I smiled and shifted my gaze to the floor. “Thanks.” Everyone knew I wanted lots of babies of my own one day, but that just happened to be an area of my life that I didn’t quite have much control over. There were to be no children before marriage for me, and my marriage was out of my hands. Unlike most of my friends, I’d never dated, for I knew it was pointless given the family I belonged to.
“I actually want to talk to you about something,” Mama said, her expression growing serious. My heart skipped a few beats, terrified that it was something serious.
“Is everything okay? Is it Daddy?” My mind ran wild, conjuring images of the worst kind. With a family so deeply involved in the mafia, bad news could happen at any second. There was just too much money floating about, enemies waiting to strike, and cops readily on the lookout for corrupt business dealings.
Mama shook her head and reached out for my arm. “No, no, sweetie,” she said. “Your father is fine. And so are your brothers, for that matter. This isn’t about them. It’s about you.”
My eyes widened, wondering what could possibly involve me.
I thought about the school. Had they called my home? Had someone discovered my family’s connection to the mafia and no longer believed it safe for me to be around children on a regular basis?
I swallowed, although my mouth had gone completely dry.
Still holding my arm, my mother led me to the dining room table and pulled out a chair for me. She then pulled out a chair and sat beside me.
I watched her face carefully, seeing the tensed way she held her mouth and the small wrinkle at her brow—the only indicator of her age. Her shoulders rose and fell in response to a deep breath she took.
Then quite suddenly and unexpectedly, she gave a big smile. “Arianna, you’re a young woman now,” she prefaced. I blinked. Could she and Daddy have possibly changed their outdated views and now saw it all right for me to get a place of my own?
I listened with bated breath as she continued. “These are some exciting times that lie ahead for you. Your father and I have decided that it is finally time…It’s time for you to be married soon.”
My ears rang with her words.
So that’s what this was all about.
I swallowed again, nervous, but also feeling somewhat excited. My life danced before my eyes. I envisioned wearing a beautiful wedding gown and walking down the aisle to a handsome groom waiting for me. Thrilled nervousness went through my belly as I thought about the honeymoon and all that it would entail…
I tried to imagine what I would look like, pregnant. What it would feel like. How it was going to be, holding my child…
Living in my own home, with my own family.
Just like I knew my family was involved in the mafia, I’d always known that I would someday have an arranged marriage. That was just the way my family worked. In modern society, so many thought of arranged marriages as a bad thing—as something old, outdated, and out-of-favor. As something wrong. Sordid. Unfair.
But I honestly didn’t share those views at all. While I certainly thought my parents were a bit old fashined in their overall views of gender-relations, the idea of an arranged marriage had never bothered me much. I supposed it was because my own parents had been the product of an arranged marriage, and they were far happier than most couples I knew. Their marriage had survived throughout decades and was still thriving. I saw the love that the two of them shared for one another, and I knew that it was real. I could only hope to someday have the kind of marriage they enjoyed.
And it looked like that day was on the horizon.
“I know it may be a bit nerve-wracking, but your father and I were very careful to find someone we felt would be a suitable partner for you. You know we only want the best for you.”
I nodded. “Yes, I know.”
“Are you scared?”
I shook my head. “No,” I said, genuinely meaning it. I wasn’t scared about the arranged marriage itself. I just simply hoped that the man of my parents’ choosing would be someone I could see myself being happy with for the rest of my life. It wasn’t like they could really know my ‘type.’ Heck, I didn’t even know my type, and my lack of dating experience with men didn’t help matters any.
“Good,” my mom said. She leaned over and brushed my hair behind my ear. “Because I don’t want you to be nervous. I want you to be happy, just like I am with your father.”
I smiled and clasped my mother’s hands. “And that’s all I want too, Mama. I want a marriage just as perfect as you and Daddy’s.”
She beamed at me, her smile so bright and wide that it instantly made her look years younger. At that moment, she could have been my sister rather than my mother. “You’ll be meeting him tomorrow. I can’t tell you how excited I am for you!”
Although I wasn’t nervous, I was slightly taken aback by the fact that the meeting would be happening so soon. I smiled, although I inwardly wondered how long ago my mother and my father had picked my future husband without telling me about it. How long had it taken them to find him? Did any of my brothers already know about him?
However, I knew it ultimately didn’t matter. What was done was done, and I would be meeting my future husband within a day.
I suddenly no longer felt like spending a relaxing evening at home.
Tonight, there was a need to celebrate my last day as a single woman. If there was ever a time to meet up with friends to go out for a night on the town, it was now.
CHAPTER 4
Giovanni
I had initially contemplated going out to the club with friends and treating the night like an impromptu bachelor party, but decided against it at the last minute, choosing instead to keep the night somewhat low-key. Besides, it was easier to pick up women that way when I was solo. I had learned a while ago that women didn’t like being ogled by big groups of men, unless, of course, they were on stage and being paid for it. In everyday situations though, that kind of thing was intimidating. When a woman saw a guy with a bunch of his friends checking her out, it tended to make her feel like prey being chased by a pack of wolves, and I didn’t like making women feel that way.
Even though settling down had never quite been an appealing idea to me, for I loved playing the field entirely too much, it didn’t change the fact that I had great respect for women. One of my biggest pet-peeves was a man who didn’t know how to treat a lady. Guys that abused women made me sick to my stomach, and that included men who tended to get a little too aggressive and touchy whenever a woman wasn’t consenting. My fists had dealt with plenty of guys like that over the years, to say the least.
“Here you are, sir.”
I smiled as the female bartender came over to bring me another beer. With a buddy of mine being the owner of the bar, I never had to deal with waiting in line to place my drink orders. I got served personally and directly.
“Thanks, darling,” I said, winking at her and sliding a crisp one-hundred-dollar bill into the pocket of her apron.
She blushed and muttered a quick thank you before scurrying off. The expression on her face let me know that she likely knew who I was. People were always a little hesitant about receiving what they felt was ‘dirty money,' but they hardly ever turned it down either because, at the end of the day, all money was green.
I took a sip of my beer and leaned back in my chair, bopping my head to the music playing and scoping out the scene before me. I’d picked my favorite table, located in the back of the club so that I could have a good view of everything. On nights that I didn’t feel like being a part of the action, I just liked to watch. Being observant is a trait that runs deep in my family, and it’s something that naturally came out of me both at work and at play.
Through the dim lighting of the club, I saw that the dance-floor was packed with women. From the looks of it, the group of women in question was clearly out celebrating something. Perhaps a birthday, a bachelorette party, a college graduation—whatever the occasion, they all had on their s
exiest dresses and high-heels, with hair and makeup styled to perfection. Men stood around their circle, eyeing them and trying to figure out how to get one of them alone. But they were far more into each other than the guys waiting around them like vultures.
I turned my gaze to the tables around mine, which were occupied by twos and threes. At several tables, couples talked over drinks. At others, guys flirted with the women they’d been dancing with. At one far table in the corner, a couple was making out so vigorously that it was clearly past time for them to get a room. At another table, a pair of guys sat, talking and laughing over beers.
And at another table, a beautiful young woman stood, looking clearly agitated. I sat up straighter in my chair, leaning to get a better view.
That’s when I noticed the guy in front of her.
Instantly, I began to feel irritated. I knew this guy’s type all-too well. He smiled, clearly oblivious to the fact that the woman he was forcing his company on did not want him there. A strained smile that was more like a grimace remained plastered on her pretty face as she shook her head. When she tried to step away, the creep put his hand on her shoulder.
I slid back in my chair.
Hold on, Gio, I told myself. Don’t go rushing off to be the hero so quickly. How do you know she can’t take care of herself?
I took a deep breath and reached for my beer, taking another sip, all the while, keeping my eyes glued to the scene.
The woman tried to walk away from him, but he grabbed her wrist and pulled her back toward him, making her stumble a bit in her heels.
Well fuck that. I slammed my drink onto the table, stood, and quickly made my way over.
“Everything all right here?” I asked once close enough.
Startled, the guy spun around.
I could instantly tell he was sloppy drunk. Although he was approximately the same height as me, he didn’t have any muscle to back it up. The button-down shirt he wore was only half tucked into his pants, and even from where I stood, he reeked of whiskey. His hair was disheveled and became even more so when he ran a hand through it.
“Nope, everything’s fine,” he said, his words slurred. “Just talking to my lady, here.”
“Excuse me?” the woman said, disgusted. “I am not your lady.”
“Not yet,” the guy said, giving a lewd laugh that turned into a hiccup. He reached for her wrist again, but I grabbed his arm before he managed to touch her. “Hey bro—knock it off,” he said.
“No, you knock it off. I’m going to give you until the count of ten to back away from her and carry on with your night.”
“Oh yeah? Or what?”
“Trust me, you don’t want to find out,” I snarled, applying pressure to his wrist.
“Owww! Hey! Knock it off! Fuck you!” the guy said.
With a shove, I let go of his arm. He stumbled backward and glared at me as if he wanted to hit me. But when I stepped defiantly towards him, he backed down.
“Whatever. She ain't all that,” he muttered and then walked off.
I shook my head and muttered a few choice words of my own before remembering my manners. I turned toward the woman. “Are you all right?”
She nodded. “Yes. Thank you.”
“No problem,” I said. “I can’t tell you how much I fucking hate guys like that. I never miss a chance to rattle them up, if I can help it.”
The woman laughed, and for the first time, I fully took in her appearance.
I had seen that she was beautiful from afar, but up close, she was positively stunning. She had long dark hair, the most gorgeous hazel eyes I’d ever seen, a flawless complexion, and curves that filled every inch of the slinky dark dress she wore. Her appearance gave off the impression of exotic, yet innocent at the same time.
But then I reminded myself that she had just been getting harassed by a creep so it wouldn’t serve me well to start drooling over her.
However, I couldn’t help noticing that her posture had relaxed considerably. She smiled at me and extended her hand. “Hi. I’m Arianna.”
I took her hand in mine. “Giovanni, or just Gio for short.”
“Nice to meet you, Gio. You can call me Ari. And thanks again. I guess that’s what I get for deciding to come out on my own tonight though. I was supposed to be meeting with friends, but I had decided to go out at the very last minute, and none of them had been able to clear their schedules.”
“Well, that sucks,” I said. “But on the plus side, I’m here solo too. So, if you’re looking for a friend for the night, I’ll gladly play the role.”
Ari laughed again.
“Can I get you a drink?” I asked.
She hesitated for a second and then nodded. “Yeah. Sure, friend.”
I smirked and waved over the bartender. I then turned back to face Ari, pulling out a chair for her. “So, what made you decide to come out at the last minute? Celebrating anything special tonight?”
Ari smiled, although it didn’t fully reach her eyes this time. “I guess you can say that. I’m recently…employed.”
With the way she averted her gaze, I knew she was lying. You didn’t work for the mafia without being able to have a sixth sense about when people were lying to you. Employment was not the reason she was out tonight, but clearly, she didn’t want to talk about whatever her real reason was. I decided to let it slide though. After all, I didn’t know this woman, so whatever she was hiding wasn’t any of my business in the first place.
“Congratulations,” I said, pretending to believe her.
“Thank you.”
“What do you do?”
“I’m a second-grade teacher.”
“You must like kids.”
“I adore them.”
“Have any of your own?”
“Not yet.”
The bartender arrived with our drinks. She also didn’t smile at me as much this time now that I was seated with a beautiful woman. I discreetly slid her another one-hundred-dollar bill nonetheless, which she accepted, as I knew she would.
“What about you? Are you celebrating anything in particular?”
I handed her drink over and tried to think fast. “No…I was just bored. Wanted to have a few drinks, listen to some music…Meet interesting people…Looks like mission accomplished.”
Ari blushed and took a sip of her drink, staring back at me with eyes that suddenly made me think that perhaps she wasn’t quite as innocent as she seemed.
CHAPTER 5
Giovanni
As my luck would have it, Ari was a breath of fresh air that I hadn’t expected. She alone made me want to reconsider my promise to my father. And she also hadn’t been as innocent as she seemed, the way she so readily and willingly agreed to meet me in a private room of the club that my buddy let me rent out.
But if there was one thing that I knew for certain, it was that promises were not to be broken with the Romano family. Tonight, was my last night of freedom before I had to work on my plan to marry the Marino girl, and nothing or no one was going to change that.
“How did you manage to get a private room?” Ari asked, looking around, amazed.
“I’m friends with the club owner.” I crossed the room and leaned against the pool table in the middle of it. I motioned for her to come over, feeling myself growing overheated watching the way her hips swayed when she walked.
I grabbed a pool stick and handed one to her. “Do you play?”
“Not really,” she said. “But I’ll give it a try.”
I smirked and began setting the table. I then laughed as I watched Arianna's grip the pool-stick completely wrong.
“Here,” I said, and made my way over to her. Standing behind her, I briefly touched the small of her back and then ran my hand down her arm. I nudged my leg between hers. “You stand with your feet like this. And then you bend at the hip like this.” I ran my hands across her arms again. “Hold the stick like this, and keep your eye on that ball right there…”
Ari turne
d around to face me, cocking an eyebrow at me. So she was playful, I liked that. I pressed my body against hers and kissed her. When our tongues molded against each other, a shot of pleasure coursed straight to my cock. She moaned into my mouth, kissing me back with an urgency that matched my own. I let my hands slide over her curvy frame as I thrust my tongue deeper into her mouth.
I pushed her against the pool table and moved her up onto it. Her dress shifted up her thighs, and it was as if she was begging to be touched. Fuck me. She was so hot, and I felt all my blood rushing to my cock. I snatched a condom out of my pocket and unzipped my pants. “Hold onto the edges of the pool table and don’t let go. It’ll be rough.”
I sheathed myself and separated her legs widely, and got unlimited access to her sweet pussy. I pushed her lace thong aside, and I rubbed my cock against her wet lips, intending to drill her hard, and even that was an understatement. Her throat would be sore from screaming when I was done with her.
“Ah... Please...”
“Please, what?”
I continued to stimulate her pussy, pushing the tip of my cock through her folds. I brought my hand to the back of her dress and unzipped it, exposing her bra. I pushed my hand up underneath it, and grabbed her breast and twisted her nipple, getting another low-pitched moan out of her.
“I want you to...”
I noticed a faint blush on her cheeks, her innocence written all over her face. She had no clue how sexy that made her look.
“Tell me, sweetie. I need you to say those words so I know what you want.” I was seconds away from shoving my cock into her, alright, but I needed her to say those dirty words first.
“I need you inside of me.”
I rubbed against her clit, and more juices poured out of her. “You need me to fuck you?”
“Ah... Y-yes.”
“Say it. Say that you need my cock deep inside of you. Say it.” I pressed harder against her clit, bringing her closer to her orgasm, but I intended to be in her when I gave her what she needed.
“I... I need your cock deep inside of me.” Yes. She turned her head as if to hide her face from me, but I pulled it toward me, forcing her to look me in the eyes.
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