Dominic
Table of Contents
Dominic
Dedication
Acknowledgements
Chapter One
Chapter Two
Chapter Three
Chapter Four
Chapter Five
Chapter Six
Chapter Seven
Chapter Eight
Chapter Nine
Chapter Ten
Chapter Eleven
About the Author
Dominic
The Mafia Family Love Chronicles
Book 1
BK Harrell
Dedication
This book is dedicated to my wife Erin for all her love and support. She is my rock who supports every undertaking and is always by my side.
Acknowledgements
I want to thank Grace Risata for her help in developing this story during our live write. I took a little bit of time but I am so happy that I was able to finally tell the story of Dominic Gratale and his family. Thank you for your support and continued friendship.
Also, I’d like to thank my author friends who are always there to answer any questions that arise and my PA Kim Christiansen Byrd for her awesome cover design.
Chapter One
Dominick Gratale stared out of the window of his Central Park penthouse. His thoughts a jumbled mess of what-ifs and why me. Logically, he knew this was his fate, but at thirty-years-old he’d hoped he would’ve been able to live more of the life he desired instead of being thrust into the life he was born into. Unfortunately, the untimely death of his father, Don Lorenzo Gratale, due to lead poisoning from seventeen forty-five caliber slugs fired by a Capriotti hitman, had put a crimp in all of his plans. Dom caught his reflection in the window as the faintest hint of a smirk crossed his lips. Even though the two families had been at war since their great-grandfathers had owned the streets of Sicily, there had been no escalation that should’ve caused the assassination of his father.
Dom was so deep in thought about life as he stared at the beauty of the city beneath him, he didn’t hear his brother, Matteo, slip into the living room.
“It’s a good thing I’m not an assassin sent to finish you off.”
“Fuck off, Matteo. It’s been a long day and I’m not in the mood for your bullshit tonight. I’ve still got to deal with all the shit going on at the docks and eventually find some time to do the job I actually want to do. Why couldn’t I have been born second? I hate that all this responsibility falls on my shoulders, and your temperament is better suited to let most of this shit just go.”
“Sorry to disagree with you big brother, but Pop only saw me as a fucked up playboy who couldn’t take anything seriously.”
“You don’t take anything seriously,” Dom said as his grip tightened on the glass of bourbon he was holding. “I blame him for not holding you more accountable, and forcing you to take more responsibility.” Not only did he have to worry about his three brothers, and his sister Mia, who had her head so far up her ass he couldn’t get through to her, Dom also had to worry about everyone his family employed and the family legacy. All he wanted was just a few days to focus on his wants, needs, and his business. “What do you want tonight? Your allowance already run out or did your latest fling decide she wants more.”
“I swear, Dom, you need to get laid because you are becoming an even more insufferable bastard. No to both. Our lovely sister seems to be making an ass out of herself again. I guess you didn’t see the latest episode of Mafia Princess.”
Dom cringed at the mention of that damn show. He had a love hate relationship with it. He hated that his sister soiled the family name with this reality show bullshit, but he loved that he got to see the one woman who lit his fire and made him yearn for something pure. He’d been in love with Alyssa Gambino since he was sixteen and his twelve-year-old sister brought her best friend home. She’d always been off-limits because of the age difference, and morally because she was his sister’s best friend. Finally boiling over, Dom turned, throwing the crystal glass of bourbon just past his brother’s head slamming into the marble mantle above the fireplace.
“What the fuck did she do now?” Just once Dom would like to not have to worry about her showing her ass on national television.
“She literally showed her ass while shoving her tongue down some poor schlep’s throat when they were at your club, Alluvia.”
“Great. Why can’t she just meet a nice guy, preferably not in the family business and settle down. She’s twenty-six and needs to grow the fuck up.”
Grabbing the remote, Dom turned on the TV and started the newest episode. He wished he could say that he was appalled by Mia’s behavior, but honestly she seemed to have channeled her grieving into fucking anything that walked. Dom just hoped it didn’t get her into trouble. As he stood there and watched the episode play out, he became so transfixed by the dark-haired beauty with the stunning emerald eyes that he has been so inexplicably drawn to for fourteen years. Dom couldn’t take his eyes off the curves that were the impetus for his dreams and releases. So enthralled with Alyssa was Dom that he didn’t even see what his sister was up to until his brother Matteo slugged him in the arm.
“See, that’s what I’m talking about.”
Dom shook his head to clear out the lustful thoughts consuming his mind and sending copious amounts of blood south of the border. Rewinding the show, Dom watched carefully and threw up a little bit in his mouth as he watched his sister act like a whore for everyone to see. Maybe he was failing as her brother and not helping her deal with her grief in a more positive manor. Maybe it was all for ratings, but he didn’t get that sense.
“Dammit. Call Luca and Vin. We need to have a discussion about this, and bring me those asshats who are supposed to be guarding her preventing this from happening.” Dom worked hard to control his breathing. He didn’t need to let his temper get the better of him especially, when dealing with subordinates. “Sometime this century, asshole.”
Dom stood there and watched as his brother exited the way he came. Walking over to the fireplace, Dom picked up the pieces of shattered crystal. He really needed to get his anger under control, but when it came to his family, they tended to piss him off as often as they showed their love for him. When he finished cleaning up the glass, Dom poured himself another glass and stood before the floor to ceiling windows a little longer contemplating what his life could have been.
Dom loved the life he’d carved out for himself. The clubs he’d opened were a result of his hard work, not his family name. He was known across the world for the lavish upscale clubs that catered to a more discerning crowd. He was packing the clubs faster than he could get them built. His partnership with Caesar’s Palace was proving to be successful beyond his wildest imagination.
Dom should be thrilled that his newest gem, Alluvia, was just featured on national TV, but the life he didn’t want, that was closing in around him, sucked all the joy out of that achievement. That and having to deal with his sister’s antics. Dom turned around at knock on the door. Seeing it was his personal bodyguard, Frankie, he relaxed a little bit.
“What is it Frankie?”
“Don Gratale, you have guest.”
“Thanks, but Frankie how many times do I have to tell you when it’s just us please call me Dom. We have been together far too long for that formal bullshit. Anyway send the assholes in”
“It’s not a set of assholes or even one. Miss Gambino is here to see you.”
Jesus, Dom felt like the temperature just spiked twenty degrees and his pants suddenly got a lot tighter. Almost like a dream that he had conjured her up , Alyssa strolled into his living room looking like a princess wearing a tight red dress and signature Jimmy Choo stilettos. He could get lost in the emerald green depths of her eyes for da
ys. Never one to be at a loss for words, Dom suddenly found himself dumbstruck as he looked at her like a condemned man starving for freedom. She was everything he wanted and everything he couldn’t have.
“Dom, I’m sorry.”
“Excuse me? What are you sorry for?”
“Mia’s behavior. I tried to get her to calm down and not drink so much, but she just won’t listen. I’m honestly at my wits end.”
Dom walked over and tempted fate by pulling her in for a hug. This was all he could allow himself. The briefest of touches, the barest of whispers of her breath upon his skin. Dom savored any reason he could think of just to be near this perfection that God had created. He inhaled deeply as her curly locks and lilac scent teased his senses. With everything he’d been through he thought this was about as close to heaven as he would ever get. With all the loss he had seen in his young life, he often wondered if heaven even existed, but holding Alyssa in his arms left no doubt.
“She’s not your responsibility. She is a grown ass woman who needs to make better decisions. I know she’s still hurting from the loss of our father, but she needs to find more constructive ways to deal with her grief.” Dom heard Alyssa sniffle and it nearly broke him as he looked down into her beautiful green eyes brimming with tears.
“I just feel like I should be able to do something to help her.”
“She has to want to help herself first. I don’t blame you. Just keep being her friend.”
“I want to. Even to the point of continuing to do this ridiculous show. I hate everyone thinking I’m some mindless twit who just goes around spending daddy’s money. I intended to leave, but I just don’t feel like I can right now.”
Dom wanted to dance a jig at the thought of Alyssa leaving the show. While he admired her loyalty to Mia, he couldn’t wait for the day she left the show. He hated thinking about other people looking at her and thinking she was just another spoiled girl even though he could never have her. They didn’t know her. Didn’t know how her eyes twinkled when she talked about art history or how sexy she looked in her glasses when her contacts were bothering her or even the sexy way she scrunched her forehead when she was concentrating on a crossword puzzle.
“Dom…” Alyssa said looking up at him with pleading eyes while her tongue darted out to lick her plump lips.
With his last string of sanity hanging on by a thin thread, Dom started to lower his head and finally take what he had waited fourteen years for. He could feel her soft breaths increase as he got closer.
“Dominic! We’re here.” Matteo called out snapping Dom back to reality. He nearly had the one thing he had longed for only to have it ripped away by his brother’s extremely poor timing.
Dom pulled back still staring into Alyssa’s eyes. “This isn’t over.” Dom released her before spinning away and walking toward his study.
Alyssa turned towards the windows staring out at the city sprawling before her. Her mind racing a million miles a minute. She almost had the kiss she’d been waiting her whole life for. She’d wanted Dom since the first time she laid eyes on him. The problem with Dom was that he was too much of a gentleman even with his lifestyle. He lived by some damn bro code that said he couldn’t date his sister’s best friend, but something had changed tonight. The sexual chemistry between them had always been off the charts. However, never once had he come so close to kissing her, and his touch, though protective, seemed so much more intimate tonight.
Damn, Matteo and his timing. Alyssa knew the tide had shifted, and she needed to find his breaking point. She had saved herself for him and dammit if she was going to be a twenty-seven-year-old virgin. Thankfully she still had seven months before her deadline, but if the past had taught her anything, she was going to have to up her game.
Pouring herself a glass of bourbon, Alyssa was determined to wait Dom out. Maybe she could just throw caution to the wind and wait for him naked in his bed. Shaking her head, she realized that wasn’t the answer. She had to make him want her. Make him so sick with jealousy that he finally took what was always his.
Polishing off the glass in one gulp, Alyssa appreciated the burn of the Blanton’s as it made its way down. She examined the glass and smiled at the perfect red lipstick mark left on the thick cut crystal that perfectly matched the color of her thong. Alyssa hoped Dom would think about her plump lips when he was in bed alone.
Satisfied with her work, Alyssa turned on her toe, and left but not before slipping her red G-string off and placing it in the glass. She didn’t think she could give him a more blatant invitation.
Dom stood in his office glaring at his brothers and heard the door to his apartment close. Inwardly cursing what could have been, but shouldn’t, as it just walked out the door. Dom ran his fingers through the inky locks as he tried to focus on the business at hand. Though it didn’t have quite the same effect as if he was glaring at his subordinates, it still conveyed the same message. He was pissed about the business and wanted out more than his next breath, fuming about his near miss with Alyssa, and downright nuclear about being interrupted when he was finally about to take what he wanted more than the job, the money, or the notoriety.
“What the fuck is going on with Mia? She looks like a damn whore on that TV show.”
“I don’t know, Dom. I’ve tried talking to her but she can be more stubborn than you and that’s saying something,” Luca said.
“I’ve tried too, but she just glares at me and tells me to mind my own fucking business. She thinks just because I am the youngest that I shouldn’t get a say,” Vin said.
“As the head of this family, we need to do something and get her under control. I know she’s been lost since Pop died, but that is no excuse to embarrass herself or the family. I almost think we need to send her back to Italy for a little while and let her cool her heels with family over there. I’m just afraid she’d embarrass herself on two continents. If anyone has any ideas now would be a great time to put them forth. I intend to have a discussion with those two asshats we have for her security. I want them to keep her out of trouble and away from these jerks she is gravitating towards.”
Needing something to relax him, Dom reached into his humidor and pulled out his favorite cigar, a Davidoff Millennium. Wanting to savor the flavors of the cigar and calm his frayed nerves before saying something that he shouldn’t, Dom took several long puffs and steadied his breathing.
“I’m not saying that Mia needs to be put on a leash or have a handler twenty-four seven, but we need to get her some help.” Dom had barely finished his statement when a knock on the door stole his attention. Dom was pleased to see that the two guys took him seriously and had quickly come to the penthouse.
“Frank Jr., Daniel, what the fuck do you think you’re doing letting those assholes near my sister? You have one fucking job and that is to keep people away from Mia. You were to make sure she stayed out of her own way and not end up in trouble. Could you two do that? No. You have one more chance, and so help me God, if you fuck it up you will - maybe you won’t - live to regret it. Now get the fuck out.”
Turning back to his brothers, Dom slowly exhaled another cloud of smoke. He was so wound up about Mia and his earlier encounter with Alyssa, the cigar and bourbon were not providing him the escape he desired. The thing that he needed was to go to his club and find a woman who could take care of his needs, and maybe make him forget about everything even if only for a few hours. Even as the thought crossed his mind, he knew only one woman would slake the desires he was feeling. Without thinking, he waved his brothers away and sank into his chair as he looked out the window. He thought about everything that had transpired over the last few hours. His mind still racing with anger, lust, and love. Dom knew what he wanted and couldn’t have so, as he finished his cigar, he made up his mind to go find a willing partner to at least get a good release.
As Dom walked back into his living room, he couldn’t help but feel a little tighter in his pants as his mind drifted back to Alyssa and what
seemed like her willingness to be with him. He needed a sign, something to give him a push either towards Alyssa or away from her. Looking over at the mantle, he noticed a glass he hadn’t put there. Wondering where it came from, he walked over and picked it up. Seeing the red lipstick and what the ever loving hell, he plucked the tiny red G-string out of the glass. Chuckling to himself he offered up a quick prayer of thanks. Dom figured this must be his sign from above. The last thought he had was to hell with other women. She was going to be his.
Grabbing his keys he walked out the door trying to decide the best course of action. By the time he reached his private parking garage, he felt like he had a semblance of an idea. He wasn’t going to fuck her tonight, or in the near future, but he was sure as hell going to leave her with something to think about. As he got into his Mercedes, he felt the G-string burning a hole in his jacket pocket. Part of him wanted to pull them out and take a long sniff just to know what she smelled like, but he wasn’t a masochist and refused to do that to himself. He’d know soon enough but on his terms and preferably with her writhing underneath him.
Thankfully, Alyssa didn’t live too far away. After valeting his car, he took the elevator to her condo. As he walked down the hall, he was still trying to figure out exactly how this would play out. He knocked on the door and even for thirty-year-old man who had had more than his fair share of women he was nervous as hell. Exhaling and trying to find his center he was nearly there when Alyssa opened the door with a smile on her face and not much else besides a robe. His center went to hell quickly and he nearly gave over to the powerful pull of lust he was feeling.
Alyssa looked up at the beautiful, powerful man standing outside her door. She had no idea why he was here. Well maybe a little if he found the present she left for him. Was she ready for him to take her? Shit, she suddenly couldn’t remember if she trimmed the hedges.