Chapter 1
Chapter One
MATTEO
T he sun shines brightly, beating down on my skin and causing sweat to bead on the nape of my neck as Nico, the head of the Marchetti Famiglia , Dante, his underboss, and I sit around the big table situated in the backyard of the family estate.
Though I try to concentrate on what my boss is saying, his voice fades into the background as the sound of her laughter hits my ears. So carefree. So playful. So… fucking damn annoying.
My jaw clenches, annoyance slithering through my veins as her squeals of delight get louder, breaking my concentration completely.
“Can’t you tell her to leave?” I grimace, eyeballing Nico.
His brows furrow for a brief second then understanding crosses his features. A chuckle from my left has me shooting a glare at Dante. That asshole knows exactly who I mean. And I blame him for this… situation.
Since he came back from the dead and Allegra started living her life, her best friend, and a complete pain in the ass, has been coming around more. The little aggravation does everything in her power to get a rise out of me, despite me showing no interest toward her.
Athena is everything I hate in a woman. Loud. Unapologetic. Superficial. Materialistic. A fucking vampire, ready and waiting to sink her teeth into the first man to shows her a bit of attention and suck the life from them.
But that won’t be me.
Athena is not for me. I’ve made it very clear. Repeatedly. It’s only recently that she finally got the hint after a particularly harsh outburst from me. Now, instead of the usual lustful glances she used to send my way, she shoots daggers at me.
Just how I like it.
“You two should just get it over with and fuck already,” Nico drawls, amusement lacing his tone as he leans back in his seat and turns to face the swimming pool where his wife, children, sister, mamma, and her play in the water.
Scoffing, my lips curl up in disgust. “Not a chance. I would rather let you shoot me in the dick than stick it anywhere near her.”
“I think you protest too much.” Dante laughs beside me.
Ignoring him, I raise a brow at Nico. “Well?”
His lips twitch. Fucker is enjoying my torment.
“Well what, Matteo? As much as I’d like to, I can’t exactly tell Athena to fuck off. She is my sister’s best friend. Plus, we do business with her father.”
Groaning, I think back to a couple years ago, when it was Nico Athena had set her sights on. He shut it down pretty quickly, though the piccola vampiro wasn’t deterred. Up until a couple months ago, and even with a wife, she was still making remarks toward him.
Nico didn’t take too kindly to that. Not because it offended him, but he will not tolerate anyone disrespecting his wife. And that’s exactly how he took it. Athena disrespecting Ocean.
Safe to say, she no longer baits Nico.
No.
Instead, she turned her attention on me. Not that it got her very far.
Currently, neither of us can stand the sight of each other.
Dante clears his throat, his amusement fading. “As annoying as Athena is, she makes my wife happy. And I will do anything to keep my wife happy. For that reason alone, Athena is not going anywhere.” His tone leaves no room for argument. “Just ignore her,” he continues. “I mean, if the way she is glowering at you right now is any indication, she feels the same way about you, so it shouldn’t be too hard.”
Curiosity gets the better of me.
Without thinking twice, I follow Dante’s line of sight to where Athena reaches up, fingers grasping the marble edge of the pool, and pulls herself out, her gaze hard on me. Without taking her eyes off me, she strides to the lounger and snatches up her towel. On their own volition my eyes drop down her body, taking in what I can see of her toned stomach, round tits, and sun kissed skin.
Despite hating her, I would be lying if I said Athena Johnson isn’t attractive. She is. So fucking hot, I know without a doubt in my mind she would burn me if I touched her. I shake my head, ridding myself of the thoughts. What the fuck? I don’t think of her that way.
I hate her.
My gaze snaps to her face, jaw clenching when I see the challenging smirk gracing her lips. The piccola vampiro caught me checking her out. Well, good for her. I hope she enjoyed it.
It will be the last fucking time.
As if she can read my thoughts, her eyes turn hard, the glare I have become accustomed to back in place. My eyes narrow.
And because I feel like being an asshole, I curl my lip in disgust and throw a menacing scowl in her direction before turning my back on her, essentially dismissing the annoyance and getting back to business.