Chapter 18
I groan, turning off my alarm.
I’ve been awake for an hour, lying here in disappointment.
Julian didn’t come home last night.
It’s a further reminder that a conventional relationship with him is out of the question.
He chose me because he saw convenience.
Like I’m a freaking Slurpee at a gas station.
A cold breeze brushes my skin when I slide out of his bed and plod to the bathroom to pee and brush my teeth. When I leave his bedroom, I’m still only wearing his hoodie and my panties.
The house is quiet, and the only noise is the click of a keyboard. As I walk downstairs, I find Emilio working on his MacBook at the island.
He turns in his stool when I reach the bottom of the step, then immediately motions up the stairs. “Go put some clothes on before Julian comes back. I’d prefer not to deal with his jealousy shit this morning.”
I walk straight toward him, not listening. “Speaking of Julian, where is he?”
“Working.”
I perk up. If Julian isn’t here, he can’t give me shit about working at the shelter.
“I’ll go get dressed,” I tell Emilio. “And then you can drive me to work.”
“Work?” He draws back and shuts his laptop. “You work?”
“Okay, rude . Yes, I work.”
“Since when?”
“Since forever.”
“You shop, brunch, spa, that type of shit. You having a job is news to me.”
All these jerks think they know me so well.
He reopens his laptop, as if done with this conversation.
Unlike other times I’ve seen Emilio, he’s casually dressed today, wearing a black tee and dark jeans. He’s wearing blue light glasses, and his black hair is messy.
I spin on my heel and stomp toward the stairs, yelling to him, “We leave in ten minutes.”
“Julian would’ve told me if I needed to take you somewhere. Sorry, but my ass stays here until I get different instructions.”
I halt in place, gripping the handrail and hanging over it to glare at him. “Julian and you aren’t my boss.”
“I hate to break it to you, but yes, we are. The faster you get that through your head, the easier your life will become.”
I don’t think my life will ever be easy again.
I stomp back down the stairs—the goal to steal Emilio’s phone and call Damien. Before I make it to the bottom, the door opens, and Julian walks in.
He looks every bit of pissed off when he notices my outfit—or lack thereof. His dissatisfied gaze coasts from me to Emilio.
“Your girl says she needs to go to work,” Emilio quickly says, not wanting to make a big deal about what Julian walked in on.
Julian’s eyes dart back to me as he tells Emilio, “You can go.”
Emilio collects his MacBook and shoves it under his armpit. “Good luck, man,” he says to Julian before leaving.
“Take it off,” Julian demands as soon as the door closes behind Emilio.
“What?” I stutter, blinking at him.
His face is rigid. “You think it’s cute, flirting with other men, wearing my shit. You don’t deserve to wear my clothes.” He crowds me against the wall beside the staircase. “Take. It. The. Fuck. Off.”
I gasp when he grabs the bottom of the sweatshirt and rips it over my head in one swift motion.
I shudder, goose bumps crawling over my skin. My nipples harden as the air hits them.
Julian is so close that I can’t cover myself. His cold gaze is locked on mine, as if he doesn’t even care that my breasts are rubbing against his suit jacket.
“Why are you acting so jealous of Emilio seeing me like this?”
He raises his arms, resting his palms on the wall on each side of my head. “Because you’re mine now , Genesis. You signed off on it.”
A smirk plays at my lips as he lowers his other hand to my stomach.
Tingles spread across every inch of my body.
Inside and out.
My pussy throbs.
God, my body wants him so damn much .
I’m learning the easiest way to manipulate Julian into touching me is by pissing him off.
Making him think he’s losing some claim to me.
Like when he saw me with Luca or when I looked at Emilio in the booth at the club. The same with his reaction now.
He loves power, and when I start to take it from him, he touches me to prove it’s still there.
I brush my lips over his. “What about when you let him sit in the booth and watch you finger me?” I run my tongue along the seam of his lips. “Was I yours then?”
He bites my lip and curses under his breath.
“That night, he heard your moans of pleasure, but he didn’t see your body .
” To further drive in his words, he pushes his hand into my panties and cups my pussy.
“All he saw was how I played with your pussy so fucking good that you lost control of yourself.” He rips my panties off.
“It also taught us both that you enjoyed having an audience, don’t you? ”
I turn my head, looking away from him.
It’s true.
If Emilio were still here and Julian had me in this same position, I’d let him do whatever he wanted with my body.
“So wet, just thinking about it,” Julian says, hiking my leg up his thigh and thrusting three fingers inside me, stretching me so well.
He loves teasing me and playing games.
I want to do the same with him.
“Where were you all night?” I ask, shutting my eyes.
“Ah, who’s the jealous one now?”
“You know where I was. It’s only fair.” I moan as he plays with my clit.
“I was working.”
I grind my hips against his hand, so much pleasure rolling through me that I’m surprised I can speak. “Speaking of work, that’s where I need to get to.”
He pulls his fingers out and steps back so fast that I almost keel over him. “You don’t have a job.” He uses the same tone Emilio did when he basically said the same thing.
I huff out a breath as he straightens his suit jacket. “Yes, I do.”
“Is that job to fuck me whenever I want?”
“No, the shelter, smart-ass. I’m scheduled to work there today.”
“You no longer volunteer there.” He steps forward, pinning me against the wall and shoving his hand back between my legs.
If his goal is to tease me so I forget about volunteering, he’s underestimating me.
I push his shoulder. “It’s in the contract, so you have to let me. The shelter is already short-staffed to begin with.”
“I’ll increase my donation so they can hire more people. Problem solved.” He tauntingly smirks at me and presses his hand back against the wall, as if holding me hostage.
“You don’t let me go, then you don’t get to come inside me.” I mock his smirk before ducking underneath his arm. “I’ll be ready in ten minutes.” I pluck the sweatshirt from the floor and tug it on while walking up the stairs. “The sweatshirt is mine now too.”
The coroner calls on the drive to Safe Hearts Mission. He tells me he can’t reach my mother and asks where to send my father’s body. His question hurts my heart.
How sad .
My father’s body is stranded at the coroner’s. I can’t believe my mother didn’t even have the respect to prepare her husband a proper funeral. I doubt she’s even grieving.
We haven’t spoken since she told me she was living her best life in Tahiti. She hasn’t checked on me once. I really don’t have anyone but Julian and my friends.
Another how sad .
I instruct the coroner to send my father’s body to the same funeral home my grandparents went to after their deaths. In his will, he put that he wanted to be buried in the same graveyard as them.
When I get off my shift at Safe Hearts, I’ll call the funeral home to set up the arrangements.
Ending the call, I peer at Julian in the driver’s seat. “I need my car. That way, you won’t have to worry about driving me around.”
He shakes his head, braking at a light. “Your car might have trackers.”
I slip on my sunglasses. “Who’d put a tracker on my car?”
“The Russians,” he states as if it’s a known fact. “You were on Dima’s radar for weeks. To his understanding, you were locked in as his bride.”
I pause, the creeps running through me at the thought of being anything to Dima. It takes me a moment to gain my thoughts, and I rest my elbow on the console. “All right then, soon-to-be baby daddy, I need some wheels, sans trackers.”
“You have to earn that.”
“What’s up with you and earning ?” I glare at him and imitate his voice. “You have to earn your orgasm, earn a car.” I level my tone to my normal princess self. “How about you earn me?”
For a moment, he stares at me in annoyance.
People don’t speak to him like that.
They definitely don’t mock him.
Here I am, pushing the psycho killer’s buttons.
He tilts his head to the side. “I’ve earned you and more .”
I’ve volunteered at the Safe Hearts Mission for over a decade.
New York has the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the country.
The first time I really understood homelessness was when my parents took me to see Cats on Broadway for my fourteenth birthday. Seeing the people on the streets hurt my heart, and I cried the entire ride home.
The next morning, I asked Sonja to find me ways to help them.
I don’t do it for the savior complex.
I do it because it’s where my heart led me.
Sonja found Safe Hearts, and every week, we’d volunteer.
Even after growing older, even after losing Sonja, I still volunteer. I will for as long as I can.
I frown, knowing that I’m not only limiting my schedule but also letting them down financially.
Every year, my father donated a substantial amount of money to the mission. He’d also convince clients, friends, and business partners to do the same. Every penny they gave was needed and put to good use.
Now, it’s gone.
They already struggle with funding as it is.
I grip the door handle as Julian parks the Escalade. “I’ll call when I’m done.” Swinging open the door, I jump out of the SUV.
Julian does the same, trailing me as I walk to the entrance.
Troy and Ollie stand guard, blocking the door.
Many of our women are here, escaping domestic violence. Troy and Ollie stayed here with their mother for six months when they were younger, and now, they help keep it safe.
“Hey, guys,” I say, waving to them.
“Genesis, it’s been a few days.” Ollie smiles, moving to the side and opening the door. He freezes when he notices Julian behind me.
I make a get out of here gesture toward Julian, but he shakes his head.
This doesn’t look good .
Ollie’s shoulders tense as Troy steps toward me.
“He’s with me,” I hurriedly tell them.
Troy—a man who’s nearly seven feet tall with muscles galore—levels his blue eyes on me. “Now, Genesis, you know?—”
Julian steps to my side. “I’m her fiancé and about to write a major check to this place. I’m no danger to this facility. You have my word.”
From the expression on Ollie’s face, I know he recognizes Julian.
While men in the mob are known as dangerous, they do help out the community as well.
The Lombardis donate millions to charities and organizations to keep their name as clean as they can.
They do all their dirty work behind the scenes, though most people know their business isn’t legit.
I’ve never heard of them hurting women or children.
“Fiancé?” Ollie’s mouth falls open.
I nod. “He’s here as a major donor.”
Troy slowly nods and opens the door for us.
Julian nods in appreciation as we pass them.
As soon as I walk into the lobby, Lora bursts from her office.
“Genesis!” she calls out, rushing over to hug me. “I saw what happened on the news. I’m so sorry, honey.”
I squeeze her tight, and she runs her hand down my back.
Lora is the mission director. Safe Hearts is her life.
As she pulls away, her gaze drifts from me to Julian.
“This is my fiancé .” I grit my teeth as I say the word. “He wanted to watch me today and give a very generous donation.”
I’m racking up the lies, but I don’t know how else to explain our relationship. It’d be mortifying to say he hired me to have his baby.
Julian extends his hand toward Lora and introduces himself. “It’s nice to meet you.”
Lora shakes his hand, distrust on her face. She knows I’d never put the mission in harm’s way though.
A teenage boy calls Lora’s name, and she leaves us.
“All right,” I say with an annoyed groan toward Julian. “Time for class.”
He scrunches his brows. “Class?”
I motion for him to follow, and he looks around the place as he does. We pass the rec room, where a cartoon is playing, and then reach the classroom.
The room is cramped with only enough space to fit a teacher’s desk and ten small ones. Inspirational posters hang on the bright yellow walls, along with sections of crayon scribbles.
I blink, annoyed with the flickering ceiling light. It’s been that way for weeks now, and we’re waiting for someone to fix it.
“Sit in that corner desk,” I direct Julian. “And smile. Jesus, you’re going to freak people out.”
“That’s exactly why I shouldn’t be here,” he argues, glaring at the desk and then at me.
I point at the door, returning his glare. “Leave then.”
“Not without you.”
“Let me just teach this class, okay?” I say around a sigh.
He shakes his head, slipping his hands into his pockets, and surprisingly stalks across the room. I use my hand to cover my laugh at the sight of him squeezing into the cramped desk.
He pulls out his phone as four women enter the room.
“Who’s he?” Sissy asks when she notices Julian.
“He’s job shadowing me,” I explain.
There goes another lie .
She nods, her pink slippers sliding across the floor, and plops down in the front row. The other three women pay Julian a quick glance and then sit down, ready to learn.
I teach a variety of classes—a GED prep course, a finance course, as well as reading and math for the children.
It’s a great way to put my MBA to use.
Julian lowers his phone when I start class.
Today’s lesson is on finance.
I’ve never seen Julian so focused on me as when I’m teaching. He leans back in the chair and doesn’t check his phone once.
For the next hour, he doesn’t look away as the women take notes.
I have his full attention.
Maybe this will help him understand why I can’t just quit volunteering here.
I’m needed, and he’ll need to accept that.
Or it’ll cause nothing but chaos between us.