Desire in Lingerie: Lingerie #7 Read online

  “I’ve been thinking about it a lot…” She dropped her gaze and looked at her empty plate. “I want you guys to meet.” She didn’t look at me, knowing my gaze would be furious. “Even if it doesn’t go well, which it probably won’t…I can’t keep living a lie anymore. I can’t keep lying to them.”

  “They’ll be furious, Vanessa.”

  “I know they will. But they’ll come around…eventually. Once they get to know you, in time, they’ll see what I see.”

  I couldn’t stop myself from scoffing. “Baby, I kept you as a prisoner and held your family’s lives over your head. I made you fuck me to keep them alive. Let’s not rewrite history here. I have no idea why you fell in love with me.”

  “I fell in love with you because you changed.”

  “But if they knew—”

  “They don’t need to know. All they need to know is you love me and protect me. You would never let anything happen to me. Just because you’re your father’s son doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.”

  “I am a bad person, baby. I kill people for money. Don’t make me go in there and lie about who I am. I’m not going to lie for anybody—not even you. Your father and your uncle aren’t innocent men, so they can’t judge me. Your father’s relationship with your mother wasn’t much different from ours. He may not like who I am, but if he’s ever going to trust me, he needs to know I’m honest. So honest that he doesn’t like what I have to say. That’s how men work. He will probably never like me, but there is hope that he may come to respect me…eventually.”

  “I guess I understand that. So that means you’re willing to do this?”

  “Unfortunately.”

  She breathed a deep sigh. “Alright…I guess this is really happening.”

  “Don’t catch him off guard. You should tell him before I’m in the room—out of respect.”

  “Okay.”

  “And we should do it at his place where he’s most comfortable. His house has guns hidden everywhere. He can grab one at any time.”

  “My father isn’t going to shoot you.”

  “But knowing he can will make him feel better. You should have his brother there too. That will give him more security.”

  “Now this is starting to sound like a mob meeting.”

  It definitely wasn’t the normal kind of meeting where a woman introduced a man to her parents. We wouldn’t have iced tea and sandwiches over lunch and talk about how beautiful the weather was. This was two enemies meeting under one roof. “Pretty close. Your mother shouldn’t be in the room.”

  “But she wants to meet you.”

  “Let Crow decide that. Trust me, he’s not going to want her to be there. And I also think you should handcuff me.”

  “Okay…now you’re being ridiculous. I’m not going to handcuff you.”

  “It makes a strong statement, baby. I’m the one going in there unarmed with my hands cuffed together. I’m helpless and vulnerable. That’s the only way he’s going to know I’m serious, that this isn’t some kind of stunt. He’ll assume I’ve just been using you to get to him. This is the only way I can prove that’s not true.”

  “It just seems excessive…”

  “I think it’s not as excessive as it should be. I just hope he doesn’t shoot me the second he looks at me.”

  “My father would never do that…”

  I was his mortal enemy. There was no telling what he might do.

  “He’d never hurt me, so I can be a human shield if it comes down to it.”

  That didn’t make me feel better. “Don’t you ever do that. Accidents happen, especially when tensions are high. I can deal with him, but I can’t deal with him if you’re hurt by accident.”

  “God, this is going to be awful, isn’t it?” she whispered.

  I nodded. “I can guarantee it’ll end badly. There’s no possible scenario where it’ll end with a handshake. You need to be prepared for that. I know your father loves you, but he’s not going to look past his hate so easily…it’ll take him a long time. I’ll have to prove myself to him.”

  “And you’re willing to do that for me?”

  I was in this for the long haul, for better or worse. “Baby, I’d do anything for you.”

  Twelve

  Vanessa

  This was really happening.

  I was going to introduce my father to the man I loved.

  Bones—our family enemy.

  I didn’t expect this to go well. I could handle a tense and angry meeting. I just hoped bullets wouldn’t be flying, along with death threats. I hoped my father would be calm enough to be objective about the situation. He’d said he wanted me to be with a powerful man. Technically, Bones filled that criteria. He was the strongest man I’d ever met. Even my father wasn’t bulletproof.

  We left Milan that morning, driving in his truck. It was a long journey to the south of the country, and since there wasn’t anything to say, we would spend most of it in silence. We were both thinking the exact same thing, but there were no further comments to be made.

  It was a testament to Bones’s love for me that he was willing to do this.

  But I couldn’t wrap my mind around what was coming next.

  “Are you sure you want to do this?” he asked an hour into the drive.

  “Yes.” I couldn’t live my life lying to my parents. I couldn’t live two separate lives, one with Bones and one with them. I’d already tried walking away from Bones, and it didn’t work. I was miserable the entire time. I’d made my way back to him because I couldn’t live without him.

  “I ask because your brother is getting married soon, right?”

  I’d forgotten about that. “Yeah…”

  “Maybe we should wait. I’m not making excuses. I’m just being practical here.”

  “Well, I’d like it if you were my date. It’s a pretty big deal…”

  He gripped the steering wheel with one hand, his jaw clenched. “Baby, that’s not going to happen, especially in a few weeks. You need to let that dream go. It’s unrealistic.”

  Maybe I was putting too much faith in my father’s love for me. “We still need to do this…”

  “Alright. When are you going to call them?”

  “When we’re an hour away.”

  He turned back to the road. “Alright.”

  When we were an hour away, I held the phone tightly in my fingertips. I stared at the screen without hitting the send button, my heart beating so fast it rocked my rib cage. This would be one of the hardest things I’d ever done in my life, but it had to happen. When Bones left for his mission, I was so lost without him I didn’t know what to do with myself.

  I loved this man. I needed my family to love him too…or at least tolerate him.

  Bones eyed me from the driver’s seat. “Come on, baby. You can do it.”

  “How can you be so calm about this? Aren’t you scared?”

  He held my gaze, his expression cool and confident. “I’m not scared of anything.”

  “Well, my father is a scary man…”

  “The Barsettis have a ferocious reputation. But no, I’m not scared.”

  I finally made the call and listened to the rings. A part of me hoped he wouldn’t answer, that it would just go to voice mail. But I couldn’t recall a time when he didn’t take my call. No matter what he was doing or what time of day it was, he always answered.

  “Tesoro.” My father’s deep and powerful voice came over the line, the love masked as an undertone. “How are you?”

  “I’m good. What are you guys up to?”

  “Just got home from the winery. Lars is making dinner.”

  “Oh, that’s nice…”

  My father picked up on my tone. “Everything alright, tesoro?”

  It felt strange talking to him when Bones could overhear the conversation. “You know how you said you wanted to meet the man I was seeing…?”

  “Yes.”

  “Well, would you want to meet him in about an hour?”<
br />
  A long pause ensued over the line, so long I wasn’t sure if my father had even heard me. “Of course.” He kept his tone the same, but I knew he struggled to say the words out loud. He’d been dreading this day his entire life. Now, it was here, just an hour away.

  “We’re about an hour away. Is it okay if we come to the house?”

  “Sure.”

  “Could you ask Uncle Cane to come over too? I’d like it if you both met him.”

  My father didn’t seem suspicious at the request. “Sounds like this man doesn’t scare easily.” Meeting two powerful men like my father and uncle would intimidate anyone.

  “No…he doesn’t.” I swallowed the lump in my throat.

  “Then I’ll see you in an hour, tesoro.”

  “Alright.”

  He hung up.

  I set the phone on my lap. “Oh god…it’s really happening.”

  The corner of Bones’s mouth rose in a smile, like this was all some kind of joke. “Yep.”

  “How can you smile like that?”

  “I like the way he calls you sweetheart.”

  “So?”

  “He doesn’t seem very intimidating when he talks that way.”

  “Well, he’s not trying to intimidate me.”

  “Just think it’s cute. That’s all.”

  I stared out the window, my heart pounding a million miles a minute.

  “Baby, it’ll be fine.”

  “I’m terrified he’s not going to accept you… I don’t know what to do if he doesn’t.”

  His hand moved to my thigh. “We’ll worry about that when we come to it, alright?”

  I rested my cheek against his shoulder and closed my eyes. “But you said he wouldn’t accept you…”

  “He probably won’t. But like I said, we’ll worry about it later.”

  Bones pulled up to the roundabout and purposely parked his truck away from the house, facing the street so his face couldn’t be seen from the house. He killed the engine and sat there, looking at me with his cold expression.

  “Wait here…and I’ll come get you.”

  “I’ll be waiting.”

  “You don’t have a gun on you or anything…?”

  He shook his head. “Took everything out. I’m completely unarmed.”

  “No knives?”

  He just glared at me.

  “Alright…good enough for me.” I leaned over the seat and kissed him on the mouth. “I’ll be back soon.”

  “Take your time. Talk me up.”

  “I’ll try…” I got out of the truck and walked to the front door, my footfalls feeling so heavy. My heart was beating fast, and I could barely breathe deeply enough. My palms were sweaty even though spring was still a little cold. My house had never felt so foreign as it did then. I’d never thought I would end up in this situation. When I met Bones, I never thought I’d ever be taking him to my family home to meet my father.

  How did this happen?

  I walked up to the front door, and it immediately opened to my mother’s face. She was beaming with excitement, obviously thrilled to meet the mystery man she’d seen in the painting. She hugged me. “Sweetheart, welcome home.”

  “Thanks, Mama.” I stepped inside and hugged my father next, who wrapped his arms around me and kissed me on the forehead. “Hey, Father.”

  “Tesoro.”

  Uncle Cane hugged me next. “We’ve got all the guns loaded. Bring him in.” He smiled to tell me he was joking.

  Mom looked out the front door. “Where is he?”

  “Uh…” I shut the door so they couldn’t see him sitting in the truck. “Okay, I know this is gonna sound weird…”

  All three of them stared at me, their expressions growing cloudier by the second. They probably expected someone like Matteo to walk inside behind me, dressed nicely with tanned skin like my own. He’d extend his hand to shake and be the perfect gentleman who would win my family over.

  “I want to talk to Father and Uncle Cane in private first…”

  My mom’s expression turned to one of hurt and confusion. “I don’t understand…”

  “You’re scaring me, tesoro,” Father said.

  Uncle Cane crossed his arms over his chest.

  “It’ll make more sense later,” I said. “I’m sorry, Mama. It’s nothing personal. There’s just something I need to say to them, and it needs to be in private.”

  Mom continued to look hurt, like this wonderful day had been ruined. “Alright…” She cleared her throat and walked upstairs, her footsteps fading away as she moved up to the next floor.

  My father didn’t take his eyes off me, and his confused expression was mixed with a slight look of anger. His brother had the same fiery expression, brows furrowed and his lips pressed tightly together.

  “Let’s talk in the dining room…” I led the way, knowing the two men would follow me.

  God, my heart was beating so fast.

  My palms were soaked with sweat.

  I was scared, more scared than I’d been when Knuckles took me.

  My father and Uncle Cane sat on the other side of the table, both with broad shoulders and hard expressions. Neither one of them blinked as they looked at me, wearing the same antagonistic gaze Bones wore sometimes.

  I sat across from them, my hands shaking a little because I was dreading the conversation as it unfolded. My chest ached because I wasn’t getting enough air to my lungs. Being the recipient of their hostile stares terrified me. They’d never looked at me that way before, like I was their enemy across the table.

  “Speak.” My father was ice-cold and aggressive. He’d never spoken to me that way, never barked at me like I was someone who’d crossed him. There wasn’t love in his eyes anymore. He was the terrifying man Bones had warned me about. He said my family wasn’t always so innocent…maybe he was telling the truth.

  “I’m going to bring him in here, but I wanted to tell you about him first…”

  “Why do I already hate this guy?” Uncle Cane asked.

  “I don’t like him either,” Father said. “To cower behind a woman like this is—”

  “It’s not like that,” I interrupted. “I thought it would make this easier if I gave you all the information before he came in here.”

  “What information?” Uncle Cane asked.

  There was no other way to say it other than spitting it out. I couldn’t ease them into it or cushion the blow. “I’ve been seeing him for about four months now. We ran into each other by chance…and it just started from there. I never expected to fall for him. I never wanted to love him. It just happened, and as much as I’ve tried to stop, I can’t. I know this will be hard for you, but please keep an open mind…for me.”

  My father was so still he wasn’t even breathing. He hadn’t blinked once since he sat down, his eyes focused on me like my face was a target. “Who is he?”

  I opened my mouth to speak, but it took a moment before the words finally tumbled out. “His name is Griffin…and he’s the son of Bones.”

  Uncle Cane’s pupils dilated at the name, and the vein in his forehead immediately thickened. Color flushed his face, and his anger was obvious, even to someone who didn’t know him.

  My father’s reaction was a million times more intense. His jaw clenched so tightly I thought I could hear his teeth grind together. His green eyes turned so dark they were nearly black. His hostility was stronger than his brother’s, and the rage slowly filled the room until the temperature rose a few degrees. I could feel his disappointment, his rage. I could feel so much anger radiate from his body even though he hadn’t said a single word. He didn’t need to say anything to express his overwhelming ferocity. Everyone in the house could feel it, even my mother who was two stories above us.

  My father could be more lethal than Bones.

  “I know this is hard,” I said quietly. “But he’s not a bad man. He may be his father’s son, but that doesn’t mean—”

  “No.” That was all my fat
her said. It wasn’t a response to what I’d just said, but to the situation in general. He couldn’t handle it. He despised this man regardless of what I would say. “No.”

  Uncle Cane was silent, but his anger slowly started to rise to match his brother’s. “You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.” He rarely cursed in front of us, but nothing was normal about this situation.

  “He suggested I tell you first…like I am right now. Then I’m going to bring him in here so you can talk to him face-to-face. He asked to do it here where you’re most comfortable. He asked for Uncle Cane to be here so you wouldn’t feel alone—”

  “I don’t need anyone to stand beside me.” My father narrowed his eyes on my face. “I will crush his skull in with my bare hands. I don’t need my brother or anyone else. This man may be thirty years younger than I am—”

  “No violence,” I said. “From either of you. I mean it.”

  That only pissed him off more. “Vanessa—”

  “I wouldn’t have brought him here unless I had any other choice.” The tears coated my eyes and started to streak down my cheeks. “I tried forgetting him. I tried dating someone else. But this is the man I love…and he loves me too. I know you love me, Father. Please just talk to him for a few minutes. Just try…for me.”

  He took a deep breath, his chest rising high until it came down again. His hand rested on the table, and it was tight in a fist. The veins on his knuckles and forearms were strained and corded.

  “Please,” I whispered through my tears. “Just give it a chance. Talk to him for five minutes…that’s all I ask.”

  “I don’t like this,” Uncle Cane said. “This could be a setup.”

  “It’s not,” I said. “I would never put you in danger.”

  “Knowingly,” my father said. “He could be tricking you.”

  “He’s not.” I shook my head. “He loves me…he would die for me…he would never hurt you.”

  My father remained rigid, his eyes wide open and hostile.

  Uncle Cane stared at me too, so similar to my father there was no doubt they were brothers.

  “I’m going to get him now…” I rose out of my chair. “No violence. Just talking.” I turned my back on them and walked out of the room. The second I crossed the threshold, I heard their whispers.