Beautiful Prey 2: The Storm Series (BWWM Romance) (24 page)

Gianni stood in the middle of his living room, amazed by the
transformation. It was like an entirely different penthouse. The grey walls
were blindingly white, making the room look twice as big. The furniture was
white as well and accented with fluffy red pillows. Gianni walked down the
metal stairs to his bedroom. It was no longer a bedroom. There was a Jacuzzi in
the middle of the room and a huge flat screen TV on the wall. Off to the side,
were two massage tables. And there were scented candles throughout the room. It
was a spa.

Natasha watched him anxiously.
“Well?”

“I like it, but where’s our bedroom?”

“Second floor.”

“Oh.”

Following Natasha, Gianni hopped up
the stairs, to the second floor. To Gianni’s surprise, the bedroom was decorated
exactly like his previous bedroom. She’d even had the open rainforest shower
installed.

Gianni turned to Natasha and took her
in his arms. “I thought you didn’t like my dungeon?”

“Yeah, but I thought your bedroom was
kinda sexy.”

He asked, raising one eyebrow,
“Sexy?”

“Yes.
Very sexy
.”

He was happy with what she’d done to
his penthouse, but as long as he was with Natasha, he would’ve been happy to
live in her tiny condo. Truth be told, Gianni could live anywhere with a fully functional
kitchen. He was happy to be back in the penthouse because he loved the cooking
space.

Natasha had converted his house to
something that felt like home.  Red was Gianni’s favorite color, and she
was thoughtful enough to keep the color scheme. He couldn’t wait to make love
to his wife in the home that she created for them.

Gianni wasn’t conflicted about his
feelings one bit. He loved Natasha and she owned his heart. Natasha’s
complexities had bewitched him, and he wanted nothing more than to make her
life whole. Gianni had vowed to give her love, children, and a happy family;
luxuries that his extraordinary woman deserved. Gianni held

Natasha close and kissed Natasha with such passion that he’d
almost forgotten about the dinner party that they were expected to attend.

He could feel his cock beginning to
swell. He pressed it against Natasha’s middle.

“Gianni... Baby... We’re gonna be
late for the dinner party.”

“I know,” he grumbled, feeling
deprived.  “But I want you so bad right now.”

“I want you too, baby. We don’t
have
to go,” she responding with a mischievous grin.

Gianni knew that Natasha didn’t want
to go, fearing that their marital secret would come out. And he couldn’t help
but to wonder if she was ashamed of the fact that she’d married him. They’d
been married for four months. He was going to have to tell his mother soon, and
she was going to be pissed. He’d denied his mother the wedding that she’d been
planning since he was born.

“No. We have to go. I love what
you’ve done to our home. Now that you’re done with the apartment, will you come
with me to Paris next weekend?”

He stared at Natasha as she made up
her mind. Every time he’d asked her to fly to Paris with him, she’d refused,
using work or redecorating the apartment as an excuse.

“Okay,” she said with a smile.

Gianni was surprised by her quick
response. “Yes? Really? You’re coming to Paris with me?!”

“Yes. I wanna see where you live.”

He was full of excitement. “Natasha,
I love you.”

It was Gianni’s first time admitting
his feelings to her. He was sure that it was apparent to Natasha that he did,
but he’d never expressed aloud that he loved her. Now, he was nervous about his
declaration.

Yet, he had absolutely nothing to be
nervous about. Natasha genuinely returned his love with a warm smile. “I love
you too, Gianni.”

Gianni let out a sigh of relief. He
ran his finger down her cheek and kissed her softly. Natasha wrapped her arms
around his neck and pulled Gianni in, deepening their kiss. Gianni firmly
gripped Natasha’s ass he swept his tongue across hers. Natasha’s soft moan
transmitted a signal straight to his cock.

He groaned as he led her to the bed,
“We can be a little late.”

***************

Just about an hour and a half later, Gianni was pulling over
in front of his aunt and uncle’s house. They were in just enough time to be
fifteen minutes late. Gianni walked around the car and opened the door for
Natasha. She climbed out, wearing a beautiful red blouse and high waisted pants
that tightly hugged her ass. She stood in red pumps that Gianni couldn’t wait
to see on his shoulders.

“God, you’re gorgeous,” he huffed.

“And you’re beautiful.”

He blushed. “Again with the
beautiful?”

Natasha nodded and walked, hand in
hand, with him to the front door. Gianni rang the bell and turned to steal a
quick kiss. The door opened and Gianni turned to see the smiling face of
William, the butler. Gianni had always liked William. When he and Jack were
younger, William would often toss a football around with them.

“Gianni, my boy!”

“William, it’s good to see you. I’ve
missed you,” Gianni responded, shaking William’s hand.

“Really? Then why haven’t I seen you
in years?”

 “Business. What else?” Then
William turned to Natasha. “Welcome. Come in.”

“Thank you,” Natasha responded shyly,
before crossing the threshold.

           
“Young lady, are you the reason that my boy here hasn’t come up for air in ten
years?” William asked with a wink.

“No sir. Not me,” Natasha laughed.

“Natasha, this is William. He’s the
butler, but he’s more like an uncle,” Gianni announced.

“It’s nice to meet you, William.”

“Nice to meet you, Natasha. Follow
me.” Then William turned and led them through a large foyer, to the parlor.

They walked in, surprised at how many
guests were at the, supposedly quiet family dinner party. Everyone was laughing
and sipping from crystal glasses. When they noticed Gianni and Natasha, the
room went silent. William handed them each a champagne glass and walked away.
Catarina walked over to Gianni and stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. After
kissing Natasha, Catarina turned to the crowd and raised her glass.

“Now that the guests of honor are
here. We can celebrate,” she shouted, in her thick Italian accent.

Gianni could feel Natasha’s eyes on
him. She squeezed his hand, causing him to look at her. Her face reflected her
confusion, but Gianni couldn’t clear things up for her, because he was baffled
as well.

He turned to his mother. “Mama, what
are we celebrating?”

She responded in a chipper tone, “Why
your marriage of course.”

Everyone in the room paused. Gianni
stilled, staring at his mother. Catarina was smiling, but Gianni could tell
that she was angry.

Natasha yanked her hand from Gianni’s. She narrowed her eyes
at him, pissed that he hadn’t kept his promise.

Immediately, he got defensive. “It
wasn’t me, I promise. I didn’t say a word.”

Natasha searched the room for Amy.
When she spotted her, she held her hands up and mouthed, “It wasn’t me.”

“Mama? I can...” Gianni attempted to
explain, before he was cut off.

“What? You are married, si?” She
asked, becoming more irritated.

“Mama, we were going to tell you
soon. Can we please talk in private?”

Her chipper tone was no longer present.
“No! Why did I have to find out from Francis that you were married?”

“Mama, I’m sorry. I was going to tell
you.”

Gianni stared at his mother with
pleading eyes. Natasha was horrified that Gianni was being chastised in front
of his entire family because of her. She looked over at Amy, and even she
seemed sympathetic to Gianni.

“Catarina, it was my fault. I
asked...”

“Mama, I was waiting for the best
time to tell you,” Gianni said, cutting off Natasha’s confession.

Catarina turned to Natasha, and Natasha
lowered her head.

“Come with me,” Catarina demanded,
holding her hand out.

Natasha reluctantly took her hand and
Catarina led her out of the room.

Gianni called from behind, “Mama…”

           
“Just Natasha! You wait here,” she snapped.

Catarina walked down the hall and
entered the library. She closed the door and turned to Natasha with her arms
folded across her chest. “Did you ask Gianni not to tell me that you were
married?”

“Yes. I’m
really
sorry.”

“Does your mother know?”

“No. I mean... I don’t have a mother.
She and my father died when I was a child.”

Sympathy caused Catarina to lower her
stance a bit. “I’m so sorry.”

“Thank you.”

“Well, let me ask you... If your
parents were alive, would you have gotten married, lived together as husband and
wife for four months, and not tell your parents?”

“No,” Natasha answered in a small
voice.

“Then why?”

Natasha turned her back to Catarina.
She was contemplating the best way to answer. She opted for the truth.

“I was ashamed,” she confessed.

Catarina asked defensively, “What?
Ashamed of my son?”

“No,” Natasha quickly corrected. “I
was ashamed of myself.”

“Why?” Catarina asked, grabbing
Natasha’s shoulders and turning her to face her.

Natasha took a deep breath.

“We went to Vegas. I got really
drunk, and when I woke up in the morning, we were married. I couldn’t remember
anything from the night before, but apparently I had a clerk in a jewelry store
record me dropping to one knee and proposing to Gianni. I told him that I
didn’t want to live without him, and he said yes to make me happy. So we got
married.”

As Natasha recited the embarrassing
tale, she became increasingly mortified by what Gianni’s mother must’ve thought
of her. She slowly looked up at Catarina, and to her surprise, she was
attempting to suppress laughter-
unsuccessfully
.

Catarina launched into a full out
roar, complete with tears. She clutched her chest and tried to take deep
breaths. “It’s like TV. No?”

“Yeah, I guess. But it’s not very
funny.”

           
“Oh, come now, Natasha. Think about it. It’s terribly funny.”

Natasha thought about the way her
explanation must’ve sounded to Catarina.

Yet, her embarrassment kept her from
finding the humor in any of it.

Catarina caught on and got serious.
“Okay, I’m sorry for laughing. May I ask you some questions?”

“Of course.”

“Do you love my son?”

           
“Yes, I do,” Natasha answered, without hesitation.

“Did he ask for an annulment?”

Natasha was extremely uncomfortable.
“Um. We don’t… qualify.”

Catarina gave Natasha a knowing grin.
“I see. What about divorce?”

“Gianni said that the Catholic faith
doesn’t allow divorce.”

“I see. Well, we’ll need to plan a
wedding, but for now let’s go eat. Shall we?”

When Catarina gestured for the door,
Natasha followed.

As they exited the room, Catarina
added, “Oh, Natasha?”

“Yes?”

“Gianni is Lutheran.” Then she
chuckled. “Welcome to the family.”

           
Natasha followed Catarina, who was still giggling, out of the library. When
they entered the parlor, all eyes landed on her. Gianni watched her with
concern as she walked over to him. She could tell that he was trying to assess
her mood as she approached.

But Natasha didn’t even know how she
was feeling. “You’re Lutheran?”

Gianni closed his eyes and dropped
his head. He was caught in a lie.

“Yes.”

           
Though her voice was at a whisper, it was intense. “Why would you lie to me?”

“Because I don’t want a divorce.”

“We’ll talk about this later,” she
hissed, before turning and walking away from him. She walked across the room,
to where Amy, Emily, and Victoria were huddled together. Emily immediately
smiled and congratulated Natasha.

“Yeah, you got a real prize,” Amy
added sarcastically.

Natasha simply smiled, not at all offended
by Amy and Gianni’s rivalry. But nothing from

Victoria. In fact Victoria wouldn’t even look at her.

“Vic?”

           
Victoria turned to Natasha. Her brows furrowed. “Natasha, aren’t we supposed to
be friends?”

“Of course we are.”

“But you couldn’t tell me that you
got married?”

“Vic, I didn’t tell anyone. Well... I
did tell Amy. And, Deon found out.”

Vic did not at all hide her
annoyance. “Really? But not me?”

“I’m sorry, Vic. We got wasted in
Vegas and woke up married. I was embarrassed, okay?”

“Embarrassed? You never have to be
embarrassed about anything with me. I’m your friend and I love you.”

“I know. I love you too, and I’m
sorry I didn’t tell you.”

“Okay,” Victoria said, pulling
Natasha in for a hug.

“Does Malik know?”

           
“No.”

           
“You’re a dead woman,” Victoria chuckled.

Natasha cringed. Victoria was right.
Malik was gonna go ballistic when he found out that Natasha kept her marriage
to Gianni a secret for so long.

“Dinner is served!”

           
As William made his announcement in the doorway, Natasha noticed Gianni
watching her from across the room. Angry or not, Natasha wanted him, and she
couldn’t see herself ever not wanting him. As he strutted in her direction,
dark shiny hair bounced against his gorgeous face. Natasha admired his tall
solid frame, and blushed because she was actually picturing him naked. Gianni’s
lopsided grin indicated that he was reading Natasha’s thoughts. He placed his
hands on her shoulders.

He leaned in and kissed her, just below
the ear. “I’m sorry that I lied to you. It won’t happen again.”

Gianni peppered tickling kisses on
her neck, causing Natasha to squirm and giggle.

“Do you forgive me?” He continued his
tickle assault. “Do you?”

“Yes!” Natasha giggled “Yes! I
forgive you!”

“Kiss me,” he demanded.

Natasha did as ordered and pressed
her lips against his. When Gianni sucked her bottom lip into his mouth, warmth
flowed through Natasha. Her nipples instantly hardened. For a few seconds, she
had forgotten that they weren’t alone.

That was until she heard Jack
clearing his throat. “Well, look at the newlyweds.” Jack said, pulling Natasha
away from Gianni and into his arms. He gave her a big bear hug and told her,
“Welcome to the family, sweetheart.”

Natasha blushed. “Thank you, Jack.”

Gianni grabbed Natasha’s arm and
pulled her away from Jack. “You could’ve told her that without mauling her.”

Jack laughed at his cousin’s
possessiveness and walked away.