Page 14 of Claimed By the Possessive Mafia Prince

SIENA

“ I s that really what you want–to see me with someone else?”

I toss and turn as morning sunlight filters into my hut, glowing red against my closed eyelids. When he asked me that question, it wasn’t like I could tell him the confusing truth.

No, I don’t want to see him with someone else. I’m not some lovestruck Victorian heroine, though. My instincts will not lead me. I meant what I told him last night.

The job comes first. Mom comes first.

I climb out of bed, stretching my arms over my head. My body is aching from last night. Not the swim. The rest of it.

My mind is aching too. I remember how vicious Dario sounded on the phone, the violence in his voice. Surely, that should be all the fuel I need to forget about whatever this is and move on with my life.

It’s not like there’s even that much to move on from. Some banter. A few kisses. Some closeness.

Yet, it feels like more.

I get dressed and head to the restaurant for breakfast. When I see Dario and his mother, Marcela, sitting at a table in the corner under the shadow of a large palm tree, something tightens in my chest.

Marcela waves a hand, gesturing for me to join them. I nod to the buffet line and then give her a thumbs up. It’s not like I can tell her no. Anyway, a simple breakfast won’t be so bad.

Dario looks like a giant sitting next to his mother, cool, calm, and collected too, leaning back in his cream shirt with the top buttons open, his black silver hair neatly styled. As I approach the table, I feel his eyes on me.

“Good morning, Siena,” Marcela says.

“Good morning.” I smile. “How did you sleep?”

“Beautifully… knowing my savior was out there.”

“Ha, I was just doing my job.”

“Excellently, it has to be said.” Marcela turns to her son. “Are you going to say hello?”

“Hey, Siena,” he says.

“Hi.” I look down at my plate. Despite what I said last night, he can’t help but gaze dreamily at me. Or am I projecting?

“We were just talking about fate and true love,” Marcela adds.

Dario chuckles. “We were?”

I look up to find Marcela staring stubbornly at her son. Her expression changes when she sees me looking. “We were debating whether love at first sight exists, and, if it does, what should be done about it.”

“I think I’m too pessimistically practical to believe in stuff like that,” I say.

“Oh, really?” Marcela sounds disappointed.

Uh oh. That’s not good. “I mean–sorry, maybe it’s possible. Perhaps some people meet the right man or woman, and they know straightaway that this is the one for them.”

“That’s exactly what I think.”

“She’s telling you what she thinks you want to hear, Mother. You don’t know how intimidating you can be. Lay off her.”

“It’s fine,” I say, my voice far harsher than I intended.

The last thing I need is Dario thinking he needs to swoop in every time things get a little awkward.

“Whatever your motivations, dear, you’ve spoken the truth. I fell for Vittorio the moment I laid eyes upon him. I knew nothing about him, didn’t even know his name, and yet I knew. It was meant to be.”

Dario gives me a secretive look and rolls his eyes. I resist the urge to smile.

Marcela looks at her son. “You’re thinking about how cheesy I sound, aren’t you, young man?”

“Maybe a little, Mother. Come on–love at first sight?”

“So you’re as pessimistic and practical as Siena, then?”

“I guess so.”

“So, what you’re saying is, you and Siena have a lot in common…”

Dario shoots me another look, eyebrow raised. “I can’t argue with that.”

Marcela stands. “If you’ll excuse me, I’ve got a spa appointment. But please continue your breakfast… together.”

“Sorry about that,” Dario says once she’s gone.

“Somehow, I don’t believe you,” I reply.

“There’s that guilty smile again…”

I wipe it off my face. “I wasn’t smiling.”

“Sure you weren’t.”

I stuff a sausage in my mouth to avoid the need to talk for a while, then I look around the restaurant. “So, have you picked your new lady?”

Dario stares at me. “I’m looking at her.”

“We’ve talked about this.”

“If you think I’m going to sit here talking about other women, you’re dead wrong.”

“So you’ve accepted this is going to be a romance-less trip, then.”

“I wouldn’t go that far…” He leans forward, resting his forearms on the table. There’s something resolve-meltingly manly about them. “Maybe I’ve decided to go the persistent route.”

“That sounds like creep territory.”

He chuckles. “Is that how you see me, Siena?”

“No comment.”

“That’s a no.”

“No–it’s a no… comment.”

He smirks. “You know my mother hasn’t got a spa appointment. She just wanted to leave us alone together.”

“Your dad mentioned she was playing matchmaker at lunch, but she’d be singing a different tune if she showed up to the renewal and everything wasn’t perfect. If I made a mistake because I was distracted…”

“Maybe we could work out a deal. Ten minutes of steam for one wedding task. I can be your assistant… there’s that smile again.”

“Nope.”

He’s right, though. He won’t quit, and I’m starting to like it.

“Does she really believe all that stuff?” I say, changing the subject.

“About true love and soulmates?” When I nod, he goes on, “Yes, she does. She’s gotten it into her head that that’s what we are.”

“You don’t think so?”

“I think we could have something, Siena. Hell, I think we do have something. Ever since I climbed into your boat, I’ve felt like a different man, as if there’s a weight off my shoulders, like I can just… be. It’s special. It’s intoxicating. It’s something I haven’t felt before.”

Under the table, I dig my hand into my leg. His words surge through me like wildfire.

He catches himself, tries to laugh it off, like he thinks he’s overshared.

“But true love? Destiny? Fate? No, I can’t say I believe in any of that.”

“Me neither,” I murmur, playing his words in my mind.

We could have something. He feels like a different man…

When I’m around him, I feel like a different woman, a spark of adventure I’d follow in different circumstances.

We finish our breakfast, then I stand. “I need to go back to my room and collect some things.”

He nods and stands. “I’ll walk you.”

“That sounds like I don’t have much choice.”

He playfully nudges me, tantalizing physical contact. “If I gave you a choice, you might say no. I’m not crazy, Siena. I’m not taking that risk.”

“I disagree about the crazy part, but okay…”

“So, you think I’m nuts?” he teases as we leave the restaurant and walk across the warm, golden sand of the beach.

“The definition of madness is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result, right?”

“You think my pursuing you makes me insane. From where I’m standing, not pursuing you would make me nuts.”

“You’re so infuriatingly persistent.”

“I’m just addicted to your guilty smiles.”

I look out at the stunning horizon so that he can’t see another of my smiles, which he loves so much.

“Just so you know, there’s going to be no funny business in my room. I’ve got stuff to do.”

“What sort of animal do you take me for?”

I’ll break every bone…

“You don’t want me to answer that,” I say.

We walk down the short pier to my room.

“What the hell?” I murmur when I see the door swinging on its hinges. “I locked the door.”

“Are you sure?”

“Certain.”

Dario walks ahead of me. “Stay here. Don’t come in unless I tell you to.”

His tone has changed, becoming low and commanding.

He forces the door open with his shoulder. I hear him stomping around, voice raised. “Hello? If someone’s in here, you better show yourself.”

A door slams and then closes.

“Siena,” he calls. “You can come in.”

I enter the room and gasp.

Someone trashed it completely, tipping over my bed, leaving the drawers and closet in pieces as if someone kicked them, with clothes strewn everywhere.