His Caged Dove -Mafia Romance (BOOK ONE)

One: Dove

Finally, both of them passed by the bedroom door. My eyes connected to the man in a black suit. I knew I shouldn't have held his gaze, but I didn't know why I had to look, let alone maintain my eye contact with him. I didn't know who he was, though his grey eyes were alluring and drawing, to say the least.

In a black suit and a white collared button down underneath, it made his red tie really shine through. The gorgeous looking man didn't bother to hide the fact that he was racking my body up and down, though there wasn't much to see in my tattered white dress. He was about in his late twenties, from what I was able to deduct. He was rather tall, buff, and walked with so much dominance and power. His black hair was swept to one side of his face and jawline.

Yet there was something about him that was cold and no doubt, cruel. Anyone that knew my father was either as twisted as him or wanted something from him. There truly was no escaping from the grasp of being an Italian. The lottery of birth had given me the worst of the worst.

He broke eye contact with me, and I quickly glanced back down into my book.

"Dove, this is our guest, Gedeon," my father's voice was tight as he flashed me a façade smile. He never introduced me to anyone that came. Then again, he probably did so because his guest, Gedeon, was the one who stopped there to look into my bird cage. Father clasped his hands together and I tried not to flinch at the sudden sound. "Introduce yourself."

"Hello," my voice came out rasped and croaked from the lack of talking the last few days since Robert left for some sort of business trip. "It's...nice to meet you, Gedeon. I apologize, I don't know what to say about myself."

I bit my tongue at that, hating how the words slipped my mouth.

"Come here and shake hands with him," Father stated through gritted teeth.

I rather not.

 I knew he didn't like what rolled out my tongue either, and I knew what was going to come later. Hoping to save myself from the punishment, I slowly raised from my seat and placed the book down onto the table as I made my way to where Father and Gedeon was. His eyes darted to the book and then to me, not showing any emotion. My heart stuttered nervously, because I didn't know what was in store for me. For all I knew, it was all a set up and my father was going to allow him to rape me in some sort of sick deal.

Gedeon basically towered over me, standing six foot something. I held out my hands that had been wrapped a few days prior, preparing myself not to wince if we were to shake hands. Robert had thought he would teach me a lesson for "seducing" a guard while he was gone. He decided the best course of action was to give me a second-degree burn on my hands, even after I cried and told him he was imagining it. He eyed my wrapped hands with a gaze I couldn't understand.

Then he took my hands into his, almost like I was going to break and bent down to kiss it. I stayed quiet, small goosebumps rippling through my body. Normally, I was scared, downright petrified by something so bold, but his words made me still. "I like good strong words that mean something, rather than meaningless dialogues."

              His voice was thick and confident. At first, I didn't know what he meant until I realized I had heard of that line before. I bat my lashes a few times and realized he had quoted from Little Women. Just who the hell was this man?

 I meekly nodded, though a wave of emotions filled me to be able to converse with someone. Before I could stop myself, I spoke for the first time without being spoken to. "They say those who speaks their truth own their power. The tongue can give meaning to what the eyes can't make out."

He went quiet for a moment before a small smile formed in his face. It was one that wasn't out of hate, or an interior motive. It was like he understood what I meant, the only intellect I had known in a very long time. "You are a woman with an adequate mind. I would never expect that from an unobtrusive bird."