CHAPTER 9
Fleur’s breathing evens out next to me and I sigh in relief. After I filled her with my cum, she was still wired. I cleaned her up and then held her in my arms as we talked.
I can’t remember the last time I talked with another person as much as I did with her just now. I made sure we didn’t talk about the flowers either. Instead, we talked about mundane things like how she’s thinking about getting a dog, movies, books she’s read recently since I’m not much of a reader, and food.
My woman can talk about food all day and night. It’s adorable as fuck and you better believe I was taking notes about her favorites. It made me think about meals with her and how it will be when we convince her to move into our place with us. There’s plenty of room for her and we wouldn’t have a problem with her getting a dog.
Considering the three of us work out at home, none of us took the primary bedroom and have been using that as a gym. We could easily clean it out and get a bed big enough for the four of us to sleep comfortably. I don’t think any of us would want her hopping from bed to bed nor would we tolerate being away from her for even a night.
Sometimes business does require us to travel, but the three of us don’t usually go anywhere at the same time which means we could always ensure our woman is safe in our home. I saw the security system she has here and ours is just as good. Then there’s the fact that no one comes at a Guidice head on.
They wouldn’t like the consequences if they did.
I can’t wait to get her home with us where I know she’ll be safe and know I’ll be coming home to her every night. It settles something in my chest and gives me a goal, one I’ll work toward with fierce determination.
Even as we were talking, it felt like she was holding back, and I hate it. I know it’ll take some time to build trust between us, but I’m grateful as fuck we’re not starting at zero. Even though I never admitted how I’ve felt about her, she’s been around my family for years. We aren’t strangers. None of us are.
As I slip from the bed, I grab my jeans, pulling them on quickly but not bothering to button them up as I slip my phone from my pocket and head toward her bedroom door. When I look over my shoulder, Fleur rolls closer to the side of the bed where I just was and hauls the pillow my head was on against her chest. The way she curls around it has me smiling at how fucking adorable she is.
I make my way down the stairs quickly after closing the door to her room behind me. I look around her house and think about part of the conversation we had earlier. It was something I always wondered and was never able to get the answer to.
Being in her house, in her bed, I couldn’t help but ask, “Why do you live in such a small house? I’m sure you could be in something bigger?”
I saw something flash in Fleur’s eyes as her body tensed. I don’t know what she saw as she studied my face, but it made her slowly relax. “I don’t need a big house. It’s just me here. Why would I want to be lonely and constantly reminded I’m all alone by some house with too many rooms and not enough life?”
Her answer had my heart clenching in my chest as I pulled her closer to my side. I ran my fingers through her hair, my voice thick with emotion, “You aren’t alone, Tesoro.” She blinked quickly and then ducked her head so I couldn’t look into her eyes anymore. “You’ll never be lonely again. If you can trust that what is between us is real, you’ll never feel lonely. I can promise you that.”
She swallowed hard, her fingers digging into my chest where her hand was resting until she relaxed against me again. “I have a feeling I’ll be more annoyed than lonely,” she sassed.
I couldn’t help but laugh and the sound of her joining me was one of the most beautiful sounds I’ve ever heard. As we laughed, the rest of the tension bled from her body, and she became pliant at my side. I could tell sleep was creeping in, but I relished the feeling of her against me and the trust she was giving me with such a simple act.
As I walk in the kitchen and see the flowers still sitting there, anger fills me again. I look at the card and pull my phone out of my pocket, sending a quick text to my brothers.
Fleur’s house. Now.
I don’t need to say anything more than that. My phone starts going off with notifications, but I ignore them as I stare at the flowers, wishing they could become sentient and tell me who sent them to our woman. No luck on that front.
I don’t know how long I stand there, but the sound of a car pulling up to the house pulls me out of my thoughts and I head to the front to intercept my brothers before they can start pounding on the door and wake up Fleur.
They didn’t see her when she was freaked out about the flowers. I did. It took a toll on her and now that she knows she’s safe, she needs to get some rest. I’m going to ensure she gets exactly what she needs.
I swing the door open to find Leo’s fist raised and poised to knock with Gio at his back. They look me over and Gio grins as Leo’s lip curls into a snarl. I have no doubt they’re both pissed, they just show it in very different ways.
I hold my hand up, “I don’t want to hear it. My gut was telling me she needed me, and I was right.”
I don’t give them any other explanation as I turn around and head straight to the kitchen, knowing they’ll follow. I stop in front of the bouquet still sitting on the small island like it has a right to be there. It doesn’t and I’m still a little pissed I couldn’t incinerate it the moment I looked at it.
“I take it none of us sent our woman flowers,” Gio’s voice has a forced genial quality to it which tells me exactly how on edge he is.
“No,” I glower and pick up the card before handing it to Leo who takes a look at it, clenches his jaw, and hands it off to Gio.
“Well, fuck,” Gio mutters.
“Exactly.” My shoulders slump and even though rage is filling me, I keep my voice low and even. “I had a feeling Fleur needed me. When I got here, she actually jumped on me and clung to me.” This information has matching expressions covering my brother’s faces—arched eyebrows of surprise. “She was completely freaked out, but I still had to almost force her to tell me what was wrong.”
Gio chuckles, “That sounds like our woman.”
“It does,” Leo’s voice is deep with a thoughtful quality to it. He snatches the note back from Gio. “Do you think it’s whoever was asking about her?”
I shrug one shoulder and lean back against the counter. “I figure it must be.” I look to Gio and ask, “Have you heard anything else about him?”
“No and it’s pissing me off.” Giovanni frowns as he stares at the flowers. “I think we should throw them away. I don’t want to upset her when she comes back into her kitchen.”
I almost smile at my brother, but I stop myself because of the stare I feel coming from Leo. When I look at him, his arms are crossed across his chest, and he has an expression on his face I’ve seen many times before. He’s wearing his ‘I’m the big brother and you should listen to me face’.
There have been a lot of times in my life when I have allowed his look to win, but I’m not backing down this time. From the way I stare at him, I hope he knows it.
“Are you going to tell us how it went from you having a feeling Fleur needed you, to you coming over here, and then to you being half naked without your jeans properly buttoned up?”
Gio chuckles under his breath, but I don’t take my eyes off Leo. I cross my arms the same way he is and see a hint of surprise in his eyes. It’s not the only thing I see there, I swear I see a hint of pride as he looks at me, but I don’t allow myself to dwell on it.
“She needed me. She got me,” I answer with a shrug, keeping my voice neutral. “She was in her head and scared.” He opens his mouth to say something, but I don’t let him speak. “She was questioning not only the flowers, but my presence and the night she spent with us. It was written all over her face. She didn’t know she could rely on me, on us.” I shake my head. “Giving her space was the wrong decision.”
Leo’s shoulders slump slightly in defeat. “Maybe it was,” he mumbles, and I know it’s as good as a damn apology from my brother.
Leo has always been a proud man. I think it came from being groomed, almost from birth, to be second in command to Dante. I don’t know if he ever had other dreams, but he’s never mentioned it. I guess none of us had much of a choice, but the reality is that if I wasn’t interested in standing next to my brothers and doing what Guidice’s do, then I probably could have chosen a different path without anyone really questioning it.
I always looked up to Dante, Leonardo, and Giovanni. I wanted to be just like them and the path in front of me was clear. I was going to make sure I had a place within the family business, no matter what. It wasn’t always easy because I’m the baby, but I made sure to be as ruthless as any of my brothers and I earned the respect of those around me.
“I don’t want to give her any more space,” Gio’s agreement has me looking at him and he winks at me as he flashes a grin. “I want to be able to feel her pussy around me and that sure as fuck isn’t going to happen if we keep giving her space.” I shake my head at my brother as the corner of my mouth twitches. He pouts slightly and points out, “You got to be buried inside of her twice.”
“I don’t think we should be keeping score,” I give him a cool look to hide my amusement.
“Fucking hell,” Leo grumbles.
Gio throws his hands up, his voice accusatory as he turns toward Leo, “What? You got in her ass, man. You have no room to fucking grumble. I mean, don’t get me wrong,” he backpedals slightly, “her mouth is a thing of fucking beauty, but I have other holes to explore.”
“You know this might cause problems between the family and the Devil’s Saints,” Leo’s voice is soft and resigned.
I look at Leo and know he can see the challenge in my eyes. “Is that going to stop you? Because it sure as fuck isn’t going to stop me.”
He stands a little bit taller. “She’s ours and nothing is going to stand in my way.”
Gio slaps his back, the sound loud in the quiet of the house and I internally wince. “Then why are you trying to throw roadblocks out there?”
“Because you need to be prepared. Lucifer and Prodigal probably won’t be pleased.” Leo sighs, a hint of hope in his voice, “Or they might realize there isn’t anyone better to make the DSMC princess happy and keep her safe.”
“After they kick our asses,” Gio points out, trying to lighten the mood.
Leo nods solemnly and it’s clear he’s serious and not trying to fight a smile. “I wouldn’t be surprised if it happens.”
“It’s a good thing I’m scrappy as fuck.” Gio flexes his arms and pretends to throw a few jabs at Leo’s chest who simply swats his hands away. “I’m not going to let them try and scare us off our woman.” He straightens and gets serious. “She’s ours.”
“She is,” Leo agrees.
“She most definitely fucking is,” I add on.
We share a look and I know the three of us are on the same page.
“Fucking finally,” Gio mumbles, “this whole giving her space thing was not working for me.”
I shake my head and smile as I look at my brother who looks kind of like a toddler who had his favorite toy taken away. For him, that’s probably true. Women flock to him and he never had to work hard when he wanted to blow off some steam.
I don’t think he’s ever been in a relationship though. I know none of the women he took to bed in the past meant anything to him. When he meets my gaze, something flickers in his eyes which has the worry churning in my gut easing.
“I’m all in,” Gio tells me softly. “You don’t have to worry about me fucking anything up. I want her. I’m not going to hurt her. I tried to deny it for a long time, but I knew. I just didn’t think I could actually have her, and I saw the way you were always watching her.”
“Fuck,” I bite out as a part of me wants to think back over every interaction over the years and figure out when we could have had her sooner. I know it doesn’t matter because things happened as they should have, but it’s hard to stop my spiraling thoughts.
“Now, what the fuck are we going to do about this?” When I look up at Leo, he’s standing in front of the bouquet and looking down at it with disdain.
And isn’t that the biggest fucking question of all.
“We get rid of the flowers and then we protect our woman. No matter what.” Gio muses, “It would be easier to do if we can get her to come to our place. Even if we tell her that it’s just for a little while.”
Leo nods, a thoughtful look on his face before he scrubs his hand along the underside of his jaw. “We won’t solve it tonight.” He looks toward where he knows Fleur’s bedroom is having looked at the specs the same way I did. “I want to hold our woman and sleep with her knowing she won’t be able to try and sneak off while I’m doing it.”
He shudders and walks out of the kitchen. I’m torn because I want to take care of the flowers, but I also want to wrap myself back around my woman. It’s the only way I’ll really know if she’s okay or not.
“Go. I’ll toss the flowers,” Gio tells me as he tucks the card into his back pocket.
I give my brother a chin lift as my feet move toward our woman without really thinking about it. She might not trust us completely yet, but we’ll show her we’re not going anywhere. Not again.
Fuck giving her space. We should have been all up in her space from the moment she tried to run. Never fucking again.