Mafia Obsession

Leo

My heart pounds hard in my chest as I watch Ellie sleeping peacefully in my bed. I never have women in my bed. Normally I visit a hotel when I’m hooking up. It keeps it less personal, but everything with Ellie isn’t normal. We didn’t even fuck last night.

What on earth has gotten into me?

The tough thief who loves being punished is broken, vulnerable, and homeless. She has such a tough exterior, but I saw through it to the true woman beneath it all last night. It’s clear people in her past have broken her badly. Probably her ex-boyfriend she mentioned. The moment I find out who he is, I will kill him.

The scars on her tummy, chest and back have a harsh beauty to them. A reminder of the pain she has survived and everything she’s been through. Her eyes never betray the pain and hell she has endured in the past, they are the only signs.

I held her last night while she cried, kissing her forehead. I kept my arms tight around her and muttered words I shouldn’t have said. It’s clear this woman I barely know is everything to me. It felt natural and right to tell her I’d protect her, because it’s how I feel. At least she doesn’t know Italian.

I got her in here with no one noticing, but I can’t keep her in my room forever. No matter how much I want to wrap her up in cotton wool and never let her out of my sight.

My father taught me not to care. He’d instilled that sentiment in me from a young age. He used to tell me women are for fucking and

discarding.

It was something I’d struggled with, considering my father had married my mother. Rick still remembers her pretty well, but I was four years old when she died. Kane and Rick are convinced our father killed her, but I’m not sure.

Ellie makes a soft groan and rolls onto her side, opening one eye. She startles and sits straight at the sight of me, staring at her.

“Buongiorno, Bella,” I say, smiling at her. She licks her bottom lip. “Morning, sir.”

I chuckle at that. It’s amusing how she’s always so obedient. It’s as if she was born to please me. “You don’t need to call me sir all the time. I like it when we fuck, but you can call me Leo.”

She raises an eyebrow and nods. “Okay, Leo,” she says, innocently.

I don’t know what it is about her saying my name, but it makes my balls tingle. I shift toward her and slip my hand behind her neck, forcing her lips to mine. This woman tastes amazing. I suck on her tongue, making her moan. Her fingers claw at my chest as she shifts to sit in my lap, letting me kiss her hard.

I can’t push this though, not after last night. The guilt I feel over bending her over my desk and slapping her ass after seeing those scars made me sick to the stomach. She doesn’t need pain, even if she has grown to love it. The woman needs loving and nurturing, something I’m not sure I’m capable of.

Feelings have never come naturally to me. I’m closed off and unable to feel after all the shit we went through growing up. I wasn’t exactly brought up in a loving environment. I find it hard to show that I care for people, but this thief turns up and opens me up like no one ever has. It makes no sense.

I break the kiss and peck her on the lips. “Have a shower, and I’ll bring you up some food.”

Her eyes widen slightly, as if she’d expected me to fuck her. After what I saw last night, I can’t bring myself to treat her the way I did when we first met. Tying her up and slapping her-it feels wrong. It is mad.

Normally, I don’t give a shit what someone has been through in their life. I’ll be the first to admit that I can be a selfish son of a bitch at times, but Ellie makes me stop and think.

I shift from the bed and throw on a t-shirt and pants. “I’ll be back shortly.”

She gives me a nod and watches as I leave the room. I rest my back against the door and let out a long breath. I can’t work out what I’m going to do. It’s not like I can keep her a secret from everyone.

I’ve got to act fucking normal, even if it is hard. I walk down the corridor toward the stairs and head for the kitchen.

Two men are muttering about something, and I overhear my brother’s name. “Kane has lost the plot,” he says.

I turn to them. “Why? What has he done now?” The guy pales, eyes wide. “Nothing, sir.”

I cross my arms over my chest and step closer. “Tell me what Kane has done.”

He bows his head. “Last night he came bounding down with his mattress and ran to the side of the building, apparently he was trying to save the girl he got from Alex Cavino.” He shakes his head slightly. “Even though she was trying to escape out of the window.”

Shit.

My brother has lost the plot. I know the guy cares about her, but he’s not supposed to let anyone know that. Rick will kill him when he gets back. He’s had to fly out of Philly for two days.

As soon as he hears what Kane did, he’ll be pissed. To be fair, if Ellie was escaping out the window, I’d probably do the same damn thing. This house wouldn’t be easy to climb down.

Last night, once Ellie fell asleep, I heard my brother and Jasmine getting pretty fucking loud in their room down the corridor. Our men would have heard them too, which means they know he didn’t punish her. Either that or she’s as much of a sucker for punishment as my beautiful little thief.

I nod my head. “Thanks, Carl.” I carry on walking toward the kitchen. Kane is cooking pancakes, whistling to himself.

What the fuck?

I have to stand there and blink a few times, making sure I’m seeing right. Kane never whistles, and he never cooks. Not to mention, he’s never in a good mood in the morning.

I step into the room and take a seat at the table. “Why are you in such a good mood?” I know why, I just love teasing him.

He spins around and glares at me. “Mind your own business.”

I raise an eyebrow and smirk at him. “Does it have anything to do with the rather loud screams coming from your bedroom last night?”

Kane growls, spinning on me. “Don’t be an ass, Leo.” He’s holding a plate of pancakes and he has extra in the pan. “There’s extra if you want some.” He nods toward the pan.

Works for me, since I’m going to have to take Ellie something and pancakes are probably better than Lucky Charms.

“Cooking her breakfast after she tried to escape.” I tut. “What do you think the guys will think?”

His face pales and his shoulders dip. “Who told you about that?”

“Everyone is talking about it this morning, Kane.” I shake my head. “Rick will be pissed when he gets back.”

Kane lets out a long breath. “What else was I supposed to do? Let her fall to her death.”

I nod my head. “If she was trying to escape from you, that’s what a Romano should and would do, yes.”

Kane runs a hand through his short hair. “Fuck, I know I fucked up, but this girl has got to me, Leo.”

I know exactly what he means. Ellie has got to me too, I’m just being more fucking cool about the whole thing. It’s not right of me to scold my brother over something I did literally the other day. Ellie tried to steal from us and instead of ending her like I should have, I fucked her.

“You need to try to cool it around her though, keep it under wraps.” He nods in response, looking a little lost.

I stand from the table and clap him on the back. “I’m sure it will all work out. Take her those pancakes before they go cold.”

He nods. “Thanks, bro.”

I watch him as he walks out of the room, shoulders tense. It was bad of me to spoil his mood, but he has to realize the danger he places that girl in. Everyone knows he cares about her now. It’s the exact reason I’m keeping Ellie in my room. I have to keep her locked away, so no one will get to her.

I grab two plates from the cupboard and load up the rest of the pancakes, placing them on a tray. I grab a bottle of maple syrup and some cutlery. All the reward of cooking her breakfast, without the cooking-suits me.

I head back to my room and open the door. Ellie’s sitting up in bed, waiting for me.

“Colazione a letto,” I say, finding I’m less self-conscious when I speak Italian.

She shrugs. “I don’t know what that means.”Exclusive © content by N(ô)ve/l/Drama.Org.

I set the tray down on the bed and settle in beside her, kissing her lips gently. “It means breakfast in bed.”

“You cooked this?” she asks.

“Not exactly, Kane cooked too much and let me have the left overs.” I sink my teeth into my bottom lip. “If it wasn’t for him, you’d be eating a bowl of Lucky Charms.”

She laughs, and it’s fucking beautiful. The first time I’ve heard her laugh. “Lucky Charms are my favorite.”

My heart skips a beat. “So, you don’t think they’re just for kids?”

She shakes her head frantically. “No, it pisses me off when people say that.”

I smile and settle down beside her, grabbing a plate and covering my pancakes in syrup.

There’s an easiness between us I’ve never experienced with a woman before. I normally feel awkward as hell if I have to linger around a woman I’ve fucked. With Ellie, it feels natural to sit here in silence, eating together.

Ellie hasn’t asked me again why I brought her here. To be honest, I’m not entirely sure of the answer. When I saw those men attacking her, I snapped. There’s a voice inside my head, saying the same notion repeatedly.

She’s mine.

And, she is. Even if she doesn’t realize it yet, I’m never letting her go.

Ellie is mine to protect, mine to take, mine to hold forever.