La Famiglia (79 page)

“It’s the way things are done. The
`Ndrangheta
are on trial, as are the members of Mottola’s clan. You are a key witness. You will only testify regarding our business deals. Dominic and the attorneys will help you.” Giovanni leaned forward. He lowered his voice. “Nothing regarding
la famiglia
will ever part your lips. Do we understand each other?”

“
Sí,”
he nodded. “Perfectly.”

Giovanni stood. He walked around the table and patted Santo on the shoulder. He glanced to Dominic and nodded he was done. “Be well. See me again when you are free.”

“
Grazie,”
Santo said through clenched teeth.

Santo was escorted to his cell. Giovanni had kept his word. He had him moved. But the trap set by Lorenzo still burned Santo’s gut. If he did nothing, he’d make sure that Lorenzo was made to pay.

“Santo! You have a visitor!” The guard announced.

Santo turned in his cell. Had Giovanni forgotten something? Was it his attorneys visiting so soon after his boss? He nodded and walked out of his cell. The guard again clamped down handcuffs on his wrists and forced him to walk out into the hall. When he turned the corner to the private room he stopped in surprise.

“Isabella? What are you doing here?”

She smiled sweetly. Santo was unchained. Isabella walked over to him. “How are you, Santo?” she took his face in her hands. “What happed to you? Did they attack you?”

“I’m fine,” he said. Her sweet floral scent filled his nostrils. He hugged her and she was soft and feminine. Isabella was only someone he briefly met. She made a few proposals to him for Giovanni. But he hadn’t truly had a chance to present them. Her visit was kind, and a bit strange considering their unfamiliar history.

“Why are you here?” he asked.

“You look like you need a friend.” Isabella smiled. “I’d like to be one.”

* B
*

Mira checked her appearance in the mirror. The dress, her hair, down to the color of the polish on her nails had all been done with care. The door below her had closed.
Villa Rosso
was forbidden territory. But she had made sure this night it was their sanctuary. She hurried down the stairs, careful of the hem of her dress.

Giovanni stood in the center of the room. He looked as yummy as ever. His tall hard-bone muscular frame was richly outlined in a black silk tailored suit with a crisp white shirt and black and white striped tie. Raven dark hair tapered low to his thick sideburns and nape contrasted with his deep olive brown skin that spoke to his Sicilian heritage. And of course it was his eyes that made her love for him deepen. The intensity of their hue often left her light headed and giddy when she stared into them too long.

Violet-blue, his steely gaze swept the room and his silky dark brows drew together with concern. The ambiance had to have startled him. Afterall this was his territory. A place where deals were made, and lives were controlled or broken. On a rare occaision or two she’d joined him here. Today she had the place cleaned and scrubbed of the stench of tobacco, leather, and vino. Candles were left on tall and short pedestals around the place giving off a dim yellow glow. She’d gotten a tape cassette of Sade and put it in his stereo to set the mood. The sultry words Sade sang, professing her love and vow to by her man’s side filled the room.  

His man cave was now their love shack.

“Hi, baby,” she said.

His gaze swung her way and she felt a throb of response intimately. He regarded her between narrowed lids. It was time for her seduction and she was as nervous as she was the first time he had laid his hands on her. She gave him a moment to take her all in. She’d chosen one of her special creations. A wrap around silk dress with a low cut front and a side split of the fabric that reached her hipbone. It was midnight blue and had a short train that rippled across the floor as she walked toward him. It was taboo for a designer with a collection as vast as hers to repeat the same design of dress over and over again. But her man liked dresses that unwrapped easily. So she wore this one special for him.

“Welcome home,” she said.

She untied the belt to her dress with a slow erotic striptease like the one she practiced with Marietta. Giovanni smiled as she let the fabric peel away from her skin. Their eyes met. She moved her hips in a slow roll to Sade’s seductive voice. She wore a black lace half bra that barely covered her nipples in the cups that heaved her bosom upward. She’d chosen a matching high-wasted thong panty. For weeks she’d kept her figure hidden under baggy clothes. She didn’t shower with him. She had to make sure to wear pajama pants and oversized t-shirts to bed. She wanted this moment.

She earned this moment. Mira danced for her husband. She moved as she hooked her thumbs into the sides of her panty and started to work them off her hips and thighs until they dropped to her knees and then ankles so she could step out of them. She closed her eyes and felt the music move through her. Let the lyrics and sexy rhythm consume her. She unhooked her bra and tossed it. Her eyes opened. Giovanni stood there watching.

“For me?” he asked, his gaze sweeping every inch of her curves.

“For you,” she said and approached him. She ran her hand down his tie and then slid both of her hands under his suit jacket to either side of his shoulders so she could help him out of the jacket. “You want to know why I chose Villa Rosso? Why I invaded your sanctuary?”

Giovanni’s left brow winged up with curiosity. 

“Because this is a part of you. The part of you that’s kept unseen.” She brushed her lips over his. “I want to start again here. Love you,” she kissed his lips. “Here.”

Mira began to loosen his tie and then slid it out of its knot. She unraveled it from around his neck. “Tonight I’m yours. And you’re mine. Tonight I fuck
Don
Giovanni.”

He chuckled.

She squeezed his cock and flicked her tongue at his lip, before drawing it into her mouth.

“Mmm…. It’s going to get rough, Bella,” he whispered.

“I can take it,” she said rubbing her body up against him. “If you do one thing for me?”

“Name it,” he said.

“My pussy,” she whispered in his ear.

Giovanni swept her up in his arms. She giggled and held to his neck, kissing his face. He carried her into his office instead of upstairs to the bed. “You want to fuck the
Don,
you fuck him in here,” he said.

He put her on the sofa. Mira parted her legs. She touched her pussy for him with one hand and pinched her nipple with the other. As if under her spell he shed his shirt obdiently. He went to his knees. Mira closed her eyes.

The sight of her sex both flush and pink brought him to his knees. He had missed her desperately. She parted the dark lips at her center and revealed her hot pink flower. Moisture glazed the walls of her cunt. Giovanni swiped a finger across her silken walls and brought the finger to his mouth and tasted her. Mira smiled. His head lowered as he tongued her opening and fucked her hole with the tip of his tongue.

Mira’s breathing went uneven.

He rubbed his hand up and stroked her belly, reached and pinched her nipple. He used his other hand to lift the top hood of her pussy to release her clit. His tongue swiped up out of her hole to toy with the nub.

“Yes!” Mira cried out.

Giovanni groaned and sank his face, mouth deeper into her pussy as he sucked her clit and rubbed his nose over the curly hairs covering her mons. She gasped loudly bucking her ass up off the sofa seat. He used his tongue to soothe her clit with gentle glides up and down it, before going low. She neared her climax and pumped her pussy up against his mouth, beating her fist against the back cushion of the sofa.

“Giovanni! Yes, please!” she cried out.

Using his thumb and forefinger to hold her open he feasted on her pussy until she reached her earth shattering release.

He drew away licking his lips. He undid his belt buckle and ripped his zipper down. “Get on your knees. Now.”

She wheezed for a breath, and shakily sunk to the floor. She turned in front of him and got on her hands and knees. Giovanni’s entire body hardened at the sight of her. She tossed him a look over her shoulder. Wild excitement glittered in her eyes. His jaw tightened and he closed the distance between them. He caressed the curve of her ass.

The head of his cock nudged her  her pussy until he found her entrance. He flexed his hips and drove himself deep with one hard stroke.

“Ugh!” she gasped.

The sweet hot tightness clenching and releasing his dick had left him struggling for a breath. He gripped both sides of her hips and relaxed himself to savor the moment.

“Tell me you need me,” he said.

“I need you,” she answered and moved back against his push.

“Tell me you need only me,” he said and slammed into her pussy harder and faster.

Mira gasped.

“Say it!” he demanded.

“Only… you…” she gasped.

He forced her down by pushing at the center of her spine. Her pussy opened up fully to him. Her ass beat against his pelvis. His dick slammed in harder, and harder, relentless and he felt himself near the edge. Giovanni stopped himself. He withdrew. Mira collapsed and he dragged her under him, forcing her to her back. Her soft thighs closed around his hips. His erection found her creamy tightness and sank into her. The feel of her soft curves beneath him made him pause. She licked his neck, his chin, sought his mouth and dragged his tongue down into a kiss. He began to move again. His cock surged, his balls throbbed, he whirled his hips screwing her good.

Mira moved under him whimpering her pleasure. He loved her gently for the moment. Savoring every emotion straining and changing her pretty features.

“So beautiful. That’s why you are my Bella,” he said kissing her pouty swollen lips and then tasting her neck before sucking the tender skin between his teeth.

His ass rose and fell with each gentle push and withdrawal of his cock. Mira gripped both of his ass cheeks. She squeezed. His pants and boxers were still gathered at his knees. He hadn’t bothered to remove them.

“Please fuck me,” she whispered to him.

He lifted from her but his cock remained buried deep. He lifted her left leg and crossed it over her right. On his knees with his hands holding her leg down he thrust with rapid succession.

Heaven
, was his single thought as he reached depths he hadn’t imagined. Mira cried out loudly, clawing at him to slow his rhythm. He brough her left leg straight up against his chest and put her into a scissor position without a break in his stride.

“Oh, Gio, too deep,” she panted.

“Shh… you can take it,” he teased. Giovanni pulled out and thrust forward. Her cunt rippled and pulsed around him. Sweat rained down his brow dripping to his chest as his body temperature reached a feverish pitch. Her body shook with each downward thrust.

It wasn’t enough. He needed more.

He withdrew and let her legs go down. Mira groaned. He lifted her beautiful body and sat back on his hunches. She was now seated on his lap. Like a demon possessed he gave her no time to catch her breath. He gripped her by the hips and she held to his neck as he helped her rise and fall on his dick hard and fast. Tension sung through him and with great effort he tried to control the pace. Bella squeezed his neck tightly and moved with her own purpose taking over.

She moved back and forth, up and down, rolled her sweet pussy and he was lost. The mounting pressure in his chest imploded and shockwaves crippled him. The rush of pleasure was so extreme he fell back, awkwardly pinned with his pants trapped at his knees. She allowed him to move his legs, straighten them and she was back on top.

His entire body seized as she rode his cock wild and free. Giovanni felt his heart reach an unattainable beat. “Bella!” he cried out.

“Shhh… you can take it,” she teased.

He gripped her thighs for support and slammed his hips up to deliver decisive strikes before he broke and released.

“Mmmm,” he said. “I want to fuck you on my desk next,” he mumbled.

She chuckled and lay on him. “You can fuck me any way you please.”

Giovanni woke with Mira in his arms. After a night of loving her, drinking and laughing they ended upstairs in his bed. He had lost track of time. He had no concept of it. The room they occupied had no windows. He lay with her sweet body pressed against his.

“You awake?” he asked.

“Mmm… what’s wrong?” she groaned.

“Nothing, I…
ti amo
,” he said. 
“Amore mia.”

“Yes, Giovanni, you’re my love,”

He closed his eyes and focused on the feel of his wife in his arms. Before he slipped back into bliss he whispered to her. “I adore you.”

Book Club Questions

Are you a fan of the series thus far? Do you and your friends chat over the drama and romantic tales of the Battaglias? The author has provided twenty book club questions for you to further the discussion!

1. At the beginning of La Famiglia Giovanni and Mirabella adjust to marital bliss. They visit Milan and he gives her an immortalizing portrait of the woman she once was. Who do you think Giovanni wants as a wife: the uptight businesswoman who loves deeply but is blind to his criminal exploits, or the disciplined Donna who accepts his darkness and learns day-by-day how to wield the ultimate power over his heart? Also, was Flavio right in saying that the love of a woman is the weakness that could destroy him?
   
2. Marietta agrees to sail the Mediterranean with Lorenzo. After four months they are in love. Is that too fast for this complicated couple? Do you think that their passion and impulsive nature will bind them or destroy them?
   
3. Dominic is an orphan that Giovanni helped raise with his father. You learn the sad story of his arrival to the Battaglia family. Do you agree with Giovanni that their brotherhood should have never allowed him to cross the line with Catalina? Or do you understand what Dominic to be so passionate about his love for Catalina and Giovanni?
   
4. Catalina matures in La Famiglia. She is devoted to her family but she is also excited about her future. Should the Battaglia women be allowed to have independent lives from the famiglia? Or is their lifestyle to dangerous to allow such freedom?
   
5. Will Catalina and Dominic’s love survive her passion for a career?
   
6. Giovanni kept a secret from his wife. Discuss his choice. Could you forgive a mafia husband for deceiving you? Was Mira’s reaction to his deception founded or as many of the family believed unnecessarily punishing?
   
7. What do you think of Mira’s reaction to her husbands lies compared to her sisters’ ability to forgive and move on?
   
8. Marietta and Carlo have a dangerous connection. The love/hate dynamic between them was ultimately bond to implode. How do you feel about Carlo’s affections toward Marietta? Do you think they will ever cross the line again in the future?
   
9. Lorenzo loves his wife. What do you think he would do if he discovered their indiscretion?
   
10. Giovanni revealed his vulnerability. But not like most alpha men you read about in romance novels. His hard-edged madness and retaliation may not be appealing for a hero. As a reader would you have preferred he ‘bend’ to Mira’s will, or were you accepting of her choice to ‘bend’ for him?
    
11. Dominic is truly a consigliere. He learned and trained under Flavio. He also feels the family should move toward more legitimate pursuits. Do you think Lorenzo’s approach to keeping them strong and deadly is the better way to secure their legacy, or is Dominic’s approach best?
    
12. What are you thoughts on Gemma?
    
13. Many stories have been shared about Melissa ‘Lisa’ Ellison. Which story do you believe? Gemma’s or Mancini’s? Was ‘Lisa’ Mancini’s victim or just a young lady controlled by her drug addiction and love for a complicated man?
    
14. Armando and Mancini had a complicated relationship. Do you think he can set aside his prejudices and pride to get to know his sisters or will he be a threat to the women in the future?
    
15. What do you think happened to Carmella? Did Carlo kill her or give her money and send her away in the same manner he offered to do for Marietta?
    
16. Rocco appears to have more Battaglia secrets. Have we heard everything in the story of Tomosino and Rocco? Do you see any comparisons now with Rocco’s actions to Lorenzo’s?
    
17. Isabella lives. Why did she fake her death? And what do you think she has planned for Santo?
    
18. What was the most unforgettable moment in La Famiglia?
    
19. What would you have done differently in the story?
    
20. Can Mira evolve into the Bella Mafia Donna that the family needs? And at what cost?
    

Thank you for reading….