MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!! (It's basically Christmas already, right?!?!?!?)
What's everyone looking forward to for Christmas or the holiday break???? :)
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Lucius arrived at my house at eleven AM sharp. I sat at the bottom step of my stairs inside my house with my head in my hands for a few minutes, reading this whole thing.
Lucius made a point to slam down on the horn. Looked like someone didn't want to be stood up.
"Korinna, I think Lucius is here!" Gemma shouted from the kitchen, before entering the foyer with a plate of wrapped cookies. "Here, make sure his family gets these. And don't forget to watch how that storm develops tonight, alright?"
"I will, I will." I kissed her cheek. "I'll text you when I'm coming home."
Gathering my tote bag and headed out the door.
Lucius was leaning against the hood of his car with his one hand clasping his opposite wrist, looking like the impatient skull crusher that he was. His hazel eyes drifted over my outfit, and I could see the approval in them. I was wearing the dress he had picked out for me with the matching jacket, paired with my own knee-high boots and a winter coat.
"Buongiorno," Lucius greeted, opening the passenger door for me. Good morning.
"Whatever."
I slid into the car and shut the door before he could. Bitch.
Okay, so I was feeling extra salty and moody that morning, but can you blame me? Things were moving too fast with this whole arranged marriage thing, and with meeting his family now and feeling manipulated day in and day out by this stupid stronzo. And I was getting a little sick and tired of him getting the upper hand over me.
Two-hundred thousand dollars for a year of dealing with him? Give me a break. He deserved to suffer from this. I'd get that one million of it was the last thing I did.
While Lucius walked around the front of the car to the driver's, I smiled to myself as I set my tote down on the floor of the car and placed both of my thermos in his cupholders.
Lucius ducked into his vehicle, his hazel eyes immediately snagging on the pink strawberry scented car freshener on his rear-view mirror. Then he stared down at my pink and silver sparkly thermos in-between our seats.
I fluttered my lashes. "Something the matter, pumpkin?"
"Are you high?" he snarled.
"No, but clearly you are, because it smells like skunk in here."
"No way, I haven't smoked today and never would in my car." He motioned to the thermos. "What the hell are these?"
"They're thermos," I said, saying my words real slow, as if talking to an idiot, but still maintaining my sugary sweet voice. "One is for my coffee, and one is for my water. Hydration is kind of a necessity for the human body."
"Coffee is a diuretic."
"Your face is a diuretic."
He just glared at me.
I popped open his glove box and pretended to leaf through it. "Hmm, boring. I was hoping for something interesting in here––"
Lucius reached over and slammed it shut, nearly catching my hand. "Don't go through my shit."
I spiked fingers through his thick hair as before he could lean back into his seat, making him pause. His hazel eyes connected with mine as I raked my hand through his hair, before falling to my lips, which I'd made look extra plump and glossy today.
Despite my best efforts to act overconfident, my heart skipped a beat. Not only was his hair softer than I remembered, but I could see his black eye was nastier looking today with darker discoloration, and once again wondered how he had gotten it.
But that was none of my business.
I sat back in my seat. I could still feel his stare on the side of my face, and my whole body felt touched by a live wire. Pulling my attention back into my little charade, I took out my makeup bag, dumping some of its contents on his dashboard, before applying a little more mascara to my lashes. I could feel his eyes still on me the entire time, and he kept the car in park.
"What are you doing, princepessa?" Lucius asked quietly.
"Waiting for you to drive, why?" I sniffed the air. "God, what is that smell? Is that your cologne?" I reached into my purse and turned to spray a few spritzes of my perfume into his back seat.
Lucius lunged for me. "KORINNA!" he shouted, grabbing the perfume from my hand as he fanned the air of my perfume with a cough. He rolled down his window, shooting me a furious look. "This is an exclusive car!" he raged in Italian.
"Don't you want the smell of me in your car at all times, my love?"
Lucius' head snapped toward me. His eyes drew into slits, and I could see the gears clicking around in his head.
"You should get driving, silly goose." I smiled and patted his gloved hand on the gear shift. "We're going to be late, and I can't wait to meet Mom and Dad."
Lucius slowly turned away from me, like it took every ounce of restraint not to lose his temper. He put on his sunglasses and wrapped his dark grey gloved hand tightly on the steering wheel, slamming his foot down on the gas of the parked vehicle. The loud roar of the revving engine startled me as my seat vibrated hard. I nearly stabbed myself in the eye with my mascara wand at the rush of sensations the vibrations caused between my legs.
I angrily capped my mascara. Stronzo.
Lucius sped through our gated residency, before his temper seemed to even out and he maintained the speed limit. I thought for sure the perfume thing would have made him cancel this whole thing. I bitterly thought that I should have chosen one of my heavier Chanel perfumes.
The La Notte mansion did not disappoint. It was just as glamorous and modern as I imagined it in my head with loads of windows that screamed superiority and more security than a celebrity meets and greet.
Lucius pulled into the circular driveway with a frozen fountain at the center and cut the engine. I collected my tote bag and stuffed my untouched thermos inside and exited the vehicle, but when Lucius came around the car faster and blocked my way with his pantleg.
Lucius towered over me, corralling me back against the car. "Korinna," he said, drawing my name out over his accent in a slow, dangerous way. "Behave."
All he had to say was the one word to sound intimidating. It really was an incredible skill.
Too bad I had a death wish today.
Rubbing my glossed lips together, I stretched onto my tippytoes to place my mouth at the shell of his ear. "You have to pay the piper to get good behavior," I whispered.
I shoved my tote bag into his chest and strut past him with a hum. Right as I reached for the doorbell to the La Notte's house, a doorman opened it for me.
"Oh, how nice." And ostentatious. "Thank you."
Lucius came up behind me as I entered the modern home, and I immediately heard the rhythmic click of heels.
"Ciao, ciao!" An older, refined woman in a long Chanel dress, who I suspected was Lucius' mother, came strutting into the foyer. She air kissed my cheeks, and I imagined she didn't want to smudge her red lipstick. "Gabriella, Lucius' mother."
"You have a lovely home."
"We had it costume made." She pulled back from me a once over. "Bellisima (beautiful)." The compliment fell coldly from her lips, like she felt obligated to say something. She gave Lucius a kiss on the cheek. "Why didn't tell me how gorgeous your friend is, mimmo?" Baby.
I chuckled under my breath at the childish endearment for such a large, masculine man. And then it dawned on me that his mother had called me his friend. Which, technically, I wasn't. I wasn't his girlfriend or his fiancé, either. But the note was taken, especially when Lucius seemed bothered after she'd said it.
The slim and gorgeous brunette behind Gabriella extended her hand. "I'm Carmine. Lucius' sister, and the only La Notte spawn who doesn't have a stamp rewards card for STD testing."
Lucius glared at her. "Carmine."
She shrugged. "What? Am I wrong?"
"Carmine, don't start," his mother scolded, but she didn't seem to care all that much as she fluffed her hair in a mirror in the foyer.
"Is Papà here yet?" Lucius asked, and the next thing I knew, I felt his hand resting on the middle of my back and he pulled me closer. Considering I'd been standing about five feet away and showing no interest in being anywhere near him, it probably was a good idea to keep up this whole facade. "I want him to meet Korinna."
"Unfortunately, business called," Gabriella said, her eyes communicating other things to her son. "He may be late tonight."
Lucius' hand fell away from my back.
Carmine crossed her arms. "It's fucking Thanksgiving. Is this because of her?"
"Carmine," Lucius warned again, a muscle in his jaw pulsing. "I'm sure he'll arrive later this evening."
Gabriella gave him a textbook perfect empathetic look. "I'm sure he will, too." The house phone chimed. "I'll be right back, I'm going to check on the cooks."
Oh. They have chefs making the food. Even though my family was well off too, at least we had a sense of normalcy with a nanny who actually cared about us and homemade foods on the holidays...
Lucius raked his hand through his hair. I could tell this news about his father upset him. At least he wouldn't be smirking at me all day long.
"Where's Matt and Meo?" he demanded to Carmine. I could tell they didn't have the most loving sister-brother relationship. "We have a guest. They should be downstairs."
"They're playing videogames." Carmine said like it was always where they could find them. "Don't bother, they haven't even started getting dressed."
Lucius cursed. "Unbelievable." He stormed to the grand staircase, taking two steps at a time. "Matteo y Bartolomeo! Vieni qui!" Come here!
"Kinda ironic when the black sheep of the family becomes the glue," Carmine sighed, and I realized his sister was just as frigid as Lucius could be. "You smoke?"
"No."
"Ugh, lame," she said, inspecting her nails. "I would have liked to have a smoking buddy..."
"I'll sit outside with you?" I offered reluctantly. Better than standing in the foyer faking small talk with her.
"Perfect." She perked up and strut away in her stilettos. "Hurry, before Lucifer returns."
It wasn't the same when she said it.
Carmine gave me a brief tour through the house as we headed toward the back porch. I'd never seen such an immaculate, showroom looking home, like nothing was supposed to be touched or lived in. It was a little bit sad to imagine a family growing up in here.
We went out onto the back porch. It had an enclosed area with an electric fireplace that acted like a bonfire. I could see out over their covered pool toward a pool house that attached to the U shape of their home.
Carmine took a cigarette and a match out of her bra and lit up. "That's where Lucius sleeps when he stays here," she said, nodding to the pool house across the way. "He renovated it all by himself. I bet his house is going to look even cooler. Not that he'll ever invite me over."
Lucius had a house?
"So, why are you fucking my brother?" Carmine asked.
Her abrasive tone made me feel a little uneasy. "I'm sorry?"
She laughed at my reaction. "You just seem normal is all. I mean, besides your family's whole, you know.... business."
Yep, my father running his own mafia didn't make my family normal.
"Between you and me," Carmine continued, "Lucius hasn't had a serious girlfriend since high school. My father broke them up, too. You know how it is dating under a roof like ours. I'd choose single to shackled to a mafiosi any day of the week, though." She snubbed out her cigarette, and I deeply regretted coming outside with this girl.
"You meet any of his psycho friends yet?" Carmine questioned, completely carrying this conversation.
"He has friends?" That are psycho?
Carmine threw her head back and cackled. "Oh my God, hilarious. Yeah, Lucius somehow has friends."
I leaned back into my chair and folded my arms. "Are they mafiosi?"
"Like he'd ever trust anyone on the outside." She looked over at me. "You don't seem know as much about my brother as I thought you would. Haven't you guys been dating for a few months, even before he made the arrangement with your father?"
I could hear my heart beating in my ears. I hadn't prepared for any sort of interrogation today. "I guess I don't know as much about him as I thought."
"Ignorance is bliss. Or naïve, in your case." She kicked her feet up on an ottoman, and I decided Bianca, Lana, and Anita would hate this girl. "He mentioned you met at a gala or something?"
I felt like a deer caught in headlights. Why the hell wouldn't he have told me any details he told his family?
"That would correct, we met at a gala," I said, rolling the dice. Aka outside my bedroom when I held a gun to his head.
"I couldn't believe it when he told us," Carmine said. "My big brother? Willingly marrying a Romano?" Her tone indicated she didn't believe it for one minute and that, for whatever reason, she looked down at my family. "It's really almost too strange to be true."
I stood up from my chair. "I'm going to head inside. See what Lucius is up to."
"You do that," Carmine said.
What a bitch.
Entering into the house, I strode past the kitchen, passing the kitchen, where they had hired chefs cooking our foot. Having no idea where I was going, I headed down a hallway, when Lucius appeared down the other end.
"There you are." He pulled me aside into spacious piano room. "We can talk in here, there aren't any cameras." He started to say something else, when he leaned in and inhaled me. "Why do you smell like cigarettes?"
"Your sister is sweet as pie," I said.
Lucius didn't even jump to her defense. He just ran his hand over his face, like he was overwhelmed enough for the day already. "What did she say to you?"
"Piece of advice: You're supposed to tell me you gave your family a whole story about us before I get to the house."
Lucius strode to a mini bar and started pouring himself a shot. "I told them we dated on and off for a short while, and we met at some fancy gala. Your father and I met for business, and both of us concluded an arranged marriage might strengthen our business and our trust in one another."
"I see they bought it well," I said sarcastically, thinking about how his mother called my his friend. "Piece of advice, less is more when you lie, stronzo. Of course they didn't buy it."
Lucius seared me a dirty look. "Your pieces of advice can fuck off, Korinna."
"We need to be on the same page," I hissed at him. "Otherwise, this whole thing is for nothing."
Lucius' hazel eyes seared into mine, before lowering briefly to my cleavage. Exhaling slowly, he slid the empty shot glass in his hand toward me and poured us both a shot. I took it as a sign of a brief truce as we both took a shot at the same time. The liquor was so smooth it didn't even burn.
"I'm exhausted," Lucius said in an odd moment of confiding in me. "I can't remember the last time I had a good night sleep."
For a second, I felt a little bad for him, and wondered if he'd slipped something into my drink. I reminded myself that didn't sleep enough because he was too busy doing illegal activities.
"Get another punch to the eye," I said with a shrug. "I'm sure that'll make you go nighty-night for a bit."
His jaw tightened. Lucius vindictively took my shot glasses away and poured two more shots for himself. I watched his throat bob as he swallowed and felt my own throat go dry.
"Easy there, cowboy," I said. "We still have to get through dinner. Wouldn't want you to falling face-first in the mashed potatoes and drowning." I raised a finger. "On second thought...'
"I can hold my liquor," Lucius said, wiping his lips with his thumb. "Considering your little act in the car, I'm astounded you're even concerned about me making mistakes with this. I haven't paid the piper yet, as you put it."
"The way I see it, I'm getting paid my dues, one way or another."
I reeled over my own words. Holy crap, I sounded like a mobster.
Lucius didn't look even slightly intimidated. If anything, he hadn't even heard me, as I caught him leering at my dress again. It was a last-minute decision to wear his gift, but now I felt a little bit embarrassed that I'd caved in. Maybe it was the flash of pride I saw in his hungry eyes as they slid up my knee-high boots before he finally looked up at my face from under his lashes.
Good Lord. That look.
My brain chose that moment to check out Lucius too, like I was sizing up my opponent. He wore tan slacks and a matching suit jacket with a silky black button undershirt underneath. It felt weird to see him without a tie, but he didn't need one to look like he was dripping money from every dangerous pore of his body. The neckline of his shirt was unbuttoned a few notches and the fabric shifted to the side. I could see a hint of black ink on his skin and registered it was a small piece of a tattoo just beneath his collarbone.
Cool and confident, I moved to stand on the other side of Lucius, so now it was him in my spot, leaning back against the mini bar. "You never told me you had a tattoo."
As soon as I'd said it, I'd realized it'd been a stupid thing to say. Of course, he hadn't told me. We weren't friends, or lovers, or anything at all. In my defense, my brain had short-circuited the second I reimagined what lay beneath that shirt.
"You never asked." Lucius had to know how wicked and hot his voice sounded every time it rolled off my name. "I think it's best if you never see them, anyway."
I crossed my arms. "And why's that?"
A slow grin grew on Lucius' mouth, and he laughed. "Because as much as you like to keep up this front, you're a good girl. Plus, you'd feel guilty fucking me and then going back to your little boyfriend. I'll pass on the drama."
Nick wasn't even my boyfriend. He was a guy I'd met once and kept in contact with, and even though I'd told Lucius otherwise, he didn't seem too convinced anymore. In fact, he appeared to be mocking me, and making me sound easy.
"If you think I'd just hop on your itchy cock the second you showed me some prison tattoo, then your ego really is unmatched, stronzo."
"Well, if that's the case," Lucius said, stepping up to me and unbuttoning his silky black shirt a few more notches. "I might as well just show you one right now, yeah?"
He parted the left lapel of his shirt, the edge of the tattoo I'd seen on his collarbone the continuation of a large black and white skull tattoo on his right pectoral. Black dripped from mouth and its jaw like blood, and its eye socks had a menacing tilt to it that made the man in front of me look scarier than he'd ever showed me. My eyes appreciated the strong muscle of the very healthy male beneath the tattoo.
"What do you think?" Lucius asked, his face smug.
"Sophisticated," I said, my voice cracking a little. I cleared my throat. "Did you get that one in the slammer?"
Lucius wiped at the corner of his mouth. "You got a little..."
I quickly wiped at the nonexistent drool he'd pointed out with my sleeve, before glaring up at him. Lucius had a good hard laugh over it.
That is, until his mother cleared her throat.
I startled as I realized Gabriella standing in the doorway of the piano room.
"Fornicating in the piano room." The judgement in her icy voice was enough to spoil milk. "Why am I not surprised?"
I couldn't tell if she was insulting me or him.
"Your father called," Gabriella continued, smoothing out her cream colored skirt. "Unfortunately, he's staying at his hotel tonight and will miss meeting your friend."
What the hell? His father was missing Thanksgiving dinner with his family?
Lucius kept his eyes on his shirt, buttoning the lapels of his shirt back together.
"They're calling for a severe snowstorm later tonight. He thought it was best he stay at his hotel," his mother added. "Lucius, I'm talking to you, mimmo. Please look up."
"I have nothing to say," Lucius said, acting too casual to not be upset. "I hope he enjoys the holiday by himself."
Gabriella's chin lifted, and I thought I saw a flash of feeling behind those cold eyes. "Dinner will be ready in a few hours," she said. "Try to collect yourself before Milana arrives." She turned and left the room.
Lucius held his temper in line for a few more moments, before exploding. "FUCK!" He paced room back and forth like a panther. "He's doing this because of me. He's punishing our whole goddamn family because he hates me."
"I don't understand," I told him. "Does this mean he's onto us? I mean, your whole family is a little skeptical."
"That's because I don't date, but I thought my father would at least try and meet you first. At least the rest of my family showed up.."
"Maybe he really had business to do."
"Give me a break, Korinna, you know that was a bunch of BS." Lucius stood in place, running his hands over his face. "I might as well just take you home and say you're under the weather. You're useless to me without my father around."
I felt an odd pang of in my stomach at his callous words.
Lucius looked over at me like he realized what he said. His head fell back a little. "I didn't mean it like that."
"No, I think you did." And oh, was it a scary reminder how disposable I was to him. I hurried out of the room with every intention of getting my purse from the foyer and call my driver, when a gunshot went off in the house.
***
OOOOOOOOOOOO HO HO HO HO.
SCREAM "PROTECT, ZADDI LA NOTTE!" IF YOU WANT MORE!!!! x)
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