Chapter Fifty

Irene

The next morning, Irene opened her eyes. She stretched out like a cat and turned around. The view she had was stunning. A man—his eyes closed, his face relaxed, his hair disheveled, his morning stubble coming through.

This man was really a sight for sore eyes. When she looked down, she saw muscles, rock-hard muscles, and when she looked even further down, oh boy. She sighed blissfully.

This was the best way to wake up, with the love of her life right next to her.

When she drove over here yesterday, she’d been anxious. She was scared. She had no idea how Zach would react to seeing her. She was half expecting him to have moved on and have another woman to love.

Irene had a hard time returning to the city. Being alone in her apartment was a serious problem, as there were a lot of bad memories connected to it.

Instead of moving someplace else, she decided to get professional help to deal with her anxieties.

Her therapist advised her to deal with her problems first, before going back to Zachary, so that they could start with a clean slate.

After her sessions with her therapist were done, she’d contacted Jett.

She decided to ask him for help overcoming her fear of the underground mafia world. She thought that if she could be comfortable around Jett, she would be able to feel comfortable around other mobsters as well.

He was glad to help her, and now she felt stronger than ever.

She scooted closer to Zachary, careful not to wake him. She moved as close as she could and kissed him softly on his soft lips. She pulled back a little to see his reaction.

Nothing. One more time, she kissed him, this time a little firmer.

“Hmm.” He groaned, not ready to wake up. A third time, she kissed him, now with even more pressure, kissing him passionately. Suddenly, she felt an arm sneak around her waist and push her against that rock-hard chest.

He kissed her back with just as much passion. She wrapped her arms around his neck, running her fingers through his hair.

Zachary pulled back, just a little. He still looked sleepy, his eyes hooded. “Good morning, beautiful,” he said softly, with a hoarse voice, and a lazy smile appeared on his face.

This man—goodness, he looked so good. She smiled back at him; words were not needed. They cuddled like that for a moment, just enjoying the after bliss.

He leaned up a little, one elbow under his pillow, his right hand under his head for support.

When Irene turned onto her back, he trailed his finger slowly from the mark on her neck down to the valley between her breasts, down to her navel, and then softly over her left thigh to her knee.

“How are you feeling?” He looked a little concerned. “Aren’t you too sore?”

Irene shook her head with a smile. “I’ve never felt better.”

“And your mark—it doesn’t hurt too much?” He placed his fingers back on the mark, loving the feeling it gave him when he touched it.

Irene shook her head again. “I can feel it, but it doesn’t really hurt.”

He leaned forward, kissed her softly on her lips, and sat up. “Good. Do you want to take a shower with me? I would like to get some breakfast. With all the exercise last night, I feel like I could eat a horse.”

Irene got up too, smiling widely. “Sure.”

The walk to the compound felt a little bit like a walk of shame.

Even though Irene was prepared and had some extra clothes with her, they both knew that they would draw everyone’s attention by coming into the dining hall together.

Not that they minded one bit; everyone could know that they finally had a donna. But it still all felt a bit awkward.

Zach grabbed her hand while they walked, placing a kiss on the back of it. She looked at him for a moment and smiled. Together they walked up the steps to the compound and headed straight for the dining hall.

When Zach opened the door, the chatter inside stilled. Although she was hidden behind Zach’s back, she knew all eyes were on them. Zach walked confidently in front of her, not letting go of her hand for a second.

Irene was right—all eyes were on them, especially on their intertwined hands. As soon as they were sitting down, and Zach grabbed his cutlery, the chatter started again.

“Good morning, Zach, Irene,” Ethan smiled at them, knowing all too well what happened between the two lovebirds.

“Good morning to you too, Ethan,” Irene smiled. “Where’s Joanna?”

“She is helping out in the kitchen at the moment.”

“Okay. I’ll talk to her later then, when she’s not so busy,” Irene smiled, grabbing the cup of coffee in front of her.

“So, how are you two lovebirds doing?” Ethan’s grin turned into a wicked smile.

“Well…” Zach shrugged, looking at his plate and trying to hide the mischievous glint in his eyes. “Irene here decided to leave me. Again,” Zach sighed dramatically.

“What?” Ethan looked like he was at a loss for words. “Iren, tell me you didn’t. Do you want him to kill himself?”

“Oh, er…” Irene looked down as well. She had a hard time keeping in her laugh. “I just feel so much better on my own.”

An angry grunt was heard. When she looked up, she saw Jackson looking at her furiously, his eyes glowering menacingly. The smile on her face died immediately.

“I hope you are kidding, because I don’t know what I’m going to do if this is true.”

“Jackson, calm down,” Zach smiled. “It’s alright, Jackson.”

“No, it’s not!” Jackson bellowed. “She is your destined! Our donna. Fight for her, you stupid ass!” Jackson pushed back his chair to get up from the table.

“Jackson, sit back down! We were playing you,” Zach’s piercing eyes forced Jackson to back down.

“That is not funny!” Ethan looked outraged. “You don’t fool everyone—not when it’s about our donna! Our future depends on her!”

Irene smiled. “Sorry, guys. We thought you would know we were joking. Aren’t you supposed to be super perceptive?”

“Can’t you sense that we’re destined? Can’t you see”—she grabbed her collar and pulled it down—“that we’re destined?”

They all look at her with wide eyes.

“Wow,” Zach laughed. “In your faces. Well done, beautiful.”

They looked astounded.

“Wow. Congratulations, Boss, Donna. Wow, the don and the donna.” Ethan gave them a respectful nod. Then he smiled widely. “Congratulations on becoming a grown-up, Zachary.” Ethan laughed.

Zach shot him a look, then laughed as well. “You know, I’ve never been happier. This made it all worth the wait.”