The Recluse Heir by Monique Moreau

4

Islumped against the side of my house and huffed out a laugh. Fuck, she winked at me. That girl was as hot as they came. I watched her sway her nice round ass as she was prodded forward by her relative. So far, I had done everything in my power to avoid the circus playing out in my living room. Numb with boredom, I’d slipped out for a smoke. I rarely smoked anymore but today called for it.

She hadn’t lied when she said she was eighteen. Her wide brown eyes swirled with an intoxicating mixture of innocence and intrigue. Her peach and nectarine fragrance, riding toward me on a slight breeze, was sweeter than the scent of the spring flowers in my garden. And her pink bow-shaped lips turned up in a smile that made my heart stop for longer than was healthy.

Then there was her smoking body. Although on the slim side, she had tits that could fill my palms and flared hips to hold on to. But most importantly, there was that sly irreverence. I was a sucker for irreverence, being the king of it myself. It was even scarcer in my ultra-serious mafie community than it was in the outside world. She was a rare gem, indeed.

For an eighteen-year-old, there was something knowing in her eyes. I could tell that she’d seen her share of stuff. She knew what a farce, what an absurd piece of theater was being played out in there, and she was as disgusted by it as I was. Disgusted enough that she ducked out on her mother, and I knew what a tight leash they kept the princesses on at such events. An engagement party wasn’t only about the so-called lucky couple. It doubled as a meat market to show off their girls to potential suitors.

I pulled out another cigarette and lit it. Her sassiness spoke to me as well. I felt that spark in my chest. Her smile twisted something in me. I’d never felt anything like this with a woman, especially one I’d barely interacted with.

There was also the fact that she was a blonde. Always had a thing for blondes. Hers wasn’t the peroxide kind either. I had picked out at least three different shades of gold in the lock of hair I held between my fingers. There was really only one way to find out if she was a true blonde, and hell, I’d be the first in line for the privilege to peel the panties down those slim thighs. And while I was down on my knees in the name of investigative research, I’d take advantage of the opportunity to give it a little lick. Get myself a little taste of her. If it was anything like her scent, I’d be in paradise.

To that end, I stubbed the cigarette out and slipped through the French doors into my living room. Stripped of furniture to make enough room for the throngs that had come to acknowledge this bullshit union between two strangers, the place looked like a reception room. There were small high tables everywhere, with ridiculous bouquets of flowers on them, where people could deposit their drinks as waiters flitted about with trays of hors d’oeuvres.

I stretched my neck, surveying the large space for that honey-blonde head.

Ahh, found her.

Pushing through the crowd, I almost reached her when Alex approached the gorgeous girl. I screeched to a halt when he gave her a kiss on each cheek before placing his hand on her forearm and wrapping it around his elbow.

What in the ever-loving fuck…?

With his other hand, he waved Nicu over.

No.

No, no, no.

It couldn’t be.

Shewas the fiancée. She was the Popescu mafie puppet.

Fuck.

A ping ping ping broke through the loud hum of conversation as my mother tapped a crystal glass with a fork.

“Welcome, everyone! Thank you for coming so far out of the city to our little reception. It’s nothing fancy, but we wanted to introduce the wonderful new couple to our friends and family. Welcome Cătălina to the Lupu family!”

My mother lifted her glass in a toast.

“Cat,” she corrected softly. My mother didn’t hear her, but I heard her soft, melodious voice.

Cat.

She certainly resembled a pussycat, with her luxurious mane of glossy light hair. I wanted to stroke her like I would the back of a ginger cat, from ears to tail. I’d stroke more than that if I had any say in the matter. She was as blonde as a Norse, calling either to the German or Slavic blood in her. She was the most beautiful creature I’d ever set eyes on. I wasn’t a stranger to beautiful women, but no one compared to her. A flame of jealousy blazed in my chest. I smothered it immediately.

“Noroc!” my mother toasted, wrapping her arm around Cat’s shoulders.

Raising their glasses in the air, everyone repeated, “Noroc!”

Her cheeks turned pink, her eyes shooting everywhere but to Nicu, who was staring at her with cold disinterest. Her eyes ping-ponged until they landed on me. And there they stayed, making my chest burn with pride.

Her eyes widened, as if she’d been caught out. And she had been.

“Luca,” my name was called. Alex gestured to me to join the rest of the family. I moved forward slowly, my eyes on hers. Keeping her roped to me.

The girl’s eyes bulged, her lush lips parting. I could almost hear the gasp she made in my eardrums. In my chest. In my fucking soul.

“Luca,” he called me again as I approached, planting a hand on my shoulder. “Let me introduce you to your new sister-in-law, Cat.”

At least he’d gotten her name right.

Turning to Cat, he said, “This is Luca, our middle brother. Tasa, Nicu’s twin, will arrive tomorrow.” Peering over the crowd, he added, “Sebastian and Emma are here somewhere. Luca, can you stay here with Cat while I find them?”

Alex pushed through the crowd, looking for our half siblings, and despite being in the middle of a crowd, we were left alone.

Crossing my arms over my chest, I glared down at her. “So, you’re the bride-to-be. You could’ve mentioned that when we met earlier.”

“I didn’t know who you were!” she exclaimed in a harsh whisper, her eyes darting right and left. And truth be told, she should be afraid. She’d been flirting with me, dammit. It was a bad look for her. I didn’t give a shit, of course, but she didn’t know that.

“I swear,” she continued, “I never…” she waved her hand, at a loss for words to describe what had transpired between us. Nothing of consequence on the outside, yet something had passed between us. Sheer horror was stamped on her face, and the urge to alleviate her panic gripped me.

“I know you’re a good girl,” I said calmly, because I couldn’t let her walk away worried for her reputation.

Yes, it was a slip. The teasing and the way she made eyes at me. But deep down, I knew innocence when I saw it. This girl was it. She was most definitely a virgin. Any other option was unfathomable, but more than that, she was without artifice.

“So you flirted with me a little. It’s not a big deal,” I said casually, my eyes carefully assessing whether we could be overheard.

“Oh…yeah, oh, okay…thanks,” she stammered out.

My gaze shot to hers. There was relief and…was that hurt? Fuck. For no clear reason that I could fathom, her tender little feelings mattered to me. Like the odds of being struck by lightning, I was struck with the desire to soothe this girl. She would be trapped in a loveless marriage, and if I knew Nicu, he hadn’t batted an eye in her direction. He didn’t care to know anything about her after what Nelu and Cristo tried to pull on us. She was a means to an end and nothing more.

But when we were alone in my garden, there’d been a spark. I felt it. So did she and, being emotionally unattached to him, she followed it like the innocent young teenager she was.

Again, her innocence struck me. I’d never had a thing for it before but sensing that she was untouched by the violence and darkness that dominated my life seemed like a near miracle. It was a shame really because Nicu would never forgive her for her father’s scheming. She’d be a hole to fuck and breed. Nothing more. My jaw tightened at the thought of my brother touching her. An ugly feeling of jealousy that I’d never felt before slithered in my chest.

“I know I’m irresistible, so, yeah, I get it,” I teased lightly. “What can I say? My allure is overwhelming.” I gave a dramatic sigh. “It’s my cross to bear.”

She puffed out a laugh and took the lifeline I threw her. Uncurling her wringing hands, she straightened her spine and threw her shoulders back.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe you just said that, but okay, sure it is,” she joked. “That’s exactly how it went down.”

I grinned.

She grinned back.

Goddamn, it was like being hit by a pure ray of golden sunshine right in the solar plexus. My breath stuttered in my lungs.

For the first time in my entire twenty-seven years, I was jealous of one of my brothers because I wanted this woman. And the irony? I’d had my chance and rejected her. Karma was a fucking bitch.

At that moment, Alex broke through the crowd, with Sebastian and Emma at his back. As he introduced them, I stepped back and melted into the crowd. Sebastian, who looked almost identical to the rest of us Lupu brothers, with our height and frame, took her small, delicate hand in his. Emma looked the least like a Lupu with a head of strawberry blonde curls that ended at her chin. She was petite and curvy. And nerdy as all hell. She was a riot, in fact, and I liked her best of all. We could talk shop since she was an AI researcher and I was into anything digital.

Although I stepped away, I was unwilling to leave the vicinity, so I stopped to congratulate Nicu with a clap on the shoulder. He gave me a look of unadulterated boredom. Nicu was most comfortable in a barefisted street fight, or maybe a cage fight. Either way, it was someplace rough and dirty, not a pretty engagement party in a lux suburban mansion like mine.

A rush of anger, mixed with being offended on Cat’s behalf, surged through me. “Your fiancée is beautiful. You lucked out, you know that, right?”

“Y’think? I don’t have a thing for blondes like you do,” he mused, tilting his head as he inspected her critically, like she was an insect mounted in a display case. “Plus, she was your responsibility first.” My eyes narrowed at his unnecessary dig as he motioned for a waiter, swiped a shot of țuică, and threw it down his throat. When was he going to let go of his conviction that she was mine and start seeing her as his responsibility? He was going to marry her after all, not me. That realization slapped me hard across the face, yet again.

I glared at him. How he did not take one look at her and want her was a mystery. The girl’s a beauty. I couldn’t recall the last time I’d seen someone so stunning. I shook my head. He was fucking insane. Although, I was the idiot who agreed to host the Popescus for this extended weekend. What the hell had I been thinking? Oh yeah, that Tasa and her man were coming, and it would be easier for everyone if they didn’t stay in my mother’s house. She still hadn’t completely forgiven Tasa for running away from her engagement to Cristo to marry another guy. This extended weekend-long engagement party was also an opportunity for Alex and Nelu to discuss business and meet Nelu’s partners from Afghanistan.

But the woman drew me like a moth to a flame. Even now, standing beside my brother, her fiancé, I had trouble keeping my eyes off her. I could struggle through the entire long-ass weekend, but what about the rest of my life? I couldn’t go on lusting after my brother’s wife. It didn’t matter that they cared nothing for each other. If I knew Nicu, that wouldn’t change anytime soon, if ever. I was more determined than ever to get away from New York. Laguna Beach was where I wanted to be anyway, even if our presence there would never be as strong and impressive as New York and Chicago in the future. To hell with it. My sanity and peace of mind were more important than the size of my territory and reach of my power. I’d have to try to catch Alex alone at some point and work on convincing him to let me go. It was my only option. As for the marriage condition he’d imposed, I was going to pretend I didn’t hear it and try to wear him down.