Page 70 of The Spare (The King Dynasty #2)

Chapter forty-four

M however, there's only so much sleuthing that I feel comfortable doing.

And though I believe Mason shares everything with me, this is a horrible invasion of privacy.

No, we'll tackle this together when he's ready.

I place the phone down gently onto his nightstand, giving him a kiss to his lips before tiptoeing out of our suite and heading to the kitchen where I go into the big walk-in pantry and grab a mason jar.

Spying a giant bag of M&Ms, I pour them all in the mason jar before sealing it with the aluminum lid and then make my way back to our bedroom, seeing him stirring.

It's five minutes to five, about the time we normally wake up and start our day.

I crawl back into bed and have almost just managed to slip completely under the covers seemingly undetected when Mason's voice rings out.

"Melly? Why are you up, baby?" he rasps.

I bite my lip and flop to my side on a huff of breath. "Because I've been thinking."

He groans lightly. An intimate, deep sound that causes heat to curl tight in my belly. "About what? More baking tips?"

I giggle, circling his nipple with my fingertips. "No," I breathe, leaning in to press my lips to his chest and up to his lips where I give him a smacking kiss. "I've been thinking about sweets."

"Same difference." His eyes pop open, and he scrunches his nose at me.

I laugh. "No, listen. Sit up." I scramble to my knees and click my nightstand on low and grab the jar of M&M's and face him, sitting back on my heels and biting my bottom lip.

He sits up slowly, the sheet falls away revealing ripping muscles. His eyes are hard on the jar nestled between my breasts, and he holds out his hand. I take it, shuffling forward.

"Are we starting a new tradition of sharing a jar of M&Ms before we get up for the day?"

I laugh. "No, silly. But, uhm…" I trail off, glancing down at the sheet between us and lowering my voice. "I'd like to try something. So mething just for me and you?" My eyes go up to his, and I see him watching me carefully.

He reaches forward and tucks my hair behind my ear.

"Go on."

"I've been thinking about what you said. How you don't like me to cut you off emotionally, and…" I take a deep breath. "I was thinking, during the times when you and I are mad at each other, we go to the M&M jar and each feed one to each other, to remind us to be sweet."

He tilts his head, giving me a sexy grin. Reaching forward again, he slides his hand up my forearm until he grabs my elbow and pulls me even closer. His eyes go hooded, the sheet tents with his erection, and it in turn makes me aroused that he doesn't think my idea is silly. Rather, he likes it.

"M for Melody?" he rasps.

I nod. "And M for Mason."

He chuckles, taking my mouth in a deep kiss and then lowering me to the bed and placing his hard body on top of mine. The jar falls to the side as my legs wind around his hips, and I kiss him back with everything in me, sinking my hands into his hair and rolling my hips into him.

"I love it, beautiful," he whispers. "Thank you for being so sweet to me."

The day is a bright one full of sunshine and chirping birds.

A few hours later I find myself walking through the massive Italian villa on the Scognamiglio estate.

I glance nervously at Dad who looks at ease and in command as we journey through the hall flanked by security.

I look over my shoulder, seeing Stephen trailing the two other men, feeling bad for him.

I actually want him closer.

Stopping Dad with a hand to his arm, I turn and look past the two men that are always with him. "Stephen, please come walk next to me."

"Yes, ma'am."

Dad arches a brow but waits patiently while Stephen eases between the two mafia guards and stops at my left-hand side.

Trying to get used to the amount of security that's been an ever present nuisance since our plane touched down three weeks ago has taken a lot out of me, and instead of wishing Stephen gone like I had while we were in New York, I crave the familiarity of him by me.

We continue on past wooden doors flanked by gas lantern sconces until we get to an arched recessed double door at the end of the hall.

Dad pushes us through, and then ushers me in ahead of him.

I smile, seeing Mason sitting in the seat across from the big desk, but draw up short at the incredibly intimidating man on the other side who cuts his eyes to me and gets a devilish grin.

"Ahhh, cousin," he says, standing up.

"Hi," I say shyly, taking in how tall he is, his olive skin, striking features, dark brown hair and sharp eyes. He looks like a mafia boss, indeed. Broad.

And where he can't physically fill up a room, his energy does. It's a bit scary.

I peek at Dad before shifting my weight on my feet.

Lucien tugs his suit, smoothing one hand down his abdomen before casting a curious look at Mason, who just gets this wicked grin on his face and then scrubs his hand across his jaw, trying to hide the mischievous glint in his eyes. I warm because I know that look .

I just know they were talking about something inappropriate.

Hopefully not the marathon night of lovemaking he made me endure the night before.

Just for that, I'm taking his ass on a long early morning run tomorrow. Lucien comes up to me and places his hands on my shoulders, giving me a light squeeze before bending down to kiss both of my cheeks.

"Bellisima!" he says loudly, chucking me under the chin and then standing back a couple feet, giving me a thorough look up and down. He tsks. "Do you know how close we were to getting married?"

"U-Uh…" I stammer, frowning and throwing Dad and Mason a look. "No."

He chuckles, grinning at me as he walks past and sits back down in his seat. "Would have been incredibly fucked up finding out we were cousins after the fact." He makes a face. "Jesus, that would have been a mess."

Making my way to the seat next to Mason, I sit down gingerly, looking around his office while he picks up a pen and starts flipping it. My eyes clock a ugly as hell looking rabbit on his mantle, and it makes me think of Charayl because of the rabbit necklace she wears.

He waits a few heartbeats before clearing his throat softly, bringing my attention back to him. "How're you finding California, Mel?"

"Oh, it's beautiful. I'd wanted to go to college here, but I was forced to stay in New York."

He smiles. "What a shame. You look like a Californian. New York is so…" He flicks a look to Mason before bringing his eyes back to me. "Nasty."

I tighten my lips and nod. Not exactly sure how to make small talk with a mafia Don.

"So, why has it taken you so long to come see your big cousin?" He gives me a blinding smile with his perfect teeth and I grin, looking at Dad.

Maximus chuckles. "That's my fault, Luca. I just wanted to have her to myself for a while. Thanks for indulging me."

"Well," he scoffs, looking to the side and tossing his pen down on the table. "That's what family is for, am I right?"

The men trade a look and I twist my lips, feeling nervous and eager to say something, anything. "Do you like sweets?" I blurt out.

He arches an amused brow. "I do, why?"

"Well, Mr. Scognamiglio, I'd thought about bringing you a desert, but wasn't sure which one you'd like."

Lucien smiles. "Oh please, Mel. We're cousins, call me Luca. And I love, love a good brownie."

I give him a small smile back. "Okay, Luca. I'll remember for next time."

"She's quite the baker!" Dad boasts, looking down at me with pride. "I've already gained four pounds since she's come to stay."

Lucien's smile broadens. "I love sweets. They're my guilty pleasure." He leans forward and lowers his voice to a whisper. "Especially peaches and cream cheesecake. Bring that next time, will ya?"

"We can still hear you," Mason drawls in a bored voice, rolling his eyes.

Luca smiles and sits back in his seat, adopting a sudden, stoic look. "Anyways, I thought it'd be best to inform you two together that I will be having to place you under our security detail-"

"Uhm, why?" I half laugh, throwing a 'back me the hell up' look at Mason. "There's no need. We have our own, and Dad's place is crawling with security guards."

He lets me finish my sentence, even giving me a second or two after speaking just to see if I've said all I needed to say. And that's nice to see, honestly.

"Because you're the cousin to the head of a very powerful family, and the wife to a member of another very powerful family, and the daughter of a man who many want dead." He makes a cutting motion with his hand. "Three strikes, you're out."

I pout. Well, damn.

He tsks. "Aw. Come on, don't give me that face. Unfortunately we all have to make concessions."

My brow arches. "And what's your concession?"

His eyes go to the ugly ceramic rabbit and turn a bit sad. "Giving up on having true happiness."

Everyone goes a little quiet before the tense silence is broken by the guard coming from outside and leaning down to whisper in Luca's ear. He nods dismissively. "Thank you, Blane. You may go."

"Am I free to go?" Mason asks in his usual bored tone.

Luca sniffs and stands up, brushing his hands together. "If you must, friend. Thanks for going over the numbers with me. I'll mull over your advice and let you know what I decide tomorrow. Go. Enjoy the night."

Dad and I stand up, and Mason tosses Luca a look before his eyes slide to me, showing me the lust in them.

My cheeks warm, and I look away sharply, avoiding Luca's knowing stare. Yup, they were talking about us fucking.

Great.