Bought by The Mafia Boss

Chapter 9

I felt frozen to the sticky floor, unsure of what to say as my face blew up red hot with embarrassment. The entire side of the dining room that we had been building the gingerbread house on was covered in a mess of frosting that was slowly hardening. Lily's eyes flicked from my face to the mess then back to mine before finally resting on Oliver's.

"It's not-not what you think." I stuttered out, although it sort of had been going in that direction. She raised an eyebrow at me before shaking her head and finally walking forward. Sitting down at the table, Andres joined her and she clasped her hands on the tabletop. Raising her eyebrows at Oliver and I, she sent an accusing look that held a hint of mischievous approval.

"Well, are you going to finish the house, or waste the rest of the frosting doing something that was not what I was thinking?" She wiggled her eyebrows at me as Andres snorted and I slowly walked back to my seat. Oliver followed, quiet but observant and he sat down next to me to resume placing sweet treats on the gingerbread.

An uncomfortable silence filled the air between the four of us as Lily watched the two of us with sheer pleasure. The door to the dining hall swung open and in walked the two scary men that seemed to follow Oliver around everywhere. They paused in shock at the dishevel that had befallen this room before cautiously walking around to the man sitting next to me. He still had icing covering much of his shirt and some in his hair but they didn't seem to ask; instead leaned down and whispered something in his ear that caused him to stiffen.

The powerful and imposing energy returned to his figure as he put down the tube of frosting and looked at me. "I'm afraid I have some business to attend to. I'll see you at dinner." His words were deep and short as he cleaned off his hands the best he could and left with the two men.

Echoes of the door closing bounced off the walls in the dining hall, and I felt an odd sense of loneliness even though Lily and Andres were sitting directly across from me. She had a sly grin on her face and watched me with her beautiful eyes. "Sooooooo." She dragged out and rested her elbows on the table before placing her chin on the palm of her hands.

"So, nothing happened." I said back and quietly began cleaning up what little of the mess I could. I giggled at the sight of the gingerbread house that had way more frosting and candy than gingerbread.

"Oh really? Cause he was laying on top of you when we walked in and both of you were covered in frosting." She wiggled her eyebrows and I felt my cheeks flush pink. Quickly looking down at the gingerbread house I placed the lid that held any of the leftover candy back on and picked it up.

I looked at her again as I pushed the chair back. "Nothing happened." I stated clearly once more and she frowned as I stood up and turned around to walk back into the kitchen.

"But you totally wanted something to happen, didn't you!" She exclaimed just as I placed a hand on the door to push it open. "My bestie finally wants to experience the sweeter things that can only come from a naked man!" I didn't turn around but stopped moving and sighed. She was right. I wanted something to happen, maybe not that yet, but a kiss would be nice. Shaking my head, I pushed through the door and walked quietly back into the kitchen.

Slipping the tub back on the shelf, Ricardo smiled at me then saw my slightly downcast face. "Everything ok, sweetheart?" He asked and I blinked a couple times.

"Hmm?" I said and then smiled. "Oh yes, everything is fine. Um, except I apologize in advance for the mess out there." I finished and he tilted his head, staring at me with curiosity and confusion.

"You and Lily have made many messes growing up, I doubt this one is any worse." He replied lighthearted and I grimaced but chuckled.

"Is there someplace I can put the creation we made?" I asked him and he furrowed his silvery gray brows at the word creation.

"I'll bring it in here when we go to clean up the dining hall for dinner. No worries, sweetheart." He said and I shrugged my shoulders as his eyes wandered up and down at my body covered in frosting. "Do I want to know?" He finally asked.

I chewed on my bottom lip for a moment and then shook my head. He chuckled and then waved me away so I exited the kitchen feeling a little happier despite the abrupt departure of Oliver and the teasing patience he was testing in me; despite him having only been here for a day. What kind of easy girl was I turning into? Lily and Andres were helping themselves to the last bit of unhardened frosting when I entered and they looked up at me.

"I'm going to go shower." I said and Lily smiled.

"After dinner, it's a girls night." She replied and I nodded.

"Deal." I answered and slipped out of the kitchen, once again left with my thoughts.

Slowly, I made my way down the hallway, my soft footsteps barely making a sound in this empty corridor. Despite there being quite an abundance of new guests this holiday season, it was eerily quiet and empty. Something was going on but I wasn't sure just yet what it was.

As I slipped over towards the staircase, I could hear voices exiting Marcus' office. While normally my curiosity would press me to go listen, this time I had more self-control and continued up to the bedroom.

Turning the doorknob, I opened the door to my shared room with Lily and stepped inside. After a quick shower and new clothes, I opted for a soft comfortable pair of joggers and a long sleeved t-shirt before plopping down on the couch. I needed a minute to process the whirlwind of emotions that had been crashing through me since coming home.

I was drawn to Oliver. Pulled to him by something unexplainable, connected to him by an unknown force. The softness that enveloped his body as he spent time with me, the amusement that crossed his face so often when I would catch him watching me seemed to constantly intertwine my heart with his. It also seemed to happen quite quickly.

Pulling my phone out from my pocket I opened Instagram, preparing myself to get lost in a fictional social world and sighed. Scrolling mindlessly through my feed I paused at a picture of my brother, his wife and my parents. I smiled until I read the caption: Grateful my entire family could come on this vacation. My parents finally were able to afford their first vacation. Blessed with the best.

I read, and reread the caption a million times over as a painful grief crashed over my body. Tears slid down my cheeks as I stared at the smiling faces on my screen. It wouldn't have mattered if they had been home and I had been able to surprise them. They wouldn't have cared. They had never cared.

A soft knock on the door cut through my sniffles and I quickly wiped my tears on the back of my sleeve before shoving my phone in my pocket. Shuffling to the door, I barely cracked it open, not really wanting to have an entire interaction with anyone, even Lily. I didn't say anything and nor did the person standing on the opposite side of the door, not for a moment anyway.

Until a large hand gently pressed against the door and it swung wide open. Oliver stood in the doorframe, his large frame casting a looming shadow over me. His imposing figure softened as he saw my puffy eyes from the crying and he furrowed his brows before tenderly placing a hand against my cheek.

He brushed his thumb back and forth and I closed my eyes. "What happened, tesoro mio?" He whispered and I shuddered at his words. He just called me 'my treasure' in Italian and I wanted to hear it again.

"Say that again." I breathlessly said to him.

"Tesoro mio." He answered and I fell into his arms.