MOZZAFIATO:

This means 'breathtaking'. This literal word comes from , meaning to cut or chop off and , meaning breath. It can be used when talking about a particularly beautiful work of art or a scenic view.

S H I R A ' S P O V

"Ready to go, ma chérie?" Papa asked as he opened the front door. I nodded in response and let the summer sun embrace me. The awakening smell of the lavenders that was perfectly placed in mama's marble vase on each corner of the inside of the house was now driven away as the door closed behind me.

(Translation: my darling)

"Bonjour monsieur et mademoiselle?" My bodyguard, Riccardo, greeted me. Stepping out of my trance I smiled and shook my head in disappointment.

(Translation: Hello, Sir and Miss)

"Riccardo enough with the formalities, it's just Shira" I lectured as I stared into his clouded eyes which were always mesmerizing. He stared at my father to look for confirmation. Repeating his action I looked at my father with puppy eyes and unsurprisingly it worked. It always works, he can't say no to me.

Papa didn't like any of his men to call me by my first name, he thought they would make a move on me so he made sure they called me 'miss' or 'Mademoiselle'. But that doesn't apply to Riccardo anymore and plus he's gay. His boyfriend Alejandro is basically the male version of Abella. Horny.

So that was one of the rules and he had many more. The one that got to me is that he ensured they wouldn't stare too long at me, Papa has always been the overprotective type and when mama says he is, he denies it. Papa and Alexandre have the same mentality, which scares me. They are both overprotective and both made sure I go to an all-girls high school so I didn't have a boyfriend.

Once when I told Papa I wanted to go shopping, he told me to take Alexandre, I didn't want him to come but I knew he wouldn't let me ever go shopping if I didn't, so I complied. Anyway, after grabbing a few of my essential items we went to grab something to drink and so I went to order, Alexandre stayed in the car, I was doing so the cashier put his number on my milkshake and gave me a wink. I smiled back at him and left.

Returning to the car, I gave Alexandre his coffee but he wanted to try some of my milkshake, which resulted in him seeing the number of the guy at the coffee shop and he went ballistic and when I said ballistic the poor cashier got his face turned to his ass. Literally. I was pissed off at Alexandre but I was angrier at Papa as he was fired the next day. At least he won't be embarrassed to go to that place ever again I guess...

I'm very excited to see the Santis's today. It's been three years since I last met them. That's because I went to Lyon to volunteer at an adoption centre. Ever since I was little I was always persistent to see the world and how people live. I never had a naive mind as the Mafia world was a place where either you're at the table or you're on the menu.

Each mile we drove away my nervousness increased, the butterflies in my stomach fluttered impatiently and the adrenaline rushed through my body, awakening every nerve and muscle.

I let my eyes rest for a moment, feeling the ambience of the streets, hearing the sounds, taking in the aroma, cooing my pounding heart that could possibly be heard and letting my brain be free from the curiosity it has created all because of one name Valerius de Santis.

For fuck sake I haven't even met the guy and my mind has already created an obsession with him. Great, just great, exactly what I needed on a Monday morning.

"Chérie, nous sommes arrivés." Papa spoke quietly while wrapping his arms around me and kissing me on the forehead as mama does. I gently opened my eyes and stared out the window to have my eyes widened. Wow, their house must have grown since I last visited because I don't remember it being this big.

(Translation: Darling, we have arrived.)

Placing my feet on the pebbled ground, I adjusted my eyes to the sun that beat down at us. Papa handed me the two gift bags that I asked Riccardo to get for Sienna and Angelo.

Turning back I noticed Matteo and Nailea standing in front of their marbled doorstep, waving at us. Matteo signalled to his men to come to help us. Papa's face immediately lit up as he saw his best friend and made his way and I followed.

As we became closer their faces seemed to drop as they looked at me. It was like they saw a ghost, bewilderment was evidently visible on my face which made them change their expression but it was visible they held fear within their eyes. Is there something on my face?

"Ah Matteo and Nailea, how are you both?"Papa said joyfully as he hugged Matteo and Nailea. They both smiled and greeted Papa and were quick to look at me again with fear.

I was so bewildered by their actions as it's very unlike them to act this way. "What's wrong, are you both ok?" Papa questioned, noticing their abnormal behaviour.

"Oh, Mio Dio." Matteo finally said. Nailea kept looking at me then back to Papa."Is something wrong?" I said nervously. The tension in the air was thick and it was almost suffocating. The heat isn't helping either.

(Translation: My God.)

"Wrong? No, no...It's just that you're your dad's replica. It's quite scary how you both resemble each other" Nailea spoke with a smile yet shock was still evident in her eyes.

"She looks exactly like you, Theo, with her mother's personality," Matteo said while looking at the both of us. It was true though, I did have my mother's caring personality. The Feisty side is yet to come. No one looked like Papa fully, apart from me. The closet had to be Louis, who inherited Papa's eyes shape, defined nose and thick, black, raven hair. Everyone else inherited mama's looks but with Papa's personality.

Papa looked at me and grinned "Of course she's a proper Lamoreaux and my daughter." He proudly said, hugging me and kissing my forehead. I pulled away to greet and hug Matteo and Nailea. We all entered the house and the cool breeze latched onto my heated skin.

"Now, where are mes petites grenouilles?" Nailea giggled before calling out to Sienna and Angelo, who both eagerly ran down the stairs with Chiara and Dino.

(Translation: my little frogs.)

"Shirwa, Shirwa," Sienna called out, jumping up and down, while Angelo hid behind his mum. Nailea cooed and told him to come to see me. I knelt and embraced both of them and kissed them both on their baby smooth skin. Angelo blushed, making everyone 'aww'.

"Aww, does our little Angelo have a crush on Shira?" Chiara teased making Angelo shake his head but then blushed even more and everyone laughed at shy Angelo, who buried his small head in my chest.

"I got presents for both of you." I presented them with their specific gifts making their faces light up.

"Grazie Shirwa" Sienna and Angelo smiled as they received their gifts and hugged me again, nearly making me lose my balance. They both went into their rooms to put their presents away, Nailea followed. I walked over to Chiara and Dino and wrapped my arms around them tightly, almost squeezing the air out of them.

(Translation: Thank you.)

"Jeez, not only do you look like Theo but you're strong too" Dino hissed while rubbing his chest from the pressure. I laughed and hit his arm. "Ouch, Theo she's abusing me" Dino whined and Chiara laughed contagiously.

"Sorry Dino, I can't say anything to my daughter, she's my princess" Theo surrendered while putting two hands in the air. After everyone had their laugh we all heard a vase break, it startled me and I looked up the stairs to see where the direction of the sound was coming from.

I brushed it off until...

"Ah, fuck yes! Ah, Valerius! Mhm, just like that, keep going harder!" A girl moaned loudly, the sound of banging vibrated and the speed was inhumane. I was lost for words and couldn't process what I just heard. Chiara and Dino looked at Matteo, who was pinching the bridge of his nose.

"That boy will end up putting me in my grave and probably still won't let me die in peace" Matteo sighed. "Shira, make yourself at home, would you like anything to drink?" Matteo asked, "No, thank you," I said and before I could say anything Chiara wanted to tour me around the house.

"So did you find anyone in Lyon?" Chiara asked while moving her eyebrows up and down. Dino, on the other hand, was busy texting."Nope." I said while popping the 'p'. Chiara rolled her eyes and Dino replied with an emphasised "boring" while I stared at him and he looked away.

"Seriously though, you're 22 years old, you need to get laid" Dino replied and Chiara agreed. "When did my sex life become so interesting?" I questioned. We were returning from the way we came from.

"Um, ever since you turned 18 and that guy was talking dirty to you," Chiara said bluntly. It was a birthday that I will never forget.

I told Papa I was going to a restaurant for my birthday with Chiara and Dino, which was true because I did, then we made plans to go out and about and we went to a club that Papa owns and bribed the security guard not to tell him. That was Dino's idea.

I drank a soda and one shot of tequila that day and Chiara and Dino took shots. We were dancing and that one shot of tequila was doing wonders to my body. I have a very low alcohol tolerance if you couldn't tell anyway...A guy began dancing and whispering dirty talk to me and I'm not going to lie it was hot but I won't say that however, I blame it on the alcohol.

"Dio! I wish I heard what he was saying, I would gladly let him fuck me," Dino said while fake crying. Sometimes I wonder whether they are my friends or Abella's since they are all horny.

(T: God)

-

It was nearly time for Papa to leave and we already made our way back into the kitchen. Holy fuck, I thought while I gawked at the person who had their back in front of me. It was toned, which made me want to run my fingernails down it, adorning it with my scratches and the outlines of the muscles seemed to show each and every one of them.

My eyes continued to look further down following the line that carved the middle of his back which led to a round perfect ass covered in black sweats with his Calvin Klein waistband showing. Lord, he has a better ass than me.

"Shira, this is Valerius," Matteo explained as the Greek god turned. Wow, his side profile is the definition of perfection. Oh, Mon Dieu. To say he was sexy like Abella had mentioned was an understatement. The rumours did him no good either.

He was definitely carved by the Greek gods, no doubt. Those icy blue eyes that seemed to freeze me in place and stop time had my knees melting, his tanned radiant skin that coated his muscles fitted perfectly like icing on a cake.

His abs were perfectly designed showing off the hills that sat below his hard chest which was adorned with intricate designs that covered his scars which made me want to trace my finger against every single one of them.

His arms rested on the counter behind him, showing his toned biceps and forearms. Not to mention that perfect V line that made my curious eyes wonder what it leads to.

I didn't know what to say so I held my gaze, giving off the same dark intensity as he did before he looked me up and down. I felt naked. Exposed. Bare and raw as if he was undressing me.

"Buongiorno Shira, it's a pleasure meeting you" His deep voice spoke as his Italian accent came thick. The way my name rolled off his tongue made my lower regions sweat with arousal.

(Translation: Good morning.)

He came close to me and kissed the back of my hand. My knees felt weaker than before. The touch of his plump pink lips lingered longer than it should have. Not once did he break eye contact with me and neither did I.

How am I going to stay here with this sex god?

Hello, my loves, hope you enjoyed this chapter and if you did, let me know your thoughts. Anyways, have a lovely day or a good night's sleep.

How many languages can you speak? (fluently to some phrases)

I know 6 languages (fluently: creole (Mauritius), English ~ quite good: Spanish, French and Hindi ~ can understand it but can't form sentences: Italian)