The Twelve Zenati Pt. 18

Stepping out into the room, Marcella felt Noah's eyes on her, but she didn't acknowledge him as she rummaged around and found a sarong to wrap around her bikini-clad body, and began packing again. Not that she had much to pack. Only a few things that she had bought that morning. Still, she zipped up the bag and placed it next to Noah's, before finally acknowledging him.

"You didn't have to wait. I could have met you at the pool," she sniped, grateful that he wore a shirt once again.

"What sort of man would I be if I couldn't wait a few minutes for my beautiful wife-to-be?" he smirked and stood from his perch on the end of her bed. "Shall we go, baby?"

"No! Not baby," she said and rolled her eyes.

"No Shnookums or Baby. Got it. How about Babe?" he queried.

"Better, but still a no from me," she grumbled.

"I'll come up with something suitable, sooner or later," he chuckled, and took her hand as they exited the room, heading for the pool.

Just as he had seen happen earlier in the day, men turned to watch Marcella walk by, clad only in a bikini and a thin sarong that did nothing to hide what was below it. Even holding her hand did nothing to diminish the amount of attention she garnered as she walked in the too-high heels, like a runway model strutting as if she owned the place and everyone in it. Her long, curly hair bounced around her shoulders and down her back as she took each step, and he felt irritated by the obvious display that she was putting on for the admiring men.

"I thought that you were trying to keep a low profile here," Noah grumbled softly.

"You told me that they weren't looking here anymore. Did you lie?" Marcella raised an eyebrow at him.

"No, but that doesn't mean that they wouldn't come here, strictly for recreation, and stumble across you," he said seriously.

"I'm sure you can handle it, if that happens," she said, unconcernedly. "You're here to help me accomplish my plan, right? Or has that suddenly changed, too? If I can't rely on you, Noah, just say so, and I'll rip up that agreement, and we can go our own separate ways," she said, as if she didn't care if he left her there alone.

"No, but if we are discovered, I'm afraid that any chance you had of completing your plans will have gone, because they will take you back to the hospital to keep an eye on you, while the Battaglia deal with Apollo and apologise for their own behaviour in our city," Noah warned. "The agreement was deal with me alone, or go back to the hospital and get the treatment and protection the family feels that you need."

"Fine," she grumbled back at him. "Go swim. I am getting a drink."

"Not likely, after that little performance," he scolded her. "Your flirting and teasing are going to get you in very real trouble one day, and I might not be around to protect you."

"I don't need protection," she scoffed. "Trust me, I can look after myself. Bigger and badder men than anyone here have come after me before, and I survived."

"Oh? Surviving is not quite the same as winning, or avoiding the battle all together, is it?" he challenged.

"Winners become cocky and self-assured. They never learn the lessons inherent in failures and surviving them and, inevitably, they fall from a great height and never recover," she said, as if it was a certain truth that he should know. "Avoiding battles all together creates timid, mousy people, who never go after what they want, and instead, are pushed around for the rest of their lives and will never do what they truly want, for fear of confrontation and reprisals," she explained further, in a lecturing tone. "Survivors become wise and wary. They do what they want, when they want, and they take their mistakes and learn from them, to ensure that they don't make the same mistake again. It's better to be a survivor, in my opinion." Her voice was devoid of emotion, as if she were talking like a lawyer trying to convince her client of her argument.

Noah wanted to argue her point, but at that moment, he found it difficult to combat her point of view given what she had survived in her past to become the reasonably sane and well-adjusted woman in front of him. Or at least she seemed well-adjusted despite her sometimes-quirky behaviour and temper.

"I'll get you a drink," he said, softening his voice somewhat. "What would you like?"

"To see the cocktail menu for myself," she snapped, but furrowed her brow at his conciliatory tone.

"If that's what you want, Princess," He chuckled, and led her toward the poolside bar.

"No," she said under her breath, shaking her head, "Definitely not Princess."

"I'll add Princess to the 'No' list then," he chuckled, finding a cocktail menu and handing it to her. "I don't suppose you'd consider Tits McGee, then?" he chuckled, lowering his eyes to her barely-covered breasts, the bikini top clinging to them. Before the words had barely left his mouth, she had hit him with the cocktail menu, but her face held the smallest hint of a smile.

Once she was situated on a lounger by the pool, he finally left her to swim. She watched as he dived from the side of the pool and surfaced, stretching out his long length, before kicking into the smooth strokes of freestyle, as he moved swiftly along the length of the pool, before tumbling to make the return journey.

Marcella leaned back, sipping her drink and considering her situation. She had little choice but to let him in on her plans, or at least the parts that she had told him, without using the names of her contacts. It was what had happened since they had come to an agreement that she needed to think over. Her mind went over the teasing, the flirting, the moment when Noah lost his control and pulled over to spank her, and eventually make her cum. She wondered why she hadn't fought harder against that treatment. She knew that she couldn't physically have stopped him, but she hadn't railed against his treatment of her, not during and not after. In fact, she had agreed that she deserved it. Why the fuck had she done that? She blew out a big breath, as a waiter approached, and she ordered another of the potent cocktails.

She watched him lean against the end of the pool, taking a break from the laps that he had been swimming, and he turned toward her, as if making sure that she was still where he had left her. Noah was a dangerous man for her to be around. The draw to him was undeniable, and she wasn't sure anymore that seducing him, to gain control over him, would be in her best interests. It was in that moment that she realised that she may well have done a deal with the devil when she signed that agreement. A devil that had some kind of seductive power over her, rather than the other way around. Now all she could do was to work out a way to shield herself from it, and survive this agreement as best she could.

*****

Genesis opened the door to his apartment and led Gideon through to the kitchen, where he could hear laughter ringing through the air. They were so loud in whatever they were doing that the women hadn't heard the door open, or the approaching footsteps of the two men, through the apartment.

"Oh shit!" Emma said, clutching a hand to her throat as they came into view of the kitchen. "You scared the shit out of me, Gen. Don't sneak up on me like that!"

"Who was sneaking? I could have run a tractor down that hallway, and you women wouldn't have heard us," he laughed, shaking his head, and moved around Emma to pull Olivia into his arms and kiss her. "What's going on here?" he asked her, highly amused by the guilty looks that the women were shooting each other.

"Wait, if you're here, does that mean that the big emergency meeting X called is over?" Beverly asked.

"It does," Gideon confirmed.

"I might get to go out for my anniversary after all!" Beverly said, with obvious delight. "The lasagne will be done in fifteen minutes. Put the garlic bread in for the last ten minutes, and finish off the salad with some dressing, before serving," she instructed Olivia, while removing her apron and moving to the stool where her bag sat. "Emma will organise a day for us all to get together again. This has been great fun! No need to show me out, I know the way," she laughed and kissed everyone soundly on the cheek, including Genesis and Gideon, then she walked toward the door, talking on her phone before she had even left the apartment.

"That's my cue, too. I have a dinner date with two impossible men, who never do as I ask," Emma laughed, just as easily as Beverly had. "You girls can handle everything from here." She, too, kissed everyone on the cheek, stopping at Genesis and grinning. "You did well, Gen, she's adorable. Put a ring on it quickly!" she whispered in his ear.

"Tell me something I don't know," he chuckled back.

"Love you all, and don't forget a bet is a bet," Emma said, before leaving the apartment.

"What bet?" Gideon asked, immediately.

"Not with me," Vivienne shook her head, not wanting to admit that Emma and herself, in some way, had been digging at Olivia and Marcella's past relationship.

"It's nothing, honestly. I just have to join in the Christmas baking with the aunts and cousins," Olivia said, sidestepping the conversation. "I can't cook," she admitted in a whisper. "They said that they would teach me." She indicated the food in the oven.

"I'm not much of a cook either, so I'm no help, and baking with the Zenati ladies sounds like fun. Especially after tonight," Vivienne chimed in, seeing Olivia try to avoid the conversation about Marcella and hoping to aide her.

"You have to help with the baking because you won the bet, or lost the bet?" Genesis narrowed his eyes, realising that she had tried to avoid discussing an actual bet. Olivia looked up at him, her eyes a little wide, as if surprised that he was calling her out on her avoidance right away.

"It is what I have to do if I lose," she admitted. "But I said that I would have to talk to you before I agreed to anything. I mean, we just moved in here, and we've had hardly any time alone, and I wasn't sure if the AFP would call me back in for another hearing. It's all just too complicated to think about, right now," she sighed.

"Have you both eaten, yet?" Vivienne asked, opening the oven to add the garlic bread. "This is the Farnese family recipe lasagne that Beverly showed us how to make." She tried, once again, to run interference for Olivia.

"I could eat," Gideon grinned. "Just as soon as you, or Olivia, tell us what the bet was over."

"Marcella won't come back now," Olivia sighed. "Emma said that she will, but I know her, and she won't, not now. So, Emma bet that Noah has great courtroom skills, or something about skills of persuasion, and will bring her back. When I said that it wouldn't matter, she bet me that she was right, and the baking bee was the price."

"And if you win the bet?" Genesis asked.

"Vivienne and I get private cooking lessons from her or Beverly once a week," she said.

"Sounds like win-win to me," Gideon chuckled.

"You want to learn to cook?" Genesis asked. "We could always hire someone to do the cooking," he suggested.

"Let's just see how this turns out. I made it, but I had a coach all the way through," she said and gave a small giggle. Untangling herself from his arms, she went to finish the salad and take it over to the table, which they had set for four, knowing that the two brothers would arrive home together.

"Did you hear from Noah this afternoon?" Vivienne asked.

"No, he's asked for a few days away to clear his head. He doesn't want to talk to anyone, and we've been told to respect that," Gideon said, trying to hold back the disappointment in his voice. He and his brothers were close, more than close if he was honest, and to have one of them distance themselves from him, made him feel like he had a severed limb.

"Maybe you and Gen can find a bottle of wine hidden somewhere in this place, or go up and get one from our apartment," Vivienne suggested, not wanting to dwell on anything upsetting while Olivia did her best to serve her first dinner in her new home. The fact that Gideon was always so positive and cheerful was one of the reasons that Olivia had asked them to stay because, even if she messed everything up, Gideon would just joke about it and make them all laugh. They could talk about Noah later, when they got home.

"Maybe we should let them eat alone," Gideon suggested, in a whisper. "They've only just moved in here after all."

"I promised that we'd stay, but we can eat fast and leave early," she promised, and went back to helping Olivia, as Genesis went to get a bottle of wine from the hidden bar in the living room.

The lasagne had turned out as wonderful as Beverly had promised and, with the salad and garlic bread, the simple meal went well, with everyone enjoying the food and the company, as they each skirted around the topics of Marcella and Noah. It was towards the end of the meal that curiosity finally got the better of Genesis.

"Why are you so sure that Marcella won't come back here?" Genesis asked, reaching out to take Olivia's hand, and smiling to reassure her that he wasn't concerned about her answer, only curious.

"Because the Battaglia came for her again. She won't go back there, not ever," Olivia said with certainty, placing her fork on her plate and swallowing, realising that Genesis would continue to ask questions until she had told him everything. It was his way. He was like a hunting hound, when he caught the scent of a mystery or story. "It was why she left. She knew that they were coming. Every time they came for her, she was weak or injured, and in a clinic or the doctor's surgery, and she couldn't fight back. Last night she was injured, and in the hospital again, and they came for her again. Only she got away this time, and she won't come back. Not when you asked them to come here. She won't trust any of you again, not now."

"Fuck!" Gideon swore. "She thought that they came here for her? And we led them straight to the hospital where we had made her stay. Now it makes more sense." He shook his head. "We need to get a message to Noah." He looked at Genesis.

"No," Genesis said with finality. "We have to let him do this on his own, and just be there when he asks for help. We've done enough damage already, don't you think?"

"But..." Gideon began, but Genesis cut him off.

"No. If she truly doesn't trust us, and if she sees his phone, she won't trust him, if you are feeding him information like that," Genesis said in a commanding tone. "Remember what Imelda said to him the morning that this all started going so very wrong," he added. "How we act could make or break her trust, and his future. Well, we fucked up once already. Let's not make it any harder for him."

"What are you talking about?" Olivia asked. She wasn't aware of anything that Imelda had said to anyone recently, or even that she had been seen after Olivia's last hearing.

"Imelda told Noah that Marcella was his curse-breaker, but that it wouldn't be easy, and gave him warnings, all on the day that Apollo came to town," Vivienne explained, gently.

"I'll explain it later," Genesis said, giving her hand a reassuring squeeze. "But if anyone can convince her to come back here, where she is safe, Noah can. So, we just have to give him the time and space that he needs to do that." He raised his eyes to Gideon, who nodded in reluctant agreement.

"I'll help you clean up the kitchen, while the guys clear the table," Vivienne announced. "You don't want to wake up to that mess in the morning.

"I've been thinking that we may need to hire another contract or two, now that our family is growing," Genesis said quietly, after Olivia and Vivienne had retreated to the kitchen. "I'm going to be home a lot more often. If Noah does manage to bring her back, and Sarah decides to make a break from mother, after everything that's been going on, we will have to consider what we need, and if it's fair to overwork the one contract we have between all of us. It's a big building and if we are all planning on staying here..."

"Yeah, but let's wait a week or so and see what Noah says. We can talk to Papa about it at the Gathering," Gideon suggested.

"Fuck! The Gathering. I better get a ring on her finger before then," Genesis said.

"You planning to elope?" Gideon asked.

"Nope, engagement ring, you moron." Genesis scowled at his brother. "Though I doubt that Olivia would want to go through the ordeal of another church wedding," he sighed. "So, I will put off that part as long as I possibly can."

"Hadn't thought of that. Sorry, man," Gideon sympathised, as he picked up several items from the table and carried them through to the kitchen.

The cleaning was done quickly, and in a flurry of kisses and hugs, Vivienne and Gideon left to go to their own apartment. Genesis pulled Olivia into his arms and kissed her deeply.

"Thank you for dinner, and for trying so hard to be nice to the other women in my family. I'm glad you are making friends with them. My family is very important to me, and Emma and Beverly are some of the nicer members of mine," he said, gently. "It was even better to come home and find you laughing and happy."

"I am happy as long as I am with you," she smiled and leaned in, pushing her cheek against his chest and curling her arms around him. "Will you tell me about the curse breakers now?" she asked.

"I'm sure that I have told you at least some of the story around the curse before now, but yes, I will tell you again. Just so you understand what Noah is going through and why we all have such a strong belief that he will bring Marcella back," Genesis said and picked her up, carrying her to their bathroom. "We can clean up while I talk. I have something special planned for you tonight." He kissed her chastely as he placed her back on her feet.

He helped Olivia remove her clothes, and then removed his own clothes, as he began the story while they showered. He told her of the original witches and the cruel and arrogant Duke of Zenati, who had thwarted a love affair destined by the stars and been cursed for all eternity to have one soul mate, and never know true love until he found her and completed the trials required to win her heart. She cursed not only the Duke, but all of his male heirs, down through history.

Beyond hard, and needing to be inside his beautiful girl, he held himself back from taking her there in the bathroom, as he spoke of the first time that he had seen her, looking impossibly small and frail in that hospital bed. Then he spoke of how his heart had literally ached each time he saw her, and his stomach rolled and soured with each touch, and how it felt like a knife was twisting in his gut with each of her rejections of him and the care he offered her, until he had won her trust and affection. He told her of Gideon's story, and how being with Vivienne had affected him in a different but similar way.

Then he talked about Noah, and his abilities, and how that made the breaking of his curse subtler. He explained about how sick he had been each time Marcella went missing or got herself in trouble. He'd always been drawn to her but, as long as he knew where she was and that she was safe, his symptoms diminished. When Apollo showed up, however, Noah had almost collapsed, as his body and heart reacted so badly to the possibility of losing her, without even trying to claim her as his own.

"I saw him that day. He looked awful," Olivia nodded her understanding, as she pulled on the flimsy, lace panties that he had handed her. "I'm sorry that you went through that for me, and that I was such a brat when you were only trying to help me and care for me. I love you, Genesis. There could never be anyone for me but you. Any relationship I had before you pales into insignificance by comparison. You know the real me, and you love me, despite my awful family and the old Olivia, despite Serena and all the trouble that she got into, despite how horrible I was to you when we first met."