
“She’s a good friend of mine.” Lucian tried to sound offhanded. The last thing he wanted was to give Kate more ammo than she already had. Then, just to make himself clear, he added, “Very good.”
“Yeah,” Gio agreed quietly, shooting Jordyn a sly smile. “She might as well be a part of the family.” Gio seemed to register his verbal mistake straightaway, given Lucian was glaring at his brother. “Hey, Sal, let’s go chat with the boss about the guys in Vegas.”
Apparently no business on Sundays didn’t apply to Gio’s friends.
They weren’t gone from the space for more than five seconds before it started.
“Oh, my.” Kate took a step forward, that glinting gaze of hers zoning in on Jordyn way too much. Lucian stepped in front of Jordyn to shield her from the woman instinctually. “Don’t tell me I’m looking at the first principessa of the Marcello family. Am I?”
“Don’t, Kate,” Lucian warned.
“I am, aren’t I? Jesus, you would have thought my sister would have told me about this.” Kate smiled, the sight turning sinister in a flash. “How long?”
Jordyn glanced up at Lucian for direction, her fingers weaved with his tightening.
“Not long,” Lucian answered. “And that’s all we’re going to say about it. Antony’s dealing with other things, and that word doesn’t need to be tossed around like candy right now by anyone who wants to say it.”
“But I’m not just anyone, Lucian.”
• • •
“I’m your aunt,” Kate said, flashing her white teeth in a sneer.
Jordyn wasn’t paying attention to Kate, because she finally got it.
She couldn’t believe it had taken her this long to put it together, and frankly, she felt like a goddamned idiot for not realizing it before.
Lucian’s mother had called him a mafia prince, like all her sons. They considered their family a crime dynasty, ruled by name and blood. It was obvious to Jordyn that all of the Marcello boys were young men with focused goals regarding their business, but the fact remained that they were still considered young.
Possibly too young to be where they were.
But not if their father was the boss.
Lucian had been clear in his explanation of what it was like to be who he was in his family. It had just taken Jordyn a little while to catch up to speed and stick in the words he didn’t want to use himself.
“For us, La Cosa Nostra is more than a label, it’s a culture. From the moment we were born, we were thrown headfirst into it and r
aised as such with all the rules that came along with it. This is for life. Our status is a given right. I will always be this man. I will always be a Marcello.”
What Lucian meant, and Jordyn was only now realizing, was that he would always be considered mafia royalty in his world—a prince. Someone who was respected and adored simply because of who he was, though so much expectations and responsibility came with that title.
Dante had called Jordyn a princess first. Kate was doing it, now.
Lucian wasn’t even denying it, even if he was visibly annoyed.
He’d said it himself. For people like them, that word meant something entirely different than it did to the rest of the world.
Jordyn’s mind hadn’t put it all together, but it was, now.
It was too much.
Kate was zoning in on Jordyn again, bringing her out of her stunned thoughts.
“Parla Italiano? Di dove è?” Kate asked her.
Jordyn balked. “What?”
“She doesn’t speak—”
“No,” Lucian interrupted angrily. “Because she isn’t Italian. Leave it alone.”
“Not Italian?” Kate scoffed, nodding. “I get it. Now I understand why Cecelia didn’t want to tell me about her. It’d be just like you to pick one like this, Lucian.”
Finally, Jordyn snapped out of her stupor with a bang. “Excuse me? Like this? What does that mean?”
“Oh, child,” Kate practically cooed, though it was far too sickeningly sweet to be true. “It doesn’t matter if you don’t understand, because Lucian does. Just like Cecelia and Antony, or his brothers, for that matter. You’ve reached too high, sweetheart. You’ll figure it out soon enough.”
Then, Kate took another step forward, examining Jordyn closer. “And if those marks on your neck are any indication, I hope you figure it out quick and run. Seems he’s a lot like his father, more so than we thought. Does he kiss you after and tell you he’s sorry like all abusers, too?”
Jordyn’s next words were born solely of her shock and anger, and a need to protect Lucian, considering he had done nothing but be so good to her. This woman was vile. “I don’t know you, and honestly, I don’t want to. I suggest, however, that you mind your business. Because if I understand correctly, you don’t have much say in anything. Certainly not anymore. Is that what pisses you off the most?”
Kate stepped back as if she’d been slapped. “You little bi—”
“Kate, it’s good to see you,” Antony said from the kitchen entrance, stopping the woman’s next words completely. His eyes instantly found his son’s, and Jordyn was caught glancing between the two rapidly, searching to see if she’d done something wrong. She didn’t think she did if the way Lucian was smiling back down at her was any indication. “I see you’ve met Jordyn. Beautiful, isn’t she?”
Jordyn swallowed her anger for a moment. Those were the first words Antony Marcello had spoken in her direct vicinity, and oddly, she knew they were important somehow.
“My wife is quite taken with her,” Antony continued, seemingly oblivious to the tension in the kitchen. “My son, too, though I should say sons, considering all the boys are watching this one carefully in their own ways. I hope you understand why we’ve kept her our little secret, as she’s still new to the family, and things are complicated.”
That was an understatement.
Again, they were talking about Jordyn like she was a permanent member of their family.
“How so?” Kate asked.
Antony smiled grimly. “That’s not your concern. It’s Lucian’s and mine.”
At her side, Jordyn felt Lucian’s hand squeeze hers reassuringly.
Antony passed Kate by in the same manner Gio had earlier, like he was dismissing her. Coming to stand in front of Jordyn, the older man offered her a soft smile as he spoke too low for Kate to hear.
“I’m sorry for not making time to speak to you earlier, Jordyn. I can watch over the stove for a bit until Cecelia is ready if you need a moment. Kate can have that kind of effect on people. Do you need a second?”
Jordyn nodded. She needed more than one. “Yes.”
“Go, then.”
Jordyn didn’t need to be told again. She was out of the kitchen in a flash, making her way through the large home with no idea as to where she was going. The only thing she tried to do was get as far away from the echoing sound of voices as she could, flying up a flight of stairs and taking the first turn she came to. She needed to think.
Lucian was right behind her the whole time.
Eventually, she stopped in a hallway on the second floor.
“I’m sorry about Kate,” Lucian said from behind her. “Don’t pay her any mind.”
“I don’t care about that awful woman. She can go to hell.” Then, Jordyn winced. “Your biological father, he didn’t really hit her, did he?”
“From what everyone believes because of her penchant to tell lies when she doesn’t get her way, no. There wasn’t anything visible, and being his wife, she was always treated with respect, besides the whole mistress thing. And I remember him with my mother, too. He never even raised his voice. John wasn’t a heavy handed man.”
“You remember him?”
“Sure. Even though he wanted to keep me and my mother a secret from his wife, which meant he needed to keep it from everyone else, too, he spent a lot of time with me. John signed my birth certificate, which wasn’t known to his friends and family until after he died, so he must have been at the hospital when I was born, or shortly after. That was how Antony found out about me. He knew of my mother, but had never met her, and when he went looking for her, he found the documentation of me. John taught me to read, actually, and I got most of my understanding of Italian language very young from him. The few memories I have are very good ones. I know he loved me, and that’s what matters.”
“You’re right, it is. Kate isn’t important to that at all.” Jordyn paced the hallway, her emotions threatening to spill over. “Why is she that hateful and bitter, though? What could you have done to her when you were just a little boy?”
Lucian shrugged. “Frankly, I gained seventy-five percent of my father’s estate after his murder. As his wife, she only gained twenty-five. Maybe it wasn’t fair, but that’s how John had his lawyers set things up if he had any children to care for. I was a proven child of his when he signed my birth certificate. She couldn’t fight it, but she tried. From the time I was eighteen, I’ve had full and total control over my portion of the estate and money, while she is in her late forties and still needs to live off a restricted portion given to her monthly. Otherwise, she’d squander it like she has everything else.”
“Oh, well …” Jordyn didn’t know what to say to that. Something else was bothering her terribly. “If that’s what that meant, you should have told me, Lucian.”
“What are you talking about?”
Jordyn turned on her heel, anger simmering. “Principessa? It’s like someone just hit fast forward on double speed all over again. Talk about throwing it around. You didn’t even bother to tell me, but everyone else seems to get it just fine!”
“Jesus, don’t do that,” Lucian snapped back. “Don’t let all of that bullshit bother you. It’s just practicalities, Jordyn. Semantics for the politics of the family. It’s not important.”
“You’re lying. It’s important to everyone here. Isn’t it?”
Lucian raked his fingers through his hair, sighing heavily. “Yes, but that doesn’t mean it has to be to us. Okay? That’s all I want you to understand. You and me, we get to go at whatever speed we want. Slow, fast, or rewind. I need you close to me. That’s what matters to me.”
He kept saying that.
Jordyn just didn’t know what it meant.
“What does that even mean?”
“It means whatever the hell I want it to. It means I liked waking up to you this morning, because I haven’t slept properly in two weeks. It means I like the way you kiss me, and how it doesn’t fee
l strange for me to do it at all. I like fucking you, because it doesn’t seem entirely like fucking. I like you sitting next to me in church. I like providing you with beautiful things. I like keeping you safe with me. That’s what it means. Does it have to be any more defined right now?”
“No. But they—”
“Don’t matter to this. They don’t. It’s that simple, sweetheart. Nothing about us is ever going to be completely normal. That’s something you need to understand today if we’re going to continue on with this. I have to play a part, too. And if I want to tell everyone you’re the first principessa chosen by a Marcello son because it’s true, then that’s exactly what I’ll do.”
Jordyn was speechless. “But … what does it even mean?”
“It means a lot of things, but mostly, it means a future,” Lucian said, his tone turning a lot quieter than it was before.
“That’s it, a future?”
“Basically. That in itself carries a lot of weight.”
Yeah, it did.
Jesus.
Why did Jordyn have to like the way that rolled off his lips so casually.
“We’re kind of strange, you and me,” Jordyn said.
Like the fact she couldn’t deny how her insides were mush when he was around, or that she felt him near even when he didn’t speak a word. Some people might call that chemistry, and others might call it destiny.
Jordyn called it frightening.
“Maybe we’re normal for us,” Lucian replied. “And so far, I like the way it’s going.”
“On fast forward, knocking me on my ass at every turn.”
“If it works …”
Jordyn chewed on the inside of her cheek. “Are you going to tell people that’s what I am to you?”
Lucian shrugged. “Not yet.”
“Why?”
Better yet, why did it matter if he didn’t, something inside demanded.
Jordyn ignored her inner voice.
“Because, I need you to want it, too.”
Jordyn didn’t have the time to respond. Cecelia called from the downstairs, telling anyone who wasn’t in the dining room that dinner was ready to be served.
