LOGINThe bass hit me like a heartbeat the second I stepped inside the Velvet Room. Lights flashed across the crowded dance floor, bodies grinding to the heavy music. This was one of our clubs, and everyone knew it. The guards at the entrance bowed low as I walked past, their eyes respectful but wide. “Miss Vance,” one muttered, stepping aside like I was royalty. The power of my last name felt good tonight. No one would dare touch me without permission. But I wasn’t here to play safe.
Sofia grabbed my hand, laughing as we pushed through the crowd. "Benefits of being a Mafia Princessa".
Heads turned. Men stared openly at the tight leather dress hugging my body, the way it rode up my thighs with every step. Women whispered. I felt sexy. Alive. Finally twenty one and done hiding.
We headed straight for the VIP section upstairs. Our private area overlooked the main floor, dark and exclusive. I ordered drinks at the private bar, my heart racing. Even before I turned around, I could feel him.
Killian.
He stood in the far shadows of the VIP lounge, half hidden behind a curtain talking to one of the guards. Then the guard left. Those cold grey eyes locked on me like a predator. Watching. Always watching. Those eyes tracked every move I made, sliding down my leather covered curves and back up to my face.
Heat pooled between my legs instantly. I remembered the dream again and I was getting turned on just by the thought.
Sofia nudged me. “He’s staring hard. Go on, girl. Make him crazy.”
I smirked and picked up a shot of tequila from the bar. The glass felt cool in my fingers. I lifted it slowly, deliberately, and locked eyes with Killian across the dim VIP space. No smile. Just pure challenge. His grey eyes darkened, narrowing on me like he wanted to do something to me.
I tilted my head back and swallowed the shot in one smooth gulp. The burn slid down my throat, warming my chest and making my skin flush hotter. Tequila dripped a little at the corner of my mouth. I licked it slowly with my tongue, still staring right at him. His hands clenched at his sides. Good. Let him feel it.
The music pulsed louder. Sofia pulled me toward the edge of the VIP balcony. “You’re playing with fire, Alessia. That man looks like he wants to ruin you.”
That was exactly what I wanted.
I leaned on the railing, the leather dress moving higher on my thighs, giving anyone below a view of my long legs. But my eyes kept drifting back to Killian. He hadn’t moved from the shadows. His gaze burned hotter now, tracking the way my hips swayed slightly to the beat. I could almost feel his rough hands on me.
Another shot. Another locked stare. This time I held it longer, letting him see the hunger in my eyes. My nipples were hard against the leather. My pussy ached, just from his stare. The tattoos on his body begging me to trace it with my tongue. And he was watching me like I belonged to him.
Sofia danced beside me, laughing and ordering more drinks. The night felt electric. For the first time, I wasn’t the sheltered little sister. I was a Vance woman in control. And Killian’s control looked ready to snap.
I turned my back to him for a moment, arching slightly as I moved to the music, knowing the leather stretched tight over my ass. When I glanced over my shoulder, his eyes were glued there. His jaw flexed hard. One hand gripped the edge of the curtain like he was holding himself back.
Perfect.
The club was alive around us, bodies grinding, lights flashing, money and power everywhere. But all I cared about was the man in the shadows. My brother’s best friend. The one I’d wanted for years.
I grabbed one more shot, raised it toward him like a toast, and swallowed it down. The burn matched the fire between my legs.
This was just the beginning.
Killian’s eyes promised trouble. And I wanted every bit of it.
The tequila burned nicely in my veins as I grabbed Sofia’s hand and left the VIP section behind. I wasn’t staying up here like a good little princess. Tonight I wanted the real energy of the club. I wanted to feel free.
We pushed through the crowd and hit the main dance floor. The bass vibrated through my body, shaking the leather dress against my skin. Lights flashed red and blue across sweaty bodies grinding together. I closed my eyes for a second and let the music take over.
My hips started moving. Slow at first, then bolder. The tight leather rode up my thighs as I danced, my dark hair swinging across my back. Sofia laughed and danced with me, both of us moving together like we owned the floor. Men around us noticed. Their eyes lingered on my curves, on the way the dress clung to my breasts and ass. I felt powerful. Sexy. Wanted.
I ignored the VIP section completely. Let Killian watch from up there in the shadows. I arched my back and rolled my hips to the beat, enjoying the stares. A few guys tried to dance closer, smiling like they thought they had a chance with a Vance girl. I didn’t stop them. Not yet.
On the afternoon of the sixteenth day, a small breach attempt hit the eastern service gate. Not a full assault. A probe. Two men in delivery uniforms tried to pass a false work order. The gate team stopped them. One reached for a weapon. The exchange was short. When the bodies were searched, both carried the same Valenti linked mark that had appeared in the earlier surveillance. Dante delivered the report in the study with the doors closed. Father listened without visible reaction. Killian stood near the window, with his arms folded. “They’re testing response times,” Killian said. “Measuring how fast we move, how many men we commit to a secondary gate, how long the main house takes to lock down. The real strike will come closer to the ceremony, when attention is split.” Father nodded once. “Then we do not split attention. The wedding remains on schedule. Security increases. No further adjustments to the guest list. No external staff. If Lorenzo wants an opportunity to strike, he wi
A report reached Dante while I was in the medical wing for a routine check. I heard the raised voices from the hallway and stepped out to find him and Marco bent over a tablet. Enzo stood nearby, face tight. Killian arrived a moment later, moving as fast as the healing shoulder allowed. “What is it?” I asked. Dante hesitated, then turned the screen so I could see. Surveillance images. A known Valenti lieutenant meeting with two men who specialized in quiet, targeted work. The timestamp was recent. The location was a warehouse on the edge of the neutral zone between territories. “They’re not planning another full assault,” Dante said. “They’re planning something smaller and more precise. The pregnancy is confirmed. The wedding will make the child harder to erase through open war. So they’re shifting to a surgical option.” Killian’s good hand curled into a fist. “They want the mother or the father. Remove one and the claim weakens.” “Or both,” Marco added. “Before the ceremony lock
Killian was given a room on the same floor as mine. Close enough for appearance, monitored enough to remind him he was not free. Guards changed at regular intervals in the hallway. His movement was limited to the main house and the inner courtyard. The sling stayed on his arm for a while. The immunity was still there, but it felt conditional with every set of eyes that followed us. I spent the first day after the return in the medical wing for a full check. The doctor confirmed what the clinic had already told us. Early pregnancy. Healthy markers so far. Strong advice to avoid stress, which would have been funny if it were not so impossible. When I walked back toward the residential wing, Bianca was waiting in the corridor. “Married within the month,” she said, falling into step beside me. “How efficient. The family gets its legitimate heir, the guard gets a temporary shield, and you get to pretend this was always the plan. Do you actually believe they’ll let him keep any real power
The estate looked different when we drove through the gates. Blackened stone still marked where the RPG had hit the front. Windows on the east wing were boarded. Extra men lined the walls. The house had survived the siege, but it still wore the damage. Killian sat beside me in the back of the lead car, his left arm was in a proper sling now, his face was set in the calm mask he used when the stakes were highest. My hand stayed in his. The positive result from the clinic felt heavier with every mile that brought us closer to Father. Dante had said little on the drive. Marco had said less. When the cars stopped under the portico, guards opened the doors and stepped back. No one reached for weapons. The immunity was holding for the moment. Father waited in the main study. The Don sat in his position. Bianca stood near the window, arms folded, expression unreadable. Enzo was already there, looking like he had not slept. The doors closed behind us. The family was complete. Father looke
We left the safe house just before dawn. Killian moved slower than usual, his left arm was in a makeshift sling, but he stayed on his feet. I drove the old service vehicle that had been stored under a tarp behind the ridge house. The roads stayed empty. No tails. No drones. Dante had kept his word so far. The clinic sat on the edge of a quiet town two hours north. It's private, discreet, used by families who paid for silence. A single guard in plain clothes waited at the entrance. He recognized me, nodded once, and led us inside without questions. Dante was already there. Marco stood near the wall. Enzo didn’t come. No Father. No extra men visible. The terms had been respected. Dante’s eyes moved over Killian’s sling and the healing bruises, then settled on me. “You’re both alive. That is something. The doctor is ready.” I didn’t answer. I simply walked into the examination room with Killian at my side. The doctor was a woman this time. Neutral, professional, and no history with ou
I talked to him while I worked. Soft, steady words about the cabin, about the night in the rain, about the way he had looked at me when he said I was his. I told him the pregnancy might be real. I told him he did not get to leave me alone with it. I do not know how much he heard. His hand found mine once and held on with surprising strength before the fever pulled him under again. Night came and the fever climbed. I used the last of the cold packs from the medical cabinet and kept the cloth rotating. When he started to shiver I climbed onto the bed beside him, careful of the wounded shoulder, and shared my body heat. His skin was hot against mine. I pressed my forehead to his good shoulder and listened to the ragged rhythm of his heart. “You took a bullet for me,” I whispered. “You dragged yourself through tunnels so I could live. You do not get to die from a fever in a safe house after all that. Wake up. Fight it. We have a child to meet.” The words felt strange and true at the sa
Killian’s groans vibrated against my neck as I kept grinding on his lap. The thick bulge of his cock pressed right against my soaked pussy through our clothes. Every roll of my hips made the leather of my dress ride higher and sent sparks shooting through my clit. I was dripping wet, my black lace
The booth felt too small, too hot. Killian’s body pressed against mine, hard and unyielding. His hand was still tangled in my hair, his grey eyes burning down at me like he was one second from breaking. The tequila from earlier gave me the courage I needed. I pushed him back until his legs hit the
“Damn, Alessia,” Sofia said, stepping back with a wicked grin. “You look like pure sex. That tight little body in leather? Killian won’t be able to look away. I bet the big, scary enforcer gets rock hard just seeing you walk by.” My face heated up, but I didn’t deny it. I turned side to side in th
I woke up on my 21st birthday with my heart already racing. Sunlight poured into my bedroom in the Vance mansion, lighting up the furniture and the silk sheets. This was the day everything changed. Or at least I hoped it would. A firm knock hit my door. “Alessia, downstairs. Now.” Dante’s voice, d







