#2—Chapter 18
Capturing the Mafia’s Heart
I had a dream. It was the most amazing and delicious dream I’d ever had. Last night, I ate that chocolate cake I’d always wanted. And it was beyond what I’d expected. Delicious, addictive, and totally irresistible.
But something didn’t feel right this morning. I was nestled too closely, my body feeling too warm to be considered normal. And why was my bed so big? It almost felt like I was sleeping on a bed of clouds, my body floating in the sky.
Actually, that might be the reason I felt so comfortable. Warmth. Peace. And a sense of belonging, like I was meant to sleep on this bed.
I fluttered my eyes open, slowly and carefully, just enough to get my first glimpse of my surroundings. And I started to screamed. But before the sound came out of my mouth, I clamped it shut.
I was totally dreaming. There was no way this handsome and totally captivating mafia boss was sleeping in my bed.
I shook my head and blinked three times. The image in front of me didn’t disappear. In fact, the more I blinked, the more the situation dawned on me. I was in bed, sleeping with Giovanni, my mafia boss.
Holy cupcake! What was Giovanni doing in my bed? Or more accurately, what was I doing in his bed? No wonder I had a wonderful dream last night. Of eating chocolate cake.
Chocolate cake my backside.
Giovanni was fast asleep. His breathing was even. My curious hand had a mind of its own. It went to cup his cheek.
What was I doing? I should get out of this bed pronto, before the boss caught me red-handed. But no, my stupid curious self just had to satisfy my curiosity.
A small piece of my inner self wanted to know what it was like to touch his cheek, to feel his temple and heartbeat against my palm.
A smile broadened my mouth as my fingers traced his jawline. It was slightly rough, but oh so manly.
I’d never been this close to a man before, sleeping beside one, feeling one’s cheek. Crispin was close, but I never had the liberty to explore, nor had the desire to touch him this way.
There was something about Giovanni that drew me in, again and again. I knew my heart was totally captivated by him. He was everything I’d ever dreamed of.
But I knew my dream was about to turn into a nightmare. A person like Giovanni, a mafia boss, the most fearsome man in the whole of New York City, the most captivating and alluring man in the state of New York-now why would he want to sleep with me, his maid? It didn’t make sense. So, I had to leave, before he woke up.
I crawled out slowly, careful as not to wake him up. I was so excited when my foot hit the carpet. But my excitement died a sudden death when my body was hauled back, slamming into a wall-of-steel chest. Large, masculine arms then wrapped around my middle section.
I screamed and floundered about, wanting to be released from this alluring man.
A loud chuckle erupted from his chest.
“Boss. What are you doing? Let me go.” I gripped his fingers, trying to unclasp them from me, but he was strong, holding me imprisoned until I was breathless.
“Holding you, Jay,” he whispered in my ear, paralyzing my body. “So you won’t escape again.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” Turning slowly, I took in his image.
Big mistake. He was so raw this morning, his features all hard edges. When I first viewed him in his sleeping form, he was so subdued, but now, he was all man, virile, to the point it took my breath away.
I inhaled a massive amount of oxygen to calm my nerves. It wasn’t every day I woke up in the bed of a man I’d been dreaming about. Not to mention he was also naked. And I was sitting on his lap.
“Boss.” I chuckled uneasily, trying my best to dissipate the nervous tension in my belly. “You can let me go now. I’m going back to my room.”
“I’m not letting you go back to your room.” He gripped me firmer. “From now on, you sleep here, in my bed.”
That declaration took me by surprise.
I must be delusional. That must be it. No way was Giovanni saying he wanted me to stay in his room and sleep in his bed. I was still dreaming.
“Please tell me I didn’t do anything to you. Like tie you up to a bed, because that’s what I remembered.”
“Ha-ha-ha.” Giovanni chuckled again. “You sure did more than that. Want me to give you a clue?”
“I don’t want to know. Just tell me I wasn’t dreaming about me sleeping in your bed.”
“You did sleep in my bed,” was his blunt reply.
“Oh God. No. I was dreaming. It was all in my dream. How is it even possible? It doesn’t make sense.” I was hysterical, randomly spouting out nonsense even my mind couldn’t comprehend. But the thought of sleeping in bed and doing intimate things with Giovanni, the mafia boss, that was beyond belief to a normal girl like me.
Shift. Jerk. Shove.
One minute I was sitting in his lap; the next I was beneath him, his eyes boring straight into mine. Giovanni had pushed me down, and now I was at his mercy.
“You didn’t dream last night, Jay. We fucked,” he said this sentence with a straight face. “And I kissed you. Like this.”
I was unprepared for that kiss. It was intoxicating. It was mind blowing. It sent electric pulses up my spine. My lips became numb after a while. I knew then I was poisoned by his kiss, wanting more when he gave me only a little.
When he pulled back, I cradled his neck and exerted more force until his lips were sealed to mine again. I was a bad girl. A really bad girl who wanted to taste more of this mafia boss. After a short time, we separated.
I squeezed my eyes shut. I couldn’t look at him. Not after I’d committed that bold act. Also, I was afraid I’d fall for him all over again. I was already in love with him. To fall for him even deeper would guarantee my heart a lifetime of misery.
It was my own fault. If I hadn’t wanted to taste the chocolate cake so much, I wouldn’t be stuck in this predicament, half way between his maid and possibly his lover.
I fluttered my eyes open and saw him. He was still staring at me, his gaze penetrating deep into my soul. His fingers lightly caressed my lips, sending quivers of butterflies swarming in my belly.
Giovanni was a wolf. He was one devilish wolf out to destroy my innocent heart.
But the fact still remained. Why did he want to sleep with me last night? It would be okay if I were his lover, but what was I to him?
I knew I was indispensable because of my coffee skills, but to make love to his coffee machine? Now that had me confused.
I was still pinned under Giovanni when I asked him this question, “Boss, what am I to you now?”From NôvelDrama.Org.
I listened carefully to what he had to say, because from now on, my life-no, my future-would depend on that one single answer.
Giovanni didn’t speak. He was too busy curling his fingers around my brown locks.
“Boss.” I caught his finger and stilled his movement. “Please tell me. I’m dying to know.”
“Listen carefully, Jay.” He bent forward and huffed in my ear, making my pupils dilate. “You are one lucky girl to have captured the heart of this dangerous mafia boss.”
“What do you mean by that?” I mouthed as he pulled back to look into my eyes.
“Do I need to spell it out? You’re smart enough to figure it out for yourself.”
“Please tell me I’m dreaming.”
“For fuck’s sake. I’ve told you a million times already that you didn’t dream it.” He sounded pissed. “We fucked. I licked your pussy. We had sex three times. One of which included me taking you in the bathtub. What more do I have to tell you. You didn’t dream last night? It was all real. See.”
He was mad. I knew that. But he didn’t need to fling the blanket off my body, revealing my naked self for his eyes to feast on.
“I kissed you here, here and here,” he said, pointing to my nape, my left breast and on my belly. I turned a flaming shade of red.
“Ahh… boss, please.” I screeched, grabbing the blanket before it slid off the bed entirely.
But Giovanni caught me and pinned me to the bed again. He pressed his body on my breasts until they were flat against his chest.
“Boss, please, give me back the blanket. I’m not comfortable in this position.”
Giovanni smirked. “Get used to this position, because that’s where you’ll be spending a lot of your time.” I was naked and warm, also feeling a little aroused with him on top of me. Giovanni chuckled, noticing my flushed face. “Wanna fuck again?”
“Boss, please don’t use that word. It hurts my ears.” I turned away from him, refusing to look in those obsidian irises.
Giovanni spun my face around with a small jolt of his thumb on my chin. “You’d better get used to hearing that word, because from now on, Jay, you are deemed my lover. So be prepared to meet your fate.”
I could only stare at him in disbelief.
“So, what’s your response, Jay?” he asked when I didn’t return his reply.
I was still silent, mind playing up countless scenarios of my life as his lover. I didn’t know how to answer him. That question of me being his maid still plagued my mind.
“What about my position as your maid and coffee machine?” I asked. “I’m all confused.”
“There’s nothing to be confused about,” he growled out, expression a bit annoyed. “You’re now my lover. But you’ll still need to make me coffee.”
“So, I don’t need to make your bed?”
“No. You’ll be sleeping in it. With me.”
“So, I don’t need to wash your bathtub?”
“No. You’ll be bathing with me. Together.”
“So, I don’t need to wash, iron, and fold your shirts anymore.”
“No. You’ll be wearing my shirts, after we fuck.”
Oh God. I was not ready to commit myself to this kind of relationship. Especially with this dangerous man who used the F-word in every single sentence.
I gently pushed him back and got up slowly, plastering the blanket to my naked body. Looking at Giovanni once, I smiled and offered my sentiment.
“Thank you for the offer, boss. Even though it may sound tempting, I have to decline. I’m more than happy to continue to be your maid. Plus, a normal girl like me, I’m ill-suited to become your lover. You can find someone else. Maybe your Jennifer. Washing your shirts, cleaning your bathtub, and making your bed, now I can do all that. Making love every day of the week… I don’t have the strength for that. Now, because I have a long day ahead, plus school in about two hours, I’d better-
Oh shit!
There was no winning with this man. Disliking my decision, he pinned me to the bed again.
“Too late now, Jay. As I said, it’s rare for any women to capture my heart, but now that you’ve captured mine, I can’t let you go.”
“Is that a threat, boss?” I snapped back.
“You can take it as a threat, or take it as a change in contract.”
“Whichever way, I’m stuck.”
“I like you in this position. Stuck between me and the bed.”
Giovanni leaned in slowly. I knew I was about to get poisoned by that kiss again. So, before he could poison me, I screamed out, “What about your Jennifer? You said you’re searching for your Jennifer. I’m not her. Find her and make her your lover. Leave me to be your maid.”
“Jay. Jay. Jay. I’ll repeat it again. You are my Jennifer.” He clicked his tongue and pulled back, tugging me along with him too, nestling me on his lap again, and patting my head onto his shoulder.
“But I don’t remember,” I meekly replied. “I really don’t.”
“Then I’ll make you remember. I’ll make love to you, again and again, until your memories come back. I’ll make you fall for me, become intoxicated by me, until you can’t ever let me go, and want to stay with me forever. So, what do you say? Come be my lover?” He whispered these seductive words in my ear, making my body heat up once more.
My chocolate cake. My dream man. How could I refuse? Even if at the end of my journey as his maid, or lover, he found out I wasn’t his Jennifer, even if he got sick of me, and pushed me away, or even when the time came for all my debt to be paid in full, I’d happily pack my bags and leave his side. But before that time came, I could enjoy this one small moment of love. I wanted to experience it, taste it, become intoxicated by it.
I pushed him gently onto the bed, my wild hair falling into a brown curtain around us.
“Boss. I’ll answer you now.”
His eyes lit up, waiting desperately to hear my answer.
I inched forward, my lips hovering just above his lips. I didn’t kiss him. I wanted him to know what it was like to feel the anticipation so bad that he could risk anything to be with me. This way, I’d know what he said about wanting me to be his lover was real.
“I’ll be your lover. If tomorrow comes and you decide you’ve had enough of me, then I’ll go. As long as you agree to remove the three-million-dollar debt off my Pa’s name. This is my only condition.”
“You are one fucking smart rabbit, Jay.” He gritted his teeth.
“Will you, or will you not comply with this clause?” I barked back.
Giovanni clamped my face between his palms and pulled me close until my lips landed an inch from his. My heart pumped three miles a minutes just with him being this close.
Minutes ticked by, and still he didn’t answer. All he did was gaze at me, deep into my green eyes.
Would I be worth that three million? That was what he must be thinking. Even I couldn’t believe what I’d proposed.
Giovanni squeezed my cheeks. Then ever so slowly, he cupped my chin and brushed my cheek softly. In a subtle, soft voice, he gave me his answer.
“You’ve captured this mafia boss’s heart, Jay. I don’t think I could ask another girl to be my lover. You fit everything I could ever want. And for that, I’ll comply. If I toss you out, your old man will become debt free. In return, you’re to stay by my side until I’m tired of you. But if you run away from me without my consent, I’ll scour this earth for you. And your old man will not only pay back the three million he owes, but he will also give me his life.”
I gulped down my fear. “You don’t mean death-”
He clamped my lips. “I’ve given you my answer, Jay. Now it’s your turn. Do you comply with this proposal?”
I’d made my decision. I knew the answer to my own heart. I was in love with this dangerous man, so there was no way Pa would sacrifice his life for me.
“Jay,” Giovanni prompted.
I looked into his eyes, seeing the man who was going to be my boss and lover. My future flashed before my eyes. Would I still make his coffee? Would I still be his maid? I didn’t know the answers to these questions. But one thing I knew was that I was prepared to become totally intoxicated by this mafia boss, Giovanni Dente.
“This is my answer, boss.” With this said, I sank my lips onto his, sealing my fate as his lover.