15. Julia
15
JULIA
“ S hut the fuck up, traitor,” Lenny roared, smacking me in the face. He had worked for my father for years before Gabriella took over, and now he stood over me, fury in his eyes as he beat me. “How dare you betray your blood like this?”
Another goon grabbed my hair and held me up so Lenny could hit me again. I fell to the side, biting back tears, refusing to let them break me, but I didn’t know how much longer I could hold out. Gabriella had found out about me, about how I’d been leaking information to the Roses. I didn’t know how she knew. I’d probably never find out, but it didn’t matter. Now they had me, and I shivered at the thought of what they’d do before Gabriella arrived.
“I ought to bend you over the table and let my men fuck you bloody,” Lenny said. “How disappointed your father would be in you. You’re nothing better than a warm hole now.”
I stared him down and ground my teeth.
Fine. Let it turn to rape. Let it be over with.
“Gabriella said no,” the other goon cut in. “We’re not supposed to touch her…like that.”
Ahh, so my dear Zia hadn’t lost all of her morals, only some.
“I don’t give a fuck what Gabriella says,” Lenny said. “This Rose whore deserves it, and my men are aching for a good fuck.”
“Julia—” came a familiar distant voice, but I was too lost in my memories to react.
“Go on then,” I said. “You fucking cowards. Do it.”
“Julia, wake up. It’s only a dream.” The voice was louder this time, and when a warm arm draped over my waist to pull me closer to a hard, muscular body, I blinked my eyes open to a dark room and a strange bed I didn’t recognize. But I inhaled Roman’s clean pinewood scent, and that calmed the rising panic in my chest. We were in the safe house where Leo had been living, in one of the spare rooms. Roman’s house had to be cleaned and repaired before we could return.
I turned in his arms to face him, leaning closer to breathe him in deeper.
“Thank you,” I said, nuzzling under his chin.
“Want to talk about it?” he asked, his voice gravelly from sleep.
“No, it’s better left in the past,” I answered. Now that I was awake, I focused on my husband’s features—the way his cheek sloped down to his jaw, his pouty lips, the stubble on his chin. I brought my fingers to his mouth, tracing it like I could memorize the exact shape of the curve. He truly was so beautiful, and after what he’d done to save me, to side with me, I could no longer deny these strange feelings developing in my chest. Yes, watching him be so brutal had made me painfully aware of the dark side of our life, but perhaps I’d been sheltered from it for too long. Perhaps that had been the hubris of thinking I could run away with Hugo and nothing would happen to me. This was war, and ending it, would be bloody.
I’d signed my life away to Roman, and in exchange, he’d given me his protection.
“Thank you for saving me,” I murmured.
He opened his mahogany eyes and glanced down at me. “There’s no thanks needed, Julia. You’re my wife. I’ll always keep you safe.”
Mine. You touch what’s mine, I take your hand.
“I’m sorry I didn’t answer when you called,” he said. “I should have gotten there sooner.”
“Shh,” I said, kissing him to silence his unwarranted apology. It wasn’t his fault, none of this. Roman dragged his hand up my back to my hair, holding my face firmer to his, devouring my mouth. I touched his stomach, tracing the way his abs became his chest and eventually his neck. He was so strong, so powerful, honed from years of turning wrenches in a shop and riding a heavy motorcycle.
He lapped at me with his tongue, and when I opened for him, he wrestled against mine, making me moan. But that spurred him on, and he rolled on top of me, settling his hips between my legs. His half-erect cock rubbed at my clit when he rolled his pelvis, and I spread my legs farther, arching into him, granting him access to whatever he wanted. Most of the time, we played with dominance, but I sensed that wasn’t what this was about. This was a reconnection, a reclaiming, a reinforcement that I was safe and protected and his.
His. His. His.
Which made him mine.
And oh, how I loved the thought of that. No one else would ever touch him the way I did. No one else would ever know what it was like to be under him like this, to know the weight of his body and how his cock curved upward when it was hard and how he groaned when he wanted more.
He reached down between us, pulling my underwear to the side so he could position himself at my entrance. He was big, so he didn’t shove inside me the way he’d done before. He took it slow—rocking in and out a few times to prepare me. And when he slid in all the way, he held himself there for a moment to let me adjust to his girth.
“Fuck,” he whispered, biting my earlobe. “You always feel so good. So damned good.”
“So do you,” I said, turning my face so I kissed him again.
“My wife,” he said, rutting against me, fucking me in long, gentle strokes. “My queen.”
“Yours,” I said. “And you’re mine. My husband. My protector. My Rose king.”
He paused to lean back and meet my gaze, his grin nearly blinding. “I like when you call me yours.”
I bit my bottom lip and rolled my hips, adjusting him inside me, hitting a spot that made both of us moan. I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his hips, meeting him thrust for thrust, and when I came, he put his hand over my mouth to muffle the sounds of my euphoria. My muscles tensed and I clenched my eyes shut, but the thumping in my heart swelled down to the agony between my legs, making me want him again. I didn’t think I’d ever get enough.
“Shh,” he said, nuzzling into my neck. “Leo’s in the next room.”
I didn’t care. If I had a dime for every time I’d heard Leo with a lover, I’d be rich on my own and I wouldn’t need Caputi money. Still, I hummed my agreement and kissed my husband through his climax, his cock kicking deep inside me, spilling his seed. And maybe for the first time since we were married, I prayed he got me pregnant. I prayed we would have a child, something to call ours.
I watched him in his bliss, how his eyes scrunched, how his mouth fell open, how sweat beaded down his temple and over the side of his face. I couldn’t admit it out loud, not yet. But in that moment, I loved him more than I needed to, more than I ever thought I would. I expected him to roll off me or maybe kneel between my legs and play with our combined release.
But he lay there with his elbows on either side of my head, his body on mine, his skin sticky and hot. He brushed hair off my face and kissed my nose, running his mouth over my eyes and forehead. His cock stayed buried deep inside me, twitching and softening, but he didn’t move.
“I think I like you the most like this,” he said. “Half awake and oh so pliant.”
I tutted through my teeth and ran my fingers over his face, stopping at his lips. “You like when I fight you.”
He sucked two of them into his mouth and bit my fingertips. “Only because you like it, wife.”
I didn’t know if it was the nickname, the finger-sucking, or the cock warming that set him off, but he soon grew hard again and took me once more before we fell back asleep. The nightmares did not return.
Later in the morning, we woke and showered together, joking and touching and teasing. When the water turned cold and our fingers had pruned, we dressed and joined my brother downstairs. He sat at the tiny dining room table with a mug of coffee in one hand and a newspaper in the other.
“Morning,” he drawled, one eyebrow raised as he looked between us.
“Good morning,” I said, leaning down so I could kiss him on the cheek. Up until last night, I would say I loved and trusted my brother more than anyone else on the planet. We had survived so much together, and trauma like that bonded people on an entirely unknowable level. “Is there coffee?”
“Uh-huh.” He nodded to the carafe. “How are you both feeling?”
“Okay,” I said, wincing as the wound on my leg twinged. But I’d had worse injuries, so I didn’t mind it so much.
“My shoulder aches,” Roman said, coming to stand next to me as I made our coffees. “But it’ll be okay.”
“Hmm,” Leo said with a nod. “That’s good.”
“How are you?” Roman asked. “Have you heard from Davila?”
Leo rubbed at the space between his brows and sighed. “He is still considering our terms.”
“Della texted me yesterday,” I said. “Gabriella is planning a big arms pickup from the Hell’s Knights. That could be why they were on Rose territory.” After last night, I didn’t know if they’d still have the numbers to back Gabriella. The Roses had taken a lot of them out. “Hannah is missing.”
“Missing?” Leo raised his eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“Della says she was terminated. No one’s seen her in weeks.” My stomach churned with anxiety for my missing friend. She’d been an informant for years, and to suddenly go missing usually meant terrible things. “Can you ask around about her?”
Leo nodded and grabbed my hand in solidarity after I sat next to him. “I’ll see what I can do.”
“In the meantime,” Roman said, “we can use the Hell’s Knights to track Gabriella. I’ve already got Switch and Castor looking for the rest of them.”
“Thank you,” Leo said, nodding at Roman, “for protecting Julia…for standing by your promise.”
“Hmm.” Roman returned the gesture. “I’m a man of my word. I said I’d keep her safe, and I meant it.” He lowered his body into the chair next to mine and sipped his coffee. “Where are we with the plans for the wedding?”
“I’ve secured the caterer and the invitations, and I’ve planted seeds with the family. They’ve heard about the big ceremony and Leo’s part in it.”
“Good,” Roman said. “That will draw her to us.”
“She will come out swinging,” Leo said. “She’ll bring the whole army.”
“I’m counting on it,” Roman said.
“It could be a bloodbath,” I murmured, glancing between the two most important people in my life.
Roman cleared his throat and shifted in his seat while Leo rubbed at his lips.
“It will be okay, mia sorella.” Leo’s gentle smile almost calmed my anxiety. “We’ll make sure you’re safe.”
That wasn’t what I was worried about. Here I was, giving my heart to the King of Roses, only to chance losing him the same way I’d once lost Hugo and Vittori. I couldn’t go through that again. Would I always be cursed because of my Caputi blood? Would they never let me be happy?
For someone in Roman’s position, he’d likely find an early grave or a life sentence in jail regardless of what horrible luck I brought to the marriage. I couldn’t lose another person so close to me, someone in whom I’d placed my whole heart and soul. I needed to be prepared for this to end in heartbreak all over again.
If I were smart, I wouldn’t have those rough nights with him anymore. I wouldn’t allow him to use me however he wished or indulge in early-morning fornication. But when it came to love, my silly, stupid heart ignored that type of logic.
Roman and Leo continued to make plans and deliberate the best way to get the other underbosses on their side, but I chewed my lip and stewed in panic.
“We’ll need to get most of them in our pockets before the wedding,” Leo said.
“Uncle Frankie,” I cut in. “You need Uncle Frankie.”
Leo sighed. “I’ve been trying. He won’t hear me out.”
I knew how to get to him, and it wasn’t with threats and underhanded politics, the way my brother had been playing it.
“I’ll meet with Chesco,” I said. We had been close growing up. He was as good as another brother to me and the eldest son to Frankie. He stood to inherit that piece of territory once Frankie passed, so if there was anyone he would listen to, it would be his son.
“I don’t know about that,” Roman said, furrowing his brows.
“I agree,” Leo said. “I don’t trust our cousin, haven’t in a long time.”
“You can trust him with me,” I retorted. Leo had every right to be skeptical. Chesco had always been more of a wild card than him. But where my brother’s vices were drugs and beautiful women, Chesco’s were violence and unpredictable behavior. He’d once beat a man nearly to death for continuing to pursue Della after she’d told him she already had a boyfriend.
Roman looked at Leo, who pursed his lips and raised an eyebrow.
“Oh, come on,” I said, rolling my eyes. “I’m not a prisoner. Della and Chesco were my best friends before all of this. I miss them. I want to see them.”
Leo tsked through his teeth and dropped his gaze, but I turned to my husband.
“They’re my family. I don’t need permission from either of you to see them,” I said. “This will be a good thing. Have I not proven to be a dedicated informant? I’ve faced more dangerous men than Chesco, you included.”
Roman ran his hand over my hair and brushed it back from my face. “Okay. But you will take three Roses with you, and if anything happens, I mean anything, you’ll call me. Understood, mia cara?”
“Of course.” I smiled and leaned in to kiss him, full and deep, not caring my brother sat on the other side of the table. “It will be fine; I swear it.”
Roman glanced at his phone and stood. “I have to head to the clubhouse to clean up before work. You’re okay here?”
I nodded. “Yes. I’m okay.”
He kissed me one last time before grabbing his coffee, wallet, and keys, and heading toward the door. “Be good.”
“I will,” I said with a smile, watching his hips sway in his jeans as he left. I took a deep breath to calm the rising emotions in my chest, wondering how this could still be pretend when he set my heart to pitter this ridiculous patter.
When I glanced back at Leo, he still had an eyebrow halfway up his forehead and an indignant smirk on his expression. “What?”
“You are still so very spoiled,” he said, laughing as he sipped his coffee.
“You’re the one that insisted I marry him,” I said. “So what if he spoils me? He understands how to take care of me.”
“Uh-huh,” Leo said. “And how is the rest of your marriage contract going?”
“You mean the part where you insisted he impregnate me within a year?”
“Oh, I heard how well that’s going at two o’clock this morning,” Leo teased, and I picked up a napkin to toss across the table at him with a guffaw.
“Don’t be disgusting,” I said.
“I meant are you happy, dear sister?” he asked. “Is he treating you right? Was this worth it?”
I took a deep breath and remembered our conversation about kink, about how much I liked when he took control. I thought about how he looked last night when he pointed at me and said I was his in front of his entire club. The look of rage and vengeance in his eyes had been terrifying and emboldening. I shouldn’t have liked it as much as I did. I shouldn’t like any of this as much as I did, but I couldn’t help the smile on my lips.
“Yes,” I said. “It was worth it.”
“Good.” He grinned and ran the back of his index finger down my cheek. “I’m happy to hear it.”
“What about you?” I asked. “Are you planning to wed a Rose princess? What will you do when you take over the Caputi empire?”
Leo sipped at his coffee and shook his head. “No Roses in my future, I fear.”
“Will you be single for the rest of your life?” I scoffed. “What would our beloved mama think?”
He chuckled. “Now there’s a thought.”
“Oh, please,” I said with a disbelieving sneer. “I’m surprised you’ve managed this long without some blond gold digger in your bed.”
“Well,” he said with a playfully innocent shrug, “who’s to say I have? But there is no one I’m serious about, and this is a good thing. I’ve got more important things to worry about than some blond gold digger, as you say.”
“Right.” I turned my attention to my phone, sending a text to the group chat with Chesco and Della, promising to see them soon.
“Be careful with Della, mia sorella,” Leo said. “I know you two are close, but she’s…ambitious.”
“I know.” I sighed, a weight settling in my gut. I’d long been ignoring the voice in the back of my head that told me to be suspicious of her for more than one reason. “What are you thinking?”
“It’s a gut feeling. Something is off about her and has been for a while.”
I scowled but didn’t argue. Leo had a sixth sense about these sorts of things. He could get the measure of a person far better than I ever could, and if he told me to be careful, it was in my best interest to listen.
“When you’re right, you’re right, brother.”
Leo smiled and grabbed his newspaper again, flicking it open to the page he’d been on.