Broken Beauty

by Stella Andrews

  However, as the weeks pass, my hopes begin to fade as it becomes obvious he must have decided it was no longer worth the trouble and has gone back to his old ways.

  That hurts the most and as Ana lays a sympathetic hand on my arm, she smiles, “It will all work out in the end. I’m a great believer in that.”

  We share a smile because for the past three weeks I have unburdened my soul to Ana. While Tobias worked, we sat chatting and sunning ourselves on the Island Star as we cruised around the Caribbean. I told Ana about every minute of my time with Maverick, even the dirty parts, which we giggled over like schoolkids and kept as our little secret from a man who would hit the roof if he ever found out.

  Now we are waiting to meet the man I fear because he has a proposition for us. Tobias told me that Lucian Romano will be joining us for dinner as they discuss business. There was a spark in Tobias’s eye as he studied my reaction and I felt the fear return. I know that look. Tobias has been plotting behind my back and I have an uneasy feeling about that.

  We make our way to the upper deck where Lucian Romano is due to meet us and I watch as Ana walks over to Tobias and his hand slips around her waist and pulls her gently to his side. He leans down and brushes her lips with his and that one soft gesture makes my heart twist with pain. Love. Such a powerful emotion and one that has changed my brother forever. Who wouldn’t want that and it makes it even harder because I had it for the briefest of moments?

  Then we hear footsteps and I spin my glass in my hand nervously as I see Lucian Romano heading toward us looking dark, dangerous and devilish in a black dinner suit with a black silk shirt. His eyes are covered in the blackest of shade and his hair is cut short and makes him look even more menacing, if that’s possible. Tobias greets him and introduces him to Ana and I watch as he kisses her hand gallantly and then he turns to me and I feel the full force of his gaze as it enters my soul and strips it bare. He approaches me and lifts my hand to his lips, saying politely, “Sophia, you look beautiful.”

  I smile and pull my hand away quickly, which doesn’t go unnoticed and his eyes glitter dangerously making me shiver inside.

  Tobias clicks his fingers and the waiter approaches with a silver tray laden with champagne and we help ourselves and take our seats around an impressive dining table set up on the deck like the finest dining there is.

  Ana looks at me sympathetically as I struggle to breathe. Her look is one of pity and I steel myself for what is coming. Surely, he wouldn’t - I thought Tobias was better than this.

  As we eat, the conversation is of everything but business and Lucian appears relaxed in our company, despite being on a rival family’s yacht. I wonder why he’s here and have no appetite for any of the delicious food served to us because it turns to dust in my mouth as I await my fate.

  Only when the brandy and cigars come out, does the air change and Ana start to look worried. Tobias looks at me with a thoughtful expression and then says loudly. “Lucian, we have business to discuss that won’t wait another minute. Have you brought the contracts?”

  Lucian snaps his fingers and one of his men races over and thrusts an envelope in his hands. I think I hold my breath as he removes the papers and hands them to Tobias, who reads through them thoughtfully. We all sit like frozen ice sculptures as we wait for him to absorb the words and then he nods. “It all appears fine. I’ll have my lawyer check them over and sign and return them to you one week from today.”

  Lucian appears pleased and says darkly, “And your end of the bargain?”

  I feel them all stare at me and say roughly, “This had better not concern me.”

  I narrow my eyes and Lucian looks at Tobias and nods. Tobias says in an even tone. “We will let Lucian explain.”

  I feel them all watching me and struggle to breathe as Lucian says darkly, “I have struck a business deal with your brother for a share in your family business.”

  I stare at Tobias in shock and he nods. “Our conversation got me thinking, Sophia and I began to see the sense of it. I contacted Lucian and we agreed on a mutually beneficial deal. As my sister, this of course involves you because you will also stand to benefit from it as part of my family.”

  My mouth goes dry as I say in a whisper, “What’s the deal?”

  “Marriage, Sophia, the same as it always was.”

  I blink back the tears and say roughly, “No.”

  Tobias looks surprised. “Maybe you should hear the details before making a rash statement.”

  Lucian appears to be enjoying himself because he has the look of a hunter towering over the prey he just caught. He leans toward me and his breath fans the flames of anger as he whispers, “Nonna has decided she needs to see the next generation before she gets much older. She has instructed us all to provide her with it as a matter of urgency. That is why I am here, Sophia, to give her what she wants.”

  “How could you?”

  I stand and face my brother with fire in my eyes. “How dare you sign my life away as part of a business deal? I thought you were better than that, Tobias, but obviously not. Well, I won’t do it, do you hear me? I will not agree to anything you say.”

  “Sophia.”

  A soft voice from behind me stops me in my tracks and I spin around as if I’m seeing a ghost.

  “Maverick?” I whisper his name as if he will disappear like a mirage, but he doesn’t. Instead, he moves toward me, looking so fierce it takes my breath away. As I take a step toward him, he does the same and soon I fall into those familiar strong arms that wrap around me and keep the whole world out.

  He leans down and whispers, “I missed you.”

  I squeeze him harder and for a moment, it’s just us, the two of us shutting the whole world away. Then he reluctantly pulls apart and taking my hand, turns to face the people patiently waiting, watching with interest.

  35

  Maverick

  When I saw Sophia, my whole world righted itself and I knew. I love her. The expression on her face told me she feels the same and as I held her in my arms, I knew I had made the right decision. Now I must set the wheels in motion and turn to face our respective brothers.

  I hold out my hand to Tobias. “It’s good to finally meet you, Mr. Moretti.”

  “Tobias, please.” He shakes my hand and I see the curiosity in his eyes as he stares thoughtfully between us. Sophia is looking extremely worried and Lucian laughs. “Can somebody please put that poor girl out of her misery before she passes out?”

  Sophia stares at him in surprise and Tobias growls, “Do you honestly think I was trading you as some kind of breeding mule?”

  She looks surprised. “It certainly felt that way.”

  Tobias looks angry. “No, my business with Lucian concerned a different girl entirely.”

  Lucian nods and I see the smug look of victory in his eyes as he turns to me and gloats. “Tobias had some information we were desperate for and used it to secure our future. We have formed an alliance where one family protects the other. We carry on with business as usual but if anything changes, we give first refusal to the other family. If we are challenged, we come together and face our enemies as one.”

  I look between them and say with interest. “Then the information he has must be very powerful.”

  Tobias nods. “It is.”

  He waves to the seats nearby and as we take them, I pull Sophia close to my side. She fits like a glove as I always knew she would and I hold her hand tightly so she can never escape me again. Tobias remains silent until we have each been served a drink and then, as the waiters head back inside, he says evenly, “When Carlos Toledo died, he had on him some powerful evidence.”

  Sophia stiffens beside me and I squeeze her hand reassuringly. “It was a memory stick that contained information on just about every family in the country. Their secrets and evidence that could blow their operations apart in the wrong hands. It was his intention to use this information to bargain for a place with the strongest family, ensuring his own p
rotection. It didn’t work.”

  Tobias’s eyes glitter dangerously and Sophia shifts nervously in her seat as the tension swirls around us like a choking fog.

  “I have evidence that the Romanos would kill to obtain and so, I have exchanged this in return for an alliance.”

  “So, this was all a lie, the grandchildren, the marriage, what was that all about?”

  Sophia is angry and almost spits her words like venom and Lucian says darkly. “Nobody lied, Sophia. Nonna wants grandchildren more than anything right now and as it turns out, she already has one.”

  My head spins and I say in shock, “Ava?”

  Lucian nods and for a moment we share a look that only we understand. Tobias was right, this is powerful information indeed.

  Lucian carries on in a bitter voice. “He knows where Ava is hiding with Dante’s son. Now we just have to go and fetch them.”

  From the look in his eye, that means trouble along the line and I wonder if Dante knows.

  As if he heard my unspoken question, Lucian shakes his head and I wonder how my brother will react. As if it’s his cue to leave, Lucian stands and says darkly, “I must go. I believe you have something for me.”

  Tobias nods and reaches inside his pocket and draws out a memory stick and hands it to my brother.

  “The information is on here. I copied it from the one Carlos had on him, I hope it helps.”

  Lucian just nods and then turns to Ana and Sophia and bows. “Ladies, if you will excuse me, it has been a pleasure.”

  He shakes Tobias’s hand and whispers something in his ear that makes Tobias nod and I see a smile pass between them that settles my heart. Yes, Lucian may be a bastard, but he’s not stupid enough to look a gift horse in the mouth. He would be wise to keep Tobias close because his future is a deadly one. Then he turns to me and pulls me in for a hug, whispering, “Don’t be a stranger, Lorenzo.”

  Then he leaves without a backward glance and I watch the usual circus close around him before they disappear into the darkness.

  Tobias turns and smiles. “Maybe now is the time to settle our own family business.”

  He looks at Sophia with a gentle expression and I can tell he loves her a great deal. She is tense and must be wondering what’s happening, and Tobias says in a gruff voice. “I called Maverick and asked him to meet us here for a reason.”

  “You called him?”

  Sophia turns and looks at me in surprise and I nod. “As it happens, I was here anyway, waiting to beg you to come back with me.”

  “But…”

  Sophia is speechless, which causes Tobias to laugh loudly. “That’s something you don’t see very often.”

  Ana nudges him and Tobias leans forward and takes his sister’s hands. “Sophia, you are my sister and the only thing I want is your happiness. I can tell that Maverick makes you happy, but I am in agreement with his grandmother.”

  Sophia looks worried and he smiles sympathetically. “You have just met and yet are prepared to give everything up for love. I called Maverick to give my blessing for you to return with him to the Reapers and take it slowly and discover if this is really what you both want. You will always have a home with me, but it’s time for you to spread your wings and fly. Maverick has also been set free to find himself and both families want this union to work because Maverick’s grandmother sees your union as one of love and wants nothing more than for her grandson to be happy. If he is, she will be happy because she is hoping for a grandchild to care for sooner rather than later.”

  I roll my eyes as Sophia colors up and blushes prettily. Then she turns to me and says shyly, “Is this what you want?”

  “You know it is.” I pull her close and brush my lips against hers and whisper, “I’m taking you home, darlin’.”

  36

  Sophia

  As soon as our business was concluded, Tobias and Ana retired to their cabin, leaving me and Maverick alone for the first time in what feels like a lifetime ago. As we sit wrapped in each other arms, on the deck of the Island Star, with the gentle lap of the waves as the only sound, I can’t quite believe Maverick is here. It’s like the most fabulous dream and I can’t get close enough to him and it appears he feels the same way because he growls, “Never leave me again, Sophia, it hurts too much.”

  “Leave you? I never left willingly. Your grandmother arranged it, telling me that things had changed and you were giving it all up to live with the Reapers. She told me I had no place in that and was being sent back to my brother.”

  I still feel so hurt as the memory of rejection comes back for a visit and Maverick shakes his head angrily. “She had no right to interfere. She wanted to use you to bring me back to the family and when she saw it wouldn’t work, decided to make my life as empty as possible, hoping I would give up and return home. I’ve only just learned that she even changed your number in my phone, which she subsequently had disconnected. She knew that if I had you beside me, I had everything I wanted in the world and I expect she was going to use you in the future to bring me home again.”

  “But why, surely she just wants your happiness?”

  “You forget, Sophia, family is everything to the Romanos and they can’t understand that a member of the family could be happy outside it. Their plan backfired when you said no and I threatened them. This was their Plan B and as it turned out, they got more than they bargained for. Dante’s problem will keep them busy for a while, leaving us to see where we go from here.”

  “Where do you want that to be?”

  I’m almost fearful to ask but have my answer when he kisses me deeply and says roughly, “I want it all, darlin’. Marriage. Babies, a little home set in the grounds of the Rubicon and the odd weekend with the Romanos to keep them sweet. I may have turned my back on my duty, but I will never turn my back on them. They are my blood and this way we get to enjoy all that is good about that, without any of the fucked-up fear that goes with it. We can have it all and exist outside of the darkness and live among honest people who have values that match our own. If you’re up for it, darlin’, I want to do all that with you as my old lady because if I’ve learned anything, it’s that you are the perfect match for me.”

  He crushes my lips to his and there are no more words. It’s actions that count now and it’s time to show him.

  We crash into the cabin that is luckily on the other side of the boat, far enough away from Tobias and Ana not to make an embarrassing conversion at breakfast.

  As soon as we are inside the room, we tear off our clothes with a haste that makes us both laugh as we fall onto the bed and cling to each other as if we’re imprisoned by invisible bonds.

  Maverick is a wild man in every way and tonight is no exception. As he kisses me fiercely, I return it with a passion that surprises me. He tortures my body with kisses and gentle nips and drags his tongue all the way down my thighs, before parting my folds and biting and sucking my clit, causing me to stifle a scream that is threatening to push me over the edge before I’m ready. I shift closer to him and then he takes one of my legs and lifts it high in the air and growls, “I can’t wait another minute.”

  Then he thrusts inside me with an ownership that causes my heart to twist in delicious pleasure as I feel him inside, rocking against me, filling and stretching me until there is nothing left to fill. I groan as I feel him own me, and gasp as he runs his hands over my ass and pulls me harder against him. I grip his balls in a strong, unforgiving grip, reminding him that he’s mine. He grunts and moans my name over and over again and then pulls out as suddenly as he went in, before reaching for a condom from his jeans and tearing it open with his teeth.

  Then he growls, “We’re going to have to either protect you, or book the preacher because I want to fill you completely with everything I have.”

  I smile with an understanding that neither of us are going anywhere anytime soon and this is going to be on repeat for the foreseeable future. It’s as if he chases the last shadow away as my heart fi
lls so full with happiness, I feel as if I’ve been reborn. I’m no longer that frightened controlled princess who fears the world. I own it now because I am free. Released into the unknown with a magnificent warrior by my side. We will be ok. Of that, I am certain.

  For the next two weeks, we make the most of every minute we have on the Island Star. Maverick settles into the family as if he has always been there. He forges a strong bond with Tobias and they have much in common. Ana adores him and we enjoy a leisurely vacation with the family we always will be. I never imagined love would feel like this. We have it all and I never thought I’d say that.

  So, it’s with regret that we reach our final destination because Tobias and Ana will be continuing their travels in Europe and we are returning to start our life at the Rubicon.

  It’s hard to say goodbye to my brother and my much-loved sister-in-law but we do so with the promise of meeting up soon and then head off alone without the usual guards and black cars. Instead, we take a cab to the airport and join the rest of civilization aboard a commercial jet bound for Washington.

  37

  Six Months later

  Maverick

  I can see her in the distance and it strikes me just how well I’ve trained her the past six months. Where it used to be easy to hunt her down, she is now making it increasingly difficult to do. I can tell which way she’s heading though and still have a few tricks left up my sleeve, although that’s a joke because as usual, I’m not wearing any.

  Ducking to the side, I make to head her off via a shortcut I know well and hope she ends up where I want her to be. If she goes off track, everything will be ruined.