I’d been enjoying dinner when everyone’s phones went off. It didn’t happen often, but when it did, it was never good. The men went into business mode, and the women went into work mode to forget about the danger their men were in.

I helped clear the table and was putting away food when Marco came into the kitchen. I watched Lina and Marco kiss and whisper in each other’s ears. I was happy for them but I couldn’t help but feel jealous. I wanted what they had.

He left and Lina turned to me. “I’m spending the night!” she said. “Only I can’t hang out and do girl stuff tonight. Right after dishes, I’m locking myself in my room until I write my paper for my Literature class. I really need a good grade.” Lina had started college last fall and was taking a few classes.

I wanted to support her in any way I could. “That’s okay. We can hang out tomorrow afternoon. I hope everything is all right with the guys.”

“Everything is going to be fine,” my mother said, putting a huge piece of lasagna onto a plate and adding two pieces of garlic bread. “When you’re ready, please take this downstairs to our guest.”

The three of us finished the dishes and I headed with the plate down into the basement.

I’d overheard Marco and my father talking about whomever the guest was. My father had said he was sure that he would never be interested in me. He was right. No one was ever interested in me, and it was because of my father.

I was 19 years old and I only been on a handful of dates. My father had set up every one of them and I was sure that before our dates had even began he had threatened each and every one of them with death if they even laid a finger on me. One time I’d teased Donnie that we spent so much time together we should just be dating. His face went pale and he muttered something about liking his dick. When I asked him what he meant, he said it was nothing, just that my dad had given him an ultimatum when he started watching over me, he could keep his dick as long as he never used it near me.

It had made me mad. It wasn’t like I actually wanted to date Donnie. He was as much like a brother to me as Marco was, but it was just another guy who wouldn’t come near me because of my dad. Sometimes, I just felt like going out and fucking a stranger just see what it was like, then maybe my dad wouldn’t be so overprotective.

It’s not like I could even do that though. I was never alone outside of the house. I was pretty sure the president had more privacy than I did. He had the secret service, I had Donnie. Don’t get me wrong, like I said, I loved Donnie, but he needed to give me some space. Just when I didn’t think it could get any worse, a few months ago, I was packing up for a weekend trip to New York with my mom and Donnie said, “Did you pack your lady things?” At first, I had no idea what he was talking about, but then I realized that my period was due on Sunday. If I hadn’t been so furious, I would have found it funny.

I stood outside the door to the ‘guest room’ in the basement. I knew what it meant when my father kept a guest down there. It was always one of his business associates. They never stayed there long, only a day or two and when they disappeared, I never asked what happened. I wasn’t stupid though, I knew what my father’s business really was. There was no way you own a few restaurants and had the kind of money my father did.

I punched in the code to the door and waited for the light to turn green. When it did, I opened the door and went in slowly. It was always scary to me, to open the door when you couldn’t see what was on the other side. There was no reason for me to have been nervous. No one was standing there. No one was standing anywhere actually.

There was a man in the bed, laying on his back, seemingly asleep. I set the lasagna on the dresser and moved a bit closer to see our guest.

He wasn’t what I expected at all. Usually, they were dirty low life thugs. I rarely got to see them, but when I did, they looked nothing like the man who lay before me.

This guy was different. He was almost beautiful. He had dark brown hair and clear skin, though he had a five o’clock shadow going on. It made him look very sexy.

He was sleeping in the bed his left shoulder wrapped bandages, his right wrist was cuffed to the bed with by a thick metal chain.

I wanted to see him better, so I took another step closer and another until I was standing right above him looking down. He moaned in his sleep and I noticed that an ice pack lay next to his shoulder. I could see the bandaging more clearly now. It appeared to be a gunshot wound.

I reached for the ice pack, knowing how much it would help with the pain and swelling. I was going to put the ice pack back on his shoulder but before my hand could even touch it, his other hand shot out and grabbed my wrist. His eyes flew open and he looked up at me with the most intense green eyes I’d ever seen in my life.

We stared at each other like that for what felt like forever.

Finally, he blinked a few times, no doubt trying to clear his vision and spoke. “Are you an angel?”

I had no idea what to say. I just stared down at him, my heart beating wildly.

He blinked a few more times and then finally broke our stare, his eyes slowly traveling down my face to my chest. When he’d grabbed my wrist, he’d pulled me slightly across his body causing me to lean forward with only one foot left on the ground. The top I was wearing had a loose fitting low neckline and now I was giving him a generous view of my cleavage.

“Fuck me, this has to be heaven,” he growled.

I felt myself blush. Coming to my senses slightly, I realized that he still had my wrist. I tugged on it to get free. “Let me go,” I whimpered.

“Don’t be that way Baby.” He tugged harder on my wrist and pulled me across his body so I was laying on top of him more or less.

While I scrambled to right myself, he let go of my wrist only to grab the back of my hair and pulled my face down toward him. I was now, straddling him, my face inches from his, while he held my hair. Before I knew it, he’d pulled me in for a kiss.

His mouth opened over my closed lips and his tongue pressed against them. How had this happened? One moment I was delivering food and the next—I was laying on top of a stranger, kissing him. The words sunk in.

A stranger!

This is exactly what I’d been talking about earlier. Fuck it. I wanted to experience some things, and kissing a man was one of them. He pressed his tongue against my lips again, but this time I opened my mouth allowing it entry.

My entire body was tingling, the way it did when you sat on a motorcycle. His hand held my hair tightly, but he didn’t need to, I wasn’t going anywhere. As he used his tongue to explore my mouth, I explored his. He sucked on my lips and then broke our kiss, only to move to my neck.

I thought I’d go insane when he used his tongue to lick from behind my ear down my neck. I panted, trying to regain my senses when he caught my lips with his again. As he kissed me, he let go of my hair so his hand could travel all over my body.

He pushed his tongue deep into my mouth and his hand moved up over my back. When he sucked on and bit my lower lip, his hand moved to the font of my shirt. He cupped my breasts, one at a time, and gave them a gentle squeeze. It felt so good, even the light touch.

His mouth went back to kissing my neck. My head fell back. He’d let go of my breasts only to slide his hands down my shirt and under it. This time when his hands moved up my stomach towards my breasts, they were touching bare skin.

When his fingers reached my bra, I felt my nipple harden of its own will.

“Mmm you like it don’t you Angel?”

I moaned my response kissing him more deeply. I really did like it. There was a tingling in my stomach, like I was going down a roller coaster.

He released my lips to kiss his way over to my neck again, sucking softly.

I’d become so focused on what he was doing that I didn’t notice his fingers has slipped under the cup of my bra until I felt the pad of his thumb rub my nipple. I bolted upright in the bed. This had gone too far too fast. “I have to go,” I said frantically.

His eyes darkened. “You’re just going to tease me and leave?”

“No. I didn’t tease you,” I protested. All I’d done was come down to bring him dinner. I hadn’t planned any of this.

He pulled his hand out from under my shirt and held my hip tightly. He pressed me down onto him as he thrust his hips up. The long, hard cylindrical object pressing against me was unmistakable. He moved my hips back and forth, rubbing me on it a few times. “You didn’t tease me?” he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

“Oh, God. I... um... I didn’t mean to. Oh, I have to go.” I twisted a bit and broke his grip. I scrambled off of his lap and headed for the door.

“You’re going to deny a dying man his last request?” he asked.

This made me pause just as I’d turned the handle. I stopped in my tracks, but didn’t dare to turn around for fear of going back to him.

“Please don’t go.”

I kept my back to him and he kept on talking.

“Look, I’m sorry. It’s just that you’re so beautiful and I’d been asleep…” He paused for a moment. “Just don’t go, alright? It’s probably my last night on earth and I just don’t want to spend it alone.”

His words tugged at my heart. It wasn’t like he was making it up either. It very likely was his last night on earth. I turned around slowly. “Okay, maybe I can stay for a few minutes, but I’m going to stay over here.”

“Yeah, but can you—”

“Yeah, but what?” I asked, my tone sharp, already starting to regret my decision. I wasn’t going to let him get me back into that position.

“Can you please bring me over that food? It smells so good, what is that, garlic bread?”

I felt my hardness crumble. He wasn’t asking to anything inappropriate. In fact, it would’ve been cruel to leave the food where it was, in the room so he could see it and smell it, but out of reach.

I picked up the plate and brought it toward him, handing it to him and moving back to my place on the far side of the room.

If he noticed my skittish behavior, he didn’t act like it. He took a bite of the bread first and moaned. “This is baked fresh?”

I nodded. “Yep, I made it this afternoon.” I loved making bread. There was something about the way the dough felt in my hands and I loved the way the aroma filled the house.

“You can cook?” he asked with his mouth full of bread.

I had no idea why anyone found that shocking. Of course, I could cook. Anyone could who wanted to. I mean, all you had to do was follow the recipe and make a few changes if needed.

Then again, Lina couldn’t cook anything that didn’t come from a box. I’d tried to teach her, but she had no interest. Maybe being able to cook wasn’t as common as I thought. “I didn’t make the lasagna, though. That was my mother.”

He’d taken a bite and was moaning.

“She makes the best lasagna.”

“It’s so good,” he replied. “It’s not the best. My mom makes the best lasagna, but this stuff is damn close.”

“I really have to argue with you on that one.”

“It would be an easy bet to settle,” he said with a smirk. “Just, let me out of here, and we can go to my place. I’ll ask my mom to whip up a pan of it and then we can do a taste comparison. Simple.” He was looking at me with a straight face.

It was hard to tell if he was serious. Had he lost his mind? I searched for words. “I uh…I can’t…”

He chuckled. “I know, Baby. I was just teasing. I’m grateful enough that you brought me down some food and are keeping me company while I eat it. I’m torn though, it’s so good I want to eat it fast, but if I do, I’m afraid you’ll leave when I’m done. I really like talking to you.”

I had no clue if he was being sincere or not, but it felt nice either way. “I can stay for a little while,” I said. “Even if you’re finished eating.”

A huge smile showed on his face as he took a big bite of bread. “Thank you. I’m Dante, by the way.”

I knew who he was when he’d woken up. I’d heard my father talk about his family enough to know who they were. He was Dante Rantetti, Sal Rantetti’s son. He also had a sister named Rita. I couldn’t imagine he didn’t know who I was. Then again, I wasn’t active in the family business like he and his sister were. I introduced myself anyway, “I’m Annalisa. Nice to meet you Dante.”

I waved and he waved back. It was kind of cute in a childlike way.

“Look at us getting along like this. Wouldn’t our fathers fucking die?”

“I don’t know why we can’t get along, our two families I mean,” I said sincerely.

Dante sat up a bit more. “It’s just always been this way. It’s how we are.”

“But it hasn’t always been this way,” I countered. “Our fathers used to be friends.”

“Until your father went and started fucking with my dad’s business. Your dad is a real fucking prick you know.” Dante’s voice was raised slightly.

“My dad? Your dad is the one who ordered a fucking drive by shooting of our family restaurant tonight.” My voice was raised to match his.

Dante looked a little surprised at my words, but took it in stride. “Yeah, he’s probably retaliating because your dad shot and kidnapped his son.”

“Innocent people were shot! Your dad is a monster for ordering that!”

“And your dad is…” Dante stopped mid-sentence. He’d been all out yelling. He exhaled and ran his fingers through his hair, making his already messy tresses, wild. He spoke in a much lower volume, “How about this, we agree to disagree and we talk about anything other than our families.”

Half of me wanted to storm out of here and leave him. He’d said some really mean things about my family, but the problem was, he wasn’t wrong about any of the things he said. I thought his father was awful for the shooting at Annalisa’s, but I also knew that he’d been shot and kidnapped. I wondered what my dad would do if that had happened to me.

I realized I’d been standing at this point. My hands had been balled into fists. I let them relax, and moved back to the dresser. I leaned against it again. Common sense told me I should go, but there was something about him, a reason I wanted to stay. He and I had a lot in common. And the compassionate person in me wanted to grant his request because, the reality was, it might be his last.

“So, tell me what you do for fun?” I asked, trying his suggestion of changing the subject.

“Well, I’m pretty busy with the…” he paused. “…with work.”

I could tell he was trying not to get in another fight, and not to mention his family.

“But when I do get free time, I like to hang out with the guys. There’s this club I go to, Kitty’s, that’s pretty fun. I also like to go on trips. I went to Vegas last month and I’m going to...well, I was supposed to go to Italy this summer.” He looked somber for a moment. “Was gonna go see my great grandparents’ home.” He went quiet for another moment. “How bout you?” he asked looking up at me.

I felt so much less worldly than him. I didn’t go out to clubs at all. My father would kill me if I went to a club like Kitty’s. I knew it was a strip club. Lina told me about it. She’d worked there a few weeks before she got a job at Bombalones. That’s where she met Marco. I’d always wanted to go, and I’d even asked Donnie if I could go once. He said he needed to check with my father. I told him just to forget about it. “I mostly hang around here when I’m not in school. I go to the University of Chicago.”

“I went there for business,” Dante said. “I lived in Caldwell Hall. Which dorm is yours?”

“I commute,” I responded. I’d wanted to live on campus but my father was hesitant enough to even let me go to college, let alone live there. I was an adult, and I could move out, but I knew I never would. First of all, I couldn’t support myself, and second, moving out would hurt my parents. I didn’t want to hurt them intentionally.

“What’s your major?” he asked.

“I’m going for business too. I’m not sure what I want to do.” That part was a lie. I wanted to be an attorney. I just hadn’t told anyone that.

“You’re young,” he said. “You have plenty of time to decide.”

“I’m not that young,” I argued. “I’m twenty-three. I’m graduating this spring.”

“Well congratulations. Your parents must be proud.”

My face fell. They weren’t actually. My father didn’t see the need for me to get a degree saying he could provide for me and that my husband should be able to as well. My mom supported me, but her only aspirations were to be a good mother and wife, so she didn’t understand my need for an education.

Dante must have mistook my look because he quickly added, “I know, no family talk. I’m sorry.”

“It’s okay.”

“So, you said you cook. What’s your favorite thing to make?”

“There are so many things I love to cook. I love to bake mostly. You should taste my tiramisu.”

He smiled… a genuine smile. “Yes, I should. Will you make it for me?”

I laughed.

“You know, if I’m still here for dinner tomorrow.”

“Sure,” I answered. I really did hope he was here.

“How about favorite music, favorite TV show, favorite movie?”

“It’s hard to pick just one type of music and I don’t watch too much TV. Favorite movie is easy. I love the movie My Cousin Vinny.”

He laughed. “Really? I thought it would be The Notebook or some other chick flick like that.”

“I like those, I guess, but I really love comedies, and the way he argued was so great. I just love it.”

“I like comedies and action-adventures of course. There is this one movie, it’s called The Princess Bride. I think it’s hysterical.”

“I love that movie!” I exclaimed.

“As you wish,” Dante said with a smile.

He and I continued talking, just getting to know each other. We kept it light. He did seem arrogant in some ways, but he was also down to earth in others. I liked having someone to talk to who wasn’t on my father’s payroll.

I didn’t even hear anyone in the hall outside of his door until I heard the beeping of numbers getting punched in. “Shit!” I whispered, jumping up and moving to the door. What the fuck would I say about being here? I’d dropped off dinner hours ago.

I reached out and flicked off the lights as if somehow, I could hide in the dark and whoever was coming in wouldn’t turn them on. The only light was now coming from the crack under the door. I could make out Dante. He was lying flat on his back. He looked like he was asleep.

The door opened slowly. I only hoped it was Donnie. I might be able to convince him to keep quiet. I didn’t think I’d have much of a chance with Marco and not a shot in hell with my father.

I held my breath. Whoever opened the door didn’t come in. The door closed again. I waited without moving.

Finally, Dante sat up. “You still there?” he whispered.

“Yeah,” I said, not turning on the light, feeling my way to his bed using the soft glow from the hall.

“Thank you for staying with me tonight,” Dante said, still whispering. His hand reached out and felt for mine. His fingers found my knee, then moved up my thigh to where my hand rested. He squeezed my hand softly and I squeezed his back.

He let go and I thought that was it, but he slid his hand up my arm and to the back of my neck. He gently pulled me down toward him.

I allowed it, leaning in to kiss him.

This kiss was soft, sensual, unhurried, and far more meaningful than the first ones we’d shared that night. He pulled back and his forehead rested against mine. “Please come again tomorrow night. If I’m still alive that is.”

“Do you think there’s a chance?” I asked.

He lifted my chin. “I’m gonna try like hell, just to see you again.” He leaned down and kissed my lips. “If not, know I died with you on my mind.” He gave me a quick kiss. “Now go. I don’t want you caught down here.”

It was hard to leave him, but he was right, I knew I had to. I moved silently through the basement and the main floor of the house. I saw Donnie walking in the living room. He was looking outside and didn’t even notice me walk behind him and up the stairs. I crept silently down the hall to my room. I hit a loose floorboard and paused. No one came out, so I continued down the hall to my room.

Once inside, I closed the door and ran to my bed. Tonight had been wonderful. I ran my fingers over my lips where he’d kissed me. Maybe I was making more of it than it had been. For him it had been another girl he’d kissed. I’d heard the talk about his reputation. He’d said himself that he hung around a strip club. I couldn’t compete with girls like that, yet he’d seemed genuinely interested in me.

I couldn’t get the kiss out of my mind, or the way my body had responded when he’d slid his hand under my shirt. He had made me feel things I’d never felt before. I brought my fingers up to my nipple like he’d done. It felt good, but nothing like when he’d touched me.

When I was with him, I had stopped it because he was moving too fast. But after we’d talked, if he had tried it again, I’d have allowed it. I would have allowed more, too. What would happen if I’d stayed? What would happen if he were there tomorrow? He’d asked me to come back. I could pretend to ponder the decision, but I knew that I’d be going back. The only real question was if he’d be there or not. I knew deep down, I wanted him to be. I fell asleep with thought of his mouth and hands on my body.