Chapter Fifteen

Nora

I'd spent a couple of hours looking at wedding cakes and fell in love with these amazing cakes from this one girl on Instagram. They are fabulous, and I want one. She's so talented, and since Jack said I could have whatever I desired, this is the one thing I won't waver on. She's local, so I give her a call and she can meet on Friday.

Squealing, I freak and remember that the doors here are made of the best wood, but still I go to check on John and see how he's doing. He'd just gone down for a nap while I was doing my wedding planning, but when I entered his playroom, both brothers were sitting on the floor with him as he played. They look up and smile. Although they're siblings, they hardly look anything alike. You wouldn't know they're related if you weren't told.

"Hey, everything okay?" Connor asks me.

"Yep. Any news from Jack yet?"

"No, not yet, but he's probably still up in the air," Ian answers as he builds a plastic set of train tracks.

"How long are you guys sticking around?"

"Until he comes back," Connor answers, and Ian nods in agreement.

"Okay. I'm going to take a nap. Let me know if you need anything."

"Sure. You enjoy the rest while you can," Connor says.

I head back into the bedroom and lie on the bed, missing Jack. It's silly since he hasn't been gone long. Maybe it's because he went to Philly without me. It's technically my hometown. I could have gathered more of my things, seen Rebecca while he did his business. Stupid big jerk left me here, and I miss him. That's just the simple answer, and I hate myself for it. We've only known each other for a couple of days, and I've gotten used to him and his demanding and domineering ways.

I try to fall asleep when my phone rings. Assuming it's Jack, I answer without thinking. "Hello."

"Piccolina," my father's deceptively smooth voice answers. I pale and sit straight up.

"How did you get this number?" I question, my voice even tempered, almost annoyed. I stand up and walk straight to the guys. Without Jack here, I'm sure they'll want to hear this.

"A friend gave it to me. I hear congratulations are in order and you have finally agreed to the arrangement." The rat bastard.

As I enter the playroom, I wave my hand, and they come toward me. "I never agreed to it. Jack and I met by chance," I answer while the two giant MacNamara brothers gather around me.

I hold it out but don't put it on speaker so he doesn't get suspicious. They listen in closely. "Oh, my sweet girl. How did you make it all those years by yourself, and yet you are so na?ve. That's what he wants you to believe."

"Why would I believe anything you have to say?" I challenged. Ian's hands flex.

"I didn't do anything any father in our organization wouldn't do. It's tradition, and even Jack will do it with your children. Do you think he suddenly just fell in love with you?" No, because we're not in love with each other. Lust, maybe. Goodness, we're definitely in lust, but he's almost forty and needs a wife. "I see I have my answer."

I roll my eyes. "What do you want?"

"You don't have to marry him. I have someone better for you." Connor purses his lips, holding back a scoff.

"I didn't fall for it the first time. What makes you think I'm going to fall for it a second time?"

"He's the one who killed your Julia, and he's the one who sent Jeremy to be your boyfriend and spy on you. Then our men just witnessed the killing."

"How do you know about Jeremy?"

"You think I stayed out of your life because I let you believe it. Your brother slipped up, and I found out where you were."

"I don't know what your end game is."

"I want their fortune. I want their surrender. You should be helping me, not them. So far, all these assholes have failed me. Espinosa had one shot after his sister failed me, and now if you disappoint me, I might have to kill your brother's new wife."

"Are you crazy?"

"The choice is yours. You have a day to think about it." He ends the call, and both brothers look at me.

"Don't even think about meeting with him. He's going to try holding you hostage, and no offense—my brother might enjoy screwing you, but it's only been a few days and he's not going to toss away his family empire for you," Connor says, and Ian nods.

"No shit, Sherlock." I slap him in the chest. "I don't even know what the old prick wants. He wants to kill me for defying him. Honestly, I think he wants revenge on everyone he can find. What I need to do is get ahold of my brother."

"He's going to be wise to it," Connor says, trying to warn me, but I know my brother and he and my father aren't tight.

I brush off his concerns. "Don't worry about it. I'll take care of it. Trust me when I say it will be easy."

Needing to handle some delicate matters, Ian leaves the house, promising to return in the morning.

Goodness, I wish Jack would call.

My phone rings just then. This time, I look and it's Jack. "Hey," I answered nervously.

"What's going on?" he asks with a strange, curious tone.

"What do you mean? I'm just picking out wedding stuff."

"So, you weren't on the phone with your father?"

"How the fuck do you know that? Are you spying on all my calls and messages?"

"No, but Shamus was about five feet away and heard part of the conversation and called me to give me a heads up on the situation. Whatever he told you was a lie."

"Trust me, almost everything he said, I didn't believe. He wanted to hurt me and separate us. I let your brothers listen in just in case."

"Smart woman."

"Do you know Jeremy, my ex?"

"Jeremy?" He draws out the name.

"Why did you say it like that? I mentioned him before."

"I know you did. Listen, there's something I need to talk to you about when I get home, but I promise you that it's not what you think." I don't like the sound of that, but like I said before, I believe him and I sure as fuck don't buy any of the bullshit my father said.

"Okay. I'll be here waiting for an explanation." I paced almost the entire first floor of the mansion waiting for him to return while Connor stared at me nervously. I gave John a bath, and now he's down for his nap.

"Will you tell me why you've done like a mini marathon in Jack's house for like three hours?"

"It's personal. I don't need you to stay, Connor. It's not like anyone is going to be stupid enough to break in here, and I know how to take care of John just fine."

"Well, I told Jack I would take care of you, and I will keep my word after what happened with John."

"Please. I'm just someone he met two days ago."

"Well, I was just being a dick to stop you from going. Jack has never given any woman his attention like this. Hell, I didn't think he'd ever get married unless it was arranged, and he set up the arrangement."

"Well, technically he did. This isn't love. This is an agreement for one year, two months and three days to pay for taking John."

"Damn, it's like that?"

"Yes, it is."

"It seems my fiancée needs a correction." Jack looks impeccable in his latest charcoal gray suit, white collared shirt, and matching gray tie.

"Okay, Brother. I'll just leave you to it. John's asleep, so hopefully you're good." He winks and walks out. I watch him walk away, and then my eyes are on the man who entered again.

"Nora, it seems we have a serious misunderstanding." He slowly yet deliberately stalks forward like a stealthy predator. I nearly fell back on my ass as I hit the back of the sofa. "I believe we've been here before."

"Not quite," I answered. He fists my throat, giving it a good squeeze.

"Better?" I nod.

"Now, listen, Miss Fieri. This isn't for one year, two months and three days. This is for the end of motherfucking time. You are mine. Mine. Do you understand me?" I nod again.

"Say it. Say you understand."

"I understand," I breathe out around his strong fist. My pussy throbs as I wear his five-finger necklace.

"Say you're mine forever."

"I'm yours forever."

"Good fucking girl." He rips off my shorts and stuffs his fingers into my heat, soaking them. "So damn wet for me. You like your necklace, don't you?"

"Yes, I do."

"Good, because so do I." He releases his cock from his pants and in one slick movement, he slams himself deep inside of me, lifting me onto the edge of the sofa. "Fuck, I missed you."

"Don't be gone so damn long next time," I demand. He fists my throat again and then licks my jaw.

"I can't promise that, but I promise to come home and fuck you until you can't walk," he grunts, pumping his hips forward until we're both covered in sweat and coming hard. I feel him unload all over my insides.

"You know I'm not on anything and we're not using any protection," I reminded him.

"Good. We're starting to add to the family," he grunts, he double pumps inside me a little harder, emphasizing his point.

"Are you serious? You don't mind?"

"Give me a minute and I'll show you again how serious I am, but first, we need to talk." I forgot about the entire reason I was upset—Jeremy.

He pulls out and tucks himself away before sliding my panties and shorts up, patting my panties against my mound. "I need to use the restroom and change."

"Fine. Let's take this upstairs. I'll check on John while you do that."

We meet in the bedroom twenty minutes later, and he's sitting on the bed in just a pair of boxer briefs and an undershirt. "What happened to you?" I ask.

"You were taking too long, so I decided to use one of the other showers." I blushed. Wanting to freshen up, I took a fast shower, but my mind started to wander, and wander. I guess I wandered too far off.

"Sorry."

"Don't be sorry. I plan on fucking you again," he growls.

"So tell me about Jeremy and you supposedly killing him."

"I don't know who this Jeremy asshole is, but I have a feeling I might. What I'm going to show you might be disturbing, and I'm only going to show you bits and pieces."

"Okay." He turns on a tablet, and it's my home and Jeremy comes onto the screen. "What's Jeremy doing in my house?" He starts ranting about me and marrying, kidnapping, and the works. I hear the call to someone and then the door opens. Jack puts the tablet to his chest for a minute, and then the gunshot goes off.

"You killed him?"

"No. I'm the one he's on the phone with. See, I didn't know that's the supposed Jeremy. That was my long-time associate, Giles. He and I go back about five years."

I gasp. "My dad said you sent him after me."

"Like I'd let another man taste these lips. Fuck. If I got a chance, I would have killed him myself. He set us up to find you and John. He knew I wasn't the kind to kill a woman, and he thought I would just leave you be." He caresses my cheek. "No way in hell did he think I'd fall for you, but I did. I fell fucking hard. I love you, Nora. I don't know when it happened, but you make me feel things I don't understand. Well, the lust I got, but there is so much more. Today, I understand completely. Being away from you was harder than anything I've ever done. The flight home was a nightmare thinking you might want to leave me over something I had nothing to do with."

"Jack, I love you too. I've been trying to figure this out. Yes, lust definitely contributed to it, but I feel safe when I'm with you and for a mobster, that's something I hadn't expected. Especially after having met your father before, I never wanted to be a part of the MacNamara family."

He lets out a deep chuckle with a nervous glint in his light eyes. "I can't say I blame you. Nora, marry me, not because I'm forcing you."

"Actually, I kind of like that idea." Something about Jack's domineering ways always sat well with me.

"Well, then, Nora, you will fucking marry me because I said so, and you know damn well I'll make you." He wraps his hand around my throat and pins me to the bed.

"You can't tell me what to do," I spit out through clenched teeth with his face inches from mine.

"The hell I can't."

"We'll see about that. I seem to recall something about being your daddy." He cocks his brow and grinds his fully covered cock against my aching center.

"Fuck. Why am I soaked?" I moan.

"Because you love being my bad girl who needs a lesson." He bites my ear, and I nearly come on the spot.

With great disappointment, he pulls back and stands, lifting me off the bed as well. We're both standing when he says, "But first, there's another piece of jewelry you're missing. I stopped at a jeweler while I was in Philly, but they didn't have what I wanted, so I did it this week and I picked it up on my way home today." Dropping down to one knee, Jack says, "Nora Fieri, you will marry me because I'll spank the shit out of you if you don't."

"Yeah, not a deterrent." I roll my eyes. He leans forward and bites my pussy. "Ouch, you asshole."

"Keep it up, and I'll fuck your little asshole." He wags his brows. I shiver, wondering if that's a threat or a promise. This man has brought out every filthy thought this inexperienced woman has had.

"Fine. I guess I'll marry you." He chuckles and slides a huge rock on my finger. My mouth falls open. "Oh my goodness. This is massive."

"Only the best for the queen of the MacNamara Empire." He stands up and growls, "Where were we?"

My eyes widen and I let out a giggle before I find myself planted back on the bed and in for an intense fucking reunion.