Ruthless Mafia Daddy (Alpha Mafia Daddies)

I love Cassi, but she can be stubborn sometimes, so I can only hope she respects my wishes.

As I head back, I stop by the grocery store to pick up a few things for dinner before going home to get some chores done around the apartment and catch up on some work emails to get ahead for the week.

I know most people hate New York in the summer months, but it’s my favorite time of year. There’s nothing I love more than walking over to central park and sitting on a picnic blanket with a good book and an iced coffee.

I make a mental note to take myself on a little date next weekend because in truth, I’ve spent too many of the past few either inside my tiny apartment or at the office.

I try to convince myself it’s to make a good impression on my boss, but I know the truth. I’m too scared to be alone with my own thoughts because then I realize how lonely I’ve become since Sam left. I guess I just don’t want to give him that power over me.

So, working on weekends it is, until I find a way to reignite my spark.

When all the emails are handled and I have nothing else I can do for work, I start cleaning around the apartment.

My phone starts ringing.

I groan at aunt Maria’s name flashing, tempted to ignore it and continue on with deep-cleaning the toilet. I know her, though. She won’t rest until we talk. So, I whip off my rubber gloves and hit accept.

“Ciao, Zia.” I prop my phone between my chin and shoulder.

“You sound out of breath.” Sharp and cold as always. I roll my eyes and shuffle across my living area to perch on my window seat.

“I was just cleaning my bathroom.” I lean back against the wall and let my gaze drift upwards to look at the clear blue sky to try and ground myself. Speaking to my aunt always leaves me flustered and anxious.

“You should be outside. It’s too nice to be indoors. You young people never go outside. In my day, our parents would send us out at seven a.m. and tell us to come back for dinner.”

“Yes, well, my chores couldn’t wait.” I stifle my sigh. I love my aunt, I really do, but she can be an overbearing woman. Typical Italian.

“How is everything these past few weeks?”

“Fine. Work is good, all the paperwork for my promotion was finalized a few weeks ago.”

“Hmm… And what about a man?”

“No man, Zia.” My mind flashes to Andre, but I lock that out immediately.

“If you put all that energy into finding a man instead of getting a promotion, you could be married by now, bambina. Then you would have no need for promotions and corporations. You would be a wife, a mother. What a woman should be.”

It’s the lecture I’ve heard at least once a month since I was old enough to go on birth control. Though part of me wants to turn around and give the very same lecture to her.

Aunt Maria never married or had children, if by choice I’m not too sure, but I’m grateful every day that she was willing to take me in and raise me.

“I know.” I tap my foot on the seat.

“What about Sam? You definitely don’t want to see him again?”

“He cheated on me, Zia. Surely I deserve more than to be with a man who doesn’t even have the decency to stay faithful.”

“Men make mistakes.”

“What, like dad?”

Fuck. Why did I say that?

The line is silent for a moment, and I cringe.

We rarely talk about my parents. My mother was Maria’s sister, and she died giving birth to me. My father stuck around until I was twelve but then decided it was too much, so he dumped me on Maria’s doorstep.

The rest was history.

“There was no decency in that man, bambina. I will not discuss him. What I do want to discuss is why you are single.”

“Please, can we talk about anything else. I’ve already had this lecture once today.”Text property © Nôvel(D)ra/ma.Org.

“From who?”

“Cassi.”

“Well, it seems Cassi and I are on the same page for once.”

Maria has never hidden her disapproval of Cassi in the thirteen years we’ve been friends.

I’m almost tempted to tell Maria about my ‘date’ with Andre just to get her off my back, but it’s safe to say she wouldn’t let it go as easily as Cassi did.

If anything, Maria would go storming down to the Ritz-Carlton and bang on Andre’s door, not leaving until he promised to put a ring on my finger…

Nope. Not going there. Not even in my nightmares.

“Zia, I have to get back to my chores.”

“Come and visit me soon, I am getting old.”

“You’re not even in your mid-fifties.” I chuckle.

“I’m Italian. My veins are filled with nothing but red wine and gluten.”

“Evidence of a life well lived, Zia.”

“Ti amo, bambina.”

As she hangs up the phone. I let out a long breath and sit in the silence for a moment, thinking about what my auntie and Cassi said.

Should I be putting myself out there more? I know Sam burned me, but at some point, I will need to move on.

Part of me wished I had never overheard Andre’s conversation so I could let myself live out the fantasy of him for a little longer.

Time to move. I still have some cleaning to do.

By the time I shower, pull on some fresh cotton underwear, and climb into bed, I’m exhausted from the lack of sleep the night before. I must’ve only managed two hours, tops, but given the expensive silk sheets and naked man beside me, it was the best two hours of sleep I’ve ever had.

“Stop it, Lila.”

Why does Andre De Luca live rent free in my head?

My skin pebbles at the memory of his calloused hands on my body, my back arching as I remember how well he filled me.

I’ve never felt anything like it.

I mean, I’ve had plenty of good sex, but Andre? Nothing compares, and I hate that he will now be the standard I hold every man that follows him.

“You get today, De Luca.” I let my fingers trail over my bare stomach. “But from the moment I wake up tomorrow, you’re permanently evicted from my brain.”

Now he’s got me talking to myself? What has happened to me…

My eyelids flutter closed as I imagine it’s Andre touching me. My fingers graze the underside of my breasts just as he did, flicking my thumb over my aching nipples as I fully embrace the memory of Andre.

It doesn’t take long before I’m slick between my thighs, and I’m panting as I start working my clit. It’s nothing compared to how Andre’s tongue felt as he explored my pussy but any form of release will do because I’m so worked up my eyes start to sting as my orgasm builds.

Soon, I’m thrusting a finger inside my dripping wet core, then another, and my hips are rolling as I ride my own hand.

“Fuck.” My free hand moves to palm my breast.

His name is on my lips as I let the phantom heat of his body on mine bring me to the edge. The strong, powerful weight of him as he hovered over me, his hips frantically moving as he thrust his cock inside me. The way he groaned as he spilled into me⁠—

My orgasm hits me, and I’m crying out as my body arches off the bed, a thin sheen of sweat covering my skin.

My thighs shake as wave after wave of glorious pleasure hits me, and I think of nothing but Andre as I continue to work myself until I’m completely spent.

“Now we’re done,” I say aloud.

My phone rings, snapping me out of my post-orgasm bliss, and I groan.

The only people who ever call me are Cassi, my aunt, or my boss. Seeing as I’ve spoken to two out of three today means I can’t ignore this call.

Cringing, hoping he can’t somehow sense what I’ve just done in my voice, I reach for my phone.

An unknown number? I frown

Against my better judgment, I answer it in case it’s my boss on someone else’s phone.

“Hello?”

“Lila?”

Andre?

I let out a squeal, the phone slipping out of my hand.

How the fuck did he get my number?

Actually, scratch that. I don’t want to know.

I hit the end call button, tossing my phone across my bed as if it’s a ticking time bomb. I sit staring at it, my knees tucked into my chest, trying to decide what to do.

Should I go to the police?

Andre’s clearly done some digging on me if he’s managed to get my phone number.

Did Cassi cave and call the hotel, asking for Andre?

The screen lights up again with another incoming call.

I have to decide right now how I’m going to play this, otherwise I could risk not only myself but the people I love most.

Andre De Luca is a dangerous man in more ways than one, and I can’t let myself get sucked into his charm.

The phone screen goes dark once more, and I let out the breath I didn’t realize I was holding.

My heart is pounding in my chest.

I decided from minute one that I would not let anyone know what I overheard last night. That includes the police.

But am I making a mistake wanting to protect him while trying to keep safe too?

The screen lights up once more, but this time it’s a text message. I lean over to pick up my phone and swipe it open to read the message.

Andre – You have to speak to me eventually, baby.

I curse under my breath.

There’s no way Andre didn’t figure out that I overheard him on the phone and that’s why I left without so much as a goodbye. Why else would he have gone to all this trouble to find my number?

He wants to make sure I stay silent. And I will. Including when it comes to talking to him.

So, I quickly click onto his contact and block the number before switching my phone off. That way, I’m not tempted to reply.

I only hope that my lack of response kills whatever game Andre is desperate to play, and he decides to let this go.

For both our sakes.