Sniping Her Mafia King

Arwen wasn't surprised when Addy said he was going to his casino in Atlantic City Saturday evening. She had been surprised when he invited her to go with him. Deidre had gone to Portia's for the evening after dinner. They were going to watch movies and have a sleepover since Dylan, Portia's husband was working an overnight shift. Addy has teased Arwen she would be home all alone and then he'd had a dress dropped off to the house to up the ante of his request. "Amore, the chickens will be fine. I have the boys down the street. Deidre's guard is not going to leave my cousin's house. She is safe." He called from the bathroom where they had just showered.

She looked to the garment bag. "You bought me a dress?"

"I did," he poked his head out the bathroom door, his face full of shaving cream. "You can only look if you agree to come."

"What exactly am I supposed to do while you work?" She tried to ignore how masculine and rugged he looked with only a towel slung low around his hips, his long muscular legs disappearing under the short towel and his body full of tattoos on full display. "You can be my arm candy," he grinned when she flipped up her middle finger and pointed at her. "Try not to do that in front of my employees tonight or I will bite it off."

"Yes Adrianu, sir." She said with a smirk and then giggled when he quickly crossed the room and playfully slapped a palm full of cream onto her cheek. She tried to duck away from it, but he smeared it along her skin.

"Cheeky! Trying to trigger me into slapping your a*s." He grabbed her jaw and kissed her mouth. "You're a distraction." He turned back to the bathroom. "Stop playing games. We both know you are coming with me. Get dressed."

She hated to admit he was right but curiosity about him and his work made her incapable of refusing to go. She pulled the towel off her hair and wiped the shaving cream off her face and went to the garment bag. She unzipped it slowly and let out a low whistle. Sapphire blue silk with a plunging neckline and a slit that would reach her hip made her wonder if he had the wrong dress in the bag. Did he have someone else shop for her? "You want me to wear this?"

"Yes." His voice was clear over the sound of running water.

"Are you sure?"

"Yes. Is there a problem?"

"You get pissy with me for wearing yoga shorts and sports bras, but this is going to need to be held in place with tape." She fingered the softest material she'd ever touched. "Do you have a silk factory or something?"

His chuckle was deep carrying towards her as he exited the bathroom wiping his face on a towel. "I like you in silk. I like the way it caresses your skin after I've bruised it."

"Me too," she trailed her hand along the neckline. "I can't wear underwear with this." She stated the obvious.

"I'm not seeing the problem." He stepped into the closet and pulled a white undershirt over his head and dropped the towel.

Arwen tried not to look at his package as he walked around her closet very comfortably and fully nude. He really had made himself at home. "Let's make a deal. If I get dressed up in this dress, when I come downstairs there will be no telling me to get changed." "Why would I do that? I picked out the dress, myself. I know your legs will look amazing in it."

"You're also the man who told me off for wearing shorts and sports wear on the street in Vegas, clothing I might add completely covered my a*s and boobs. This is not going to do that. Things are going to be on display. It's not going to cover what you think it will." "Yes, it will. You're being dramatic," he frowned at her as he searched for cufflinks.

She almost laughed at him. "I need your word Addy. Promise me you're not going to throw a fit and make me change."

He hopped into a pair of pants and zipped them. "I promise. You have my word."

Arwen grinned at him. "Great. I'm going to go do my hair and makeup. I'll meet you downstairs in half an hour."

"Why do women take so long?" he complained.

"I can take longer," she warned. "My hair is wet. It needs to be dried and styled."

"Yes, yes." He waved at her as he pulled his jacket over the dark blue shirt, he had buttoned up except the top two buttons. He wasn't wearing a tie and a peek of his gold chain was visible at his neck. He waved at her. "Stop ogling me woman and go get ready." She kissed his cheek. "Hard not to ogle. You look good."

He turned her and pushed her in the direction of the bathroom. "Go before I decide we stay home, and I end up losing my empire to thieves and my enemies."

She put an extra swing in her step as she purposefully dropped her robe on the floor and strode naked to the bathroom. She was smiling so wide her cheeks hurt at his loud curse. She heard his footsteps approaching behind her and she raced and slammed the door locking it behind her.

He gave a light punch to the door, "amore, you will be the death of me I think."

"Nope. Gonna, help you live like you have never lived before," she called back. She heard his knuckles drag across the door and knew he was processing her words. "Thirty minutes. Go away."

Arwen was ready in eighteen minutes. She had blown her hair dry and pinned it up on one side exposing the long column of her neck. Her make-up was smoky with a light hand and her lipstick was a red she knew would get his attention. The dress took a minute to slide on and she was completely correct in saying there was no way underwear could be worn with the dress. Using tape, she made sure she wouldn't have a nip slip but there was nothing she could do about the slit on her leg. It reached just a couple inches below her hip. She was going to need to be strategic in her walking and while rising from a seated position. Otherwise, Addy's henchmen were getting an eyeful of her lady bits. Addy did not know what he was in for.

She stepped into a pair of sparkling silver sandals and grinned at her reflection. He was going to have a stroke or an apoplectic fit when he saw the dress. He had underestimated the cuts in the fabric. She gave herself a low wolf whistle and grinned. She made her way down the stairs and could hear Addy talking to Santino and Enrique. Santino saw her first and his eyes bugged. He looked to Enrique and then back to her.

Enrique looked at her and he covered his mouth as if in shock. He shook his head as if desperately trying to clear the vision of what he was watching from his mind

Addy's voice carried from around the corner, "what is wrong with you two?"

Santino backed away shaking his head harder than Enrique had. "I'm going to go wait in the car."

"Me too." Enrique was looking everywhere but at Arwen.

Addy looked up from his phone just as Arwen hit the foyer and reached for a wrap.

"I'm ready." She turned to face him and fought the shit-eating grin and the urge to jump up and down, point at him and scream "I told you so!" Instead, she maintained a cool façade and grabbed a clutch in which she shoved her phone, identification, lipstick, and a credit card. "All set?"

He took a deep breath and pointed up the stairs. He wanted her to change.

"Nope. You gave me your word. Is the word of The King not any good?"

"Arwen, so help me God, the dress did not look like this on the mannequin. I should have made you try it on in front of me. It is an error. Please." His cheeks were painted a full red as he looked her up and down and saw what every single red-blooded man in his casino was going to see tonight. He uttered a curse in Italian.

"It looks like this on me because I'm not a mannequin. I love it. I feel sexy, young, and vibrant. The perfect arm candies. Let's go!"

"I agree you don't have to change but you aren't coming. You can stay home and wait for me to come back to take you out of the dress."

"No" she refused him flatly. "I'll call Jesse and Cat. We can do girls night. Tuva's never been to the place Jesse likes." She pulled her phone out and started to call Jesse.

He ripped the phone from her hand and glared at her. He ran his finger down the deep cleavage almost to her navel. "One wrong move and you're showing everything."

She gave a shimmy. "Nah, the girls are tucked up nice and tight." He exhaled slowly at her risqué dance move, and she gave a benign smile, "what is it going to be, Mr. Cavallaro? Am I going to work with you or am I going to play with the girls?" "Get in the car."

"Do you remember the security code?" she pointed to the panel. "You are unfocused. I'm worried you'll set it off instead of setting it."

"Arwen get in the f*****g car now." His words were spat through clenched teeth.

She admitted she was enjoying his misery far too much. She strutted like a supermodel down the stairs of the farmhouse and walked confidently to the waiting Escalade. She patted Santino on the chest as he held the door open. "I tried to warn him about the dress, but he didn't listen. It's going to be a long night for him I think."

"Someone is going to die tonight," Santino grinned back at her. "Don't be offended please when Enrique and I keep our distance from you and those legs. We don't want to get pushed out the chopper. He told us to treat you like family but I'm thinking he would kill us if we even sat near you in the dress you have on."

She threw her head back and laughed, "he is going to lose his mind when I have to get in and out the chopper. The slit falls open. I suggest blinders." Santino averted his eyes as she slipped into the car, and she chuckled. Addy's men were very uncomfortable with how sexy she looked. It was an enthralling and empowering feeling. He got in beside her and she noted the cigarette perched between his teeth.

"My love, at the risk of being disrespectful in front of the guys, I would prefer you not smoke around me. Please. I beg of you." Arwen gave him a look which expressed how hard she was trying not to just rip it from his mouth. Her first attempt at diplomacy was hard. Enrique reached through from the front seat and ripped the cigarette out of Addy's mouth not feeling the need for diplomatic measures. "No! You're not polluting our lungs. My wife yelled at me for two hours this week because I smelled like your tobacco. She told me if it happens again, I have to get changed and hose off in the garage. I like you boss, but my new neighbors are nosy. I don't need them photographing my a*s through my garage door and uploading it to their data base."

"Problems with your neighbors?" Arwen asked him

Enrique shook his head, "feds. They think putting a young couple next door is a new trick. My wife asked him what he does, and he said he was an IT specialist. I've been working in the tech field forever, so she has picked up a thing or two. Caught them right out not knowing what they were talking about. She told them to say hi to O'Malley for her. She said the woman panicked and ran into the house." "Your wife sounds great!" Arwen grinned.

"She's excited to meet you. We got married at sixteen because I knocked her up. Best thing I ever did." Enrique seemed proud of himself.

"It sure was." Addy agreed. "Now we just need for Santino to settle down."

"Oriana goes first." He disagreed. "I need her to have the big production, so my parents don't push for all the bells and whistles." "Oriana?"

"My sister. She runs Addy's biggest place in Vegas."

"She's doing well." Addy nodded appreciatively. "She is settling in nicely."

Arwen noted the tight posture of Addy every time she adjusted her position and a flash of her thigh happened. Santino, to his credit, stared out the window and anywhere her legs or chest weren't. He contributed to conversation, but his eye contact was strictly on her face. She patted Addy's knee, "is everything okay my love? You seem distracted."

He dropped an arm over her shoulder and pulled her against him. He spoke quietly in her ear, "you are in very real danger of being put over my knee and I won't care who is watching. You are deliberately toying with me. Flash that thigh one more time and I'll coat it in my handprints."

She gave him an innocent smile and put her fingers to her chest, "who me? I would never! I simply did as you told me to do and got dressed in the dress you purchased and the one you gave me your word I wouldn't have to change."

"I feel you did not try to warn me as much as you could have."

"And I feel you were arrogantly ignoring my comments because you thought I didn't want to come with you. I absolutely want to come with you and see what you will be doing on the nights you are away from me." She reached to the two open buttons at his collar and closed one, "that's better. Can't have anyone looking too closely at what is mine.

She heard Santino's cough covering his laugh and purposely avoided looking at him. She had a feeling they would both be laughing at Addy's expense.

Addy squeezed her shoulder warningly but didn't undo his button and Arwen noted a hint of a smile at his lips. He liked her being possessive. Silly man. He was opening a kettle of fish she wasn't sure he should. Arwen had a feeling she would rival his jealousy if someone else touched him.

They drove in near silence for several minutes before Addy's phone began ringing. "And so it begins," he quipped as he took the call. His rapid-fire Italian was something Arwen could listen to all day. He took phone call after call, in the forty-minute drive towards his hotel. Santino was working as hard as Addy from what she could see, and Enrique had a laptop open in the front seat based on the light she could see filtering back. Occasionally the three men would exchange words or comments, sometimes in English but mostly in Italian. Arwen considered the three men were a well-oiled machine. They were fluid and finished each other's thoughts and sentences easily. These men were not just employees but his close friends and people he relied on more than family. It reminded her of her relationship with Jesse and Cat.

When they pulled up to the hotel Santino and Enrique were out of the car faster than she could blink and while she knew they protected Addy she had to giggle when, as Addy extended his hand into the car to help her out, they formed a wall blocking the view of any passerby. She watched as Addy adjusted his coat and sleeves before tucking her hand into his elbow and escorting her into the lobby.

"No jumping from rooftops tonight please," he teased her as they reached the elevator.

"That balcony jump was a rush. It was fabulous."

"It was scary as f**k. I don't think I want to see you do it again."

"Our team frequently does worse. I recently watched Jesse scale a building using only a rickety drainpipe and broken fire escape. She almost fell. It was hot."

"Hot?" He pulled her to the back of the elevator.

"Just because I'm straight doesn't mean I can't appreciate a thing of beauty and my Alpha is gorgeous, especially when she's being violent and deadly."

The elevator went straight to the rooftop and the quartet moved quickly to the waiting chopper. She felt the rush of excitement at the notion of flying with Addy, even a short distance. The way he was holding her hand tightly made her feel special and loved, especially when he paused to kiss her fingers softly

"Are you ready for the world of all things Cavallaro?" he asked.

She beamed at him. "Yes. Show me your world."

"Then let's do this."