12
I made my way out of the changing room at the gym, my fingers fiddling with the hem of my satin cami. I ran into town on my lunch break and managed to find a cute, strappy, deep red top that I could pair with the dark blue jeans that I had recalled seeing in the trunk of my car the other evening.My favourite black heels clattered on the freshly mopped tiles as I walked over to the reception desk where Toby had told me to meet him. He wasn’t there yet, and my stomach started to flutter in an unpleasant way.Had he changed his mind?He hadn’t mentioned it during our session. He had only made a quick comment as I left to go and shower, telling me where he would be waiting for me. No, he wouldn’t tell me that and then leave.Fuck, why has this whole dating thing suddenly made me so anxious?Toby cleared his throat as he approached me from behind. I turned slowly to be met with his contagious smile as he beamed down at me. His hair was hanging loose around his shoulders in a dirty blonde mess. He was wearing jeans and a tight black t shirt that highlighted every strong, defined muscle. I had never seen him in jeans before, only ever gym shorts or joggers.He looked delicious.“You look beautiful, Vixen,” he stated, offering me his arm.Such a gentleman.I took hold of him, and he guided me out of the building. With each step I felt the tension in my body dropping, making way for a light, excited feeling.“Have you been dreading this as much as I have?” he asked as we walked the short distance to the bar that I had asked to go to.“Can’t wait for it to be over,” I teased back, and he threw his head back laughing. The sound sent a tornado of butterflies to my stomach, fluttering manically. There was something about his laugh, I had always thought, that made you feel like you were being wrapped in a warm embrace.When we arrived at the bar, we sat in a dark booth at the back. I had chosen this place because it was one of the few bars in town that wasn’t affiliated with any of the criminal organisations of Westeroak. It was a nice quiet place, the perfect setting for a casual first date.Holy shit, I’m on a first date. Toby got up to go to the bar and order our drinks. It wasn’t likely that I’d be called into any jobs this evening, Lorenzo didn’t usually call me this late, not for work purposes anyway. So I had decided to treat myself—well, let Toby treat me—to a vodka, lime, and lemonade.As I waited, I pulled my phone from my handbag and saw that I had two messages. One from Eden, wishing me luck, and one from Cooper, asking if I wanted to go for brunch again at the weekend. I quickly replied to both, thanking Eden, and making a quick plan with Coop before Toby got back to the table.He slid our drinks across the table and hovered, cocking his head at me with a menu in his hand.“I’m feeling like a snack,” he said handing me the menu.You look like a snack. “Want some chips and wings or something?”“Sounds good, maybe some onion rings too?” I bit my lip, hoping that he would agree and not be put off by my suggestion.“Onion rings too.” He nodded his approval. “I’ll be right back then.”I sat smiling to myself. So far so good, even if we’ve barely spent ten minutes together, my first ever real date was already going better than I could have expected.Toby slid in next to me in our booth when he finally sat down. I had presumed that he would sit opposite me, but I was happy that he hadn’t. His warm, thick arm brushed against mine, and sent a spark of desire jolting through me. Even though we had been spending at least 3 hours each week up close to each other, I wasn’t prepared for how he’d affect me tonight. This contact now, away from the gym, was intense. It felt completely different.I twisted my body towards him, and he mirrored my action, placing an arm on the table and staring down at me. His stare wasn’t intimidating, he may have been a pretty scary guy with the stacks of muscles, tattoos and perfectly wild facial hair, but his eyes sparkled so brightly, like a stunningly clear ocean drenched in sunlight. I felt instantly safe and calm when he looked at me.“You really do look beautiful,” he said softly.“You already told me that.” I smiled.“Well I meant it, enough to say it twice. I’m glad you asked me to do this. I felt so stupid asking you the other day. I’ve wanted to for a while now, but I didn’t know if it was appropriate, and then I just blurted it out and your face, oh Vixen, I couldn’t take the panic that I’d seen on your face.” His expression turned sad for a moment, and I reached out, placing my hand on top of his.“Toby,” I whispered. He had let himself be vulnerable so quickly, so easily. My mind shot to Lorenzo, and how I couldn’t picture him ever letting me see a side like this. But I quickly pushed thoughts of my boss away. Wanting to be in this moment with the kind man sitting beside me.“I wanted to say yes. But I’ve never dated before, not properly. I don’t really know if I’m ready, but I want to see,” I explained as truthfully as I could.He moved our hands so that he was holding me, and his thumb began to paint tiny circles on the back of my hand. I let out a breath that I hadn’t realised I had been holding after my confession.“Good, and I don’t think you’ll regret that choice by the end of tonight.” He winked and dropped my hand to grab his drink, he swallowed a long mouthful and grinned at me as he placed the glass back down.We ate, drank, and chatted with ease for some time. Every conversation was flowing effortlessly, and he had been right, not a single drop of regret was felt. Toby told me stories about his mom and dad, they sounded like amazing people, even though he wasn’t as close with both of them anymore. He didn’t push me when I said that I didn’t have many happy childhood memories. We discussed our favourite music, foods, and got into a heated debate over the correct order to watch Star Wars in. We had naturally gravitated closer to each other and he had draped his arm over my shoulder for a while as my hand had rested on his leg. I was comfortable. Enjoying myself.
For once, I was more than my skill-set or allure. I was a girl.My phone buzzed as we finished eating and I hesitantly pulled away to quickly check it. A text glowed on the screen from Lorenzo.
BossCome to The Crown ASAP.
I frowned at the message and glanced at the time. It was half nine, at this time it was likely that he was calling for pleasure and not business. So I tucked my phone back away and apologised to Toby, trying to bring my focus back to our date.Fifteen minutes later I felt my phone vibrating where my bag was pushed against my thigh. The buzz continued, indicating that I was receiving a call. I tried to ignore it. Inhaling deeply and nodding to whatever Toby had said. Less than a minute later it started up again. I tensed my jaw and internally cursed out whoever was calling me, most likely Lorenzo. I didn’t hear a word Toby had said to me and searched his face for a clue.Shit. I made a humming noise in my throat and sipped my drink, hoping he wouldn’t work out that I had been distracted, lost in my head and not listening. Silence hung between us, and the vibration of my phone started up again. This time he was aware of it too.“Do you need to…” He gestured to my bag, and I gave him an apologetic look as I pulled my phone out.Lorenzo. “Sorry, I do.” I bit my lip, but he didn’t seem to mind. He smiled and placed his hand on my leg with a shrug that said he was happy to sit and wait for me to deal with whoever was calling.“I’m kind of in the middle of something,” I quickly said upon pressing the green button.“Well wrap it up, Mal, this is important.”Mal, Oh. It was business. Shit. “Yep, will do.”I hung up before he had the chance to comment on the fact that I wasn’t being as respectful as I should’ve been towards him. I couldn’t call him boss in front of Toby, he knew that I was my own boss, during office hours anyway. So that would have caused questions that I couldn’t answer. I couldn’t call him Lorenzo either, not if he was calling for business. Boundaries and all that jazz.I lifted my head to meet Toby’s gentle gaze. “I am so sorry,” I started.“It’s fine, do you need me to walk you somewhere? Grab you a cab?” He knew already that I was leaving, his smile didn’t drop though. Guilt hit me all the same, even if he wasn’t showing any signs of disappointment. This was my life though. Secrets and disappearing acts. That shit wasn’t fair to blindly put him through. He would need the truth if I wanted to do this for real, or I’d need to walk away.“My car is down by the gym, I’ve only had one drink, I’m fine to drive.” I’d work out what to do about us when I wasn’t feeling stressed about what I was going to be facing on my arrival at The Crown.“I’ll walk you there then, come on, little one.” He stood and offered me his arm the same way he had at the beginning of our date. Still playing the perfect gentleman role.We came to a stop next to my silver Mercedes, and I turned to face him. I reached up to trace a finger down one side of his face. “Thank you for a perfect date, Tobias. I wish I didn’t have to go,” I whispered.My hand dropped from his face, and he leaned down, his face closing in on mine. The butterflies swooped back in, flapping dizzyingly fast in my stomach as the anticipation of his lips against mine sizzled between us.His breath skated over my forehead, his lips pressed gently to my skin for a brief moment, and then he pulled away.What? “Stay safe, Vixen. Call me when you’re home?”It wasn’t what I had expected. It was better, in a strange way that didn’t make any sense at all to me. I didn’t need to be treated as though I was this fragile thing that might break, but I didn’t dislike that treatment from him. It was simply who he was. Underneath the playful exterior, he was gentle, kind, and entirely selfless.I nodded in agreement, and climbed into my car. He closed the door for me, and I sped away down the road. He stayed where he was, watching me go as I watched him through the mirror, wishing to myself that I could have stayed just a little while longer.
I pulled up a block away from The Crown, knowing I wouldn’t find anywhere to park any closer at this time of night. I walked down towards the bar, debating whether I had enough time to run back to the car and at least change my shoes in preparation for whatever I was being summoned for. I decided against it though. I had already pissed off Lorenzo by taking so long to answer my phone, taking more time to arrive would only make things worse. And after the evening I had been having, I didn’t want his wrath. I wanted to enjoy the light, happy feeling that Toby had filled me with.I pushed my way through the main door, and stepped into The Crown, spotting Cooper standing at the bar.“You’ve been summoned too then?” I asked as I bumped him with my elbow.“Yep. Me, you, and every other Brother.” He turned to face Lorenzo’s usual booth, and I followed his gaze to confirm that all ten of us were in fact here. “Why are you all dressed up?” he asked, but I ignored him.There was no way that I was going to tell him where I had been while we were standing in one of our bars, surrounded by our guys. I didn’t need any of the teasing comments thst I’d no doubt receive if anyone knew that I had been on a date. And there would be a million questions from my friend too, Coop knew how I felt about dating.Lorenzo looked up from his usual place in his booth. No one had sat beside him. Out of respect, they all either sat opposite or chose to stand. Grey was standing at the side of the booth, talking to Frank, and looking his usual pissed off self, while everyone else sipped beer and chatted causally.Lorenzo’s eyes locked on mine, and he cocked his head to one side before running his gaze over my body slowly. His brows lifted slightly, but his expression remained annoyingly unreadable.“What’s this all about then?” I asked Cooper, pulling my attention away from our boss.“No idea, Sunshine. Have you been up to no good? You little troublemaker. Has he gathered everyone to watch you get punished?”My jaw dropped a fraction at his words. Did he know? I frowned at him, and his eyes twinkled.“I’m joking, Mallory,” he laughed. But it did nothing to ease my concern. The look in his mischievous eyes still hinted that he might know what has going on between me and our boss.He handed me a cold glass of soda. “Shall we see what all the fuss is about then?” He grabbed my arm and yanked me, urging me to follow him over to the small crowd of Brothers.They all greeted us warmly, apart from Grey, who glared at me with his top lip peeled back—no surprise there. After we had all settled down, and conversations had politely come to a close, our boss rose from where he had been sitting, silently waiting.“Buonasera i miei Fratelli.” He swept his gaze over each of us as he spoke the familiar greeting that we had grown to expect whenever he gathered all of The Brotherhood at once. “I have some exciting news.”I noticed some of the men glancing at each other curiously. Not a single face surrounding me looked to know what the news might be. I looked at Grey, as Lorenzo’s second he probably had an idea about why we had been gathered, but his face was set, cold and bored.“The ten of you have been chosen carefully, only the best of the best have been selected to join our family. We have always kept our circle small. As you all know, we had never allowed more than ten Brothers at one single time.”The faces of many of my brothers twisted with confusion. I peered up at Coop, but he simply shrugged at me and folded his arms over each other.“Until now.” Our boss smiled, showing his perfect teeth as his eyes danced with excitement. “Brothers, we have a new member joining our family tonight.”Some of the men started talking between themselves, whispering to each other, but our boss raised his hands, and they instantly fell silent again.“Brothers, I would like you to welcome my stepson into the fold.” He gestured to a spot behind where a few of us were standing, and we all turned to meet our new Brother.My grip on my drink slipped and the glass went crashing to the floor. Ice, soda, and glass scattered under my heels. I heard Cooper curse under his breath. My throat dried up and my eyes widened as shock fell on me like a tonne of bricks.Eye’s darker than a starless sky, cruel smirk, tattooed hands.“Adonis.”