Owned by the mafia boss

LIANA

It was a trick of the light.

Vinn couldn’t be standing in the middle of a rowdy college bar. He hated crowds. And people. He was allergic to fun, too. Pink and blue lights flashed across a wide jaw and full mouth that pulled into a kingly frown. Vinn scanned the crowd with a laser-like focus until his gaze stopped on me.

Gotcha.

I glared at him, convinced the Vinn-lookalike would vanish into smoke. He didn’t hang out in places other than Italian cafés and the bars and restaurants he owned. Of course, he’d also never dragged me into dark rooms, bared my ass, and spanked me.

The whole incident made me burn with an unwelcome blush. Was he trying to punish me? Did he want me turned on and flustered? What was his angle?

Vinn’s over-the-top behavior had to be a fluke. He’d been angry. The power had gone to his head. He got carried away. We both did.

It meant nothing.

I pushed it from my mind, but that was hard, considering I woke to bruises on my ass. In the days that followed, they burned with the acute sensation of Vinn’s handprint.

I’d ignored Michael’s probing texts. As much as I’d have loved to see Vinn get his due justice, Michael would go overboard and kill him. I hated Vinn, but I didn’t want him dead.

Vinn’s blank stare hardened as it fell on the man beside me. His menace seemed to pour into James, a boat-shoe-wearing moron who’d gained admission into Bourton with a resumé of bullshit jobs like Wellness Advocate.

“What’s with that dude?” James grumbled, sipping his beer. “He’s, like, staring at me.”

“Who knows what’s wrong with him.”

“Come at me, you little bitch,” James muttered at Vinn, who made his way toward us. “You want some?”

“I’d love to watch you fight him.”

James grinned, not catching on.

Watching James and Vinn club each other to death would be nice, but I knew better. The former Marine wouldn’t break a sweat subduing James. The fight would end swiftly, or Vinn would drag it out to be cruel. Vinn’s merciless expression suggested he was down for torture.

I needed to head this off.

“Holy shit. Is that-is that your Vinny?” Queenie’s face broke into an ecstatic grin as he stomped in our direction. “You weren’t kidding. He’s a freaking babe.”

“Keep that to yourself,” I whispered. “His head’s so swollen it might explode.”

“Which one?” she slurred. “He has a big dick, right? I’m right. I can’t even see you through his blinding Big Dick Energy.”

That reminded me of the thigh I’d grabbed, which actually was his long, impossibly thick cock. I’d traced the mushroom shape before making the connection.

My toes curled. I said nothing, but Queenie seemed to guess the truth from my flushed cheeks.

She knocked her glass against mine. “Awesome.” Then she slugged my arm. “I’m so mad at you. You’re seeing him, and you didn’t tell me? Bitch.”

“We’re not dating.”

“Bullshit! He’s here for you.” Queenie launched from the couch and headed off Vinn before I caught her. “Hi, Vincent!”

“Vinn,” he barked. “Never Vincent.”

She took his hands, forgetting everything I’d told her about his personality. “This is like meeting a celebrity. It’s so nice to meet you.”

Vinn yanked from her grip, scowling. “Who the hell are you?”

“Queenie! Liana’s ride-or-die girl.” Queenie whirled, glaring at me. “You haven’t mentioned me?”

“We’re not dating! Jesus H.”

Vinn beckoned me with a finger. “We need to talk.”

“What part of I never want to see you again do you not understand?”

“I’m not done with you.”

Queenie’s drunk ass still hadn’t put it together that we weren’t a couple. She beamed at me. “He’s feisty.”

I pointed at the exit, ignoring her. “Door’s there.”

“I know where the fucking door is,” he barked, my sarcasm flying over his head. “I just walked through it.”

“Good for you. You’ve mastered the basics of entering and exiting a building. Now turn around and do it again.”

“Careful, Li. I’m in a mood.”

“I’ll write down the name of Michael’s therapist. He’ll give you a discount for all the sessions you’ll need.”

Daniel had raised me to be a killer. He didn’t back down until someone was on the floor, bleeding. He’d lacked an instinct for self-preservation.

Apparently, so did I.

“You’re very brave tonight, considering I had you begging for mercy on Saturday.” His eyes narrowed into black slits as he grasped my jaw. “Remember?”

His thumb brushed my bottom lip, echoing his promise to take it further.

Fine. I’ll stop.

My nerves tingled when he didn’t budge. “What?”

“You’re here without bodyguards.” His voice pulsed with disapproval. “Get up.”

“My apartment is four blocks from here.”

“I don’t care. We’re going.”

He grabbed me, but I twisted out of his grip.

Vinn fumed. “You’re driving me up the wall.”

Sorry, not sorry. “This might be tough for you to understand, but I don’t need your approval.”

“You need a lot more than my approval.”

Like your big dick?

I almost rattled off the saucy response before I remembered this man wasn’t the brotherly figure who’d stopped Michael from committing countless pranks. He’d threatened to shove his cock into my mouth two days ago, which should’ve bottomed my stomach. Heat pricked the skin around my lips as I imagined his hands slamming into my shoulders, making me kneel, forcing me to take him.

The hell was wrong with me?

I pulled from him, overwhelmed. “I’m not leaving.”

“I swear to God, Li. If you weren’t my best friend’s sister, I’d throw you over my goddamned shoulder. Twenty minutes, and then your little ass is out that door.”

“Fine.”

“Fine.” Vinn sat beside me, shooting James a pointed glare. “The fuck you looking at?”

James snapped his head to the side, cowed. My other friends had noticed nothing strange. Luckily, they’d been distracted by pickleback shots.

Vinn sank into the couch, his back ramrod straight, unaware of the dark spell he’d cast on the group. He had a menacing presence and intimidated everyone I knew.

The overprivileged, pampered, indulged kids at Bourton could never understand the criminal underworld that’d made him ruthless. Most people wouldn’t recognize him unless they stayed up to date with local news, but some had probably seen or heard his name mentioned in connection with gangland shootings or thrown in with the Commission of Public Inquiry.

“Everyone, this is Vinn Costa.” I searched for the words to describe him. “He’s a family friend.”

“Just a friend, huh?” James’s round face trembled with a good-natured grin. “I thought you wanted to kill me.”

Vinn was supposed to laugh and apologize. He did neither. He stared, his expression blank.

I grimaced at James. “Sorry. He’s a bit extra.”

“You’re him,” Queenie blurted, shattering the tense silence. “You’re the guy!”

Vinn gaped at her, ignoring James.

“Yeah,” she gushed. “You’re the one she talks about! Vinny!”

His mouth fell open. Then he turned, his eyes raking my burning face. “I’m the guy? You talk about me?”

Cat’s out of the bag.

Fuck.

“No, I don’t.” I dismissed Queenie with a wave, and she snickered into her drink. “She’s drunk.”

Vinn leaned toward Queenie. “What does she say?”

“A lot. Most of it’s too inappropriate to repeat.”

He laughed, the loudness stunning me. “I’ve got to hear this.”

I waved my hands behind Vinn, mouthing a silent plea. Queenie, stop.

“You’re dating him. What’s the big deal?” She huffed, turning her attention to Vinn. “If you guys aren’t married and pregnant by the end of the year, I’ll be shocked.”

I would kill her. “Queenie!”

“Huh. Imagine that.”

“Oh, she has. Many times, buddy.” Queenie giggled, offering him a glass that he declined. “You sure you don’t want a drink?”

I winced hard, very conscious of Vinn’s stare. “Queenie, please shut the hell up.”

She grimaced. “Sorry. I’m pretty lit.”

I’d take care of her later.

I had a more significant concern-Vinn.

He’d corner me afterward and mock me about this revelation. Worse, he might think I still felt the same, but I didn’t. I’d stopped obsessing over Vinn a while ago, but, of course, Queenie wouldn’t forget the years I’d spent moping in our shared dorm.

I clenched my fists because it was preferable to wrapping them around Queenie’s throat. The twenty minutes were up, and then Vinn tapped his watch and dragged me upright.

“This was fun.” Queenie beamed at a smirking Vinn. “I totally get why she likes you. We must have brunch!”

“Thanks. It’s been…illuminating.” He shook Queenie’s hand, ignoring everyone else. “Have a good night.”

Vinn palmed my hip.

I obeyed the pressure, my heart galloping ahead. A growing awareness pulsed behind my ribcage, clawing at me like a frightened animal as we crossed Boston’s deserted streets. Somehow, I preferred his outrage to the unpredictable silence that hummed between us. I climbed the staircase to my brownstone, refusing to acknowledge him, clinging to a desperate hope that he’d disappear.

I searched for my keys, and then dropped them twice. “You can go.”

The heat of his body warmed my back. His head hooked over my shoulder. “I’m coming inside.”

“Do I need a condom or a gun?”

His soft laughter tingled every nerve, and regret sunk into my stomach at the joke.

Vinn’s voice smoothed into a purr. “Well, I’ve got both.”

I fumbled with my purse, dropping it.

He stooped, picking it up. He’d taken control in the guise of helping me, and now he had my key. He slid it into the lock, opened the door, and strolled in. A fiendish expression lit up his face.

Terror stirred in my belly.

“Vinn, you need to leav-”

He grabbed my arm, yanked me into the apartment, and locked the door. Vinn cradled me, and a shudder heated my body. Darkness carved a vulgar smile between his cheeks.

My alarms blazed red as Vinn’s six-foot-something frame pushed me deeper into my home. I bumped into a wall and rolled into the kitchen. The expression in his eyes made me wish I were closer to the door. Vinn gripped the counter, caging me in his arms.

“You’ve given me an interesting night.”

“H-how so?”

“I came here to punish you. Again. Now I’m rethinking that. Spanking you didn’t work because you liked it,” he whispered, awed. “You enjoy my hands on you. Don’t you?”

I jerked my head in the negative. “There’s nothing pleasant about being tied up and beaten.”

“Don’t exaggerate.”

“You hit me. It hurt.”

“Good.” Vinn grabbed my chin, staring me down. “Some lessons hurt worse than others. Especially when they’re given by someone you like.”

“I don’t like you. I find you revolting.”

“Really?” He passed a thumb over my bottom lip, showering my skin with sparks. “Is that what you tell your friend when you talk about me?”

The only thing more infuriating about being outed by Queenie was the fact I’d been completely off his radar. He’d needed someone to tell him about my feelings.

Pathetic.

And now he was throwing them in my face, humiliating me like a monster.

Heat lashed my mouth. “Get out of my house.”

“Oh, come on.”

“I mean it. You’re not welcome here.”

Vinn wasn’t in the listening mood. His touch fluttered across my waist, sending off a chain of electrical impulses that begged me to march us to bed.

“I haven’t gone to Michael,” I said, shoving his chest. “That doesn’t mean I never will.”

Vinn’s smile and raised eyebrows suggested he didn’t believe me, but

he allowed me to retreat. I left the kitchen. He followed like a giant shadow, barging into my bedroom like he belonged there.

It wasn’t much. A queen bed and desk covered with trinkets from my youth. Blasts from the past decorated the walls in the form of posters, things I’d never outgrow, the most important one standing in front of me.

Amusement flickered over his face as I stumbled into my desk. My ass hit the corner, and I hissed in pain.

His self-satisfied smirk seemed to mock me. “Did you bruise?”

“Yes,” I murmured, hating him. “I took photos.”

“I’d love to see them.”

I ignored the thrill shooting down my belly. “I plan to send them to Michael after I tell him what you did.”

“Just what every brother wants-pictures of his sister’s ass.”

“Maybe I’ll put them on Tinder.”

“Do that, and I’ll bend you over. You’ll get another reason to hate me.”

I sat on my bed, arms crossed. “Why are you here?”

An unfathomable look smoothed his face. “I want you.”

I forced myself to settle down. I’d worked hard to cut Vinn from my life, and I couldn’t afford to be distracted by a fantasy. I wouldn’t fall under his spell.

“Well, I don’t want you, so it’s time for you t-”

“Li, I can’t go back to treating you like Michael’s little sister.”

His flat eyes prolonged the moment, my skin prickling as I gazed into their infinite depths.

“Put it behind you, and I’ll do the same.”

“That’s not an option.”

“Why not?” I clenched my jaw to kill the waver in my voice. “Why the fuck did you spank me?”

“Why did you grab my cock?”

I met his accusing eyes. “To mess with you.”

Vinn’s lips parted. He ripped open the first button of his shirt and glared as though I’d made him too hot. His possessive gaze bored into me.

“Well, it worked.”

Blood pounded in my temples. “Vinn, I’m not one of your goddamned floozies.”

He blinked. “My what?”

“The girls you see for a week and discard.”

Vinn smirked, reminding me that while he might’ve been a sweet boy, he hadn’t grown into a tender-hearted man. “You’re way above them, Li.”

“I thought I wasn’t special,” I sparred.

“I let you get away with a lot.”

“Well, you’re nothing to me.”

“Yeah, I’m not worth a damn.” Vinn’s tone sparkled with sarcasm. “Otherwise your friend would know my name.”

Screw you, Queenie. “She didn’t mean you.”

“Vinny is what you’ve called me since you were four.”

“Now it’s a nickname for someone else.”

That sucked the joy from his face.

The life drained out of him. He gave me a black look layered with bitterness.

I’d shot an arrow through his maddening arrogance, but it felt less like a victory when his features clouded over, transforming him back into the block of ice.

“Queenie mistook you for another man. That’s all.” My hand anchored on my hip as Vinn cleared his throat. “You share the same name, but that’s about it.”

His gaze bolted me to the floor as he lapsed into a stony silence. “Why haven’t I met him?”

“Because he left me a while ago.”

Not quite a lie. The old Vinn died. He’d abandoned me for war, and he’d never returned. His body had survived.

Everything I’d loved about him hadn’t.

“This Vincent,” he drawled. “Is he Italian?”

“I won’t talk about him to you.”

A hardness replaced the twinkle in his eyes. Apparently eager to change the subject, Vinn headed toward the desk. He picked up a photo of us as children. A shirtless, teenage Michael stood in board shorts beside Vinn, who’d slung his arm over eight-year-old me. I’d never grinned so hard, but I’d also never been plastered to his bare chest.

I fidgeted with my dress. “Do you remember those summers at Salisbury Beach?”

“A little.”

Disappointing. “I think about them often. You, me, Mom, and my brothers. All of us hanging out at the beach. The heat baking my feet. The waves.”

“Only you would reminisce about that place.”

“I like remembering a time when I was happy, and my family was whole.”

Vinn’s gaze locked on Daniel’s portrait. “It never gets easier. You learn to deal with the pain.”

The pain of losing Daniel-or killing him?

A crushing sadness squeezed my lungs. The seashell necklace burned my throat, like it contained a piece of Vinn’s black soul. Maybe wearing it every day, having the constant reminder, was less of a token of hope and more a torture device.

“I want you to leave. Now.”

My voice throbbed with agony.

Thankfully, Vinn must’ve decided he’d tortured me enough. He stepped past me, his fingertips brushing my waist, as though to remind me what he’d done.

“I’m your date for the gala.” He paused, halfway out. “I’ll pick you up at eight.”Còntens bel0ngs to Nô(v)elDr/a/ma.Org

My stomach clenched. “Why are you messing with my life?”

He offered no answer as he strolled toward the exit. Michael had probably filled him in on the dumb plan, and Vinn took it upon himself to save me.

“Vinn, I’m not going with you!”

“You are. Everyone will think we’re an item.” He curved his hand over the edge of the wood. “You’ll hang on my arm. You’ll smile. It’ll confirm rumors that we’re dating, which will get back to Nico.”

“Like a stupid game of telephone.”

“Exactly. He can’t give you away if you’re already mine.”

I crossed my arms and leaned against the wall, wishing I could tell him what an arrogant dickhead he’d turned out to be.

“You’re not the boss of me.”

“I am, and I don’t care how many summers we spent on that shitty beach. I’ll make you submit, and not in the way you hope, darling.”

Asshole.

“Do as you’re told, Liana.”