That’s when the door to the bedroom opens with a long squeak. I don’t move. Under him, my eyes widen. With his lips still at my throat, I feel his body give out from above me, and he covers my body with his full weight, sighing into my neck.
A feminine throat clears. “I can see you’re busy, boss man, but it’s like 11:00 a.m. and the old dude who keeps smiling at me silently over the dining room table is starting to freak me out.”
At that, he lifts his head, blinking down at me with his brows low in anger, eyes flashing. Then he whispers, “Fucking, Ling,” and reaches across to pull the covers over our naked bodies.
Completely unbothered by his nudity, he ignores Ling, sliding out of bed, and walks across to the bathroom, closing the door behind him. The shower starts and pulling the sheet tightly across my breasts, I sit up to look over at her in the open doorway. If I’m being honest with myself, I’m fuming on the inside. I hide my anger well when I stare openly at her, and state, “Next time, you’ll knock.”
Her eyes narrow slightly, but she smiles. “Congratulations, Ana.” She raps her nails onto the polished wood of the doorframe, before raising her brows and uttering quietly, “You’re officially one step up on the food chain.”
Something about Ling is so odd, so peculiar, that I’m beginning to feel mildly uncomfortable.
Her lips twitch. “You always get what you want, don’t you, itty bitty pretty one?” She holds me immobile with her intense glare. “But you’ll never appreciate your winnings until you lose.” She straightens, moving to exit. “Prepare yourself.”
As she reaches in to shut the door behind her, I take in her parting words and my mind runs amok.
What the hell is she planning?
Still speculating what Ling meant by what she said, I miss the sound of the shower being turned off, only coming to my senses when Julius opens the bathroom door and steam billows out around his fine, tall frame. Rubbing a towel over his face, he drops it to the ground and catches me watching droplets of water sluice down his chest toward his abs.
I feel no shame, openly exploring him with my eyes. He is mine now.
When he throws the towel around his waist, I look up into his eyes with a soft pout.
He’s not a man of many words, my Julius.
He jerks his head toward the open door behind him, and I take the hint, slipping out of bed with the covers wrapped around me. As I shuffle past him, he hooks his hand around the back of my neck and pulls me close, looking me in the eyes and holding my gaze as he descends, pressing his lips to mine, feather soft. The hand at my neck squeezes as he pulls back, and it makes me realize that sometimes talking is overrated.
He runs his nose up the length of mine, and I close my eyes, taking in his warm affection. “You and me, babe.”
My eyes flutter and I reach up, running my hand over his chest to squeeze his shoulder, breathing out, “Yeah. You and me.”
His hand comes up to tangle in my hair, and he tugs gently, forcing me to expose my neck. “Treat you like a queen.”
And with those words, my body no longer welcoming his kisses, my brain warns me to calm down.
Take it easy. He didn’t know. He doesn’t know.
Gently removing myself from him, I take a step away and dip my chin. “He used to tell me that. He used it against me, that I was going to be his queen and I’d rule beside him.” I bite the inside of my lip, begging my stomach to uncoil. I blink up at him through a frown. “I didn’t want it. I don’t want to be a queen, Julius. Not ever.” My hand comes up to touch his stomach. “I want to be a nobody, a peasant. I just want to live free.” Again, I can see I’ve made him question who I am and what my motives are. But I’m just me, Alejandra Castillo. A woman who has been torn apart more often than put together. My broken shards are yet to be repaired. I’m not even sure they would fit together any longer. I scratch lightly against his abs. “Can you possibly begin to understand that?”
His eyes soften, and his lips twitch as he lets out a rough, “Can’t promise I’ll treat you like a peasant.”
A shocked laugh escapes me. “Yeah, okay, that might’ve been a bad example.”
His lips spread into a smile as his eyes take in my own. “Gorgeous when you don’t, but when you smile, baby…” His eyes shudder, and his fingers come up to tap the spot right over his heart. “Boom.”
I can’t help myself. I cup his cheek and run my thumb over his thick lips. “Same goes, cariño,” I offer gently. “Same goes.”
Turning his face into my hand, he kisses the center of my palm, and my insides swell with warmth, because Julius gives me something I have never had before.
Somebody I could love.
With more effort than I believe I can muster, I playfully push Julius away and, smiling, head into the bathroom to shower.
Ten minutes have passed, and when I step out of the bedroom, showered and dressed in more of Ling’s clothes, I pause in my steps at the sound of a female crying in earnest.
My heart begins to pound in my chest. It must be bad.
It would have to be to make a person like Ling cry like this. I thought her emotionless for the most part.
I hesitate just before the living room and hear Signor Falco speak softly. “Now, now. Don’t cry.” He’s kinder than I remember. “Come sit by me, Miss Ling.”
Huh?
I’m confused.
Why is Signor Falco offering Ling comfort? He doesn’t even know her.
But then, Ling sobs out, “I loved him. I loved him so much.” Her sob turns to a growl. “I would’ve done anything for that piece of shit. And he chose her.”
I step just inside the open doorway to find Ling seated by Signor Falco on the sofa with their backs to me. They haven’t yet heard or seen me. Ling’s hands are being held tightly in Falco’s, with her head is bent in only what can be described as pure anguish.
Julius spots me from his place on the opposite sofa and discreetly shakes his head.
I understand. Ling won’t like me seeing her like this, yet I can’t walk away.
Signor Falco looks from Ling to Julius. “It sounds like my Antonio was more complex than I had imagined.”
“He wasn’t complex at all,” Julius mumbles. “He just knew what he wanted. Didn’t have time for those he didn’t.”
Oh, wow. Ouch.
My chest aches for Ling, although she doesn’t deserve sympathy.
Julius’s insinuation is plain and simple, clear as crystal. Antonio didn’t want Ling.
Ling, too smart to have missed the message, snaps her head up and, with bubbling rage, booms, “He wanted me till she came along! She fucked everything up. And that boy of hers…” Her voice breaks as the anger fades and the sadness seeps into its place. “That beautiful boy of hers. He should’ve been mine. His baby should’ve been mine.” She speaks softly as if talking to herself. “After all the shit I put up with, I earned that baby.” Ling croaks out a furious, “He died because of her.”
“He died for her,” Julius shoots back. “Twitch died for Lexi. He died protecting her. There’s a difference.”
Ling turns to Signor Falco and barks out a harsh laugh. “The men in my company tend to lose their minds over women. In fact, it’s common for their brains to turn to shit. They lose all their sense.” She turns to glare at Julius. “I wouldn’t be surprised if you pulled the same stupid stunt over your new little pet.”
“So what if I did?” he returns, quick as lightning. “What the fuck does it have to do with you?”
“With me?” she squawks in disbelief. “What does it have to do with me?” The croak in her voice is absolutely heartbreaking. “You’re my only friend, you son of a bitch.” Her breath hitches painfully. “You’re all I got. You fucking matter to me.”
As much as I don’t like Ling, that statement tears me apart, and I feel myself soften toward her in a way that could be deadly to me.
“Ling Ling.” I see Julius falter, clearly not expecting that response. It do
esn’t take a genius to see he cares about the poisonous viper in turn.
But Ling sets her anger on someone else. “Where were you?” she utters in deathly calm to Signor Falco. “His mother hated him. His stepfather beat them both. He was just a little boy.” She pulls her hands from his and snarls, “Where were you?”
“I was building an empire. Raising Antonio’s brother. And then I was blessed with a daughter.” Signor Falco sighs audibly. “If I had known…”
Ling stands, glowering down at him. “Well, you didn’t, because he clearly didn’t matter enough to you. You know, not being of the right fucking bloodline and all.”
It’s then that she spots me.
Coming around the sofa, she gets in my face, speaking in lethal serenity. “The fuck are you looking at, skank?”
I remind myself that she’s in pain, grieving for a man she loved all over again, and I can’t seem to get my fight on. Instead, I say quietly and genuinely, “I’m sorry for your loss.”
Her face crumbles and a tear escapes, trailing down her cheek, but Ling has more pride than to let me see her cry. As she passes me, she throws her shoulder into mine, slamming me into the doorframe.
Not surprising. It’s not like I didn’t expect it.
Signor Falco glances over his shoulder and smiles, but it doesn’t reach his eyes. What Ling said is evidently playing on him. Julius motions me in, and I don’t hesitate. When I move to sit beside him, he places his arm around my waist, pulling me onto his lap. With his arms locking me into his tight grasp, I see Signor Falco’s lips twitch, and he utters teasingly, “If this Lexi is anything like Alejandra”—his eyes dance—“well, I suppose I can see why my son would willingly lose his mind for a woman like that.”
Julius nods. “She’s one of a kind.”
“Did…” Signor Falco asks hesitantly, “did he love her?”
“Took a bullet for her,” is all Julius says in response.
This, I interpret as “Of course he loved her.”
Signor Falco nods then smiles. “And I have a grandson?”
Julius’s arms tighten around me for a single moment before he loosens his hold, and his voice holds much affection when he speaks. “Yeah. He was named for his daddy and godfather. Antonio Julius Falco. We call him AJ. He’s four and smart as a whip.”
“Well, isn’t that something.” Signor Falco smiles, but it wobbles, and his eyes shine. “Antonio Falco the third.”
A thoughtful silence follows.
It doesn’t last too long, and Julius is the one to break it. “Give me some time. I can talk to Lexi. See how she feels about you meeting your grandson. I’m sure she’d love to meet you.”
“Oh no,” Signor Falco states with a shake of his head. “I couldn’t ask you to do that. You’d have to tell her how I gave my son up. She’d likely not want anything to do with me or her son.”
Julius rests his hand on my knee. “You don’t know Lexi. She’s good people. Let me talk to her.”
Avoiding the offer, Signor Falco looks to me. “I spoke to Manda last night.” My heart races in interest. “She’s glad you’re okay.” Looking from me to Julius, he says in way of question, “She would like to see Alejandra for herself, make sure she’s safe.”
My heart stutters in excitement as I snap my face down to look at Julius, hoping the answer will be the one I wish for.
He looks to me. “Do you want to see your friend?”
Oh my God.
Not even able to speak, my lips tremble as I mouth, “Yes.”
“I see no problem with that.” He looks to Falco with a nod. “Set it up.”
If this is some sort of sick joke, I will never forgive him. But I just can’t see Julius doing something so cruel.
My thanks comes in the form of me wrapping my arms around his neck and burying my face into his flesh, breathing him in, pressing myself into him. Julius accepts my regard with a gentle hand running up and down my back soothingly.
“Now,” Signor Falco utters. “What are we going to do about this situation of yours?”
Lifting me easily, Julius takes something out of his back pocket and hands it to the older man. I lift my head and sit quietly as Signor Falco reads from the paper.
Julius mutters distantly, “Spread the word.”
Although he nods, Signor Falco looks at me with a frown and explains, “I will do my best, but it might be hard for me to explain, considering Alejandra’s first husband was only buried four days ago.”
First husband?
What?
Standing on weak legs, I escape from Julius’s hold and, with a pale face, snatch the piece of paper from Signor Falco, reading in silence.
And my stomach turns.
Blinking up at Julius, I rasp, “We’re married?”
I am prepared for this.
I’m not fool enough to believe Alejandra will be pleased. Rather, I know she is going to be furious. If I could explain it to her, make her see this is vital, she will come around. Truthfully, even if she doesn’t accept it, I won’t give a rat’s ass.
If she expects me to feel bad or sorry for manipulating a situation to my advantage, our advantage, she’s got another thing coming. That’s what good businessmen do. They take a shitty situation and find a way to profit from it.
Looking more than beautiful in her current state of fury, I realize I want to be alone with her. I turn to Antonio Falco Senior and mutter, “You should go.”
He glances from Alejandra to me, and he nods in agreement. “Yes, I should.” Alejandra doesn’t move a muscle as Falco places an arm around her and presses a chaste kiss to her temple. “I’ll call to let you know when Manda can make it down.” He glances back at me. “I’ll see myself out. Keep in touch.”
I hear what he says, but I can’t take my eyes off Alejandra. She’s going to lose her shit at any moment, and it’s not something I want to miss. Behind my closed zipper, my dick twitches.
There is something about a woman with attitude, a woman who needed to be calmed, tamed, that is so goddamn sexy I can’t look away.
The moment she hears the front door open then close, her head snaps up from its submissive stance and her eyes flash. “How long?”
It would be stupid to play games with her right now. Without an ounce of emotion, I state, “Two days after you fell into my lap.”
She blinks up at me, her face softening but only slightly. I’m betting she wasn’t expecting that answer. “I—” She stumbles across her words. “How? Why? I mean, it’s not real or anything.”
I hold my hand out to her, hoping she’ll come to me. Part of me wonders if she’ll leave and go her own way. That same part of me wonders if she’s stupid enough to believe I’ll let her go.
With the previous relationship of hers, the only relationship she had, I’m betting on her being too scared to leave, which definitely has its advantages. I don’t necessarily like it, but it does hold some sway over how real her reaction will be when I do what I have to do.
My gut clenches at the thought of leaving her, even for a day, but I have to do what I can to tame this situation and blow the sharks from the water. Some risks are worth the gain. I’m hoping this one will be.
She doesn’t come to me, and I don’t show how much that bothers me. I drop my hand with a soft sigh and tell her how it’s going to be. “I had a feeling about you, that you had your reasons for doing what you did. I’m not going to lie. I wanted you, even after you fed me to the dogs. I decided to prepare plans A through to Z if I was going to keep you safe, baby. Simple as that. I went through a guy I know, does these things quick. Charged an exorbitant amount, but that stamp there makes it official, and official costs. Before you say anything else about it not being real”—I hold her eyes—“in the eyes on the law, you are now Mrs. Julius Carter. That’s as real as it’s going to get.” Just because I love the angry flush on her cheeks, I add a deadpan, “C’mon, Ana. I can’t possibly be as bad a husband as your first.”
H
er eyes narrow at me and her lips thin in irritation. But before I can enjoy the annoyance I’ve caused, she throws a spanner in the works by nodding sadly and agreeing in agonizing melancholy, “No. I suppose you’re right.”
Nope. I don’t like this Alejandra.
This Alejandra is the woman Dino fashioned, the woman who was beaten into the mold he set.
I like my Alejandra irate, irritated and real, with emotion in her eyes and a goddamn backbone.
Shaking my head, I close my eyes. “That won’t do, Ana.” When she looks over at me, her pretty doe eyes hold little to no light. “Listen to me, young sparrow. I’m not him. I won’t hurt you for saying the wrong thing. I might get mad and we might argue sometimes, but all that means is that when I fuck you later that night, I’m going to be rougher than I ought to. When it’s done, it’s done. Over with. I’ve only got two rules. We don’t sleep apart and we don’t go to bed angry in this house. We kiss and make up, whether our pride wants us to or not.” Her eyes wide in disbelief, I add, “I’m not sorry for taking the decision out of your hands, baby. You’re my wife. We’re a team. And you’re exactly where I want you. By my side.”
She takes a cautious step closer to me, and some of the warmth in her eyes returns as she mutters, “I don’t think I’ve ever heard you say so many things all in a row.” Her lips lift at the corner, and she’s dangerously close to smiling. “I kind of liked it, the whole talking thing.”
My face dips and I suppress the sigh of relief, instead laughing silently. I didn’t expect to get off so easily. Lifting my hand past my lowered face, I absently rub at the back of my neck and reveal, “Yeah, well, you better get used to it, because I only talk to people worth talking to.” The implication is there and completely true. From this moment on, this woman will be my world.
I don’t think she understands what that means or the lengths I will go to keep her safe. Not yet, but she will.
I take a quick peek at her to find her standing in front of me, her face soft in thought. “Okay.” She approaches the single step it takes to reach me, taking my hand and holding it tight. “Okay. So what’s the plan? What do we do about Gio?”