Jaded Hearts
Chapter 88

Taylor

Tyson’s idea of “quick” was an hour and fourth-five minutes, after which I had to redo my hair and makeup. We totally missed our dinner reservation. Lucky for him, he was insanely sexy and smooth-talking and was able to easily convince the hostess to give us another table. But by the time we finally sat down to order, I was starving and more than a little pissed off.

“I’m sorry, sunshine. If I’m being honest, though, that was quick. When have we ever gone for less than three hours at a time?”

“Don’t talk to me, not until I’ve been fed,” I grumbled as I snagged a piece of bread from the basket in the middle of the table.

Tyson smirked. “You enjoyed it just as much as I did. Six times if I remember it correctly.”

He had his revelation right at the moment our waiter walked up to the table. The poor guy’s face immediately went red with embarrassment.

“I’m so sorry about him. He has no filter,” I apologized before smoothly launching into ordering my meal. After he was gone, I turned to Tyson and smiled sweetly.

“It was five times, actually. That last one doesn’t count. So, besides stalking Matt and me, what did you do the last time you were here?”

“First of all, that last one does count. And second, recon is not stalking.”

“Fine. Besides recon, what did you do?”

“I was only here for two days, and I was on a job, so I didn’t get to be the typical tourist.”

“When you found me in the piazza and said that you had finally made it to Rome, that was probably a lie, huh?”

He nodded his head and sighed. “It was. That was my fourth trip here, but I couldn’t really tell you that at the time,” he answered.

“Any more?” I asked, looking at him expectantly.

“Any more what?”

“Lies. Besides me trying and miserably failing to hide my feeling for you, I’ve been honest about everything else. Is it the same for you?”

“Yes, baby. When we met in the piazza, I wasn’t the guy I am now. It was Hades you spoke to that day, and that man is gone. I’ve been honest about everything since then.”

“I know. I just wanted to make you sweat a little.”

Our dinner came out quickly, and my pasta carbonara was life. If I didn’t know it before, I knew now: there was nothing better than Italian food. When I had greedily stuffed every bite I could in my mouth, I sighed contentedly and leaned back in my chair.

“I hope that steak fuels you up because I’ve got a ton of calories to burn off if I want to make sure I fit into my dress.”

“Or you could just eat salad for the next three days,” he replied, putting another forkful of steak in his mouth.

“Absolutely not. I’m all for a good salad every so often, but I refuse to give up pasta. Besides, between you and Matt, I won’t ever have an issue working off any extra pounds.”

“You’ve gotten thicker since high school. You used to look like Popeye’s girl, Olive Oil, back then.”

“Yeah, well, I was still going through puberty before you left, and now my men like me with meat and curves.”

“Every man likes you with meat and curves, baby. You’re perfect.”

“Alright, handsome. Let’s get out of here and on to our next stop. I need to move before I fall into a food coma.”

* * *

Matt

Gio and Luca made it their mission to replace the grimiest looking bars they could tonight. According to them, I needed to get my hands dirty, and I couldn’t do that at the fancy bar in our hotel.

“You and Gio ruined it, Matt. This is our first time in Italy as adults, and you two have already marked your mates. Do you two have any idea of the destruction we could have caused if we all still had the family curse?” Luca asked as he slammed another shot.

“I’m not here to cause destruction, Luc. I’m here to get married. That’s way more important to me than seducing random girls.”

The female bartender was leaning over the bar, pushing herself right in Lucas’s space. She didn’t even realize that she was giving us drink after drink without keeping track of any of it. We were basically drinking for free.

“Hey, beautiful, what do you guys have to eat here?” Luca asked her.

“Oh, um, nothing really. But I can go and get you a pizza. Would you like that?”

“Ye—”

“No, we don’t need you to do that. We’re going to grab something after we leave here,” I cut in.

She looked at the two of us, then to Gio, who was on my other side.

“Are you brothers?”

Luca nodded. “We are. Have you ever had three brothers at the same time, sweetheart?”

She immediately became flustered and lost the ability to talk, probably to even think.

“Gio, get him the hell out of here while I settle the bill,” I said.

Xander nudged my shoulder. “I’ve got the bill. You know you don’t pay for anything tonight.”

Once Luca was gone, the bartender was finally able to concentrate and estimate what we owed. Xander paid her twice the amount, then we left.

“Finally! You guys took forever. I got a hit on another bar a couple of blocks away. And it has pizza!” Luca yelled as I stepped outside.

“He makes me feel old as hell,” Xander chuckled.

“You and me both,” I replied, shaking my head.

Luca’s face lit up when he saw us walking up to them. “Hey, Alpha! I plan on having a raging hangover tomorrow morning. Do you think you could ask the Luna to fix me up at breakfast?”

“If I say no, will that make you drink less tonight?” Xander asked.

Luca thought about it for a second, then nodded. “Hell yeah, it would. Hangovers are the worst. Like evil leprechauns dancing a jig on my brain.”

“Alright then, no. The Luna will not be using her powers to heal your hangover. If you get one, you deal with it.”

“Aww, f**k. We better get that pizza then. I need carbs to soak up some of this tequila,” he said as he staggered away.

“Thank you. I was a few seconds away from commanding his a*s back to the hotel for the rest of the night,” I said.

“No problem. If anyone needs to be the bad guy, let me or Kade handle it. I know you don’t like to pull rank over your brothers.”

“I’ve never done it before, but I was going to make an exception tonight.”

* * *

The rest of the night went much smoother, and Luca was able to finally pace himself and calm down. We went to probably six or seven bars, and honestly, we all got pretty wasted. It was just what I needed: a night out with my guys, free from worry or stress. I was happy that Taylor talked me into going.

Taylor! Damn, I missed her. I pulled my phone from my pocket and jabbed at it a few times before her gorgeous face filled the screen. Wherever she was, the music was blaring and pumping through the speaker. She held up a finger and walked over to a corner that was a little quieter.

“Hey! Are you and the boys having a good time?”

“We are! But I miss you. You’re so f*****g sexy … and beautiful … and sexy,” I slurred.

She tossed her head back and laughed. “How much have you had to drink?”

“Seven bars worth, and I think we’re just getting started.”

“Ooh. Make sure you’re eating too. Otherwise, tomorrow’s not going to be pretty.”

“You’re so smart and sweet. Will you marry me? You’d make the best wife.”

She held up her ring and waved it in front of the camera. “I’ve already agreed to it twice. But because you’re so adorable, yes, I’ll marry you.”

“Noo! No talking to the bride during the bachelor party. Hang up now!” Gio yelled behind me.

I saw Taylor laugh again before my phone was snatched from my hands. “Damn, Taylor! You look hot as hell!” Luca whistled as he leaned over in front of the screen.

Taylor smiled. “Thank you, Luca. You guys be careful and get my hubby home safe, okay?”

“Yes, ma’am. Bye!”

They hung up the call, and I put my phone back in my pocket.

Kade proudly put his hands on his h**s. “Three shots of Jäger for breaking the rules.”

“Ugh! I hate that s**t!”

“That’s why it’s a punishment. Let’s go!”

We headed off to yet another watering hole, and in my hazy, booze-clouded mind, I knew that I was going to need bean to seriously help me out tomorrow morning.

* * *

Taylor

“Is everything okay?” Tyson yelled over the music.

“Yes. Just a drunken FaceTime proposal, that’s all.”

“I have no experience in the matter, but those are the best ones, aren’t they? Let’s you know the love is real!” he laughed.

“It was just what I needed to get myself down the aisle on Saturday.”

I slipped my phone back in my clutch and took a sip of my drink. I had no intention of getting too drunk tonight. A nice, mellow buzz was all I was after. We had a big VIP booth right next to the dance floor, so when the DJ started playing, I had to get up and move.

“Come on! Let’s see if you can move as well on the dance floor as you do in the bedroom,” I purred, throwing Tyson a wink over my shoulder as I left the table.

He tossed his drink back and followed me to the middle of the floor, where we stood as close as possible and moved our bodies perfectly in sync. For someone who said they weren’t much of a dancer, Tyson had some serious moves. If I wasn’t already planning on riding him until I blacked out, the seductive sway of his h**s and the feeling of his hands on my skin would’ve easily made the decision for me. In a club full of beautiful people, all we saw was each other.

We danced and rubbed up on each other for song after song. It wasn’t until my feet started screaming at me for relief that we finally took and break and headed back to the booth. I sat down, kicked my shoes off, and draped my feet across his lap.

“Rub my feet, please!”

He chuckled but quickly complied. “Are you tired, sunshine? Don’t tell me I’ve worn you out already.”

“You’re not out there in four-inch heels. Don’t you judge me.”

He ordered a bottle for the table, and we alternated between drinking and laughing in the booth and sweating and touching all over each other on the dance floor.

It was well after 3:00 a.m. before I finally had to call it quits and hobble out of the club into a waiting cab. The fifteen-minute drive to the hotel offered the perfect opportunity for a quick power nap, and I happily fell asleep against Tyson’s shoulder. I don’t remember arriving or the trip up to the room. When I finally woke up, I’d been stripped out of my dress and was snuggling up in the middle of his bed.

I could hear the shower running, and just like that, I had a burst of energy I desperately needed him to burn off. I walked into the bathroom and saw him standing under the spray, the warm water cascading down his wide back. When he noticed me, he turned and smiled.

“Go back to bed, gorgeous. I’ll be out in a few minutes. I just couldn’t sleep without rinsing off first.”

“But I’m not tired.”

I slowly pulled off my thong, then stepped in behind him and ran my hands up and down his back. I never got tired of seeing his body and the way his perfectly toned muscles moved under his skin. It was hypnotic. When I began to run my fingernails down his back, I heard a deep rumble in his chest.

“You’re about to start something that your legs won’t be able to get you out of, sunshine. If you want to walk tomorrow, I’d suggest keeping your hands to yourself.”

I didn’t want or need his suggestions. What I wanted was right between his legs. I reached around, grabbed on to his d**k, and squeezed, causing that rumble in his chest to become even louder. It didn’t take him long to thicken up in my hand, so I spun him around and dropped to my knees.

This was going to be my last time with him for at least two weeks, and I was about to make the best of it.