Conquered by the Mafia Boss

“I’m getting married next week.”

“Jesus.”

Chris stops in front of my apartment complex and I get out of the car. The walk to the elevator and the ride up doesn’t seem to happen. It’s been a long fucking day, but my muscles are tense when I walk into the apartment. The flames still burn on the backs of my eyelids. I feel the heat when I enter my apartment and swiftly lock it behind me. The television blares in the living room and I grit my teeth against it. I wanted to come home to peace and quiet, but she’s watching some kind of news channel. Fuck, I don’t even give it a second thought.

Then I see bright-orange colors that light up the whole screen. Maya’s face is illuminated by it. She turns around, her beautiful face electrified.

“My home’s on fire.”

Fuck.

MAYA

“On fire? What are you talking about?”

He shrugs off his jacket and lazily hangs it on a chair, and then he loosens his tie and tears the first few buttons of his shirt, clearly eager to get rid of his clothes.Property © of NôvelDrama.Org.

I try to shrug off my fear, looking at the TV anxiously. “The news said there was a fire at the fortress in Sorel-Tracy. They didn’t say how bad it was.”

“I’m sure it’s not that bad.”

A sudden suspicion hits me as he turns away.

But those fluttering butterfly feelings kick up in my chest when he faces me again and gives me that I’m-tired-but-I’m-happy-to-see-you smile. He walks around the couch and sits down next to me. His lips briefly press against the side of my head, and I catch a strange whiff.

Gasoline.

My insides feel like steel.

“How was your day?”

“Eh, you know. Usual shit.”

No, I don’t. That’s why I’m asking.

“You?”

I shrug again, still preoccupied with the TV.

His fingers graze my shoulder as the towel slips down, and I slide over his lap, linking my hands around his neck. The heat of his skin glows. I always get a strange feeling when I look into his eyes. Then he slides his touch across my back and a swooping sensation hits my stomach.

God, I’m falling for him, aren’t I?

Is it one sided?

I rest my head into the crook of his shoulder, watching the screen as it changes back to the news program. A marquee scrolls on the screen: SYMBOL OF BIKER POWER UP IN FLAMES.

“Holy shit!”

I try to stand from his lap as images of bright-orange flames surrounding my home burn on the dark screen. Jesus Christ.

“Good evening. Earlier tonight, a fire broke out at the gates of the notorious Sorel-Tracy fortress. Firemen are currently on site, fighting the fire. Reports indicate at least one casualty-”

“I need to leave.”

I stand up from the couch, ripping his hands from my waist. I pat my jeans. Where are my things? My wallet-

“No, you don’t.”

Johnny’s clipped voice sends a wave of fury crashing through me. I’ve listened to his fucking demands, even the most outrageous ones that I never thought I’d go through, but not this one.

I just can’t fucking do it.

I turn around, looking at him calmly seated on the couch.

“Excuse me?”

“I said, you’re not going anywhere.”

“Why is that?”

He grits his teeth.

“Because it’s been a long fucking night, and I’m tired.”

“I’ll go-you stay here.”

“No.”

I hate that fucking word.

Then Johnny stands up from the couch. I belly up to my fiancé, who towers over me, sending sparks through his unyielding gaze.

“I’d like to see you stop me.”

“Easy.”

His hands snap around my wrists and then suddenly I’m being dragged to the bedroom. My heels dig in the floor, but it’s so smooth that I fall down.

“What the fuck are you doing? Let me go!”

“I’m in no mood for this right now. I’m fucking exhausted.”

“My mother’s in there, you piece of shit!”

He yanks me upright so hard that I bounce off his chest. His body seethes with barely restrained energy. “I’m getting really tired of this name-calling shit. If you do it again, I’ll gag you.”

“You can’t just expect me to stay here while my home is in flames!”