Katerina De Luca

My green eyes widened as a gasp escaped my lips once my fingertips brushed against his lower region. Despite the material of his pants shielding him away, I could still feel his length harden and grow even more as he held my hand firmly against it. The heat radiating through the material made my face instantly flush red. 

Without missing a beat, I withdrew my hand and stumbled back a few steps in complete shock. Clearly, my idea of a punishment would not work in this case. Curse this stupid horny Mafia boss! 

Warm arms quickly circled around my waist and stabilized my footing as I looked up and smiled gratefully at Ethan who was silently cursing me out with his stern glare. My tensed body instantly relaxed in his protective embrace but became stiff again once I felt Arosio's penetrating gaze land on Ethan and I. 

"Haha...yeah...on second thought, nevermind about that punishment, haha," I let out sheepishly in between an awkward laugh as I took a step away from Ethan so as to not see him get killed by the overprotective man in front of us. 

"Au contraire, I was looking forward to it," Arosio gave me one of his signature wicked smirks while I gulped down hard and willed my heart to stop beating so fast. 

"No! Not happening, not now, not ever!" my voice came out louder than expected with my face burning red from embarrassment. How could I even suggest that kind of punishment without thinking it through first? I must have lost my damn mind! 

"Oh but then what kind of punishment will our principessa give Aro?" Alejandro mused aloud as my gaze snapped up to meet Arosio who was still smirking at me with his devilishly handsome face. 

Think, Katerina, think! Clearly causing him physical pain is not an option since he reacted that way to the spanking idea. Then emotional pain would work!

But, how do I cause him emotional pain? 

I was lost in my own world, trying to think of a way to cause Arosio pain and discomfort and had not realized that the five men were waiting for my reply. Rylan used his elbow to nudge me in my stomach, effectively bringing me back to reality. My hand clutched at the side of my stomach as I pouted towards him and whimpered dramatically. Rylan rolled his eyes with an amused smirk before ruffling my hair lightly, a habit he and Ethan shared. 

Within seconds, I was pulled away from Rylan and into Arosio's arms as he glared fiercely towards my two best friends. A light bulb instantly went off in my mind, I know the exact way to cause him emotional pain and discomfort! 

A wicked smirk overtook my face before I struggled out of Arosio's tight grip and shuffled back towards Ethan and Rylan. They both looked at me curiously when I stood in between them and wrapped one arm  around each of their shoulders. My eyes trailed up towards Arosio who stood completely silent, seething in anger with his jaw clenched tightly. 

Perfect. 

"Your punishment will be to let my best friends spend the night here with me. Before you rudely interrupted us last night, we were going to have a Disney movie night and enjoy some food and wine together. Since you ruined that the first time, you owe me tonight," I tried my best to maintain eye contact with Arosio as I laid out my condition but found it nearly impossible as his gaze darkened considerably. 

"No. They are not staying the night here with you. Pick something else, tesoro," Arosio stated without a moment's hesitation as his glare deepened towards Rylan and Ethan, who both scoffed at his response. 

Rylan mumbled something about 'overprotective tyrant' under his breath, making me almost burst out into laughter before my mind registered Arosio's words. 

"I will not. You said I get to choose the punishment so I have chosen it," the defiant words left my lips before I could phrase it in a more appealing manner and I was met with Arosio's penetrating gaze that left me paralyzed on the spot I stood. 

Taking a deep breath, I tried to muster up all of my courage in order to face the beast in front of me. Judging by Alejandro and Giovanni's amused expressions, even they thought my new punishment idea was absurd and they don't think that Arosio would agree. Which is why I need to put on my acting skills and act extra pitiful. 

Letting go of Ethan and Rylan, I slowly stepped towards Arosio and took his warm hand into my own before placing his palm against the side of my face. Biting the inside of my cheek, I smiled inwardly when a few tears were produced and had a mini internal parade when Arosio's gaze instantly softened. 

"Please, Arosio? I haven't seen them in over six months, I just want one night to spend with my best friends before you take me back home. Please? I promise I won't cause any trouble on the way home," my voice was soft and I let out a small whimper followed by more tears when Arosio remained completely still and silent as if he was suffering from an internal battle. 

Several moments of silence passed by as the rest of us waited for Arosio's final answer. I held my breath and prayed for him to agree, I needed Ethan and Rylan to stay if I were to have any chance of escaping these dangerous people. There's no way I can escape alone when there are so many guards surrounding Arosio's villa. 

"Fine. But this event of yours ends at midnight and those two will sleep in the guest bedroom, away from you, understood, my cucciola?" Arosio's words tore me away from my internal monologue as my surprised gaze snapped up to meet his softened gaze. 

"Yes, understood!" I squealed in excitement and instantly stepped away from Arosio's side and rushed towards my two best friends. Out of the corner of my eyes, I could see Arosio frown at my actions as Alejandro and Giovanni stood behind him, both of their mouths slightly parted in shock. 

Poor guys, they probably thought their Mafia boss would be able to resist my puppy dog eyes and crocodile tears but he had no chance!

"Come on, let's go," without looking back at the other three men, I dragged Ethan and Rylan into the villa and had one of Arosio's maids escort us to the movie theater room that was supposedly located on the fourth floor near the main kitchen. 

***

"Enough! Are you both out of your minds? It's almost midnight and we still haven't come up with a plan to escape from this villa but you're both fighting over the last Kit Kat bar?" Ethan stood above Rylan and I before he pulled us apart. 

 I had clearly called dibs on the last chocolate bar but Rylan tried to slyly take it when I wasn't looking. Which resulted in me tackling Rylan onto the carpeted floor of the home theater room and we ended up wrestling for a good five minutes before Ethan stopped us. 

I glared at Ethan who had managed to distract me while Rylan took that to his advantage by biting into the chocolate. Huffing, I sat back onto the comfortable sofa and took another sip of my glass of red wine. This time I was only given one glass by Ethan so I am not drunk, thankfully. 

"What else can we do? When we first came in here, we pretended to actually want to have a movie night and I requested food and movies from the maids while Rylan attempted to leave and scope out the premises but what did we end up finding? Arosio left the house for a few hours with Alejandro and Giovanni but he made sure to leave almost thirty guards surrounding almost every inch of this villa! How are we suppose to escape?" I whined in defeat and snuggled into the side of Rylan once he settled into the sofa beside me. Our past enmity of the chocolate bar was long gone, now we had to figure out what to do with the dilemma at hand. 

"We can't give up, Kat! He's dead set on bringing you back to his home tomorrow morning, do you really want to go back to that Mafia family? Because if we don't think of something, those maids are going to come back here in about 20 minutes to escort Rylan and I to the guest bedroom and you'll be left on your own," Ethan stated in his deep voice and if I didn't know him better, I would assume that he was angry at me but I knew he was only worried for my safety. 

"Stop, honey. Do you think Kat doesn't already know that? But there's no way we can escape from here...unless..." Rylan trailed off as he paused for dramatic effect, making Ethan and I roll our eyes at him. He was always the most dramatic one of us three. 

"Unless what?" I questioned while shaking Rylan back and forth by his shoulders when he only smiled without explaining himself. 

"Unless, you sleep with Mr. De Luca," Rylan continued but paused when I instantly spit the wine I was drinking out of my mouth. The red liquid hit the unsuspecting face of Ethan as he grimaced and sent me a playful glare before using his dress shirt to wipe it off. 

"You want me to sleep with him? Are you out of your mind, Ry?" I screeched in horror and hid my face in my hands when I felt my cheeks heat up. Images of mine and Arosio's first night began to replay in my mind as my heart raced faster and I could feel his lingering heated touch across my body. 

"Okay, drama queen, first of all, don't act like you don't want to sleep with that gorgeous man again," Rylan began and we both laughed when Ethan glared at him with sparks of jealousy lighting up his eyes. 

"Second of all, I don't mean to have sex with him. The only chance of us escaping is if we manage to catch Mr. De Luca off guard," Rylan explained as I nodded my head in understanding but froze upon realizing that this plan would not work. 

"But how can we catch that powerful, dangerous Mafia boss off guard? It's impossible!" I groaned in frustration and threw my hair up into a messy bun while adjusting the white summer dress with daisy designs that I was still wearing. 

"Simple, from what I have observed, he only lets his guard down around you," Rylan noted as I furrowed my brows in confusion but noticed that even Ethan was nodding his head and agreeing with Rylan's remark. 

"Even if that is true...what can I do to catch him off guard tonight?" I whispered while raking my brain for an idea or clue as to what Rylan's planning but I couldn't think of anything. 

"You, my darling, will drug him," Rylan smirked when my jaw practically hit the floor in shock, even Ethan looked surprised and against the idea of drugging the Mafia boss. 

"What! Are you crazy?" I yelled a little too loud before Rylan quickly covered my mouth with his hand and shushed me. 

"Be quiet! The guards outside might hear us. Remember a few hours ago when I told one of the maids that I have frequent migraines and would need sleeping pills for tonight?" Rylan stated as my eyes widened in realization. 

Before, when he had asked the maid, I found it extremely odd since Rylan never mentioned having frequent migraines before. I nodded my head for him to continue speaking, although my heart was racing even quicker now. 

"Well I lied! Those pills are for you, Kat. You need to mix them into a drink and make sure Arosio drinks the full glass. When he passes out, you will act scared and call all of the guards into the bedroom. Chaos is bound to occur when their boss passes out, none of them will focus on you, they will instead focus on providing medical attention to Mr. De Luca. During that time, you will meet Ethan and I outside so that we can sneak out of this villa. We drove Ethan's car here anyway and Ethan still has his car key, right honey?" Rylan concluded his plan as I sat frozen beside him, I wasn't sure whether to kiss him for his genius plan or smack him across the face for thinking of such a dangerous plan. 

"Sure do," Ethan waved the key of his BMW in front of our faces before leaning down and planting a soft kiss on Rylan's forehead while mumbling praises for his intelligence. Meanwhile, I was still struggling on whether I should go through with this plan or not. 

Drugging the Italian Mafia boss? 

I don't even want to think about the consequences if our plan fails... 

I suppressed a shudder of terror as my hand hesitantly raised up to take the bottle of sleeping pills that Rylan held in front of my face. My grip around the bottle tightened while I tried to think whether or not this plan would actually work. Suddenly, Ethan placed both of his hands on my face and turned my head towards his handsome face. 

"Hey, don't be afraid. You are not alone, Rylan and I are here with you, okay?" Ethan reassured me as Rylan nodded his head and rubbed the top of my head. 

"But....but...what if I mess up? What if... what if...he finds out...what if he punishes..." I choked on the last words as tears began to form in my eyes at the thought of being punished by Arosio again. There was no way I could ever experience something like that ever again. 

"You won't, Kat. You're smart, if there's one person in the world I would choose that can fool a Mafia boss, it's you. We believe in you, you deserve to live a happy, peaceful life. You shouldn't be forced to live with an overbearing, tyrant who kills for a living," Rylan muttered the last part with clear hatred for Arosio as my face paled at his words. 

But, Rylan's right. After everything that I've been through, I deserve to live a peaceful life the way I want to, away from the dangers of Arosio's tainted dark world. 

With newfound determination, I smiled towards both of my best friends before pulling them into a tight embrace. We remained like that for a few moments until a knock sounded from the other side of the locked door. 

"Mrs. De Luca, it is midnight. I am here to escort you to the master bedroom and then the guards will escort your guests to the guest bedroom," a maid's voice could be heard from outside the home theater room as Ethan stood up and slowly approached the door before opening it. 

My eyes widened in realization when I saw that I still held the sleeping pill bottle in my hand and didn't have any pockets to put it in since I was wearing a dress. Rylan quickly blocked me from the view of the maid and pointed towards my chest.

With fumbling hands, I slipped the small bottle into my bra and prayed that no one would be able to see the shape of it. Rylan's gaze swept over me from bottom to top before he gave me a reassuring smile, making me let out a sigh of relief. The maid stood behind him, patiently waiting for us three to leave the room with her. 

"I am ready," the words left my lips as I exited the room, following the maid to the right side as the guards escorted my two best friends in the opposite direction. 

But truthfully, I am not really sure if I am ready for what will happen tonight. 

****

Hello lovely readers, 

First off, I am very sorry for the long wait, I mentioned this before but basically my phone broke (Apple internal software glitch) and I had to mail my phone into Apple for repair and it took them three weeks to return it because UPS lost my package twice! And I can't login to Wattpad from my laptop for some reason so yeah, hence the long wait ahaha 

I hope you enjoy this update and I hope everyone's safe and doing well during this quarantine! 

PLEASE VOTE, READ & COMMENT!