Royally Mine: 22 All-New Bad Boy Romance Novellas

by Susan Stoker

“My brother.” I go to her, and she already knows I have something to tell her, I can see it on her face. “I have bad news, Allegra.”

  Chapter Eight

  Allegra somehow keeps it together on the flight to Florida, but that calm begins to unravel as we ride out to the Antonino property. She’s sad but also angry. Angry at her step-mother, her half-brother. I know when Arturo sees her, he’ll think I’m delivering her, as requested. Fucking asshole. He’s got another thing coming.

  Dominic Benedetti is coming to Florida to handle the problem of who’ll be boss of the Antonino family. Arturo expects it will be him, but Dominic knows about the Rossi connection. He knows Arturo was going behind his back to make an alliance with an enemy. And I can tell you, I don’t want to be Arturo when Dominic Benedetti comes looking for answers. Dominic will be your best friend, but cross him, and he’ll fuck you so hard you’ll be lucky if you’re left breathing on your own. He’s a ruthless son of a bitch and does not tolerate betrayal. I can understand it. I was there during the reading of his father’s will. I know what happened, what he almost lost. What he did.

  Enzo’s driving our car, and I have two cars following with soldiers I hope not to have to use. This is the second time I’m on Antonino’s property, and I kind of like it. It fits, the plantation style house with its huge, wrap-around porch with all the hanging plants growing like fucking weeds. As we pull to a stop, men in dark suits with machine guns strapped across their bodies stand at attention on the porch. Even in this heat, they’re in full suits.

  “Jesus,” Allegra says when she catches sight of them. “Overkill much?”

  I agree on that but don’t comment, just give her a smile. The front door opens, and Allegra’s out as soon as the car comes to a stop. She doesn’t miss a beat when Arturo walks out. If anything, she stands taller.

  “You didn’t even give me a chance to say goodbye, you bastard!” she yells by way of greeting as she mounts the steps. I watch from the car, still in shadow. She stands a few inches shorter than her brother, who’s gotten soft around the middle, and she doesn’t cower.

  “Good to see you too, sis.” He looks her over. “Maybe if you hadn’t run off, you’d have been here to do it in his final hours. And just one note, there’s only one bastard here.”

  “I guess that makes you an asshole then.”

  He doesn’t reply, but I see his hands fist at his sides. That’s my cue. I get out of the car, and he’s surprised as fuck to see me. At least he’s smart enough to keep those fists where they are. I ascend the porch steps and wrap a hand around the back of Allegra’s neck. He doesn’t miss it.

  “Arturo,” I say, standing close, a foot taller than him.

  “Gregorio.” He extends a hand. “Thank you and your brother for your help,” he says with a sideways glance at his sister. “You didn’t have to come all the way down here, though. I apologize on my sister’s behalf for having inconvenienced you.”

  “No inconvenience,” I say, looking around, noting that my men, eight of them, are spreading out over the property. Not missing the fact that Arturo too has taken notice. Arturo should know not to fuck with us, even if he has more men on site. He knows he’s dead if he does.

  “I want to pay my respects. John Antonino was a good man. Loyal to the family,” I make a point of adding as I bypass Arturo’s extended hand. Allegra and I enter the air-conditioned house.

  We’re instantly greeted by a crowish woman, who I know is Arturo’s mother. She is obviously startled to see me, and from the look on her face, she knows exactly who I am. She casts a nervous glance over my shoulder to Arturo but barely acknowledges Allegra.

  “Where is my father?” Allegra asks.

  The woman turns to her and gives her a saccharine smile. “You honor us with your presence,” she says sarcastically before turning to me. “Mr. Santa Maria, we met once before,” she says. “I’m sorry for the trouble Allegra has caused you.”

  “She’s not any trouble. I’m sorry for your loss.”

  “He was dead long before we pulled the plug,” her tone tells me just how much she cared about him.

  “Where is he?” Allegra asks, venom in her voice.

  “There,” the woman points down the hall, and I follow Allegra, taking in every detail of the house as I go.

  Once we reach the room, we see her father lying in an open casket. Tears Allegra’s managed to hold back begin to pour from her face.

  “Get out,” I tell the two men in the room. They leave, and I close the door so she has some privacy. She’s walking to the box slowly, and I know the moment she sees his body. When she reaches inside to touch his hand, she lets out a sob.

  “It doesn’t feel like him,” she says.

  I put an arm around her waist and look. The old man in the coffin doesn’t resemble the John Antonino I’d met in life. But all that time in a coma will do that to you.

  “Do you want to be alone?”

  She brushes his hair with her fingers and takes a few more minutes adjusting his clothing, then wipes her face and straightens. “No. He was gone long ago, I know that. And I guess I’d said goodbye long ago too.”

  “They shouldn’t have pulled the plug without telling you.”

  “No, they shouldn’t have.”

  “How much do you know about who your father wanted as far as a successor?” I ask.

  She shakes her head. “Nothing. He didn’t really involve me at all.”

  “Well, it wasn’t your half-brother, but that’s not for us to deal with. I just want you to know there may be some…” I search for the word. “Disagreements in the coming days.”

  “Disagreements?”

  “Dominic Benedetti, head of the family I’m loyal to and your father was loyal to, will be arriving later today to…discuss things with Arturo. I assume he’ll wait until after the funeral, but I want you out of here when that happens.”

  “You’re really not going to leave me here?”

  “I already told you I would protect you, Allegra. I’m not going to hand you over to a man who hits women for one thing. And for another, Eddie Rossi is never going to get his filthy paws on you.”

  She studies me, still uncertain, but slides her hand into mine.

  “Ready?” I ask. “I want to see Arturo.” We walk out into the quiet house, and Allegra leads the way to the study, which I remember once belonged to her father, but, now, Arturo is sitting behind the dead man’s desk.

  I knock once on the open door to get Arturo’s attention. He rises. I turn to Allegra. “Go wait for me in the car.”

  Arturo begins to say something, but I put my hand up, signaling for him to shut the fuck up.

  Allegra shakes her head. “I’m staying.”

  “Allegra.”

  “No.”

  “Fine.”

  We walk into the study, and I look around it before facing Arturo. “You like to hit women?” I say, not beating around the bush. I don’t want to be around this prick any longer than I need to be.

  “What?” He gestures to Allegra. “My sister’s a liar, in case you haven’t figured that out.”

  “Half-sister,” Allegra says.

  He glares but doesn’t dare reply to her. Sweat has broken out over his forehead, though.

  “Answer my question,” I say.

  He clears his throat. “I don’t make a practice of hitting women, no.”

  “So you’re a liar too.”

  He doesn’t reply to my comment, but he’s shifting from foot to foot, nervous. “Look, I appreciate the favor you and your brother did for me, but now that my father is dead, I have a lot of work to do. Things to get in order. I thank you for bringing my sister—”

  He doesn’t get to finish, though, because in two steps, I close the space between us and have him pressed up against the wall, my forearm at his windpipe cutting off his air. The soldier who should have been in here protecting him stumbles into the room, and I can hear the water of a toilet having just been flushed. Caugh
t off guard, he clumsily reaches for his weapon, but Enzo, who’s standing nearby, cocks his gun in warning before he can get it.

  “She’s your half-sister. How many times does she have to say it for you to get it?”

  I release him, and he sputters and coughs. I adjust my shirt and take a step back. The second he thinks I’m done with him, I draw my arm back and land a swift hit to his gut. He doubles over, clutching his middle.

  Allegra gasps.

  “I don’t bother questioning liars. I’d take care of you myself, but turns out you’ve pissed off a lot of people, so I’ll just tell you this.” I grip him by the collar and straighten him. There’s some commotion behind me, but I know my men have it under control and Arturo has my full attention. I tug hard once before speaking. “You stay away from her. You never fucking touch her again. You never even look at her again. She belongs to me. You fuck with her, and you’re fucking with me, understand?”

  He sputters again, so I give him a shake, and he nods.

  “Words, Antonino.”

  “Yes. Fucking yes! She’s not worth the trouble anyway!”

  For that, the next hit sends him to the floor. I’d give him a kick, but I don’t like to hit a man when he’s down. So instead, I turn to Allegra, stretching the fingers of my hand before taking hers. “Let’s go.”

  “What happens now?” Allegra asks as we walk out of the house.

  “Now, Dominic Benedetti handles Arturo. He and his wench of a mother will be gone after the funeral. Hell, maybe before it.”

  “Will he hurt him?”

  “I hope so.”

  The look on her face tells me she doesn’t like this, so I stop and take her chin in my hand, tilting it upward.

  “Look, this isn’t for you or for me to deal with anymore. He fucked with Dominic Benedetti. It’s between them now.”

  She nods. “An eye for an eye. Mob life.”

  “Your father was part of that too, remember.”

  “I don’t want to remember him that way.”

  “Okay,” I say, giving her that. “Let’s get to the hotel. We’ll leave after the funeral tomorrow.”

  She shakes her head, resisting when I pull her along. “Gregorio, I appreciate everything you’re doing for me. And… last night… that was… epic.” She blushes. It would make me smile, but I have a feeling I know what’s coming, and I don’t like it. “But I want to finish school. I’m just a few months away from my degree.” She hesitates. “We just met, and… I need to stay here.”

  “I want to be with you,” the words slip out before I can think.

  I see her swallow. “Me too, but—”

  “Stop before the but,” I say with my finger to her lips. “I care about you, Allegra. I don’t know what this is or what it will be, but I’m not in a place—no, not that—I’m not willing to just walk away if you tell me you care about me. But if you don’t—”

  “I don’t want you to walk away.”

  I smile. “Then I won’t.”

  Epilogue

  Four Months Later

  Allegra’s graduation ceremony is on the hottest fucking day of the year. I’m wearing a suit and sweating my balls off. But it’s worth it to see her up there, to watch her take her diploma and turn to give me a little smile. I’m the only person here for her, and it makes me sad to think that if Arturo hadn’t done what he’d done, if she hadn’t run away, she’d be here alone. It’s not like he or his mother were coming to the ceremony. Although, if things went as he’d planned, she might not be standing up there at all.

  Dominic took care of the Antonino situation, although the peace here is temporary. The cousin whom John Antonino had been grooming to take his place is head of the family, but Arturo isn’t out of the picture. Not quite yet, even if he is MIA. Men like him don’t typically go quietly.

  But today, I don’t want to think about him or anyone else but Allegra.

  Thunder claps in the distance as dark clouds roll in. Allegra’s coming toward me, her high heels sinking into the soggy ground, making it difficult to walk, difficult enough that she stops and takes them off. I smile wide then, and as the first fat drops of rain fall, she begins to run, diploma and cap in one hand, shoes in the other, her gown splitting open to expose slender thighs I’ve missed too much. I’ve been up north for the last two weeks, and she’s been down here.

  “Gregorio!”

  I catch her as she throws herself into my arms.

  “I wasn’t sure you’d make it,” she says.

  “I wouldn’t miss it,” I say, although I almost had. Airline delays. That’s why I’m standing at the back.

  The rain picks up, and Enzo reaches us, holding a large black umbrella over our heads.

  “Congratulations, baby,” I say, kissing her.

  “Thanks.” She’s kissing me back. This being apart thing, it sucks, but it makes it that much better when we’re together. Makes us that much hungrier.

  “Let’s get out of here,” I say when the clouds open up and rain pours as if from buckets.

  Enzo’s got the car ready, but by the time we get in, we’re both soaked.

  She slides her gown off, and I look at her. She’s wearing short shorts and a tiny little yellow tank with ruffles down the front.

  “I planned to take you to lunch,” I start as she straddles me. “But I’m not feeling very hungry.”

  “I’m not hungry at all,” she says, sealing her lips over mine. “Not for food.”

  “Hotel, boss?” Enzo asks, his eyes on the road. Observant man.

  “Yeah.” It’s only a ten-minute ride to the hotel. “Sit,” I tell her, pushing her off my lap and setting her beside me. “I won’t be able to walk through the lobby if you keep doing that.” My dick is tenting my pants and as much as I want to tear off her clothes and bury myself inside her, now isn’t the time.

  “I missed you,” she taunts, sliding one thigh over mine.

  I stop her, and, like the first night when I took her from that club, lean over and strap her in. “Here,” I say, reaching into my pocket for a thin envelope. “Your gift.” I’m kind of nervous to do this. It’s a weird feeling, and I don’t like it.

  “What’s this?” she asks, taking it.

  “Graduation gift.”

  She raises her eyebrows. “I’m not taking money from you.”

  “Who says it’s money?”

  She gives me a look before shifting her gaze to the envelope and flips open the flap. Inside is a keycard.

  We’ve only known each other less than half a year. I know that’s not a lot of time, but thing is, I’ve never been more sure of anything in my life. And this being apart thing, it’s not working for me.

  “You know what it’s for?” I ask.

  “It’s the card I stole from you that first night,” she says with a half-smile.

  “Yeah. Well, it’s a different one but the same thing. It’s yours. If you want it.”

  She studies it.

  “You graduated, Allegra. I want you close now. It may be selfish, but it’s what I want.”

  We pull up to the hotel. Enzo parks and discreetly exits the vehicle.

  I touch her chin and lift her face to mine.

  “I want to work,” she says.

  “I want you to work, but you can work in Philadelphia as easily as Florida. There’s nothing to keep you here, Allegra.”

  “I know that.” There’s a sadness about her, always has been. I’d thought at first it was what was happening with her brother, with the Rossi situation, but over the last months, I’ve come to learn that it’s not that. There’s a somberness to Allegra. She hides it well enough, but with me, when she doesn’t have her guard up, it’s there. And it’s her. “I love you, Allegra,” I say. “That’s all.” It’s the first time I’ve said it. I realize I don’t know why that is because it’s so natural. So right.

  Her eyes fill up, but she’s smiling. “I love you too.”

  I kiss her, a soft kiss. Our eyes close and
I feel her tears wet my cheek. When I pull back, she wipes her eyes.

  “Why are you crying, baby? We should be celebrating.”

  It only intensifies the tears, though, and I watch as she searches her pocket for a tissue. “I wish my mom and dad were here to see me.”

  “They would be proud.”

  “I miss them, especially my mom. Still. It never gets to be any less even though it’s been so many years since the accident.”

  I don’t know what to say, so I pull her to me, hug her. But it feels like my hug is only squeezing more tears from her eyes.

  “Shh.”

  I hold her. It’s the only thing I can do. I’ll be here for her, and as much as I want to take the pain away, I know I can’t. All I can do is ease it a little. I hope so, at least.

  It’s a few minutes before she draws back, sniffling and wiping away the last of her tears. “Yes,” she says.

  I swear she’s even more beautiful when she cries, but I don’t ever want to see her cry again.

  “Gregorio, did you hear me?”

  I look at her.

  “Yes,” she says again, this time her voice is certain, and her smile is wide. “I’ll move in with you.”

  I guess I wasn’t sure she’d say yes because when it registers, a sense of relief comes over me, and I hug her to me again.

  “I’m not sure I would have let you say no,” I say.

  “I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t be able to anyway.” We kiss, and I’m ready to go up to our room. To strip her down and worship her.

  A knock on the window has me pull back. It’s Enzo. I slide the glass down.

  “Have to move the car, boss.”

  “All right.” I get out and help Allegra out. We walk into the hotel and take the elevator up to the eighth floor, kissing her the whole way up. By the time we stumble into my suite, I’ve got her shorts undone and my hand inside them. “You can’t wear these anymore,” I say through a kiss as I strip her of them and her panties. “They’re too short.”

  “So bossy already.” She’s kissing me back, stripping off my jacket, my shirt.

  I tear her blouse in my hurry to get rid of it, and in another minute, we’re both naked, and I’m holding her down, arms wide, just looking at her, taking her in, all of her.