Page 35 of Claimed By the Possessive Mafia Prince

DARIO

I stand at the front of the palm-tree altar with the groom’s side of the party, my gaze moving over the crowd as my mother and father say their vows. I watch the faces of the men for any signs of doubt or disrespect.

Word has spread fast.

Rocco is on his way back to the East Coast, ready to stand a mafia trial for what he did. The best he can hope for is a quick death. It’s a sad ending to a damn sad story, but when he put a gun to Siena’s head, he sealed his fate. There’s no going back from that.

“…stand together,” Father goes on, as Mother watches, her eyes glittering with tears, looking angelic in her white dress.

“You have always been there for me, my love, and I promise to do the same. We are strong when we’re together, when we understand we present a unified front, when we have trust and confidence, and we don’t succumb to doubt. ”

My father worded his vows purposefully to send a message to the men while honoring his love for my mother. From the way several of them flinch and swallow nervously, the message hits.

Siena is by far the most beautiful woman in the clearing. She stands at the back of the crowd, her hands intertwined, staring at my parents as if she’s waiting for something to go wrong. She looks at me and smiles when I wink.

She doesn’t fight the smile anymore. She lets it come.

It’s been a day since the standoff. I haven’t seen much of Siena. She spent all day yesterday running around, making final arrangements, checking, and double checking everything. But she came to me last night.

We made slow love, less ferocious than the first time, more like a hug that melted into sex and became a hug again after we were done. As we shifted together, I whispered in her ear, “Stay with me, Siena…”

She moaned, a sound that might’ve been yes or might’ve just been a moan.

“You’ve always meant everything to me, Vito,” Mother says, speaking through tears. “Since the day we met, I knew you were the one. The moment we met. Some people don’t believe in fate or love at first sight…” She aims a sly look at me. “I know it’s true. Because I felt it the first time I saw you.”

Everyone applauds when they finally kiss. After so much stress, it’s a sweet, well-earned moment.

As the crowd makes its way to the beach for the festivities, I walk up behind Siena and slip my arm around her waist. She doesn’t even notice. She’s staring down at her phone, her mouth wide open, reading her mother’s latest text. Ah, so the funds have finally arrived.

Siena looks up at me. “Was this you?” she whispers.

I wink. “Was what me?”

“Hey…” She grabs my shirt, pulls herself in. I love when she does that. “Mom said that someone contacted her and wants to be a silent partner in her catering business. They’ve offered generous terms… honestly, absurdly generous. Like they’re shooting themselves in the foot sort of generous.”

“If I said it was me, would you be mad?”

“You said you’d never lie to me, so does it matter?”

“Touché. It was me, angel.”

She gasps. “You didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s a no-strings-attached offer,” I say. A dark feeling pools in my stomach. I don’t want to cut the strings between us, but I mean it. “Whatever you say when we go up on the ridge, that money is yours. It’s hers. It’s time you and your mom gave it another shot.”

“Are you sure?”

“Certain. Don’t tell me you’re too proud to accept it.”

“Proud?” she says, shaking her head. “We need all the help we can get.” She wraps her arms gently around me, being careful with my bandage. “Thank you. And what did you mean up on the ridge?”

“Take a walk with me.”

“But the party?—”

“It’s going amazingly well, because of you. Veronica can handle it alone for a few minutes. I want to talk with you.”

She links arms with me. “Then let’s go.”

We split off from the party, walking up the ridge, the sun cascading down upon us. We cross to the other side, where the pumps push the water over the edge, the artificial waterfall flowing into the pool below.

I slip my hands onto her hips. My favorite place.

“I’m thinking about my mother’s vows,” I say.

“About fate and love at first sight?” She asks, her expression difficult to read.

“She gave me a look when she mentioned that. She was not-so-slyly trying to tell me she thinks I should accept the whole love-at-first-sight deal.”

Siena swallows. “It seems… immature.” She sighs at my exasperated look. “I’m sorry, Dario, but that’s just how I feel. I don’t think the world works like that. Your parents are happy and clearly in love, so maybe for them, that’s the case. But for us? I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be sorry. I agree.”

“Oh.”

“It wasn’t fate that brought me to your boat that night. And the moment I laid eyes on you, I didn’t love you. But I knew you were different. I knew you made me feel something no one else has. I knew I was curious to know you more than I’ve ever been with anyone.”

“I felt the same,” she says, smiling.

“And now I know I can’t let you go,” I tell her. “I’m not saying to sign your life away to me, or that you belong to me. I’m not even going to use the L-word, Siena, because we’re grownups and this is the real world and, hell, we both know that life can throw more than a few curveballs.”

She laughs, but it’s a sob too, her eyes welling with tears. “Amen to that. So what are you saying, huh?”

“I’m saying it’s a two-hour drive between Atlantic City and New York, and that I’m willing to make that drive twice a day, every day, if it means seeing you.

I’m saying that we’d be fools to take what we have and forget about it when we get home.

I’m saying…” I lean down for a kiss. “You’re not getting rid of me that easily. ”

She grabs my face, stands on her tiptoes, and crashes her lips against mine. I hold her tightly, savoring the kiss, the texture of her lips.

“That was the best thing you could’ve said,” she whispers, her mouth hovering against mine, sounding excited.

I smile. “Yeah?”

“Definitely.”

“Does that mean you want it, Siena? Does that mean you want us ?”

“I want to go home and know that we’ll see each other again. I want to… date.” She laugher in pure joy, no self-consciousness, no instant frown to make up for the slip of a smile. “I never thought I’d want that. Not at this point in my life. You’ve changed everything.”

“You’ve changed me too, beautiful.”

“Don’t change too much.” She kisses me, sliding her hands over my back. “I like you the way you are.”

Our kiss grows more passionate and intense, with more heat coming from our bodies than from the blazing Maldivian sun above.