Chapter 1
GIANNA
I swept the hanging piece of hair in front of my eye behind my right ear as I watched the professor complete the example on the white board. I was in a large lecture class, “Introduction to Biology”, with mostly other freshmen my age and a few upper class men who decided to add on some science credits later in their college careers.
It was the 4th day of class at my new school, only having been about 2 weeks since I moved into my dorm room. I was excited to finally get out of my family home and meet new people. I had been looking forward to moving away for college for months now, glad to have a fresh start and begin a new chapter in my life.
I looked to my side and noticed a handsome stranger staring at me from the end of the row of seats I was sitting in. He had his right elbow on the small table connected to the chair and his head resting on his right hand as he looked at me quizzically. I looked away quickly and back at the professor at the front of the class.
“Alright students, make sure you read chapters 11 and 12 ahead of our next class and I’ll be handing out a knowledge test during that class to see how everyone is doing.” Great. I had been so lost in my thoughts today that I hardly paid attention to the lecture. I’ll need to make sure I spend some time this week reading the materials so I can be ready for this test.
I have always wanted to get a science degree and do something like work in a laboratory or maybe even a pharmacy, but in my first few days so far, I haven’t been that interested in what we are learning and wondering if I need to rethink my career path. I need to stop over thinking. It’s only been 4 days!
“Excuse me?”
Huh? I look next to me and see the handsome stranger standing over me to my right. Most of the rest of the students already cleared out of the room and I’m the only one still sitting in my seat out of the almost 200 person class. I must have been lost in my thoughts again. It’s something my close friends and family are used to. I kind of just get a blank look on my face and my conscience goes somewhere else.
“Um… Are you ok?”
I realize I did it again. This guy probably thinks there’s something wrong with me. I clear my throat and look up staring straight into his chocolate brown eyes.
“Sorry, hi. I got a little caught up in my head there for a moment.”
“Ha, I wasn’t sure if you were purposely ignoring me or if you were daydreaming. I’m glad to know it wasn’t the former.” I blush at his statement and see a slight twitch in his eye, suddenly his eyes look a darker shade. I’m not sure what to say next so I just stay silent as we look at each other.
“Well… I just noticed you looking at me in class today, and I’m flattered. So I wanted to introduce myself. My name is Nicholas.” I raise my right eyebrow at his statement. I was looking at him? I am not sure if he really believes that or if this is his joking way of introducing himself.
“Nicholas.” I say it slowly, like I am really testing the way it sounds on my lips and tongue. I see a small smirk form on his lips.
Someone coughs loudly behind us. I look around and see my father’s main bodyguard, Giuseppe or “Joe”, staring at me with a heated gaze. I shouldn’t be talking to this stranger and we both know it. Joe easily blended in the background when the class was full with students, but now with just me, Nicholas, and Joe towards the back of the room and only the professor in the front cleaning up his materials, Joe sticks out like a sore thumb in his sleek black suit and dominating stance. I wonder why Enzo, who is usually assigned as my bodyguard, isn’t here instead.
“I’m sorry Nicholas. It was nice meeting you, but I have to go.” I stand up and grab my tote bag next to me. My phone falls to the ground from my lap in my haste to quickly get out of there. We both bend down at the same time to pick it up and bump heads.
“Are you ok?” His voice has a light chuckle to it as he looks at me rubbing his temple where it hit mine. I squint as I touch the area of my head which hit his.
All of the sudden Nicholas jolts up into the air. I see Joe now standing right behind him, holding the back of Nicholas’ shirt collar in his hand up high, effectively causing the front of the collar to choke him slightly. Nicholas’ eyes are wide and his hands are gripping the front of his shirt collar.
“Ms. Vitelli, it is time to go. Should I take care of this boy who is bothering you?” He enunciates “boy” as if it’s a disgusting word to say.
I look at Nicholas’ frightened eyes. I reach down and pick up my phone which was still on the ground and check the screen. Without looking up, I reply back to Joe. “Please put him down. We had just made plans to study for the test next class. He is not a bother.”
I see Nicholas’ body relax as Joe lets him go. I glance up from my phone to see Nicholas’ face again. He looks confused, worried, maybe even a little intrigued?
“So I’ll see you tonight around 7, 7:30 at the library, second floor, ok?” Nicholas now lifts up one eyebrow at my question to him.
“Ok, I’ll see you there.”
I give him a small smile and brush past him to reach Joe. He lets me walk in front of him and puts himself between me and Nicholas as we file out of the row of seats.
As I walk out the big double doors, I let out a small sigh. What am I doing? I know I shouldn’t be making friends with handsome strangers, my dad will not be happy when Joe briefs him at the end of the day. But it’s just a study buddy, and I know nothing can happen romantically, or even physically. I am already sworn to another. Or maybe not quite yet, but will be soon. I know better than anyone that this whole college stint is my last hurrah before I’m tied down for the rest of my life. The small gift my father has given to me for being a loyal daughter.
Despite my better judgement, I glance back behind me and catch Nicholas’ eyes again. I give him a small wave and kind smile and he smiles back. I feel a hand push me forward on my shoulder to move faster. Joe wasn’t happy with my quick exchange and would definitely be telling my father about it. I look forward and down to the ground as Joe guides me out of the building with a hand on my shoulder to keep me from straying again.
We walk towards his black Range Rover and he stops to open the passenger side door and gestures for me to go in. I step up into the car and try to cover my behind from showing since I’m wearing a skirt today due to the hot weather. I notice Joe look to where my panties are probably visible and see his mouth twitch. I quickly sit down and feel the cool of the leather seat on the back of my bare thighs. It must have reached almost 80*F today but the car feels colder inside, so I know Joe must have arrived at the school pretty recently.
I place my tote bag on top of my thighs to cover more skin. Joe closes the door and then walks to the other side of the car and enters through the driver’s side door.
I look over as he steps up into his seat. I can see his muscles flex through his black t shirt, as he throws his suit jacket into the seats behind us so he can be more comfortable driving. He grabs my tote bag off of my lap and puts it on the floor behind my seat.
A good amount of my bare thighs are now showing and he looks at my lap and then slowly up my body until he reaches my eyes. I’m not sure what to do, so I pull on the hem of my skirt to try to cover more skin. I can’t tell if he is looking at me with desire or disgust. Whether he wants to touch me or tell my father that I was dressing like a slut and trying to lure men.
He clears his throat as we both look at each other.
“Put on your seatbelt please.”
Joe has worked for my family for a really long time, and over the years has earned his way to becoming my dad’s main bodyguard. And because my dad trusts him so much, he also trusts Joe with his prized possession, me. Joe is 32 years old and does not have a wife. He practically watched me grow up into the woman I am today at 19, and always acted very professional to me, although I have caught him on numerous occasions more recently staring at me with a different look in his eye. But back home, I am not allowed to wear short skirts, or shirts that show cleavage, or anything too revealing that would cause a man to lose control of himself. It would be considered low class, and would bring shame on my family for me to present myself in that way, as a loose girl. So this is the first time that Joe has ever seen so much of my skin.
“Ms. Vitelli, are you ok?”
I realize I spaced out again, not connected with reality for the past few seconds, or maybe minutes, I really can’t be sure how long I’m not there sometimes. I feel a slight heat on my left thigh and my eyes look down. Joe’s left hand is resting there as he looks at me with concern. His body is turned towards me and I realize that his right hand is cupping the left side of my face. I immediately stiffen because I don’t remember how we got in this position and it looks a lot like something was happening or about to happen with how he is touching me. He feels me tense and instead of removing his hands, he tightens the one on my thigh and pulls my head towards him with the other which he now has wrapped behind my upper neck.
“I asked if you are ok.”
It’s more of a statement than a question at this point. I make a very loud gulp noise as I hear my heart start beating in my ears.
“I’m ok.”
I squeak it out, it doesn’t even sound like me. He just stays perfectly still as he maintains his grip on me. Our faces are inches apart. He removes his gaze from my eyes and slowly looks down at my lips, which are slightly parted as I breathe rapidly through my mouth, trying to calm the panic rising in me. I feel his hand on my thigh ever so slightly start to creep up. I move my hand on top of his instantly. We both just stare in each others eyes without a word.
Suddenly, he pulls back and let’s go of me. He looks like he just had a realization that whatever he was about to do would end up bad. I can see the regret in his eyes.
“I’m sorry if I scared you, you became non-responsive after I asked you to put on your seat belt. You were out of it for a few minutes, and I was trying to wake you up by tapping your face and squeezing your thigh. I got worried because your spells don’t normally last that long.”
He’s right. They don’t. Usually I’ll go into my other world for a few seconds at a time. Only during really stressful times in my life have I gone MIA mid conversation for minutes at a time. It started when my mom died and has been a burden I have carried with me since.
I bite my lip as I think this over. Maybe I was just imagining the interest I thought Joe was showing me. His story seems plausible for why he was touching me. I look back up at him as he looks back, with his left hand now gripping the top of the steering wheel.
“I’m fine. Its probably just starting school and moving out of the house into my dorm. I’ll start to adjust soon.”
“You can’t have spells like that out there without protection. Your father won’t allow it once he knows of this.”
“So then he won’t know of it.” I widen my eyes to try to seem more aggressive. “You cannot take my one consolation prize of having a normal college experience away from me after I’ve given my entire life over for the family!”
I have never spoken up against a man in the mafia family, including our bodyguards. Women are seen as weak and there to protect and to serve their men, not ones to be listened to and respected.
Joe narrows his eyes at me and I see that original look come back. I can see that my defiance has excited him. If I didn’t know him better, I would think his look was intimidating and that he might beat the shit out of me. But I know Joe, and he’s always been my protector from others who mean to do my family harm. And I also know my father, and Joe would be dead if he ever made a mark on me. I need to be in good shape for my future husband.
But that look in Joe’s eyes is primal and I know he’s looking to dominate me.
“So you don’t want me to tell your dad about your little spell you just had…” He keeps his eyes narrowed at me as he asks. “And I am guessing you do not want him to know about your little boy friend.”
I remember Nicholas and how Joe had intervened earlier. When it happened, I figured he was looking out for the family since I should not be forming romantic relationships as part of my college vacation. But now I’m starting to think there’s a bit more to the story with his current behavior, and I’m getting the feeling that Joe is somewhat… jealous?
“Uh… I mean that would be preferred. If we could keep all of that from him. But also, I don’t have a boy friend. It was one guy that will be a study partner and I don’t even really know him. He’s just an acquaintance right now.”
I see Joe’s eyes soften a bit but he continues to maintain his face.
“Why would I keep this from your father?”
Good question.
“Because it would make me happy. And I’ve spent my whole life trying to live by the code, stay in my lane, and not worry about my happiness. But I need this, desperately. I love my family and would do anything, WILL do anything for them, including marry some big name mafioso if it means raising our family’s status or joining a necessary alliance. I pray my father picks someone I can learn to love, but regardless of who, I know my place and that I must do as I’m told. This is the one gift my father has allowed me to give me some happiness in this dark world we live in. Please Giuseppe, please, if you tell my father about the boy, he will be angry. If you tell him about my spell, he may decide I must come home. I will do anything to keep this between us.”
I decide to be honest with Joe, and call him his full native tongue name for good measure. He knows this college thing is really meant to be a farewell journey before I settle into a full fledged mafia lifestyle, where my dad has essentially sold me off to be wed to the highest bidder. He’s working on his connections now that I’m of age, and vetting potential partners to take my hand in marriage, weighing his options on what would be the best fit for our family, whose name is well known in the mafia world for our deep roots.
“You’ll do anything, huh?” Joes eyes are no longer narrowed and he has a smirk on his face.
I start to feel my heart rate pick back up.
“Yes.”
“And everything stays just between us?” He gestures his finger back and forth between the two of us.
“Yes, everything.”
His eyes instantly darken and I feel the heat go up around me. This is bad. This shouldn’t be happening. Do I want this? Honestly, I never thought of Joe in any romantic or sexual sense. I have two eyes and can see he has a gorgeously sculpted body and is a beautiful man with dark Italian features, but he’s also 13 years my senior and has worked directly around me since I was in high school. I don’t know what I want. I’m 19 now, so we are both of legal age. But he knows I am technically off limits, being the daughter of his boss as well as a maiden in a high ranking mafia family.
I see Joe calculating in his head as he decides his next move, which is dependent on how much he can trust me, and how much he is willing to risk to get what he wants.
“I want to touch you.”
“Huh?” I’m caught off guard. What exactly does he mean? I haven’t really been given many opportunities to be around men unsupervised, so I generally get the gist of things, but asking a question like that, I don’t know if he’s asking for a hug, or a kiss, or something more sinister.
He shifts his body so it’s facing me again, and raises his right hand to cup my face once more. I feel it slowly guide to the back of my neck again, and he pulls me forward as he stares into my eyes.
“Let me kiss you.”
This is not a request, it’s a demand. He knows he has me. His lips are an inch from mine, I can feel his breath fan my lips as he opens his mouth to say the words. I start to open my mouth to respond when he suddenly pulls my head in slightly more and our lips meet. He starts to move them so they better mold to mine, flicking his tongue out to gain access into my mouth. He finds an opening and pulls me closer, kissing me deeply as he fists my hair. I feel his other hand back on my thigh, and it’s higher up than ever. But I can’t pay attention to that as he attacks my mouth with his tongue. I’m trying to keep up but I’ve only kissed 2 guys before Joe, and each was one time. I’m completely out of my league here and I’m sure he knows.
I feel something softly brush my core. Oh god what is happening. I’m so caught up in this moment and worried of potentially losing my small bit of freedom that I’m not thinking of the consequences. I pull back and put my hands on his chest to try to shove him away. I say try, because that’s all that happened, I wasn’t able to move him an inch. The look of excitement flashes in his eyes again. He grabs my wrists with one hand and pulls them above my head. I’m not sure how it’s humanely possible how quickly he moves from his seat to over me while simultaneously grabbing the seat recline handle to make the seat fall back almost all the way so that I am basically lying down. I look up at him and see him move his other hand down in between us towards my legs.
I clench my knees together but it does nothing to stop him as his hand easily glides under my skirt to cup my mound over my exposed panties. Without being able to control myself, I let out a small whimper.
“You already feel damp Gianna… I can tell you want this too.”
He calls me my first name and it sounds foreign on his tongue. I don’t think I’ve ever heard him call me it, it’s always Ms. Vitelli.
“Giuseppe… I’ve never done this. It’s wrong, you’re my father’s main bodyguard. He will kill you if he ever finds out and he will punish me severely.”
“So then he won’t know of it.” He uses my words from earlier against me now. I feel his fingers start brushing me lightly down there and I automatically start to wiggle to try to lessen the feeling that’s starting to brew.
“Gi…. I have protected you and your family for years, and would never do anything to hurt you. I know I can’t officially have you, but I have wanted you for so long.”
My breath hitches. What is happening? His lips are almost touching mine as he looks down from over me. I feel him increase the pressure of his fingers on me down there as he continues to rub me through my panties.
“I’m a virgin. I have to stay a virgin until marriage.”
“I know the rules.”
My body betrays me once my brain comprehends that he understands the limits of what this could be between us. I instinctively left up my head to kiss him. He takes that as my confirmation on consent and moves his hand from outside of my underwear and slides them down a bit so that my sensitive folds are exposed to the cool air in the car. He moves his hand back over the area so I feel his warmth again. This time, I can feel his fingers locate my clit and he starts to rub it expertly.
I have only ever touched myself and it felt good with just me doing it. But Joe doing it… oh god this feeling is on another level for me. I let out a groan and he swallows the sound in his mouth as he ravishes me. I can feel the familiar tingling and pulling feeling start to build rapidly down there.
He breaks away from my mouth to kiss down my jaw line to my neck. He sucks on an area right under my left ear and I wriggle under him as my body responds to all the sensations he is giving me. I try to move my hands to touch him, but he still has them locked above my head, unable to move and pretty much completely at his mercy.
I feel him reach down towards my opening and move around the wetness coming out of me all over my area. Then, I feel him stick a finger in me slowly, testing out my tightness.
“Mmmmmmm…” The sound I make is out of my control. I have never put anything in me other than a tampon. His finger in me is foreign but is lighting a fire in me that I didn’t know was possible.
He pushes in and out slowly for a few seconds, and then starts to increase his speed. At the same time, I feel him start rubbing my clit again in unison. While he’s doing this, his mouth is lower now, grazing the top of my breast over my shirt. I look down and see my hard nipples sticking through the material. He sees too and takes one of them in between his teeth and lightly bites down.
It’s too much, the erotic sight, the new feelings he is giving me, and I feel my orgasm boil until it explodes. It feels like he sent me over the edge almost instantly. I shake violently under him as my orgasm consumes me, feeling him still pump in and out of me with his finger, helping to extend my orgasm longer than I’ve ever experienced.
After what seems like a few minutes, my body finally relaxes as the wave that was crashing over me starts to ebb. I open my eyes, not even realizing that they had been shut this whole time in my bliss. Joe is staring straight at me with a look of lust, but also… something else, a softness. He finally lets go of my wrists and I move my arms and hands around, getting the feeling back in those parts of my body which had been held captive this whole time. I reach up and cup his face with both of my hands and guide him to me for a kiss. This time, it’s soft, sensual, and he takes his time moving his lips over mine, like he has all the time in the world. He breaks the kiss after a few seconds and puts his forehead against mine.
“We have to go now, your father expects us to call him when we arrive.” He says this with his eyes closed and I can tell he’s straining to keep his composure right now.
“Giuseppe…” I say his name in a whisper. He opens his eyes and looks at me.
“…what do you want from me?”
He knows I’m asking because whatever just happened between us, I know it will not be the last time something like that happens.
“I want to protect you. I want you to be happy… I want to make you happy. I know this can never be anything more than these moments, but I’ve been waiting for you to move out and have this freedom to explore. I want to explore with you, while you can.”
Wow. I am speechless. I have never had a man express those sorts of feelings to me. Let alone a mafioso. This is unheard of in our culture to have a man express this, it is seen as weakness. Joe knows this but still took the leap and trusted me.
Maybe I need to take the leap too.
“We don’t have to be exclusive Gi… if that’s what you’re worried about. I can tell you liked what just happened, and I want to show you so much more. But I know you want your freedom while you have it, and there’s only so much time for you. I just want to be there for you, even if it means you aren’t fully mine at the time.”
Wow again. Since when did I become so desirable that a man would be ok with sharing me? A mafioso man?!
“Is this some sort of trick to get me in trouble?” I start to question his intentions, this whole situation is just too surreal.
“No… not a trick. I just don’t want to lose out on my only chance to have you. It’s not a coincidence that your father sent me today to pick you up instead of Enzo. I offered to do it, saying I needed to stop by somewhere nearby anyway. I really just wanted to see you so we could talk in private.”
My brain is on haywire, still basking in the after-orgasm chemicals that are flooding my judgement. I decide to leap.
“Ok. We can… explore together. But we can’t go all the way… you know that my future husband would know and would hold it against our family.” He knows but I feel obligated to say it out loud as a verbal agreement.
“There’s lots of other things we can do.” His look holds promise as he says it.
“Ok.”
He gives me a peck on the lips and then moves up and off of me, sliding into the driver’s seat as I pull up my underwear and adjust my seating.
“Fuck.”
“What is it?”
“I missed two calls from the boss.”
He presses the call button and the sound of the phone ringing comes through the car’s sound system after he connects his phone. My father answers on the third ring.
“Giuseppe.”
My father sounds calm. But I know better, and he usually refers to his bodyguard as Joe.
“Boss - I have Ms. Vitelli here with me. I apologize for missing your earlier calls, I didn’t realize my phone had turned to silent.”
My father doesn’t say anything. Joe looks over at me and gestures for me to talk.
“Hi dad, I’m here. We’re on our way.”
“Gianna, my beauty, I have a surprise for you when you get there.”
I look over at Joe as he pulls the car out of the parking lot. I give him a look as if to ask him if he knows. He shrugs his shoulders back at me.
“I’m excited daddy, I’ll let you know when we arrive.”
“Ok then, and Giuseppe?”
“Yes boss?”
“Next time I won’t be so forgiving if you miss my call.”
“Yes, I understand sir. It won’t happen again.”
My father hangs up. I cringe at Joe. Sounds like he’s in trouble. Imagine if my father knew what really happened.
I start to wonder what could my father possibly surprise me with at my Aunt Francesca’s house. She was my mother’s younger sister, and we have always had a good relationship. She was very close with my mom and is as close to my mom as I can get now. I see her about every month or two to hang out. My father will sometimes come with me to see her as well, but he usually just sends me with a bodyguard. I scrunch my face as I think about what could be waiting for me at my destination.
“How long until we get there?”
Joe looks over at me and flashes a smile.
“We’re about 30 minutes away and should arrive around 4 o’clock. And you look cute when you make that concerned face.”
I hit him playfully on his arm and laugh. He reaches over and turns the radio music up louder as we cruise down the highway.
