Claimed By The Mafia Prince

1

XANDER

For f**k’s sake.

It takes a lot of willpower to keep the groan from escaping the tight clench of my lips. I had a lot more willpower to keep my eyes from shamelessly roaming over her curves.

The young woman in front of me is wearing a neon green bikini, cut so high it barely covers the lush curve of her a*s. Her blonde hair in light waves covers her face as she giggles.

“I’m telling you, Gianna, one more minute and I would have drowned in his spit.” She bends over to spread her towel on a pool chair, and I almost choke. This isn’t even fair at this point. To look like her and tempt me in the enemy’s den.

Who is she? f**k. I shouldn’t even be here, but I can’t look away.

The younger girl sits next to her in a similar yellow ensemble and jokes, “Talk about a bad kisser. I hope my first kiss isn’t all saliva and chin.”

“I swear it doesn’t even count as a first kiss.” She leans back on her chair, and I can’t help the words that escape my lips.

“Well, if you want a do-over, I promise I’ve never gotten any complaints.” Her eyes shoot in my direction, looking like a deer in headlights.

She sits up, shakes her hair out of her face, and shoots me a confused look. "Um, excuse me. Who are you?"

How the hell does she not know who I am?

I walk closer, making sure not to look down at her breasts as I hold my hand out, a wry smile on my face. “You first.”

She places her hand cautiously in mine, “I am Melissa Sedric.” Holy s**t, this only gets worse.

She’s a Sedric. “I’m Xander. My father has a meeting with the head of the Sedric Family.”

A look of alarm skirts across her face, and she pulls her hand away. So, she does know who I am. “You’re Xander Amory.”

“In the flesh.”

Melissa moves closer to Gianna. I smile at how skittish she is. Smart girl.

Our families have been at each other's throats for as long as I can remember. No one knows how the conflict started, but everyone knows it must end one way or another.

“Xander,” my name sounds amazing on her lips, “why are you here?”

She cranes her head to the door I'd used. A guard is standing right by it, and she looks surprised to see the guard still standing there.

Maybe she'd thought I'd snuck in. I'd have kept the hell away if I had known they were here.

“Well, you can only listen to two grown men argue for so long.” I’d left for a moment of reprieve before I snapped at two of the deadliest men I knew.

The bickering was stupid. We need each other. I don’t see the f*****g need to deny that.

I keep my eyes firmly on hers, fighting the urge to roam my eyes over her softly glowing skin, the curve of her lips caught between her teeth, and the small scar right on her shoulder where it seems she'd had a fall.

Gianna leans over and looks me over. “Ego will do that to you. Tell me, Xander, do you have a big ego?”

Melissa’s eyes bulge out of her head, and she looks at Gianna as if she has lost her mind. “Gianna!”

“When your sister finds out, I’ll make sure she reports back.” I wink at Melissa, and she shoots up, red blooming along her cheeks. Before she can retort, Daniel’s voice breaks in, and she sits back down, a relieved smile parting her full lips.

“There you are; I was wondering where you’d disappeared to!”

Why couldn’t he have waited just a second longer? I give her a strained smile and turn towards Daniel, her brother.

He jerks his head at his sisters and smiles softly at them. It’s the first time I've seen him smile that way.

“Sorry Xander intruded on you two. I’ll take him away now.”

“Boo! He was just getting interesting.” Gianna pouts as she leans back to sunbathe.

He rolls his eyes. “Trust me, he’s boring.” Daniel looks at me and nods towards the door. "Neither of our fathers might leave that study alive if we don’t get in there soon."

I spare one more glance at Melissa, watching as she nervously nibbles on her pink, plush bottom lip before walking towards Daniel. I can tell she’s still looking by the muffled giggles, and it gets louder when we skirt the front door and take a side door into the house.

“Let them kill each other. We’ll take our rightful place as the heads and promise not to kill each other.” I half-heartedly laugh, and Daniel scoffs.

“Interesting proposition, but you realize both families will be out for blood. There would never be any peace. Best friends, or not.”

I suck my teeth. Daniel takes the stairs two at a time, his footsteps stomping over the marble back to the study.

I am itching to end this argument, so I walk ahead of him. So far, I have control over the legal part of the business at Amory Corp. Soon, I will enter the darker part of the corporation, and I want to show I am ready for it.

Daniel turns back to wink at me. “They asked that I bring you in. I’m sure it won’t be long now.”

I grunt and follow him back to the study, where my father is pacing the length of the large room, his fists bunched at his sides. He waves a hand towards Sedric who is sitting behind his desk, leaning back like he doesn’t have a care in the world. “Daniel, did you know your father lacks the grit to run this empire?”

Daniel shrugs, an angry light in his eyes that doesn’t reach his voice. “I’m certain you were just about to tell him that. And considering you’re in the man’s house, you might want to tone it down.”

Father continues to snap at Sedric, and I know from his tone that there will be no resolution today. They’re too angry to see the bigger picture, and I’m frustrated because that’s all I can see.

The legal side of the Amory Corp. teaches you how to be level-headed, and the darker side teaches you how to be ruthless. My father spends too much time in the dark.

“Amory, I’ll have your head above my fireplace!”

“Want to bet?!”

I roll my eyes. “If we cannot be civil, then we need to call it a day.”

Sedric pauses, looking me over, and so does my father. “Your son is right.”

My father sighs. “Tomorrow?”

“Sunday. Outside the church. Even the playing field,” I suggest. Both men grunt in agreement. “Great. Bathroom, then we leave. No more shop talk while I’m gone.”

Annoyed, I exit the study and go down the stairs, pass by the kitchen, and find the restroom. I use the bathroom, staring at a huge picture of a 1950s woman bent over a toilet bowl with her hand over her lips in a shocked expression.

Her soft blonde curls remind me of Melissa. If I did what I wanted to her, she would look like that, breathless, mouth agape, waiting to be filled.

Fuck. I shake my head clear of her because Daniel would never let me close enough even to try.