Mafiawere Brothers
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Mandie Steyl
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2,4M
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46
Chapter One
Rose
I found myself in the bathroom of the guest room at my best friend’s mansion. My eyes were swollen from crying, and my heart felt shattered. This was not how I had envisioned the start of my weekend.
I stared at my reflection, trying to understand why my husband no longer wanted me.
I’m a petite woman, standing at five foot three, with medium-brown hair and eyes that are a mix of green and blue. I’m not skinny, but I’m not overweight either. I have curves in all the right places… or at least, I thought I did.
My best friend, Anna, had invited me to stay with her for the week to distract me from the turmoil at home.
Her family was away for two weeks, so it was supposed to be a girls-only week.
Well, except for the staff, of course.
I had assumed it would be just us until I heard strange voices outside the bathroom.
At first, I thought it was Anna arguing with her boyfriend, but the woman’s voice was too grating to be Anna’s.
Curiosity got the better of me, and I peeked through the door to see who it was.
That’s when I saw him…
He was the most attractive man I had ever laid eyes on.
His black hair looked so soft, I had the urge to run my fingers through it.
He had a beautifully tanned body that, even clothed in a light-blue button-up shirt and black jeans, was hard to ignore.
And his muscular arms, broad chest, and toned midsection were impossible to overlook!
Just the sight of him had me rubbing my thighs together, seeking some relief.
When I looked back at his face, I found him smirking at me in a way that was so sexy, it almost undid me.
Damn! He caught me staring!
Please, let the ground swallow me up!
“Noah, darling, don’t be like this. You know I’ve always wanted to be with you and only you.”
I looked back through the door to see who the annoying voice belonged to.
There stood a stunning redhead with legs that went on forever and a dress that left little to the imagination.
She was desperately clinging to the handsome man, who was growing visibly more annoyed by the second.
“Get the hell away from me, Nicolle! You have no right to be here, and you know damn well none of us want you here.”
His voice was as sexy as the rest of him, and I found myself increasingly drawn to him.
“Sorry for the delay, babe,” I said, walking straight up to him, grabbing him by the neck, and pulling him in for a kiss.
I didn’t expect him to reciprocate, but the moment our lips met, he kissed me back with a passion I’d never experienced before.
He held me in place with one hand behind my head and pulled me closer with the other hand at the small of my back.
I ran a hand through his soft, silky hair and tugged lightly, earning a low growl from him.
I broke the kiss and looked up into his mesmerizing blue-gray eyes.
For a moment, I thought I saw them change to gold, but it was so fleeting that I questioned whether I’d imagined it.
“Who the hell are you?”
“I’m his girlfriend, you bitch! So I suggest you keep your slutty self away from my man or this”—I gestured to my face—“will be the last face you ever see, got it?”
She looked from me to Noah, her eyes wide with surprise.
Then Noah spoke up.
“You heard her, Nicolle, get lost!”
She stomped her foot like a toddler and stormed out, muttering curses under her breath.
I looked back at Noah, who was smirking at me, and I had to bite my lip to stop myself from kissing him again.
I stepped back, out of his arms, and the reality of what I’d just done hit me.
“I’m so sorry. I don’t know what came over me. Her voice was just so irritating!”
He chuckled at my flushed face and gave me a once-over, licking his lips.
I saw his eyes briefly change to gold again before returning to blue-gray.
I apologized once more, then ran out of the room to find Anna.
I found her in the kitchen.
I didn’t mean to spill everything, but the words just tumbled out!
“He was the most attractive man I’ve ever seen! And that kiss… It was incredible! I couldn’t bring myself to tell him I was married.
“I want to remember that kiss as the best one I’ve ever had, even though I know I’ll never see him again. That’s for the best, right?”
Anna just sat there smirking, as if she knew this would happen.
“I knew you’d like him,” she said, her eyes sparkling with excitement.
Was she seriously laughing at me?
I was a married woman! I shouldn’t be near any other man, let alone kissing one.
“I knew you would like Noah. He’s the sweetest one of them all,” she said nonchalantly, taking another bite of her ice cream.
I laughed nervously, trying to hide my attraction to Noah.
I thought I would feel guilty for kissing another man, but it was the most passionate kiss I’d ever had, and I found myself wanting more.
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” I said, blushing and taking a big gulp of my drink to hide my smile.
“My brother is the sweetest person you’ll ever meet. And he’ll protect you and treat you like a queen for the rest of your life.”
I choked on my drink, realizing I had just told my best friend about kissing her brother.
And she knew I was married.
She had even said she knew I would like him.
What the hell is going on?
“Are you okay? You look really pale,” she said, sounding concerned.
“Um…y-yeah…I’m okay, thanks. Why aren’t you upset about me kissing your brother?” I managed to stammer out.
“Because I know you deserve someone like Noah. Someone who will treat you with respect, love, and honesty.
“You deserve to be loved and to have the best. Not like the jerk you married who treats you like crap and is always away.”
And is probably cheating, I thought to myself.
“We’ve been together for ten years now, and I know the old Jack is still in there…somewhere. I just wish he would put as much effort into our marriage as he does into his work.”
Then maybe things would be okay.
I couldn’t stop a tear from rolling down my cheek as I thought about the good old days when everything between Jack and me had been perfect.
We used to do everything together, talk about everything, and work through our problems. Together.
But two years ago, everything changed.
He got a new job in New York, and we moved there with high hopes for a fresh start.
I found a new job as a secretary within two months of our move, and that’s where I met the wild and wonderful Anna, who quickly became my best friend.
Jack changed so much in those two years that I hardly recognized him anymore.
He became distant, cold, and mean. He treated me like garbage and constantly accused me of the most terrible things.
Whenever I stood up for myself, it would escalate into a huge fight, and he would pack his things and leave for days, sometimes weeks, without a word.
I knew in my heart that it was over, but I still held out hope.
“Hey, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make you cry,” Anna said, pulling me into a hug.
“No, it’s okay. I just want to forget about all of this for the week. No talking about Jack and no thinking about all the drama that comes with him. Let’s just have fun. Deal?”
“Hell, yes! That’s more like it,” she exclaimed.
We both burst into laughter and headed to the movie room, arms loaded with chips, drinks, and sweets.
We gorged ourselves while watching every horror movie we could find until we finally passed out.
***
I woke up with a start when I heard a loud bang.
After watching a few horror movies, I was on edge, and despite knowing better, I wanted to investigate the noise.
I got up and walked to the hallway to see if I could find the source of the noise, but all I saw was the kitchen light on downstairs.
I decided to make a cup of coffee before going back to bed.
As I rounded the corner at the bottom of the stairs, I walked straight into a solid figure, causing me to stumble backward and land on my butt.
“Watch where you’re going,” a deep voice growled.
“Are you kidding me? Learn some manners, jerk. I didn’t do it on purpose,” I retorted, scowling up at him.
Then I looked into the most captivating sea-green eyes I’d ever seen.
I couldn’t help but let my eyes wander down his impressive physique.
The fact that he was only wearing sweatpants and nothing else certainly didn’t help.
This man was a sight to behold, sporting a short, alluring, dirty-blond haircut, broad shoulders, and arms that led to a six…
No, hold on, it was an eight-pack, with a pronounced V-line disappearing into his sweats…
Good Lord…that can’t be genuine…can it?
When I lifted my gaze back to his eyes, I could have sworn they flickered gold for a moment, before reverting back to a sea-green hue.
Just like the last time, it was so fleeting that I had to blink a few times to confirm I wasn’t hallucinating.
He shot me a smug grin as I hoisted myself off the ground, the jerk didn’t even extend a hand to assist.
“Appreciate the help, jerk.”
I attempted to stride past him, but didn’t make it very far.
