Ria
She went through dinner waiting for it to end even though the food was as delicious as it always was. The Don kept talking to Philippe and Schwartz during the dinner so Ria peeked around at him surreptitiously from beneath her lashes, taking in the strong, muscled physique of her only lover, the chiseled features, the strong jaw. It was only when she looked up and met her mother’s amused look that she realized that her siblings and her Mumma, had caught onto how she was ogling the Capo.
She hastily lifted the glass of water and drank from it swiftly, too fast, which resulted in a coughing bout. That made everyone turn to her and mortified, she felt her face turn pink as Piers said in a low voice, “Get a hold on yourself, sis.’
Her Pappa’s cold gaze rested on her and she looked away, unable to meet his shrewd, assessing regard.
*
Philippe was trying hard to respond correctly to the Boss but all he could think of was the girl with the shining mass of blonde hair on the other side of the table, her lovely face, expressive eyes, and ah… that seductive body that held him captive. He nodded and spoke but on more than one occasion, he noticed James Schwartz look at him in a contemplative way and he wondered if he had said something wrong.
At the end of the meal, Lucien threw the napkin down, and Proserpina winced at her husband’s lack of etiquette.
“Woman, I am leaving, I need to go to the Club again. Schwartz. ‘he nodded and the man rose at once. Glancing for a fraction of a second in the direction of his older daughter, he added, ‘I am taking the Capo with me.’
Ria wanted to scream in dismay and she saw the surprise on Philippe’s face as he stood up at once.
When the Boss said jump, you jumped.
“Piers shall come too,’ added the Don as he turned to leave briskly and everyone watched him go out with his entourage following him obediently.
Proserpina looked at her daughter’s crest-fallen face and said softly,
‘Hurry.’
Ria beamed at her mother and darted out of the room. She grabbed Philippe’s arm as he followed her Pappa down the carpeted corridor, the Boss’s men and of course, Schwartz and Piers lagging behind as they spoke in low tones. Without thinking, she dragged him into a doorway. Throwing her arms around him, she kissed him soundly and he did the same, his hands coming to hold her waist as their mouths fused feverishly, tongues twinging in longing.
They broke apart as they heard the Mafia Don bellowing for Philippe.
“Tomorrow,’ said Philippe, gently nipping at her plump bottom lip.
“Ummm…hmmm…,’ she replied softly as she watched him hurry away.
*
Melissa
When she called up at night, for their nightly chat before Proserpina retired to bed and Melissa went to join her husband in bed, the two of them discussed the opening of the Club that was Lucien’s latest venture. It was a regular routine, this sharing of what they had done throughout the day, this unburdening. As Melissa herself had been through a trial of fire in her life, she could empathize with Proserpina. Besides, Melissa’s husband was also connected to another Mafia group, and he was the ace lawyer who handled all of Grigori’s cases.
Tristan Lord had also been instrumental in helping to save Proserpina from the clutches of Dmitri Rudenko.
Proserpina sighed as she said,
“Lucien is obsessed with the new place; and I hate that the gaming and the …other stuff is there too.’
She meant the rooms with the kinky stuff, the BDSM room. But Melissa clucked her tongue sympathetically as she said,
“I know, I would not want to see him in the Ring either. I guess it must be because Claude is still not fit enough, right?’
Proserpina froze. What had her friend meant by that?
“Lisa?’ she asked and she heard the silence at the other end, ‘What did you just say? Who is going to be entering the Ring?’
‘Uh huh…’ said Melissa Lord as she realized that she had said something wrong but not knowing how to backtrack. She turned helplessly as her husband entered the room.
Tristan Lord was a well-built, tall man and he looked across as he heard the note of anxiety in his wife’s voice, as he began to take off his clothes and prepare to go to bed. Frowning, he lifted his brows questioningly but his wife shook her head helplessly. She would not keep the truth from Proserpina. But she would do her best to change the topic.
“So, how is our little Reindeer?’ she asked, trying to get Proserpina to speak of baby Rudolph.
But Proserpina was not about to let it go so easily.
‘No, tell me,’ she said tightly, the blood pounding in her veins,’ LISA!’
Left with no way out, Melissa began to tell her, haltingly.
“Uh…well, you know this fabulous, well, retro kind of Ring that the Boss has built in the lower basement of the new Club, the one that looks a lot like a gladiator’s arena? Yeah, that one, well…Lucien Delano is going to be entering the Ring for the inaugural fight.’
Proserpina sat, turned to stone. Only the sound of her heart hammering…
Tristan Lord had climbed into the bed beside his wife and he lowered his mouth to kiss her neck. These nightly conversations with her best friend were a part of Melissa’s routine and he was used to it. But his wife was still speaking to her friend, her slightly higher voice expressing her agitation. He smiled and slid lower down the bed, parting her legs and bending his head as he kissed her lower lips. She gulped.
But her attention was on her friend who sounded strained and hopping mad.
“With some guy from the South,’ continued Melissa, trying to push her husband away.’ A sort of champion. That’s who he is going to be facing…’
Melissa pushed away her husband’s hands, giving a sharp rap on his thick wrist for his pains. Tristan’s hands had been busy between her thighs. She glared at him. This was SO not the time. Tristan Lord scowled at her but he subsided and rolled over, scowling darkly at her.
*
Proserpina listened with growing fury as she heard her friend speak haltingly about the Mafia Don’s plans, to fight on the opening night of the Club.
As she understood that it had been kept from her deliberately, she felt her fists ball in anger. Melissa ended the awkward conversation hastily as she realized belatedly, that she had unwittingly let the cat out of the bag and only made her friend upset.
Damn, she thought as she reached for her husband who was studying a file, and glanced at her with a frown.
“Tristan, I think I messed up, ‘she sighed as she crawled across and climbed onto his lap, tugging off her nightdress as she saw the impatience in her lover’s eyes at having been kept waiting before his head swooped down to kiss her in a commanding manner.
‘Baby, I think a spanking is in order then,’ said Tristan in a silky voice as he pushed her onto the bed and stood up, stroking his large c*ck in anticipation of the punishment he was about to administer to his wife’s pale a*s.
Proserpina
I stormed down to Ria’s bedroom and threw the door open, not bothering to knock. She spun around startled, as her phone clattered to the floor.
‘Mumma, what’s wrong?’ she cried, leaping out of bed, where she lay, surrounded by her books, laptop lying open beside her. She had been swotting for some online test she was preparing for, I remembered belatedly. But I was too angry to care. I was too angry to speak as well, my breath coming in gasps.
Sinking down onto the chair, I asked, my words coming out with difficulty as I glared at her in barely controlled fury.
“So when did you plan to tell me that your father was preparing to fight in the ring? After the fight, perhaps?’