Lucien (The Marchesi Family 1)

Peter scowled at me, and I smiled. I loved that he wanted to protect me too. “If you don’t tell me what you want, I’ll just keep buying you gifts until I find something that wows you.”

“You think I’m not wowed by everything you’ve done? I’m sure this robe cost more than the nicest outfit I’ve ever owned. I’ve never had clothes like the ones you gave me, and my bedroom here is about the size of my whole apartment. But I… I don’t need those things.”

“I want you to have them.”

Peter sighed. “I know and… thank you.”

I nodded. “Better. And I will keep giving you gifts because I want to.” And it’s a way I can show you what I might not ever be able to say.

“The one thing I always really wanted was a pony. I know that’s so cliché, but I had a stuffed one, and I wanted it to be real. I never asked for one because I knew it wouldn’t happen. We lived in the city in various shitty apartments, rarely the same one for more than six months or so. On the very rare occasions my parents had more money than they needed to scrape by, they spent most of it partying or blew it gambling. They gave me the basics, and they weren’t cruel, but—”

“You deserve more than that.”

He shrugged. “No more than anyone else does.”

I blew out more smoke rings, hoping to make him smile. “Any man I claim deserves more because he’s someone special. I’ve never brought a man to my home, Peter, never kept anyone around for this long. “

Peter’s eyes widened. “Lucien, I don’t think—”

I held up my hand. “I didn’t ask you to think. I asked you to obey.”

He scowled at me as I put out my cigar. I picked up my whiskey, drained it, and set the empty glass down next to Peter’s. He’d only taken a few sips.

“You really don’t like strong drinks?”

He shook his head. “I know it’s supposed to relax me, but being here, talking to you, isolated from everything that happened tonight, that’s relaxing enough, not to mention what you did to me in bed.”

I smiled. His words soothed me more than the whiskey ever could. I would show no mercy to anyone who dared to make a move on my home. This place was sacred to me. I’d grown up here, loved by both my parents. Angelo—and for the most part, Devil—had grown up here too. The Riccis could bring a war to our businesses, they could bring it to my headquarters, they could chase me down in a dark alley, but no one came here without my permission.

I sat on the couch next to Peter, pulled his legs over mine, and slid my hand under the blanket so I could massage his feet. The sound he made when I dug my palm into his arch was so much like the ones he made when I fucked him that my cock hardened. I needed a distraction. “Tell me more about the pony you wanted.”

Peter laughed. “You’ll think it’s silly.”

“I have never, from the moment I saw you behind the reception desk in my office, thought anything about you was silly.”

He looked startled. “Most people think I am or that I’m just insignificant.”

I gripped his jaw firmly and forced him to look at me. “Peter Kelly, there is nothing insignificant or unimportant about you. You’re intelligent and a hell of a lot stronger than you think you are.”

“I’m not—”

“Do not contradict me. Haven’t you learned what happens when you do?”

He sighed. “If you knew more about me, you might think differently.”

“I’d like to say you’ve seen the worst of me, but you haven’t. Those men had a quick and easy death. Believe me, I’ve done far worse. So don’t try to make me think there’s any way I’d find you less than worthy.”

Peter started to speak again, but I returned my focus to massaging his feet, and he seemed to forget his words. He leaned back against the sofa cushions and closed his eyes.

“There’s a place I want to take you soon.”

“Mmmm. Yeah?”

I grinned at how blissed out he was now. “Yes. It’s one of my favorite places to go when I need to think. I’ve been going there to sit and enjoy the view since I was a kid.”

“Where is it?”

“Have you ever been to Fort Revere.”

He shook his head.

“It’s in Hull. My uncle has a waterfront house there. We used to visit him a lot, and my cousins and I liked to sneak up to the fort and play around. Later on, in high school, I’d hide out there with friends when we’d ditch school. It’s never crowded, and it’s not a place tourists go. It’s perfect to just sit and see the city.”