Riccardo (21 page)

“Well I do. And I only want the best for you, Lorena, which is exactly what your father wants too. Me loving you, can cause you more danger. This is what your father is so concerned about. That our enemies will do anything to get their revenge on us and they'll go after what means the most to us. In this case, it's you. You are in grave danger, because not only are you The Don’s only daughter, you also mean the world to me.” I wanted to tell her she’d be my wife one day, but I didn't want to propose to her like this. Not while she was this emotional about me declaring my love for her.

“Enemies. They will always be around, Riccardo. We can't run or hide. We need to live. We just need to be more wary, which we are,” she said.

“I know, baby doll.” I cupped her face and kissed her softly on the lips. “When your father assigned me the role of The Capo, it was an honour. I took an oath to always put the
famiglia
first. That will never change.” I heard her intake of breath and the look on her face was one of pure despair.

“You, Lorena, are my
famiglia
. I will always choose you first. I've said it before and I'll say it a thousand times over. I will die for you. I will kill for you. I will fucking do anything for you.” Tears flowed freely down her face now. “The two of us loving one another is dangerous, yes, but in this case, we have no choice. It's our destiny. I'll do anything to be good to you, baby doll,” I promised her.

Leaning into me, she buried her face in my neck, shaking with the release of her tears. I breathed her in and wrapped my arms around her.

This was what I had always craved.

This assuagement gave me a sense of peace. I had finally found home.

She leaned back and wiped her eyes with the back of her hand, crying and smiling at the same time.

“You’re sure? Anything?” she laughed out, her eyes bright with happiness and love.

“Of course.” I nodded in agreement.

Her forehead pressed into mine as she held my face in her hands and asked, “Well, I was thinking of having my clit pierced. And seeing as you love piercings so much, how about we both get our nipples pierced while we’re there?”

Oh, for Fuck’s sake.

Goddamn. She would always be my little spitfire.

EPILOGUE

1 John 1:9:

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just

and will forgive us our sins and

purify us from all unrighteousness.

RICCARDO

Forgiveness.

Absolution.

Mercy.

After betraying the one man who I respected above all, I was forgiven. Total absolution, but it came at a price. The price was Lorena. The price of being with The Don’s daughter and the risk it entailed. I certainly wasn’t the man her father had envisioned her being with, but it was fate and our destiny to be together.

As she lay sleeping next to me, I embraced her, running the tip of my nose up her neck, and inhaling her scent, I loved it when I did that. I could almost memorise and embed every part of her deeply into my soul. We were at a good place in our lives. Despite the dangers, being with Lorena, the daughter of one of the most feared Italian crime families in the country, felt so right.

Engaged, we were soon moving onto the next level: marriage and babies. We led a life where we couldn’t ignore the family business we ran, one where Lorena would be even more ingrained into it. But at that moment, I wanted to enjoy the way we were moving forward, slow and steady. I was allowing her to set the pace, even though I could be a dominating and controlling prick in every aspect of her life, especially in the bedroom.

This was what Lorena had always wanted. In my role as The Capo, I could be so dark and twisted that there was no light. I was the devil and she was my angel. There was no saving us from the destruction I would cause. But when I was with Lorena, I found my sanctuary.

She was my sunshine, amongst all my darkness.

***

LORENA

Silence.

Darkness.

Peace.

My life was filled with love, peace and happiness. Although, sometimes when I was alone, I hated the quiet and the darkness. A flood of memories would occasionally consume me, which was suffocating. Despite the fact I was engaged to The Capo, a man responsible for numerous hits and killings, I continued to feel like the monster. There were times I couldn’t stomach it. Thoughts of killing my own mother, the darkness of living this way of life, at times sickened me. Yet at the same time, it brought me great peace.
Who the fuck am I?

I couldn’t hide who I was.
I am The Don's daughter, a Mafia Princess
. Nothing could change that and I didn’t want it to change. The mafia was my
famiglia
and always would be. Although the path before us was a life of blood, death and danger, and a future of always watching our backs; it was my life, a life I was proud of and the only one I knew. I couldn’t think about living each day in fear, in not knowing whether a member of my
famiglia
, my father or fiancé, may not come return to me. Fearing it could be their last day was not a thought I could cope with.

But this was my world and Riccardo was mine. Soon, I would be The Capo’s wife. He was the man I was destined to be with. I loved him. There was no other man for me, but him. Being a crime boss' daughter and loving one of the most feared men in a crime family,
my
Italian crime family had been nothing but inevitable. I would forever be a mafia girl and nothing had ever felt so right.

I would go this path with him until the end, regardless of the danger. Riccardo offered safety. When I was in his arms, when he held me close, the steady rhythm of his heartbeat calmed me. I was totally at peace and I’d never felt this safe or loved in my life. When I was with him, I was not afraid of the dark.

Riccardo is the dark
.

~*THE END*~

~*~*~

We know, you all want more, but we have decided not to co-author any more Stud Mafia Series together. Instead we will be writing the Stud Mafia books individually.

Stay tuned for more mafia hits folks..... If you liked this book, and the first book in the series, or even if you didn’t, We'd love a review. They all help!! Thank you so much for reading.

COMING SOON

BY ELLE RAVEN

Barossa Series

Provoke Me

Book 3 in the Barossa Series

By Elle Raven

Heal Me

Book 4 in the Barossa Series

By Elle Raven

The Stud Mafia Series

Dante’s Story by Elle Raven

COMING SOON

BY AIMIE JENNISON

Mount Roxby Series

Forever Young and Beautiful

Book 2 in the Mount Roxby Series

By Aimie Jennison

Rossi Pack Series

Releasing the Wolf

Book 1 in the Rossi Pack Series

By Aimie Jennison

Gay Romance Standalone

Stronger

By Aimie Jennison

ABOUT THE AUTHORS

ELLE RAVEN

Elle Raven is a new and upcoming Aussie author who lives in Adelaide, South Australia with her husband and three young children. Elle can usually be found with her iPad or laptop computer permanently glued to her. She began writing from a very young age. In fact Elle used to write plays and musicals when she was in high school. Having such a flamboyant personality she even performed in them herself. Elle is always an 'actress' and always the star.

Elle loves reading and writing about an alpha-male hero. If she can't read about one that is alpha enough to suit her she will take it upon herself to write one.

Elle's books will feature an alpha-male hero who will come tumbling to his knees in lust and love when he finally meets the heroine of his dreams. Rest assured that in an Elle Raven book, the hero will never cheat.

Elle would love to hear from you. Please email her or visit her Facebook page. She loves connecting with people and having a chat with the readers about her books or any other books you may have in common.

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AIMIE JENNISON

Aimie is a Yorkshire lass living in Western Australia, with her three boisterous boys and her husband. Aimie loves to people watch, it’s her favourite way to come up with new characters and stories. So next time a stranger is staring at you in the street, don’t panic, they could be an author basing a character on you.

Aimie has always loved to read and write. Her favourite place to listen to her characters is at the beach.

Aimie would love to hear from you. She would be happy to receive an email or post on her Facebook page; she loves chatting with likeminded bookworms.

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Email:
[email protected]

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