Dark Obsession (Famiglia Book 4)

by Andrea Joy

  “You, uh…” I wave a hand in his general direction indicating his clean clothes after I mute the 80s sitcom playing on the TV.

  “Didn’t have to do any of the dirty work this time. Your man handled himself well. I think the Boss was impressed.” Stefan drops down on the opposite end of the couch, kicking his feet up on the coffee table and crossing his ankles.

  “Did Mason…?” I trail off and fold my legs under me, pulling the blanket from the back of the couch to throw over my legs.

  “Did he put a bullet in that bastard’s head after fucking him up?” Stefan chuckles, folding his arms across his chest, making his biceps bulge. “Yeah, he did.”

  I flinch. Even as a kid, I knew what my uncle did for his job so it wasn’t a secret what Braxton would have to do when he took over for his father. Still doesn’t mean that I’m overly fond of hearing exactly what they did when they were out seeing to business. Even though I did bring this one on myself. I hit unmute on the TV and settle further into the couch cushions. Klara took Dominic and Lily to the park down the street for a bit so I have a while before I have to be in mom mode again.

  The show has just hit a commercial break when the front door opens and closes with a click. It’s not followed by the running footsteps of children so I’m assuming it’s not Klara, and Braxton and Ciaran are upstairs. Seconds later, Mason steps around the corner with a bottle of wine in one hand. Not just any wine, but my favourite vintage. He looks hot in tight blue jeans, a white t-shirt, leather jacket, and shit-kicker boots on his feet.

  As soon as Stefan notices Mason standing in the living room, he gets up and excuses himself, letting us know that he’ll be back for the family dinner in a couple hours.

  “Is that for me?” I ask, tugging my t-shirt down as I stand up from the couch and approach him.

  He smirks, snaking an arm around my waist and pulling me to him. “It’s an apology wine.” He hands me the bottle but doesn’t release his hold around my waist, his stare dropping down to my lips.

  “An apology wine?” I ask, a little breathless. God, I’ve missed being in his arms like this. I sigh. “I feel like you’ve been too easy on me.”

  “Maybe, but I spent so many years of my marriage with Emily focused on the less important things and then it was too late. I don’t want to make that same mistake. We can’t go back and change the last six years, but we do get to decide how we spend the future. Am I still hurt that you kept my son a secret from me? Yeah. But that doesn’t take away from the fact that I’m looking forward to raising him with you.”

  Before I have a chance to drop the bottle, I lean over a bit to put it on the side table. When I straighten up again my palms find his chest, and Mason tightens his hold. He moves my long hair off my shoulder before he presses a kiss to my shoulder, then in the curve of my neck, and under my ear sending a shiver down my body.

  “Mason,” I moan.

  He slides a leg between mine. His thigh rubbing against the spot between my legs. I trace the hard ridges of his abs with my fingers through the thin material of his shirt until I get to the hem. I look up at him and bite the corner of my lip as I trace along the waistband of his jeans. Mason groans, punching his hips forward. I can feel the hard bulge of him on my thigh. I grab the hand not wrapped around my waist and start leading him upstairs when the front door pushes open again and this time my son and Lily come barrelling through, skidding to a stop to toe off their shoes.

  “Mom!” Dominic says, excitedly, racing to where I’m standing by the foot of the stairs with Mason’s hand still in mine and my back pressed to his front. “Aunt Klara said it’s okay if we go swimming before dinner. Can we?”

  His blue eyes are bright as he stares up at me. Hair as dark as his father’s shines in the late afternoon sun coming through the still open front door and windows in the entryway. Mason turns to stone behind me, his sharp intake of breath loud in my ear but too quiet for anybody else to hear. Aside from the eyes that mirror mine, Dominic looks like the splitting image of a younger version of Mason. His face still has the chubbiness of childhood, but when he gets older it’ll sharpen out like Mason’s. From various pictures I’ve seen of Mason when he was Dominic’s age, Dominic is a little taller than he was, but his build is the same.

  “Um,” I look from my son to Mason behind me and then back again. Taking a deep breath, I let go of my hold on Mason’s hand and take a knee in front of Dominic, taking his smaller hands in mine. “I need to tell you something before you go swimming, okay?” I look to Klara still standing by the door. She gives me a little nod and ushers Lily further inside the house. My heart is racing a thousand miles a minute as I try not to grip my son’s hand too hard in my anxiety. I knew this minute was coming but I’m still not prepared. When I look back to Dominic, his eyes aren’t on me. Instead, they’re locked onto Mason who has stepped closer. As I’m watching my son’s reaction to the man behind me, I can see the moment when it clicks. His eyes round and there’s a slight tremble in his hands clasped within mine. Mason hasn’t changed much from the picture Dominic has beside his bed.

  “Dad?” Dominic’s voice is barely above a whisper when he speaks the one word.

  Mason runs his palms down his thighs and looks at me hesitantly. When I give a slight nod, he kneels beside me, an unsure smile on his face.

  “Hi, Dominic.”

  I watch the play of emotion across my son’s face. Shock, fear, happiness, anger, and confusion. I’m getting ready to brace myself for the fall out. Dominic rarely throws a tantrum or acts out, even as a toddler he was pretty even tempered, but if there was ever a situation where I’m expecting it, it’s this one. My son surprises me when he lets go of my hands so he can throw his arms around Mason’s shoulders and bury his face in his neck. I stare in shock as my son hugs his father for the first time. Mason’s eyes water as he hugs Dominic back and stands up. Dom automatically wraps his legs around Mason’s waist and doesn’t look like he’s going to let go of his father any time soon. It was the exact same way he greeted me when I went to pick him and Ciaran up at the airport.

  I hover around them for a bit when Mason moves them to the living room, but after a while I decide that maybe I should let them get to know each other a bit better so I head into the kitchen to grab them each a bottle of water and some snacks as well as Dom’s guitar from where it’s still laying on the kitchen table. Mason shoots me a thankful smile over Dominic’s head. I hold up the guitar case so Mason can see it and then point to Dominic. A brief look of confusion crosses his face before he nods again and whispers something in Dominic’s ear. My son’s head shoots up, almost hitting Mason in the nose, and then he’s looking over at me with his hands outstretched for the instrument.

  “I thought maybe you could play one of the songs you’ve been practising?”

  Without a word, Dominic climbs off Mason’s lap and unlocks the guitar case, pulling out the kid sized blue guitar. He scrambles back on to his father’s lap again, his back to Mason’s chest as he fiddles with the strings and works to tune it. Once he’s satisfied that all the strings are in tune, he begins strumming out a melody that’s become so familiar to me, but that I’ve missed the last few months being away from him. It’s the theme song from his favourite Disney movie.

  It’s almost comical that the more Dominic plays, the wider Mason’s eyes become. His jaw drops when the familiarity of the song finally hits him and he watches in awe as Dominic’s fingers move flawlessly over the strings. I leave the two of them in the living room and go in search of Klara and Lily. I find them in the backyard. Klara is pushing Lily on the swing, her white blonde hair blowing in her face as she giggles.

  “How’s it going in there?” Klara asks when I get closer.

  “Dominic’s playing the theme song from Toy Story for him. I think it’s the first time I’ve seen Mason speechless,” I laugh.

  “Who’s ready for some steaks?” Braxton says, walking out of the house, a red Tupperware container in one hand and ba
rbeque tongs in the other.

  One by one the others start to arrive and the kids beg and plead to be able to get into the pool before dinner until we say yes.

  “Dad! Watch this!” Dominic hollers from the deep end of the pool. He waits until he has Mason’s full attention before he cannon balls, splashing the twins and Cooper who were swimming close by.

  After dinner, the kids wanted to get back into the pool so after waiting the required thirty-minutes we allowed them to get changed into their swim suits again for a little night swimming. The backyard is lit up with fairy lights and tiki torches allowing the parents to watch their kids while they’re in the water. The only two who can’t swim are Nico and Cameron who are splashing about in the shallow end, close to the stairs.

  A pair of strong arms wraps around my waist from behind, lips caressing the sensitive spot behind my ear as the scent of a spicy aftershave invades my senses. I hum, leaning my head back against his shoulder and pulling Mason’s arms tighter around me.

  “Can we talk?”

  I stiffen for several beats and nod my head. I let Klara and Jessika know that I’ll be in the house if Dominic needs me. Mason follows me across the backyard and through the sliding glass doors. Once we’re inside the kitchen, he grips my hip, spinning me around and walking me back against the counter. My own hands find his hips and then slide around to grip his ass. I moan into his kiss, tilting my head to the side to get deeper. Christ, I forgot the man can kiss.

  Mason’s hands find their way under my shirt to cup my breasts, his thumbs rubbing my nipples through my bra.

  “This wasn’t what I had in mind when I said I wanted to talk, but fuck, I’m not complaining. I’ve missed you.”

  “I’ve missed you too,” I pant, when he kisses along my jaw.

  Just as fast as it happened, Mason stops and pulls away. He cups my face, staring intently down at me.

  “I was going to give you time after what you went through with Simon, but we both know I’m a selfish asshole. I love you, Sofia. Whether right or wrong, I’ve loved you since you were eighteen-years-old. I should’ve told you years ago and as much as I know that you needed to do everything you could to save your family, I should have stopped you from marrying that bastard…”

  “Hey,” I say, cutting him off and running my fingers through his trimmed beard and then curling my hands around his neck. “You know I love you too.”

  He blows out a shaky breath, standing up to his full height and pulling me into a hug. “I’m not too much of a man to admit I was afraid you would’ve changed your mind. Especially when I couldn’t seem to let go of Emily.”

  I pull back a bit and Mason gives me space, but only enough so he can see my face. His arms are still around me. “There’s no timeline on when your grieving needs to end, Mason. I know Emily was a big part of your life. I never asked you to replace her. I just wanted to know if there was room enough in your heart for me too.”

  Firm lips crash down onto mine then and Mason kisses me with renewed hunger. When he’s thoroughly kissed me to within an inch of my life, he rests his forehead against mine.

  “There will always be room in my heart for you. For you and Dominic and any other kids we may have. You never have to worry about that again.”

  I’m crying now and I don’t care enough to try and wipe the tears away. I lean up and press my lips to his this time, licking along the seam of his lips. Mason groans and lets me in. I explore his mouth like it’s the first time all over again. And maybe it is. This is our chance to have everything we couldn’t before. He tastes like beer and BBQ sauce and salt. It’s then that I realize Mason has tears streaking down his cheeks too. He laughs embarrassingly when we come up for air again, but he doesn’t wipe them away before pulling me into another hug. He mumbles something against the side of my head.

  “I’m sorry, what?”

  “I have a half-empty closet,” he repeats.

  “Okaay?” I squint up at him and then it dawns on me. “You got rid of her stuff?”

  He grins, sheepishly and shrugs. “It was a long time coming.”

  “That’s awesome, Mason. I’m proud of you, but what does that have to do with me?”

  “I want you and Dominic to move in with me. Don’t go back to California, stay here… with me. We can see about transferring Dom to the same school as Lily and the twins. You can open the store you’ve been wanting to for years. We can be a family.”

  “How did you know about that?” I ask, giving him a puzzled look.

  “I’m a lawyer, babe. It’s my job to pay attention to the little things. I know it’s the reason you wanted to go to design school instead of college.”

  I might be crazy but I want what he said. I want all of it.

  “It’s not too fast?”

  “Fuck fast. We haven’t done anything the normal way, why start now. We’ve been in love with each other for seven years, if anything we’ve been going at a snail’s pace,” he jokes.

  I roll my eyes and he tickles my side, making me laugh until I can’t breathe. “Okay, fine. Fine,” I yell, squirming away from him. “We’ll move in with you.”

  Mason stops his torture; a dreamy look crosses his face as he stares at me. His smile is the widest I’ve ever seen, and I know right in this moment that I’ll do anything to make this man as happy as he is right now.

  Epilogue

  MASON

  Ten years later

  There’s a loud crash in the hallway followed by several muttered curses. I chuckle silently in the dark of the living room as I listen to my sons and two of their best friends try to chastise each other for being so loud. I click on the lamp to my left when their footsteps get closer.

  “Dad, what are you still doing up?” Max asks a look of surprise on his face while he tries to shield his brother.

  Sofia and I adopted Max after I asked her to marry me. I wanted to give her anything to make her happy and I knew adopting Max, giving him a real place to call home and a family would do that. Max might only be a few months older than Dominic, but from the minute he officially came to live with us, he’s always been protective over Dom.

  I swirl the last bit of bourbon in my glass and throw it back. I only started drinking the stuff again a few years ago, and only on nights that I’m not working, and Sofia is home.

  “I could ask you what you four are doing sneaking in at,” I glance at the watch on my wrist, “two in the morning.”

  Dylan groans, elbowing his twin in the side. “I told you we shouldn’t have gone.”

  Skylar rolls his eyes while Dominic steps around Max and gently leans his guitar case on the wall between the living room and stairs leading up to the second level of the house.

  “Where were you boys?”

  Dominic stuffs his hands in the pockets of his worn jeans and shrugs, his shoulders hitting the lobes of his ears. “There was this open mic night. We thought it was going to be over a lot earlier than it was.”

  I sense there’s more to it, but the four of them look dead on their feet so I decide to let it go. For now. After all, I remember being their age once and doing stupid shit.

  “Get upstairs to bed. Your mother doesn’t know that you weren’t here.”

  All at once, their shoulders deflate and they begin to relax. The twins look like they’ve just been handed a get out of jail free card. I’m going to enjoy this way too much than I should. I pull out my phone and text Toni about where his sons are. Just as the boys start their ascent up to Dom’s room, I hear two pings and then matching groans, followed by, “Not cool, Uncle Mase.”

  I chuckle, pushing up from the leather armchair and going to rinse out my glass in the kitchen before heading upstairs to my wife. Sofia is sitting up in bed when I push open our bedroom door, black-rimmed glasses perched on her nose and a kindle in her hands. I wonder what romance book she’s reading now.

  “The boys are home,” I say, gripping my shirt behind my neck and pulling it off, dropping it at my feet
. My pj pants are the next to go. I’ll pick them up in the morning.

  Sofia’s lips curve up in a soft smile. “Where were they?”

  “Open mic night. Probably at a local pub, they smelt like beer,” I say, peeling back a corner of the duvet and crawling into bed. I slip her kindle from her hand and place it on my bedside table before turning back and removing her glasses. They join the kindle too. Sofia just sits and watches me, her blue eyes clouding over with lust as they trail down my naked chest.

  “Are we going to take away their fake IDs? This is the third time since they all turned sixteen. I’m surprised Lily and Coop weren’t with them tonight.”

  “Nah,” I say, curling an arm around her waist and tugging her down until she’s level with me. “They’re never drunk when they get home. If it gets out of hand, we’ll take them away. I texted Toni and Kai. Let them know the twins are staying the night.”

  Sofia throws a leg over my hips so she’s straddling me, her palms pressing down on my pecs. “You’re a good man, Mason James,” she says, licking her lips.

  I grip her hips under the black silk baby doll she’s wearing and rock her forward then back over my aching cock. She moans, letting her head drop back. I slide my hands up her waist and she lifts her arms so I can pull the lingerie off and drop it over the side of the bed, leaving her naked on top of me. I lean up and run my hands around her back, bending her back a bit so I can lick and suck a nipple into my mouth. Sofia pants, running her fingers through my hair and fisting the short strands. I kiss and lick my way over to her other breast and give it the same attention.

  “Mason, please.”

  “You going to ride me? Going to milk my cock with this tight pussy?”