Seducing the Mafia Boss

Silva’s POV The draft from the door chills me to the bone as my dorm mates shuffle in. “Jesus shut the door” I cry out with a light laugh in my voice. I’ve been at Exton Boarding School for five years now and I still haven’t gotten used to that wind coming off of Lake Geneva. Switzerland is beautiful no doubt about it but I won’t be sorry to see it go when I finally get back home to New York City. The three girls that just walked in Marie Rose and Olivia giggle at my words. Marie was from northern Italy Rose from western France and Olivia from Croatia. They are more accustomed to high altitudes and stiff breezes than I am. Their coats are lighter than mine. If it’s not a thick fur-lined coat I feel like I’m freezing. “Why don’t you just have a permanent blanket wrapped around you all the time Sil?” Rose says in the soft hush of her French-accented English. There’s more giggling at that and that causes me to blush. My figure is much more developed than my friends and that gets me a lot of attention. Some of it unwelcome but some attention isn’t too bad at all really. I stick my tongue out at Rose and she reaches out as if to snatch it. “Don’t be jealous Rosie” I say mischievously. “Some flowers bloom a little later than others that’s all.” Laughter fills the space between us as the doors burst open once more. A shiver brushes over my skin as I pull my jacket around me a little bit tighter. "Will you shut the damn---" I stop mid sentence the moment I catch a glimpse of who's at the door. Shit. Gio Bonetti and his crew. I can't help but roll my eyes at him. He is an absolute asshole and every moment I'm forced to stay around him has me counting down the days until I get home. Gio and I have sort of known each other since we were children. Our respective fathers are the heads of the two of the largest crime families in New York and have been rivals for as long as I can remember. Generally we keep our distance from one another but Gio can be a real prick; arrogant and rude. He’s made me the target for his torments more than once over our entire time at Exton. I usually try my best to avoid him but the last few months have been tricky in that regard because Gio’s buddy Max is dating Olivia. And right on cue Olivia bounds to her feet to give Max a kiss. They linger on each other a bit longer than would be generally considered…polite. It's a little gross if you ask me but I get it. They’re into each other. Can’t blame them for that. Gio and the other boys start jeering lasciviously causing Olivia to turn bright red with embarrassment and forcing Max to turn away. “Oh please” I say loudly my eyes nearly rolling out of my head in the process. “What’s the problem” Gio asks a dark undercurrent to his voice. “Too frigid to appreciate a warm expression of love?” Letting my eyes fall to Gio my frown deepens. He is a complete prick and as much as he irritates me to no end I can’t help but feel a little uncomfortable under his gaze. As if the man can actually see right into my soul no matter how much I try to avoid his attention. Clearing my throat I force a smile to my lips that shows the internal disgust I feel. “Actually it’s not love that’s the problem It’s little boys mocking it that I have a problem with.” A sheepish look spreads across Max’s face as Maria Rose and Olivia find humor in my response. I hadn’t meant to cause Max to feel embarrassed by what I said. He’s a good guy most of the time. I can’t help but find his reaction questionable at best though especially since the jab was directed towards Gio. To my disappointment though Gio doesn’t react at all though. He just continues to stare right through me his dark eyes racking over my body with an intensity that makes my heart race and my thighs press together. No matter how much of an asshole he is…no one can say that man isn’t drop dead gorgeous. Thick dark black hair the color of onyx accented with deep charcoal grey eyes that I swear look pitch black at times. And those lips—god I can’t recall how many times in my past I had wanted those thick lips to take possession of my own. At least before I had to remind myself that he’s a complete prick and the future heir to my family's biggest enemy. To think that at one point in time we used to be friends. Shrugging off thoughts of him I avert my eyes to Maria who is talking away about some lavish vacation she has coming up. It's the desperate opportunity I need to regather myself from the intensity that is Gio. “So what’s the plan?” she asks. “Plan for what?” I counter having no idea what they’re talking about. Marie and Rose exchange a look that says they aren’t surprised at all by my lack of attention. “Your birthday Sil.” Rose sighs grandly. “You only turn eighteen once! Aren’t we going to celebrate?” I shake my head as my face hardens slightly. “Do we have to go through this every year? I appreciate the thought but I don’t really celebrate my birthday. You all know that.” “Yeah we may know it Sil but that doesn't mean we have to like it.” Oliva says as she plops down onto Max’s lap directly across from me. “In fact we think it’s pretty dumb.” There’s a chorus of affirmations to Olivia’s comment. None of which I care to listen to. I never felt like my birthday was something to celebrate and I don’t know. It’s just another day and maybe when I get home to New York I’ll feel different but right now—it feels like torment. “Yeah but—” “No buts! Stop being such a drag! It’s your eighteenth birthday Sil!” Olivia cries out the Croatian tint to her voice making the words sound somehow both clumsy and exotic at the same time. “We aren’t letting you blow past this milestone in your life.” Everyone agrees with Olivia…except Gio which I take notice of almost immediately. “You disagree Bonetti?” I ask watching as he shrugs his shoulders uncaring of the conversation or more so the people he’s around. “Why are you talking to me like I give a s**t what you do?” His comment is beyond rude and instantly quiets everyone around us. “What is that supposed to mean?” I ask defensively. “You know you don’t have to be an asshole every moment of your life. Perhaps if you smiled more…people may actually f*****g like you.” Max holds up a hand. “Guys let’s not do this right before—” Before he can even finish his sentence Gio stands to his feet and fixes his shirt. “Fine I’m done with this conversation anyways. Just remember Max…you’re with me and we don’t associate with her kind.” What in the absolute f**k? “Excuse me? My kind?” I snap at him quickly on my feet now with anger and hatred pumping through my veins as my short stature strides right up to him and prepares to go toe to toe with a man that I secretly thought of more than I cared to admit. He stops turning to look at me from underneath narrowed brows. “You know exactly what I mean. And honestly the rest of them should be careful around you…people tend to die when they get too close to your family.” “What the hell are you talking about?” Gio doesn’t reply though instead he yawns and shakes his head before turning away from me. “I don’t have time for this…Max let’s go.” “No! I want to know what that means.” I shout at him my hand reaching out to grab his arm as I stop him in his tracks and force him to face me again. I don’t realize what I’ve done until it’s done. His eyes shooting daggers at me as he slowly looks down at his arm where my hand still lays firm stopping him from walking away. “Do you really want to know what I think about you?” He says slowly his eyes sliding up to meet mine once more as I quickly retreat my hand from his arm. My heart racing as a fire seems to flow over my body with how close I am to him. “Yes…” The corner of his lips slowly turn up into a smirk. “You’ve got balls Sil. I’ll give you that but you don’t know how to have fun. You’re a stiff little princess that comes from a line of traitors and when it comes down to tough situations the only thing you know how to do is run. So why the hell should I care about your birthday? What do I get out of it?” I can feel my face grow red hot. Not from shame but from pure rage. I feel it welling up from my toes all the way up to the crown of my head. There are a million things I want to say to him right now but I can’t even formulate the words properly. “You know” Max interjects trying again “I heard there’s going to be a secret bash for the break. Someone’s throwing a party somewhere off campus. I can find out and we can all go celebrate Sil’s birthday in the process. How would that be?” Gio and myself give Max no sign of a reaction. We’re too busy not breaking our eye contact. Both of us are known to be stubborn refusing to back down. “Well I’m not reckless if that’s what you’re saying.” I say defiantly. “Not like you Gio. Getting into trouble every chance you get. Your daddy having to sweet-talk the headmaster into not kicking you out of school. God forbid you try and keep your s**t together.” My words seem to mean nothing as Gio shrugs again so slowly and with such disregard it makes me want to scream. “I’m not getting kicked out. Not with the money my father spends on this f*****g place. Besides my grades are all perfect.” “And I wonder how many of those grades are bought for you” I spit out. “None of them darling” Gio says a smirk on his face. “I got those on my own…but if you need help I’m sure there’s a form of payment you could give me that I’d be—happy to take.” I don’t miss the s****l meaning behind his words that makes my breath catch in my throat as he takes a step closer to me. I didn’t need help with my grades I was top of our class and proud of it and he knew that. “You couldn’t pay me to have anything to do with you Gio.” Laughter escapes him as he lifts his hand brushing it down over the side of my cheek causing me to flinch slightly. “Oh yeah? Stop acting like being close to me doesn’t affect you Sil. I can see it in the way you act.” “Oh you mean you can see the disappointment?” “Sil maybe take a breath—” Rose says grasping my arm as she tries to pull me away. I know I’m crossing a line but when he laughs again I can’t help but let the hatred of how he has treated me over all these years finally flow free. “Disappointment? And what about me is a disappointment?” Shaking off Rose’s hand I just keep staring at Gio. “Oh…well maybe that I was left with second best when I could have had the one that actually meant something.” This stops him. Gio stands before me lips parting slightly as a small gasps one of my friends behind me. They know exactly what I’m referring to and as Gio’s eyes narrow slightly I realize he does too. “Care to elaborate…princess?” “Do you really want me to say it?” I reply my own lips finally turning up into a smirk. “That you’re nothing but second best…I mean after all it was supposed to be your brother wasn’t it? The true head of the family…a man you will never be able to amount to. Even if he’s dead.” Gio’s face darkens as his hand slides down from my face to his side his jawline going rigid as his lips meet into a thin line. “Is that what you really think?” Shit…did I go too far this time? Gio takes a step back and shakes his head. “Watch yourself Magliacano” Gio threatens as he turns around and walks away. “You can’t always be protected.” I can feel my heart trying to beat right out of my chest. I honestly don’t regret what I said to him. He’s always such an asshole to me always has been. Still, I don’t like to see him like that. I hate being mean to people…I’m just tired of always being seen as weak.