His Entertainment

By Olivia Ashers

To save my family, I'm willing to do anything, including marrying Dante Lombardi—my father's worst enemy and biggest rival.

Dante demands my complete obedience and expects me to fulfill his every wish and desire, no matter how deviant it may seem to me.

Even though everything about my cold and cruel husband terrifies me, an undeniable attraction forms between us, and his touch lights a fire inside me.

But can it lead to something more, or will I forever be just his entertainment?


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A standalone dark mafia romance. Mature language and content.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Olivia Ashers
• Release date: Apr 22, 2022
• ISBN: 9798201302542

Book preview

Chapter 1

stella

STELLA! MY SISTER’S high-pitched voice sounded from the living room.

What? I shouted back as I opened a bag of popcorn and spilled it into a bowl.

You’re going to miss the best scene! Claudia yelled.

I groaned.

Rewatching movies with my baby sister was sometimes more torture than enjoyment, especially if she loved the whole movie, thought every single scene was the best one, and didn’t stop talking about it.

I tossed the empty bag in the trash and grabbed the bowl.

I got popcorn, I said as I settled back on the sofa next to Claudia.

She spun toward me super fast, her shoulder-length dark brown hair flying, her dark brown eyes flashing, and snatched the bowl from my hands.

Thanks! She grinned and immediately tossed some popcorn into her mouth.

I focused on the screen just as the door screeched open and made me grimace. Our maid had said she’d call someone to fix the door, but she must’ve forgotten.

What the fuck are you watching? Tomasso made a face, scrunching his nose at the TV screen, his brown eyes narrowed from under a mop of messy brown hair. That stupid crap again! Really?

If there was one thing my younger brother loved, it was complaining about every single romantic comedy Claudia and I had ever watched.

No one asked you anything! Claudia snapped.

Look! Tomasso said, pointing at the screen. Beyond stupid! It would’ve never happened in real life.

Claudia turned toward him, her brow furrowed. And those stupid spaceship movies that you love so much? Those are real? Yeah, right!

At least I don’t have to lose any brain cells first to watch them! Tomasso crossed his arms.

That’s because you don’t have any! Claudia retorted.

Okay, guys. Enough, I said. You just have different tastes. If it entertains you, watch it. If it doesn’t, don’t watch it. It’s simple.

Claudia rolled her eyes at me, and Tomasso scoffed, but their shoulders relaxed, which was exactly what I’d wanted. I hated when my siblings got into an argument, and I was glad it didn’t happen very often.

How was your practice with Dad? Claudia asked, curiosity sparkling in her eyes.

Didn’t have it today, Tomasso said.

Tomasso had started training with my dad’s men since he was seven years old. Once Tomasso had reached fifteen, Dad had taken over his education so he could teach him more about our family business, even if my older brother, Lorenzo, was the one who was supposed to become boss after Dad retired.

My dad always said we had to be prepared for anything, and that was why Tomasso had to learn everything in case the worst happened and he ended up being in charge of our family.

But I didn’t want to think about that. I shuddered at the thought of losing any of my family.

Wait, why’s that? Claudia frowned.

It was nice to see Tomasso and Claudia forgetting all about their scuffle so fast, but they were always like that.

Easy to get angry, easy to cool off. 

Tomasso shrugged. Dad and Lorenzo went to take care of some important business. I don’t know anything else. They didn’t tell me.

That’s weird. Claudia’s gaze found mine.

It doesn’t have to be, I said. They can’t bring Tomasso to the business meetings with their partners. It would be weird and potentially dangerous.

Yeah, I guess, Claudia said. But what kind of meeting is it? With our enemies? With our friends?

That’s not something you should worry about, Tomasso said.

He’s right, I added before Claudia could reply. All you should worry about is your homework.

She grimaced. Why? It’s not like I go to school. I’ll just ask my tutor if I can do it some other time. Her lips turned up into a wide smile.

You can’t keep postponing everything forever. You don’t want to miss your chance to go to college. I didn’t know how I was going to survive being apart from my sister, especially since we’d always been together.

But I kept telling myself that she’d be safe at a private college abroad where no one would know she was the daughter of a mafia boss.

She’d just be another rich kid. Being around other people—normal people—would be a great experience for her. We didn’t really hang out much with anyone, and we very rarely had a chance to interact with regular people.

Maybe I won’t go to college. You’re twenty-one, and you’re right here. You didn’t go to college or anywhere. She narrowed her eyes at me. So why should I?

A lump formed in my throat, and I looked down at my hands. There was a reason why I hadn’t gone to college, but I didn’t want to think about it right now.

Or ever.

You could go together, Tomasso said.

Claudia and I looked at him, then Claudia’s lips spread into a smile.

Oh, my god, Tomasso! For someone without any brain cells, you’re a genius! She almost spilled the bowl of popcorn as she moved to grab my hand. Stella, what do you say? It would be perfect! I wouldn’t be all alone with weird people, and we could help each other. Hell, maybe we could convince Dad to let Tomasso come with us too, even if it’s for a few months.

I opened my mouth to reply, just when the noise of car engines and the screech of tires pierced the air.

What the hell is going on? Claudia asked, covering her ears.

Tomasso immediately ran to the closest window, and I jumped to my feet, my heart pounding.

It wasn’t anything like that night, but the room was spinning around me anyway.

It’s Dad, Tomasso said. And Lorenzo.

I let out a long breath, but my whole body was still shaking, my palms getting sweaty.

Something was wrong.

I could feel it in my gut.

Please let me be wrong.

But at least Dad was here. It wasn’t the bad guys.

Mom’s back too, Tomasso said with a frown, and then he headed out of the room.

Wasn’t Mom supposed to have dinner with that friend? Some politician’s wife or something? Claudia asked. Do you think that woman has figured out who we are?

I don’t know. I strode after Tomasso because I had to find out what was going on, or I was going to explode with worry.

What’s up? Tomasso asked as soon as Dad and Lorenzo walked through the front door.

Nothing, son. Everything’s fine. Dad flashed him a quick smile, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

There was something different about him. His shoulders were rigid, the lines around his mouth more prominent, as if he was really worried.

Usually, he could keep his real emotions hidden whenever he wanted to. Things had to be really dire if his special ability wasn’t working today.

Lorenzo’s short dark brown hair was ruffled as if he’d raked his hand through it a billion times, which was something he only did when he was very nervous. He was usually calm and collected.

My pillar.

Now his dark brown eyes were in turmoil.

My mom appeared next, her forehead creased with worry. Her recently-dyed long blonde hair was slightly disheveled, and her brown eyes were wide.

Lorenzo! I called as I rushed after him.

I doubted my dad or my mom were going to tell me what was really going on. They were always doing their best to make sure my siblings and I didn’t unnecessarily worry about anything, but I needed to know what was up before it ate me inside.

What’s going on? I asked, placing my hand on his arm.

He turned to me, hesitation flashing through his eyes.

You can tell me. You know how I get if I don’t know what’s happening. I gave him a pleading look.

He ran his tongue over his upper lip. There’s a chance someone’s planning to attack us. Our spy stopped reporting over a week ago, so we don’t have all the details.

A loud gasp escaped my throat. Attack? Are they going to come here? Do they know where we live?

It was one of my greatest fears.

We don’t know. He sighed. But don’t worry about it. We’re safe here. The guards are outside. If something happens, just run to the panic room.

But— If I’d been panicking before, now I was close to hyperventilating, my chest feeling heavy. What if they get in, like—

They won’t. Lorenzo placed his hand on my cheek. No one’s going to get hurt. I promise.

But how could he make that promise? We’d thought once before that we’d be safe, and we hadn’t been. I didn’t want that to happen ever again.

What can we do? I asked. There has to be something, right? Who’s after us? Who’s the enemy? Should we go to a safe house?

Dad and I will see what can be done. Moving somewhere right now might even be a bigger risk. And the enemy is Giuseppe Ranzi.

My eyes bulged. But he’s not even from our city!

Since I was around my dad, Lorenzo, and my dad’s men most of the time, it was impossible not to hear things.

Giuseppe Ranzi was very powerful and very ruthless. It might be just a rumor, but someone had mentioned Giuseppe had dismembered the young children of the last guy who’d confronted him.

He’d tortured the guy’s wife and let her die slowly in front of him. I hadn’t heard what Ranzi had done to the guy, but I couldn’t imagine it was nice or quick.

Why was Ranzi after us?

How could our paths have crossed?

I doubted my dad had done something to intentionally piss Ranzi off.

Ranzi took over the territory that belonged to a gang, Lorenzo said. We had a deal with that gang. They were helping us with the transportation of some shipments—weapons, mostly. What they didn’t tell us was that they were secretly using a road in Ranzi’s territory. It was only a few miles, but that doesn’t matter because they trespassed. I don’t know how they could’ve been so stupid to think no one would notice. Ranzi found out, of course. He killed them all, but he also figured out we’d been working with them.

Does he think we did it on purpose? But can’t you explain what happened and that you couldn’t have known what the gang was doing?

Reasoning with Ranzi isn’t easy. He’s always looking for an excuse to go to war. He’s just that bloodthirsty. And since he knows we’re not as strong as him—

Please tell me there’s something we can do! Please!

Dad’s trying to find someone who can help us. If Ranzi sees we’re not alone in this, he’s going to back off, and even if he doesn’t, we can defeat him. His face was deadly serious, with no hint of hope anywhere.

You don’t believe anyone’s going to agree to help us, I stated the obvious.

He scratched the back of his head, averting his gaze for a moment. As soon as people hear Ranzi’s name, they balk. No one wants to take that risk. Actually, everyone’s hoping Ranzi won’t think they’re important enough and turn on them too. There’s only one person who’s powerful enough and potentially crazy enough to take Ranzi on.

I furrowed my brow. Who’s that?

Dante Lombardi.

My eyebrows shot up. "The Lombardi? Our enemy?"

He nodded.

Shit. I bet he can’t wait for Ranzi to wipe us out so he can finally have the whole city for himself.

I doubt he’d like Ranzi so close, but yeah, if Ranzi took over our territory too, his forces would be stretched out, at least until he gets more established here. If Lombardi is quick and competent enough, he could push Ranzi back, and yes, rule the city. The war would probably make him vulnerable, though, so someone else might seize their opportunity.

I groaned. Why does everyone always want something that belongs to someone else? Can’t we all coexist? Isn’t there enough money and power for everyone?

People always want more, sis. They’re never happy, especially people like Ranzi. If he owned the world, he’d want the Moon.

But the Lombardis haven’t always been our enemies, right? I hope I didn’t mix up something from my family’s extensive history.

Correct. There used to be a family, the Torres, that ruled the area between our territory and the Lombardis’. Our dad was about to strike a deal with Dante’s father so we could take out the Torres together. There was also another part of that deal. Dad promised one of his daughters in marriage in exchange because that was what Dante’s father insisted on. But the deal fell through because the old Torre was assassinated—he pissed off some really powerful people—and his son disappeared, so the Torres ended up destroying themselves.

"Dad promised what?" I gaped at him because I’d never heard any of that before.

Don’t worry. He regretted his decision later and swore he’d never do something like that again because it was an outdated practice, and he could never go through with it.

So what are we going to do? The only person who can help us is our biggest rival, and Ranzi is powerful enough to take us out.

Honestly, we need to hope like hell that Ranzi doesn’t know our territory well enough and that we can prolong the war until his forces weaken or something else happens. Then maybe we’ll have a chance to push him back or convince him to negotiate.

What if he finds us first?

He won’t. But the certainty was missing from his voice.

We were screwed, weren’t we?

My stomach did a nervous flip as my brain tried to come up with a thought that would calm me down, but how could I calm down when Ranzi’s men could rush in here and kill us all at any time?

And if he decided to make an example out of us and do things...

I swallowed hard.

You said Lombardi wouldn’t like Ranzi so close, right? Even if he could fight Ranzi, he’d suffer big losses, and it might not be good for him if someone else showed up.

Lorenzo nodded. But he’s not going to help us.

What if we can convince him? What if Dad offers him a deal?

I doubt he’d accept. I don’t know what he might possibly want from us that we can actually give him.

Does he need a wife?

Lorenzo’s forehead creased. What are you talking about?

If Lombardi won’t agree to help us to keep Ranzi away because there’s not enough in it for him, maybe we can sweeten the deal. If he needs a wife and heirs, he might consider our offer.

But we’re not going to offer him a wife because we can’t just pay some random woman to do it.

No, I mean... I took a deep breath. We have a wife to offer him. Me.

What? His jaw went slack. No, absolutely not. Are you out of your mind, sis? I know you’re scared, but we’re not going to practically sell you to Lombardi.

I bit down on my lip. "I can’t. I can’t