Original Sins by Faith Summers

12

Georgiou

Iwent to bed with the image of her in my head.

The Duchess—Evie.

I go through so many women I don’t allow any to fascinate me. Mainly because of the last time. Priscilla did a number on me that’s taken me years to forget her.

But I know it's because I loved her, and I never allow myself to go that far. I did with her and spiraled into a rabbit hole that saw me clutching at everything I could when push came to shove, and I realized we weren't going to work out.

The engagement ring on her finger and the baby we almost had wasn’t enough to save us. But then we were doomed from the start. She was what happens when you’re with someone who used to love someone else.

That was what happened to me. Any man who knows me knew that that type of shit is not me.

What hooked me was that spark that stirred in my soul. I felt the same spark last night when I met Evie.

It stirred to life the moment I saw her walking down the path behind the wall, and she couldn't see me.

I shouldn't be thinking about her now. The guys are here for the meeting about the club, and we're about to have a serious conversation about something big that affects our future.

Henry's gone on one of his runs. Then he's driving out to visit his grandfather's grave. I know, though, he's going to be thinking of Evie too.

Our Duchess.

Fuck. I need to fucking concentrate. It's hard, though, when my cock is dying to be inside her.

Just a few more hours, and I'll be claiming her virgin passage. Five hours. It’s one p.m. now.

I fix the overhead projector, switch it on, and look at the guys.

The only time we gather like this is when we’re at work or having the crazy wild X-rated parties we’re known for.

This time we're gathered in the meeting room of the three-story mansion I share with Henry.

In my presence is Salvatore and his brothers, Nick and Gabriel—Gabe for short. And, my brother Christian, the youngest of the pack, but his age means nothing. The same as mine doesn’t.

It never did. So, when the guys used to get up to all kinds of shit when they were younger and drive our mother's bat shit crazy, I turned a blind eye.

They wouldn't allow Frankie or Vincent to see them, though, just me. That's what makes them perfect for this venture.

We're all cut from the same cloth, and this morning as I finalized all the contracts with the contractors we'll be using to set up the club, I knew everything was going to work the way I imagined it.

We're having this meeting now because I was too busy yesterday at Giordanos Inc., and then the auction took up the rest of the time.

Since there was no fucking way I was going to meet later like they wanted and screw with my plans to savor the experience and taste of breaking a virgin, we’re meeting now.

“Ready to start?” I ask.

"Born ready," Salvatore answers, and they all nod and straighten up in their seats.

I click on the computer screen and bring up the designs of the club I went over with the architect I hired.

Instantly the screen is covered with a sleek black building with the chic sophistication of one of the classy hotels in Vegas.

“This is the Dark Odyssey,” I announce.

That’s the first time they would have heard all the name. Saying it feels perfect, just like the building design Salvatore and I came up with.

We wanted something to show the guys. Something that didn’t look like the dive the place still is now.

They all look impressed. This is the first time Salvatore is seeing the structure on a bigger screen. If I feel blown away by what I'm seeing, I'm guessing he does too.

We got our inspiration from a combination of buildings in Italy. The roof and structural design is a blend of the Pantheon and the Basilica di San Giovanni. That's why it has that hotel feel. But there are parts of the entrance that are inspired by the design of the Trevi Fountain. I have something special in mind for that, so it was done on purpose.

'The Dark Odyssey' is written in gold, and the color scheme of black and gold runs across the building.

It has glass doors and windows where the offices are, but the other rooms have French windows.

“That’s what you guys came up with?” Nick asks, looking thoroughly impressed.

I expected him to be the first to talk.

"It is," I confirm, and he and Christian exchange glances.

He and Christian are the youngest of us, so they're automatically close. The two also just finished college: Nick a year ago and Christian last month.

“Salvatore did most of the design work for the building,” I add. “The color scheme is mine. Of course, things can be changed around to suit what you guys want.”

“Black and gold work for me,” Gabe says.

“The place already looks successful, so I love what you’ve done,” Christian concedes.

“And that name, Dark Odyssey, is popping,” Gabe beams with a nod.

“I thought so. It reminded me of the Odyssey. Because we're from that part of the world, I thought it was fitting. Our customers will take their dark voyage into their fantasies and enjoy them."

They all nod.

“We’re thinking big with this,” Salvatore adds. “So we want everyone on board. You each have your kink.”

They laugh at that because it’s true.

"Nick the Dom," I state, and he laughs. "Gabe and Salvatore, who both like group sex like me, and Christian, you create illusions and fantasies."

Christian gives me an appreciative nod. “I do.”

"This is just the outside of the building. The inside needs to be what we fill it with as a group. We've been brainstorming ideas. What we've come up with so far is the Italian theme. In keeping with that, we thought of nightly Venetian masquerade parties where everyone dresses in lingerie. We also thought of themed rooms and a hotel so people can book to stay in for the night." That was the first thing I thought of doing with the apartments section.

“Fuck, we can do all that?” asks Gabe.

"Sure can. The place is massive, so we can do anything we want. Most of all, we want to be different and raise the bar so it won't just be a sex club."

"Fucking hell, you guys went all out," Nick states. "That's amazing."

"Glad you think so," Salvatore says. "And because we're all accountants, we do our own accounts. This is us being legit. No Fed on earth can come for us with this place. Sex sells, and this is above the rim."

It's nice to hear him talking and sharing the dream. What's even better is seeing that I was right about them. This was an excellent idea.

“Damn straight. Thanks for including me in this.” Nick nods at me.

“All of us,” Salvatore adds. “You could have done this by yourself.”

They all look at me as if to question why.

"As the eldest in the room, I'm gonna be wise and say to you all that when this takes off, you'll see why I wanted you all on board. It's bigger than me. The ownership document is here," I point to it on the table. "I've already put our names on it, so we all own it. It's our club."

They all nod their thanks.

“How about figures. What are we talking about to make this possible?” Christian asks.

“Four million,” I reply

"The rest of us can pay for that," Gabe suggests looking at his brothers, who nod their agreement. "What about staff?"

"Only people we trust for the moment, and then we can spread our wings. We'll need all kinds of people on board to manage the place. And we'll need girls who aren't afraid to do whatever we want them to, and someone to take care of the said girls."

"My baby girl can do that," Salvatore smirks, and I roll my eyes at him.

“Salvatore, Mimi is still seventeen. We were just talking about legal.”

“She’s going to want to follow us with something like this.”

We've known Mimi all our lives, and I suppose she's as much a part of the group as anybody here. Her father works at Giordanos Inc., and like every other father in his shoes, I'm sure he's not fond of his little girl hanging around a bunch of sex-crazed next-gen mobsters.

“Her old man is going to kill your ass if you entice his daughter to work in a sex club.”

"I would like to see him try. Come on, Mimi will be good at this, and we can trust her more than anybody else."

I can’t refute that. “That’s true.”

"Of course, it's true. She might be young, but she has the know-how I think we're looking for, and she'll come in wanting us to succeed as much as we want to."

He talks highly of her like they're a couple. They aren't. Not yet. Some people take time to grow into their feelings.

If he hasn't realized he's in love with her yet, he will one day. The same as he'll realize it's not us his Babygirl is following. It's him, even if she doesn't know it yet, either.

“Alright, we get her on board, but please be careful. I don’t want to shut down the shop before we’ve even begun.”

“Don’t worry about it.”

"Well, that's all I have for the moment on the building.” I sigh. “We’re going to open the temporary sex club where the strip club used to be." I was thinking that the whole section can be refurbished into a sex dungeon when we're done. Until then, we can play around with it. "The other thing we might have to worry about is Ricco."

I briefly mentioned him weeks ago after my encounter. Still, with this new development with Peter, I'm wondering if something else is going on that could either affect us or potentially screw with us.

I don’t want to have anything to do with either Ricco or Peter. But Peter isn’t someone I can avoid.

"You think Ricco is dumb enough to stir up shit with us?" Nick challenges, staring at me in disbelief.

"Yes, I do, but I'm keeping watch. I just want to make you guys aware."

“I’ll kill his ass myself if he causes trouble.”

Nick's a hothead we're always trying to calm.

"I got it, Nick. You guys just need to know this shit in case there's trouble."

I'm talking to Christian after this meeting about Ricco, so I'm hoping to stop any trouble in its tracks before it comes to fruition.

“Cool, I’ll leave it to you then.”

I nod. "It’s lunchtime, guys. Valentina should have the food ready now."

“Nice. You think I could borrow your maid for the day. She has the kind of ass I need this weekend.”

That’s what I get for hiring a young maid.

"You'll have to ask her. The way I heard it, she had enough of you last time."

They all laugh, even him.

"Impossible. Nobody gets enough of me."

Nick leaves with his brothers while mine stays behind. With them gone, the tension I usually have with Christian returns.

It's obvious he feels it, too, in his tentative steps.

When we used to live at home, we'd argue every day and hate each other the same. He’d think I was a brown-nosing prick, and I couldn’t understand why he had to always be the fucking rebel.

He just didn't know I was more of a rebel than he was and learned how to play the game better.

When we needed each other, though, we were always there.

A little like now.

“You know I’m still amazed you asked me to be on board with this idea,” he states.

“Don’t be. I wasn’t going to leave you out.”

“That’s the part that amazes me.”

“We’re not enemies, Christian, even though you’d like to think we are. We’re not.”

“I don’t want to think that. It just seems that way when you’re always siding with Pa.”

"Believe me, I'm not." That's as much as I'll say to him regarding Pa.

The shit will literally hit the fan when I tell our father about the club. He looks to me to set the example when it comes to our part in the company. That's why I can't be the rebel there or anything concerning it.

"This is good for me. Being away at college was a break I needed. Now I'm back for good. I can't say I was eager to work at the family business or to be back here with so many memories."

The memories he’s talking about are probably the only time we acted as brothers should in the history of us.

A year before he left for college, his girlfriend committed suicide, and we saw it happen.

Her name was Amelia.

She jumped off a cliff. He was right there, nearly an inch away from saving her, but he was too late.

I was right behind him, right there to catch him before he fell.

I don’t know anybody who was burned by love more than him, and only time could heal a wound like that.

It sounds like time still had a lot of work to do.

I rest my hand on his shoulder. “Glad to have you on board. This will be good for the two of us.”

"I think so. On to business, though, you said you had something you needed me to do."

“Yeah. I need someone followed, completely under wraps, but I need your specialty.”

“You need me to hack the shit out of everything they do?” he quirks a brow.

"I do. The trail I have so far has gone cold. It's to do with Ricco and Peter from Donny's company. I'll message you the details of what I need. Go have lunch. I'll pack up here."

He nods, and with that, he leaves.

Christian will be able to put eyes on Peter.

I don’t like that fucker. He’s too quiet for my liking. I don’t trust people like that, but I get why Donny does.

When you live and work with people for a long time, you can't see what others might be able to. You can't feel it either.

Something has always been off with that guy. I just never mentioned it. Now I have a reason.

I glance at the clock on the table. The time is going, and Evie will be here soon.

Talking about Amelia stirred something in me. I remembered how she looked before she jumped.

Like she wanted to be saved but save herself.

Evie had the same look in her eyes too.

It didn't escape me that she stumbled over her name. In my world, you take note of things like that. It suggests things might not be what they seem to be.

It’s obvious she needs the money if she’s selling her virginity.

Her reasons for doing so are entirely hers to keep.

We're not allowed to ask her anything about her personal life, so I don't plan to pry.

Unless if I have to.