Page 1 of The Sting of Love
Chapter One
Donny
I cast my gaze over the people below me on the dance floor like I own them. Resting my hands on the metal rail of the balcony, I smile.
Fuck, I might as well proclaim myself king because if I please the powers that be I’ll be the new boss here and over the whole empire in Italia.
Bel Posto is the most popular nightclub on the east coast of Sicily and attracts anybody who’s anybody looking for a wild night of fun.
Being the boss has a ring to it I definitely like. Boss or not, people know my face and know who I am. They know to straighten up to attention when they see me and they know who I represent. There are certain benefits to working for a powerful mafia boss and being the right-hand man to one of his capos. This is one of them.
Although I grew up in Sicily, I live in Chicago. One of my jobs is to fly out once a year to check on business. I’ve been doing that for the last seven years. This is the second time I’ve been this year, and this trip is the one that matters most for my future. In a nutshell, I have to prove my worth. Prove I can be as badass as the boss is in Chicago when dealing with the criminal underworld.
This trip is the one that will define me in more ways than one. The chance to be in charge is an opportunity I’d be an idiot to miss for the wealth and recognition that will come to me and my family. At the same time, taking the steps to seize the chance is also a sign that I’m ready to put the past behind me.
The meaning and accomplishment the opportunity holds for me is serious as fuck, but I’m the kind of guy who can step away from the serious aspects of life and appreciate the sight of a beautiful woman when I see one.
Especially when they look like the goddess below me sitting at the bar.
Tonight has brought out a sea of beauties, but the raven-haired goddess I’m looking at is the kind of woman who stands out in a crowd.
She’s beautiful with a face like an angel, has wild jet-black hair that sparkles against the club’s strobe lights, and a body made for serious sinning.
I know exactly what to do with a body like that.
She’s what I call a perfect specimen of a woman, like a lost pin-up girl who could give Marilyn Monroe a run for her money. This goddess has perfect fully rounded breasts I could play with all night and curves in all the right places. The best part about her is, she’s completely oblivious to the effect she has in that little blue summer dress that’s caressing her body the way I want to.
She came in about ten minutes ago and went straight to the bar.
I’ve been watching her. I’m not the only guy watching either. I’m just the guy who’s most likely to claim her. The guys who noticed me watching stopped the minute they realized that I saw them. They were the fuckers who knew better than to piss me off. The other guys looking at her haven’t seen me yet. I can’t blame them, though, for hoping to get lucky with her.
Thinking with my dick is the last thing I should be doing tonight because I’m not on the prowl. I can’t help it, however, when candy is laid before me, and I think if tonight goes well and I don’t lose my shit in the meeting, I’d like to dip my hands in the sweet jar that is this woman and have some sinful fun with her body.
She must feel my eyes on her because she looks up for the first time to where I’m standing, and our eyes lock. I’m amazed she hasn’t done so before given the focused intensity of my stare.
Since I’m not one of these pansy-assed pussies who look away when they get caught blatantly checking a woman out, I continue to stare. I’m Donny Caporetti, and lust runs through my veins the same as my blood. In all my thirty-five years I’ve never restrained myself, and since I’m not about to do it now, I hold her gaze and smile, allowing her to see my interest in her like I’m marking my territory.
We’re about thirty feet away from each other, too far to clearly see those eyes of hers, but I can tell she’s interested in me too from the way she looks back at me. I can feel the heat in her desire, the want in her arousal as she traces her finger ever so lightly down her cheek. I’d bet her skin is as soft as I imagine it to be too.
I would continue this stare fest and do something about that twitch in my cock, but the footsteps behind me signal that it’s time to stop thinking with my dick and get serious.
I turn away from the beauty and face Alex as he approaches me. He’s the third capo to our boss, Claudius Morientz, and he’s always ready for business.
He’s a big guy like me. Six foot four with the same kind of muscle and the same wild streak for fast cars and motorcycles.
“Who are you watching tonight?” he asks as he gets up to me and scans the crowd below.
“Not telling. Don’t want that wife of yours to cut my dick off for trying to lead you down the path of temptation.” I smirk.
“Relax. There is no temptation when you’re with the perfect woman.” He chuckles. “I was just asking because you seemed so engrossed.”
“I was. There’s a doll by the bar with the body of a goddess.”
He laughs but doesn’t look. It probably doesn’t occur to him to look either because he’s so loved up with his wife, Cora. He’s been married for over a year, and Cora is nigh on giving birth to their son. He’s not as excited to be in Sicily as I am, but our presence here is necessary.
I’m classing it as a trial period for me and my first task is to sort out the shit that might be brewing under our noses. It’s the kind of shit that could destroy us if it hits the fan. That’s why he’s here too, as well as to give the okay on whether I can handle the business or not.
When all’s said and done, he’ll be going back to Chicago, and I’ll stay in Sicily. That’s if I make the mark. If I don’t it’s game over and I’ll be a grunt for life.
