Madeline De Luca
1326 Words
Dario POV
Dario couldn’t help himself. He’d been warned off by Alessandro and his older brother, Dante, but he just needed to talk to her once—get it out of his system, so to speak.
Sure, he’d met Madeline once or twice before, years ago. But he’d been six years older and too wrapped up in chasing degrees and women to notice some teenage girl hanging around the De Luca estate.
He hadn’t been to one of these events in forever. Not until he started working under Dante last year and got dragged back into the family politics.
His eyes drifted back toward her again. Form hugging emerald green dress, with an open back. A smile that looked dangerous.
Yeah. He was screwed.
Still, if he was going to make a move, without being obvious about it, he would need an in. And that so happened to be his friend Nico De Luca, who was standing right next to her sister.
Nico had been a year behind him in college—but only technically. The kid was sharp as hell. Skipped two grades growing up, and still somehow managed to make it to every underground poker night Dario hosted.
“Nico!” Dario called as he crossed the room, a grin spreading across his face. “Still pretending you’re not a criminal genius?”
Nico turned, drink in hand, eyebrow raised. “Still pretending you’re working for a living?”
They clasped hands, pulling each other into a one-armed hug.
“You haven’t changed,” Dario smirked.
“You have,” Nico replied. “New suit. Less tequila.”
“Temporary,” Dario winked. “Give it an hour” before he turned to Madeline, who had watched the exchange with a smirk. Before Nico could answer, Madeline stepped forward with a confidence that blew Dario’s mind.
“This, is Madeline De Luca, and I know you can tell I’m not a little girl anymore,” she winked, turning just enough to give Dario a full, deliberate view of her curves.. Damn.
“Madeline,” Nico muttered, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Stop flaunting in front of men. You’re lucky Dad didn’t see that dress before you left the house.”
Maddie stepped in closer, brushing a hand along Dario’s lapel as she leaned in—too close.
“You don’t remember me?” she whispered, her voice soft, smoky.
Dario smirked. He knew exactly what she was doing. “Should I?”
She smiled, lips brushing the shell of his ear.
“You would if you’d seen me without the dress.”
Dario’s jaw. Dropped. Okay, maybe he didn’t know what she was doing—other than driving him crazy. But—she was off limits. Very off limits.
He watched her walk away with a little more sway to her hips, but he was probably imagining it. Right? But then she turned and winked, before stepping it up even more. Holy s**t, she was going to mess him up so bad—
“Stop ogling my baby sister,” Nico said casually—too casually—as he punched Dario in the arm.
Not hard. Just enough to remind him that beneath the suit, Nico De Luca was still dangerous.
“I wasn’t,” Dario lied smoothly.
Nico raised a brow. “Sure. Just admiring the architecture behind her, right?”
Dario grinned. “Exactly.”
“Admire anything else, and we’re going to have a problem.” Nico smiled as he said it, voice low and calm—almost friendly. But the steel beneath it was impossible to miss.
Dario laughed nervously and cleared his throat. “So… how does it feel, taking over the family business?”
Nico leaned against the bar, finally letting it go—for now. “Tougher than I thought it’d be. Everyone wants a piece of something. Respect takes more than a name. You’ve gotta earn it all over again.”
He sipped his drink. “But I’m getting there.”
Dario had to give it to him. The kid was only twenty-one, but way more mature than Dario was at that age. Maybe even more mature than Dario was now.
He sighed internally. The assignment was easy enough. He needed to avoid Madeline and find someone else to take care of his needs.
But every time he looked around, there she was.
Across the room, looking at him. No matter who he was talking to or who she was laughing with, their eyes found each other. Again and again.
Dario was trying—really trying—not to look. But Maddie was a walking temptation. The slit in her dress fell open just enough to reveal her toned leg. He imagined them wrapped around him while he—No! He was going to get murdered if he didn’t stop thinking of her in that way.
At one point, she wrapped her lips around a straw, eyes locked on his, her cheeks hollowing just slightly as she sipped her drink.
Fuck.
Dario muttered something to no one in particular and walked off, barely keeping his expression neutral. The crowd blurred around him. He didn’t care where he was going—he just needed space.
The men’s room was empty, thank God.
He shoved into the farthest stall, ran a hand through his hair, and tried to breathe.
She’s just a girl, he told himself. Sophia’s sister. Nineteen. Off-limits. Dangerous. Deadly.
His body didn’t care. His brain was running full-speed into walls.
And then—the door opened and closed, and the sound of heels echoed through the small space.
With sharp, deliberate clicks, they came closer. One step at a time.
They stopped right in front of his stall, before there was a deadly silence. Then her voice, low and teasing, slipped under the door. “Do you want me to take care of that for you?”
Dario’s breath caught. “Or do you love your hand more?”
He didn’t answer. He just reached behind him, unlatched the lock, and let the stall door creak open.
She pulled it open with a smirk on her face—her eyes locked onto him as if she had found her prey, and she stepped inside without hesitation.
Dario was sitting on the closed toilet lid, hands braced on his knees like he’d just lost a boxing match.
Maddie didn’t wait. She straddled him in one fluid motion, skirt riding high on her thighs, perfume wrapping around him like a dark seduction.
He sat completely still, wondering what she was going to do, then she leaned forward, and her lips brushed his—in a tease. Once. Twice. Then they moved to his jaw.
His throat. His pulse pounded against her mouth as she kissed lower.
Jesus Christ.
His hands slid to her waist, gripping her like she might disappear—or he might.
“I’ve been crushing on you since I was sixteen,” she whispered against his skin.
Her teeth grazed the line of his neck. “Time to get what I want.”
That snapped him out of it.
“No.”
Dario grabbed her hips and stilled her. “Madeline—no. You’re too young. Not to mention your brother would kill me.”
Her smile turned wicked.
“You know what, Dario?” she said, pulling back just enough to look him dead in the eyes.
“I’m horny now. And if you don’t want to take care of it…” She slid off his lap slowly, smoothing down her dress. “…I’ll go find someone who will.”
She gave him one last glance—sultry, and daring—and walked out without looking back.
How the hell was he supposed to move on from that? She had literally not done anything yet, but had still managed to ruin all other women for him.
- Writer
