1
Massimo
The seductive beat, free flowing booze, and smell of lusting bodies fill the lower level of the newly acquired Roselli nightclub.Carnal Sins is full of sexual energy and pulsing with a seductive beat.I glance at the gold Rolex, tugging on the crisp white shirt underneath my suit jacket which is bound to be hotter than hell with all the heat generated in this place.I grimace at the time.Fucking traffic in Jersey is getting worse every day.
The boisterous crowd sways to the music, my eyes scan the area just in front of the band, looking for the one woman who causes my jaw to tighten with irritation the minute I spot her right in front of the stage where she likes to be.Desiree Amorte is much more interested in grinding her hips and showing off than anything else tonight.That white dress fits her like a second skin, showing off every curve she has for the men who like her little show.Desiree dances with her friends but has her eyes on every man in sight.Same thing, different day.
There has to be a way out of the fucking mess … for her and for me.Because no way in hell am I marrying that woman.Not that she wants me either but extricating ourselves from our fathers’ agreement is proving to be more of a challenge than it should be in the twenty-first century.
An arranged marriage in this day and age should be outlawed, but yet, as next in line for the Roselli throne, and while nothing is official, I find my ass duty bound to marry the daughter of the don of another large crime family in the area.
The blonde beauty is about as ready as I am to be tied down … but her father is not the least bit interested in what she or I want.He just wants to get paid for the business and territory the Rosellis will take over if Desiree takes my name.That’s not going to fucking happen but try telling that to my father, who lives and breathes by his damn protocols and old-world beliefs.
The vivacious blonde wraps her arms around some poor unsuspecting putz on the floor.My jaw tightens with impatience, while muttering underneath my breath.I stride through the group of people dancing until I reach the guy who she’s put in a shitty and extremely dangerous position.
Her flirtation may not be his fault, but in this business, reputation is everything and everyone who is anyone knows that you don’t fuck with anything, or anyone, who belongs to me or any other Roselli in this town.Whether I want the arrangement with Desiree or not.For all intents and purposes, she’s supposed to be mine.That makes her off limits to him or anyone else, at least for now.Until I can find a way to get the agreement canceled without starting a war.
I grab the back of fuckface’s neck and spin him around with a rough hand to his shoulder.“She doesn’t belong to you.Get lost.”
He raises his brows in challenge, but then recognition settles into his features before I say another word.His wide green eyes drop to my waistband and his face pales as he sees the handle of my Glock poking out of my dress pants.He freezes and starts stuttering over his words.“I’m so sorry, Mr.Roselli.I was just dancing and ….”
My hand slides over the top of the polished black handle.Security is watching but I don’t give a fuck.They know better than to step into a squirmish with one of the Roselli boys.They also know my signature is the one allowing a healthy sized sum of money to hit their bank accounts every Friday like clockwork.That buys you loyalty like nothing else.
My eyes scan the tattooed thug from down the street.I’ve seen him before but if he knows what’s good for him, I won’t see him in our club anymore.“Pack up and get out.The next time you touch who doesn’t belong to you, you’ll wind up missing a hand.”
Desiree pouts at me with red-lined lips as lover boy makes his way through the club, veering towards the nearest exit that will take him out to the street, while the now disinterested club members turn their attention to a slow song the band has just begun to play.
“Asshole,” Desiree mouths dramatically.Same shit different night.This woman needs a man with a firm hand, but I don’t have the patience or interest.I grasp her hand, lead her away from the prying ears of her friends, and pull her into a dance she does not want to have.
She looks up at me batting those baby blues, all caked with more layers of mascara than she can probably count.“I was just having a little fun.You don’t own me.At least not yet, the engagement hasn’t even been announced.I have a little time to enjoy my freedom before our fathers shake hands over this business deal,” she almost hisses.
I spin her around and then draw her close, whispering in her ear.“Let’s get one thing straight.I don’t give a fuck what you do in private.I’ll hire an entire football team and let you spread your legs for them, but in public, now, and while everyone believes you’re supposed t become my wife, you will act like a lady.At least while I try to get us out of this agreement, capische?”
Her body stiffens.Desiree knows she’s crossed the line, again, just like the last five times.Why I put up with this shit time and time again is beyond me.Clearly single and carefree is not the way my life was intended to go, at least according to my father.Well, fuck duty, honor and fucking family traditions.If it weren’t for the future of my brothers, I’d walk the fuck away from this arrangement in a heartbeat but for them, and the sake of not starting a war which no one wants, I’ll put up with this charade for a little while longer.At least until I find an amicable way out.
For them, I will do anything.As next in line for the throne of the Roselli Family right now it means putting up with an errant future fiancée who doesn’t have the slightest interest in being tied down.The money is important to her family though, especially her father.Desiree has responsibilities just like me, but different, even though clearly she doesn’t want the commitment that comes with the dollars any more than I do.
Desiree is all too eager to rejoin her friends as I relinquish her and they make their way to her side, pulling her into a group dance as a popular song comes on the overhead while the band takes a break.I glance at my watch.Another hour of this place and I’ll have one of my guards drop her off at home so she can sleep off the night.If she keeps this pace up, I swear, she’s heading for a downward spiral.
A good night’s sleep would be welcome every once in a while.Only if I’m so lucky, and the squirmish in the club tonight doesn’t get back to our fathers, because explaining to them, no matter who was at fault, is not something high up on my list of things to do, especially with the balance of power between the families so precarious right now.
But whether we want this merger or not, they do, and what the fathers want, the fathers usually get.But still, I am determined to find a fucking way out without starting a mafia war.
2
Sophia
My best friend grins and her eyes sparkle as she looks around the infamous lower level of a popular club that under no circumstance would my father approve of me to go.She almost bounces in her seat with excitement.“We did it!A night out without all of your bodyguards!”
It’s hard not to laugh even while riddled with guilt.“I have to admit, I haven’t had this much fun in ages.Out with friends and no one to bother me or tell me what I can or cannot do.No matter that Papa will be raging mad when he finds out that I ditched my security team to hang out with my friends.And I don’t even want to think about how mad Delz will be.He takes the job of my personal bodyguard seriously, far too seriously if you ask me.”
Olivia nods.“Serves him right for the last time he spoiled all of our fun!”
Sometimes a girls’ night out with friends, minus the prying eyes of lieutenants and soldiers is just what you need.No matter the price.Regardless, I’ll pay for my deception even though I haven’t consumed a drop of liquor and don’t intend to at all.Besides Olivia and Mia wouldn’t bring me somewhere not safe, and they know every bar and club in this entire city.
Olivia nudges me with a foot, causing mine to almost slip off the stool as the bartender hands us our drinks.I try hard to keep a straight face.Handsome heads back to the other end of the long marble bar and she laughs.“He’s so totally into you.”Olivia nods her head as though agreeing with herself, leaning down to sip some more of the margarita from her fishbowl sized glass.
I turn to Mia on my other side.“Do something with her.”She is no help at all, just grins and nods in agreement.I pretend to huff.“Not you, too!You are supposed to be the voice of reason.Dancing, laughter and fun, no men tonight.Those were the rules.You both promised if I was designated driver you would refrain from your incessant matchmaking.”
