Lucian

by Bethany-Kris

  “Come on,” Lucian said, offering his hand. “There are more people for you to meet.”

  Jordyn didn’t hesitate to take it.

  • • •

  Antony dabbed a roll into the sauce he’d poured over his pasta, taking a bite. Instantly, his brow furrowed and he looked to where his wife sat waiting down the long table. “Something’s different, Tesoro.”

  “Is it good?” Cecelia asked.

  Jordyn hid her grin with her wine glass. Lucian took notice of that immediately, shaking his head with a knowing wink.

  How in love was a man with his wife that he noticed something as simple as her sauce recipe changing even a little bit from what it had always been?

  It was cute, really, even if Jordyn was the one who added the spices.

  In that moment, Jordyn realized she wanted what these two people had. A love like this with a man who noticed everything about her, even if it was silly and ridiculous. Jordyn’s heart sped up when Lucian’s hand found her knee under the table, squeezing gently.

  “You okay?” Lucian asked quietly. “It’s been crazy today, I know.”

  “More than okay,” Jordyn said, truthfully.

  Antony continued staring at his wife like the rest of the people at the table weren’t watching their exchange with rapt attention. “I didn’t say it wasn’t good. It’s very good. I said it was different. It is, isn’t it?”

  Cecelia nodded. “It is.”

  “Is that all you’re going to give me? I’d like to know why the sudden change.”

  “Eat your food, Antony. I can’t give anyone specifics unless it’s a Marcello woman, you know this. Change is good.”

  “It’s just an old family recipe. You should get over this secrecy thing. I’m your husband, and even I can’t know?” Cecelia still refused to say a thing. Antony shook his head, sighing. “I love you, but sometimes you’re so difficult to understand, Tesoro.”

  “And you didn’t say grace, either,” Cecelia added with a smile, ignoring his remark. “Be quick about it. The rest of us are hungry.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Jordyn was in love with Lucian’s Manhattan condo.

  Well, he called it a condo, but it was more like a penthouse with partial roof access that doubled as a large deck for entertaining. It couldn’t be just a condo, as far as Jordyn was concerned, because it was much too big. The kitchen and living room alone were sizeable enough to fit her apartment inside. That didn’t include the three bedrooms, one of which was locked. There was also an office with a library, a room that doubled as a gym, and an entertainment room sporting a flat screen big enough to be in a theater and two rows of plush seating to sit back and enjoy the view.

  It might as well have been a professionally decorated home inside a high-rise.

  According to Lucian, his condo wasn’t even the biggest in the building.

  Jordyn doubted that.

  In the early morning, the wide wall-to-wall windows lit up the rooms with natural light. By pressing a little button by the light switches, all of the window shades in that particular room would rise automatically. Jordyn didn’t need to turn on a single light bulb.

  She hadn’t gotten the chance to explore Lucian’s home when they arrived the night before. After the dinner with his family three nights ago, he brought up the topic of his place in Manhattan, which he preferred for a few different reasons. It was where he was most comfortable, for one, and it was safer, for two.

  Jordyn didn’t mind. The one thing she knew was the life she lived before, she couldn’t go back to. Not if she wanted to live, and she did, so badly. It certainly helped with the hazel-eyed man sporting a cocky smirk who didn’t seem to ever leave her side, now.

  She really didn’t want him to, either.

  When Lucian offered to give her what she needed, and she asked for safety, he jumped into that totally.

  Jordyn wasn’t sure what she and Lucian were. Together, or not. A couple, or just companions. Lovers, definitely. Comfortable being close, yes. She adored the way his mouth felt on her skin in the morning, and couldn’t help but get lost in looking at him when he wasn’t paying attention. Lucian was sometimes secretive, even if he didn’t mean to be. That confident, dangerous aura of his was almost suffocating in a way that fueled her darker desires. Jordyn was a little more than spun by this man.

  Confusing? A bit.

  It was easier not to define them, and instead, just enjoy it for what it did to them both.

  Whatever they were, it was working.

  Jordyn had become so accustomed to Lucian waking her up in the mornings over the last week, that when she woke up earlier and he wasn’t there, she was confused. It didn’t take her long to figure out where he was. The en-suite bathroom was wide open and the shower was running. He’d also set out a sharp looking, black suit at the end of the bed.

  After she changed the bandage on her burn, which was finally beginning to look like it might actually be healing, Jordyn decided to go exploring. She grabbed the T-shirt Lucian left on the floor the night before that still smelled like his spicy self, pulled it on, and went on her merry way.

  Lucian’s office was quickly becoming her favorite place.

  With a high ceiling and books in every direction, Jordyn couldn’t possibly be bored in the room. There was always something new to find. Lucian collected little brass knickknacks, it seemed he liked football like every good American boy, and he was terribly organized in a disorganized fashion when it came to his work. If that were possible. She was scared to move or pick at the things on his large oak desk for fear he wouldn’t be able to find it again.

  The photo albums stacked on one of the many bookshelves caught her attention. The first two on top were mostly Marcello family pictures. Each was dated and labeled below. The brothers when they were younger. Copies of Antony and Cecelia’s wedding day. Baby pictures, though there weren’t any of Lucian. Family trips and the like. Everyone looked so happy in the pictures.

  Jordyn picked up another and began flipping through it, too.

  The brothers were older in these ones. Clearly well into their teens. It was in these pictures Jordyn noticed the unique personalities between Dante, Gio, and Lucian had really started to take over. Privileged teenage boys, dressed in the very best, grinning and happy. As teens, they seemed to stick even closer together, and in the photos, their father was almost always present.

  The prom photo of Lucian and a pretty, green-eyed blonde knocked Jordyn off balance for a moment. The girl was dressed in a pale pink sequined number that literally hugged every curve with a slit up to her right thigh. Lucian, in his black suit and matching vest and tie, didn’t seem to be too interested in the camera, but at something off to the side.

  Below, the date was written and the names of the people in the photo.

  Lucian and Reagan.

  Jordyn hadn’t expected to see a photo of him with another woman, though every other minute of his life was documented in the albums. What was even more surprising, was the spark of jealousy fluttering up from her stomach.

  “I hated prom.”

  Jordyn nearly dropped the photo album as she spun around, coming face to face with a smirking Lucian.

  “It was awful, but I really wanted that after party. Cecelia’s compromise was if I went, she’d give me the keys to the house. So, I went.”

  Jordyn appraised the view of him in nothing but a towel, droplets of water still clinging to his skin and hair. Lust and desire raged, but she pushed it back. “With Reagan.”

  “Apparently I needed a date. Going alone was not acceptable. She attended the same private school I did. It worked.”

  “Huh. Was she your girlfriend?”

  Way to be subtle, Jordyn thought.

  “Reagan?” Lucian laughed, taking the album from Jordyn and closing it up. “No. A friend of a friend. Her date cancelled last minute, or some nonsense. Cecelia had a fit when she figured out I was planning to go alone and leave right after arriving.
So, Reagan and I hooked up for the prom.”

  “Literally, or figuratively?” Jordyn asked.

  Lucian’s smirk grew into a full blown grin. “You’re jealous of something that happened ten years ago?”

  “No.”

  “Liar, you are. You’re cheeks are even turning pink. I like it.”

  “You like my jealousy?” Jordyn couldn’t quite get her head wrapped around that.

  Lucian took a step forward, crowding Jordyn against the bookshelf with his bulk, warmth, and fresh scent. She didn’t even try to move away, instead bracing both hands to the shelf behind her. The towel covering his lower half drew in her gaze once more, straight down to his defined rows of abs, and the hard cut V of his groin.

  How much of Lucian was it going to take before Jordyn could feel like she was able to breathe again?

  “Yes, I like it,” Lucian murmured low. “It’s a flash of heat. Straight in the gut. Instant anger and disbelief. That’s what it feels like, right?”

  Jordyn nodded. “Yeah, just like that.”

  “Possessiveness in one fell swoop. It’s intense. Takes over everything. It doesn’t have to be rational, or even satisfying. It just is. But, it does mean something good.”

  “What’s that?”

  “It’s a clear sign you consider something, or someone, only yours, sweetheart.”

  Lucian leaned forward, grazing his nose along hers before another knowing grin split his lips. “Like after the dinner at my parents, how I threatened to cut out Gio’s guest’s eyes if he looked at you one more time. At least my brother thought it was funny.”

  Jordyn tried not to let it show how much his words affected her, and failed miserably. “You can’t be doing that.”

  “Why not? You’re beautiful, I know. That doesn’t mean I want every other man in this world admiring something that isn’t his. Once is good enough, a second time is asking for trouble. And I am exactly the kind of man who likes a bit of trouble in his life. You’re certainly providing that.”

  “You didn’t really hurt him, did you?”

  Lucian chuckled deeply, the sound rocking her straight to the core. “No, but I would have if he hadn’t been in the home he was. He didn’t take my threat seriously. I always follow through. Every single time.”

  Something wicked and tantalizing teased Jordyn. Lucian was right, she liked his jealousy, even if it didn’t make a whole lot of sense.

  Two fingers slipped under her chin, drawing her gaze up to his. Lucian’s other hand came to rest on her thigh, his fingers digging rough and good into her flesh, waking her desire up all over again. “Don’t be jealous, Jordyn.”

  “Because I don’t need to, or because you’re not mine?” she asked quietly.

  “Because I haven’t seen that girl in a decade. But I am looking at you every day.”

  “The same could be said for you, then.”

  Lucian laughed roguishly. “Sorry, sweetheart, but it doesn’t work that way for me. When it comes to you, it probably never will.”

  • • •

  “Come here, bella.”

  At the bar, Jordyn sat on one of the many stools, legs crossed and head lost in one of the books she’d brought along. Lucian had work to do at Cazza, one of his many restaurants, and he also had an important meeting later with a city official. Instead of leaving her to her own devices for the entire day back at his condo, he offered for her to come along.

  Sure, she’d be safe in Manhattan without him, at least for a little while longer, but Lucian didn’t like to see her too far from his side.

  The little black dress, silver pumps, and light makeup she wore looked superb under the specialty lighting in the dining room. Especially as she walked across the hardwood floor to meet him at the table he had set up with papers and desserts.

  “Sit, I want you to try these with me,” Lucian said, nodding at the tray of specialty desserts the chef brought out five minutes earlier. “I need a woman’s opinion. I think women have a better palate then men, honestly.”

  Jordyn’s laugh was almost like wind chimes. “You think?”

  “Sure. Women tend to focus more on the taste and texture than simply filling, chewing, and swallowing when they go out for dinner. Besides, I’m distracted, so expecting my full attention on this is pointless today. You might as well enjoy these. Cory needs my final say for the new dessert menu by tonight. I’ve been putting it off for a couple of weeks.”

  Lucian was glad Jordyn didn’t ask what his distraction was because it revolved entirely around her. It hadn’t helped he’d been too busy that morning trying to get a start on his day to wake her up like he wanted to. Between her thighs, tasting her sex on his tongue, and driving her insane.

  For now, Lucian’s insane infatuation was being satisfied in the way she propped her chin up in her palm when she read, or how she tapped her left foot when she reached a passage that interested her more than the rest.

  Really, he just liked watching her.

  Jordyn didn’t disappoint with the tiny fork and fifteen samples of desserts for the next half an hour, either.

  Needless to say, Lucian got absolutely none of his orders completely finished for the restaurant. Cazza was his favorite of all his businesses. It was the place he spent most of his time when he worked, usually, since he didn’t need a fulltime office.

  Not to mention the Cosa Nostra side of things.

  Unlike the past couple of weeks in Brooklyn, collecting smaller payments from his street associates, having a place like Cazza was much better for the bigger deals. It was high class. Most of the men who walked through the doors to see him were of the same caliber. They certainly didn’t want to meet with a mafia capo in some dingy bar or back alley shop.

  It needed to look on the up and up, after all.

  “So, I have a meeting in ten minutes,” Lucian said, gaining Jordyn’s attention from the last dessert she was sampling.

  “You want me to disappear in the back for a while?”

  “Jesus, no. Why would I want that?”

  “I don’t know. You’re the one who brought the meeting up.”

  Lucian waved it off. “First of all, I was well aware of what I would be doing today, so if I thought you shouldn’t be involved, I could have asked someone else to keep you company.”

  “You mean babysit,” Jordyn said, her nose crinkling at the thought.

  “Jordyn, my mother doesn’t leave the house without two enforcers trailing close behind.”

  Jordyn’s eyes widened. “Really?”

  “Really. They’ve been her personal bodyguards ever since Antony became boss. She rarely ever notices them, and they’ve only needed to step in a handful of times to deal with something. So no, I don’t consider it babysitting. Dante wasn’t busy today, and he likes your company.”

  “He likes teasing me, Lucian. Mostly about you.”

  “Because he’s my brother. It means he likes you.”

  “Fantastic,” she replied drily.

  “Anyway, the point is, I had this meeting set up for a while. I don’t mind you being here for it. I’ll introduce you, but after that, just let me do the talking. Smile, because you’re beautiful and I like to see it, and try not to get bored.”

  Jordyn pushed her plate away. “Anything else?”

  “Just a little thing, nothing big,” Lucian muttered. “You might hear things that won’t seem right, and you’ll know it isn’t. This man coming here is a high ranking city official. The last thing he should be involved in is the Cosa Nostra. Everything and everyone is corrupt in one damned way or the other, especially in New York.”

  “So, turn cheek?”

  “I’d appreciate it. I get why you wouldn’t want to have a front row seat to this if you don’t. It’s not exactly the same thing as people dropping off an envelope and going without you hearing much or understanding what’s happening. If that’s the case, and you don’t want to, you’re more than welcome to go chat with the chef while my guest is here.”<
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  Jordyn tipped her chin up, a defiant glimmer in her gaze. “Hearing and not telling of a crime makes me an accessory, doesn’t it?”

  Lucian snorted under his breath. “No one said anything about a crime happening, sweetheart.”

  “You didn’t say it wasn’t, either.”

  “No, I didn’t. I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

  Jordyn rested back into the chair. “I think I’ll stay with you.”

  Inside, Lucian’s confidence in this woman might have swelled more. “Good. I want you on this side of the table with me, then.”

  She was slipping in beside him without any more encouragement.

  Lucian took the next ten minutes to call the head chef of Cazzo back into the dining room. The table was cleared of the tray and leftovers, the dessert menu sorted, and a request for two tumblers of Grey Goose and red wine ordered to be brought out when his guest arrived. Lucian’s attention was back on Jordyn for the short time they had left alone.

  As expected, Lucian’s guest was on time as the man always was. Punctual to a fault, Frank Deveroux was never late. Like their arrangement always had been, the chef let the man in through the back entrance to minimize Frank being seen walking into a restaurant owned by a known Mafioso. In his early fifties, Frank didn’t look a day over forty-five, as he was fit, tall, and always smiling. It was why the public liked him as much as they did. It was hard to find fault in a charismatic man.

  Lucian stood to greet him, keeping his hand firmly seated in Jordyn’s to urge her up with him. “Frank, it’s good to see you.”

  “Lucian.” Frank grinned, shaking the hand Lucian offered. “You know you’re my favorite of all the Marcello boys.”

  “Liar. Gio is, and we both know why.”

  “Well, he does know how to provide a good time. Who’s this lovely thing?” Frank asked, sticking out his hand to Jordyn.

  She took it immediately.

  “This is my Jordyn,” Lucian said. “And she is quite lovely, thank you.”