Dynasty

by Jen Davis et al.

  Jonathan stopped breathing and grabbed the back of a chair for support. “You’re—”

  “Pregnant? Not yet.” She wrapped her fingers around the front of his shirt and whispered. “But once all these people get out of here, we can get working to change that.” The doctor had given her a clean bill of health at her check-up last week and the green light to start a family if she wanted.

  A whoop went up from Kane at the end of the table. “Sounds like a good thing no one brought dessert.”

  “Oh, I’m having dessert,” Jonathan growled. He lifted her into his arms and started for the stairs. “Merry Christmas. You guys can all let yourselves out.”

  About the Author

  Jen started her love affair with romance novels, first as a reader, then as a reviewer and blogger. She launched the Red Hot Books blog in 2010 and jumped into Book Twitter shortly after.

  She wrote her first books, a YA/NA trilogy under another name back in 2016. But Brick is her first foray into Adult Contemporary Romance.

  Jen is happily married to her high school sweetheart. Together, they’re raising two kids, a cat, and a dog who is afraid of his own shadow.

  She spends her days working as television journalist and her nights curled up with a good book.

  Facebook:

  https://www.facebook.com/jen.davis.author

  Twitter:

  http://twitter.com/redhotbooks

  Website:

  http://jendavis.net/

  The Italian Kitten Meets the Russian Wolf

  Giovanni Family #1

  BY GRACE REAGAL

  Chapter 1

  Caterina

  Today I am going off to war.

  I’m coming back in a coffin and they need to say their goodbyes.

  At least, that’s how it feels.

  I try for the hundredth time to step out of the car. “Okay, bye—”

  Dad pulls me back in, gripping my arm. “Will you call us if anything goes wrong?”

  I inhale slowly, so I don’t scream my head off. “Yes, Daddy.” I look down at my pocket. “Phone? Check.”

  He nods but he still looks worried.

  Aunt Chloe kisses my cheeks. “Make good friends, okay, Kitty? Smart kids, not stoners and such.”

  “Hey, she has to try it at least once, right?” Uncle Smoke grins at me as everyone in the car starts yelling at him.

  Dad looks at him warningly while Aunt Raven slaps his head. “You want me to castrate you?”

  He rubs his head, looking at her with a grin. “But you love it too much.”

  I cock my head, adjusting my backpack. “Love what?”

  Everyone screams, “Nothing!” and immediately I know it means something dirty. That has been my life for the last seventeen years.

  Sheltered, closed off, and no contact with normal people. I’m clueless about everything.

  Mom hugs me for what feels like the hundredth time. She sniffles as she buries her face in my neck. “Your last year before you leave us for good.” I look toward Dad and mouth “help.” He smiles and reaches over toward Mom, pulling her off me slowly. “I just need one more second, Dom. Please, one more second—”

  I jump out of the car before anything else can happen. I’m already ten minutes late.

  This isn’t a good way to start my first day of Senior year of high school.

  But just when it seems like I’ve escaped, I look back and find six pairs of eyes watching me with the saddest look I’ve ever seen. God, it’s like they didn’t have other kids. There were already three kids in the family with Aunt Chloe’s twins and Aunt Raven’s son.

  Heck, even my mom was pregnant with twins.

  But as I see her eyes, my feet move on their own to go to the car and give her one more hug. A huge smile breaks out on her face and she jumps out of the car to embrace me fully.

  I sigh into her hug. “I love you, Mom.”

  She takes a deep breath and pulls back, holding me by the shoulders. “You know how long I’ve wanted this for you?”

  I nod, smiling. All I knew from her past was that she had a pretty tough childhood, so she’d never really had the high school experience. She wanted that for me so much that she managed to convince my dad, who was an overbearing and overprotective giant to let me attend a normal school for my final year before I went off to college.

  “Just have the greatest time in there, okay? Do it for me.”

  “I will, Mom. Now, go. Dad is looking like he wants to shove me back into the car.”

  She laughs, wiping tears from her eyes. She’s gorgeous and still looks like a teenager. Her blonde hair is put up in a ponytail and she has her signature look: a blouse with suit pants. She’s a civil rights lawyer and every case she has won makes me proud to be her daughter.

  “Fine, fine. We’ll go.” And for the thousandth time she whispers, “I love you, baby.”

  I shake my head. “Not as much as I love you.”

  “No.”

  “No?”

  “More.” She winks.

  And with that, she turns back to the car and walks to it as if she’s forcing herself not to look back. When she gets back in the car, she clutches Dad’s suit jacket and rests her head on his chest. He runs a hand through her hair as if he’s done it a million times before and mouths to me, “Gun?”

  I nod and mouth back, “Yes.”

  Dad gives me a final nod and it says everything.

  With that, I turn around and enter a whole new world.

  ***

  When I step into the classroom, everyone turns to look at me.

  They don’t know who you are, Cat. They think you’re a normal seventeen-year-old. Act like it.

  I smile and wave, closing the door behind me. “Hello.”

  They turn to look at each other with confused looks. Was that not what you were supposed to do? Were you not supposed to say “hi?”

  But all the high school YouTube videos I had seen had said....

  “May we help you?” The teacher sits on the chair with his legs on the desk.

  His name is, his name, uh—

  I quickly look down at the schedule in my hand. Mr. Mahor.

  I look up and adjusting my backpack say, “Hello, Mr. Mahor, my name is Caterina and I’m in your class.”

  He nods. “It seems so.” He motions toward a seat in the back. “Take a seat.”

  Should I ask?

  I start to walk but stop, and wincing, take a shot at it. “Uh, I was actually wondering if it would be okay if I took a seat in the front because, uh, I would be able to concentrate more and…” I trail off at the silence in the room.

  I wring the hem of my skirt as Mr. Mahor cocks his head with an amused smile. Finally, after what seems like an eternity, he shrugs. “The seat in the front was reserved for Mr. Nikolaev, but he’s not here, so,” he says, smiling, “take it.”

  It’s the first day of school. How can you even reserve a seat on the first day of school?

  Beaming, I slip into the seat and set my backpack on the floor. I feel all the stares on me, but for the first time in forever, I know it’s not because I’m the billionaire’s daughter. I’m simply Kitty, Cat, Caterina—an awkward, seventeen-year-old teenager.

  Mr. Mahor gets up and drops a book onto my desk. “We’re reading the first eight chapters and discussing them tomorrow.”

  “Eight chapters?” I almost choke, looking down at the cover of Catcher in the Rye.

  I mean, trust me. I love reading, but eight chapters on the first day of school?

  Seems intense.

  Mr. Mahor grins, walking back to his desk. “That’s the class you signed up for!”

  I start to read the book and I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and come face-to-face with a cute guy. His skin is pale and contrasts widely with his hazel eyes and black unruly hair. He pushes back his glasses and whispers, “My name is Tom, and you seem nice, which is why I’m going to tell you what everyone in this class is avoiding sayin
g: you should probably move out of that seat.”

  I set the book down, my eyebrows pulling in. “Why?”

  “It’s Valentin’s.”

  “And…?”

  Who is Valentin and why would he care?

  He grimaces and pushes his hair from his eyes as he looks at me with a worried look. “Well, no one takes what’s Valentin’s.” He says it in such an ominous tone that I almost burst out laughing.

  This kid is being ridiculous. “It’s a chair.”

  Mr. Mahor gets up and waves slightly as he walks out the door. “I’ll be back. Behave kids.”

  He shrugs. “Doesn’t matter, Caterina. He’s...” He leans forward, “very very very—”

  Suddenly, the door opens and the class falls into silence immediately.

  A whispered word comes from Tom who is wide-eyed. “Possessive.”

  I whip around and come face to face with the most handsome boy I have ever seen in my entire life. Oh, my God. Oh, my God. Forgive me, Lord, for I am sinning. He’s too incredible to even look at. His eyes turn toward me and I give him a small smile without even thinking.

  Oh, God. I’m in love.

  “Get the fuck out of my seat.”

  Chapter 2

  Caterina

  For a minute, I don’t move. I don’t want to believe that this is happening. I don’t want to believe that he actually said those words to me.

  You misheard, Cat. Obviously, he said-uh, he probably said, “Get out the leaflet...”

  I bite my lip and look at him with a nervous smile. “Sorry? I didn’t really hear you. For some reason, I heard—”

  His black t-shirt stretches across his shoulders as he rests his elbows on the desk and leans toward me with a dark smile. “I think you heard what I said, princess.” He brings his face closer toward and I lean back, gulping. “Get the fuck out of my seat.” His lips lift up into a cruel grin. I hear snickers all around the room, and my whole body turns red.

  My hand curls into a fist and I look at him, unwavering. “Who do you think you are?”

  Silence overtakes the room at my words. Valentin cocks his head, regarding me with surprise. Then he looks behind me, and ignoring me, asks the other kids, “She’s new, right?”

  I hear fearful words of agreement, even one from Tom, and I roll my eyes. Valentin might be able to scare them, but that can never happen with me. My father is Dominic Giovanni. I have more uncles than I count who have trained my right hook. My mother is a beast who could rip anyone apart in five minutes in court. My aunts can beat the hell out of anyone if they thought they were threats.

  I smile up at him. “Yes, Valentin, I’m new.” His eyes slowly move from the back toward me. I laugh. “And you must be crazy if you think I’m going to give you my seat after being so…” He starts circling me and I start trailing off. I can feel his body behind me and everyone’s stares are on me. I finish off, “…rude,” but before I can add anything else, my whole world is lifted.

  I scream my head off as I’m literally raised off the ground and into the air. “Put. Me. Down!” How is he even able to raise the chair?

  Oh, my God. Oh, my God.

  I hear his voice clear and amused as I hold on for dear life. “Are you boys getting a good view of her underwear?”

  Laughter erupts in the room and the boys in the front elbow each other. “Stop!” I cross my legs without thinking and that offsets the balance. Valentin drops the chair just at the moment I tumble down to the side. I face plant on the ground. I manage to save my face by putting my elbows below me.

  The laughter level reaches an all-time high. For a split second, I want to cry. I just want to stay on the ground and never get up. Eventually, everyone will leave, the teacher will come back, I will be taken to the nurse and they will send me home.

  There are two things that get me up at that moment.

  One, Dad would never again let me go to high school, and two, I remember what Mom says to me every single day.

  “You are strong. You are beautiful. No one will ever be able to break you if you don’t let them.”

  So, very slowly, I start getting up. I can feel a searing pain in my arm and I know it must be bleeding a little or twisted. I smooth out my jean vest and put my arm down to my side. The laughter slowly fades as I turn around to Valentin slowly.

  He’s watching me with an amused smile, his arms crossed. But suddenly, I don’t find his smug face beautiful. I don’t find his biceps hot. I can’t like someone who is obviously so cruel. Kindness is what makes someone beautiful. I suddenly hate him with a burning passion.

  I take a long, deep breath, trying to calm myself before I do something irrational like pull out the gun that Dad had given me. That is for emergency situations but his smug face is making me go insane. His lips twist up.

  “What’s wrong, princess?” He pouts. “Not used to getting off your high horse?” That joke creates a ripple of laughter from a few students in the room.

  The others, the intelligent ones, are watching me warily.

  I take a step toward him and force a smile on my face. “If you ever test me like that Valentin Nikolaev, you’ll be leaving this building in an ambulance.” I laugh, looking around at the wide stares and finally turn my eyes back to him. “I know who you are. They know who you are.” I give him a disgusted look. “But you obviously don’t know me.”

  And as I turn around and leave the class with the dignity I have left, I know I’ve made myself clear. I’m not going to let anyone step over me. The only problem is, if he does that again, I have no freaking idea what I will do.

  He says something behind me, but I’m so mortified, I don’t hear him. However, judging from the laughter in my ears, I know he’s won this battle.

  Tears blur my eyes as I slam the door behind me.

  How is he already breaking me?

  ***

  I lean against the wall and try to take deep breaths. “You’re okay, Cat. You’re okay. That was just a one-time thing. High school will not always be like this.”

  There’s a soft voice beside me that says, “Don’t count on it, boo. It sucks every day.”

  I spin around, wiping my tears instantly and come face-to-face with a girl at least a few inches shorter than me. She has big dark eyes that almost take up her whole face. Her bangs are in three different shades of red, a bold statement. She looks exotic; nothing I have ever seen before. Strange at first, but captivating if you look again.

  She holds up toward me a tissue. “Here.” I give her a small smile, grateful. Her head nods to the blood on my elbow. “Wipe that before anyone sees.”

  I start wiping it gently. I whisper, “Why?”

  There’s silence for a moment before she says, “Because people here won’t let go once they get a whiff of your blood.” Her voice is hard and regretful.

  I look up, laughing bitterly. “So are you like the generic friend at the beginning of every story?”

  However, when I turn, she is gone.

  I laugh to my myself, gritting my teeth. “Guess not.”

  Suddenly, the bell rings, jolting my body from my haze.

  “Just have to get through this day,” I whisper to myself before I go to my next class.

  If every day is going to be like this, I have no idea why I spend so much energy trying to interact with normal people. They are meaner than the people I usually hang out with.

  Uh...you don’t hang out with anyone, Cat.

  Shut up.

  ***

  I come out of chemistry class with a smile on my face. That went much better.

  My smile falls completely when my eyes land on the devil once again. Gripping my notebook in my hand, I start walking away, fast. He falls into step, chuckling. I walk faster, keeping my eyes focused forward.

  “Leave me alone,” I snap.

  “Why?”

  “You’re kidding, right?”

  “I told you to get out of my seat. I told you what would happen if you didn’t. It
happened. I’m simply honest.”

  I spin around toward him, anger surging in my blood. “You enjoyed hurting me.” My eyes latch on to his, accusation in my voice.

  He runs a hand through his hair with his signature smirk. “I did.”

  How can he say that? Admit it with a smile? As if he was proud of it?

  “Then how—” I take a breath and turned away. He isn’t worth my time. “You know what? Never mind. Just leave me alone.”

  “Caterina.”

  That one word comes with a warning. A strange feeling runs down my spine. After a moment of hesitation, I start walking away again.

  “Giovanni.”

  I freeze, my body stilling before chill runs down my back.

  How did he know that?

  I feel him walk up behind me, his breath warm on my neck. His voice is smug and he grips my arm, pulling me into a dark corner. His touch immediately makes me feel hot and I jerk away from him.

  “Aw, Kitten. Does me making you wet feel uncomfortable?”

  Making sure no one is watching us, I turned toward him with panic on my face. “I don’t know what that means. But how the hell do you know my name?”

  He shrugs as if it’s common knowledge. He leans against the wall, grinning. “I’m Valentin.” As if that’s the only explanation needed.

  “This is not a joke! How do you know?” My heart thumps against my chest. “You can’t know.” Dad had made sure that no one knew. That was one of my conditions.

  If people know, I couldn’t be normal.

  They will treat me differently.

  I want to be normal.

  I don’t realize how small this corner is until Valentin steps forward. He brushes a strand of hair away from my cheek. “You’re not normal, Kitten.” His voice is surprisingly soft.