Prince of the Brotherhood: A Mafia Romance

by K. Alex Walker

  "You don't want a second date with me?”

  "I do, but I figured getting one with you would be like winning the lottery after playing for a while."

  Her skin tingled, followed by another pull in her belly.

  "I was a troublemaker," he said. "My father and I, we butt heads a lot. He wanted me to follow the career path he chose for me, but I wanted to branch out on my own."

  "And what career path is that?"

  He sucked in a breath, let it out slowly. "International Business."

  "Gag."

  "Exactly."

  They walked past the pool where a few vacationers lounged, some wading on the surface while others’ fingers scraped the bottom.

  "What did you end up doing that affords you the ability to have a Black card, then?"

  He looked her up and down. "Guess."

  They stopped walking, and she stepped away from him, squinting and cupping her chin while she scrutinized. This was a man people would give money to just to say they'd breathed the same air as he did.

  "Well, based on the size of your package," she let her gaze fall, "I'd stay porn star."

  "I knew these jeans were too damn tight." He covered his crotch. "Stop looking."

  Laughter tore through her. "I'm not!"

  "Yes, you are." He closed an imaginary robe and tossed his hair. "You're undressing me with your eyes."

  "Real talk? I've been doing that all night."

  A grin on his handsome face, he walked toward her and she floated to him, and he held her against his body for a few heartbeats before they returned to their stroll.

  "Venture capital," he revealed, their fingers slipping back together. To her surprise, he kissed the back of her hand. "Specifically, clean technology. I may not look it, but I did go to Stanford."

  "I'm genuinely impressed. It's not often you get beauty and brains all wrapped in a...nice package."

  He bumped her side.

  "What about you?” he asked. “Is resort management in your family?"

  "Not even close. My mother was a stay-at-home mother, and my father was a physician. He actually went to medical school right here at home. I was born in Illinois, but they moved back when I was a little over a year old."

  “You said your grandparents raised you. Does that mean...?"

  She nodded. "When I was three.”

  "How'd it happen?"

  "A car accident." It didn't matter that she'd been acting her entire time at the resort. These memories and the feelings that came with them were real. "The other driver had epilepsy. Interestingly enough, he was a patient of my father's."

  He squeezed her hand like she'd done his. "I'm sorry, Eija. That's a hard thing to go through, especially at three. Do you have siblings?"

  "A sister, but we're not close. She married my college boyfriend, and they started sleeping together when we were still dating."

  "Ouch.” His lips grazed the back of her hand a second time. “Don't worry. I won't do that to you."

  She tossed her head back and laughed.

  "I'm a little hurt you laughed that hard.”

  "You're funny, Andrei. Really funny. I'm having a great time, and I'm not just saying that to get into your pants."

  They passed an empty pavilion, and she pulled him inside, letting him sit first before settling on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her, and she laid her head against his shoulder. Like this, he felt even better than when they'd danced.

  "Can I be honest with you about something?" he asked. "I was thinking about leaving tomorrow."

  She stiffened. "Oh?"

  "What if I stayed?"

  She reached up and passed her fingers through his hair, and it was like chasing them across silk.

  "What if you did?"

  "It would give me time to take you out again."

  "Andrei, I don't know—"

  "I'm not asking you for forever, Eija." He looked down at her, his face brilliant in the firelight from the torches. "But I've been here three months, and this is the best night I've had so far. Maybe in my life. I'd like to have more like it. I'd like to talk to you again, see you again...even if it's just for one more day. One more week."

  Her heart raced.

  That too was new.

  It wasn't like it hadn't ever raced before, but it certainly hadn't in a while. Her heart was often never involved in these situations. It was always be flirty, be attentive, get hers, and then go back to work. Go back to the world of espionage, covert intelligence, and organized crime. But, if it was just for one more day or one more week, she wanted to see this man again. On at least two of those days, she wanted to wake up, naked, in his arms.

  "I'd like that too,” she said.

  "So, tomorrow, can I take you to lunch on your lunch break?” he asked. “We can eat around here, so you don't have to go far."

  "Yes." She laid her palm against the side of his face. "But, what about tonight?"

  She knew the kiss was coming—he was moving in, she was moving in.

  Still, she sighed when their lips touched.

  His were tart, sweet, and soft, and he didn't immediately slip his tongue into her mouth. Instead, he let his breath warm her lips and let his teeth nibble, taking her from ripe to bursting. The fingers on her other hand wound around the thick fabric of his jacket.

  Eija leaned forward, offering more of her mouth. He ran his tongue around the full circle, kissing the corners and tasting the smooth pink just inside. This was a man who'd done this to where he had the shit down to a science.

  "You have the most beautiful lips," he whispered, raising his thumb to the center of her bottom lip. "A man could get drunk on these."

  She gripped the back of his head and plunged her tongue into his mouth. A low, thick groan rumbled in his throat, and he pulled her tight against him. She moaned, their tongues sweeping almost timidly. When her head tilted, so did his. When he pulled her so close he crushed her against his chest, she wrapped her arms around his neck. This was what people meant when they said they felt like they were floating. She was in the middle of the ocean, feet dangling and her body a buoy against gravity.

  "Andrei," her voice was raw, dripping with need, "make love to me tonight."

  Another groan thundered in his throat, lower than the first, and she felt the pulse against the palm on his chest.

  "I want to," he said.

  "Then let's do it."

  "Not tonight."

  She nodded. "Okay."

  Kissing him was so good, she would be fine with just this. Plus, anticipation was the best kind of foreplay. By the time they made love, she would crave him. Eat, drink, and sleep him.

  They parted when their lungs were empty. His eyes sparkled, almost in awe, and she was certain she looked at him the same way. He’d come from somewhere, and it was a place she’d never looked. A place she hadn’t even known existed.

  She wiped his mouth. "Oh, no. I got my lipstick all over you. I guess they lied about it not rubbing off."

  "Is it my color?"

  "You are working it, honey."

  He laughed and kissed her.

  She laughed and kissed him.

  "Why couldn't I have met you earlier?" His gaze roamed her face, and he wrapped a curl around his finger. "At least at the beginning of my stay here."

  If they’d met earlier, she wasn’t sure she wouldn’t have, at some point, compromised part of her mission in some way. And she’d never so much as considered compromising an op before. This man was venom.

  "What would have been different, you think?" she asked, genuinely curious.

  "I don't know, but I know it would have been good."

  "This is good too."

  "You're right." He kissed her cheek. "This is good too."

  They sat, holding each other and kissing and talking until it was a little past one in the morning.

  He walked her to her room, their fingers locked, and it was hard to let him leave. To make matters worse, he gave her the sweetest,
most tender kiss she'd ever experienced in her life right before stepping back and wishing her a good night.

  "Lunch tomorrow," he said. "Don't forget."

  "I'm looking forward to it." She opened the door. "I really am."

  "Goodnight, Eija."

  "Goodnight, Andrei."

  She closed the door, leaned against it, and took a moment to collect herself before checking her phone. As expected, with the op closed out, the agency had emailed her ticket back home. While she usually went back home immediately, there were still two weeks between now and debriefing back at headquarters. She could afford to give Andrei at least one of them.

  Someone knocked on her door.

  Through the peephole, she saw it was him.

  The minute she opened the door, his mouth latched onto hers. She kissed him back with the same fierce, borderline savage hunger.

  When he finally released her, she plastered herself to the door. He backed up to the other end of the corridor. A thick bulge tented his zipper, and her nipples tried to push through the fabric of the dress. An imprint of his kiss remained on her lips.

  "Good night," he said again, and it was obvious he was trying not to look down at the overeager buds. “I mean it this time.”

  He watched her go inside, and she listened for his retreating footsteps. Certain this time he wasn't coming back, she went straight to the shower, stripped, and stepped underneath the stream. Eyes closed and back against the tiled wall, she relived the night—from flirting to laughing to kissing—and lowered the spray between her legs.

  Chapter 3

  Dom approached the front desk just in time to see Eija's face light up as she read the card attached to the blue roses he'd sent. The other staff at the front tried to grab it from her hand, but she dodged them, laughing and lighting up the room with that lipstick and that smile.

  He wasn’t in love. Love was ambitious after knowing anyone for one week that had turned into two, no matter how warm the Caribbean air, how sultry the music, and how clear the ocean waters. But, if they'd had a little more time, he would definitely fall for her.

  Yuri’s goons had disappeared and so far, he hadn't spotted any additional men trying to blend in like water in an oil factory, which wasn't exactly a good thing. It was more akin to a tsunami pulling water from the shore because a massive flood was about to follow.

  One of the girls at the front looked up and spotted him, and she whispered something to Eija. Eija turned around, and when their gazes connected, her smile grew wider.

  He leaned on the desktop. "Hey, pretty lady. You ready?"

  She nodded. "Let me get my bag from the back, and I'll be right with you."

  The pencil skirt hugged her hips and stole his attention as she walked away. When she was out of sight, he realized the other two women at the front were staring at him with coy smiles on their faces.

  "Good evening, ladies," he greeted.

  One, whose complexion was like looking at honey through a glass jar, blushed. The other, whose complexion was closer to mocha and completely even from the tip of her forehead to her chest, spoke up.

  "Where are you taking her?"

  "She's been the captain of all our dates so far," he informed them. "I think she said we're going to Gouyave for Fish Friday?"

  The blushing woman's eyes widened. "Oh, that's nice. You'll really like it. They have some of the best lambi in the Caribbean."

  "What's lambi?"

  They looked at each other.

  "You probably know it as conch," the second woman said. "If you don't eat conch, though, they have fish, lobster...all kinds of seafood."

  That accent.

  Fuck, it was such a turn-on.

  It was like God had ordered a shipment of beautiful parts, but the shipper had accidentally sent him a duplicate. So, he'd simply dumped them all in the Caribbean, from the waters to the people, the buildings to the music.

  "Then I'm looking forward to it." Dom glanced at the door Eija had walked through. He wanted to see her. He'd just seen her less than a minute ago, but he wanted to see her again.

  She emerged, and he had to stop himself from scooping her up into his arms. Since he knew he was leaving at some point, he didn't want to make love to her. The way his luck was set up, they would have a nice night together and that would be the moment the Bratva descended, taking him and leaving her dead body behind. It wasn't like the organization was known for being considerate. They'd drag him away with half of his dick still inside her. And while he could handle himself better than most, he was only one man against a Slavic army.

  "Do you mind if I go upstairs to change?" She motioned to her clothes. "I want to be more comfortable."

  Higher-level staff had housing at the resort. It essentially guaranteed they would never be late clocking in, which was a plus for the company, and the staff could relax in the lap of luxury on their days off. According to Eija, they rarely did so at the resort—for them, it was their workplace—but they enjoyed the perks that came with the position.

  "Of course,” he said. “I'll wait down here."

  "No, it's okay." She took his hand. "You can wait for me upstairs."

  Eija was a weapon—gorgeous and seductive, cute and sexy. She didn't hide the fact that she wanted them to sleep together, but she didn't fuss when he kept putting it off. She did ask him if he was married, so there appeared to be some concern about his reluctance to do to her what he did to her in his dreams every single night.

  She walked ahead of him to her room, and he hypnotized himself with the sway of her hips and curve of her behind. Every so often, she turned around and caught him staring, and all she did was shake her head.

  He followed her into a studio apartment whose decor was in line with the rest of the resort—white, blue, and wood. Because of Eija’s personality, he’d expected Bohemian prints, colorful area rugs, floor pillows, and plants all over.

  "Have a seat while I get ready," she instructed, starting on the buttons on her shirt. "If you're thirsty, help yourself to whatever's in the fridge. I promise I won't take long."

  "Please don't. I enjoy looking at you."

  That smile of hers was going to be his undoing.

  She disappeared into the bathroom and shut the door. He walked around, one part curiosity and the second part checking for anything that looked less than innocuous. Another thing the “family” was good at was surveillance.

  There was a digital panel on the wall that appeared to control different items around the room. He pressed a button, and the sheer curtains surrounding the bed parted, opening up the view from the bed to the balcony and trees surrounding the property. The windows faced east, so Eija always woke with the sunrise, and he wondered what she looked like—brown skin bathed in golden-orange light, wrapped in white sheets, hair untamed.

  Dom adjusted himself in the dark jeans he'd paired with a white button-down, sat on the sofa, and turned on the TV. Eija popped her head out of the bathroom, her right shoulder glistening. Steam from the shower billowed behind her.

  "Doing okay?" she asked.

  "For now. Hurry up."

  "I'm hurrying, I'm hurrying."

  She shut the door.

  He leaned back against the sofa cushions and tried to pay attention to the TV. Some crime documentary was showing, but all he saw was his mind's image of Eija in bed. With any luck, he'd end up smelling like smoke, fish, and char tonight, and she would make zero attempts to come on to him. The last string of his patience was thinner than a hair. If she so much as hinted it, he was going to fuck her.

  She emerged from the bathroom in purple panties.

  No bra.

  Just lacy purple panties.

  Her dusky-tipped breasts and nipples bounced as she walked to her closet and pulled out two pieces of an outfit, both red. A strapless top went over her head, stopping just above her belly button, and she stepped into wide-leg pants before sitting on the bed to slip on a pair of sandals. She'd gathered her hair up into a curl
y ponytail on top of her head. Large hoops in her ears swayed with each of her movements. She didn't wear red lipstick, probably on account of the color of her outfit, but her lips were glossy, emphasizing their natural tone.

  "Do I look ready?" She hopped up and spun, so he could see every angle of her outfit.

  He walked over to her and lowered his hands to her waist. "You look gorgeous."

  "Thank you, Andrei."

  He wanted her to call him Dom.

  He wanted to tell her tonight that his real name was Dominik, so that was the name she cried out when...if he made her come. But telling her was a risk. Eija didn't come across as someone dangerous, but knowing his name could be dangerous for her. His one consolation was that Andrei was one of his given names on a long list that made his birth certificate unnecessarily jumbled.

  She took his hand, turned off the TV, and they went downstairs to take a cab.

  The event started at six, so by the time they arrived, it was already in full swing. The food smelled so good, he wanted to eat the air around them. More steel pan music provided the ambiance, and Eija moved her body like a snake as they walked down an aisle of tents with different food vendors either already serving customers or getting set up. She did all this without releasing his hand.

  They watched the steel pan band play for a while, and she explained that they were a group of high schoolers from around the town of Gouyave. While they watched, she hugged him from behind, danced in front of him, or stood with her arms wrapped around him and her head on his chest. It made him feel like a king; he had the full attention of the prettiest woman there as well as the pleasure of seeing how truly sweet and caring she could be.

  It was obvious she was used to taking men around Grenada, flirting and drinking and fucking, and that had certainly been an option with them. But his desire to keep her as far away from his family shit as possible had inadvertently added a layer of nonsexual intimacy to their short-term relationship.

  She chose his dinner, a mini tradition they'd inadvertently developed. For him, she found lobster tails and breadfruit while she had fried fish and French fries. For drinks, she picked something called VitaMalt that was sweet with a hint of hops flavor. He shared his lobster, she fed him fries, and he toyed with the idea of asking her to run away with him. They would likely have to move every six months to a year, going from islands to states to countries, but he could find a way to make it worth her while.