Page 55 of Caged Bliss

I shake my head and turn away. “I’m showering. And I’m locking the door, so don’t come bother me.”

“Locks can’t stop me from pleasuring you, baby,” he calls as I head into the bathroom.

I grin to myself and leave the door open a crack. He’s right—the lock would be worthless anyway.

I’m nervous on the drive over to his brother’s place. We’re in the back of a black sedan and a couple of very serious-looking men are up front. We swing by Cage first so the guy in the passenger seat can bring Angelo’s truck home.

“Our block is called the oasis,” he says quietly as we drive to a nice part of the city.

“What do you mean, your block?”

“We own every house on the oasis. Each member of the core Bianco family has one, and the rest are for other various uses, like guest houses, a gym, an office, shit like that.”

“I’m sorry, your family owns an entire city block, and you turned a whole-ass house… into a gym?”

He’s trying not to smile. “It’s a nice gym.”

“Jesus Christ,” I say softly and try not to laugh out of sheer awkwardness. “I knew you were rich, but?—”

“The oasis is a necessity,” he says and glances at the man driving the car before looking back at me. “My family is always in danger. We had to carve a space for ourselves, a place where we can be sure that we’re safe no matter what. Yes, we have comfort, and we have money, but we have all these things because we have no choice.”

“Poor guy. I feel so sorry for you.”

He sighs and I can tell the driver’s trying not to laugh.

“I’m just trying to warn you. Everyone in the oasis is a member of the Famiglia and they’re loyal to my family. You’ll be safe, and you don’t have to worry if you see a bunch of guys walking around with guns.”

I try not to show my discomfort. “Sure, that sounds totally reasonable. An entire city block swarming with heavily armed men. Not strange at all.”

“Glad you understand.”

I really don’t, but it doesn’t matter. We come from totally different worlds, and I’ve been fooling myself lately into thinking that Angelo’s just like all the other men at Cage. Maybe he’s got a wealthy and well-connected family, but that doesn’t make him different from anyone else.

Except his family is city block wealthy and they have a horde of heavily armed men wandering around their house like it’s no big deal.

I’m in a daze when we’re dropped off in front of a beautiful three-story Victorian. Angelo explains that this is his brother’s office, which is absolutely bizarre—it’s bigger than any house I’ve ever lived in, much less actually seen in this city. The interior is opulent, expensively furnished in a way that’s overwhelming. Marble floors, antique paintings and statues decorating plinths that look ancient. There’s a Greco-Roman thing going on with lots of draped velvet and gorgeous plants, and everything’s meticulously cared for. I find it hard to believe anyone works in this place. It feels like a museum.

“Be yourself,” Angelo says as he leads me down a hallway. We pass several quiet men standing silently off to the side in all black with little earpieces like they’re the freaking Secret Service. “Simon’s a reasonable person.”

I hold onto Angelo’s arm. My fingers dig into his muscle. “I think I’m going to pass out.”

He stops walking and steadies me. “Claudia?”

“No, I’m fine.” I blink a few times and take deep breaths. “I’m sorry, I’m just really overwhelmed right now.”

He looks worried. That’s probably not a good thing. “Listen to me. Just breathe, okay? I get it, this place is a little bit much. It’s meant to make you feel exactly the way you’re feeling right now, like we’re rich and powerful and you’re a puny little insect.”

“I wasn’t feeling like an insect, but oh my god—” I can picture a big, fancy boot stomping on my head. And yep, there it is.

Angelo hugs me against him. “You’ll be fine. Simon’s just a guy. Hell, he’s my brother. I grew up with the asshole. I saw him eat a worm one time on a dare. He’s just a guy.”

I suck in breaths through my nose. “Just a guy,” I echo. “A very rich, very dangerous?—”

“Just a worm-eating guy.” He kisses my cheek. “You got this.”

I nod and follow him to an ornately carved door at the end of the hall, and I most definitely don’t got this.

Chapter 28

---