SILVIO
"I'll repeat myself." I murmured, shooting the girl a look of indifference as I walked across the room to grab the stash of gun I'd kept hidden underneath the counter.
I traced my thumb against the granite until I found the switch for the compartment and emptied it out. "What the fuck are you doing here, Lucia?"
A look of astonishment crossed her features before she scoffed. "It's Sofia. I knocked several time but the door was open, and I brought this a sign of good peace to call a truce. The conversation we had didn't go so well."
The woman glanced at me over her shoulder, placing down the bag of groceries on the countertop and smiled. She wasn't here for a damn truce. "My father hoped you'd changed your mind over our discussion."
"I haven't and I won't." Her stoic expression completely faltered. "I think I made myself clear that day to your father, Lucia. Get out of my damn house."
Her lips parted as she was prepared to correct me once again but judging by the look on my face, she knew I wasn't in the correcting mood.
I had a woman on the verge of coming on my lap hidden away in the bathroom most likely overthinking everything and letting her thoughts get the best of her. She was most likely halfway between the decision to go back to her room and flee to room with Beast.
I knew her and I knew this wasn't going to be one-time thing and I also knew there was no way she would ever let me touch her.
She was going to put the farthest distance between us. Fucking hell. And all because of Lucia.
"Look." Lucia turned towards me after dropping the groceries on the counter. The same groceries I was going to throw away into the damn trash after she left. "If the agreement goes on as we talked about, my father is prepared to give you his vote."
"I don't need his damn vote."
Her composed expression completely fell like she was expecting to trap me in a corner like a squeaky little mouth who'd fallen for the classic cheese trick. "Is there another woman in your life?" She asked bluntly, facing me with crossed arms and a little pout. "Is that why?"
With a restrained sigh, I shook my head to myself and walked to the doorway where the door was already cracked open but with a jab of my foot, I expanded the doorway.
Jerking my head in the direction and gesturing for her to get the fuck out.
Her mouth slacked, cheeks rosy as she watched the events unfold almost like she couldn't believe I was kicking her out. And then, like clockwork, I watched her gaze fall down to my pants, and the unavoidable bulge from earlier.
A smug look appeared into her eyes, and she grabbed onto her purse tightly with bright red manicured fingernails and waltzed out the same way she'd appeared. Like a storm of whirlwind emotions.
Damn it. She was definitely right about one thing. I needed her father's vote to solidify my place as Don in the Cosa Nostra.
There was other Capos and soldiers who didn't believe I had the right to be Don because of my background and since they knew it meant new management which meant people were bound to get killed and promoted.
It also had to do with trust, they trusted Octavius because he was born into it, and they didn't trust me. To them, I was a stranger.
I didn't give a fuck about their permission or approval and if it was up to me, I would have gone down the list and buried a bullet in each of their heads but I couldn't.
I couldn't afford to cause a war especially given Finley's condition, and the woman who would be spending most of her night's with me now. I couldn't afford to put them in danger.
And so I needed to be strategic. I'd gotten every single vote or approval but Lucia's father. Roberto. He was one of the Capos but he'd been in the family for decades and he was trusted advisors and had been expecting Octavius to pass along the title of Don to him.
When that didn't happen, he threw a fit, handed me an ultimatum of marrying his daughter for his approval.
This guaranteed him his wishes which was to have a way of acquiring that title and also a way to bind me into a common contract around here. Marriage for peace.
And I wasn't prepared to do either of those.
The doorway from the bedrooms upstairs creaked, the sound of footsteps filling the space around me as I held my breath and waited for her appearance.
A small smile crept on my face, and cracked through my stoic expression as I caught a glimpse of her in my clothes. She was too goddamn cute.
Fuck, this was a sight I could get used to. Her in my space, my clothes, my house. I shook my head slowly with a lick of my bottom lip as those dark brown eyes clashed with mine, and in there, I was looking at a reflection of myself—a mirrored image.
She knew and I knew, it couldn't even be a one-time thing because now that I had a taste, I needed another one. And I wasn't sure if I would ever be able to go days without it—her.
I ran a hand through my hair—another thing which was slowly starting to piss me off given the growing length each week and waited for her to say something. "I heard a woman's voice. A visitor?"
"She's irrelevant."
"Why? Is she your girlfriend? Are you fucking her?"
I was a little blown back by her questions, my brows furrowed into a line of confusion and astonishment. Where did that come from?
"She's not. And I'm not. Never will." I took a step closer to where she was standing, leaving my position from the doorway and as I approached her, she took a step back. Almost like she thought she could run away from this... from me.
She knew, she knew she wasn't in control of her own body around me and if anything, it only made me grow bigger in my pants because I was glad for fucking once, I wasn't the only feeling admitting and feeling this goddamn magnetic pull between us.
It was unbearable sometimes, like a painful ache or the crackling of a bonfire, so spontaneous and consuming. It was an all or nothing thing—you couldn't fake it or wait for it to subside.
All you could do was either act upon it, or have the goddamn willpower to walk away. It was always a gamble.
"Silvio." Her sharp tone had a hint of caution, and warning like she knew what I was planning to do, and thought she could stop it. She closed her eyes, taking in a rushed deep breath and gestured a hand out for me to stop in my track. "Just wait. Stop."
