Forbidden Temptation My Mafia Fiance's Alpha Father

Chapter 35 Chapter 35 Brooklyn That afternoon, Jayde appears in the doorway to my room, a big smile on her face.

"I have a surprise for you, baby," she says.

She leadsdownstairs towards the front of the house, where she throws open the doors to the parlor. I cover my mouth with both hands when I see what's inside.

Everything is covered in white-white tulle, white lace, white silk, white satin-hanging from racks, draped over chairs, stacked on the sofa. The only dark spot in the room is Aden, standing before the fireplace, directing the workers who carry piles of garment bags.

"What's going on?" Hudson says, walking up behind me, a cup of coffee in hand.

"Don't bring that in here," Jayde scolds, swatting at him. Hudson laughs, downs the coffee, and sets it on a table in the foyer.

"Is this..." I say, looking around in awe, anxiety roiling in my stomach.

"Wedding dresses!" Jayde says, clapping her hands. "Aren't they gorgeous?" Gorgeous? Yes. They are stunning.

But I'm not ready. That's all I can think as I stand there.

"Now, you cstand here," Jayde says, pullingand Hudson farther into the room to stand by Aden, "out of the way, while I get everything set up." "Is it like this for every wedding in the family?" I mutter to myself.

"No," I hear Aden say, and look up to meet his eyes. "My wedding to Hudson's mother was small. In Sicily. That's where she was from." Hudson's mother. Nobody ever speaks of her, but I feel her presence here.

I open my mouth to ask another question, but I'm not sure if I should. And the look on Aden's face, tight and withering, tellsnot to chance it.

Hudson saves me. He puts a hand on my waist and pullscloser.

"My mom died when I was young," he says. "Her marriage to my dad was actually arranged. Like ours." I glance between Aden and Hudson, genuinely surprised. "Was her death...an accident?" Aden sighs and looks atsharply. "If you want to ask, Brooklyn, if I murdered her, or if she was kidnapped and tortured by my enemies, just do it." I press my lips together, embarrassed. Because of course, that's exactly what I want to know. Instead, I say nothing.

"Cancer." Hudson's voice is low. "It's okay," he says, before I can say how truly sorry I am. "It was a long tago." "Well," I say. "I guess that's something else we have in common. Both of our moms died young." "The good news is, you will start a new family soon," Aden says dryly, putting his hands in his pockets. Before I can reply, Jayde pullsforward to try on the first gown.

*** The fitting takes all afternoon. Hudson and Aden leave immediately as the trials begin.

Hudson didn't want to see the dress, insisting that it was bad luck, and Aden only wants to cin once the final selection is made. He said that if he's paying for it, he wants final approval.

"Okay," Jayde says, studyingin the last dress. She holds up a beaded Oscar de la Renta, an incredible off- white beaded silk that fell heavily to the floor, making a fantastic shushing sound as I walked.

"This one?" She indicates to the Oscar. "Or that?" She gestures towards the romantic Caroline Herrera that hugs my waist with a tight bodice, off-the-shoulder sleeves flowing down into the charmeuse of the skirt, which sweeps behindin a five-foot train.

"This one," I say, a little breathless, staring at myself in the mirror. I have never really been the kind of girl who dreams about her wedding, but in a dress like this? I am actually starting to feel like a bride.

"Oh thank god," Jayde says, wiping a tear from her eye. "That was my favorite, too. If you'd picked the Oscar, you'd have broken my heart." I laugh a little as she picks up her phone, texting someone, and my heart skips a beat.

It's tfor final approval.

When the door opens, I turn to face Aden, biting my lip, wondering, passively, if he'll approve.

He's looking down at his phone as he walks into the room but, glances up casually.

Then he stops dead in his tracks.

I feel fear curl in the bottom of my belly. Does he not like it? Did I make the wrong choice? His whole body stiffens, his arm dropping to his side as his eyes slowly rove over my form. I run my hands across the fabric at my hips, and see his mouth fall ever so slightly open.

Then, his eyes snap back to my own and his mouth slams shut. He takes a step forward, his eyes burning. Surprised, I take one step back- My reaction is animal, that of prey escaping a predator.

Aden sees it, registers my fear, and wills himself back into composure. His eyes flick to Jayde for a moment as he slowly rolls his shoulders back, putting his hands into his pockets.

Then, he studiesagain. It's a mask, though. I can tell. He's just pretending to be the passive buyer studying his goods.

Beneath, he's the wolf, and I am his supper.

Lena whimpers. She knows exactly what she wants, and I am denying her.

I stare at him, aware, in spart of me, that I have made him ravenous. But I have made myself ravenous, too.

I shift my position, then, trying out how this knowledge feels in in my he feels! body, twisting my hips so that my thighs rub together beneath the skirt of my gown.

Aden's eyes flash to my legs, my thighs, and I see a muscle flickerin his cheek as he clenches his jaw. He can sense all of it. Everything this is doing to me. It's a connection that leavesbreathless.

"So," Jayde says, her arms folded, her eyes flashing between us. "I guess you like it, Aden?" I turn my head to look at her, breaking out of my strange trance, and blush to see the awareness on her face.

"Yes," Aden says. When I look back, I see that he is, again, all control. "The Herreray's a good choice. Charge it to E my account." With that, he turns and leaves the room.

"How..." I say, turning my surprise in my mind, "how does he know all the designers?" "Baby," Jayde says, sauntering over towith a smirk. "He chose all of these gowns. Not me." My mouth falls open in surprise.