AnnieQuin

Every dreamy girl wants a Mafia man, but the question is, does the Mafia man want you?
Luna Defalco is a woman born into the Mafia life. Her father was in the Mafia, her cousins were in the Mafia, her mother died in the Mafia and now, even the man she loves is the almighty Mafia boss himself. 
There's just one minor hiccup, Zeno Silvestri, Luna's love interest, sees her as nothing more than a childish little sister. To make matters worse, he remains in love with his dead wife.
When a threat on both their lives forces them to abscond to an island owned by Zeno, Luna must take this God-given chance to prove to Zeno that she is no longer that little child he's known all his life and make him fall for her womanly charms by all means.
What happens when Zeno's brotherly feelings for Luna begin to shift? Can he accept this shift in affection or will he hold on to his dead lover?
***
Excerpt
“Zeno, what do you think love is?” Luna asked. Her sudden question made him turn from the grasses he was lazily plucking out of the moist earth, to stare at her.
“Not what the dictionary tells us, but to you, what is love?" She wasn't joking, he could see it.
Wiping the dirt off his palms, he sat himself next to her on the dried log of wood which she sat on. 
In and out he breathed like he was sincerely thinking about her question. Then without looking at her, his lips parted and he said, “A mirror.”
"A mirror?" She asked.
"Yes. A mirror.” He nodded and sighed. “Love is a mirror that reflects the deepest part of a person's soul. A mirror that reflects pain and suffering, but also joy and ecstasy, it's a mirror that reflects the heart just the way it is, naked and helpless. It's a mirror that reflects life, and that mirror is made of frail glass, hold it too tight, and it'll shatter, don't hold it tight enough, and it'll slip right out of your fingers and still shatter, if you try to pick up the broken pieces, you'll hurt yourself, that's why it's never easy to pick up the broken pieces, and neither can you just leave it there and get another mirror. Someone else might get hurt. Either way, love is hurtful."
She had asked for his own take on love and he had given her the answer. Now she wanted to be bold.
“Zeno, I no longer want to be that little baby girl that you adore.” His head turned as his eyes sought to look at her as though that would help him hear better.
“Let me help you. I think if we pick up the broken pieces of the previous mirror together, it'll hurt less. And after we've cleared out the shattered pieces, then… then I want to be your new mirror.”

The Mafia's Desired Dreams.

{Back to the present}

"I helped you sleep then, why didn't you come to me so I could help you again? Why did you rely on alcohol instead?"

"Because I'm not that twelve year old boy anymore. I don't think my sleeping pill will be effective this time around."

"Shall we put it to the test then?"

"Ehn?" Before he could have the chance to even protest, she turned him to his side and forcefully brought his head down on her lap.

"Piccola, Ouh!" He shrieks as she pushes him back down on her lap, forcing his head to stay there. And with no other option, he arranges his head in a much more pleasing position, making himself comfortable on her lap. Tenderly, she stroked him, combing back his hair with her fingers, and it was soothing. And he loved her calming touch.

"Aren't you feeling cold? We should go inside," he suggests.

CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN