MAFIA POSSESSION ( Completed)

FIRST DATE WITH ANTONIO

Anthony walked me to the passenger’s side of his black Ferrari and opened the door for me. I got in without saying a word. A few moments passed and I saw Adonis with one of his men get into a black Escalade.  Anthony exchanged words with another of his men— who had the same look of bad blood in his eyes—before finally entering the car. He shot me a quick glance before starting the engine and taking off.

The silence was maddening and extremely awkward. But I took comfort in the fact that he seemed a lot less ready to kill than he had when he was at my home.  We were on the high-way and still not a word had been spoken. My fingers were fidgeting nervously on my lap, playing with my engagement ring.  I tried to concentrate on my manicure, or anything that wasn’t the man next to me.

But that didn’t last very long because Anthony’s right hand reached out and covered both of mine into his own, stilling me— taking me completely by surprise. I breathe, and then looked up to meet his dark blue eyes. Only for a moment though because his gaze returned back to the road ahead.

“You can relax, I won’t hurt you.” He said calmly.

I swallowed. “You were just about ready to kill my father and brother.” It wasn’t really an accusation, it was more of an ‘I’m-not-stupid’ type of statement. How the fuck could I possibly relax when he was hungry for blood?

“I’m still ready to kill your father and brother.” He admitted quietly.

It was hard getting a good look at his face. But I saw his jaw tightened, giving away the fact that he was anything but relaxed. He parted my hands from each other and wrapped my left hand into his, completely covering it.  His hand was huge compared to mine. Still, it was comforting. Almost felt like a normal date, like a normal boyfriend and girlfriend going out on a normal fucking date. It reminded me of the way Alex would hold my hand at school sometimes.

Anthony Romero was holding my fucking hand like we were on a normal date. This shit was not normal.

“Right…” I said, because I didn’t know what the fuck else to say.  But I knew what not to do… and that was to not snatch my hand out of his like a scared little girl. Though the thought definitely crossed my mind.

He furrowed his eyebrows and sighed. “I would never hurt you, you’re a child.”

Okay, was he trying to piss me off? “Yeah, a child you agreed to marry.” Don’t mind my bitterness.

He lips twitched and he smirked. “I’ve heard you’re not very fond of the idea.”

“You’ve heard?” I’m pretty sure I made it fucking obvious.

He nodded his head. “I have my sources.”

“Marcello?”

“Among others,” he assured.

“I don’t suppose I could convince you to back out now?” A girl has to at least try everything, right?

He gave me a small smile as he pulled up to the front of Donatello’s: a very expensive well known restaurant that you had to make reservations for months in advance in order to get seating. Only the rich and powerful and fucking celebrities could afford to eat here. My father would bring mother here every year for their anniversary.

Both of my brows arched upward in surprise. Anthony exited the car and walked around to my side to open the door for me. He was acting all the gentleman. The valet guy stepped inside the Ferrari and drove it away; Anthony extended his arm for me to take and hesitantly, I did. When we approached the man at the entrance, Anthony gave him his last name and the man let us inside. Another lady greeted us and escorted us to the very back of the restaurant where our table was almost secluded from everyone else.  The table was small and intimate with a rose at the center. Anthony pulled out a chair and motioned for me to sit.

                It was the perfect opportunity to really check him out, now that he was directly seated in front of me. He was wearing a black 3-piece, tightly fitted suit. His pitch black dark hair was parted and slicked over to the side with a nice taper fade.  He had grown a beard since the last time I saw him making him look older, more rugged. His lips were tinted a natural pink and looked so…kissable.

His eyes bore into me and his lips twitched upward into a knowing smirk, “Like what you see?”

I glared. “Please. You’re old.”

He gave me an arrogant look, “Did you pick out that awful outfit?”

My eyes narrowed dangerously.  “Is this your idea of bonding?” I bit out through clenched teeth. What an asshole. I knew what I looked like. He didn’t have to fucking rub it in my face.

He had the audacity to laugh out loud, his eyes glazing over with amusement.

A beautiful woman wearing all black and a white apron approached us, “Would you like some wine?” Her eyes were focused on him, completely bypassing the fact that I was there too.

Anthony nodded yes in response and I averted my gaze, choosing instead to study my engagement ring once more.  It not like I had seen it often in the last year. It felt alien on my hand and I wanted nothing more than to take it off and shove it at him.

The woman filled his glass with red wine and was just about to walk away before he spoke up. “The young lady would like some too.” Suddenly, I felt very much my age.

I looked up and he had that same arrogant look plastered on him. The woman shot me a dark look, but filled up my glass anyway before taking her leave.

We were alone now.  Looking at my glass filled with wine, I swallowed the lump in my throat. Father didn’t allow me to drink Alcoholic beverages yet because of my age. Despite his profession of crime, my father was incredibly conservative when it came to his own family.

“Go on,” Anthony raised his glass and motioned for me to pick mine up.

“Father would be angry,” I said quietly.

“Good thing he’s not here,” he looked at me expectantly until finally, I complied.                                           

The wine was smooth and reminded me of plums. It was tick and rich. It was good, I liked it. Anthony placed his glass back down and looked at me again with an unreadable expression. I couldn’t look away from the strong force of his gaze. It was most unnerving. Like there was a struggle going on inside of him and he was trying not to break thin ice.

“You are very intimidating,” I confessed when I realized he wasn’t going to say anything.

“I know,” he assured. Somehow giving me the feeling that his ego was being stroked…I glowered at him.

Anthony cleared his throat.  “Isabella, by now you should know you can’t change the circumstances…we should…” he stopped for a moment and his eyes flashed with distaste, but finally finished with, “try to get along.” He said it like the words felt dry and unwelcomed on his tongue.

“But you could.” I countered, ignoring his suggestion of playing nice.

“I could, what?” His guise remained leveled, like he was talking to an annoying child.  There was a warning in his eyes as he picked up the wine glass once more and finished the whole thing in one smooth swig.

“You could change the circumstances. I’m not stupid, Anthony. Just because I’m young doesn’t mean I can’t see things for what they are. My father might be able to force me into this marriage, but somehow I doubt the same can be said about you.”

He exhaled, motioning for another refill. In an instant the woman was back and his cup once again full with the rich expensive wine. “Leave the bottle,” he said gruffly. The woman placed the wine on our table and retreated from our sight.

“That’s the first time I hear you say my name…” he said smoothly, managing to throw me off my game.