Mariana
In the past two weeks, I’d forgotten completely that I had previously set up another date with a clan member. It was a few short weeks ago when I’d met him at a meeting Ion and I had attended. So far, the dates I’d gone out with were definitely not amused by Ion's cockblocking behavior. Both leaders I had attempted to make something happen with had gone off whining to other clan leaders, which told me that in their cases, I had made the right decision not to pursue them.
His name was Stefan Dalca. He was four years older than I was, making him well within the right age range, and his reputation more that preceded him. Besides Ion and Anton, he was one of the most feared clan leaders alive. He was quick-witted, sly, and easy on the eyes. He was a lady killer of sorts as well. There were rumors that his drug trades had made him a billionaire. I couldn’t help but think that if anyone other than Ion had the makings of taking on the Vasile legacy, he would be the one.
We ended up in an adjacent room, though I didn’t know how long our privacy would last. I smiled politely at him as he stared intensely at me with his amber eyes. His tight black shirt allowed me to see just how ripped he was, and his facial hair looked like it had been painted on. He could have easily been an offspring of Zeus in another life.
"It's nice to finally meet you, Mariana," he said, my name flowing off his tongue like melted butter. This guy was good.
"It is nice to meet you too, Stefan,” I told him, feeling myself getting nervous; like full on shaky knees nervous. It probably had something to do with him looking like he belonged in a Calvin Klein ad.
"I have heard the rumors you know, like you have been dating other clan leaders to see if they are a better fit for you than Irritable Ion," he commented, dropping hints all over the place. I couldn’t help but laugh at his nickname for Ion. "How has that gone so far?" he asked, smoothly.
I felt no need to lie. "Not so well," I admitted with a shrug. At that point, I kept glancing towards the hall, expecting Ion to show up at any moment. "Look, Ion could be here any moment and discover us..."
I was interrupted by Stefan who leaned close and then brushed a piece of my blonde hair behind my ear. I blushed, cheeks hot and red. What was it about this man? "Then, I guess we better give him something to look at," Stefan retorted with a cool grin. A warmth came over my stomach at that moment, until I did see Ion coming to watch us with fury in his eyes.
"I will see you very soon," Stefan told me with a wink before turning around and looking Ion right in the eyes on the way out. I knew with this one, it was going to be nothing but a battle of the testosterone.
***
I did see Stefan again, several times before we even went on a date. He brought me flowers, a selection of cheeses, and even chocolates and a card. I could tell he was partially doing it so that he was in Ion’s face at all times. He even began calling for me at the house before he finally took me out. It was nice for me, though, because I felt I already knew some things about him before we had to converse on our first date. Maybe that was where I had gone wrong with the other two men; it had been the awkward exchange of total strangers. With Stefan, it wasn’t.
Our first date had actually been a tour of a winery outside of town followed by a small picnic. He was easy to laugh with but also easy to just look at or kiss if I wanted. There didn’t seem to be a rush or pretenses, nor did I feel like we had to talk about on or Jonas, or anything. He did know about my daughter, and he let me ramble about her all I wanted. Maybe what I had with Stefan was pure narcissism, or maybe it was what a real relationship was supposed to feel like.
I’d forgotten about our second date, he just showed up at the house, and I was completely unprepared. I looked back to Ion, his face filled with fury. If I had remembered I would’ve called Stefan and cancelled it, in truth, my heart didn’t want to be with him. I went with Stefan, discovering that he rented a house boat where there was a candlelit dinner waiting for me. It was stunning, seeing the city from afar like that at night as we fed each other good food. After dessert, he pulled out something I didn’t know he had; a guitar and proceeded to sing me a song in Portuguese. I didn’t know all of what he was saying, but his voice was beautiful. It took me aback, and I was smitten by the time he laid out a blanket so we could just float and look at the stars.
At one point, and I looked up at him to thank him for the great date. That was when he kissed me. He kissed me so deeply I was sure my parents could feel it from the grave. A tingle travelled all the way down to my toes as the kiss intensified, and his hand slid possessively down my back and over the hump of my ass before squeezing it. He kissed and nibbled down my neck and around my collarbone, rubbing his thumb gently on my right hip. I pulled back from the kiss, it wasn’t because he was a bad kisser – he was absolutely amazing, and any woman who caught this one would be lucky.
Stefan pulled me against him; I could feel him growing against my belly as he discovered I was wearing a lacy pair of panties where the bottom of my ass cheeks hung down. His fingertips explored their shapes, “Stefan, stop” I told him. When he didn’t immediately comply, I shoved his chest back and stood up, taking a few steps backwards.
“What’s the matter, sweetheart? I thought you were having a good time” I glared at him as the words slipped from his mouth.
“I was until you decided to completely ignore my request” I growled out, he laughed as he rose from his position.
“I was doing no such thing. You can’t deny you’re attracted to me. I bet you’re pooling between those legs of yours” He took a step towards me, on instinct I backed away from him – away from the ferociousness that was radiating off of him. In my one step backwards, Stefan had taken two more and grabbed my arm, his hand was wrapped around it so tightly that it hurt. “Ow! Stop it!” I told him, my face cringing as his grip tightened.
“You were practically begging me to fuck you, Ana. The way you stare at me, that way your nose scrunches up when something is funny to you, all your body language was making me believe you wanted that,” Stefan said, he came closer to me, backing me up against the wall in the houseboat. “I know you do,” he whispered, nibbling on my neck his hand skimmed down my body over my dress.
I felt defenseless, I felt so much in so little. All of a sudden fear rose up within me, I was not letting anything happen that I didn’t want to happen. I wouldn’t let Stefan rape me, that’s where it felt like this was headed. “Tell me you want me,” he begged of me, biting onto my skin below my neck. I was ashamed. I was frozen like a solid piece of ice.
“I will not lie to you. What I want is to leave, I want to go home and get away from you!” I snapped, I didn’t know much about what I was doing, but I lifted my knee and aimed straight for his precious family jewels.
“Don’t you ever fucking call me Ana!” I hissed out, he doubled over and groaned, I took that as my opportunity to escape, to leave him, and I did. I was lucky we had just pulled back into the dock. I didn’t have a way home, but I had my purse and some cash. I found the first taxi that I could, gave him fifty bucks and told him to take me home.
When I walked through the first doorway that led to the high rise, I felt my emotions finally starting to get to me. I was over analyzing every single event that had taken place during my date with him. Even if I had looked like I wanted to – I didn’t. He should’ve respected it, and yet he didn’t, he touched me like I was his. Like he owned me, and he most certainly did not. I couldn’t help the tears that slowly slid down my cheeks; I was so close to experiencing what I had with Jonas. I didn’t think Stefan would stop if I hadn’t of kicked him in the nuts. I don’t think he would’ve stopped. God, If I had just cancelled the date. If I had just told Ion that I…
I opened the second doorway into Ion’s high rise when I saw him coming down the stairwell, “No Dalca to walk his beloved home?” He hissed it out at me like I was a traitor.
I didn’t need his snarky treatment. It was stupid of me to even go out with him today; I should’ve told him no, I should’ve told him that I’ve decided to peruse Ion – even if I haven’t told Ion that yet. Instead, I went and had a decent time up until he started touching me. Shivers ran through me at the thought of his hands back on me, how I told him to stop and he ignored me. At that moment, he reminded me of Jonas.
I glared at Ion, he hadn’t even looked at me yet but the moment he did his face softened. “Draga, what happened? Are you hurt? Where is Dalca?”
“Go fuck yourself, Ion,” I told him, it came out as a defeated whisper. It’s exactly what I was, defeated. I was a ball of exhaustion and fear, thrown through exactly the right hoop. Ion didn’t listen, not that I told him anything directly anyway, but he came down those last few steps in record time and flew up to me.
“Why is your arm red?” He snapped, I cringed at the tone of his voice. He surveyed my arm, his concerned gaze looking up to me.
“Can we not do this now?” I begged of him, feeling tears flowing down the sides of my face.
He didn’t speak for a moment. Instead, he stared, I don’t know what he was looking for. “We won’t. Not now, but later we will discuss this.” I nodded at his statement; I would tell him what transpired during my date. I just couldn’t right now – I couldn’t possibly with all of the emotion flowing through my body.
He wrapped his arms around me and pressed his lips to my forehead, right against my hairline. “You will never cry because of another man ever again. I don’t know what happened tonight, and I will find out my beautiful, precious, draga. Right now, it is not important, you are. Are you okay?”
I sighed heavily, stepping closer into Ion’s embrace. “I am now,” I confessed, he held me against him, rubbing my back with his strong hands, humming a song that I instantly recognized – it was something my mother hummed to me as a child, a song that I hummed to Bianca when she was a baby.
“hai lulutu?” I muttered against his chest; he nodded chuckling.
I took a step away from him, “I’m going to go take care of Puff.”
“She’s already fast asleep love. I read our little Puff four stories tonight before she finally hit the hay.” I glanced up at him the moment he said ‘our.' He’s been treating Bianca with such love and affection. If you were a stranger and saw her with him, or vice versa you’d never know that they aren’t blood. You’d naturally assume he was her father.
“You said ‘our.'” I watched his face on how he’d take my observation, he smiled at me, taking a couple steps until he was against me. My heartrate increased to a million miles a second as he brushed his thumb against my cheekbone and tilted my jaw to look up at him.
“I did, you’re very observant love. You have been mine since the day you were born, we both know that to me, that means that Bianca is also mine. She may not be my flesh and blood, but she is my daughter, as you are my wife. She is our Puff, our little girl. She will have a father who loves and cherishes her to the fullest extent, and my love for her will only compare to the love I have for her mother” I didn’t know what to say. If there was ever a defining moment in my relationship with Ion, this would be it. I finally understood why my father chose Ion.
It clicked all at once.
He holds the ability to rule with fairness; he has a firm hand when is necessary and his heart is golden. My father recognized this, even with Ion being so young, he knew the man that he’d grow to be.
“Did you say what I think you just said?” I asked him, looking up into his eyes.
“Yes.” It was one word, but it meant so much more. “Come, let’s go to bed my little draga, you’ve had a long day, let me hold you.” I didn’t answer him, I simply rose up on my tippy toes and kissed him softly on the lips. When I came home, I may have been emotional, but Ion took all of it away.
“Da, drag” I whispered ‘yes, honey’ in Romanian to him. His lips curved up against mine, I didn’t know what we were doing or how this was going to work. I just knew one thing, there’s no way in hell it could get worse.