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He tilted his head to the side, studying me once more and reached up to rub his chin as if he was contemplating something that challenged him. That was when I noticed his hands. They were scraped, knuckles split and scabbed over with old wounds as if he had not long ago been in a pretty intense fist fight.
“What happened to your hands?” I asked, my big brown eyes settling on them before he quickly removed them from his face and dug them back in his jean’s pockets. He didn’t answer but took a step in front of me, so close that I could now smell a hint of vanilla to his scent too. I stepped back slightly and my back hit the wall.
“So, who is your prince then?” he asked, holding my gaze as my face twisted with confusion. I couldn’t keep up with how quickly this boy changed his train of thought.
“What?”
“Your first kiss…”
I rolled my eyes and huffed, folding my arms across my chest in the hope to create some barrier between my pounding heart and this hot stranger.
“It hardly matters now. Claudia will be all over him at the party if I’m not there and by Monday she will be his new girlfriend,” I mumbled.
“He’s not worth it then,” he shrugged, his broad shoulders drawing my eyes to how well they filled out the leather jacket. I remember the small flutter of butterflies in my stomach as I wondered what his shoulders and arms would look like if he removed it. “If he is stupid enough to forget about you and kiss someone else just because you miss one party then he is not worthy of having your first kiss.”
I scoffed loudly, “Well he is! He is the hottest guy I know. And the fact he even likes me is a miracle. Most boys won’t even look my way because of the stupid bodyguards scaring them off. I am never going to get kissed if they don’t let me live! I will be a fifty-year-old virgin if my papi has his way.”
He chuckled darkly, causing my eyes to turn to slits as I glared up at him. “Your papi is right to keep you locked up. Although, he should really step up his security in my opinion.”
“What! Why?” I shouted in dismay.
“Because you are clearly naïve enough to let a guy take whatever he wants from you. Your papi won’t let you go to a party but look how easy it was for me to get you alone…” he smirked, looking far too smug with himself. “And we both know that I am the hottest guy you now know.”
I gaped at him. Urgh, I wanted to punch him. If it wasn’t for the fact he was so unpredictable, I probably would have tried.
“He’s hotter than you,” I lied, causing his smirk to turn into a wide grin. “And no, I would never let a guy take whatever he wants from me!”
“Really?” he stepped in closer, his body suddenly making contact with mine as I pressed myself harder up against the wall. Oxygen suddenly felt scarce as I struggled to control my breathing, my eyes diverting down to his tempting lips as he licked his bottom one slowly. “A first kiss isn’t all that special, you know. Life is not full of roses and sweet knights in shining armour, Princess. It’s ruthless and twisted. The sooner you realise that the better.”
Before I could comprehend what was happening, he lowered his head and his lips covered mine. My eyes widened and my body tensed as I felt a boy’s caress for the very first time. I wasn’t sure what I had expected but it definitely wasn’t how soft his lips were or the way they awoke a longing inside me. As he moved his lips against mine, surprising me with his tenderness, my body melted into his. His hands came up to my face, holding me in place as my eyes fluttered closed and I gave in to the pleasurable feeling that was sending tingles through my body. He parted my lips with skill and to my shock, I felt his tongue against mine in a slow, sensual stroke. It felt weird but strangely nice. Heat flushed across my skin. He tasted like cigarettes and mints. An oddly sexy combination. Just as I was starting to really relax into it, my hands daring to run up his body to his shoulders, he broke away from me abruptly and I blinked up into his diamond eyes in a daze.
A slow arrogant smile appeared on his face as he said, “See? Nothing special.”
The blissful feelings instantly dispersed and were replaced by red-hot anger and humiliation. How dare he! How dare he steal that moment from me and not even say it was special! It was a game to him. He was proving himself right. That he could take whatever he wanted from me. Before I could stop myself, I lifted my hand and slapped him hard across the cheek. I held my breath, waiting for the rage to spike from him at what I had just done.
A look of surprise flickered across his face before he smiled that charming smile once more. I frowned deeply.
“Good girl,” he husked. My stomach flipped at his words. He was happy I slapped him? This boy was insane! And so was I, because all I could think about was how much I wanted to kiss him again. Suddenly, voices from outside broke our moment and car headlights shone through the window of my studio. He blinked up at them.
“Alessio!” A deep, demanding voice bellowed from outside and he cursed under his breath, stepping back from me.
“Ciao, Princess,” he winked before he darted out the door. I stared, dumbfounded, as it closed behind him, leaving me alone in silence. After a few moments, I snapped into action, bolting out into the gardens after him but he had already managed to stride ahead and was approaching the driveway where an entourage of blacked out cars waited. I slowed down and stopped as an older man in an expensive suit said something to him before climbing into one of the cars. I watched as he glanced over in my direction before diving into the back and the engines roared to life.
“What are you doing out here?” My brother’s deep voice made me jump out of my skin as I slammed my hand over my chest in shock. I turned to gaze up at his concerned face and then back towards the slow moving cars that were travelling down the never-ending driveway of our estate towards the heavily guarded iron gates.
“Who were they?” I asked, ignoring his question and pointing towards the cars. Giovanni’s eyes narrowed with evident hostility and dislike; a look he had mastered from my papi and zio, Sal.
“Our biggest rivals and sworn enemies. The Barbieris. Southern Italy’s most powerful mafia family.”
My eyes widened as I made the connections. I’d heard about them before. “If they are our enemies, what are they doing here?”
Giovanni slung his heavy arm around my shoulder and kissed the top of my head in a protective gesture, “Don’t worry, Elle. It’s not your concern. Leave that to the men.”
I rolled my eyes subtly, making sure he didn’t notice before we started walking back towards the mansion. He was only twenty but he already considered himself to be ‘one of the men’, preparing himself to take over the family business one day. I peered back over my shoulder as the final car left the gates and my heart pounded. I had just been kissed by the son of my family’s biggest rivals and… I’d liked it. No, I had more than liked it. It had sparked a fire inside of me that I had no idea was there. His lips. His eyes. His voice.
I never told a soul about the badass gangster who stole my first kiss then mysteriously vanished from my life. I wasn’t allowed to attend Davide’s party and by Monday, Claudia and Davide were an item. It should have crushed me but instead, my mind was too busy obsessing over my forbidden stranger. He became my darkest fantasy for years to come. Thinking of him was my guilty pleasure.
His name was Alessio Barbieri.
