Chapter 1

ELENA

I hated crowds.

Any kind of crowd whatsoever.

Like the one I was in.

Bodies rubbing each other as they passed. People who were not exactly friends, pretending to be one. The fake smiles. The fake laughter that was usually too loud and annoying to hear. The fake hapiness to inroduce one's family to the other. 

All for the purpose of networking?

If I were to be in charge of how humans worked, I would cancel gatherings like these ones, and make people actually work for what they wanted.

I didn't need to smile and caress a beer bellied man in his seventies because I wanted to land a damn deal!

And the fact that it worked, was preposterous!

But of cours, fate just had to send me to places like these. 

Here I was, smiling so hard my cheek literally hurt, because I just happened to be the daughter of the most ambitious man in the word. 

"This is my daughter, Elena." Aberto Ricci said, pushing me forward and tapping on the small of my back so I could take the hand that was oustretched, waiting to grasp mine in its beefy ones.

I looked from the face of Jared Hanson, to the hand he held out so eagerly, and imediately objected to collecting it, but was pinched by my father, resulting in me taking it.

Well he actually took my hand in his.

Cold, wet, and almost slimy, was the beefy hand that covered mine, and I had to stop myself from throwing up all over his italian shoes.

"Alberto has told me so much about you." Jared was saying.

He looked to be in his late fifties, but spotted golden teeth which flashed at me. If he had thirty two, I was sure eighteen were gold.

"Did he?" I forced a smile, dragging my hand forcefully from his hold, and cleaning the wetness on the black dress I had worn.

The man opened his mouth, probably ready to indulge me in whatever story he had been exchanging with my father, and I was pretty much fed up already, and needed some air.

I turned to my dad, and excused myself, not giving him a chance to answer, but stayed long enough to see his expression turn into a big scowl.

I needed a break.

I had been in the party for barely thirty minutes, and I felt the dire need for fresh air.

That and the fact that I wasn't a big fan of the Mafioso parties which were usually thrown in order to maintain peace and also keep face. Most Mafiosos came for business dealings.

But then again, a wrong move, even in parties like these, could cause people to choose sides, and in the end, cause a war.

Like the one currently brewing.

No one knew how to end it. Yet.

I left the room full of people, and rounded a corner, slightly distracted when I saw a figure that looked familiar as hell to me.

I was so focused on the familiar hair and shoulders, that I almost didn't notice a brooding figure materialise in front of me, blocking my way.

I stopped with my forhead, almost crashing into the broad expanse of chest.

Was that hair peaking out of the buttons he had left open?

I had seen my fair chest of male bodies, both willingly, and unwillingly, and I had to say this, even if most of it was covered, was....intruiging.

I cleared my throat, tearing my eyes off the chest and almost died when I saw who was standing in front of me.

Luca De Santi.

No... Don Luca De Santi.

The most mysterious, but feared Mafia Don in the Mafioso.

At least that was waht was whipered. I didn't know if it was true, but he looked the part.

From his jet black hair that bounced around his face in thick curls, to his forhead, and down to his perfectly straight nose. I almost gasped at how full his lips were, up close. His fcae looked like it was craved of granite.

Luca could probably pass as the most handsome man in the world, but the sharp features of his face, made him dangerous. Handsome, but dangerous.

My whole body stilled as icy blue-grey eyes looked down at me, taking my gaze, and holding it. It felt like he was looking straight into my soul.

Something suspiciously warm and and fuzzy, made its way up my spine, and spread around my body, making me shiver slightly.

His eyes fell to my body, then back up, and I saw something dark, pass in the depths of his pupil. My body reacted weirdly to his gaze. "You are in my way." a growl. But rich, with an accent wrapping around each word, like he was almost slurring the words. In a sexy way.

I almost slapped myself as I blinked at my crazy thoughts and looked for a reply. "More like you are in mine." My own voice came out a little bit whiny, and twin blushes creased my cheeks.

Get a grip, Elena.

I had no business with the likes of Luca De Santi. It was men like him I ran away from, even if my ambitious as hell father, was always in their midst.

That was why I had Donavan. My boyfriend.

The man I had been waiting for the right time to introduce to my father.

Luca's cold expression didn't falter. He took a step closer, closing the gap between the both of us, and I faltered a bit, once I was hit with the scent of his cologne.

Strange how even if I was in the middle of hundreds of people, I was able to pick his. It stood out. Dark and woody. Completely male. And fit his personality.

"Where is your father?" He asked, his eyes boring into mine.

I was so painfully aware of him, that I almost misheard the question.

Wait... why was he asking for Alberto.

I unconsciously turned around in the direction my father was, and gasped when Luca, not waiting for an answer, brushed past me.

I stood there for a complete minute, wondering what the hell that encounter was, and why my nipples were so hard.

In facet, the more I thought about those eyes of his, the harder they got, grazing the material of my dress.

I forced my legs to move, pushing thoughts of the Ice king away from my mind.

I really did need that fresh air.

Once again, I was so lost in my thought, that I almost missed the familiar figure that passed just a few steps ahead of me. 

My heart slammed hard against my chest when he turned to laugh at something someone said, and I was faced with my boyfriend, Donavan.

In his arms, laughing and sliding all over him like a clingy cat, was the neigbor he had sworn he hated.

Two things.

Why was he with her? And what was he doing here? In a Mafioso gathering!

I couldn't even think as my heart raced rapidly, wanting to believe that it was all a coincidence.

But when she reached upwards, and kissed him, I lost it.

There, in the middle of a crowded party, with strangers cheering happily, I heard the sound of my heart break into a million pieces.