Mafia Monster's Forced Bride Page 15

  Alex laughed. “Yeah, you could say that.”

  “You know, I trust your instincts, but when it comes to Roman, you have always been a little hesitant with him. Why?”

  “He’s a stranger to me, Millie.”

  “I know he is, but do you have no feelings for him at all? He is the first guy I’ve ever seen you openly dislike. You don’t give him a chance at first. Why?”

  Alex glanced out into the yard. The kids were lying on the grass, soaking up the sun. Roman had brought them all beach towels and sunglasses. They couldn’t make the trip to the beach, but he could help bring the beach to them, which also included a sand pit.

  She didn’t know how he’d gotten to do that in the past couple of hours, but he had. The kids loved him.

  “I didn’t know him, and every time I tried to get to know him, he’d be mean, and he didn’t have time for me.”

  “For fuck sake, Alex, leave me the fuck alone.”

  “That doesn’t look right. You look like a fucking Victorian maid.”

  “Do I look interested?”

  Alex thought over the two months they were married. It wasn’t easy. Roman never had a nice thing to say to her. She knew deep down that he didn’t want to be married to her.

  “I knew he had other women. I overheard them at the wedding, and when he had no patience with me, and I was getting things wrong, I guess I just decided that I wasn’t going to allow myself to fall for a man who wasn’t ever going to be mine.”

  “Honey.”

  “Mom and Dad had something, Millie. I know I wasn’t old enough to see it, but the photos he has of her. I know he’s taken lovers, but none of them mean anything to him. He’s never had another girlfriend. Never been happy like he was in all the pictures with Mom. I grew up seeing them, and that’s what I wanted. Is that wrong?”

  “No, baby, not wrong. I just wished your dad knew what he was doing. At least Roman is seeing things differently now.”

  Alex looked toward the window and shrugged.

  “You’re having your doubts?”

  “I don’t trust as easily as I think I should.” When it came to Roman, she wanted to trust this side of him, but she had caught the way he’d been looking at her. It was subtle, but it was like he was trying to work her out. She had to wonder why. Between offering to adopt the kids and talking about a future with them, not to mention how his friends seemed to be intent on forcing them together, something didn’t sit right with Alex.

  Was Roman forcing her to have feelings for him?

  She had started to have feelings for him, and that was what scared her. He was breaking through her defenses so easily.

  What if this was all a game? Why would he change after two months of being one kind of guy? It made no sense.

  “Have you ever thought that he didn’t know what you were like, but now that he does, he’s smitten and wants to get to know you on a deeper level?” Millie asked.

  “I’m sure you’re right.”

  But again, the niggle of doubt entered her mind, and she couldn’t push it away. It was there, rooted in her mind, not giving up or letting go.

  ****

  “This is progress,” Antonio said, pointing at them.

  They sat close together, holding hands. The moment Roman sat down, he’d moved closer to Alex, and she had done the same. Their knees were touching, and their hands were locked together.

  Roman was worried about looking at her.

  Today had gone so well with the kids. They’d been excited about him bringing the beach to them. Some had complained there were no sharks, but he considered that a good thing, seeing as sharks meant death. Several of the guys and even a few of the girls were fascinated by sharks and would often be watching them on television, especially documentaries.

  He had to find them all new hobbies.

  The guardians were still in residence and had been the whole time, and he’d left them alone to go find Alex, to let her know he had a lawyer looking into the adoption process, when he heard her talking to Millie.

  She suspected him.

  Alex wasn’t stupid, and he was fast coming to realize that. He hadn’t had a chance to talk to his friends about what he’d overheard. This wasn’t good for him.

  Liam had raised a very astute daughter. He couldn’t be angry because the truth was, his feelings toward her and his actions were mixed.

  He was trying to get her to fall in love with him at the order of his father. The adoption, licking her pussy, and enjoying spending time with her, that was real. Roman also knew why she had her doubts. He hadn’t been a very nice guy to her in the beginning.

  His anger should have been directed at his father and Liam, but instead, like a fucking idiot, he’d directed it at his wife.

  The first couple of months of their marriage, he hadn’t said anything nice to her. He’d not had the time for her. He’d done everything he could to ignore her. But what he hadn’t done was cheat on her. There were no other women. Just Alex.

  Not even his hand.

  Sex had been the furthest thing from his mind as he’d been dealing with Liam and all the new problems having a new tie to the Greco name incurred.

  “We’re good students,” Alex said.

  Antonio nodded and took a seat.

  He waited for Marlo and Cash to stand up, to give their orders.

  Nothing.

  “What’s going on?” Alex asked.

  “We’ve been trying this for a week now, and we’ve come a great deal, but we’ve been talking,” Marlo said, pointing between himself, Cash, and Antonio. “And we don’t think we’re the ones who can help you guys. You two need to want this. We’ve given you all the pointers to help. The constant touching, kissing, dancing, and just being in each other’s company, but the rest of it has to come from the two of you. And we can’t do that for you.”

  His friends got to their feet, and then they started to walk toward the stairs. “We’ll be in the kitchen if you need us,” Cash said.

  And like that, he was alone in the basement with his wife.

  “Wow,” Alex said.

  “Yeah, wow.”

  They were still holding hands and still sat close to each other. Roman didn’t have a fucking clue what to do.

  “We have one week to get this right,” Alex said.

  “No, we don’t,” Roman said. “Look at how far we’ve come already. I don’t want us to put too much pressure on ourselves. There’s no need to.” He forced a smile to his lips. “We’ll be ourselves next week. There’s no reason to panic.”

  Alex frowned. “That’s a new … tactic.”

  “Not a tactic. I don’t want to play a role to anyone else.” Roman let go of her hands and got to his feet. He watched as she stifled a yawn. “And you’re tired.”

  “I’m fine. I’ll do whatever you need me to do.”

  Again, she tried to stifle a yawn.

  “Go to bed, that’s an order.”

  She rolled her eyes again.

  “I’ll put that down on the board.”

  She chuckled, and he looked toward the board at their names as well as their weaknesses. Roman walked over and rubbed it all off.

  Making his way to the main house, he closed the basement door and found his friends in the small study, sipping bottles of beer.

  “Sneaking it in again?” Roman asked.

  “Someone has to. There is no hard stuff here but a can of soda,” Cash said. “Want one?”

  Roman shook his head. He stopped drinking beer years ago. He was a scotch man himself.

  “Alex suspects what we’re doing,” Roman said. “What I’m doing.”

  “Which part?” Antonio asked.

  “Manipulating her to fall in love with me,” Roman said.

  “How?” Marlo asked.

  “I don’t know how she knows, but I heard her talking to Millie today.”

  “Oh,” Cash said.

  “Yeah, oh. I can only guess that Liam has taught her to be cauti
ous of everyone and everything.”

  “You’re her husband. Can’t that be a good enough reason?” Marlo asked.

  “You’d think so, only I don’t have the best track record when it comes to Alex. I wasn’t exactly a prince in the early days.” He sat down on the edge of an old, worn chair.

  “So, what’s the plan?” Antonio asked.

  “I don’t have a plan. I don’t know what to do.”

  “You’ve got to keep doing what your dad told you to do,” Marlo said. “It’s important for everyone that this marriage works. It has been close to falling apart several times.”

  “I know.”

  “Why don’t you just fuck her and get it over with?” Cash asked.

  “I’m not going to force her. She’s not ready.” Roman ran a hand down his face.

  “If you guys don’t convince the Greco line, we’ll never find out who tried to kill her,” Antonio said.

  “We will. Alex and I, we’ll make this work.” He got to his feet and made his way out of the room.

  “Is there a chance you could be falling for her?” Cash asked.

  Roman was only in the doorway. He glanced back at his friends, and the truth was, he didn’t have an answer to that question.

  He left them alone and made his way up to his bedroom where Alex was already lying in bed.

  At first, he thought she was awake, but as he moved further into the room, he saw she was fast asleep. He stepped close to her and stared down at her face. She was a beautiful woman. One of his exes had said she looked mousy, but he didn’t see that. She was lovely.

  His mother had described Alex as that. Roman had figured it was a way of saying she wasn’t beautiful or ugly, but in between, but he knew now what his mother meant. Alex was a lovely person. She was sweet, kind, and everything their life chewed up and destroyed.

  He didn’t want to be responsible for ruining her life.

  Teasing back a stray curl, he wished it would be so easy to turn his back on her, but it wouldn’t be. In the past few weeks, Alex had gotten beneath his skin, and he feared there was no way back from that. He had gotten a small taste of lovely, and it was enough to make him addicted. To yearn for more, to beg for it.

  Alex was his.

  He couldn’t let her go.

  Not now.

  He needed her.

  ****

  “What is all this?” Alex asked.

  “The kids are out on their day trip to the museum, and we’re all alone,” Roman said.

  Alex was so disappointed that she couldn’t go. Of course, the kids had offered to stay home to be with her, but she refused to let them miss such an amazing opportunity and had demanded they all go and bring her back knowledge.

  This left her alone with Roman, Antonio, and Marlo. Cash had left the house.

  Roman poured some bottled water into a champagne glass. He’d set up a little picnic for them on the grass.

  With no kids running around them, they didn’t have to worry about any potential collisions or stampedes of feet.

  “And what is all of this?” Alex asked.

  “This is a late celebration of the fact you got out of the hospital. You have recovered, and we’re on course for an adoption.”

  “You do know adoption takes a long time,” Alex said.

  “Yeah, it does, to others who don’t have the Greco name.”

  She shook her head. “You’re not doing anything illegal, are you?”

  “No, not at all. I’m making sure my wife gets what she wants.”

  “Is it what you want?”

  “I never considered myself father material, but I think those kids are going to teach me quickly.”

  She took a deep breath. “You’re sure you’re making the right decision? Your dad will be pissed.”

  Roman shrugged. “I’m taking care of my wife. He’s going to be pissed regardless. He likes to make all the decisions.”

  She held her glass up to him. “To meddling, controlling fathers.”

  “I will toast to that.” They clinked their glasses together. “I thought Liam wasn’t so … controlling?”

  “He’s … not, but he is. He likes to think he gives me the freedom to make my own choices, but to be honest, he has always pushed me to where he wants me to go. Taking over this place was what I truly wanted to do. To give those kids a family, but he told me I was too young to know what I was doing. I guess that was the first time that I realized he was controlling. Then, of course, was the dinner date where he told me that he had a proposition for me. Within three hours, I was engaged, and my life changed forever.” She sighed.

  “I was under the impression you wanted the marriage.”

  “We were both lied to and manipulated.” She took a long sip of her drink and held it up for more.

  “Wow, Mrs. Greco, at this rate, you will be properly hydrated.”

  She chuckled, and he filled her glass with water. “I will do the proper lady way and only take a sip.”

  Alex gave him an example, and he bowed his head to her.

  They both chuckled, and it was moments like this that Alex had to doubt her insecurities. This wasn’t forced or fake. To Alex, this felt natural. There was no one around. His two friends were in the games room, which Roman, Antonio, Marlo, and Cash had all set up.

  The peace and quiet was nice.

  The only problem with it was when she was reminded of why she was here. “You know, my life has always been in danger. Being my father’s daughter and all, but I never realized just how much it was.”

  “I’ll protect you.”

  “Don’t you think it’s a little … strange? That you have to protect me?”

  Roman shook his head. “I’ve been fighting my whole life.”

  “You mentioned how controlling your dad was. I assumed it was just because of the wedding, and you guys have arranged marriages all the time, don’t you?”

  “We do.”

  “But that’s not what you meant when you said your dad was controlling?”

  “No, it wasn’t.”

  “How is he controlling?” she asked and then held her hands up. “You don’t have to tell me.”

  “It’s fine. I’m the heir to his empire. To all of this, and he needed to make sure that I was ready. He couldn’t have a weak son take the helm, and so, from as young as I can remember, it has been one test after another.”

  “Test?”

  “Yeah, stupid stuff, like telling me not to take the cupcake, and if I took the cupcake, I’d face the consequences, but to not take the cupcake would also have consequences as well.”

  Alex frowned. “What?”

  “If I took the cupcake, I was disobeying his instruction, and that was bad. If I didn’t take the cupcake, I wasn’t being a leader and taking what I wanted.”

  “You were in a no-win situation.”

  “I was,” Roman said.

  “You were.”

  “Yeah, what I did was ask for the cupcake. That was what I needed to do. I was then showing my dad respect and still going after what I wanted. That’s what he wanted.”

  “How long did it take you to figure that out?” Alex asked.

  “I did it on my first try.” Roman sipped his water. “But that is what started it all. Dad said I have an inbuilt alpha role. He’s always talking about that shit. How there are some men who are alphas, leaders, and others who are betas and designed to take orders, like my brother.”

  “Your brother, Phillip, right?”

  “Yep.”

  “Have I met him?”

  “Yes, you have met all of my brothers and sisters.”

  “And you’re not close?” she asked.

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “It doesn’t pay my father for his children to be close.”

  “So have you all been competing for his attention or to be better than each other?” Alex asked.

  “No. We don’t have to. As my dad said, there’s no competition. I’ll
be the one in charge, the boss, and everyone else will learn to fall in line.”

  “That must have been tough,” she said.

  “Not really. As you can see, I was never close to any of my siblings. Most of my life I’ve been training and preparing to take over. To lead.”

  Alex didn’t like it. The life he spoke of was one of loneliness. “I’m sorry.”

  “Why?” he asked.

  “It sounds lonely. You were all alone.”

  “Alex, I wasn’t alone. I had Antonio, Marlo, and Cash. You want to know what we all have in common?” he asked.

  “You’re all firstborns.”

  “Anyone ever tell you, you’re a bit of a pain-in-the-ass know-it-all?”

  She smiled and rested her head on his arm. “It would seem only you get to tell me that.”

  “Damn straight.”

  Why did this feel good?

  Roman took her hand and locked their fingers together, and to Alex, it felt like the most natural thing in the world.

  Chapter Thirteen

  “I don’t know if I can do this,” Alex said.

  Her hand was a little clammy within his. The limousine that had come to pick them up was slowing down, about to enter the gates of his father’s mansion.

  This wasn’t the house where he grew up. Lucas Greco had a lot of suspicions and paranoia, so the home he entertained his people in was not the same home he lived in. Although there were often a few close-knit events at his main home, they were never the ones for such large gatherings.

  “Your father is going to be there. I’m there. Antonio, Marlo, and Cash are going to be there.”

  Alex turned to him. “That’s not helping.”

  “What’s the matter? If you’re afraid someone is going to attack you…”

  “No, I’m not afraid. I don’t, us, getting this right tonight. I don’t want to be responsible for potentially killing people, Roman.”

  He took her hand within his and kissed her knuckles. This had to be the first time in his entire life that he’d ever truly been close to a woman. Really close. Kissing, snuggling, going to bed together without sex, talking about pointless shit. He’d never done that with any woman.

  “We’ve got this. I’m going to be by your side the entire night. You don’t have to worry. I promise you.”