MAFIA BOSSES - The Box Set: An Enemies to Lovers Trilogy

by Chloe Fischer

  Jesus Christ, Andy, keep your shit together. Find a booty call if you must but stay away from Marco Sardelli like that. You have no idea what he’s capable of.

  She wracked her brain for a story and cover to give him when she finally called.

  No sobbing, fall-to-pieces bullshit. You need something better, something –

  Suddenly, she had it.

  Without hesitation, she picked up the phone and dialed.

  To both her relief and chagrin, the call went directly to voicemail.

  “Leave a message.”

  Even the sound of his voice sent chills through her.

  It’s the Florence Nightingale Effect. He saved you and now you think you owe him something. But you don’t. He owes you something – your cousin.

  Andrea cleared her throat nervously.

  “Uh…hi, Mr. Sardelli,” she breathed, trying to still her shaky breaths. “This is Sofia Morano. You – I – we met last night…you…well, I’m the girl from Il Toro. I’m sorry to bother you but I was hoping you might be able to do me a favor. I – well, it’s…”

  She abruptly stopped talking, wondering if she was playing a part or actually acting like a jackass.

  No, I’m sincerely being an idiot. Spit it out!

  “If you could call me back, I would appreciate it.”

  She left the number to her undercover phone and hung up, tossing the cell aside as if it was contaminated.

  Pathetic. You better work on your speaking skills for when he calls back. If he calls back.

  But somehow she knew he would.

  After all, he had gone out of his way to find her and leave his card.

  Maybe he was worried she would go to the cops.

  The irony made her laugh aloud.

  There really never is a cop around when you need one, is there?

  Andrea knew there was nothing left to do but wait, and she settled onto the sofa, grabbing the remote control to flick on the small flat screen mounted on the wall.

  No sooner had she settled on a channel when the phone rang, causing her to jump.

  He’s calling. Christ. He’s calling back.

  Gulping back the stone in her throat, she accepted the call.

  “Hello?”

  Her voice escaped in a shadowy whisper.

  “Sofia?”

  “Yes?”

  “It’s Marco Sardelli. You left me a voicemail. Is everything okay?”

  Okay, she told herself with steely resolve. You’re on.

  “Oh, hi,” she said quickly. “Yes. Thanks for getting back to me.”

  There was an awkward pause as she tried to remember what she was going to say to lure him back again.

  “Are you okay?” he asked again, and there was an unmistakable note of concern in his voice. “Do you need something?”

  “I feel stupid calling you…”

  “Don’t.”

  “It’s just…I realized after everything that happened last night that…that I didn’t pay my tab at the bar and I don’t really want to go back there alone. I don’t know anyone in Miami or I would call them but…”

  Another long silence ensued.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?”

  Andrea tensed.

  This was a bad idea. You should have thought of something better. You should have –

  “You’re worried about your bar tab?”

  “I had a few drinks,” she insisted. “The bartender shouldn’t have to cover my bill. I’ll pay it, happily, I just don’t want to go by myself.”

  “Fuck your bar tab,” Marco growled. “The owner can afford to absorb it.”

  “I’d rather – “

  “No.”

  There was a finality in his voice and Andrea exhaled slowly.

  Well so much for getting him back here to take me.

  “What are you doing right now?”

  “Me?” Andrea choked. “Uh, nothing.”

  “Good. I’ll be there in half an hour. I’m taking you for dinner.”

  “Dinner?”

  “Not to Il Toro. Wear something nice.”

  The line went dead and Andrea stared open-mouthed at the phone in her hand for a long moment.

  Well that didn’t go quite as planned, she thought apprehensively. Now I have a date with a potential murderer. Wonderful.

  But as she ambled to her feet, Andrea could not deny the spark of excitement she was feeling about seeing Marco Sardelli again.

  I can’t reconcile that the man who burst into Il Toro last night is capable of harming any woman. He didn’t have to save me. There was no reason for him to do that.

  Andrea was sure she had never been more confused in her life, as she had been in the past twenty-four hours.

  She had expected some level of grey when she entered the realm of undercover work but she was finding the reality much more complicated.

  Examining Sofia’s wardrobe in the bedroom closet, she suddenly remembered something.

  Is this place wired or not?

  She hurried back into the living room and stepped onto the arm of the sofa, reaching to pull out the smoke detector.

  There was no indication of a camera there, nor was there one in the cable box.

  She scoured through the unit, checking under lampshades and couches, looking in every corner she could find for any piece of surveillance equipment, but with each cupboard she opened, her chest constricted further.

  Nothing. There were no cameras, no listening devices. What was going on? Fear crept into her mind as she realized that the people who were supposed to keep her safe, didn’t care at all. Was she just that expendable? Or was there something else going on here?

  She had no answer.

  Slowly, Andrea retreated to the bedroom to select an outfit for her date as a disturbing realization washing through her.

  Sadly, at that point, she trusted Marco Sardelli more than she did the FBI.

  Chapter Seven

  Fuck, she’s beautiful. And so damn vulnerable. What am I doing here with her? I must be out of my fucking mind.

  Marco was sure he was.

  He had blown off a meeting with his soldiers that evening, a much-needed regrouping after what had happened with August.

  But when Sofia had called, the lonely note in her voice had been enough to make him drop everything.

  I used to want to do that for Mara too, he thought with chagrin.

  Marco knew it wasn’t fair to compare Sofia to Mara, that they were two completely different people.

  Yet there was something that seemed to connect them, some quality that seemed almost familiar to him.

  Maybe it’s because they both have some odd spell over you which you can’t seem to shake.

  “You’re looking at me weird,” Sofia told him nervously. “Is something wrong?”

  Marco shook his head quickly.

  “I’m just trying to figure you out,” he replied and she seemed to flinch at his words.

  “Figure me out? How? What do you mean?” she asked warily, reaching for her water. “There’s nothing to figure out. I’m just a normal girl from Virginia.”

  “Tell me about that,” Marco said, sitting back in his chair to fold his arms over his chest. “What brought you to Miami?”

  She stared at him for a moment and he realized she was trying just as hard to figure him out as he was her.

  I can’t really blame her for being suspicious.

  Sofia was saved from having to answer when the waiter brought their meals to the table.

  “You like osso bucco?” he asked as she reached for her fork. Sofia nodded eagerly.

  “Are you kidding?” she asked, her eyes brightening as she stared at her plate. “I live for meat.”

  She seemed embarrassed by the words as they tumbled out of her mouth and she glanced at him through her peripheral vision.

  “Uh, I mean…”

  “Hey, I’m Italian. I love a woman who appreciates food. Around here, all the women are worried abo
ut gaining an ounce. It’s refreshing to meet a woman who will order veal once in a while.”

  Their eyes met and Marco noted with some amusement that she blushed, despite her attempts to hide it behind the hair falling over the side of her face.

  “So?” he asked as she took a mouthful of her food.

  “It’s really good,” she replied nodding, but Marco chuckled.

  “No, that’s not what I meant.”

  Her innocent eyes met his questioningly.

  “What?” she asked.

  “What brings you to Miami?”

  Sofia continued to chew and Marco wondered if she wasn’t stalling for time on her answer, but he didn’t push.

  “Adventure,” she answered finally and he laughed.

  “I see. How’s that working out for you?”

  She eyed him appreciatively, a spark of amusement lighting up her eyes as she reached for her glass of wine.

  “I’m still here,” she replied. The answer was meant to be lighthearted but he could detect a note of gratitude in her voice.

  He leaned forward, his eyes locking on hers and she didn’t look away.

  “That guy is being dealt with,” he told her in a low voice. “You don’t have to worry about him again.”

  Something flashed in her eyes and for a second, Marco wondered if she had ever really been worried about August in the first place.

  Sure, she had been scared, but when he found her, she wasn’t crying or acting hysterical.

  I wonder if she could have taken him.

  It seemed far fetched, given her slender frame, but as he continued to study her face, he felt like the woman sitting before him might have the capacity to take care of herself.

  Sofia cleared her throat and turned her attention back to her plate.

  “What do you do, Marco?” she asked, scooping another forkful of pasta into her mouth.

  “I’m in consulting,” he answered automatically.

  Her dark eyebrows raised with curiosity.

  “What kind of consulting?”

  Under normal circumstances, he would be wary of her questions. His experience in the family and his genetic make-up ingrained suspicion and caution with strangers.

  But it was different with Sofia. He had sought her out, after all.

  “Business,” he replied, hoping she wouldn’t push him for more details.

  She didn’t.

  “How about you? Are you working? In school?”

  Sofia chuckled.

  “How old do you think I am?” she asked, cocking her head to the side. “School was a while ago for me.”

  “Oh? Are you an old woman of twenty-five?” he chuckled but he found himself curious about her response.

  She smiled enigmatically.

  “Something like that.”

  They ate in silence for a moment but there was nothing uncomfortable about the quiet between them.

  No, Marco thought. I’m wrong about her. There is nothing about her which reminds me of Mara. I don’t know why I thought there was.

  He wiped his mouth, determined not to think about his former lover again for the rest of the night.

  After all, he had a much better place to focus his attention that evening.

  ********************

  Sofia reached for her keys and toyed with them in her hand, casting Marco a shy look as they stood in the hallway in front of her apartment.

  “Thanks for dinner,” she said, sweeping her hand through her shoulder length hair. “I – it was really good.”

  Marco shrugged, leaning a hand against the wall.

  “That’s not the greatest restaurant. If I had known you liked osso, I would have taken you to Il Gabbiano. Next time, okay?”

  Again, her cheeks flushed an endearing pink and she grinned.

  “Next time?” she asked shyly. “Is there going to be a next time?”

  Marco dropped his arm, his face turning serious.

  “That’s up to you,” he replied quietly. “I wouldn’t mind seeing you again, showing you around town.”

  He didn’t add that he felt responsible for her safety or that the attraction he felt toward her was mounting with each look they shared.

  The last thing I want to do is scare her off, not after what she’s been through.

  They stared at each other and Marco felt a rush of blood flow through him but he willed himself not to act.

  Still, he couldn’t help but wonder what her luscious mouth tasted like.

  The way she keeps biting on her lower lip is making me hard.

  He knew she wasn’t trying to be coy, that she just had a natural innocence about her. And that was precisely what drove even more heat to his crotch.

  Marco stifled a groan.

  I gotta get out of here before I do something that freaks her out, he thought, ripping his eyes away from her face. But before he could move, she did.

  He hadn’t expected her sudden motion, his back landing against the wall he had been leaning on as Sofia pressed her mouth to his, her body extended onto the balls of her feet.

  She had seemed much taller to him but in that moment, as she pushed her lithe form against his broad chest, she was a waif.

  A part of him thought of resisting her, worried that maybe she felt like she owed him something. But as the passion between them ignited, and a small moan escaped her throat, he realized that she was acting completely of her own volition.

  Marco’s strong hands fell onto the small of her back, pulling Sofia’s frame closer and she sighed as her legs scissor-crossed into his.

  Their tongues clashed, his mouth covering hers, nipping at the fullness of her lips.

  She tasted like wine and mint, the combination only fuelling his arousal.

  Her palms slid around the back of her own body, covering his hands that had covered the globes of her ass. She pushed his down, the hem of her skirt catching along his fingers.

  “Fuck, you drive me crazy,” he murmured, her eyes locked onto his at the comment. Then she pulled him away from the wall and urged him back toward the stairwell, her lips still locked on his.

  At least she knows what she wants, he thought, mildly impressed. But he didn’t have time to dwell on it as they crashed through the exit door and he leaned backward onto the stairs.

  His hands cupped her rear as she straddled him, her eyes still fixed on his.

  Her hips began to grind against his pants and Marco felt a burst of heat surge toward his engorged shaft, her fingers lacing around his neck to bunch in his hair as his mouth glided along the line of her throat.

  Marco grunted slightly, his lips meeting the sweetness of her skin, inhaling the scent of her perfume and he bucked upward as she fumbled for his buckle.

  Lower his mouth traveled, meeting the swell of her full breasts against the low neckline of her sequined dress.

  Somehow, she managed to free his shaft, while he led a rigid nipple into his mouth and for a moment, Marco wondered if he could force himself to stop now if she backed off. The blood was so hot in his veins for her, that he could feel his heartbeat in his cock.

  “Oh God, you’re huge,” she murmured, wrapping a warm hand around his cock and he groaned aloud, his hesitations dissolving as she slid his unit against the wet cleft of her center.

  “You’re so wet for me,” he growled, his mouth exploring her taut skin, teeth nipping at her exposed breast and Sofia mewled, slipping her damp panties aside to allow him inside her.

  She raised herself over him, then lowered her core over his throbbing cock.

  “Yes…” she moaned, gasping at the size of him. Marco took her left hip in one hand and guided her down over his shaft, burying himself to the hilt.

  She cried out, her nails digging into his neck, roughly pulling her nipple from his mouth. The sharp pain further increased the heat swelling in her body. Suddenly they were in a frenzied rhythm as he bucked beneath her.

  “God, you’re beautiful,” he growled, his balls clenching tight a
t the sensation of her tight pussy milking him.

  Her cries increased as she ground her hips down onto him, taking his shaft as deep as it would go, to the point where the bundle of nerves deep inside her rejoiced at the stimulation.

  “Come for me,” he ordered her, his hands spreading her cheeks apart.

  Sofia moaned, her movements becoming erratic as his unit grew slicker with her juices.

  He could feel her tensing beneath his thrusts, her body bracing for orgasm. He didn’t slow, driving himself high and deep as she finally crested that edge.

  “Oh, please! Oh my God! Oh my…”

  He felt it, an outpouring of heat that dripped down her thighs, but he continued to plunge into her, his own release so close.

  She cried out again and again as he drove himself into her almost violently, barely aware of her long nails drawing blood at his neck as they sank into his skin.

  Sofia rode out the tremors racking her body, as his balls constricted, the blast of seed shooting through him and spilling into her.

  “Holy fuck!” he growled, pinning her waist against his hips as his body twitched. “God, what are you doing to me?” he ground out under his breath.

  The white-hot orgasm blasted through him, his shaft exploding endlessly into her until he finally trusted himself to loosen his grip on her tight ass.

  Next time, I’m going to take that, he thought unexpectedly, and the idea of fitting into her tightest spot caused his cock to jerk, even before he was finished expelling his juices inside her.

  He drew his head back from her chest, suddenly realizing they were sprawled out on the staircase in her apartment building.

  Sofia stared at him, a look of sudden awareness on her face too.

  “You okay?” he asked as she rose suddenly, pulling her skirt down to cover her crotch.

  She smiled weakly and shook her dishevelled dark hair.

  “Yeah, of course,” she murmured, backing down the step to the landing. She ran her long fingers through her mane again and Marco realized that it was a nervous habit.

  “Sofia, you sure?” he asked, slowly rising to pull his pants up.

  “Yeah,” she replied quickly, looking around as if she expected there to be an audience. “I just don’t usually do things like that.”