32
“Which one? The black or the red?” I asked as I emerged from the dressing room wearing an emerald green dress that swept across the floor.
Lorenzo looked up from his phone, his gaze turning dark and dirty. “Neither, this is the dress,” he said and rested his chin on his fist. “Turn,” he commanded, and when I faced him again, he was biting down on his knuckle. “Fuck.”
I turned to face the mirror and cocked my head; I looked pretty. I had never considered green before, but the store assistant had selected the dress, and Lorenzo had demanded that I try on every item that the woman had suggested.
“I like it, put in on the maybe pile,” I said and turned back to him.
He was shaking his head. “No, this is it,” he said firmly.
“You said I had to try them all, I still have two more to go,” I reminded him, and went to walk back into the dressing room.
He jumped up and grabbed my arm. “I don’t care what I said, we’re done here. This was made for you, Il mio tesoro.”
His gaze was heated, and he pulled me close. His hands skimmed my bare back and I shivered, then gasped as he pushed himself against me, a firm bulge pressing against my stomach, showing me just how much he liked the dress on me.
“Okay, this one is clearly working for me.” I laughed and quickly kissed him before running my hand down his chest. Travelling past the waistband of his trousers, lower, gently squeezing his cock through the fabric, before I strutted away, swaying my hips.
He groaned, and I smiled to myself, loving that I could get away with teasing him so publicly. It was a fun part of the change, and I needed to keep my focus on those fun parts.
I hadn’t let myself dwell too much on the fear that I was feeling over our evening plans. Lorenzo hadn’t allowed there to be enough time for me to do that anyway. He had woken me early this morning, sent me off to shower, and then dragged me out for breakfast before we had arrived at the extravagant dress shop.
I slipped out of the dress, and neatly slid it back onto the hanger. The other two dresses were short, one blue and one black. I supposed the black might have looked nice, but I didn’t really want a short dress for the gala. If I had to face all of those people tonight, the unexpected face on the arm of Lorenzo D’Angelo, I’d do it looking classy as shit in a floor length gown.
Tugging on my jeans and t-shirt I smiled at my reflection. The store assistant had given me the most disapproving look I had ever received in my life when we had walked in the door, and Lorenzo had openly and graphically threatened her if she dared to even glance in my direction again. It was ridiculous, but I appreciated him for doing it. On some level it was sweet, in a psycho kinda way.
I handed the dress to Lorenzo, along with the strappy black heels that I picked out when we had arrived. They would’ve gone with any of the dresses, and he hadn’t tried to change my mind about them. Apparently, shoes were one thing that I was trusted to pick for myself.
He took the items, and I wandered off while he paid, feeling suddenly uncomfortable with the fact that he was buying things for me. I’d never had anyone treat me this way. I had always been the one to treat myself to expensive clothes and shoes, never someone else.
“I think you should wear your hair up tonight,” Lorenzo said as he approached me from behind.
I had been mindlessly running my fingers over a pile of satin scarves while waiting for him and forcing myself to not take over and pay for my things myself.
“Do you want one?” he asked, and I removed my hand from the pile.
“No, thank you,” I said quietly, then twisted to face him. “You want my hair up? I was hoping to get a fancy blow out, all bouncy and sleek.”
He shook his head at me. “You’ll look beautiful with it up. Let’s go, our appointment is in twenty minutes, and I’d like to make sure that they know exactly what we want.”
I followed him out of the shop and sighed. Wondering if I’d get a say in more than just what shoes I’d wear. I had never been to a gala before though, so I supposed he knew what would help me fit in a lot better than I did. I barely tolerated attending fancy dinners and small parties, always ducking out early in favour of a takeaway, bar or club, so this was going to be a whole new experience for me.
Once Simon had styled my hair into an intricate updo and it was set with a crazy amount of hairspray, I was feeling more positive about the evening ahead. Simon had been extremely chatty, and had thrown so many compliments at me I was concerned that my head might explode. Lorenzo admired my hair and thanked Simon for following his vision so perfectly while I rolled my eyes at how serious he was acting over hair. Not even his hair, my hair.
I left the salon and headed straight for the McLaren, but Lorenzo took my arm and looped it though his, guiding me away from the car.
“One more stop, amore mio,” he said, pointing across the street to a jewellers. I had forgotten that he had wanted to accessorise me too.
“We don’t have to,” I began, but he walked us across the street and into the glittering shop. He headed straight to a cabinet at the back and pressed his finger on the glass.
“Which one?” he asked, and I dropped my gaze to where he was pointing. The cabinet was filled with sparkling diamond necklaces, and I gasped as I briefly swept my gaze over them.
“I can’t, Lorenzo, it’s too much,” I protested.
“I promised you diamonds; you will get diamonds. If you don’t choose one, I’ll buy them all,” he threatened, and my eyes widened.
“You wouldn’t,” I exclaimed.
“Watch me.” He beckoned over a tall woman in a navy-blue suit. “We will take these,” he said to her while running his hand over the top of the cabinet.
“Which one’s sir?” the woman asked and began to open the back of the cabinet for us,
“All of them,” he replied, and she paused.
“All of them? Sir, are you sure?” she asked carefully.
“Are you going to pick one now?” He directed his question towards me. “Or shall I let the nice lady ring up every item in there for you?”
The woman stared at me and waited for my response.
“Fine,” I snapped. “Can we have a minute?”
The woman hesitated for a second, glancing at Lorenzo who subtly nodded, and she locked the cabinet back up, stepping to one side. Just far enough away to give the illusion of privacy, but I knew she’d be listening in.
“Go on then, Il mio tesoro,” he urged, and I scanned the selection of necklaces.
After a few minutes of admiring each of the necklaces, most of them not even close to my taste, I pointed to a simple silver one. It had three small teardrop shaped diamonds hanging in a line from the delicate chain. “That one.”
Lorenzo looked at it for a moment. “It’s quite simple,” he said finally.
“Yes,” I agreed. “I like simple,” I said pointedly, making sure that it was clear that this was not the way to my heart. Something that I was hopeful that he had already worked out.
“Then it’s yours,” he said and nodded to the woman who returned to us immediately. He showed her which necklace I had chosen, and I watched her face drop slightly. It was obvious that she had been hoping for a far larger sale, and I took a guess that the necklace I’d selected was not in the price range that she had hoped for.
Oh well, I like what I like.
We left the shop, and Lorenzo took me back to his car. We made our way back to the mansion and the moment we stepped inside I instantly relaxed. Lorenzo handed my bags to Clive—who assured him that they would all be taken care of for this evening—then led the way to the dining room.
“Quick lunch,” he informed me. “Then Claudette will be here.”
“Who?” I had never heard him mention anyone named Claudette before.
“She will take good care of you. Once she’s finished with you, you’ll feel like a princess.”
I cringed slightly at the word princess, then realised who the mystery woman must be.
“I can do my own makeup,” I said in a slightly fed-up tone. I wasn’t used to the way I was being treated, having people do my hair and make-up, picking my clothes. All of it was draining me, and I was getting a little bored of humouring Lorenzo just to keep him happy.
“She will do more than just makeup, amore. Please just relax and enjoy yourself.”
I puffed my cheeks and blew out a long breath. I wanted to bite back, but one glare from him reminded me that I had messed up last night. I wasn’t out of the woods yet, so I needed to do what he wanted.
“I’ll try,” I said, attempting to force a small smile. “What’s for lunch?”
After we had eaten Lorenzo excused himself to go and settle some business matters with Grey, leaving me to entertain myself in his huge home until the makeup woman arrived.
Overall, our morning together had been quite nice, if I looked past the fact that I’d not been having any fun. He hadn’t been glued to his phone, which had surprised me, in fact he had barely glanced at it. I presumed he had handed responsibilities over to Grey, and I smiled to myself as I realised that Lorenzo had chosen to give me his full attention for hours. And I hadn’t been naked.
Good start.
Lorenzo had told me to treat his place as my own from now on. It sounded a hell of a lot like he was wanting me to move in, but I was in no way there yet. Fuck, I’d only just opened up to the idea of us being together, and I still had to worry about how everyone else in our lives would react to that. I supposed I was starting to get comfortable already, but not with the entire mansion. There were so many doors that I had never even opened.
I walked down the corridor and picked a door at random. Behind it was a games room. It had a typical man cave feel to it. My gaze locked on the pool table in the centre of the room. I had never played, but I reckoned I could beat Lorenzo, if he let me try. My aim was near perfect with a gun, so why not with a pool cue?
I closed the door and made a mental note to challenge Lorenzo to a game soon, then wondered back the way I’d come, making a beeline for the stairs, wanting to head to a room I was more familiar with. As I reached the bottom step Clive appeared out of nowhere and cleared his throat.
“Miss Jones has just arrived and is setting up in the guest bedroom,” he announced, and I turned and frowned at him in confusion.
“Who?”
“That would be me,” a voice came from the top of the staircase, and I looked up to find a stunning blonde woman dressed in a white tunic and matching trousers with her hand on her hip.
I looked back at Clive, still a little confused, but he nodded and gestured for me to go to her, apparently knowing who she was.
“Claudette,” she introduced herself with an outstretched hand when I ascended the final step. I took her hand and searched my mind, quickly trying to place her.
Of course, she was the woman Lorenzo had booked to do my makeup. But the gala was hours away. Surely, I shouldn’t have my makeup done so far in advance. Although, I had thought the same about my hair, and I’d been assured that it would hold up until at least the early hours of the morning. So maybe Claudette had some incredible setting spray that would hold my makeup perfectly in place for that long too.
“Miss Fields,” I offered in response to her introduction and her brows pinched slightly. “Or Mal,” I suggested, but her brows just tightened. “Mallory.” I gave in, and her face smoothed back out. Apparently, she wasn’t going to be comfortable calling me by any other name.
“Lovely to meet you, darling,” she said with a saccharine smile that made me more than a little uncomfortable. She placed a hand on my back and gently guided me towards the guest room door. “Shall we get started; we have a very busy afternoon ahead of us.”
I nodded a little dumbly and tried not to let on just how confused I was. Busy afternoon? I could do my own makeup in less than half an hour, how much was she planning on caking onto my face for it to take an entire afternoon?
She opened the door, and I paused in the doorway, taking in the transformed guest room. The room that I knew all too well didn’t even look slightly the same as it had the last time I’d been in there. It looked like a freaking spa.
“Claudette, what exactly are we doing this afternoon?” I asked, turning to face her where she was hovering beside me looking impatient.
She nudged me into the room and locked the door behind us. “Everything, darling. When I’m finished with you, you will be the picture of perfection. Now strip down and lay on the table,” she instructed and handed me a large white towel. “Place this over you if you want.”
I did as she said, still feeling a little stunned. I had thought that this woman was just going to slap some makeup on me and be done with it. I’d never been in this position before, with someone else polishing and shining me up until I glowed. Shelly had taught me how to do everything for myself when I was younger, so I’d never even thought about letting someone else do it.
“Chocolate or strawberry?” Claudette asked from a table on wheels that she had set up by the door.
“For what?” I asked, confused as all hell. Was she prepping some snacks? I had only just had lunch, but sure, I could squeeze in a few chunks of chocolate.
“Wax,” she explained. “Or you could have unscented, but personally I like to go for something tasty, if you’re lucky the scent will linger on your skin.”
I laughed in response, but she didn’t join in. When I looked over at her she was frowning again.
“Oh, oh okay. This isn’t a joke, erm, strawberry I guess.” Great, I was going to have a fruity fanny.
“I’d have gone with strawberry too,” she said, and I laid down on the table and draped the towel over myself. I was pretty confident with my body, and if I wanted it or not, this woman was going to be getting all kinds of intimate with it, but I didn’t really want everything exposed when it wasn’t necessary. “Are you looking forward to the gala?” she asked, beginning the small talk thing that I wasn’t a huge fan of.
I indulged her with mindless chatter for hours as she plucked, pruned and prodded me from head to toe. She had listened when I had told her my preferences, which had come as quite a shock to me after how little say I’d had in other parts of my day. Lorenzo had given her a guide, but luckily his vision for me had a little wiggle room, and I was able to select the shade of lipstick I wore, the shape of my brows and nails, and which scented lotions I would have rubbed into every inch of my body.
I posed in a fluffy white robe as Claudette circled me like a vulture. “Open,” she commanded, and I unwrapped the robe. She stood in front of me and slowly looked me up and down. “Perfection,” she announced with a wide smile, and I relaxed a fraction. “Let’s go and get you dressed. You’ll be leaving soon.”
I wrapped the robe back around myself and followed her along the hall to Lorenzo’s room. She hovered by the door and then knocked.
“Come in,” Lorenzo called from the other side of the door. I hadn’t expected him to be in his room, but why shouldn’t he be? He would have to get dressed too.
Claudette opened the door, and I entered the bedroom behind her. “Good evening, Mr D’Angelo,” she said with a slight purr to her tone that made my jaw clench.
Lorenzo looked up, his fingers pausing where they were about to push the top button of his shirt through the hole. He looked straight past the woman to me. “Amore mio, you didn’t want to wear a different colour lipstick tonight?” he asked with a disappointed frown.
“I like red, Lorenzo,” I said with a shrug.
Claudette’s smile dropped from her face in an instant and she spun to glare at me. “If he doesn’t like it, we will change it, Mallory,” she hissed.
“He doesn’t have to wear it,” I smiled at her sarcastically, dropping the nice act that I’d been putting on since I met her, then drew my attention to Lorenzo. “Is there a problem with me wearing this shade?” I asked.
“I wouldn’t have picked it, amore,” he said, sucking his lower lip as he ran his gaze over me. “But I suppose it looks fine.”
“Good,” I said and gave him a sly smile before turning back to Claudette. “The red stays.”
She pursed her lips but didn’t argue. “Shall I take Miss Fields to get dressed now?” she asked Lorenzo, and I rolled my eyes at how she looked at my man with unashamed come-fuck-me-eyes.
My man. That felt weird to think about.
“Yes, please, Claudette. Miss Fields’ dress is through there.” He pointed towards the large walk-in closet, and the woman crossed the room, grabbing my arm, and towing me behind her.
“I’ll see you downstairs in twenty minutes,” Lorenzo whispered as he placed a passing kiss to my cheek as I was dragged into his closet.
Inside the closet I was shocked to see that my dress was the only one hanging on the rail on the left-hand side of the room. I had presumed Selene’s dresses would still be in here, since Clive had found one for me not that long ago. If they weren’t in here, where were they? There wasn’t a single sign that the woman had ever had any place in this room, just like the bedroom showed no hint of her either. It made me wonder if they had even shared this space, if maybe they had been one of those couples who lived under the same roof but had separate rooms. And if so, why?
Claudette opened the expensive looking box that sat on top of a black velvet chair in the corner of the room and handed me a scrap of black lace fabric.
“I’m not sure that this will look right under that dress,” she said thoughtfully. “Maybe we forego underwear tonight?” She raised a perfectly shaped brow at me, and I shrugged a shoulder.
“Sure,” I agreed. “Whatever. But Claudette, I don’t need help putting on a dress, I managed it fine by myself in the shop this morning, I’ll be fine now.”
“I am aware that you can dress yourself,” she said, pulling the dress gently down from its hanger. “But I need to ensure that you look perfect, and that the bruises on your back aren’t visible.” She handed me the dress then pulled a small compact from her pocket and opened it to reveal pale powder. “I’ve already hidden them quite well, but no harm in making sure it’s set properly.”
I dropped the robe and stepped into the emerald dress, pulling it carefully up my body and slipping my arms into the thin straps. Claudette stepped behind me and began patting powder on to my back where my bruises from last night were. She had hissed through her teeth when she had first seen them, but the sound was nothing compared to the one she made when she saw the state of my ass, the perfect outline of a handprint from the spanking I had received once we had arrived back at the house. Once she was done, I turned to examine her work. No one would have any idea that there were purple marks covering a large amount of my back with how well she had worked on me.
“Thank you, you are very good at what you do,” I said honestly, I might not have liked her, but she was talented.
“I know. Now go and sit down, I’ll find your shoes,” she said cockily, and I pushed the underwear box onto the floor and perched on the edge of the velvet chair. I glanced at my reflection behind me in the mirror and smiled, feeling like a damn queen in the green dress, Lorenzo has been right, it really was made for me.
Claudette left me alone in the closet after she had helped me into my shoes and given me her final approval. I politely told her that I hoped to see her again sometime, but if I was being honest, I prayed I’d never have to endure another minute with her again. Next time I would put my foot down and do it all myself. Except maybe the facial, that part had been relaxing as hell. But we could find someone else to do that.
I grabbed the small clutch bag Lorenzo had bought earlier on, and was surprised to find that everything I needed was already inside. Phone, lipstick, pocketknife. No doubt Clive’s doing. I took one last look in the mirror, and stepped out of the bedroom.
Adonis appeared from behind the next door along from the guest bedroom. He walked towards me, and I frowned at his attire. He was dressed in a black suit with a white shirt and black bowtie. Suits were his choice of clothing quite often, but not like this, not with a tie, and never a white shirt.
“What are you all dressed up for?” I asked coldly. I hadn’t seen him since he had almost kissed me. I’d pushed the thought out of my mind, but it all came flooding back as he stood before me, and my mouth turned unexpectedly dry. I swallowed hard and scowled at him, ensuring that I wasn’t accidentally looking at him like he was some tempting treat, because he wasn’t. Lorenzo needed to see that no matter what he thought he had seen between me and his stepson, my feelings towards him hadn’t changed. Even if his had.
“Same reason as you, cara,” he said with a dark smirk, and pulled a small silver flask from inside his jacket and took a long swig.
“You’re coming to the gala?” I scoffed, “Why the fuck would you be coming?”
Adonis gave an amused chuckle and slowly licked his lips. “Didn’t Dad tell you? You and I are both moving up in the world. You’ll be stepping out as his new piece of meat, and I’ll be networking, preparing for when he retires. He’s getting on a bit, so I doubt it’ll be long before I’m taking over The Brotherhood.”
My mouth fell open and I spluttered a cough. “You’re joking?”
“Do I look like I joke?” he deadpanned. “Don’t tell me you thought you might have been the one to take over. Oh, cara, you’ll be lucky to even stay a Brother now that you’re publicly his. I really thought it might have been a challenge to get rid of you, but apparently you’ve just walked straight into your exit.”
Before I could stop myself, before I could even think, my palm collided with his cheek. He chuckled, a low laugh that lit a furious fire through my whole body. How had he managed to go from almost kissing me, worrying about me being hurt, to this? I guess his feelings had stayed the same after all, pure hatred.
“Nice to see you two are back to your usual bickering selves.” Lorenzo’s voice carried up the stairs to us and we both looked down to find him leaning against the banister. “But we’re going to be late, so get your asses down here now.”
I shot Adonis a deathly glare and descended the stairs. He held back, but I refused to look over my shoulder to find out why, instead I plastered a smile on my face and made my way down to my man.
“Amore mio, you look lovely,” Lorenzo said as he took my hand and twirled me around. “Don’t you agree?” he asked, directing his question at Adonis, who was coming down towards us at a leisurely pace.
Lorenzo was clearly testing him, all three of us knew it.
“You’ve done well for yourself, Enzo,” he said flatly, boosting Lorenzo’s ego and avoiding complimenting me.
Lorenzo gave him a satisfied look and turned away from us, heading out of the front door.
“Non sembri adorabile, sembri come se fossi stato mandato direttamente dall'inferno per tormentarmi,” Adonis murmured to me as he pushed past me, following Lorenzo.
What the hell had he just said, and why had his words sent a tingle through my entire body? I shook myself off quickly and tried not to let the fact that I couldn’t understand him bother me. Knowing Adonis, he had probably told me that I looked like a swamp creature and that he hoped I would drop dead.
Outside the front door sat a sleek, black Ducati. Beside it was Lorenzo’s McLaren. I eyed the bike and looked down at my dress. Dammit, if I didn’t have to wear this thing, and my hair wasn’t looking all fancy, I’d have happily shoved Adonis into the McLaren with Lorenzo and taken the Ducati for an extra long ride.
Adonis swung his leg over the bike and mouthed something at me that I couldn’t quite work out before pulling the helmet down over his head. I pushed my tongue into my cheek and narrowed my eyes at him as he roared away. Lorenzo pushed the passenger door of his car open from inside and called me over. When I was sat inside, he placed his hand on my thigh and gave me a soft smile.
“Are you ready, amore mio?”
“As I’ll ever be,” I said with a small smile, then bit the inside of my cheek. “This doesn’t change my place in The Brotherhood, does it?” I asked. Adonis’ words at the top of the stairs had struck a nerve, and I couldn’t help but wonder if things would change that drastically.
“No, amore. Please try to ignore what Adonis says, you are far too valuable to all of us.” My shoulders dropped, relief washing over me at his reassuring words.
As he drove, he kept his hand on my thigh, rubbing his thumb back and forth in a soothing motion, and with each passing minute I felt more prepared for what we were about to do. I was safe with him. Nothing bad would happen to me tonight. My man wouldn’t let it.
We pulled up outside the large hotel where the gala was being held, and a young guy rushed around the car to open my door for me. I thanked him and quietly told him that he was doing a great job before I made my way round to Lorenzo, who was having a stern word with the valet about how expensive his car was. I stepped in the middle of the two men and passed the keys from Lorenzo’s hand to the valet. Lorenzo frowned at me, but I smiled sweetly up and him and looped my arm through his elbow.
“Let’s do this,” I said confidently, and his frown dropped as he spun me to face him, dipped me low and pressed his lips to mine in a passionate kiss.
Once I had found my balance again, we walked up the steps towards the main entrance, through the foyer, and into an extravagant ballroom. There were tables laid out all around the room where we would eventually sit down to eat. A long auction table ran down one side of the room, and on the other was a stage where a string quartet were currently playing a piece that I recognised but couldn’t name. Everyone in the room looked incredible, and I was glad I’d let Lorenzo choose this dress, it was the perfect choice.
Across the room I spotted Adonis talking with a couple of men, he was smiling at them and talking animatedly, and I couldn’t help but laugh.
“What has amused you, amore mio?” Lorenzo murmured in my ear, then dropped a quick kiss to my bare shoulder.
“Your stepson, he’s smiling, it’s funny,” I said, and Lorenzo followed my gaze.
“Clever boy, sucking up to the big shots in the room,” he said proudly, then looked down at me. “But please don’t give him too much of your attention,” he warned, and I bit my lip, realising how it must have looked to be so amused by a man I hated.
Lorenzo dragged me over to a large group of people who I didn’t recognise and introduced me to each of them. I shook hands and fell into conversations that didn’t interest me in the slightest. Luckily, I was smart enough to hold my own on any subject.
I excused myself from a small group of women who had crowded around me—curious and desperate for details about the mystery woman on the dangerous man’s arm—and made my way over to the bar. The barman placed a flute of champagne in front of me and I looked at it with disappointment but raised it to my lips and took a long sip.
“You look as bored as I feel,” a familiar low voice spoke up beside me, and I turned to find Adonis leaning with his back against the bar. I turned to look out at the people enjoying themselves and groaned.
“I am.”
We stood in uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, neither of us moving, until my eye caught on something across the room, and I pushed away from the bar a fraction as low growl left my throat.
“What the fuck was that noise for?” Adonis asked, sounding surprised.
My grip on my glass tightened and my eyes darted as I searched the room for Lorenzo. I found him and his eyes met mine. I mouthed for him to come over and he held his finger up to me, resuming his conversation.
“Why did you just growl?” Adonis asked with a slight laugh.
“My brother, Jason, he was murdered ten months ago, and being in the same room as the piece of shit who was responsible for taking away the only bit of family I had left makes me feel sick,” I told him as my eyes locked on the man with the deformed face who was sitting in a wheelchair beside Shay.
I knew that Shay would be here, and I had avoided him all evening. Not that we would usually talk to each other, we were rarely even in the same part of town, but after last night, it seemed like a good idea to keep my distance. But why had he brought that worthless piece of shit with him?
“Jason, as in our Jason? He was your brother?” Adonis asked and I flinched, he wasn’t his Jason, but I knew what he had meant. A Brother.
I nodded sharply and pushed back the tears that were threatening to come forward and spill down my cheeks.
“If you feel sick being in the same room as his murderer, why are you with him?” Adonis asked quietly, and my head flew around.
“What did you just say?” I snapped. I must have heard him wrong.
“Why are you with him?” he repeated, brows drawn tightly together, confusion written on every inch of his face. “Kinda messed up that you’d start a relationship with the man who killed your brother. I had no idea you and Jason were related. Fuck, cara. Are you with him so that you can lull him into…” he trailed off as I felt my blood run cold. His eyes widened in shock, and he inhaled sharply.
“You didn’t know, did you?”