Chapter Ten
BONUS SAMPLE CHAPTER
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brED BY THE MAFIA MONSTER
Sam Crescent and Stacey Espino
Copyright ? 2021
Sample Chapter
“This will benefit everyone. No more bloodshed. Just peace between our families.”
Klaus Accardi listened to the leader of the Lastra family offer up his peace offering.
It didn’t come as a surprise. The latest war had cost them on each side.
The streets had run red with blood, all in the name of honor.
Lastra didn’t have much else to give. They had money, businesses, but this war, it was killing them.
“You know the only way to guarantee peace is through marriage,” his father, Marcel, said.
Klaus remained tense.
Fuck.
He knew exactly where this was leading. Rather than look toward his younger brothers, he stayed perfectly still.
He would do what was necessary for his family.
“I have a young daughter, Isabella.”
“We’re many things, Lastra, but pedophiles isn’t one of them,” Marcel said.
“She’s eighteen and has already finished school. She’s a beauty ... in her way.” The old man ran a hand down his face.
“Then let’s meet her,” Marcel said.
Lastra nodded to his guard and the man left the room. “I’m sure we can come to a peaceful arrangement.”
“What I want to know is what’s wrong with your daughter that you haven’t arranged her marriage yet. Eighteen in your culture is old, isn’t it?” Marcel asked, mocking their enemy.
“Don’t believe every rumor you hear.”
“So your wife wasn’t sixteen when you married?”
Klaus wasn’t interested in taunting this man. He wasn’t scared. The Lastra family were a bunch of pussies.
Silence filled the room.
The anger flowed off Lastra. He could feel it, but no one cared what the old man wanted.
“What is keeping that girl?” He stood up as the door opened, and there stood Isabella Lastra.
Klaus didn’t know what he was expecting.
A delicate woman in a tight short dress, heavily made up, just waiting to be pawned off.
No, instead, flour dusted one cheek, the jeans and shirt she wore hung off her body, they were that big.
Her raven hair was bound on top of her head in a loose knot.
She looked fucking stunning, no doubt about it, and there was no mistaking the fire behind her gray eyes.
Her lips were pressed together in a thin line, clearly annoyed with being pulled away.
Still, Isabella must be well trained as she kept her thoughts to herself.
Her hands were tightly clenched though, another telltale sign given away.
To some men, she would appear completely undesirable.
He wasn’t most men.
He liked a challenge, and she posed a most beautiful one.
At thirty-eight years old, he’d experienced his fair share of women, and yet, no one had ever set his blood ablaze as fast as this peach had.
His cock hardened at the thought. Most of their men liked meek women, afraid of their own shadow.
Not him. No. He knew he would never be able to stay married to a woman who jumped at every move he made.
They were even frightened to be kissed. Years of being forced to remain a virgin, listening to horror stories, no wonder the women freaked out.
It was fucking insane.
Raking his gaze down Isabella’s body, he saw she wasn’t a slender woman.
Even with the oversized clothes, her curves beckoned him.
There was no denying the roundness of her hips, the fullness of her tits.
He’d love to check out her ass, but that would be rude.
He didn’t want to show the instant hit of desire he had for her either.
Lastra stood up and moved toward his daughter. “Sweetheart, I’d like you to meet Marcel and Klaus Accardi.”
His brothers didn’t get a single mention.
“Well, Marcel?” Lastra asked.
Klaus looked at his father. He didn’t appear too eager, but he knew what was expected of him.
“Yes, I think we can come to some arrangement.”
“Isabella, I’d like you to meet your fiancé,” said her father.
Klaus stayed perfectly still.
“Go and introduce yourself.”
She tensed up as her father nudged her in his general direction.
It wasn’t lost on anyone in the room that Lastra would send his daughter across the enemy lines toward them.
Isabella didn’t stop though. She went to him and held out her hand.
Well trained like most young women in their fucked-up culture.
“It’s a pleasure to meet you.” She was the perfect specimen of gentleness, but he saw her hand shake.
Compared to him, she was so small, delicate.
He gripped her hand, swallowing hers up in his, and offered her a smile. “Likewise.”
“Excellent. Isabella, run along. Tell your mama we need her for the necessary arrangements.”
Isabella turned her back on him and walked away.
Damn, he was right. A nice, lush ass. He couldn’t wait to have her naked and beneath him.
Her body was made for fucking, and if truth be told, made for breeding.
Since Klaus had turned thirty-eight, his father had been nagging him to settle down and produce an heir.
With Isabella, he could deal with multiple problems all at once.
Rather than be horrified at the thought of being married to her, excitement flooded him.
He wanted to marry her. To have her in his bed, once and for all.
She left the room, the door closing behind her.
“Let’s get to the finer details,” Lastra said.
“The wedding must take place by the end of this week,” Marcel said.
Lastra turned red. “You know that’s not possible.”
“I don’t care about the finer details. The only way to stop this war is by having a marriage soon.
Also, I’d like my son to go and talk with Isabella now.
This arrangement must suit him in every way.
I’ve heard about the rumors when it comes to the daughter you’re passing off to my son. You know my son’s reputation!”
“I know what they call him.”
Mafia Monster. It was such a fucking corny name. He couldn’t stand it, but it was the name he’d been granted since he was a young man, and well, when his rage was released, a monster took his place.
“What rumors?” Klaus asked.
“My daughter has had a few ... weight troubles.”
“They called her the Lastra Ton!”
“As you can see, she has been dieting and there is nothing wrong with her. A healthy eating plan, plenty of exercise, which I’m sure your son will keep in check.”
“She is faulty,” Marcel said. “You insult me.”
Klaus touched his father’s arm. “Arrange the details, Father.”
“You deserve the best. Not some fat cow. Do you have any idea what kind of reputation you’re going to get marrying her?”
“She will do.” He’d never cared about his own reputation before now and he wasn’t about to start.
Isabella and her mother joined them back in the room. What he didn’t know was how much she’d heard. From the look on Isabella’s face and the heat in her cheeks, she’d heard a great deal, and even as she tried to hide it, he saw the pain in her eyes.
“I hear we’re celebrating good news,” her mother said.
Lastra looked toward them. “Is it good news?”
He looked at his father and nodded. Another few seconds’ pause, and Marcel smiled. “Yes, it is.”
“Isabella, why don’t you show Klaus around while we negotiate other matters,” Lastra said.
She nodded, the motion jerky.
She hadn’t changed her clothes, but her cheek had been cleaned of the flour.
Klaus moved toward the door, aware of his brothers moving in his direction. He held up his hand, stopping them. He didn’t need anyone to fight his battles. He was able to take on whatever the family threw at him.
Isabella walked down the long corridor. There were no guards, but he imagined others watched.
She pointed out the dining room, another sitting room, a party room, and a movie room. They got to a door at the end of the long corridor and she stepped inside. “As you can see, this is the library. There are lots of good books to read.”
“I really don’t give a shit about what kind of house you live in.” Klaus watched her as she pushed some of her hair out of her eyes.
“What would you like to see?” she asked.
“It’s more about what I want to know.”
She took a deep breath, glancing around the room before turning to look back at him. “What exactly do you want to know?”
Isabella was a natural beauty. She really wasn’t like any other woman a mafia family would throw at him. They usually went out of their way to show how appealing they could be, almost vulgar in marrying off their daughters.
Isabella held a finesse about her, but she wasn’t using it. She folded her arms beneath her chest and glared at him.
He smiled as she kept trying to bring her poker face up, but it wasn’t working, not even a little bit.
Isabella had a well-concealed temper as well. She’d just made this future marriage somewhat exciting.
****
The Lastra Ton had been her father’s last straw.
From the time she was a little girl, her father had never been happy with the way she looked.
A year ago, after the humiliation when one of the men called her that, he’d put her on an extreme diet.
She was basically banned from eating. Everything she put in her mouth had to be vetted by him.
For a year, she’d been starving.
The only reason she had flour on her face was because that was what she was allowed to do, prepare food with Misha, their family cook. Misha couldn’t feed her any food either. There was a guard who had no choice but to watch her constantly.
Between the starvation and the constant, grueling workout schedule, she’d lost a lot of weight, still not nearly enough to satisfy her father. Weekly weigh-ins and measurements were what she’d had to deal with the past year.
The one good thing to come out of it was that she was fitter than ever. Spending time landing punches on a bag had meant she no longer had punishable outbursts. Her father wasn’t above hitting his children, especially in anger.
She’d been slapped plenty of times.