My Brother's Five Friends Page 39

  I carried the box to where she was pointing, and a tired-looking guy took it from me and loaded it in .

  My childhood home was in chaos. Two trucks were parked out front and men I’d never seen before were crawling in and out, carrying things and loading them into the trucks. I watched as two men carefully hoisted my dresser up into the back of a truck .

  Meanwhile, my mother was guiding the whole affair with the precision of a military commander. She was directing, commanding, and yelling, all while managing to make the poor movers’ lives more difficult .

  And I didn’t know anything about it. She told me she had sold it, but not that she hadn’t moved out of it yet. Of course she chose the day I was coming home to get it finished when she probably had weeks, or maybe even months .

  “Mom,” I said to her, “why are you doing this today? You knew I was coming home, right ?”

  She gave me a haggard smile. “Yes, sweetie, I know. But this all happened so fast, and the buyer wants to move in tomorrow. So here we are .”

  I sighed. “And all my stuff ?”

  “Sweetie, you’re going to love the new house. It’s absolutely enormous, and the grounds are incredible .”

  I knew that arguing or complaining was going to get me nowhere. She quickly moved away, already harping on a pair of movers that weren’t treating her precious coffee table with enough respect .

  I couldn’t imagine where we’d be keeping all of our stuff. Probably in some storage shed in a barn out back behind the main house. From what I could tell, I was moving into this enormous mansion, an absurdly expensive piece of property with pretty much every amenity I could ever imagine .

  And I hated it. I hated that my mother had made this decision for me, and I hated that she had waited until the last possible moment to do the move. At least the guys that had picked me up from the airport were nice, even though they had instructions to drop me off with my mother .

  Apparently we were supposed to head to the grounds together to get “checked in” or something like that. It seemed incredibly strange, but I was going with everything for the time being .

  Frankly, I had nowhere else to stay .

  The day moved on like that as the trucks slowly filled up. I helped out where I could, but mostly I just stayed out of everyone’s way. Mother was bossy enough, and the guys didn’t need another distraction .

  Finally, the trucks were packed. I was basically thrown into the back of a black SUV, my bags taken from me and stowed somewhere else. “You won’t need these,” the guy said as he carried them off .

  What the hell was happening to me ?

  “Are you ready, ma’am?” our driver asked my mother as she climbed in next to me .

  “Yes. Let’s head out .”

  “Great.” He pulled out into traffic, and the two trucks followed close by .

  “Mom, why didn’t you tell me about any of this?” I asked her, finally ready to go on the offensive .

  She shook her head. “I know, I’m an awful mother. But listen to me.” She took my hand and looked more serious than I had ever seen her before. “This is a great opportunity for both of us. Arturo can take care of you and me. He’s a wonderful man .”

  “I don’t know him,” I said. “And why do we have to get ‘checked in’ or whatever ?”

  “Well, he runs a very strict household. Lots of security .”

  “Why?”

  She looked at me dubiously. “You don’t know ?”

  I shook my head. “What the hell is happening, Mom ?”

  She glanced at the driver and then back at me and quickly plastered a smile on her face. “Nothing. Nothing at all. We’re just moving into our new home. You’re going to love it, I promise .”

  I could tell I wasn’t going to get anywhere new with her. The fake smile was there, which meant she was ready to act however she needed to get through the conversation .

  I wanted to throw her out of the moving car. Instead, I put on my headphones and listened to music as we drove through the city, out toward my new home .

  It felt like my whole life had shifted. Lucas kept breaking into my thoughts, despite the huge stress I was under. I kept thinking about his delicious cocky grin, his taste, his hands on my body. I kept thinking about the way he made me feel .

  He made me ravenous and starving for more. And that scared me. It scared me that I had gone through the wedding ceremony with him, and it scared me that I couldn’t wait for him to peel off my clothes and to fuck me absolutely senseless .

  I always had control of myself. I tried very hard to be the opposite of my mother in almost every way imaginable. But around Lucas I’d felt myself acting totally outside myself, like I almost wasn’t in control anymore .

  And it had felt really, really good. That was what scared me the most .

  The city slipped past the window, and the tight streets turned into wider avenues as we transitioned into the suburbs. It took about forty minutes to get out of the city, and another ten before we were finally at the absurdly ornate gates of the house .

  The car stopped in front of a guard booth. I’d never seen one outside a residential home before, but there it was. The driver had a brief conversation, and then we were waved inside .

  My mouth hung open as we wound up along the driveway. Manicured lawns, croquet courts, fountains, beautiful trees and flowers and bushes, and the house itself. It was all enormous, incredible, amazing. I’d never seen anything so expensive and beautiful in my whole life, even back when my mother hadn’t spent all of my father’s fortune yet .

  We stopped outside a small wing of the house, and the driver climbed out. He opened my door. “If you’ll follow me, ladies .”

  We got out and walked behind him. I couldn’t help but look around .

  “Where is Arturo?” Mom asked the driver .

  “Mister Barone will be here shortly,” he said. “I’m supposed to get you two situated first .”

  Barone? Why did that name sound so familiar? I didn’t have time to think too much about it since I was too busy gaping around me .

  We were led inside the house. It was richly decorated with plush rugs, statues, lovely plants, and paintings that were each probably worth more than my entire wardrobe. We followed the driver into a small side room, where he sat down at a desk .

  “Okay,” he said, “have a seat. I’m going to go over the grounds with you, make you both have badges so you can get in and out easily, and basically answer any questions you may have .”

  What followed was one of the most surreal experiences of my life .

  It was like an orientation at a hotel resort. The driver, whose name turned out to be Franklin, explained all about the grounds. He showed us a map and pointed out the pool, the hiking trails, the horse stables, the animal barns, the grape vineyard, the hedge maze, and much more. He printed us both plastic cards that would unlock any doors and said that if a door didn’t unlock, it was considered off-limits .

  Mother didn’t seem to bat an eye at the off-limits comment, but that struck me. What sort of businessman had off-limits parts of his home, especially for his new stepdaughter and his new wife? It seemed strange, but no stranger than anything else .

  After maybe a half hour, Franklin finished our little orientation. He asked if we had any questions, but I was far too overwhelmed to ask any .

  “Okay,” he said, standing. “Follow me. Mister Barone and his son are waiting to greet you .”

  We followed him out into the hallway. I could tell that Mother was practically bubbling with nervous energy. She kept fixing her hair and nervously playing with the hem of her expensive and revealing dress. Meanwhile, I felt mainly dread and awe, in that order .

  Franklin took us down a series of hallways that made no sense to me, and by the time he knocked on an ornate wooden door, I was completely lost .

  “Enter,” someone said from inside .

  Franklin opened the door. “Go ahead in. I’ll be out here if any of you needs
anything .”

  “Thank you Franklin, dear,” Mother said .

  He smiled at her. I noticed for the first time that Franklin was actually pretty young. In the car I had assumed he was an older guy, but he had a baby face up close. I didn’t have time to dwell on that, as Mother swept me into the room .

  What I saw next nearly put me on the ground .

  Sitting behind a large, oak desk was an older man. He was older than Mother by a few years, but he seemed fit regardless. His dark hair we thinning but cropped short, and although he was certainly soft in the middle, he held his weight like he was once a football player. He stood up, smiling. His suit was expensive and fit him well .

  “Ladies, welcome .”

  “Arturo!” Mother said, walking toward him. He came out from behind the desk and they kissed .

  But that wasn’t what had my full attention .

  No, it was the grinning bastard standing next to the desk .

  He was as handsome as I remembered, if not more so. Everything that had happened the night before came flooding back to me in that moment as his cocky grin burned right into my face .

  Lucas Barone. The man from the night before. The man I had married on a whim. The man I had been thinking about nonstop since I’d laid eyes on him .

  “Lucas,” Arturo said, “this is your new stepsister, Natalie .”

  “Natalie,” he said, his smile delicious and so infuriating. “It’s lovely to meet you .”

  My jaw dropped .

  What was I supposed to say ?

  There were no words. My emotions were a bomb inside me, a roiling mess of conflicting desires .

  I wanted to slap him. I wanted to scream at him. I wanted to strip him down and finally feel his hard cock between my legs .

  I was so fucked, so deeply screwed .

  Instead of doing any of that, I turned and left, slamming the door behind me .

  6

  Lucas

  I watched, unable to hide my amusement, as my wife stormed out of my father’s office .

  Arturo and Camille looked confused, and I couldn’t help but laugh .

  “What’s funny?” Arturo asked, annoyed. “That’s your stepsister .”

  “I know that, Father .”

  “Well, if she’s uncomfortable, make it right .”

  I nodded, grinning like mad, which only served to piss Arturo off even more .

  “And don’t forget what I said to you the other day,” he added. “Settle down or else .”

  Camille looked at him. “What do you mean? Lucas seems like such a sweet boy .”

  If only you knew, tramp, I thought to myself as I walked past them .

  “Nothing, darling,” Arturo said. “Now, let’s talk about our plans for later . . .”

  I left the room, not interested in listening to some inane discussion of their celebration feast or whatever they had planned .

  I jogged up ahead, turning right at the hall, and stopped as I saw Natalie leaning up against a wall, looking down at her phone .

  “Hey, sis,” I said to her as I approached .

  Her head snapped up. Her expression was pure hatred and anger, and it almost made my cock hard. I loved how strong-willed she was, how interesting and smart. It was dangerous, but I wanted so badly to tame her .

  “You knew,” she said softly .

  I held up my hands. “I promise that I didn’t .”

  “You knew. You had to have known. That was why you picked me, why you wanted to marry me. It was all some elaborate prank .”

  I couldn’t stop myself from grinning hugely at her, which only made her even angrier .

  “This isn’t a joke,” she snapped .

  “I know, I know,” I said. “Look, I promise I didn’t know who you were. Truthfully, I only found out about your mom and my dad yesterday, just before I left for Vegas .”

  “So you did know.” Pure disgust. I wanted to tip her head back and bite her lip, press her up against the hardwood door and slip my fingers down against her tight cunt. I wanted to make her say my name .

  “I knew about your mom but not about you .”

  She bit her lip. “I don’t believe you .”

  “Nat, why would I marry my stepsister? Do you have any clue how dangerous this is ?”

  She cocked her head, suddenly unsure. “Why would it be dangerous ?”

  “You don’t know what we do,” I said softly, laughing. “You haven’t heard of my family .”

  Uncertainty passed across her expression, and I knew it was the truth .

  The Barones weren’t exactly famous, or at least not famous in the conventional sense. But if you had any money or power in the Chicago area, or really anywhere, you had likely heard our names whispered in some dark corners. We worked hard to keep our name out of the national media, and so it didn’t surprise me that Nat had no clue who we were. But still, it was almost adorable how naïve she was .

  “Mom said your dad was a businessman,” she said after a second .

  “He is, in some ways.” I leaned up against the wall next to her. “But you have to be wondering about all the security .”

  “I thought it was weird .”

  I cocked my head at her. “Do you want to know what you’re mother dragged you into ?”

  “Not really,” she said, breathless, “but tell me anyway .”

  “The Barones are mafia, sis. Old, powerful mafia.” I paused, grinning hugely. “Welcome to the mob .”

  She stared at me for a second and then began to laugh. “Yeah, right. Come on .”

  I smirked, shrugging. “It’s the truth. You’re part of the family now, in more ways than one, so you have a right to know .”

  “You have to be joking .”

  “Wish I were, sis. But the truth is, we’re all a bunch of violent fucking criminals around here .”

  I loved watching the tiny little crack in her certainty begin to spread as she realized that I wasn’t making a joke. Finally, she looked completely defeated .

  “This is crazy,” she mumbled .

  “Now you understand why it’s so dangerous ?”

  She looked up at me fiercely. “Now I understand why you’re such a jerk at least .”

  I moved closer to her, touching her hair. She didn’t flinch or move away. “Come on, Nat. I had a good reason for marrying you last night, and it had nothing to do with your mother .”

  “What reason?” Her lips were slightly parted .

  I wanted so badly to take her then and there. She looked like she was begging for it, her lips parted, not moving away from me. I could have easily kissed her in the shadows of the old hallway and eventually dragged her into one of the hundreds of empty rooms. But for some reason, I held back. Probably because there was a staff member lurking not too far away, and I couldn’t risk word of my relationship with Natalie getting back to my father .

  “Because of this new marriage,” I said, “Arturo suddenly thinks I need to settle down. I decided to marry someone in Vegas to appease him, or at least to rub the absurdity of the whole marriage sham in his face .”

  “Marriage sham?” The anger began to return. “So you married me to get back at your dad ?”

  I shrugged, smirking at her. “Maybe, in a way .”

  “This whole thing is just a coincidence,” she said softly. “And you’re a total asshole .”

  “I think that about sums it up .”

  “And now I’m stuck here .”

  “You can leave any time you want, sis .”

  “Stop calling me that.” She looked down the hall. “Where’s my room, anyway ?”

  “See the guy in the suit lurking over by the window?” She nodded. “Ask him. He’ll show you .”

  I could see how angry she was, but she was doing a great job of holding it back .

  “So what now?” she asked. “We pretend like it never happened ?”

  “We can’t do that,” I said, “because you’re my wife, and I intend to keep it that way
.”

  She screwed up her face. “It wasn’t actually for real, right? I mean, you’re worried that your dad will find out what happened in the, uh, the limo, right ?”

  I reached into my back pocket, my grin practically tearing a hole in her. “Here.” I held up the marriage license. One glance and her face turned white .

  “You’ve got to be kidding,” she said. “No way it was for real .”

  “Sorry, sis. I mean, sorry, wife. We’re married for real .”

  She shook her head, pushed off from the wall, and walked away without another word. I watched her approach the staff member, and he led her away, farther into the house .

  I stayed standing there, my cock absolutely rock hard, excitement swimming through my veins .

  I didn’t know what it was about her. I had no clue why she got my blood up so hot, why she made me so absolutely fucking thirsty for her soaked pussy. But I loved teasing her, loved pushing her buttons, and I found that I didn’t want to stop, even if it was a very, very dangerous game .

  My stepsister. My fucking wife. What a fucking wonderful mess .

  As I moved to head back to my rooms, I caught a commotion back down toward my father’s study. I moved down the hall and watched Camille get hustled from the room as a few mob captains rushed in .

  Frowning, I headed that way. Something bad had just happened; I could feel it right in my gut .

  Natalie was still in the back of my mind as I pushed open the door and joined the meeting .

  7

  Natalie

  I was living with mobsters.

  Real, actual, live gang members. Violent criminals. Thugs .

  The security suddenly made sense. The insane wealth made sense, too. I had no clue how they could live so openly the way they did, but I believed Lucas. I didn’t think he had been lying about anything he'd said .

  Even though he was an absolute and total asshole .

  Still, what were the chances of that? Of all the clubs in Vegas, and all the women, he picked the one I had gone to, and he chose me, the one person he absolutely never should have gone after and definitely shouldn’t have married .