LAKEMy heart fell, and I found it hard to find a better word to reply, or I would make it more awkward than it already was. “What are we exactly? Just a marriage of convenience? We fuck every night, go separate ways and do our jobs during day time. Then, after eleven months, we bid goodbye. Is that what you want?”She didn’t say anything but look me in the eye, and her silence made me more uncomfortable.“I know I hurt you, and that’s why I’m trying hard to gain the trust I broke. And what we have here is special. I can feel it. We have something worth working out. Or am I the only one who feels this? Tell me, Maverick. Lay your cards on me. What do you want?”She turned away, leaving me confused and shattered.***“What are we waiting for?” I tapped my fingers on the armrest impatiently, facing Linden. He decided that we meet at the Osmium so no one could know about this meeting, so discreet that I’d been dying to know the information he found about Maverick’s possible father.“Ju
LAKE“What do you mean?” I was already on my feet, facing Terzo.His head snapped in my direction, eyes hardening, jaw ticking. “Your wife, Maverick, is my baby sister.”There was a moment of eerily silence upon his revelation.I, myself, found my jaw on the floor.What the fuck? Okay, I was not entirely prepared to hear this but fuck me.“Does your father know?” Uncle asked Terzo.“Yes.” He turned to my uncle. “Just the two of us, even my late mother, never knew. My sister doesn’t know. I only knew about this when he prepared me to be his next in line when I turned eighteen. He feared I might bump into her and accidentally sleep with my sister. Jesus.” Then he looked at me and to Linden.“Shit.” Linden breathed harshly.“You shouldn’t have stuck your noses and dug into this matter. This could lead to a serious dilemma. My father has kept this secret from her for her own good. Our family has so many enemies, and she’s here with no protection and knowledge of her father’s existence. W
MAVERICK“Hey, Nana.” I kissed her on the cheek even if she wasn’t too excited to see me. “Did you take your medicine?”She went back to the kitchen, continued working on her pecan pie, and slid it into the oven.“Are you okay?” I dropped the grocery bags on the floor and grabbed a clean towel as she removed dirty utensils and brought them to the sink. I cleaned the table, waiting for her reply. “Nana, what’s going on?”“You lied to me,” she said sharply, her hand on her hip. Her face hardened, eyes filling with anger.“About what, exactly? You know I never lied to you.” My stomach lurched instantly.“Do you think I’m stupid? I raised you, Ricky. I know you very well when you hide something from me. I taught you better than that. You disappoint me, young lady.”“Nana, please. What are you talking about?”She gave me her back and went on cleaning the sink. “Go home.”“Nana, just tell me, please?” It broke my heart, hurting her.She was more than just my grandmother. She became my mothe
MAVERICK“So who’s the lucky guy? That’s one big rock.” Terzo was a handsome man. He wasn’t wearing a wedding ring, so I guessed he was single, but the way he said it, he was more curious than flirting with me.“I’m lucky, too. His name is Lake.” I sipped my coffee while he had an espresso.“He must be rolling in it.” A smile nudged at his lips.“I guess you could say that. He came from both wealthy families, but he works hard.”“That’s good, and he should treat you well. You deserve a good man who treats you like a queen.” His words seemed genuine.I couldn’t help but smile. Despite that dark and mysterious persona and the intense look in his eyes, he seemed to be a good person.“Enough of me. What about you? You’re not married. Is there someone special?”“Nah. In my line of work, relationships can be complicated.”“That seems sounds sad. What do you do for a living? If you don’t mind me asking.”“You don’t wanna know.”“Whooo.” I tried to play cool as I eyed him. He intrigued me on
MAVERICK“It hurt so much. I couldn’t forget the look on her face.” I sat on his lap, my arms around him. “She hates me. I’ve never seen her so angry at me until today. I failed her, Lake.”“Hey. It’s okay. It’s gonna be okay. I promise I will fix this. We will fix this. Your Nana doesn’t hate you. She is maybe angry right now, but let it cool down for a few days.”“You don’t know her. I’ve made mistakes in my life, but she always understood. She never got mad. She always told me that it’s part of growing up, that life is a never-ending process of growth, and we should learn from our mistakes. But today, she said she never wanted to see me again. She kicked me out of the house.”“You should have called me. I would have come here instantly, and you didn’t have to cry alone.” He kept rubbing my back to soothe me, but some things could not heal with words or comfort, and that was what I felt right now.“I couldn’t afford to lose Nana, Lake. She’s the only family I have left.” I still con
LAKEShe was pissed off. She was upset and sad, and now I pissed her off. I couldn’t do anything right, and now she walked out of the room.I exhaled a long breath as I typed a text message.LAKE: I can’t tell her. Her Nana found out about us and was mad at her. She’s so broke right now.I saw the message bubbling.LINDEN: Maybe that’s a good thing.LAKE: How is it a good thing? What if she finds it out from someone else and confronts me? She will think I keep the truth about her father on purpose.LINDEN: Telling her the truth about her father won’t do any good to her. Trust me. You don’t know how dangerous these people are or their enemies.LAKE: Tell me about Gaetano Siciliano.LINDEN: Nothing good, but your uncle trusts this man. The Siciliano has one code. Kill everyone who touches their family and the people they protect.LINDEN: Now that you are married to his daughter, you’re under his protection, and he will catch bullets for you.Jesus.I watched goosebumps erupt all over my
LAKE“No way.” She snorted, grabbed her bowl, and left.“Maverick.” I held her wrist. “This is not a joke.”She napped her head and glared at me. “What could he possibly offer that made me want to take it? Is that really how you look at me? Wearing a dollar sign all over my face that I’m greedy and all I want is money?”“Baby—”“I get it, Lake.” She looked down at her wrist in my grip.I loosened it and let her go. “No, you don’t. I didn’t mean like that.”“You’re not telling me the truth.” There was so much pain in her eyes that I couldn’t even look at them longer without feeling stabs in my chest. “Stop lying to me. I just lost my only family. Don’t make me lose you too.”“Maverick, please?”She stared at her food momentarily before shoving the bowl into my chest. “On the other thought, I’m not hungry anymore.”I caught it and watched her walk away.“Fuck.”***I couldn’t work. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. I was still shaken up. My mind was shambled. All I could think about w
MAVERICKI left my robe on the chair, unhooked my bra, and pulled down my panties on the floor while Lake’s stare seared me. He was naked in bed, his cock growing in his grip.Lake was hard everywhere, with pure muscles and perfect limbs as I came on top of him. His big arms wrapped around me, and he rolled us over so he could be on top. I was pressed by a heavy mass, but not enough to crush me.He dipped in, his lips finding mine, and kissed me softly, slowly at first, while his hand slid into my hair, stroking my scalp. The kiss was gentle as if we had the time in the world.When a moan slipped past my throat, he felt my anticipation; he deepened the kiss and delved his tongue into my mouth, making it aggressive and demanding— how exactly did I want right now with the growing pain in my lower belly and the throbbing pulse between my thighs.I grabbed his thick cock, stroked it slowly, and dampened its head with my wetness before I positioned it into my entrance. A groan of satisfact