*Any corrections of the Italian language used are welcome.*

Chapter Sixteen - The Jacksons

It's a day before Thanksgiving and I've come down to Roman's family ranch with him as requested by Michelle. However, Roman's been on edge for the past two weeks since D.S. won't stop sending threats...about me. I'm hoping that spending some time relaxing with his family will calm him down.

Getting out of the car I make my way to the trunk and grab my overnight bag. We're leaving after Black Friday so I don't have much with me. Roman joins me with his bag and we start walking up to the front door. I watch when it opens and Theo peeks out before a devilish grin blooms across his lips as he waves cheekily.

"Roman and his girlfriend are here!" He shouts before disappearing at the sight of his brother's murderous glare.

"What a lovely welcome!" I grin widely as Roman face palms himself.

"I haven't even asked you to be my girlfriend yet." He huffs with a roll of his eyes.

"Wait!" I stop him by grabbing his wrist. "You want me to be your girlfriend someday?"

He turns to me fully with a funny look. "No, I've just been hooking up with you and making you meet my family for a laugh."

I blush before crossing my arms. "Well, you're not very good at this."

"I know..." He sighs before pulling me into his arms. "I was planning on taking you out on some more dates and then ask – date nights that aren't restricted to my backyard because of a certain serial killer."

If he asked me right now to be his girlfriend the answer would be hell yes! But I also feel the same way as he does. I want to get to know him more without any threats looming over our heads.

"I'll hold you to it." I smile up at him and watch as his eyes become tender before he kisses me softly.

"Come on, time to meet the rest of my crazy family." He rolls his eyes playfully which makes me laugh.

I take his hand and we make our way inside the house. Leaving our things by the door his hand presses against the small of my back as we move towards the sitting room where everyone is. I feel a flicker of nervousness bubble in the pit of my stomach before it's gone when he rubs my back comfortingly.

"Hey guys, this is Elena Moretti." Roman introduces me and I wave with a bright smile.

I've already had the pleasure of meeting Theo and Noah so Roman introduces me to Ryder first. He's the second oldest after Roman and has dark brown hair, clear blue eyes with sharp features. His wife, Ella, has brown hair too but just a few shades lighter and styled into perfect curls. She has dark green eyes and is very lean.

Isaiah is four years old and the exact copy of Ryder but with his mother's eyes. Mila, however, is a mixture of both her parents at two years old. She has the lightest brown hair and blue-green eyes. They're both adorable and I resist from pinching their cheeks.

Next I'm introduced to Hunter who is of a muscular build with blonde hair and clear blue eyes. Beside him stands his wife Zoe, a slender woman with delicate features. She's a redhead with pretty emerald eyes and light freckles across her cheeks and nose. She holds a cute little baby in her arms who has the exact same hair color as her father but green eyes like Zoe. She turns out to be Ariel, their 7-month-old daughter.

Judah greets me after with a devilish smirk but his icy blue eyes hold some warmth to them. He's very muscular and it's clear that he works out a lot by how you can almost see the outline of his abs underneath his white t-shirt. I almost mistake his hair for black but it's in fact a very dark shade of brown. He looks like a typical bad boy but I sense some mischievousness in him, like he's of a laid-back nature.

"I love your tattoo sleeves!" I exclaim as I shake his hand while staring at his arms.

"Thank you! Ever think of getting one?" He grins widely as I take a closer look at all of them.

"Yeah but just small ones. I don't know what though."

"I could give you one –"

"Really?! You know how to tattoo?!" I gasp in surprise.

"Yeah, not happening." Roman grunts as he gently pulls me against his body. "You fucked up both of Mac's and Navy's tattoos."

"Language!" The parents of the younger kids glare at him and I chuckle.

"Uh...well, it's nice to meet you all!" I grin widely as I realize that's the end of introductions.

Everyone laughs before Michelle and the girls pull me into the kitchen. Out of politeness I offer to help them make dinner and am relieved when they put me in charge of making the salad. That I can do without burning the house down or having to make a trip to the A&E.

"Are you from Texas Elena?" Zoe asks as she takes a seat near me at the dining table.

"Italy actually. I moved to California at eighteen to study journalism at college and then got a job at a media company right after." I clarify as I chop up some tomatoes.

"Oh wow, that's a big move at such a young age. Is your family still in Italy? Do you get homesick much?" Ella asks with a thoughtful frown.

"Well, I have three older brothers. My family and Santino, the oldest one, live in Italy. After that it's Alessandro who works in Tokyo and Romeo who works in Germany. We're a little spread out." I smile and thank Michelle when she hands me a bowl to put the salad in. "We chat a lot over Face-time, Skype and text so it's not that bad but some days I do get very homesick."

"Do you or they visit often?" Michelle asks as she mixes something in a pot that smells heavenly.

"Every year or two." I nod with a smile before focusing back on cutting since I almost sliced my finger. "It's my turn to go but I need to save up first. Roman's going to help me get a job."

"Wait...what?" Zoe laughs and I see Ella and Michelle stop what they're doing for a moment. "What do you mean? How did you two even meet?"

I tell them everything and by the end of it the three of them are laughing hysterically. Now that I've repeated everything out loud I must admit that our story is quite comical.

"How did he have the patience?!" Michelle laughs as she goes back to adding some more ingredients to the pot. "Roman hates it when anyone wastes his time or interferes with his work."

"He got so unbelievably mad one time when Hunter tried helping with a case but ended up leading Roman in a different direction." Zoe chuckles with a shake of her head.

"Yeah he didn't like me meddling in the start but one day he decided he could finally stand me." I joke as I make the dressing.

"Still can't sometimes."

I look up and roll my eyes when I see him walking in with the rest of the guys. They help set the table while I quickly finish the salad before taking a seat between Roman and Judah. I freeze when he rests his hand on my thigh before relaxing. Everyone starts eating and I learn a little more about the family.

Much to Michelle's dislike I help Evan and Hunter with cleaning up after dinner since all I did was make a salad. Then the girls, Noah and Theo give me a tour of the ranch while the others watch some basketball game on TV. I fall in love with the place as it's so peaceful and the animals are so cute. There's even two dogs that belong to one of the ranch hands and they follow us around the land.

I love the fact that there's a huge lake at the end of their property too. It's surrounded by trees and must be a great place for anyone to come to if they want to relax. All of them have different stories to tell about the place as we walk around and by the end of it I feel like I've known them for years. I'm so happy that I clicked with Zoe and Ella most of all as I was nervous that they wouldn't like me.

We eventually head back inside and I make my way upstairs when Ryder tells me that Roman went up to take a shower while we were out. I walk up to the room that we're sharing and see him drying his hair with a towel once I open the door. He's changed into a maroon t-shirt with black sweatpants but he still looks handsome nonetheless.

"How was the tour?"

"Ugh, it was so great! I love your family, everyone's so nice!" I smile happily as I take out my pajamas.

"They seem to like you too." I hear him walk up behind me before his arms encircle my waist. I bite my lip when he holds me tighter and starts pressing open-mouthed kiss across my neck. "Nice attempt on the salad, good job."

My eyes snap open and I frown. "Guess who's not getting laid tonight?"

"Lena, come on!" He laughs as I march into the bathroom. "I'm kidding, it –"

I shut the door before he can enter and lock it. I know he's only joking but it's funny to mess with him. He becomes quiet when I don't answer or unlock the door before banging on the wood more urgently. I stifle a laugh as I strip and turn on the water.

"Lena! It was a joke, I didn't mean it! The salad was fucking amazing!" He raises his voice and I snicker quietly.

I step under the spray and he eventually stops trying mid-way through my shower. After using shampoo and conditioner in my hair I crank up the heat and release a satisfied sigh. I don't know what it is about having a ridiculously hot shower but I love it. After cleaning the rest of my body, I hop out and dry myself off before putting on some lotion.

I decide to let my hair air dry before changing into my pajamas and walking out the door. Roman's emerald eyes snap to mine before roaming over my body deliciously. I squirm over the intensity as I make my way towards him. As soon as I'm within a few feet of the bed he has me underneath him in a flash. The suddenness makes a small squeak escape my lips before I shove him back when he tries to kiss me.

"Elena, you know I didn't mean it baby. I'm sorry." He murmurs gently and I fight to hide my smile when he starts peppering my face with kisses. "Forgive me please?"

"Nope." He sighs before finding my sweet spot above my collarbone and nipping it. "Fuck! You little shit!"

"You know well that I'm far from little." He smirks against my skin as he widens my legs and rocks his hard length against my core.

"R-Rome..." I stutter when he continues to torture me by rocking his hips harder and faster. "I...I –"

"You forgive me?"

"I –" I'm about to say I forgive him so that he can stop messing with me but my phone rings before I can get a word out.

I shove him off me when I recognize the ringtone I've set for my brother, Santino. I haven't talked to him in so long! I grab it before accepting what I quickly realize is a group Face-time call. But stupidly I forget to aim the camera fully at myself and my family ends up noticing Roman first.

"Elena Moretti, è un uomo quello?! È il tuo ragazzo?!" Mom instantly yells with a surprised gasp. [Elena Moretti is that a man?! Is that your boyfriend?!]

"Shit! Shit! Shit!" I whisper shout as my brothers wave and say hello to Roman.

"What did she say?" Roman asks curiously as he stares at everyone.

"She's asking if you're my boyfriend."

"Oh, sí!" He raises his voice and comes into the frame with a wide smile. "I'm Roman."

"Voi due fate sul serio? Perché i tuoi genitori non stanno ringiovanendo tesoro. Vorremmo vedere altri nipoti." Mom asks but puts the camera too close to her face as she's trying to sit on the couch beside dad. [Are you two serious? Because your parents are not getting any younger sweetheart. We would like to see more grandchildren.]

"Mamma!" I groan while my cheeks feel like they're on fire.

"Roman, Mom asked if you guys are serious or not and that she's waiting on more grandchildren." Romeo translates which makes me want to disappear.

"Tell her that we're very serious but she may have to wait for grandchildren." Roman jokes which makes me smile a little as my mom replies to him excitedly. She can speak English well but my parents speak Italian eighty percent of the time so I laugh when Roman realizes.

"What job do you have Roman?" Dad asks as mom hands him the phone.

"I work with the police in the crime department sir." He answers a few of their questions about what he does and how we met.

Of course, my family isn't surprised to hear that I was interfering as always. I sit back as he takes the phone and watch silently as he converses with my family. Even mom joins in on the slight interrogation as they try and see if Rome is good for me or not. But the longer they talk I can see that they really like him and he gets on well with my brothers.

"Roman, I have to say I'm quite surprised you decided to date her." Santino starts which makes me frown in confusion. "She's a walking hazard."

"Horrible sight in the mornings." Alessandro adds in which makes me slump.

"Has no filter nor does she know the meaning of it." Romeo chuckles which makes me cross my arms.

"Cannot cook! If I asked her to cook or jump off a cliff she would happily jump off a cliff!"

"Mom!" I screech in disbelief when I thought she'd be on my side.

Roman snickers and my jaw drops when even he doesn't back me up. "They're not wrong."

"Stop it now. Don't listen to them passerotta." [Little sparrow] I smile when my dad defends me but it drops when I hear what he says next. "Roman, some advice. She turns into a monster if you take her coffee or food so –"

"As always it's been lovely talking to you guys but I'm afraid we have to go. Devastating I know. I'm literally crying. Buona notte!" I say sarcastically before hanging up on my wonderful family. [Goodnight]

"They're so nice!" Roman exclaims while trying to hold in his laughter.

"You could've backed me up!" I glare at him fiercely.

"How?!"

"Oh, hmm I don't know! Something along the lines of Elena's a bad ass woman who looks like perfection every second of every day, doesn't need a filter and makes a mean salad didn't occur to you?!" I smack him with a pillow when he bursts out laughing.

Knocking on the door distracts me from hitting him and Roman takes the opportunity to yell "come in," so that he can save himself from my wrath. Judah, Theo, Ryder and Ella frown in confusion before holding up snacks.

"Midnight snack? We can't sleep so do you guys want to watch a movie?" Theo shrugs and I nod in agreement.

"Of course! Roman's going to sleep on the couch anyways so there's lots of space!" I grin devilishly and they all snicker when they realize I'm mad at him.

"What? Elena, I –" I turn to him with an arched brow. "Will sleep on the couch happily."

"Right then off you go!" Ryder laughs with glee as he climbs onto the bed before Ella joins me in the middle.

"Hope you don't break your neck watching the movie from there!" Judah smirks before hopping onto the bed with Theo and shoving Roman off.

I smile triumphantly as they hand me some junk food before playing a new movie on Netflix. But five minutes in I notice Roman staring at me and I childishly stick my tongue out in response. He rolls his eyes with a small smile before settling down on the couch.

Halfway through the movie I find myself drifting off to sleep just like Ella. Ryder is snoring quietly at the foot of the bed, having dozed off minutes before. Judah and Theo are still munching on their snacks but thankfully don't notice that I've lost interest. I sleep for what feels like ten or twenty minutes before I'm woken up by them murmuring. Sighing I turn sides only to hear the door close and Roman slip into bed beside me moments later. He wraps his arm around my waist and tugs me closer against his body.

"I'm still mad at you." I sigh as I feel him peck my cheek.

"I know darlin. Go to sleep, you can be mad again tomorrow." He chuckles huskily when I turn and cuddle up to him.

I feel him shift before his lips brush softly against mine and then he leaves a firm yet lingering kiss on my forehead. It makes me smile and this time I drift off to sleep where sweet dreams await.

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- R.W. ♡