Page 97 of Captured Fantasy

He shifted, taking a sip of coffee. “I’m here to talk about Federico and Cosimo. But first, there is something I want to say to you.” He sobered and I could tell whatever he wanted to say was a difficult pill to swallow.

“What is it?” I said, leaning on the counter.

He took a breath. “I wanted to come by last summer and say this, but I never did. And then, after some things happened, I realized it was necessary. I am truly, deeply sorry for the way I treated you, Enza. I apologize.”

I stared at him, my heart beating like a drum in my chest. My God, Olivia Barone had to be a saint to bring about a change like this in Lucien. Never had I heard of him admitting he was wrong, much less apologizing for his behavior to anyone. It wasn’t in his nature or his vocabulary.

“I was an asshole,” he said. “I took out my personal issues on you. I was…crude and hurtful towards you.”

“I…um, I don’t know what to say,” I whispered.

He dropped his lids, veiling his gaze. I thought back on the things he’d done to me and the things he’d said. How he’d always been so cold and uncomfortable. My gaze dropped to his hand on the counter, the wedding ring gleaming on his fingers.

“Why did you always put your hands in my mouth afterwards?” I asked flatly.

He flexed his fingers. “Because of what happened with Romano I was terrified I’d get the wrong woman pregnant. I needed to know that you’d…wrapped things up properly.”

“I thought so, but I still always wondered,” I sighed. “I hope you’ve worked through some of those issues.”

He nodded. “It’s amazing how cathartic killing the man who wronged you is. Olivia and I are trying for a baby now.”

“Really? Congratulations.”

I found I liked the idea of Lucien with a family, a baby in his arms. A warm pang shot through my chest. Despite our complicated past together and his refusal to allow Cosimo to be with me, I cared for Lucien in my own way. After all the pain and heartache he’d been through, he deserved some happiness.

“I forgive you,” I said, and I meant it.

“Thank you, Enza.” His icy eyes locked on mine. “Now, let’s talk about what you’re doing to my men because it’s causing me a fucking problem.”

I sighed. “I’m not trying to cause a problem. If you would just let Cosimo be with me, there wouldn’t be an issue.”

He cocked his head. “You and Cosimo Barone are a match I never saw coming. He’s hopelessly in love with you, Enza. Problem is, Federico’s hopelessly jealous and he’s approached me about you.”

“Approached you?”

“He asked if he had permission from me to pursue you.”

I narrowed my eyes. “I told him I wasn’t interested.”

“It’s not that simple,” Lucien said, his mouth thinning. “Your refusal doesn’t mean shit to him. He’s a proud man, he doesn’t like that Cosimo undermined him. He’s embarrassed. Also, according to him, he wants to marry you. What his motivation is, I can’t guess. Possession, most likely.”

I gaped at him, a shiver moving through my body.

“The problem is, I already had women picked out for both Cosimo and Rico to marry. I want my inner circle part of my family in some capacity so I don’t have to worry about someone killing me like I killed Romano. I thought I only had to deal with Rico’s attachment to you. Up until this morning when Cosimo accidentally uploaded your sex tape to the work drive.”

My throat went dry as I swallowed, my breath constricting in my lungs. My eyes watered and my ears roared as I blinked, trying to focus on him. God, no, not that tape. Not the time when he’d pushed me down and fucked me from behind while I called him daddy. I knew it had to be that because that was the only time we’d filmed ourselves.

“I’m going to kill him,” I breathed.

Lucien shrugged. “As far as homemade porn goes, it wasn’t bad. I can’t say I was champing at the bit to see Cosimo’s dick on my screen at four in the morning.”

“Who saw it?” I whispered, my humiliation complete.

“Rico, Duran, myself, Rosario, and Amadeo.”

“Oh,” I said slowly. Then a slow, sickening realization crept through me and I hiccuped, blinking rapidly to keep the tears back. “Did you say Rosario? Cosimo’s father?”

“Yes, but don’t worry, Enza, he’s being dismissed today. His opinion is irrelevant.”

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