Married to the Mafia Boss

VittoriaCopyright Nôv/el/Dra/ma.Org.

The drive to my sister’s Villa is quiet. Aleks isn’t a big talker, but that’s fine. I prefer him to be silent. When we arrive, the guards come to check who’s in the car, and upon seeing me, they open the gates, eying Aleks and the driver wearily.

Kira comes out to meet me at the front door. The guards must have radioed ahead to let her know I had arrived.

Her swollen belly seems more prominent than the last time I saw it, and it excites me. I love Raphael, but I didn’t get to watch him grow up. I will get to fawn over this little one.

Aleks walks with me up to Kira, and she side-eyes him. I hug her tightly. “Ignore Aleks. He’s just protection.”

“Okay,” Kira says softly before turning and leading us into her home. She shows us to the deck outside, which has a large umbrella for shade. We sit down, and a maid brings us iced tea. I offer Aleks some, but he shakes his head and stands to the side with his hands clasped in front of him.

“How’s the wedding planning going?” I ask Kira, sipping on my tea. “Are you having it before or after the baby is born?”

“After, because I’m so far along, they might want to induce. We’ll get married about three months after.”

“Do you need help planning everything?” I hesitantly ask, my eyes imploring her.

Kira smiles sweetly. “Of course, you’re my sister. You need to be involved every step of the way.”

We’re startled when Aleks’ phone rings, and he steps away to answer it.

Kira quickly whispers, “How are you really? How is Ivan treating you? Do you need me to contact Alessandro?”

I shake my head. “Surprisingly, Ivan is not controlling or forceful toward me, and he’s also given me the go-ahead to negotiate the territories between our families. Obviously, he’ll have someone checking me, but I’ll be doing what’s best for our family.”

I know this was the plan all along, but I feel guilty about betraying Ivan. There’s nothing for it, though. This is what I agreed to do.

“Please just be careful,” Kira reaches for my hand, and I let her take it. “I worry so much about you.”

Aleks comes back toward us as my brother Luigi walks outside. “Hey Tori, what are you doing here?”

“Visiting Kira, I didn’t know you were here,” I comment.

“When can I come to visit you at your new place?” he sits down next to me. “I want to see how my baby sister is living it up.”

I know that’s not the truth, but I play along. “Why not come back with me now? I’m heading home now.”

“I’ll drive you. Your driver can follow us,” Luigi says, and Aleks steps forward. I hold a hand up. “Aleks will have to come in the car with us.”

Luigi sizes him up and then nods. “If that is what makes you happy, then we can do that.”

Aleks nods and looks at the time, and I pre-emptively say, “I know it’s a quick visit, but I’m actually quite tired.”

Kira struggles to stand as I do and then hugs me, her belly making it a bit awkward. “Take care, Tori, and call me if you need anything.”

“You call me and let me know what you need help with for the baby and the wedding.” I smile at her. I’ve never been close to her, but maybe we could be. After all, if the worst happens, Kira and Luigi are all I have.

Aleks explains to the driver to go home and gets in the backseat of Luigi’s car. He seems alert and prepared for anything my brother might do, except my brother’s actual driving. This secretly amuses me as my brother zips through traffic.

My phone rings, and I answer it, “Tori, hello?”

“It’s Ivan. Tell the driver to bring you to my mother’s restaurant for lunch. Anastasia is eating with us.”

I bite my lip, “Um, Luigi, my brother is driving Aleks and me back to the apartment.”

“He can join us for lunch. It’s fine,” Ivan says and then hangs up.

“Detour,” I say to Luigi, then turn to Aleks. “Can you direct us to Ivan’s mother’s restaurant?”

Aleks nods. “It’s not far.”

While Aleks directs Luigi, I sit back and try not to let my nerves get the best of me. On the bright side, Luigi can chat everyone’s ears off while I sit quietly.

Luigi finds parking, and we walk into the restaurant. I feel out of place here, like I don’t belong, yet I know I will be expected to be here often. We join Ivan and Anastasia at the table. I introduce Luigi to Anastasia and then sit back. Ivan and Luigi discuss racehorses for a moment, something I didn’t know either of them was into. Luigi soon turns his attention to Anastasia and starts quizzing her about her studies.

While they talk, Ivan looks at me, reaching for my hand and squeezing it. “Are you okay?”

“I am… Oh, look, the food is here.”

“A stew my mother’s restaurant is famous for,” Ivan explains as the dishes are set in front of us.

“I quite like stews,” I comment, taking some bread and dipping it into the gravy. I bite it and eat thoughtfully.

“It’s one of my favorites too. Nothing like a hearty beef stew to make you feel strong.” He smiles and starts to eat.

“How is your sister?” he asks, and I’m surprised by the question. I explain how she’s getting married after the baby is born and how I’d like to help her as much as possible.

“That is what family is for,” Ivan says after he swallows. “Of course, you should help her.”

I smile at him and squeeze his hand. He grins and says, “So you studied law. What made you do that?”

I don’t want to go into too much detail with Luigi here, but I explained how I wanted to help with the family business in the best way I could. We then talked about his studies, which made me realize how much older he is than me. Then we discuss our favorite restaurants, food, music, and the fact that we both like the theater.

Lunch ends too soon, and I don’t know how but I know Ivan feels the same way. We bid Luigi farewell, and he seems reluctant to leave Anastasia. I’ll have to put an end to that very quickly.

Anastasia brought her own car, so she says goodbye to Ivan, waves me off, and leaves. Ivan leads me to his car, and we get in with our guards. I’m content as we drive back to the apartment, as though this is the most natural thing in the world.

Once we’re back in the apartment, Ivan takes off his jacket, hangs it up, and stretches. I see his shirt pull up slightly, and I see a trail that sneaks down his belly. My heart beats a little too fast.

Ivan smiles at me. “I’m going to spend the remainder of my day reading in the library.”

“Can I j-join you?” I ask, blushing slightly.

“Of course, I would love the company,” he says, leading me down the hallway toward the library.

When he walks in, he picks up a book he’s clearly been busy with and sits on the one armchair while I search the shelves for a paranormal romance to indulge in. Once I find one I haven’t heard of before, I slide it off the shelf and sit in the armchair opposite him, kicking my shoes off and curling my legs under me.

“Paranormal romance? That’s rather girly,” he comments, although to me is his say he’s amused.

“What are you reading?”

“Brandon Sanderson,” he holds the cover up. “I do love fantasy a lot. My favorite would have to, of course, be the Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkien was an absolute genius. They just don’t make authors like that anymore,” he sighs and meets my eyes.

I look at the book I’m holding. “I chose this one because I’ve never read it before. I like paranormal romance, shifters, and fantasy, but I also enjoy psychological thrillers and true crime books.”

“Thought you’d be sick of true crime with the families we have,” Ivan comments.

I smile. “You learn so much from other people’s mistakes.”

“That’s fair.” He chuckles.

We fall into a comfortable conversation about the books we enjoy for hours until there’s a knock at the door, and a maid announces, “Sir, dinner is ready.”

He looks at his watch. “Lord, it’s six thirty already.”

I get up, setting my book down, and we head to the dining room.

“What about Anastasia?” I ask curiously as we sit down to steak, egg, and chips.

“She switched to lunch because she wanted to go out tonight,” he explains.

Time passes quickly as we eat and talk, and finally, it’s time to go to the bedroom. He lets me wash up and change first, and I climb into bed after rubbing cream into my skin. I curl up on my side sleepily and full, and I feel like today has been busy even though it wasn’t that busy.

I feel Ivan get into bed next to me, and I shut my eyes. They shoot wide open again when I feel his arm slide around my waist, he traces a line along my thigh but decides to spoon me. Probably because I clenched my whole body even though the movement apparently had a direct connection with my libido. His body is warm against mine, and at first, I feel awkward, but we fit well together. I relax and close my eyes again. I wonder when he wants to… consummate our marriage. It would be my first time, and I wouldn’t ever admit it to anyone, but I’m excited it’s with him.