Dark Illusion (Famiglia Book 3)

by A. J. Daniels

  After several seconds, he pulls me up with him, making sure my legs are sturdy enough for me to stand on after being bent over for so long. When he’s satisfied I’m not going to collapse, Toni drops to his knees and swallows my entire dick.

  “Fuuck,” I moan, running my hand through his hair. I grip it in my fingers and hold his head in place while I fuck his hot mouth. “Toni,” I warn, trying to pull him off when I feel my balls start to draw up, but he shakes his head and continues to deep throat me, swallowing everything I give him when I come like a flood.

  My heart is racing a mile a minute and I’m breathing so heavily that I have to take a moment and lean against the bench he just fucked me on not too long ago. He stands and kisses me. I groan when I taste myself on his tongue and pull him in closer to deepen the kiss. My hands, cupping his naked ass.

  “You okay?” Toni asks, resting his forehead against mine.

  “Better than okay,” I sigh, happily. “We can definitely do that again.”

  He laughs, “God, I love you, Kai.”

  “Good, cause you’re stuck with me,” I grin, moving out of the way when he goes to swat at me playfully. “I love you too, Antonio.”

  Christmas

  Kai

  “WHAT THE HELL, woman!” Braxton exclaims, retreating his hand away from the platter filled to the brim with freshly baked Christmas desserts.

  “Those aren’t for you. They’re for the kids,” Klara answers with a stern look at her husband.

  “That means you too, Alex,” Jessica chimes in, handing her husband their newest bundle of joy while he visibly pouts and eyes up the baked treats. The two had been on the adoption list for a long time and were finally able to adopt a baby boy and his older brother last week.

  It’s still hard to believe that this family welcomed me into their fold with open arms, especially after the stress Antonio faced of not knowing if he would be accepted or killed for his sexuality. Turns out Braxton and Alessandro had a feeling all along that Antonio was different but were waiting for him to come to them. They were understandably hurt when years went by and he still chose to hide it from them. They have all been friends since childhood, and the knowledge that Antonio hadn’t trusted the two of them with the most important thing in his life cut deeply. Not to mention that it turns out both Stefan and Alessandro are bisexual.

  After they rescued me from Trick, the three of them locked themselves in Braxton’s home gym and didn’t emerge until they had settled the tension between them. Although, neither one of them emerged unscathed. They all sported bloody lips and darkening bruises when they came out of the gym, Alessandro sporting less damage than the others. That didn’t surprise me, the man is a beast.

  Strong arms wrap around me from behind and pull me back against a hard chest, a small sigh of contentment escapes my lips.

  “Can we get out of here yet?” Toni says, his lips brushing against the shell of my ear making me shiver.

  “No.”

  “Are you sure?” he asks, punctuating it with a press of his impressive bulge against my ass.

  “Toni,” I groan. “There are children.”

  Just as the words leave my lips, little Lily De Luca saunters over to Toni and without a word, reaches her arms in expectation of being lifted up.

  With an exasperated sigh, he lifts the little girl up and settles her on his hip. The big baby acts like it’s such a chore to have her follow him around and want him to pick her up, but I can tell he secretly loves it. Whenever she goes to Alessandro or Mason, Toni gets a little wrinkle in his forehead from scowling at the other two men for stealing his girl, as he so puts it. Lily has those suckers wrapped around her finger so tightly.

  “What’s up buttercup?” Toni asks Lily.

  Her big, blue eyes dart to me. Her nose scrunching up before she turns her attention back on Toni, grabs his face between her small hands, and pulls, forcing him to bend his head so that she can whisper in his ear. My curiosity is piqued but I’m on the other side of him and can’t hear a word, which is surprising since Lily hadn’t perfected the art of whispering the last time I saw her.

  When she pulls back to study his face, Toni’s eyes dart from the little girl in his arms to me and back again. He shakes his head and then whispers something to her before setting her down on her feet. I watch as she runs out of the kitchen leaving the adults alone again, except for baby Cameron and his brother, Cooper, who continues to hover protectively over his baby brother.

  Toni has told me a little about what the brothers lives were like before being dumped into the system and then adopted by Alessandro and Jessika. My heart breaks for the two boys. Especially Cooper. Barely eight years old and was forced to take care of a three-month-old. I can’t imagine what the boy had to go through.

  A minute later, Toni intertwines his fingers with mine, tugging me along with him as he heads for the back door.

  “Take a walk with me.”

  Not really sure what he means, since the backyard is fenced off with a gate leading to the walking trails behind Braxton’s house, I follow him anyway. Pulling my sweater closed and wrapping my arms around myself as the cold December hits my exposed skin.

  “Shit. I should’ve grabbed your jacket. One second,” Toni says, already turning to head back into the house.

  Reaching out, I grip his wrist to stop him. “I’m okay. It’s actually not as bad as I thought it was going to be.”

  Toni narrows his eyes at me, trying to assess whether I’m lying or not but then he relaxes and pulls me into his side as he leads us farther into the backyard. It’s dark, but I’m not worried about tripping over toys with Toni leading me. Plus, it’s easier to see the city lights from up here without any lights on in the backyard.

  “I could get used to this view,” I say, as Toni maneuvers me in front of him and wraps his arms around me again, resting his chin on my shoulder.

  “This view is the reason Braxton bought the house,” Toni says, the warmth of his breath against my ear sending shivers down my spine and causing me to snuggle back into him more.

  Silence descends on us for a while as we both take in the lights of Toronto below us, and when it starts to lightly snow I don’t think this night could get any more perfect.

  “Do you love me?” Toni asks, surprising me.

  I twist my neck around just enough to place a kiss along his jaw. His arms tighten around me when I answer.

  “You know I do.”

  “Good,” he says.

  Then there’s a sudden cold breeze against my back. When I turn around to ask him what’s wrong, he’s no longer standing behind me. Instead, Toni is down on one knee in the snow, ring box in hand.

  “Kai Black, you came into my life like a tsunami. Before you, I had no idea what life could be like and how much I was missing out on by denying who I was, but now I can’t possibly picture my life without you in it. I’m not perfect, Kai. I’ll screw up and there’ll be days that you’ll want to kill me.”

  I laugh.

  “But I love you, Kai. I want to marry you, raise a family, and grow old with you. Will you marry me?”

  It doesn’t escape my notice that he used my exact words from the painful day in his condo when I made the decision to walk away from him. My eyes swell with tears at the realization that this man is choosing me. I nod a yes and hold out my hand for Toni to slip the simple, white gold band on my finger before I’m tackling him to the cold, wet ground. Toni plants a kiss on my lips that makes my toes curl seconds before we’re bathed in a soft yellow glow of fairy-lights strung up all over the backyard.

  “I love you Antonio Moretti.”

  ***

  “What were you and Lily whispering about in the kitchen earlier?” I ask, after we’ve devoured a delicious Christmas dinner of turkey, mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, seasoned carrots, and other vegetables.

  I also can’t forget the pumpkin and apple pies made by Klara and Braxton’s mother. Toni and I are snuggled up on the lar
ge sofa while Lily plops herself half on top of Cooper, handing him a wrapped present before proceeding to open the last of her own presents. The shocked look on Cooper’s face as he stares down at the gift with his name on it makes me want to pull him into a hug and tell him that everything’s going to be okay now.

  Toni laughs. “She was asking me if it was time to turn on the pretty lights in the backyard.”

  “So then why was she scowling at me like I had done something wrong?”

  His body shakes with barely containe laughter while Braxton and Alessandro snort from their spots next to their wives. Cameron is asleep cradled in his father’s arms.

  “Because I told her it was because of you that she had to wait.”

  “You bastard! You threw me under the bus.”

  He shrugs, “I couldn’t stand to see her upset.”

  “She’s four.” I glare at him, already plotting out my revenge.

  “Exactly! You try saying no to a four-year-old.”

  I turn my gaze on Klara and Jessika who are rolling their eyes at Toni’s declaration. “Is it too late to trade him in?”

  The two women sigh, each looking at their husbands. “Afraid so,” they both say with a pout, but unable to conceal the twitch in their lips or the love that’s as clear as a summer’s day in their eyes.

  Toni pulls me in tighter to his side. “No, can do. You’re stuck with me now. No returns.”

  “But --”

  “Nope.”

  “Well,” I sigh. “Then I guess you’ll just have to take me home and convince me to keep you around.” I waggle my eyebrows at him.

  Toni shoots off the couch, grabs my hand, and pulls me up with him before I do a face dive on the floor.

  “Merry Christmas,” he calls to everyone, leading me to the front door. A chorus of hoots and hollers follows us out the door.

  There is definitely no illusion about what will be happening once we get home.

  I fell in love like the crest of a wave approaching the shore. It was fast and intense, it knocked me on my ass, and tilted my world on its axis, but as I look across the console to the man who holds my heart, I know I wouldn’t change a second of it because it all led me here.

  THE END

  Jeff – My rock. I wouldn’t have it through the last several months of school and finishing this book if it weren’t for you. I love you to infinity and beyond, babe.

  Bestie – You and I are doing Vegas together next year, no excuses haha

  Golden – You amaze me every day with your talent and genuine kindness. Thank you so much for this shot of Michael. He captures Antonio perfectly.

  Michael – Thank you for helping me choose an image. I hope we get to work together on another cover soon!

  JM – Another cover! Haha I love your face! Thank you so much.

  Nicole – Thank you for kicking my butt into gear when I thought I had lost all motivation. Seriously, if it weren’t for you I don’t think this book would’ve gotten finished. Thank you for everything you do for me and the group.

  Jackie – Antonio and Kai are finally here! Thank you for being my cheerleader while I was writing this book.

  Joanne – I wasn’t kidding, you really do deserve a medal haha Thank you for working on this with me and for all your feedback and hard work.

  The Naughty Angels group – I hope you enjoyed Antonio and Kai’s story as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much for your patience during this journey and for your love of my books.

  Victoria and Lauren – My tribe. You ladies keep me going when I feel like giving up. Your love for these two is amazing. Thank you.

  A.J. lives in BC, Canada with her husband. When she’s not writing or working away on her TBR pile, she’s studying psychology at the University of British Columbia or enjoying a glass of wine with her friends.

  Connect with A.J.

  Facebook: facebook.com/adanielsauthor

  Reader Group: A.J.’s Naughty Angels

  Famiglia Spoiler Group: A.J.’s Famiglia Spoiler Room

  Instagram: @a.j_daniels_author

  Twitter: @AJDanielsAuthor

  Website: authorajdaniels.wordpress.com

  Famiglia series

  Dark Desire (Klara and Braxton)

  Dark Betrayal (Jessika and Alessandro)

  Deadly Intentions (Jessika and Alessandro novella)

  Dark Illusion (Antonio and Kai)

  Dark Redemption (? and Mason) *Coming 2019

  Behind These Eyes series

  Skin Deep

  Piece of Me *No longer available

  Always You

  Dark Redemption

  Prologue

  Everything about that day was perfect.

  She was a vision in white, her blonde hair falling in loose curls down her back, the blue in her eyes stood out even more against the black mascara coating her lashes, as she walked down the aisle with her cousin at her side, standing in for the father she lost too soon. The white angel lights wrapped around various trees lending the perfect amount of light as the sun set behind the Pastor. Guests in attendance already dabbing at their eyes as she walked passed them.

  It wasn’t a big affair, she never did like being the center of attention. Hated it actually. But I could tell that the feeling of being the center of attention held no weight today as she clung to the inside of her cousin’s elbow and got her first full look at her groom.

  Everything about that day was perfect. The only thing that would’ve made the day any better was if it had been me she was walking towards. If it was me waiting for her at the end of that aisle. It could’ve been. It should’ve been, but I was a coward, and now the one woman I’ve loved above all is about to pledge her life, till death do them part, to the love of her life. I slip out the back once she reaches the top of the aisle and turns to the man worthy of her.

  And it wasn’t me.