Ch. 2 - Hurricane

J A D E

Pulling his mobile phone out of his pants pocket, Dominic answered, "What

is it? Now? What a fucking day this is turning out to be! Alright, alright, I'm

coming! Tell O'Doherty I said to fucking wait! Have Leconte meet us there

as well."

As I listened to Dominic's commanding voice, I bit my bottom lip even

harder.

Hearing him bark out orders made my knees wobble. I was always intrigued

by the way he usually addressed everyone outside of the residence by their

last names.

With an annoyed grunt, Dominic hung up the phone and muttered,

"Goddamn Irish, always so impatient!"

Knowing that he had to leave, I sighed as I looked up at him and brazenly

admired his appearance.

He had just recently turned thirty-three years old, and I still marvelled at the

fact that he did not look his age whatsoever. Dominic's face had a sort of

youthful appearance, which I think was due to his rare skin colouring, or

rather lack there off, coupled with his attractive facial features.

I remembered making a joke that he was a vampire. Needless to say, I never

repeated such in front of him ever again.

Dominic's pale face and hairless jawline had always been handsome to me,

even if others called him a freak. The fact that his hair had a glossy silvery

white tint made it seem like he had no eyebrows as they blended against his

skin.

His smooth, unnaturally pallid tone was perfect, minus a few scars, the one

over his right eye being my absolute favourite. I felt like it added character

to his otherwise flawless image.

I was never told the whole story behind his appearance.

All I knew was that he suffered from a skin condition called universal

vitiligo, which had gotten worse over the years. I did not know why his

body hair was silvery white in colour. But this had only added to the almost

supernatural appeal that he had. When I was younger, I had often likened

him to a mystical creature with fairy-like hair.

Nevertheless, as I grew older, I realised that there was more to the story

surrounding Dominic's appearance. I hoped that perhaps one day he would

open up to me about it.

I had always loved the colour of his hair and took every opportunity I could

to run my fingers through it, that is, when he allowed it. I was still

dumbfounded by the knowledge that even though Dominic never liked

people touching him, for some reason, he allowed me to.

Unfortunately, I would get carried away at times and overdid it, resulting in

him having to put some distance between us.

With a sigh, my eyes continued to observe him, appreciating the crisp white

shirt and dark purple slacks that he wore. I loved how Dominic always had

the sleeves rolled up to his elbows once he was home, revealing some of his

tattoos.

To me, his beautiful black forearm tattoos were a work of art.

On his right inner forearm was a blacked-out tattoo. It illustrated a candle

that started at his right wrist, with smoke rising up and disappearing under

the sleeve of his shirt to a skull that lay hidden under the material.

The tattoo on his outer left arm was that of his face, a sinister smile with

flames swirling around from behind with an Ace of Spades card. The black

flames looked almost alive as they whirled and disappeared on his upper

arm.

The most important tattoo of them all was found on his inner left forearm.

It was a black arrowhead with fire coloured flames, the insignia of his

mafia. All the members had one. Quintin would be getting his soon if all

went well, and I hoped that perhaps one day in the future I would be able to

do the same.

On his left calf, Dominic had another fire tattoo that was simply stunning,

the orange flames almost coming alive as it burned what appeared to be a

church, with a blackout of an ominous figure standing behind the flames.

There were also some tattoos concealed under his shirt, a sight that I rarely

got to behold.

One of them had 'We Are Freaks' worded in a simple black font that had

been tattooed over his right ribcage. It was obvious that he had clearly

embraced being called a freak and was comfortable with his appearance.

Dominic also had a large black dragon tattoo with sleek shadings of red

within its intricately designed scales that covered most of the skin on his

back, it was really beautiful.

Though each piece of artwork clearly had some special meaning behind it,

my absolute favourite tattoo on him comprised of an Italian proverb that

was illustrated in bold black calligraphy on his upper-left chest and

shoulder.

It read, 'Dove l'oro parla, ogni lingua tace' which meant 'Where gold

speaks, every tongue is silent' which I thought was fitting, given the man

who Dominic was.

The mafia insignia, the calf tattoo as well as the dragon on his back were

the only designs that had any colour to them. The rest were all black and I

honestly could spend all day looking at each and every one.

I pulled my gaze away from his covered chest to look at the black leather

shoulder gun holster that he sported. The sight of his armaments made my

heart race. I loved watching him handle his weapons, I thought it made him

look so domineering and powerful.

In a way, seeing him handle his guns while growing up had been influential

in pushing me in my own training. I had wanted to be badass like him, and

in time, I hoped to surpass him.

The sound of Dominic's voice pulled me out of my silent observation.

"I need to take care of something and you need to calm down. It's your

birthday in a few hours. Have you decided what you wanted for your

present this year?" Dominic asked as he pocketed his phone and took a step

back.

Nodding, I replied while hugging myself, "Yes, I'll tell you at the party

tonight, be safe."

"Always," his thumb and index finger playfully tugged on my chin as he

kissed my forehead before leaving the room.

When my bedroom door closed behind Dominic, I exhaled dreamily and

squealed as I dived onto my bed. A big sigh escaped past my lips as I

reminisced on the feeling of his mouth against my skin.

Lately, these past few weeks, I had found myself fantasising about his

exceedingly pink lips kissing me. At first, I had crinkled my nose at the

thought, but as time passed, I found that the idea was not as repulsing as it

had initially seemed.

These new emotions were like a hurricane, tearing through my emotional

defences as well as my rational train of thought. It not only left me in a

confused and twisted mess, it also, in some strange way, breathed new life

into me, allowing me to feel things that I never had before.

"I think I might actually be falling in love with him," I said out loud, while

staring up into the ceiling, even though a part of me knew that it was too

soon to tell.

Too caught up in my feelings, I had not realised that Quintin had re-entered

my bedroom.

"Wow... You, in love? Who would have thought that we would see the

day?" he teased me as he ran a hand through his wavy brown hair, knowing

fully well who I was daydreaming about.

Sitting up, I threw a pillow at him, "Don't you knock?"

"As if!" Quintin scoffed as he caught the soft object, "Have you forgotten

we still share a bedroom on occasion?"

"Not my fault you wake up screaming from your nightmares," I retorted

playfully, still annoyed from our earlier fight.

"Hey don't be mean! You still get them too!" he replied with a slight frown.

Sighing, I stood and walked towards him, "You're right, I'm sorry."

Quintin was like a brother to me, more so given what we had been through

together and we had a unique bond that no one could come between.

During our two year stay with Enzo, we had become inseparable. When

Dominic had taken us in, we had refused to sleep in separate rooms. We had

done everything together, and even though we were not related by blood,

we were as close as any siblings could be.

Cocking my head to the side, I asked, "What are you doing here? I thought

you were going with Jee-min?"

Shaking his head Quintin replied, "The boss suddenly needed him for

something else, so we're heading down a bit later."

"Oh, ok," was all I said before biting the inside of my cheek.

"I'm sorry too, by the way, for earlier. Your hair looks great. I was just

really surprised that you actually went ahead and did something like that,"

he pulled me in for a hug.

"Do you think he liked it?" I murmured into his neck.

He nodded and stroked the silky strands, "I think so, I mean, it's Dominic's

favourite colour."

"And mine as well, but he's is definitely more obsessed than I am when it

comes to all things purple," I said with a giggle.

"That he is..." Quintin agreed then added, "Plus, it really does look amazing

on you, it really makes your green eyes pop. But I do hope that you

remember that you're like family to him. I mean, you do know that he'll

never see you as anything more, right?"

Playfully pushing him away, I replied, "Well, things can change. After all, I

am an adult! I'm legally allowed to have sex with whomever I want."

"Huh? Where did that even come out from? What do you plan to do, take

him by force?" Quintin laughed softly before he continued more seriously,

"Besides, even if you're thirty, he still won't cross that line."

"No, but he is a man, they all eventually fall for my charms if I so wish it.

How long do you think he'll be able to resist me once I begin to pursue

him? Besides, I just need to kiss him to see if what I'm feeling is some sort

of new adult crisis or something more serious..." I said before turning to

look at myself in the mirror.

The short, dark-green sleeveless house dress clung to my lean curves. The

garment left little to the imagination. Years of training had left me with an

athletic, yet attractive body. I had curves in all the right places and my suntanned skin was smooth and flawless.

I was the only one in the Calvetti house that did not have any tattoos.

Even my best friend Blaire had a few. It was something that I was hoping to

rectify in the future. Of course, I would start off with something small, then

work my way up to the other designs that I already had in mind.

For now, though, I would just focus on one task at a time. Quintin's laughter

shook me out of my reverie, and with a scowl, I turned around to face him.

Throwing his head back as his amusement increased, his hazel eyes

watered, "Even if he gets tempted, the most he will do is watch. You seem

to forget that he is no mere ordinary man."

"Yea well, I can still hope, can't I? With any luck I might just get my way. It

isn't like I'm going to jump him, I just want a kiss, surely that can't be too

much to ask?" I said with a slight pout.

Shaking his head, Quintin replied, "The well-known and feared mafia boss,

Dominic Calvetti, can have any woman he wants. Kiss or not, why would

he want to meddle with you? Especially when hookers are less

complicated."

Anger flashed across my green eyes, "Hey! I've supported you and your

hidden crush for years! Why can't you support mine?"

Quintin and I had shared our deepest secrets with each other. Even after all

these years, we continued to look out for one another. At times, we had

teamed up when we were younger to get our way.

We were the only minors that had been allowed to live in the Calvetti

residence and were even considered to be part of the organisation. Although

more so Quintin than myself, as Dominic did not want me getting involved

in their dangerous lifestyle.

I suppose in a way I was like the mascot, cheering them on from the side.

How unfair was that shit?

Walking over to the portable clothes rack, Quintin replied, "Okay, okay, I'm

sorry! And I do support you, I just don't want you to get hurt. Are you really

going to go through with this? I mean, you yourself said that you were

unsure whether you even liked him like that, now you're talking about love?

How do you even know if any of it is real?"

"I know there's a possibility that it's all in my head, but I owe it to myself to

explore whatever it is I think that I'm feeling, not so? If I kiss him and feel

nothing then I know that it's just a false alarm," I say with a shrug.

Letting out a sigh, he stated, "I suppose, though I am surprised to hear that

you even have feelings at all. I mean, you've never been one to be interested

in such things. You've always been so busy with your training that you've

never put much thought into dating. You've just finished your first year of

university and you've never even had a boyfriend."

"So? How is that any different from what you have done? And for your

information I've kissed a few boys and girls!" I fired back.

"Uh huh! You do know that kissing and having feelings for someone are

two different things, right?" Quintin raised an eyebrow.

Huffing, I crossed my arms over my chest, knowing that he was right.

"And even if I never had a serious relationship, I have dated and bedded my

fair share. I accept that my feelings would probably never be returned, so I

tried my best not to waste away and wait around in vain," his fingers played

with the zipper of the garment bag before lowering it.

Moving to hug his side once more, I said, "Perhaps, but you never know

though, Quin. They might return your love, I mean we've never actually

seen them date anyone, ever!"

Quintin smiled, "Maybe, but what if we're wrong and they put a bullet in

my brain?"

"The risks we take for love," I murmured with a shrug.

Pulling the dress out of the bag, his eyes widened, "Shit J! Is this what

you're wearing tonight? No wonder you told Dominic that Jee-min and I

will escort you to the club, there's no way he would ever let you leave the

house in this!"

My eyes playfully lit up while nodding my head enthusiastically.

His voice held a note of panic as the words rushed out, "You do know that

all the other partners will be at your party, right? Dominic will flip out! He

hates whenever Aleksandr ogles you, are you insane? That crazy Russian

won't be able to take his eyes off of you!"

Giggling I replied, "Like I said, the risks we take for love."

"How poetic would it be, that you die on the day you were born?" Quintin

mused as he shook his head.

"If I get my birthday wish, it would definitely be worth it," I sighed

longingly.