The Mafia And His Queen

Chapter 15

~ Damon ~

Walking into my home, I try to make it to my room unnoticed before my mother sees me and starts her interrogation.

Lily woke up before us early this morning at seven. I felt her moving around on the bed so I got up to make the three of us some breakfast. She stayed by my side to help while Roxie continued sleeping.

After we finished cooking and I had served the breakfast, Roxie ran into the kitchen looking disoriented. I was confused at first but once I saw her visibly relax at the sight of Lily, I realized she was scared. Lily and I weren't beside her when she woke up. She probably thought the worst had happened.

I coaxed Roxie and managed to calm her down before giving her the breakfast we made. The three of us ate together at her table while Lily chatted away about us baking some cookies which I learned are her favorite.

Particularly... chocolate chip.

After another hour had passed, I told them both that I had to leave. Lily tried using puppy dog eyes to get me to stay and while she did look adorable, I really needed to get home. I used another five minutes to say goodbye before Lily agreed to let me go.

I guess luck wasn't on my side this morning because my mom yells from the dining room as soon as I begin walking to the stairs, "Damon, get your ass over here now!"

Rolling my eyes, I walk into the dining room where everyone else is sitting, eating, and chatting. I stroll up to my mom and place a kiss on her cheek before she hits me on the head.

"What the hell did you do that for?" I ask as I rub the spot she smacked me on.

"That's for rolling your eyes at me before coming in here." Then she hits my arm, "and that is for not being here yesterday."

Everyone starts to laugh and I give them a death glare, causing them all to shut up and begin eating their food again.

"How did you know I rolled my eyes?" I ask, looking back at her.

"Oh, Figlio. I'm your mother... I know everything." She tells me while gesturing for me to sit in my usual seat which is at the head of the table.

I sit down and one of the maids brings me my breakfast even though I'm not that hungry since I already ate at Roxie's house.

"So, where were you yesterday? What was so important that you decided to be there instead of spending quality time with your family?" My mom asks while cutting into her pancakes.

My girls, I thought to myself. They are what was so important.

"I thought you knew everything," I tell her before eating a piece of bacon.

She gives me her look that tells me if I don't stop being a smart ass, she'll beat my ass in front of everyone right here, right now.

I sigh and decide to tell her. I want Roxie and my princess to come over for the New Years' ball anyways so they're going to eventually meet each other.

I take a sip of my coffee before telling her, "I was at my girls' place."

Everyone at the table drops their forks and freezes to look at me, except for Kole and Jax who already knew about her.

My mom looks at me wide-eyed with her jaw dropped. Then she screams and kisses my dad, "It's a miracle! He finally has a girlfriend! I don't have to look at any more of those unscrupulous women. God has finally answered my prayers and sent him the other half of his brain."

I roll my eyes at her for being so dramatic while a few people try to hide their laughs from me.

"I'm going to let that one slide since I'm too happy right now but what's her name? When am I going to meet my future daughter-in-law?" She asks me with a smile.

"I agree. I also want to meet the woman who managed to catch my eldest son's attention." My dad says.

I feel a slight smile wanting to show on my face but I hold it back, "Her name is Roxie and I was going to ask her to come to the New Years' ball."

"She's an amazing person mom. You'll love her." Jax says.

My mom gasps and looks at him, "You've met her already?!"

"And Kole," I add.

She looks at both of them shocked before turning to me with an angry expression, "Why would you let them meet her before me? I'm your mother!"

"Mom, calm down. They were both there when I met her. As a matter of fact, Kole was the first one to meet her. Well, he didn't actually meet her. He got a bottle smashed to his head by her." I say while smirking at Kole.

If I had met her first and he disrespected her like that, I would've done a whole lot more than smash a bottle to his head.

"What? Why?" She asks while looking at Kole.

"Speak," I say with a serious, calm voice to him.

He looks down at the table while all eyes are on him. Jax and I both lean back in our chairs, enjoying what's about to happen next, "Umm... okay. I may have tried to sleep with her BUT I didn't know she wasn't one of those women who f***s every guy she meets. I thought she was just playing hard to get."

I see my mom squinting her eyes at him, her little vein popping out of her forehead.

"You tried to force yourself on the girl?" She asks lowly with an irritated voice.

"NO!! I mean, it may have seemed like that I guess but all I did was wrap an arm around her to try to bring her back to me. I swear I wasn't going to ra-"

"Don't you dare finish that sentence!" She yells while holding up her index finger and closing her eyes.

She takes a deep breath before saying, "Have I not raised any of you morons the right way? Kole, I have treated you like a son since we took you in when you were sixteen. I know I didn't teach you this. When a woman tells you no it means NO! Capisci?" (Capisci - Do You Understand).

He nods his head before letting it hang in embarrassment.

"Why don't you tell her what you called Roxie," I say, making his head snap back up.

He looks like he wants to say something but he knows not to talk back to me. We may be close but I'll still beat his ass if he ever disrespects me, especially in front of people.

"What did you call her?" She asks while staring him down.

He looks back at her guilty and says, "A stupid bitch."

My father rubs a hand over his face while my mom slams her hands on the table and gets out of her chair. She walks out of the dining room and everyone cowers in their seats.

Kole stands from his seat and is about to leave too but I stop him before he could move another muscle.

"Freeze," I command him in a threatening tone.

He immediately stops moving and I keep my eyes on him while crossing my arms over my chest.

Everyone knows she's going to come back. Kole tried to leave because he knows what is about to happen. When she gets this angry, nobody dares to move.

Kole was going to have to stand up anyways so I didn't even bother telling him to sit his ass back down.

A few seconds later my mom comes back into the dining room and walks to Kole, leather belt and broom in hand.

"Oh, good. You're already standing." She says in a voice holding no emotion.

"You know my rules already. Choose one in five seconds or I'll use both. Which is it going to be?" She asks him while holding both items out in front of her.

"Valentina." My dad says, giving her a pleading look not to do it.

She gives him her own look back, the one that says, you want to be next?

He doesn't say anything back.

She looks back to Kole who has a terrified expression on his face. s**t, I don't blame him. I used to s**t myself every time she did this to me when I was younger.

"Okay then." She says before putting the belt over one of the chairs and getting ready to hit him with the broom.

She always did it in that order because when she uses the broom, it leaves your body aching with pain but after that, she uses the belt to add the final sting to the spots she hit.

You may think she abused us but she never did. This is just her way of punishing us whenever we disrespected her in any way.

Every parent has their own way of punishing their children. To me, abuse means when adults beat kids for no reason at all except because they feel like it or because it satisfies them and makes them feel like they have power in some sick way.

People who abuse their own children, stepchildren, or children they have adopted do not love them.

I would never say that my own mother abused us. She loves us all and would never beat us just because she's the parent.

When we were kids, it was different. She never did this. All she did was yell a little and take away our toys, our privilege to watch television, and made us sit in time-out for an hour.

Once we turned fifteen, that's when she started using the broom or belt or both. I always chose the belt because the only thing it left was red marks.

I snap back into reality as I hear Kole scream out in pain. She's hitting him with the broom all over his body, except for his head. She never goes past the neck.

Not hard to where she might break his bones but enough that it'll leave his body sore.

After she is done, he's doubled over in pain. She grabs the belt and gives him about twenty seconds to rest before she goes back in and starts hitting him with the belt.

••••

~ Roxie ~

After Damon left, Lily and I spent our whole day together. I took her to the mall so we could get more winter clothes. Then we went to the park and after that, we ate at McDonald's.

We walked around New York a bit and I took her to see the Statue of Liberty. I actually never went to see it up close either so I was glad we both got to see it together.

Later that night after I put Lily to bed, changed into something warm, and waited for Rose to come, I left and headed to work.

"Hey, shortcake. I missed you." Lucky says while leaning over the bar to give me a hug.

I smile and hug him back, "I missed you too."

I feel a pair of arms wrap around my waist, pull me out of lucky's hug, and back into a hard chest. I look over my shoulder to see Damon's gaze already focused on me. He bends his head down and gives me a possessive kiss while his arms wrap more strongly around me.

I turn in his arms without breaking our kiss and wrap my arms around his neck. He releases a low moan into my mouth as I gently tug on his hair.

Only when the music comes flowing back through my ears do I realize that we're still in his club.

My eyes snap open and I pull away from his lips, no matter how much I didn't want to. I look around me to see almost half the club's eyes on us. Mostly female eyes, glaring daggers at me.

My heart starts racing and I bury my face in his chest. I hate how people were watching us. Why can't they just mind their own business? It isn't that hard to do.

He kisses the top of my head and says, "Come with me." Before pulling me along with him to his office. After he locks the door, he spins me and pushes me against it, placing his hands on either side of my head.

"I want to ask you something." He tells me as he looks into my eyes.

"Okay... ask me," I say hesitantly.

"Do you want to come to my place for New Years? You and Lily?" He asks with a hopeful look in his eyes.

I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out.

"There's going to be a lot of people there. My mom is doing a New Years' ball. She does it every year. My parents want to meet you, especially my mom, and I want to show everyone that you're my woman." He says before placing a kiss on my lips and looking me in the eyes again.

"I don't know, Damon. What if they don't like me?" I ask as I look down and play with my fingers.

He lifts my chin up and says, "Hey, they already love you. Literally nothing can change their opinion about you."

I guess we were going to meet them sooner or later. Plus, Lily and I never got to go out when we were with him. It could be fun and Damon will be with us.

"Okay." I nod my head and tell him, "Lily and I will go."

He smiles and kisses me passionately.

"D-Damon?" I mumble against his lips.

"Hmm?" He hums, not breaking away from my lips.

"Do we have to dress fancy?" I ask unsurely. I've never been to a ball before let alone a new year's ball. He pulls his mouth away and rests his forehead against mine.

"I prefer you in nothing but if you went naked, I would have to shoot everyone who looked at your body between their eyes." He says, showing no sign that he's joking. My heart pounds in my chest from nervousness at his words.

"Honestly, everyone is going to be wearing a tux and elegant dresses. Mothers orders; she likes for everyone to be dressed a certain way for every occasion. I've already told Vanessa to take you and Lily dress shopping tomorrow." He puts a loose strand of my hair behind my ear.

"Okay. What kind of dress should we get?" I ask him uncertainly.

"Hmm... you should get a black one since black is my favorite color." He says while tugging gently at my black top.

"Nessa will help you choose the right dress. My princess should get one that makes her look like a princess. You both should like the dresses though. I don't want my girls to be wearing something they're uncomfortable with." He tells me as he pushes his body closer to mine.

He puts his hands behind my thighs and lifts me up. I instinctively wrap my legs around his waist and place my hands on his shoulders.

"I can't wait to show off my girls to everyone." He says before slamming his lips against mine.

He slides one hand up my shirt and squeezes my right breast in his hand. He breaks away from the kiss only to rip my shirt off me.

"Damon, you just tore my shirt! What am I supposed to wear now?" I ask with a frown, trying to sound mad even though deep down, I kinda liked it.

"You can wear one of mine." He says in a sexy deep tone as his eyes travel down to my chest. Before I can say anything else, his mouth attacks my left breast while massaging my other one in his hand.

He takes my n****e into his mouth, rolling his tongue over the tip and letting it go before switching to the other one and doing the same.

He drags his tongue along my skin, starting from the hollow part between my collarbones and making his way upward to my lips.

He slides his tongue across my bottom lip, then slips it into my mouth. I start fighting with him for dominance over the kiss but of course, he likes to be in control.

I moan into his mouth and he swallows the sound before smirking against my lips. A series of loud knocks on his door interrupt us and Damon groans in anger at whoever started knocking but he doesn't stop kissing me.

Not even five seconds pass before they knock twice more and he pulls away only to yell before attacking my lips again, "What?!"

"Boss, I have urgent news!!" A familiar man's voice shouts from behind the door.

Damon leaves one last kiss on my already swollen lips before reluctantly pulling back and placing me gently on the ground again.

He walks to a door at the side of his office and pulls out a white button-up shirt. Okay, he has his own closet in his office. I mean, I guess that's smart... in case someone spills their drink on him.

He stands in front of me and puts his shirt on me before he starts buttoning it up. Then he walks to the door and unlocks it.

Kole walks in as Damon makes his way to his black leather chair behind the desk. He looks at me, then at Damon, and back at me nervously.

"Amore," Damon calls out to me.

I look at him and he's beckoning me over to him with two of his fingers. I immediately walk to him with no hesitation and he pulls me into his lap as he wraps his arms around me, holding me tight.

"Close the door." He orders Kole with a stern tone.

"Okay," Kole responds before shutting it and limping his way to stand right in front of Damon's desk.

I don't know why he's limping and I don't even know if I want to ask.

"Whatever you have to say better be f*****g important or I'll shoot you in the leg for interrupting me." Damon says in irritation.

"Uhh... I-it is. Two of our guys found Rodrigo about an hour ago." Kole stutters a little bit and I feel Damon's body tense.

"Where is he?" He asks with a hint of frustration.

"They put him in the pit," Kole says while taking a glance at me and instantly looking back to Damon.

"Good, I'll deal with that when I get home." He runs his fingers gently over my thigh. "Is that all?"

"Yeah, boss."Kole nods.

"Alright, you can go now." He dismisses Kole with a wave of his hand.

After Kole leaves, Damon grabs my chin and turns my head to look back at him. He lowers his mouth to mine and gently starts kissing me again.

He begins unbuttoning the shirt that I'm wearing with one hand when all of a sudden, the sound of gunshots pour into my ears.