Repaying the Mafia’s Dept

Massimo

Two fucking days…

That’s how long we’ve stayed in bed. Two days.

It’s dawn on Tuesday morning. Tonight is the ceremonial dinner where Pa will give me his ring. It will be a true symbol of his retirement as leader of the D’Agostino family.

In attendance will be my brothers, my two uncles and their wives, who flew in from Italy, and my three cousins, two of which have wives.

It’s a big deal. I’m supposed to take Emelia to this dinner as a symbol of our family conquering the devil. She’s supposed to be the trophy, a prize.

Right now, as I sit on the window bay of the room I’ve given her, watching her sleep, she looks like the woman who’s filled my every waking thought for the last two days.

Scratch that. Since the night of the charity ball. Starting that night when she floated in on her father’s arm and I knew I had to have her.

Here I am with her, sitting here, doing something I haven’t done in years, and not unless I had to.

I woke before the sun rose and sat here smoking. Watching her yet again. I seem to do that a lot lately. Watch, ponder, assess. All attempts to figure out what I’m going to do next.

Looking at her balances me. She’s so peaceful in her sleep and in this room we’ve been trapped in a fantasy. Her and me. The two of us lost in the throes of passion, where nothing exists besides the attraction and chemistry that draw us to each other.

I forget the past when I’m with her. I don’t know if that’s a good or a bad thing, since my rage toward her father sates and I find myself just thinking of her.

The sun casts its radiant rays over my sleeping beauty, hitting her in all the right places. The sheet is at her waist, she looks like the goddess again with her breasts exposed, that gorgeous mane of hair sprawled out on the pillow, and the soft sunlight spilling over her body. Caressing it the way I want to.

Maybe I watch her because I want to capture it all before she wakes and we become the people we’re supposed to be. Enemies.

Even though my family and I have this massive vendetta against her father, she doesn’t have to be my enemy. I don’t want her to be.

Things are changing. We can’t stay in bed for another day. Out of duty I can’t stay in playing house with my doll because I can sense things happening on the streets, which doesn’t sit well with me. I should have called Tristan by now too, just to check in on him. I know he’s not doing too good, and it’s up to me to watch his back and make sure he’s not doing shit to find Vlad by himself.

As I watch my girl lying in the bed across from me, desire to keep her safe fills me.

My girl…

Could she be?

Having a wife out of convenience is different than being with someone you want to be with.

I don’t know what this is, but I want to explore it. I certainly want to savor it for whatever it is and play with my toy whenever I want to.

There’s something I have to give her, and when I do, it’s going to test my patience because she’s going to ask me shit I don’t want to hear.

When I shuffle to grab a cigar, she stirs. Her eyes flutter open and she looks at me. Watching her wake up is the best thing ever.

She pulls the sheet over her breasts as a smile dances across her beautiful lips. I need those lips on my cock soon. She gets off the bed, wrapping herself in the sheet, and walks over to me, settling down in my lap.

When she does things like this, I think of her bastard father and the shit he said to me. He’ll have a fucking heart attack when he sees the way she looks at me next time. That’s in a few days, when we gather at the fundraiser. It will be like a deja vu of the ball, except she’ll be on my arm.

She kisses me. I almost get sucked into the wild thrill that’s had us in its claws for the last few days.

Instead, I press my nose to hers and hold her close. It’s time to set pleasure aside and get back to business. Right now, she’s in the same haze that clouds my mind. She’s forgetting who we are, who I am.

I’m a mafia boss, and there’s no reality that would see a sweet girl like her with a guy like me. Under normal circumstances, she’d run from me and the darkness that comes from being me.

“I have to go to work today,” I begin. “But I’ll be back by six to pick you up for the dinner. I want you to be ready.”

The minute I say that, tension so thick it could stifle us both fills the space between us. I snake my arm around her waist and feel her trembling, probably worrying about how my family will treat her.

The thing is, I don’t know how they’ll receive her.

“Do I have to go?”

“Yes. As my future wife you will be expected to attend.” While everyone else may understand if I make up some shit like she was sick or something, Pa won’t accept that.

He’d have me drag her down to his house, vomiting and heaving if I had to if she were sick. He’s not a heartless man, but when it comes to anything to do with Riccardo, he becomes someone else entirely.

“What should I do? What do you want me to do?” she asks nervously, pressing her pretty pink lips together.

“You will stay by my side.” I know if anyone will show her any form of compassion, it will probably be Tristan. Both Dominic and Andreas can be assholes when they want to be. “What I need you to do is behave.” She has a smart mouth on her sometimes, and these aren’t the people to mess with.

“Behave?” she asks, biting the inside of her lip.

“Yes, behave. Only speak when you are spoken to. No shit comments.”

“And if someone talks shit to me?” Her eyes narrow to slits. I have a hard time not dragging her back over to that bed and fucking her into submission.

“That won’t happen.” I don’t think that would happen. It’s not their style. The women aren’t even the standard type of mean you’d expect in a situation like this. Although I don’t know what to really expect. They can be jealous, and Emelia is very beautiful.

“They’ll all hate me, even though they don’t know me.” She’s right.

In defeat, her gaze flicks down to where my hand touches her tiny waist. I lift her gaze back up to meet mine. “Anyone who dares to show you anything of the sort will have me to deal with.”

I don’t know what I’ll do, but I feel some duty toward her to make sure she feels comfortable wherever we go. This is for life. Till death do us part. They will accept her as my wife from now on, and I expect them to treat her with the same respect they show me. It doesn’t mean it will happen. The last thing I want to do is get into a fight over it.

“Do you mean that?” She studies me.

I smile at her. “Princess,” I say, knowing she likes it when I call her that. “You’re a clever girl. You know I don’t say anything I don’t mean. Which brings me to this.”

I reach down and pull up the little bag with her phone. It’s her actual phone. I didn’t buy her a new one. She looks at the bag. Her eyes widen when I pull the phone out.

She takes it when I hand it to her, and emotion swells within her eyes.

“Oh my God,” she breathes and holds it to her chest. “What does this mean?”

“I’m giving it back to you. I don’t have to tell you to use it wisely.” By wisely, she knows what I mean.

“Are you going to tell me who I can and can’t speak to?”

“Do I need to?”

She eyes me dangerously, her gaze sharpening. “Please don’t spoil this, Massimo.” She shakes her head. Her eyes pleading with me not to taint the last few days.

“Emelia… this is not about that,” I reply, sounding like a broken record. I’ve said those words to her far too much.

“What is it about? Can’t it just be about us?” Her eyes cling to mine.

I want to say yes, but I can’t. I can’t say no either.

“Watch it,” I warn, tightening my grip on her waist. I’m aware I’ve spoiled it with just those two words.

“Can I call my father?” she asks, ignoring the meaning in my words.

“No, not until after the wedding.” I’m leaving myself open giving her that phone.

“I can’t call him before? But we’ll see him at the fundraiser. Will you forbid me to speak to him then too if he wants to speak to me?” She slips off my lap, and I allow her to.

I don’t want her speaking to that bastard at all, but even I can’t be that cruel.

“You can for five minutes. I don’t want him filling your head with shit.”

She holds her tongue on her next words. Since her hands are fisted by her sides, I can only imagine what she was going to say to me.

“What about my friend? Jacob. Massimo, he’s my best friend. We’ve known each other since birth. He’s going to be worried sick about me.”

“Friends?” Okay, I’ll do this. If she gives me the right answer to my next question, she can call him all she wants. “Has your friend ever shown any interest in you? Has he given you any inkling that he wants to be more than friends? Answer me truthfully, Emelia. I’m a motherfucking bastard, but I have never lied to you. Don’t lie to me.”

Her eyes cloud. I already know the answer to my questions.

“Answer me,” I demand. She jumps at my raised voice. I’m pissed as fuck that I was right.

“Yes.”

“Yes, what?”

“Yes… I think he wanted us to be more than friends.”

“Well, then no, there will be no calls or messages to him.”

“How can you be such a prick? He’s my friend.” She seems more enraged about not being able to talk to this Jacob than her father. I won’t ask her how she feels about him. I don’t want the answer to that question.

“He’s a friend who wants to fuck you. This discussion is over.”

“I’m sorry, were we discussing? It sounded a lot more like you telling me shit.”

I seethe and get up so fast she jumps out of my grasp when I reach for her. I get her though, securing my arms around her middle. The sheet falls off as she tries to hit me. I take her right back to bed, lay her down and pin her hands over her head, laying her out like a delicious meal with her gorgeous breasts on show.

“Let go of me. Get away,” she cries, but I hold her down.

“Emelia, this is bullshit.”

“How is it bullshit? I just want to talk to my friend.”

I have a mind to mention Gabriella and ask her if she’d be alright with me talking to her, but it’s not the same thing. Gabriella is a former bed friend. Jacob is not, and I know that for certain. It was me who took her virginity, not that prick. I bet he wanted to though.

She’s naive and innocent. She doesn’t know the dirty shit a man can conjure up. I’m doing it now as I watch her struggle beneath me.

“I’m not going to be okay with you talking to a man who wants my girl,” I say. It’s only then she stops trying to fight me.

I release her hands and back off the bed, away from her. She eases up onto her elbows and stares at me.

“I could have put a tracker in that phone, or some shit to keep tabs on who you speak to. I could have given you a new one with a new number. I chose not to because I wanted you to have some element of privacy,” I explain. “When it comes to those two people, however, the rules change. You will not call either of them. You ask me not to spoil this. I’m asking you the same. If you betray me, you will not like it, so don’t do it. You don’t want a problem with me.”

I walk out and leave her on that note, staring after me.

She was quiet the whole journey to my father’s house, just as I knew she would be.

She barely spoke to me back at the house when I went to pick her up. I was too absorbed in how she looked to note that she was pissed at me.

She looks beautiful in a strapless cocktail dress that accentuates her breasts and her curves. Her hair is down, just the way I like it, and her face is made up in a way I’ve never seen it before, with smoky eye shadow.

As I park the Bugatti on my father’s drive and look out to the other parked cars, I get nervous too. It’s an important night for me. I will be boss over these people. Today is the first time I need to garner that respect.

It starts with her and the presentation of her.

I look across at her sitting next to me and notice how nervous she is. “You look beautiful,” I tell her, and she faces me.

Her face softens from the anger she exhibited this morning. “Thank you.”

“That all I get, Princesca? No kiss?” This is the most playful she’ll get from me. She knows I was right about Jacob, but she’s pissed because she can’t call him. I need her to shake off that funk.

I lean in closer to her, and she kisses me briefly. It will have to do.

I take a lock of her hair and watch the ends curl about my thumb. “We’ll finish that later, Princesca.”

When the twinkle returns to her eyes, I know I have her back, if only to calm her from our disagreement.

I get out of the car and open the door for her. When she steps out, I take her hand. This is the first time we’ve been out together. We look like we’re going on a date. I’m wearing a suit and a dark shirt underneath, while she’s in her dress. I catch a glimpse of our reflection in the car window. We look good together.

I glance across at her and see she notices too, but she looks away.

We walk up the rest of the drive. It feels like I’m carrying her to the electric chair. I’m always happy to visit my old man. This is the first time that I wish I could reschedule.

As usual, Mario, Pa’s butler, opens the door before I can reach it. He was our butler too when I was a boy. After we lost everything, we had to let go of our staff, but the first things we found were those people. People like Mario, Candace, and Priscilla.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

“Buonasera, Master Massimo,” he welcomes me, dipping his head for a curt nod.

“Buonasera, Mario. This is Emelia, my fiancee,” I say. It’s the first time I’ve introduced her as such.

“Buonasera, Signora, I hope you enjoy your stay,” he says to her. I’m glad for his kindness.

Our house staff always act like they don’t know what’s going on, but I know they do.

“Thank you so much, and Buonasera,” she replies. He nods his head.

“Everyone else is here. They arrived early.” It’s a warning to keep my head above water.

They want to see her. Emelia. They’re curious and probably wanted to be there to watch us enter the dining room. Tonight is definitely going to be interesting.

“Grazie, Mario.”

He walks on ahead, and we follow. He continues on without us when we get inside, and I make my way to the dining room with Emelia on my arm.

It will be dinner first, then mingling. I hear talking in the dining room. It ceases in a hush, however, the instant we reach the door and everyone notices us.

Emelia tightens her grip on my hand. They’re all looking at her and not even doing anything to look less obvious.

Pa is at the head of the table. There are two empty seats next to him for us. On his other side are my three brothers, sitting in order of rank. That’s the first time that has happened, so Tristan is right next to Pa, and Andreas sits between him and Dominic. Everyone else can sit in whether manner they choose.

“Good evening, everyone. I hope we aren’t late,” I say.

“Never,” Pa answers, tipping his head at me. He looks to my hand holding Emelia’s. A deeper curiosity fills his gaze. When he stands, everyone looks at him. “I wish to extend a welcome to my son, the new boss of this family, and his fiancee, Emelia Balesteri.”

I didn’t expect him to do that. Doing so, however, has set the tone for everyone else’s behavior tonight.

“Thank you, Father,” I say.

“Thank you,” Emelia croaks, her voice coming out in a hush.

“Come and sit,” Pa invites.

We do. All eyes follow me.

I pull out the chair for her to sit and lower myself next to Pa. I set the tone too when I set my hand on the table, beckoning her to take it so everyone can see.

She looks at me but takes my hand, and when Pa looks at me with newfound admiration, I feel better.

I feel better about tonight, but there’s still more at work I need to worry about.

Like what will happen next.