Chapter 1 Brett's POV

Brett’s POV Today is the day! My cousin Kaycie is moving in.  I am excited for her to move in with me and three friends.  Kaycie and I are close and have been since we were little.  She is four years younger than me, at 20.  She called me about two months ago, said she needed a change of scenery, and asked if I knew anyone with a spare room she could rent.  I told her I had a spare room that was perfect for her and told her to move here.  I inherited a large house from my grandmother.  It is an older two-story, but the inside has been completely renovated.  It has two master bedrooms, so I told her she could have the upstairs master.  I have the downstairs master bedroom.  I am standing outside with my two friends, who rent one of the other rooms in the house, when the moving truck pulls up and stops.  I see my other cousin Todd leave the driver's side and walk over to us.  I introduce him to the guys. “Hey Todd, how have you been, man?”  I ask him. “I have been good working, going to college, and looking after Kaycie.”  He replies I know something has happened with her recently, but I have never gotten the whole story.  The last time I visited her, I noticed she was more shy and jumpy.  I was worried.  I hope I can get her to tell me what happened to change my cousin.  She was always so outgoing and happy.  That’s when I hear a car pull up.  I watch as she parks her baby blue Mini Cooper in the driveway.  I watch her get out and walk toward us.  She slows down when she notices my two buddies standing by me.  I can almost see the fear in her eyes.   She walks over and gives me a hug. “Hey Kaycie, how have you been squirt?”  I ask her. “Seriously, still using that stupid nickname.  I have been good.”  She says, smiling. I hear someone clear their throat and turn to my buddies. I guess I should introduce them. “These two here are Darryn and Felipe.  They are also our roommates.”  I tell her. “Hi guys, thanks for the introduction, Brett.”  She replies. I see her smile at the guys, but she is nervous.  I hear Todd telling her it’ll be ok and they won’t hurt her.  The three of us look at each other and wonder why he needs to tell her this.  I look at him, and he tells me I WILL TELL YOU LATER.  Finally, someone is going to tell me what changed my cousin.  I tried to find out from the family when I visited her last, but no one wanted to talk about it.  The four of us carry her bedroom furniture upstairs, and she tells us where she wants it.  Once we get her stuff off the truck, Todd and Felipe take it back to the local moving company.  I noticed that Kaycie kept stealing glances at Darryn, and I smiled.  He is entirely her type.  I hear Felipe and Todd walk back in, and they have dinner.  We stayed up late talking when Kaycie decided that she was going to bed.  We tell her goodnight, and she walks upstairs.  I hear her door shut, and I turn to Todd. “Ok, Todd what’s the deal. This is not the Kaycie I remember.”  I tell him “I am guessing the last time you visited no one told you what happened.?”  He asks “I nod my head and he lets out a sigh.  He looks at the other guys and I tell him it’s ok to talk in front of them.  I am telling you this so you understand her.  Her last boyfriend abused her mentally and physically.  It was more mental than anything.  He would tell her shit like she was fat and that she wasn’t pretty enough.  Kaycie started dieting and got down to under 100lbs.  No one noticed because it was winter and she was wearing big baggy hoodies and other clothes like that.  They weren’t together that long but it came to a head when she wouldn’t have sex with him and he beat her good and tried to force himself on her.  I thankfully decided to visit unannounced and caught him in the act.  I was with my friend Paul and we ran in and pulled the bastard off of her and beat him good.  We called the police and explained everything when they got there.  Luckily we didn’t get in trouble but he was thrown in prison for domestic violence.  She has not been the same since.  She has finally returned to a healthy weight but her self-esteem and confidence is still shit.”  Todd explained. I sat there getting more pissed the longer he talked.  That bastard hurt my cousin, and I want to kill him.  I noticed Darryn and Felipe looked pissed as well.  The three of us are the town's bad boys, but we would never hit a woman for anything.  I know this hits somewhat close to home for Felipe.  Felipe tells Todd about his mom and the shit that they went through as kids.  The four of us talked for about another hour and then decided to go to our rooms.  I lay in my bed, thinking of what I was just told.  Hopefully, we can bring Kaycie out of her shell and help her regain her self-confidence and esteem.  I understand why none of the family wanted to talk about what happened.  I am glad Todd told me.  Moving to a new city and state will be a fresh start for Kaycie.

Chapter 2 Kaycie's POV

Kaycie POV After leaving the boys downstairs talking, I shut the door to my room.  I am sure Todd is going to tell Brett.  I really wish the whole situation would just go away. I still have a lot of work to do in my room to get it in order.  I change into my pajamas and look at myself in the mirror.  I am 5’3” with dark sandy blonde hair and red highlights.  I have dark emerald green eyes with hazel specks in them.  I am nicely tanned, and I know I have a nice body with curves in the right places, according to my cousin Todd.  I still don't think that, though, thanks to him.  All I see is someone that needs to drop a few pounds.  I walk over to my bed and lie down. I knew that Brett had two roommates, but I had no idea that they would be so handsome.  Felipe has dark brown hair and light brown eyes.  He looks to be 5’9” and obviously works out from what I could see with him wearing that form-fitting shirt. Darryn is freaking gorgeous.  He has to be 6’6” with wavy golden blonde hair that he keeps in a longer style.  He has the most beautiful pale ocean-blue eyes.  He definitely works out, considering he was shirtless when I walked up.  His eight-pack is out on full display with his perfect olive-colored skin. He looks like he just walked out of a GQ magazine.  He is definitely Italian, as his last name implies.  I know he and Brett have been best friends since kindergarten. I wonder if his family is part of the mafia. My best friend’s family was part of the mafia, so I know how they treat their women.  I sigh because I know I have no chance with him.  I know these three went to school together, and I knew that Brett was a bad boy and kind of a player in high school.  So I can guess the other two are the same.  The last thing I need right now is another guy like the last one.  (He wasn’t in the mafia, but he was the gang leader's son.)  I lay down and wish I was good enough for him to be interested in me, but I know that this will not be the case.  Plus, I would just get hurt again and I don’t want Brett to lose a friend.  I fell asleep that night thinking of a pair of pale ocean-blue eyes. I wake up the next morning and walk down the stairs to the kitchen.  Apparently, I am the first one awake, so I make some coffee.  I rummage through the fridge and find stuff to cook for breakfast.  I started making waffles, bacon, and some scrambled eggs.  I have just finished loading plates with all the food and placing everything on the kitchen table when I hear footsteps.  I turn around, expecting it to be Brett.  My eyes widen when I see Darryn standing there.  That’s when I realize I am in my pajamas and don’t have one of my hoodies to cover my body.  I stand there in a dark blue tank top and a pair of black pajama pants.  I know I need to get to my room and grab a hoodie, but Darryn is standing in my escape route.  He is standing in a pair of sweatpants hanging low on his hips.  His treasure trail is in plain view.  Damn, he is gorgeous!  I want to run my hands up and down that chest.  I hear someone else making their way down the stairs, and I am able to squeeze by him and make my way up the other set of stairs to my room for a hoodie. I shut my door once I made it into my room and collapsed on my bed. Tears start to well up in my eyes.  He saw my body, which I am sure disgusted him.  My tears start to fall, and I quickly wipe them away.  I pull on my hoodie and head back downstairs to join the guys for breakfast.  I can’t look at Darryn, and I sit down by Todd.  I can feel Darryn looking at me, but I can’t bring myself to look at him and see the disgust in his eyes.  We finish breakfast and I go to help Todd pack his stuff.  He has to head back today.  I wish he could stay longer but I know he needs to get back to school and work. After we say goodbye to Todd I head up to my room.  I am not paying attention when I run into a hard body.  I almost fall back when two strong muscular arms grab my waist and keep me from landing on my ass.  I look up to see Darryn standing there.  Great, why is he the one that I keep running into and embarrassing myself in front of?  Karma must hate me. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”  I apologize. “No worries, I couldn’t let my Tesoro fall now could I.”  He tells me with a smile. I give him a small smile and quickly finish walking to my room.  I shut the door and slide down to the floor.  I don’t know why he affects me as he does.  I have never had a guy affect me like this.  I pick myself up off the floor and get some clothes to wear for the day.  I head towards my bathroom to wash away the horrific events of the morning.

Chapter 3 Darryn's POV

I was surprised when Brett’s cousin got out of her car and walked up to us.  He told us that his cousin Kaycie was moving into the upstairs master bedroom.  I was expecting a guy, but nope.  Holy fuck, his cousin is beautiful.  She had on a baggy t-shirt and cargo pants, but I could tell she was hiding a nice body under those baggy clothes.  Her hair was in a messy bun.  She has the most amazing dark emerald green eyes with specks of hazel in them.  Kaycie barely comes up to my shoulders.  I am sure she would fit perfectly in my arms and against my body.  Their cousin Todd is a cool guy and really cares about Kaycie.  We all had fun sitting there that night, eating dinner and talking.  I really didn’t want Kaycie to go, but I know she has had a long day.  When Todd told us what happened to Kaycie, I wanted to find that asshole and beat the shit out of him.  I don’t care how pissed a man gets towards a woman.  No man should ever hit a woman.  I laid in bed that night, hoping that the three of us could change her opinion about herself. I smelt the coffee when I opened my door and smiled.  I definitely needed some coffee this morning.  I heard someone in the kitchen and thought it was one of the guys.  I began to smell delicious food.  I know that none of the three of us can really cook.  I figured it was Todd. NOPE! I walked into the kitchen and stood there wearing a little dark blue tank top and black pyjama pants by Kaycie.  All I could do was stare.  She has a freaking amazing body.  Perfectly curvy and tan.  I can see the silhouette of bars through her nipples, and damn if that isn’t a turn-on.  I begin to wonder where else she might have pierced.  I can see tattoos wrapping around her body, and I want to trace them with my fingers and tongue.  I wanted to walk up and grab her by her waist and feel her skin under my hands, but I didn’t want to scare her.  She turns around, and her eyes go wide.  I don’t think she was expecting me.  I can see the fear and panic being in her eyes.  I can tell she wants to escape from this kitchen and escape from me.  This makes me upset, but then I realize it’s not me. She wants to get something to cover that sexy body of hers.  I start to walk towards her.  I noticed she started to tremble. “Kaycie, it’s ok….” I start to whisper to her. I heard someone else walking towards the kitchen and turned to see who it was.  This gave her the opportunity to squeeze by me and up the other flight of stairs to her room.  DAMN.  I sit down at the table, and the guys are amazed at all the food.  I let them know that Kaycie had made breakfast and coffee.  She comes back down wearing a baggy hoodie, sits down, and fixes herself a plate.  We all notice that she doesn’t eat much, but hopefully, we can work on this.  She sits across from me, but I can’t get her to look at me.  After breakfast, I head back to my room.  I have the other room on the second floor.  I noticed Kaycie walking towards me, but I could tell she was not paying attention.  She runs into me, and I grab her waist, so she doesn’t fall.   She looks at me, surprised. “Sorry, I wasn’t paying attention.”  She apologized. “No worries, I couldn’t let my Tesoro fall now could I,”  I tell her with a smile. She gives me a small smile, continues to her room, and shuts the door.  Damn, she felt good in my arms.  She fits perfectly against my body.  I walked into my room and shut my door.  I sit down on my bed, and all I can think of is her.  I know I will have to work to prove to her that what he told her was a bunch of bullshit.  I am willing to work for this, though.  There is something about this girl that I can’t get out of my head. I head towards the bathroom to take a shower.  I have to meet my father and uncle.  Brett has to come with me since he is my second in command.  My family runs the town.  We are mafia.  I didn’t want to get into the family business, but I had no choice.  My father is the current leader, and I am to take over for him when I turn 25, which is in a year.  We live in Brett’s grandmother’s house, where she gave in to throw our enemies off when she died.  We don’t want them to know who the leader is.  My father lives in our family mansion, but he understands why Brett and I live here.  The whole family thought it was a smart idea.  Our friend Felipe knows but is not part of the mafia.  We have a few cameras outside the house to protect Kaycie and us.  I checked up on her ex, who is in jail, but he might get out soon.  I am trying to make sure he doesn’t.  I do not want him near her.  I did learn that his father is the gang leader of one of the largest gangs in the southeast United States. It’s good that I have family all over the east coast.  If that bastard thinks he is going to come into my town and try to get to Kaycie, he must be crazy or stupid.  I walk out of my room and down the stairs and find Brett there.  We walk out of the house and lock the door.  We climb into my car and head off to my father’s house.  I am slightly worried since Kaycie is still home, but Felipe is there.  We have another friend moving into the house in a week, and he works for my family’s business.  I shake my head to stop thinking about Kaycie as we pull up to my father’s house.