"No. Mio Dio, no," he breathed through a laugh. "It's … great, actually. I was so distracted over my father I kind of thought Cecelia would be the easier one and she'd be her normal, polite self. And she was, but in a really telling way for me. No, this is good."
Jordyn still seemed unbothered by it all. That was exactly why Lucian found himself so strangely, unexplainably caught up in everything about this woman. She had her insecurities, but she was confident in ways that no one understood until they were right there facing them.
Perfect, that's what she was.
"Okay. Do you want to try the sauce now?"
"Sì, bella, I'll try your sauce."
Jordyn turned and grabbed a cleaned spoon off the counter, dipping it into a pot before turning back to Lucian. Those pretty, pink lips of hers pursed as she blew cool air onto the red sauce, keeping his attention focused solely on her mouth for those brief few seconds, before offering the spoon to him.
Lucian tasted it without question.
Cazzo.
Holy fuck.
Something exquisitely rich crossed his palate, zinging his taste buds and making him moan deep in the back of his throat. The sauce was always good, no doubt about it, but whatever Jordyn added just enhanced it tenfold so that it wasn't simply a taste, but an experience.
"Damn," he muttered when she took the spoon away. "That's … "
"Good," Jordyn finished, smiling.
He answered that by crushing his mouth to hers.
Jordyn wasn't expecting the kiss, because her cute little squeak of surprise was drowned out by Lucian's tongue spearing into her mouth. He still couldn't get over how much he enjoyed kissing this woman, and how badly he wanted to.
Lucian was so lost in Jordyn and her wandering fingers tangling up into his hair, he didn't register the voices getting closer to the kitchen until they were at the entrance.
"Well, isn't this a cute sight."
The sweetest pink colored Jordyn's cheeks as she hid her face from view. Lucian was anything but embarrassed, considering the first person to speak made his blood boil just by being near him.
Kate Catrolli Grovatti was a lot of things. Being an annoyance for Lucian was only one of them.
"Good evening, Kate," Lucian greeted, urging Jordyn to turn back to the stove with him moving to her side.
There were quite a few people who were expected to attend the family dinner, as they did every Sunday. Not all were actually related, but they did relate to the Cosa Nostra in some way. Usually close capos, important affiliates, and guests of any of the brothers. The only actual family that attended was Kate, Antony's younger brother who was one of their lawyers, and a cousin or two.
Currently, the group of three standing in the kitchen and watching Lucian and Jordyn with extra interest only included Kate, Gio, and a man Lucian wasn't familiar with.
Lucian briefly wondered if he'd been invited by Kate, or one of his brothers.
It was only proper Lucian find out immediately. "Uh, Gio, who's this?"
"Lucian, Salvatore. A friend of mine. Salvatore, Lucian, my brother."
Lucian nodded, understanding immediately. It was a friend of his brother's. By introducing this Salvatore as a friend of his, Gio made it perfectly clear without outright stating it that the man was simply an associate, and only affiliated with the business. Had he introduced the man as a friend of ours, specifically, it would have meant he was a made man in a Cosa Nostra family.
"Is this everyone?" Jordyn asked.
She waved at the stove as if to say there was much too much food if it was.
"No," Lucian said, chuckling. "There's still a few more who'll show up."
"Dante invited Jess, or Mom did for him," Gio added. "Plus, Dad's talking with Camden and Ross."
"Our cousin and uncle," Lucian explained to Jordyn before she could ask.
"And who's this?" Kate asked, peering at Jordyn as if she was all too curious for her own good.
Lucian hated this woman. Despised her, even.
"This is Jordyn."
"Jordyn who?"
Lucian's jaw clenched, but Jordyn's hand slipping into his at his side calmed him instantly.
"Uh, Mom knows Jordyn is at her stove, right?" Gio asked, stepping around his aunt in an almost dismissive fashion.
"Yeah, she knows," Lucian replied. "Even let her mess with it a bit."
"What? And the house is still standing?"
"I know. Don't question it. Probably best you don't ask Mom about it either."
"Jordyn who?" Kate asked again, more pointedly the second time. "Is this your new kitten for the month, Lucian?"
"Kitten?" Jordyn whispered. "I feel like that should offend me, somehow."
It should, but Lucian shook his head to ward off Jordyn's concern, trying desperately to ignore Kate at the same time. The woman had absolutely no idea what she was talking about. There had never been one female brought into this home by a Marcello brother unless it was a friendship sort of relationship. Jess was an exception for Dante, and that was mostly brought on by their mother, not because Dante wanted her there.
"She's a good friend of mine." Lucian tried to sound offhanded. The last thing he wanted was to give Kate more ammo than she already had. Then, just to make himself clear, he added, "Very good."
"Yeah," Gio agreed quietly, shooting Jordyn a sly smile. "She might as well be a part of the family." Gio seemed to register his verbal mistake straightaway, given Lucian was glaring at his brother. "Hey, Sal, let's go chat with the boss about the guys in Vegas."
Apparently no business on Sundays didn't apply to Gio's friends.
They weren't gone from the space for more than five seconds before it started.
"Oh, my." Kate took a step forward, that glinting gaze of hers zoning in on Jordyn way too much. Lucian stepped in front of Jordyn to shield her from the woman instinctually. "Don't tell me I'm looking at the first principessa of the Marcello family. Am I?"
"Don't, Kate," Lucian warned.
"I am, aren't I? Jesus, you would have thought my sister would have told me about this." Kate smiled, the sight turning sinister in a flash. "How long?"
Jordyn glanced up at Lucian for direction, her fingers weaved with his tightening.
"Not long," Lucian answered. "And that's all we're going to say about it. Antony's dealing with other things, and that word doesn't need to be tossed around like candy right now by anyone who wants to say it."
"But I'm not just anyone, Lucian."
• • •
"I'm your aunt," Kate said, flashing her white teeth in a sneer.
Jordyn wasn't paying attention to Kate, because she finally got it.
She couldn't believe it had taken her this long to put it together, and frankly, she felt like a goddamned idiot for not realizing it before.
Lucian's mother had called him a mafia prince, like all her sons. They considered their family a crime dynasty, ruled by name and blood. It was obvious to Jordyn that all of the Marcello boys were young men with focused goals regarding their business, but the fact remained that they were still considered young.
Possibly too young to be where they were.
But not if their father was the boss.
Lucian had been clear in his explanation of what it was like to be who he was in his family. It had just taken Jordyn a little while to catch up to speed and stick in the words he didn't want to use himself.
"For us, La Cosa Nostra is more than a label, it's a culture. From the moment we were born, we were thrown headfirst into it and raised as such with all the rules that came along with it. This is for life. Our status is a given right. I will always be this man. I will always be a Marcello."
What Lucian meant, and Jordyn was only now realizing, was that he would always be considered mafia royalty in his world-a prince. Someone who was respected and adored simply because of who he was, though so much expectations and responsibility came with that title.
Dante had called Jordyn a princess first. Kate was doing it, now.
Lucian wasn't even denying it, even if he was visibly annoyed.
He'd said it himself. For people like them, that word meant something entirely different than it did to the rest of the world.
Jordyn's mind hadn't put it all together, but it was, now.
It was too much.
Kate was zoning in on Jordyn again, bringing her out of her stunned thoughts.
"Parla Italiano? Di dove è?" Kate asked her.
Jordyn balked. "What?"
"She doesn't speak-"
"No," Lucian interrupted angrily. "Because she isn't Italian. Leave it alone."
"Not Italian?" Kate scoffed, nodding. "I get it. Now I understand why Cecelia didn't want to tell me about her. It'd be just like you to pick one like this, Lucian."
Finally, Jordyn snapped out of her stupor with a bang. "Excuse me? Like this? What does that mean?"
"Oh, child," Kate practically cooed, though it was far too sickeningly sweet to be true. "It doesn't matter if you don't understand, because Lucian does. Just like Cecelia and Antony, or his brothers, for that matter. You've reached too high, sweetheart. You'll figure it out soon enough."