The Maid: Mafia Romance (Series)

“From today onwards, you are deemed as my lover. Be prepared to meet your fate.”

And those are the words that came out of the very man who makes her heart flutter, Giovanni Dente, the mafia boss with movie star good looks and a coffee addict.

Between working as his maid and brewing his coffee as payment to her father’s three-million-dollar debt, Jenny finds she has to fight off his advances, using every skill she possesses not to be lured into his seductive trap. But what can a poor student like her do when every touch and kiss Giovanni bestowed upon her has her craving for more?

Jenny knows her defense is about to break down because this mafia boss is totally alluring.

One Night of Pleasure…Or Not

I looked at his bed in awe. I couldn’t help myself but rub my cheek onto that soft pillow again. It had his scent. He’d slept here last night. Alone, or with another woman? One of his mistresses, maybe?

How many did he have? One, two? For a rich and powerful mafia man like him, two was never enough. His ego was too large, his status too high to quench his thirst.

Somehow, a little pain etched my heart at the image of him tumbling with two women in bed. I wasn’t sure why I should feel this way. I was nothing to him. I was not one of his women. I was only here because I had to be, not because I wanted to.

I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror and stared at my own reflection. Plain Jane. That was what I was. Boring brown hair. Boring green eyes. That was what Pa had always said, the plain daughter.

I touched my cheeks and counted the freckles there. I sighed. There were too many to count. It looked awful, like I’d spent too much time in the sun.

The door behind me squeaked open. I froze upon seeing the image of him in the mirror, too, his eyes boring straight into me. He was freshly out of the shower, his body drenched in water droplets. He only had a small towel around his waist. His black hair was all wet, like the night sky outside.

Giovanni was beautiful, a colossal being, like Adonis, the statue. He was simply captivating, and totally alluring.

Did he know he’d stolen my heart, just like he’d stolen millions of other girls’ heart on that show? My maiden heart was his and his alone.

But could I be his? Could I be his Jennifer, the one he was looking for?

I stole a glance over my shoulder at his half naked body. And gulped much needed air to quench my thirsty lungs. My stupid heart had to impulsively do that silly dance again when I caught his stare.

His eyes bored into mine, hot black lava gushing out of those irises. I swallowed, turning back to the task at hand, reminding myself that this was the only task I should be doing tonight. Which was to hang his shirt, wash his sheets, clean his bedroom, and make his coffee. In essence, I was his maid, his twenty-four-hour live-in maid, which he could call up anytime for his pleasure. Pleasure for his taste buds that was, and nothing more.

Oh, but I wanted to do so much more. I wanted to run my fingers along his broad chest, to feel his heart drumming against my fingertips. I wanted to kiss those lips that were always set in a grim line, or kiss away that frown that was on his forehead whenever he thought too much. My hand itched at the delicious prospect.

“Jay, dry my hair,” he demanded, walking toward me and perching himself on the edge of the bed.

Upon hearing his demand, I stumbled toward him with a big, fluffy towel in hand, acting like I was his obedient lover.

He flopped his head forward, his hair in a thousand and one directions. I wrung his wet hair dry, slowly massaging his skull with my fingers, slowly relieving him of today’s stress.

I knew he liked that. I’d done this to him so many times before. But tonight, something seemed different. I was conscious of the proximity between us, his fingers lingering at the curvature of my hips, his chest pressed against my breasts. My whole body tingled as I looked into his deep, alluring midnight eyes.

“Jay,” he caressed my name. His voice was like a drug, luring me into him. I gulped, feeling my body tingling hot. “Kiss me.”

He pulled me closer, his lips coming nearer to mine. I could feel myself sinking under his spell. Suddenly, he tossed me onto his bed, and now he was on top of me, his fingers tracing my lips. I could feel all of him pressing into me. His hard chest, his strong muscular legs, and his erection.

“Jay,” he rumbled again. “Kiss me.”

“Gio.” My voice ripped through me, an odd crescendo in my chest. My palm went to trace his cleanly shaven jaw. “Gio, handsome boy. I missed you.”

Those words, I didn’t know where they’d come from, but I had to say them, as if something inside me would burst if I kept this phrase hidden inside me forever.

“Gio. Gio,” I repeated his name. Each and every, time the name dug deeper into my heart, engraving the syllable into my soul. I wanted his name to be a like scar etched into my skin, forever, not leaving me.

I watched him as he watched me, eyes filled with dormant heat, heat that wanted to be unleashed tonight.

This was it. After so many weeks of living together, I’d get to experience firsthand what it was like to feel those supple lips against mine. So I swallowed and pursed my lips forward, waiting for that moment when his lips would touch mine.

“Jennifer. You’re my Jennifer.” His voice caressed my soul, while his large hand caressed my cheek.

The name Jennifer droned through me, exciting me with an undeniable need. I arched my lips into his and kissed him with vigorous need. Giovanni latched on, responding to my request.

“Gio, I’ve been waiting for so long. For you to come rescue me,” I mewed with heated desire, kissing him more fully.

“Jennifer. I will never let you go again. Where did you go? You disappeared that day.”

His question was lost in the infinite confines of our skin, as we embraced each other with explosive need. His hands glided over my skin, exploring what we’d been missing these past few days.

“Gio. Gio.” My voice droned on, the pace of his name quickening, just like the pace of my heart, quickening with every heartbeat, with every breath I took.

“Say you’re my Jennifer, Jay. You’re my Jennifer.” His voice came out breathless, his face speckled with sweat.

“Gio.” My hand went immediately to wipe those droplets off him, and quickly slid to palm his cheek.

“Jay, say you’re my Jennifer.” His voice was desperate, just as I was desperate to extinguish this heat that was consuming me alive. It ripped at my core and flamed my desire.

“Gio,” I whispered, his name a wisp coming from my lips. “Gio.”

Giovanni rocked into me, breath coming out haggard, face buried deep into my nest of brown curls. “Say you’re my Jennifer. I want to hear you say it.”

Desperation was his middle name. And only I could appease it.

But why couldn’t I say it? Inside my soul, I’d already admitted I was his Jennifer.

“Gio.” I began, crushing my fingers into his black locks, desperate for him not to leave me, desperate for him to know I was his Jennifer. “Gio, I’m your… I’m your-”

“J ay, get up. Time for school!”

Say what?

I peeked my eyes open, the morning sun glaring much too brightly through my closet bedroom curtain.

Wait a minute. Where was I? This room was too big to be my closet bedroom at Cory Mansion.

And then it hit to me. That voice, calling me Jenny from outside the bedroom door.

Crispin. I was at Crispin’s apartment. And…

Oh, crap! And double cappuccino crap, crap! A wet dream. I had a wet dream of Giovanni and me in bed. Together. Doing seductive things only my hero and heroine could do in my collection of erotic romance books.

My face bloomed tomato red. I was hotter than a steam bun. Oh, the embarrassment. If Giovanni knew I was dreaming about him being my hero, what would he say?

A sudden ache cut through me at the thought of never seeing him again. Or never having the opportunity for him to berate me again. Ever.

I’d run away from him yesterday. Well, he’d let me go to be exact, since I could clearly remember his harsh comment, ‘Fine, I let you go. You kiss like a dog.’

Ouch! That stung.

Did I really kiss like a dog? Was I really that bad of a kisser? That was my second kiss after all. The first kiss was also stolen by him from the night before. And the third kiss was stolen by him in my dream.

Ahhh , I sighed gleefully, mouth stretched into a wide smile as my brain took me back to my intimate dream. That kiss was totally delicious. It rocked at my heart, which even now was beating nonsense. Now, if only I could kiss like that in real life I was sure Giovanni would take back his words.

My thought returned to the main reason of why he’d kicked me out. Thinking about it made me become agitated. Oh lordy, what if it was due to the heat of the moment and right now he was looking for me? Hell, what if he cut my throat after he’d found me? I’d be dead meat, hanging on a hook, for the eagles and hawks to feast on.

I grouched, sitting in bed, palm under chin, thinking about my pitiful life in a rational manner. I still owed Giovanni three million dollars, that much was true. Which meant if he came looking for me, I would have to have some money on hand, at least to repay some back to him.

I checked my cellphone for the millionth time. I blew away the wisp of brown lock that had fallen into my eye, and sighed. If I lamented anymore about my grim future, or not so flash past, I’d be late for class.

I got up, brushed my teeth, washed my face, not forgetting to brush my bird’s nest of hair, got changed out of my pajamas, and raced downstairs. The smell of pancakes and coffee greeted me with their aromatic scent, and my stomach responded with a loud growl.

Crispin was dishing out the pancakes onto the side plates. Coffee was already resting on my side of the table.

I sneaked a bite off his plate. Crispin slapped my wrist. “No eating mine. Yours are over there.”

I smiled and sat in the chair facing my plate of food. “Thanks heaps, Cris,” I said, mouth watering at the food.

“No problem,” Crispin said, and slid into the chair opposite mine. He began eating his pancakes, taking small bites while casting a smile in my direction. I smiled back, wondering why he was so happy today.

“And why are you so happy, Cris dear?”

“Nothing.” He shook his head and stole another glance at me.

I rested my knife and fork on the table, turning my full attention to him. “Now you have me curious.” I eyed him. “Is there something on my face again? Obviously not coffee, since I didn’t make it.”

“Just happy.” He cast his eyes to the window outside. “It’s sunny today. You know I’m always happy when it’s sunny.”

“Of course. I should have known.” I flashed him my brightest smile, to match the bright sun outside, and sat back down. I grasped my mug of coffee and took a gulp of Crispin’s brewed beverage-

And sprayed it right back out.

Crispin came behind my chair, apologizing profusely while patting my back to alleviate my coughing fit.

“I should never make coffee to serve the coffee goddess,” he lamely said, which made me burst into laughter, I ended up coughing even more. Of course, poor Crispin thought I was dying from this. He only patted my back more.

“Okay, that’s enough. I’m not dying.” I shoved him off me. “But if you keep on calling me coffee goddess, then I might just die laughing.”

“You are a coffee goddess,” he said, his tone all too serious. “I could never measure up to your coffee skills.”

“I’m no coffee goddess. But since you insist on calling me that, I really should live up to your expectations. And for that, let me make you a cup of brewing flat white.”

Crispin smiled as he watched me do my magic. And five minutes later, we resumed our breakfast, me gorging down my pancakes like a pig, since I was so hungry, while he was drinking his flat white, chuckling once or twice as he watched me eat.

I flicked my eyes up and gave him my most intimidating stare. He didn’t flinch, since he knew I was teasing with him.

“You know, Jenny, I don’t mind if you stay here forever. I would love to drink your coffee every morning,” he casually said, turning back to his plate of food.

I giggled and put my fork down again. “Cris, what you need is a girlfriend. One who can look after you. Me, I’m just your storage baggage, a friend who took advantage of you.”

“You’re not taking advantage of me,” he said too quickly, making my head snap up.

I blinked at his sudden change of voice. I shifted in my seat, uncomfortable somehow at our turn of conversation. “Well, I think I am. Here I am, eating your food. Crashing at your house. I’m a friend, with baggage. Actually, a lot of baggage. Make that ten bags of secrets, to be exact,” I joked.

But Crispin wasn’t laughing. He really did take it at face value. “Jenny, is this about your old man and sister again? Have they been in contact lately?”

“No.” I dropped my smile, a cloud of sadness clinging to me.

Two months. It’d been two months since they disappeared on me and I landed in Cory Mansion as maid to the mafia boss, Giovanni Dente. And still I hadn’t heard anything of them since. Were they out of the country, running away like two outlaws?

“Want to tell them about your landlord?” Crispin’s voice swirled me out of my misery.

Landlord. Oh God. I was such a bad friend. I lied to Crispin that my landlord, aka, Giovanni Dente, the mafia boss, had kicked me out, because I didn’t have the money to pay rent. Hence, why I ended up crashing at his house.

“No. I don’t think they would want to know about my landlord,” I said, my voice cracking a bit under the weight of my words.

Crispin calmly grasped my small hand with his big one. “Jenny, you don’t have to look for another house. You can stay here, with me.”

“I can’t inhabit your room forever, Cris. You’ll get back-pain from sleeping on the couch forever. I need to look for a place to stay.” I smiled sadly at him.

While I was sleeping soundly on his bed, last night Crispin had taken the couch as his sleeping quarters.

But the real reason I didn’t want to stay was I didn’t want Crispin to become involved in my family’s business. We were a pretty shitty family, up to our eyeballs in debt. In fact, we sucked at being a real family. As the saying goes, you can’t clap with one hand. No matter how hard I’d tried to conform and be the perfect daughter and sister to Pa and Amelia, the fact was, after Ma’s death, everything went topsy-turvy. Even if I couldn’t remember what’d happened prior to the accident, I still believed we were a better family then. Ma was the glue that held us together. And now she was gone. Just as our bank account had gone straight down with Pa’s impulsive investment again. Of course, his intelligent investment landed me with a three-million-dollar debt.

Never could I involve Crispin in this madness of ours. If my ship were to sink, then I’d go down alone. Never would I drag my good friend with me.

“I’m serious, Jenny.” He applied a little more pressure on my palm, emphasizing his intention. “You’re a very important person to me. I want you to be happy. Study and live easy.”

I tried to give him a happy smile, one that was filled with sunshine and roses, but what came out was forced.

Life for me was never going to be easy. I needed to pay off that three million dollars. Otherwise there would be no knowing when Giovanni would come hounding me. Unless I kept running.

But by running, I would be a coward, just like Pa taking Amelia with him to who knew where. I might not be the princess of beauty, but I was no coward.

I also knew what Giovanni was capable of. And I wasn’t talking about his strength and ability to kill. No. I was referring to guns, on display in his mansion. I didn’t need to have a degree in rocket science to know he would be coming for me with those guns, and possibly kitchen knives, especially since I’d scrambled off yesterday without telling anyone, taking that debt along with me.

“Jenny. I want to tell you something.” I lifted my eyes to meet Crispin’s, giving him my undivided attention.

Crispin had always been there for me, since we were in middle school.

His hazel eyes locked onto mine. I gazed right back. His face was serious. I knew he was about to tell me something important.

Crispin cleared his throat. “Jenny, I really like-”

And we were interrupted by a phone call.

Crispin flinched, irritated he couldn’t finish what he was about to say. I was pretty curious, too, until I heard the word ‘work’ coming from his mouth.

Yes, that’s right. I needed to find work. That would be my ideal solution. Maybe Crispin could help me. And as soon as he finished his call, I expressed my interest.

“Cris, my good friend. You know how you work at the amusement park part-time. Do you know if they’re hiring any waitresses, one who’s skilled in coffee making?”

Crispin chuckled, making him look even younger than his twenty years of age. “I believe not. But you may just be in luck. My boss asked if I was willing to dress up as a bunny to hand out flyers for a new candy store in the park. I have another job lined up so I don’t think I’ll be taking this one. But…” He eyed me with amusement. “Are you interested?”

Me, as a mascot bunny handing out flyers. I could seriously add that title into my CV.

Jenny Stone. Top class barista. Full time maid to the mafia. And now part time bunny.

Yep. I thought that sounded pretty cool.

Bring it on, Crispin.