United with the Family by Cherie Benjamin (most read book in the world .TXT) 📕

Claudia laughed and turned to her old friend Clara, “still the same old Kane, I see."

"Yes, but you know what they say, got to love them, because they are too heavy to move the body,” Clara reminded her.

"You are so right, that and they do have their uses.”  At this, they both snickered. Clara and Claudia both laughed at their husbands’ expense.

"But, honey, you know no one else has a cock as big as mine and you would miss him."  Kane Sr. bragged. Nazario and Kane both looked at Kane Sr. as if he had lost his mind.  They knew he had lost his verbal filter eons ago.

Poor Clara’s face turned red and she slapped Kane on the arm.  He had not changed in all the years that she had known him, so it was no surprise that wouldn’t start now.

"All right, all right, let’s not get off track now.  Everyone, have a seat, Ara and Rosa were just getting ready to tell us what happened tonight," Nazario said, as he tried to regain order in the room.

"Okay...okay."  Kane Sr. said, taking a seat.

Ara and Rosa began telling their story and when they got to the point where Ara said she had broken the attacker's nose and Rosa had kicked her attacker in the nuts, Tony knew that from the damage he saw on Kurtus’ face and the way Pedro was walking, it had, in fact, been them who attacked the girls.  Tony looked over to Zachary and asked, “Zachary, may I?” Suspecting that Tony was about to tell everyone what he had told Zachary earlier that evening, Zachary nodded his approval for Tony to speak.

Kane, Ara, I think I know who it was."  Tony said.

"Who?"  They asked together.

"Kurtus and Pedro. Earlier this evening, I was sitting outside of Kurtus' apartment building when I saw Kurtus and Pedro getting out of a car.  Kurtus looked as if he had just had his nose broken and Pedro was walking very funny."

Kane jumped up.  "THAT FUCKER IS A DEAD MAN!"

"Yes, Kane, I agree, we have already ordered the hit, but we need to handle it carefully."  Nazario said, trying to maintain some control over his son’s temper; even though he was feeling the same degree of vengeance, now was not the time to make rash decisions.  This needed to be handled wisely and swiftly.

"All right, all right, Dad, what are you suggesting?"  Kane huffed.

They discussed how and when to make their move.  Kurtus had already put the hit out on his grandparents, but Tony and Zachary had his man in their pocket.  After much discussion, they finally decided on the day that Kurtus Morotti would die. However, the question now was who would carry out the hit.  Of course, Kane wanted the pleasure, but so did Nazario and Zachary. That started a heated debate on who deserved the privilege more.

Ara sat back and listened to the conversation, and she the more she listened the more she realized that she needed to step up and do the deed.  Could she do it? She wasn’t sure, but this was something that she needed to do to earn the respect of the other family members and rival families. And Kurtus would never see her coming.  Taking in a deep breath, she stood with an air of authority and seriousness, and simply stated, "I have been on the receiving end of two attacks by Kurtus. As the soon to be Donna of the Morotti family, I feel it is my duty and my right to take out Kurtus."

Everyone stared in shock at Ara.  Fuck.

"Ara, honey, you don't have to get your hands dirty."  Kane begged.

"Yes, Ara, let one of us do it."  Nazario said.

"No.  I need to do this, and if by some chance, I can't, I will welcome your assistance."  Ara stated in a voice of authority.

Kane Sr. and Zachary looked at the young woman who would be co-leading the families and smiled. Through the years they had fine-tuned their intuitions and perceptions, and both knew that before them stood the future of their families.

Finally, the couples retired after a tiring evening.  Zachary, Claudia, and Tony left, but Claudia would be back tomorrow to help Rosa with more wedding planning.  A lot of things still needed to be done and they were running out of time, but Rosa felt that the wedding of Ara's dreams would come true.  Since it was so late, Kane and Ara decided to spend the night in Kane's old room. Rosa loaned Ara a nightgown, but chuckled to herself, knowing that it would probably wind up on the bedroom floor.

Kane helped Ara up the stairs to the third floor and opened the door to his childhood bedroom.  Thank god his mother had remodeled it after he left, because the king size bed was a welcome site, compared to the full size bed he had as a teenager.  In addition, all the teenaged memorabilia and posters had been taken down and, in their place was a coat of silver gray paint.

"Kane, can you help me get out of this dress?"   Ara was exhausted, and fighting to get out of the bloodied dress that she had been in all evening was that last thing she needed.

"Sure, my love."  Kane said, as he went behind her and unzipped the dress then began to unclasp the metal chain.  After undoing all the clasps, he gently pushed the dress off her shoulders and it fell onto the floor.  Ara step out and he picked up the dress and threw it in one of the chairs in the room.

"I really loved that dress, and now, it's ruined."  Ara sighed.

"I would buy you a million dresses to replace that one, but, baby, there is only one you; that I can’t or won’t replace.  I can't live without you."

"I feel the same way."

"Come here and let me take care of you."  Kane said, taking her by the hand and leading her into the en suite.  He was never more thankful for the jetted tub that his mom had installed during his high school football playing days.  He could remember many nights soaking in the tub after a hard game or practice, but, tonight, it would be a great muscle relaxer for Ara.  Starting the water, he turned and looked at his love. Standing in the middle of the bathroom in her strapless bra and white lace panties with his name tag on them, he noticed the bruise on her rib cage and her face.  He could feel his hatred for Kurtus surfacing again. Dropping to his knees, he kissed each bruise tenderly, and, when he had finished, he hooked his fingers on the top of her panties and pulled them down her long silky legs.  Standing up, he reached behind her back, unhooked her bra, and stepped back to admire her naked beauty.

Taking her hand, he led her over to the tub and assisted her into it, then removed his clothes and slid in behind her, carefully pulling her back against his chest.  They both sighed deeply as they felt themselves relax and reconnect after the turbulent evening. This was heaven.

"Kane, thank you for taking such wonderful care of me."

"I live to do so, my love."  Kane said, and then put his chin on her shoulder.  "I can honestly say I have never have been as frightened in my entire life as I was when I saw you tonight with blood on your dress."

"I know.  It happened so quickly, but I am so happy I knew how to defend myself.  The only thing I regret is not being able to knock the asshole out."

"Well, you got away safely, and that is all that matters.  The plan is in place, and soon he will be dead."

"But how did he get in the building?  You had added extra security for the party; I don’t understand."

"Dad and I reviewed the video footage at the club with Uriel. Someone let him in the back door."

"But, where was the guard?  Do you think he was involved?  Do you think we have a mole in the family?"  Ara questioned.

"I don't know, baby, but I promise I will find out.  The guys are working on it as we speak."

"Okay."

"Now let's just relax and enjoy the jets."

"Gladly."  Ara sighed.

After long relaxing bath, Kane reached over to the warming rack, and removed the thick fluffy towels and dried and wrapped each other up before coming back into the bedroom.  Kane removed Ara's towel and helped her into the bed.

"Rosa gave me a nightgown to wear.  I left it on the vanity."

"I need to feel all of you next to me tonight."  Kane said.

"Of course, my love."

Kane removed his towel and crawled in the behind her, and then, ever so gently, pulled Ara as close as possible to him.  He buried his nose into her mahogany locks, and deeply breathed in her scent. There was nothing like her sweet aroma, and, within a few moments, both were sound asleep entwined around each other.

The next day was filled with massive amounts of wedding planning.  Claudia was so excited to be a part of the planning, that, at one point, she broke down in tears.

"What’s the matter?"  Ara asked as she looked over and saw a tear sliding down Claudia’s face.  She walked over and wrapped her arm around the top of Claudia’s shoulders.

"I am just so happy, caro."  Claudia said, wiping away the tears with a handkerchief.  "For so many years, I have felt the disappointment in the way Sebastian and Kurtus turned out.  Like I did something wrong with the way I raised Sebastian. I can't believe how cruel and vicious he is; not to mention that he raised Kurtus to be just like him.  Then, my dearest Zachary tells me that a have a granddaughter who is not only beautiful on the outside, but stunning on the inside, as well. Ara, you have brightened my life and I hope that maybe, one day, you would feel comfortable enough to call me grandmother."

"I think I would like that."  Ara choked out. She couldn't believe that in such a short amount of time she went from being all alone, to having a large group of people wanting, no, needing, to love her.

Rosa’s friend and her daughter arrived and Ara was asked about what she envisioned as her dream wedding dress.  Ara described what she liked and what she didn't and Atelier took down all the notes. She picked up her sketch pad and quickly began to sketch out the dress.  While she was busy doing so, Rosa showed Ara the invitation that had been printed and she loved how they turned out. She was so amazed how they could be printed so quickly, but Rosa said money was the answer to getting what you wanted, when you wanted it.  The front of the invitation was black lace with a medallion in the center with their names, Kane and Arabella, etched on it.

The inside of the invitation, had been talked about and debated greatly and after many discussions it had been decided that it would read as follows:

Mr. & Mrs. Nazario Leone

request the pleasure of your company

at the marriage of

Arabella Marie White

to their son

Kane Anthony Ian Leone

Saturday, the eighth of August

two thousand and fifteen

six o'clock in the evening

St. James Cathedral

804 Ninth Street, Seattle, Washington

Reception to follow at

The Great Hall at Union Station

401 South Jackson Street

Seattle, Washington

RSVP by email

                                       [email protected]           

The guest list was finalized, and, in the end, 475 guests were being invited.  Ara still could not get over the number, but Rosa, Claudia, and Clara explained that the number was correct.  Of course, Zachary and Claudia were attending, but so were Sebastian, Portia, Kurtus, and Simon. Kane was not happy about it, but, to keep up appearances, it had to be done.  Also, many members of the Morotti family were being