Free Kingpin (An Italian Mafia Romance) by Ws Greer Page A

him, but I see something out of the corner of my eye that makes me stop.
    I notice people looking in the same direction, watching as a figure struts into the room. It’s pretty hard to tell with the purple and white lights, but I’m pretty sure he’s wearing a black suit with light gray pinstripes. Everything about him is attractive: styled black hair, strong jaw, wide shoulders, and even his intimidating scowl. Every girl in the vicinity is looking over at Dominic as he walks in like he owns the building.
    There’s something different about him. I don’t know what it is, but it’s there. The way he holds himself is bigger, prouder, like something has changed him. He’s surer of himself, straddling the line between confidence and arrogance with absolute perfection, and it looks just as good on him as the suit he’s wearing.
    I watch him walk and I’m almost in awe of him. When he sees me, his demeanor changes. His scowl turns into a smile that’s only meant for me, and my heart seems to skip a beat. Dominic is gorgeous, and it’s like I’m seeing him for the first time right now.
    “Hey,” is all he says as he approaches, hands in his pockets.
    “Hi,” I reply with a feeling of nervousness I’ve never had around him before. “Umm, where’s your date?”
    He shrugs. “Don’t have one. Just wanted to come see what this was all about. You look beautiful, Alannah.”
    Another skipped heartbeat.
    “Thank you. You look . . . really handsome. That suit is awesome.”
    “Thank you.” Dominic glances around before settling his eyes on mine. “Where’s your date?”
    Now it’s my turn to look around. Marcus is nowhere to be found.
    “Oh, umm, I guess he walked off. I think he’s looking for his friends or something. I don’t know.”
    “Hmm.” Dominic pinches his lips together, just as Mariah Carey’s We Belong Together starts up on the big speakers. “So, you wanna dance?”
    I smile to myself, but then I take a second to look around for Marcus, but Dominic stops me.
    “He’s more concerned with finding his friends. I’m interested in you. So, how about it?”
    I twist my mouth to try to keep from smiling, but I lose the battle.
    “I’d love to.”
    Dominic smiles slyly, then he takes my hand and leads me to the dance floor. We don’t have to push our way through the couples that are already dancing, because they seem to move out of the way for us. Dominic couldn’t seem to care less, but I notice their eyes. They’re glued to us from every direction like we’re covered in pig’s blood, and Dominic walks us right into the middle of the pack. He faces me and puts his hands on my waist, still oblivious to the stares.
    “They’re really staring a lot,” I inform him, but he shrugs it off.
    “Fuck them. It’s just us in here. We’re the only ones on this dance floor.”
    I lose the fight to another smile as I wrap my arms around his neck and we start to dance to the music. It only takes a second for me to forget about the people glaring, and eventually they go back to minding their own business, so I give my full attention to Dominic.
    “So,” I begin. “Where have you been the past couple of weeks?”
    “I was in the hospital,” Dominic replies without hesitation. “I had a concussion.”
    “Oh my gosh. What happened?”
    He looks me in the eye, seemingly thinking about his response, but eventually gives it in the form of a whisper.
    “Some guys tried to move in on my dad’s casino. Dad wouldn’t budge, of course, so they tried to come after me. Roughed me up a little. No big deal.”
    “Are you serious?”
    “Ain’t I always?”
    I feel my heart start to race like something bad is happening right in front of me.
    “That’s crazy, Dominic,” I say, suddenly feeling overwhelmed. “Well, are you okay, at least?”
    “Fuhgeddaboutit,” he says with a smile.
    “What do you mean, forget about it? I can’t just forget about it. What did they do to you that gave you a