Page 20 of Flowers and Moonlight

Zeno and Tony sit up on either side of me, their eyes alert as if they’re trying to find the threat. Zeno’s voice is gruff, “What’s wrong?”

“I just realized I’m going to have to quit my job because I don’t want my father going there to cause problems,” I pout.

The sound of my phone ringing starts again, and I let out a huff as I fall back against the bed. I know who it is. I hate the fearfilling me with the knowledge it’s my own father trying to get in contact because he’s pissed.

It’s because of me that whatever dealings he had with Martinez are all fucked up now. I just can’t bring myself to feel badly about it. How can I? He was willing to use me as a pawn and lock me into an unhappy life for his own purposes.

He’s not a man I can ever respect again.

Tony’s voice is soft and coaxing, “Are you supposed to work today?”

“No,” my voice is flat and my heart clenches at the idea these men will think it’s because of them. I glance toward Tony and then Zeno, seeing compassion and adoration in their eyes.

I know it’s wild and makes no sense, but the depth of feeling I have for these men, in such a short period of time, is real. It’s the first thing I’ve trusted, other than Donovan, in a long time. My instincts are telling me to put my trust in these men and that I’ll never be sorry for it.

They worshiped my body last night, touching much deeper than my skin. They told me they were claiming me, and I feel their brands on my soul. I don’t care if it’s too fast or if anyone else would understand it. These men are it for me and there is nothing holding me back from accepting it.

“You don’t need to work if you don’t want to,il nostro chiaro di luna,” Zeno points out. I open my mouth, but he cuts me off. “But if you want to, we can help you find a job within the Guidice family which will also ensure you stay safe.”

There’s a waver in my voice, “Do you think Juan will come after me?”

Tony’s jaw clenches right along with his fists. “Never,” he grinds out the words. “He will never touch you; I promise you that.”

My voice drops to a whisper, “What about my dad?”

Zeno smirks, “We’re going to take care of him.” My eyes widen and he shakes his head. “We won’t kill him, if that’s what you’re worried about, but we will blackmail the hell out of him.”

“I know he’s your father,” Tony’s hand slides over my abdomen which causes goosebumps to break out on my skin, “and it must hurt to know this, but he won’t risk our wrath along with the legal problems he’ll face with the information we have on him. Dante has had his eye on your father for a long time because he thought too highly of himself.”

I sigh and let my body relax. “It should make me really sad that he wouldn’t fight for his own daughter, but considering he was willing to use me as a bartering chip with a dangerous man doesn’t bode well. He would only use me again. I don’t even recognize him anymore.”

I look across the room and my eyes well up with tears. There’s a panicked note in Zeno’s voice, “What’s wrong, our Moonlight?”

My eyes snap to his gray ones. “Is that what you’ve been calling me?”

Tony’s hand slides up my body and cups my breast, his thumb teasing my nipple until it hardens. “Yes. The dress you were wearing at the ball made it look like you had captured the moonlight to wear it. A true goddess.”

Zeno prods again, “What’s wrong?”

Even though there is a smile on my face now from the confession about their nickname for me, which warms my heart,emotion is still lodged in my throat. “I don’t have much left from when Mom was alive, but it’s all at the house and I don’t know if I’ll ever see it again.”

Zeno leans over and kisses my forehead. “Then let’s go to get it.”

I eye him suspiciously and then look at Tony to find his features relaxed. If they’re worried about going to my father’s home, they certainly aren’t showing it. “Are you sure it’s safe?”

Tony flashes a feral grin. “It’ll give us the chance to have a,” he pauses as if searching for a socially acceptable word, “conversation with him about the way things are going to go and what he risks if he steps out of line.”

I practically leap out of the bed and over Zeno, but he grabs me around my hips and pulls me back down. My men’s laughter fills the room and makes me feel fucking giddy.

“Hey,” I shout, “what are you doing? I want to go and get my stuff.”

Zeno rolls me so I’m underneath him and sucks in a breath when I smile up at him. If my men say they can protect me when I’m there and will put an end to this chapter of my life, I believe them. I have no reason to not trust them.

The reputation of the Guidice family is not squeaky clean, but I don’t need it to be. My father is a shark without a shred of morality. Dante protects the city, even though he might not engage in legal business all the time. Everyone suspects what he and the family did last year when everyone was looking over their shoulders and living in fear because of a serial arsonist. One day there were fires popping up and then they stopped.

“First you’re going to kiss your men good morning, Posy.” Zeno grins down at me, his eyes sparkling. “That’s the way a good girl starts her day.”

I pout, but then his lips crash against mine and even though I was going to put up a protest about needing to brush my teeth, it’s lost in the way he kisses me without a care in the world and full of so much passion. It’s just a press of our lips, he doesn’t deepen it, but the way it touches the deepest parts of me makes my head spin and my heart flutter.

---