His Juliet: An Age Gap Hurt Comfort Mafia Romance (Empire of Royals Book 2)

I stared down at baby Clementine. She was sleeping in my arms, her eyes fluttering beneath her eyelids and red lips pursed. The weight of her eased the anxiety I felt sitting in Sofiya’s kitchen. Sienna came over to Romeo’s apartment earlier today, and we’d played Mario Kart together. It had felt so normal I’d almost forgotten that people were after me, I was in a new place, and Romeo was gone for the whole day.

When Sofiya invited us up to her apartment for dinner, I didn’t feel like I could refuse. Or rather, I didn’t want to refuse. Spending the day with them yesterday had felt good, almost normal. So when Sienna asked if I wanted to go, I had said yes. We’d taken the stairs up to the penthouse apartment, Sienna cheering me along the entire way, and I’d made it all the way up without having a panic attack. But now, sitting in the large, beautiful apartment, I was on the verge of one. I tried to convince my brain that the entire apartment building was safe, but apparently, I wasn’t convincing enough. So I just focused on the sweet baby in my arms to keep my anxiety from swelling up and drowning me.

“Anyone have any music requests?” Sienna asked. When we didn’t give her any, she chose a playlist and soft indie music started playing through a surround sound system.

“Juliet, do you like balsamic dressing?” Sofiya asked. “I was thinking of doing a simple side salad with dinner.”

“That sounds good. Are you sure you don’t need help?” I asked.

“No, no, we’ve got it,” she said.

Sofiya moved around the kitchen using her rollator as she prepared chicken parmesan for our dinner with Angelo as her sous chef. To my surprise, I’d gotten more comfortable around the bodyguard today. His massive height and broad frame were at odds with his soft voice and easy smiles. It was hard to find him intimidating when he wore an apron with Noodle’s face printed on the front.

It was very cute.

“Besides,” she continued, “you’re helping by holding Clementine. Just let me know if you want me to take her, or you can put her down in her bassinet.”

The baby in question let out a little cry, and I gently rocked her until she settled.

“You’re good with her,” Sienna said. “Have you spent a lot of time with babies?”

I shrugged, feeling slightly uncomfortable. I wasn’t used to talking about myself, but I guessed that’s what friends did. And I wanted to be friends with these girls.

“I grew up in foster care. There were often babies in the homes I lived in and I helped take care of them.”

“Oh, you have a head start on me, then,” Sofiya said. “I didn’t know anything about babies until this one came along. I read tons of parenting books while I was pregnant to try to catch up.”

Sienna snorted. “Not as many as my brother read. He was pulling out What to Expect When You’re Expecting between meetings with his capos.”

Angelo laughed, but Sofiya had a soft smile on her face. “He’s so good with her.” She started mixing up the balsamic dressing. “Do you want kids, Juliet?”

“Oh, um…”

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry,” she said, cheeks burning red. “That’s a really personal question.”

“That’s okay,” I said. “I guess I’ve never really thought about it.” I’d never been one of those girls who dreamed of having babies, maybe because I’d had to take care of so many of them in the chaotic foster homes I’d bounced around. Besides, I could barely take care of myself. How could I ever care for a child?

Noodle padded over to me and rested his head on my leg. I shifted Clementine so I could pet him.

“They all love you,” Sofiya said.

“Everyone loves Juliet,” Sienna said. “No wonder Romeo is obsessed.”

I squirmed, uncomfortable at being the center of attention, but I also hid a smile at the idea of Romeo being obsessed.

Angelo let out another rich laugh. “The bastard is more than obsessed. I’ve never seen someone so thrilled to receive a punishment from the Don. I swear he swaggered out of the gym like he’d won a prize.”

That got me to look up. “What punishment?”

Angelo’s smile fell off his face and his eyes widened. “Shit.”

Sofiya shot him an angry look, and Sienna swore under her breath. A sick feeling formed in the pit of my stomach. “What are you talking about?”

“Nothing. Forget I said anything.” Angelo looked like he was considering leaping off the balcony to exit the conversation.

I turned to Sofiya. “What punishment?”

She gave me an apologetic look. “I’m sure Romeo didn’t tell you because he didn’t want you to get upset.”

A timer went off and she glanced at the oven. “Angelo, can you take the chicken out for me?”

The bodyguard jumped into action, relieved, I was sure, to have something to do.

“You’ve got to understand that Mafia men are not very evolved and think that violence solves everything,” Sofiya said. “When Romeo got the intel that your apartment was being watched, he abandoned the job he was doing for Matteo.”

A cold, sick feeling worked through my stomach. “So Matteo beat him up? That’s how Romeo got injured?”

“The Boss went easy on him,” Angelo said as he put the tray of chicken on a towel on the counter. “There was barely a scratch on him, but he’s the Don and needs to set a precedent with his men that we can’t abandon our posts without consequence.”

I blinked quickly against the burning tears in my eyes and looked down at Clementine. The weight of her in my arms was the only thing grounding me.

“Are you okay, Juliet?” Sofiya’s voice was soft and unsure.

I cleared my throat. “It was more than scratches.” Romeo’s broken nose had given him two black eyes, and his chest and back were covered in yellowing bruises.

Sienna moved and put her arm around my shoulders, giving me a squeeze. “It’s barbaric, I know. It must be so strange when you’re new to our world. If it makes you feel better, I chewed Matteo out when he told me what happened.”

I ran my finger down the bridge of Clementine’s nose. Her skin was so soft and perfect. I kept focusing on her as I breathed in ragged breaths. I didn’t want to be here anymore, and I certainly didn’t want to eat dinner with Matteo.

Just as I was going to make up an excuse to run back to our apartment, the door swung open, revealing Romeo and Matteo. The Don’s eyes went first to his wife and then to the bundle in my arms. He looked torn about who to go to first. In the end, he crossed the room to Sofiya and gathered her in his arms, kissing her on the head. “Where’s your wrist brace, tesoro?”

Sofiya wrinkled her nose. “I don’t want to wear it.”

He tipped her head back with a stern expression. “It’s not optional.”

She huffed. “Tyrant. I’ll put it on after dinner.”

He leaned down and whispered something in her ear, which made her cheeks turn red.

“Fine,” she said with a scowl as he pulled away. He gave her a smug smile and lowered her down to the seat of her rollator. This was the man who had beaten Romeo? I couldn’t make sense of this man who ruled the Mafia with an iron fist but was so gentle with his wife and baby.

“It’s nice to see you again, Juliet,” he said as he rounded the island to me. His eyes were soft when he looked down at Clementine. “Hi, piccola.” He reached out to take her, and I lifted her into his arms. She looked comically small against his massive frame.

I swallowed, my throat too tight to form words.

I jumped when Romeo’s hand landed on my shoulder. He frowned and moved in front of me, his body blocking my view of Matteo. “What’s wrong, angel?” His voice was soft and he stroked his knuckles down my cheek, but his bruised face just served as a reminder that he had been hurt because of me. My chest tightened and I dragged in air like it was filtered through a straw.

Romeo’s arms wrapped around me and he tucked me into his chest. “Talk to me. What happened?”noveldrama

“I’m so sorry,” Sofiya said. “We didn’t know that she didn’t know about⁠—”

“The punishment.” Sienna finished her sentence.

Romeo’s hold on me tightened. “Great. Thank you for that.” His voice was harsher than I’d ever heard it, but it gentled when he spoke to me again. “Come here.” He picked me up and my arms and legs automatically wrapped around him. I pressed my face into the crook of his neck, just trying to breathe. I was dizzy with panic and embarrassment at being seen like this by my new friends. Romeo walked into a room with floor-to-ceiling bookshelves and shut the door.

He sat me down on a couch and knelt in front of me, his hands squeezing my thighs.

“Baby.”

My lower lip wobbled at the tenderness in his voice. “Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I knew you would blame yourself when nothing about this was your fault.”

Tears dripped down my face. Of course I was blaming myself. Every one of his bruises happened because he had chosen to rescue me.

“It was my decision,” he said firmly. “And I would do it again. I would choose you every time, Juliet.”

I tugged him so he was next to me on the couch, needing him closer. He understood immediately and pulled me onto his lap, his arms like steel around me.

“How can you be friends with him after what he did? I don’t understand.”

Romeo sighed. “Violence is part of my world. It’s one of the many reasons I’m not good enough for you.”

I opened my mouth to protest, but he pressed his finger to my lips. “Just listen. Matteo is a good Don. He’s fair, he cares about the Family, but he also cares about New York. He’s fighting against sex trafficking, and he won’t be successful if he loses power. He can’t be seen as weak. He had no choice but to punish me, and I was happy to accept it. None of that changes that we’re brothers.” He ran his fingers through my hair. “Besides, it’s good for him to get a chance to beat me since he’s no match for me when we’re actually sparring in the ring.”

His attempt at humor fell flat. Everything between us had happened so fast that I hadn’t really gotten to process what it meant that Romeo was in the Mafia. My world had become so small the past couple of years because that was the only thing that felt remotely safe. And now I was suddenly plunged into a completely different world in the course of a day.

“Is it too much?” Romeo’s voice was almost a whisper, his lips brushing against my forehead.

I raised my tear-stained face to meet his gaze. “Too much?”

“Being with me.” He swallowed hard. “Is it too much for you?”

I played with the collar of his shirt as I sifted through my wild tangle of emotions, but what I felt most desperately was a desire to be with Romeo. The thought of leaving, of choosing not to see him again, made me cling to him tighter.

“Can you promise not to sacrifice yourself for me again?” I asked.

“No.” He held my gaze steadily. “I could never promise that, Juliet.”

“I don’t like that.”

“Tough.” He gripped my jaw and leaned in, his lips almost brushing against mine.

I felt myself balancing on a knife’s edge. Tipping one way would be a return to my old life. Leaning the other would plunge me into a dangerous, unknown world.

But Romeo would be there.

And maybe this was my chance to find myself, the Juliet I could be underneath all my fear.

My fingers slowly curled around Romeo’s neck, running through his soft hair. I took one more slow breath before closing the space between us and kissing him. He responded immediately, cupping the back of my head as his lips moved against mine, firm and desperate. He pulled my hair, causing me to gasp, and he used it to plunge his tongue into my mouth. A whimper slipped through my lips and I tightened my hold on him.

“Fuck.” He arranged me so I was straddling him. “You’re mine, Juliet.”

I hesitated, pushing him back to create some distance between us. “Are you sure you want to keep me?”

His brow furrowed. “What kind of question is that?”

I didn’t want to voice my fears, as if saying the words would make him change his mind, but I had to. “Wouldn’t it be easier for you to be with someone who’s part of your world? Or who isn’t so… messed up?”

Romeo pulled me flush with his body. “Don’t you understand yet?” He didn’t raise his voice, but a darkness in his tone captivated me. “From that first moment I locked eyes with you, holding that fucking slice of pizza and looking like an angel, I knew there was no one else for me. I love you.”

I dragged in a sharp breath, my heart stuttering in my chest. “What?”

A slow smile spread across his face. “What part of that was confusing, baby?”

I huffed. “You can’t just say I love you.”

He tucked a curl of my hair behind my ear. “Oh yeah? Who’s going to stop me?”

I scowled. “Be serious.”

“You’re cute.” He leaned in and kissed my nose. “Now, be a good girl and tell me you love me, too. Then kiss me.”

I crossed my arms. “You can’t just order me to say that.”

His confident smirk never left his face as he wrapped his arms around me and pulled me to his chest, trapping my arms between us. “Give into it. Be brave with me.”

“You’re ridiculous.”

He hummed and kissed a line down my face. “And?”

“And…” I hesitated, balancing right on that knife’s edge before leaping off. “Yes, fine, I love you. Happy?” I snapped.

His chest shook with laughter. “Ecstatic.”

The tension in my body released as a weight I didn’t realize I’d been carrying lifted. Nothing in my life had been fixed—there were still people who wanted me dead for my association with Romeo, my agoraphobia hadn’t magically vanished, I was still terrified of everything—but for the first time since my parents were murdered, leaving me alone in the world, I felt safe. I flung my arms around Romeo, plastering my body against his firm chest.

“My Juliet,” he murmured.

Our lips crashed together and Romeo moaned. I wanted to hear him make that sound again, wanted to make him fall apart.

In one swift movement, he flipped me onto my back and unbuttoned my jeans. The couch was like a cloud beneath me as he tugged my pants and underwear down my thighs and spread me wide.

I inhaled sharply as he licked a long, slow line up my pussy. Then I returned to my senses and tried to push his head away. “We are in Matteo and Sofiya’s apartment!” I hissed. “Everyone is right out there.”

He gave me a wicked smile. “You better keep quiet then. Not that I would mind if you screamed. Then there will be no doubt of who you belong to.”

Any words I had were stolen when he licked me again. Now my hand was keeping his head in place as he licked and sucked my clit.

“Fuck, you taste so good,” he said with a groan. “I could stay here forever.” He pressed two thick fingers inside me and my hips jerked, shaking from the sparks of pleasure shooting through me. He kept up a steady rhythm, pushing me higher and higher.

“That’s it. Good girl. Come for me.”

My breaths came quick and ragged. I pressed my hand over my mouth to stop myself from screaming when my orgasm crashed over me. My legs were still shaking when he moved over my body and thrust inside me. This time, I wasn’t ready and a cry escaped my lips. He looked down at me with a self-satisfied smirk as he maintained a hard and fast pace. I wrapped my legs around him, arching up to meet his thrusts. His hand was on my hip, urging my leg up so I was spread wider for him.

“Give me another one. I need it, angel. Need to feel that tight little pussy squeezing me.”

My fingers dug into his arms. “That feels—” My orgasm took me by surprise and Romeo swore as he came at the same time, spilling inside me.

He gave me more of his weight, lying on top of me and murmuring praise. “You’re so perfect.” He pressed a tender kiss to my lips. “I love you.”

I blinked quickly to stop myself from crying. “I love you, too.”

We stayed there, kissing and touching, until Romeo groaned and pulled out of me. I let out a little squeak as I remembered we were on the couch in Sofiya and Matteo’s library with everyone just down the hall. Oh my god, had they heard me?

Romeo gently kissed my freshly healed cuts before quickly pulling my panties and jeans up my legs.

“No,” I whined. “Now my underwear is all wet.”

He smirked and patted my pussy. “Good. I want to know my cum is dripping out of you while you sit at the dinner table with everyone.”

My cheeks were on fire. “We cannot go back out there.”

“So we just live in here now? At least we have plenty to read.” Romeo stood, ignoring my fierce scowl, and pulled up his pants, leaving his cock soaked in my release as he tucked it away. And so what if the sight of it sent a thrill through me?

He grasped my hands and tugged me to standing. “We don’t have to stay for dinner if you’re not up for it. I’ll even smuggle you out of the apartment so they don’t see you.”

“How will you do that?”

“I’m sure I can find a large suitcase and roll you right on out.”

“Yes, because that won’t be weird or suspicious.”

He pressed his smile to my forehead. “Come on, baby. I want you to get to know my family. There’s nothing to be embarrassed about.” He hugged me, his hold firm as he waited for me to respond. I sighed and wrapped my arms around him, relaxing into his chest. He was warm and strong and safe.

“What would you have done if I said this relationship was too much?” I asked.

He grunted and his arms tightened until I could barely breathe.

My lips twisted into a smile at his non-response. “Hmm? Would you have let me go once it was safe? Dropped me back off at my apartment?”

He pulled back and met my gaze with a fierce scowl. “Fuck no.”

I traced my finger along his firm jaw, rough with stubble. “So, what would you have done?”

“I don’t like this conversation.” He pressed his face into my hair and breathed in deeply. “I would have done everything I could to win you over. And if all else fails, there’s always kidnapping.”

I snorted a laugh but then realized he might not be joking. His expression was all innocence as he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, tucked me to his side, and half-dragged me out of the room.

“Wait,” I whispered once we were out in the hallway, digging my heels in to stop him. “Where’s the bathroom? I need to clean up.” My underwear was soaked and sticking to me in a cold mess.

“Nope,” was his only response as he led me to the kitchen.

The conversation came to a screeching halt when we came into view, and I cringed as all their eyes fell on us.

“Did you sort everything out in a satisfying manner?” Sienna asked, her eyes twinkling with laughter.

Romeo flipped her off, and I curled into him as my cheeks burned.

“Be nice,” Sofiya scolded. “Dinner’s ready if you’re staying?” Her expression was hopeful.

“We’re staying,” Romeo said, walking me to the kitchen island. Noodle trotted over and bumped my hand with his wet nose. I scratched his ears and he leaned into my side.

“Good,” she beamed. Then she poked her husband, who was still holding a sleeping Clementine.

Matteo looked almost sheepish as he met my gaze. “I’ve been told I need to apologize to you for beating up this one.” He lifted his chin at Romeo.

Sienna groaned. “To apologize, you have to actually say I’m sorry.”

Matteo looked so put out, it almost made me smile. “But I’m not sorry,” he grumbled. “He deserved it.”

Sofiya and Sienna let out exaggerated sighs, and Romeo chuckled.

“I am sorry for the distress this has caused you. And for the danger you’re in, although that’s really Romeo’s fault, so I’m not sure why I have to apologize about that,” Matteo said. He turned back to his wife. “How was that?”

“I think it’s as good as it’s gonna get,” she said, pursing her lips to keep from smiling. “Let’s eat at the table.”

Their playfulness eased some of my tension. I still felt wary around Matteo, but the way all of them talked and teased each other… it felt like family.

The guys grabbed trays of food, and we settled in at the table. I was sandwiched between Romeo and Sienna. Matteo sat across from me, Sofiya by his side, and Angelo next to her.

“You want a bit of everything?” Romeo leaned in close and played with the ends of my hair.

I nodded, and he took my plate and started to fill it.

“I could have done that,” I said.

“But why, when you have me to do it for you?” He raised a cocky eyebrow, and I tried to ignore the syrupy pleasure working through my stomach at him taking care of me.

“I meant to tell you earlier, but I love your hair,” Sofiya said. “Where do you get it done?”

“I actually do it myself.”

“No way,” Sienna said. “Are you serious? It looks professional.”

“Thank you.” I squirmed in my seat at the attention, but the movement made me conscious of my sticky underwear. Romeo squeezed my thigh under the table, his smirk telling me he knew exactly what was going on.

“Will you do my hair?” Sofiya asked, twirling the ends of her gorgeous blond curls. “I think I’d look good with pink hair.”

“Yeah, of course.”

“You should do Angelo’s, too,” Sienna said. “He’s got better hair than I do.”

The bodyguard smirked. I’d only ever seen his hair tied back, but it looked like it probably came down to his shoulders.

“I’m not sure pink hair would have the right intimidation factor,” he said.

The others kept the conversation going, occasionally asking me questions to draw me in, but mostly, I was content to listen.

Exhaustion pulled at me as I finished eating. This day had been a lot and I had reached my limit.

Romeo put his arm around my shoulder. “Tired?”

I nodded.

“Let’s head out, then,” he said.

We left in a flurry of hugs, promises to see me soon, and a large glass container filled with slabs of chocolate cake. Once we were in the hallway, Romeo picked me up and carried me into the elevator. I pressed my face to his neck, squeezing my eyes shut for the quick ride.

“Good job, angel. I know today was hard.” He walked into the apartment, the door clicking shut behind him. I dropped my legs, expecting him to put me down, but he kept me in his arms until we were settled on the couch. “I’m proud of you.”

“I didn’t do anything.”

“You left the apartment. You spent time with new people. And then you stayed for dinner even though you were unsettled. It’s a big deal.”

My cheeks heated and I couldn’t meet his gaze, but warmth at his praise suffused me from head to toe. My eyes closed as he caressed my jaw. I would never get enough of his touch.