Sunshine spoke first, but it was directed at Zane. ‘Wh-what are you doing here? Is this because I called in sick?’ She looked petrified.
Turning, I grabbed her by the shoulders. ‘This is on me, Sunshine. I was going to tell you. Zane… he’s my brother.’
‘WHAT?’ she shrieked.
Zane exploded into a fit of laughter. ‘I see you made your decision, sister.’ He smirked and I rolled my eyes at him.
Sunshine pushed out of my arms, taking a step back then looking between us. ‘Y-you’re a De Luca?!’
‘Yes and no. We’re blood. I share their last name but I’m not a “De Luca”,’ I said, making quotation marks with my hands to emphasise the difference. ‘I don’t really have a role in the family businesses. I might… help from time to time, and these two tried to marry me off to other families to gain some more territory because I wasn’t really seeing anyone until now. But, that’s not my life, Sunshine. It’s theirs. However, there are benefits, like being able to castrate the man that did this to you. So… will you forgive me? I didn’t meanto hide it from you, not really,’ I pleaded, stepping closer into her.
‘This is… a lot to take in,’ she breathed.
Zane spoke then after he seemed to take in what my last comment had meant. ‘Jason’s back?’ he asked.
Xav went to interject, asking who that was.
‘Her ex,’ Zane and I said in unison.
‘She’s going to be staying here from now on. Xav, find him. Zane, end him. Also, Sunshine here will be taking a leave of absence from both roles until this is sorted. But Z, you make sure her jobs are still there when she’s ready, if she wants them.’
‘Wait, wait, wait. You can’t just go deciding these things on your own, V. It’s my life! And what do you mean, “end him”?’
‘You know what I mean; you know our name and what we do. We will make sure this never happens again. I just want to keep you safe, baby girl.’ I soothed her by pulling her into my arms.
Her body was still tense, and she seemed uncertain, but she had claimed me just as much as I had claimed her, and I wasn’t going anywhere. I knew we were in front of my brothers, but I refused to hide any part of my love for her; she carried enough shame. I needed to be proud of her.
‘Let yourself think long enough, and there will be a million reasons not to, but I promise I can give you a million more reasons why we should. Do not let the voices win this one. You deserve safety, you deserve love, you deserve to be happy,’ I whispered into the crook of her neck. ‘You’ve never allowed yourself to freefall into something like this, but here and now you can. Give in; no more rationalising or overthinking. Justfeel. Let that guide you; guide us. Sunshine, I’m yours. I don’t know how many more times Ican convince you of this. Let go. Live in the fantasy if you need to until it becomes reality. What do you say?’
Her answer was a searing kiss that had me pulling her into my body until she winced, and then I remembered myself and the two men we stood in front of. Zane lookedalmostproud. He was a monster in the truest sense of the word, but he had a soft centre buried deep, especially for his little sister.
Xav took us in one more time, acceptance finally settling in. ‘Welcome to the family, Namazzi. Would you like your own room? Perhaps your own level? We can look at remodelling the guest level to suite your tastes, otherwise you can stay with V in her space. As for Jason, it seems Zane already has the information that I’ll need to start my investigation, seeing as he’s tried to deal with this situation himself before, I’m assuming?’
‘Just like that? You’re what, exactly? Accepting me? Fighting for me? You don’t care that I’m not good enough for your sister? I have no money—I’m a stripper for Christ’s sake!’ She was stunned.
Z chose to respond then. ‘Just like that. You get involved with one of us, you get all of us. As for who isn’t good enough for whom, it’s V who’s going to have to prove she’s worth you. I already warned her once. She breaks your heart; I break her legs. No one, absolutely no one, fucks with my girls, Namazzi—not even my family. And you don’t need money; we have more than enough. That’s how it works in this family: everyone owns everything. As for the stripper comment, really? You won’t find judgement from me for surviving by any means necessary. V sure as fuck doesn’t care. If anything, it probably works in her favour. And as for our stoic older brother, if you knew him on a personal level, you would be the one judging him and hissex life. No one here in this room, no matter the material possessions we have, is in a position to judge you. We wouldn’t even think to?—’
Xav interrupted then. ‘It’s true. We couldn’t care less. Besides, if I’m being honest, I was worried V wouldn’t find someone decent in this lifetime because of us. Because of who we are, there are only a few who would attempt to claim her, but she always deserved better. In my line of work, Namazzi, you get good at reading people and I see right through you. You’re going to be good for her. Besides, I should be thanking you because you see her for who she is—not her name, money or power. I see the way you look at each other. It’s real. And you’re not sitting here judging us for what we do and how we use our bodies; is far more sinister. So, we’re good.’
9
SUNSHINE
Icouldn’t believe this family, and I was pretty sure they were all slightly unstable. But then, so was I, because V was right. I wanted to live in this fantasy world with her and I was done denying myself. I believed her when she said she was mine, and for the first time ever, I wanted to be owned and wholly someone else’s. She was the first person who didn’t take from me, and that made me want to give her everything.
I decided in that moment that I would never doubt these feelings or us again. She was my everything, and I would let this family burn the world to ashes to protect what I had found in her. Hope. Love. Safety. Turning to her, I cupped her cheeks and felt the gentle thud of her forehead as it rested on mine.
Whispering so only she could hear, I said the words that would seal this new string of fate. ‘I love you.’
Before I could do anything else, her lips crashed into mine, and the floor disappeared from under me as V swept me up into her arms. She strode us towards the table, placing me on its edge and pulling my legs in one quickmovement as she stepped between them, pressing against me.
‘Out!’ she shouted, as embarrassment rushed over me. I had forgotten that we weren’t alone. I heard them both chuckle before the door clicked shut behind them.
V kissed down my neck. ‘Say it again,’ she pleaded, pulling my chin to meet her gaze. Her eyes were ragged with emotion.
‘I’m yours, V. Wholly and completely yours, from this moment until the end. I love you.’
A groan escaped her lips as she ground her hips into mine before plunging her fingers into my pants. ‘Fuck, Sunshine, if I had known you weren’t wearing anything under these, I wouldn’t have even let you come down here. We would have been stuck upstairs this whole time doing exactly this. You drive me fucking crazy.’
