Becoming his Mistress: A Zanetti Famiglia Novel

by Faiman, Hayley

  “My shop is burning to the ground as we stand here,” I blurt out.

  “What?” Chloe shouts.

  I nod, my gaze shifting to my feet. I don’t want to cry again, I’m over it. Completely fucking over it. I’ve cried more in the past forty-eight hours than I have my entire life. Lifting my eyes to the women in the room, I jerk my chin in hopes that the brave face will work to keep the tears at bay.

  “Why?” Luciana asks.

  “Wynter,” I sigh. “And karma.”

  Luciana snorts. But it’s Mia who speaks first. “It has nothing to do with karma, Lenora. It has everything to do with this life. It can be so ugly—it can be ruthless.”

  “I was a man’s mistress. It’s karma. I deserve Wynter’s hate. I deserve everything she dishes out to me. I’ll take it all, too.”

  Chloe opens her mouth, but it’s Luciana who speaks above everyone else, again, even cutting Mia off.

  “My father died, and I was happy, Lenora. Happy he was finally dead. I was unofficially promised to a man when I ran off with Gavino. None of us are perfect, none of us are without something dark in our past. You did nothing wrong.”

  “Mistress, Luciana. What if the tables were turned, what if Gavino had a mistress, how would that feel? I can’t imagine how terrible Wynter feels.”

  “Felt,” Mia snorts.

  My eyes widen and I turn to her. She’s pressing her lips together. “Past tense?” I ask.

  Mia shrugs. “Let’s see if there’s anything sugary and fatty in here,” she announces as she turns from me and walks over to the oversized refrigerator.

  Shifting my gaze to Luciana, who seems to know all the information in this group, aside from Mia, I wait expectantly for her to enlighten me. She looks down at her feet, chewing on the corner of her lip before she lets out a puff of air and brings her gaze back to mine.

  “Do you love my cousin?” she asks.

  I blink, cursing my stupid heart for leaping in my chest. “I do,” I admit. “I don’t like him or his decisions very much right now, but I do love him.”

  She nods a couple of times. “Good. Don’t let him off the hook for what he’s done. But,” she draws out. “Wynter is gone. It’s why we’re all here. I don’t know how, who, or why. All I know is that she’s dead.”

  “I never wanted this,” I whisper.

  Chloe immediately appears at my side, sliding her arm around my shoulders and pulling me close to her. “Of course, you didn’t, Lenora. That’s not the kind of person you are,” she murmurs against my ear.

  “What happens now?” I ask.

  Luciana shrugs her shoulder. “It’s up to Arlo, really. Well, Arlo and you, but mostly Arlo.”

  “Are you saying in a not-too-subtle way that Arlo is going to decide my future?” I ask.

  “Welcome to their world, Lenora,” she whispers.

  Shaking my head, I take a step back. “I refuse,” I state. “Not after what he’s put me through, no.”

  It’s Mia’s turn to laugh. I turn my head, my gaze finding hers. She’s got some food set down on the countertop, but I don’t see that, I just see her eyes dancing as she watches me.

  “He’s claimed you. Bought you a place to live and if I’m not mistaken, those diamonds on your ears. You are his comáre. You aren’t going anywhere. Hate him, love him, despise him. You’re his until he releases you.” She says sounding as though she knows from experience.

  “If I refuse?”

  She bites the corner of her lip, her eyes focused on mine. “He might leave you alone, but you will never have another man in your life or in your bed. Not until he allows it and I’ve never seen one allow it.”

  “Fuck that,” Chloe barks. “Fuck that shit, all the way around the goddamn universe and back. I’ll scratch his eyes out.”

  Luciana is the first one to start giggling, then Mia joins her and after a few moments Chloe and I join in as well. It’s cathartic, to laugh. We all eventually gather around the food and I reach for the big chocolate cupcake that has been screaming my name since Mia set it on the counter.

  “I’m nobody’s whore,” I announce after I’ve finished one cupcake and I’m reaching for a chocolate chip cookie.

  Mia reaches across the counter, her fingers wrap around my wrist and she squeezes. “We’re all whores. Since the beginning of time, Lenora. Why not whore for a man you love?”

  The kitchen door opens before I can respond to her words. We all freeze then turn around to see that all the men are standing at the kitchen’s entrance. Gavino’s arms are crossed over his chest, but he has a rare smile on his face as he looks over to his wife.

  “Time to go home, cucciola.”

  Without a word, as if she’s a magnet, and he’s metal, she moves toward him, leaving whatever she was snacking on in the middle of the counter.

  “Chloe,” Luca calls.

  Thankfully, my best friend isn’t as easily swayed by her man, yet. “I’m going home with Lenora,” she announces.

  Luca’s eyes dance, his lips twitch and he shakes his head a couple of times. “Come on, carina. Once you get some sleep, I’ll take you to Lenora.”

  She reaches for me, and I turn my head to look over to her. “You’ll be okay?” she breathes.

  I nod, feeling anything but okay. I lie to my best friend because I know she wants to go with Luca, she wants to be with him and I love that for her. They leave and Mia slips out behind them. I look around for Massimo, but he’s nowhere to be seen. Instead, I’m met with the cold angry eyes of the man that I hate to love.

  “Massimo will no longer be in charge of your safety, tesoro,” he grinds out.

  I stay firmly planted in my spot, my eyes widen as I watch him. He crosses his arms over his chest, his feet spread wide as he stares at me. I supposed to anyone else he looks downright intimidating. To me, he just looks beautiful, forbidden, and if I were stronger, I wouldn’t dare to think of him as mine, but he looks like mine as he watches me.

  “Why?” I stupidly ask.

  He chuckles, but it comes out as a harsh bark. “Did you like him?” he asks as his feet begin to move.

  He stalks me like the prey that I am. Slowly, surely, as he moves toward me. My breath hitches and I suck in deep as I watch him, waiting for him to make some kind of move. He doesn’t. Instead, he stops just a few inches from me and dips his chin as he looks down into my eyes.

  ARLO

  Fuck, she’s beautiful.

  If I ever thought that I could let her go, I was wrong. I contemplated it, but only for a moment. God knows she’d be better off without me. I can’t do it though, she’s mine. I’ve fallen in love with her and I’m selfish. I don’t want anyone else to have any part of her.

  “He’s nice.” She shrugs.

  Reaching out, I wrap my hand around her waist and roughly pull her against my chest. My entire body trembles when she’s pressed against me. Closing my eyes for a moment, I inhale her scent before I reopen them and look down into those green orbs that own my soul.

  “He wants in your panties.”

  “And you won’t allow that?” she quips.

  I can feel my nostrils flare as rage fills my body. “Never,” I growl.

  Lowering my head, I brush my lips across hers. Her entire body is stiff in my arms, but I don’t care. She’s close, we’re touching, and that’s all I give a fuck about right now. Keeping my mouth against hers, I try not to groan at the feel of her soft lips.

  “I’m never letting you go, tesoro,” I state. “You’re mine. Come home.”

  She pushes against my chest, I let her go. Against everything inside of me, I allow her to take a step away from me.

  “Home?” she asks.

  “Home.”

  She shakes her head, her eyes watering as she does. “It was never our home, Carlo. It was a place you housed your mistress, your whore,” she whispers.

  I’m unable to hold back the roar that escapes from my throat. Reaching for her, I don’t care that she looks sc
ared as fuck.

  Slamming my mouth against hers, I take her in a hard kiss. My chest is heaving as I try to keep myself from completely going fucking crazy.

  “Never, Lenora.” I swear as I release her mouth.

  Inhaling, I try to calm myself, but it doesn’t work. I’m full of anger, of fury.

  “Don’t you dare act as if what we have is a dirty, sordid affair, it never was. What we have is, and always will be, real. Completely fucking real.”

  “How can you say that when everything was a lie?” she asks.

  Merda, she looks so sweet, so innocent, so fucking beautiful. “Because Elenora. You’re the only woman I have ever loved,” I admit.

  She blinks as tears fall down her cheeks. Dipping my chin, I press my mouth to hers. “Ti amo, tesoro,” I breathe.

  Chapter Thirty

  ARLO

  I drive Lenora back to the East Village, to our home, in silence. I’m okay with the quiet. What I’m not okay with is Lenora getting lost inside of her own head. Which is exactly where she is. Completely fucking lost. I don’t blame her, there’s a lot she doesn’t know, but a lot that she does and probably more than she suspects. All that, including the complete loss of her business.

  I’m not worried about her business, because I will get it all back for her. If she wants to reopen in Manhattan, I’ll make it happen, but I’m going to push for Brooklyn. It would be nice if we started completely over—together.

  Pulling into the parking garage, I kill the engine and turn to look at her. She’s refusing to turn her head, to even acknowledge me.

  “We need to talk, not fight, not fuck—talk,” I say.

  Her mouth drops open, and she turns to look at me with narrowed eyes. “Seriously?” she hisses.

  My lips twitch, noticing the blush that rises up her chest, neck and settles in her cheeks. “Yeah, tesoro. When the talking is done, then we can fuck. But I’m going to take you slow, remind you why you love me.”

  “Who said I loved you?” she snaps.

  She’s angry, I get it, but I won’t allow her to take back the only words that have ever meant anything to me.

  “Don’t do that,” I warn. “Don’t you take that back.”

  Her face softens as I’m sure she hears the sadness in my voice at the thought of her not loving me any longer. She reaches forward, her palm cupping my cheek.

  “I’m very angry with you, Carlo. I don’t know that I’ll ever be able to forgive you,” she admits.

  I nod once. “I understand. Let’s go inside and talk,” I urge.

  She bites the corner of her lip, her fingers falling from my face. Exiting the car, I jog over to her side to let her out of the car. Together we walk into our apartment. I was a different man the last time we came here together, I was maybe even a little lost.

  It’s only been days, but I feel as though I’ve aged years. So much has happened, but one thing is unwavering, and that is how I feel for Lenora. I knew it the first day that I saw her, I knew that she was special.

  I knew that I had to have her as my own.

  I also knew that I should stay away from her, that I would inevitably hurt her. I have done just that, I’ve hurt her, but I hope, I fucking pray that I can fix this—fix her.

  Another trip in silence, but this time in the elevator, again, I’m fine with it. The time has come for me to come clean about who, and what, I am. After talking to Gavino, I decided that I need to have full disclosure with Lenora. She deserves to know everything, just as she has always deserved to know it all.

  If for no other reason than for safety precautions.

  She also needs to know that Wynter wasn’t upset because of the infidelity, she didn’t really care about that. It had to do with so much more than where I stuck my cock. She will never understand if she doesn’t know the entire truth.

  Inhaling the scent of the apartment, it’s different than the last time that I was here. It’s lighter. I know that’s because Lenora is here with me. When she’s around it brings something different to my life, to the air that I breathe, a lightness that wasn’t ever there before.

  “Talk,” she demands as soon as we’re in the living room.

  Smiling, I shake my head a couple of times and walk over to a chair. Sinking down, I watch as she does the same in the corner of the sofa, as far away from me as possible.

  “You’ve met Gavino. You know that we aren’t completely legal when it comes to the casino,” I say.

  Lenora nods, her eyes widening when she realizes that what I’m going to tell her isn’t about Wynter at all, but rather about what I do. I watch as she licks her lips in anticipation.

  Fuck me, she’s cute as shit.

  “Vino is the Boss of the Zanetti famiglia,” I state.

  She frowns, her eyes searching mine. I know the moment that it hits her, that the truth dawns on her.

  “That makes you?”

  “I’m the Underboss. My father and Luciana’s mother were siblings.”

  “You’re in the Mob?” she hisses.

  I snort, unable to control the small burst of laughter. “The mafia, yeah, tesoro.”

  “Holy shit,” she breathes. “That’s why Massimo and Gavino were saying all kinds of things about your world.”

  I nod slowly, careful not to take my gaze from hers. I watch to see every single reaction that flickers over her face. I don’t want to miss a second of it.

  “Wynter?” she breathes.

  “The bitch played me, played Gavino, played all of us. She had her own agenda, something none of us knew. Also, walked in on her fucking the guy who broke into the shop and hit you. Don’t ever have to lose a wink of sleep over that mafankulo again.”

  There’s a moment of silence, one where I can’t read her expression, even if I wanted to try. I wait for the information to sink in, all of it. She frowns, her eyes searching mine.

  “Luca, too?” I nod. “Wow.”

  Slowly, she stands, then makes her way toward me. She stops right in front of me. I don’t know what she’s going to say or do next, so I wait, with bated breath.

  “I want every detail, Carlo. I want you to swear that you’ll never lie to me again.”

  “I do, you’ll forgive me?” I ask, hopeful.

  She shakes her head. “I can’t ever forget what you did to me. How that made me feel. If you want to work on us, then hopefully I can trust you one day, but this is a start.”

  “It is?”

  “Yeah, telling me who you really are. That’s a start.”

  “You aren’t scared?”

  She bends over slightly, her hand lifting and her palm cupping my cheek. “Terrified, Carlo. I’m terrified. Just not of you. Never of you,” she breathes.

  Wrapping my hands around her hips, I slowly pull her down on my lap. Thankfully, she doesn’t struggle. She wraps her arms around my shoulders and her lips touch mine.

  We kiss.

  Like teenagers.

  My hands don’t roam, too afraid that I’ll ruin the moment. Instead, I just enjoy the weight of her body against my own and the taste that floods my tongue.

  There is so much uncertainty, but one thing is fucking clear. She is mine. Made just for me and nobody fucking else. When this is done and over, she’ll be wearing my ring.

  Lenora will be my wife.

  ELENORA

  Carlo kisses me but doesn’t even attempt to take things further. I feel slightly rejected, then admonish myself because I’m really not ready to be with him like that again. My body wants him, so, so, damn bad. When our lips eventually part, I look down at him, my breath coming out in pants.

  His hand slides up my waist, his fingers skimming the side of my breast over the thick hoodie, but I can feel the heat from his hand as if he’s touching my bare skin. His fingers tuck some hair behind my ear, then wrap around the back of my neck.

  “If I could go back, things would be different. You have to believe that, tesoro.”

  I feel emotionally drained as I loo
k back at him, wondering if what he says is true. “I’m not going to ask about your marriage with her, I’m just going to assume it was a real marriage,” I murmur.

  He flinches, and that’s all the answer that I need. “For a week. Nothing more,” he states.

  No matter the timeframe, he was still inside of another woman. That hurts. No, that kills me. I want to scream at him, turn around and run, but I don’t. I haven’t forgiven him, I certainly don’t trust him, but I’m so tired.

  “Sleep, Lenora. I have some phone calls that I need to make, I’ll be here when you wake up.”

  “Will you?” I ask, knowing that he never really has before.

  Our life together was shrouded in secrecy and lies. My heart hurts just thinking about it and I can’t stop, it’s all that I can think about, every moment of every day. When I’m not thinking about Arlo and his betrayal, his wife, then I’m thinking about my shop which as far as I know is now nothing but a smoldering pile of ash and rubble.

  Sucking in a breath, I pinch my eyes closed. Arlo’s fingers flex around the back of my neck. My eyes open and I frown, looking at him.

  “What crossed your mind, Lenora?”

  “My shop, I had all that inventory that was delivered sometime between last night and this morning. I hadn’t even gone through it. Massimo just dumped it inside of the door. It’s all gone. How am I going to pay Luca back now?”

  Carlo snorts before it turns into a chuckle. I stare at him, my lips parted as I watch him laugh. Laugh at my predicament. His hand behind my neck gives me a little shake and only when he’s calmed himself, does he let the smile fall from his lips.

  “I have more money than I can spend in a lifetime, Lenora. I’ll pay Luca back the cash and then we’ll scout new places for the store. I was planning on it anyway.”

  “What?” I breathe.

  He tilts his head to the side, his eyes roaming mine and looking at me like I’m a little crazy. “You’re mine, Elenora. Which means, I take care of you.”

  “Is this your way of controlling me? Holding this over my head, owning me?” I ask as I scramble off of his lap.