Page 1 of Untouchable

Chapter One

Alessandro

“Come on! Don’t be such a baby,” I call out to a fear-stricken Seraphina.

“Shut up,” she snaps aggressively as her knuckles turn white, gripping a branch of the tree that she assured she was brave enough to climb not 2 minutes ago.

I chuckle to myself as I lean up against a nearby tree and cross one ankle over the other, watching her like I have all the time in the world. I swear, she can be the biggest brat even at 17.

We were walking through the woods of her property, killing time before I had to go to work, when I started grabbing nearby branches. It quickly evolved into how fast I could climb up trees and then Seraphina, being the determined girl she is, decided she was going to follow my lead. Clearly, she is regretting that choice now as her fear of heights are eating up every last bit of her previous bravado.

“As much as I would love to stay out here all night, some of us have jobs to get to,” I draw, doing my best to mask my amused smile.

She scoffs and rolls her eyes as her grip on the tree tightens.

“Please. You work for my father. You are practically like a son to him. I think you can be a few minutes late.”

I shrug as I continue to watch her. She has a point. Uncle Luc has been like a second father to me ever since I was born. He has never not been there, and with my father being his second in command I probably could get certain leniencies that others wouldn’t. But I don’t want that.

I joined the family when I turned 18 and I have refused to take a single handout or leg up because of my father or my relationship with the Boss. I want to earn my place in the ranks on my own.

Since our families are so close, Seraphina has been in my life ever since she was born. I remember the day surprisingly well, considering I was only 4 at the time. I remember walking into the room where my Aunt Ashlynn was lying in a hospital bed, holding the softest, pinkest blanket that I had ever seen wrapped around the tiniest most perfect baby.

She was so pretty I almost couldn’t believe it. She became my best friend instantly and we have been completely inseparable ever since. Wherever she was, I was no more than 2 steps behind her. It helped that our families are practically joined at the hip as well, but that wouldn’t have stopped us. I honestly couldn’t imagine a life where I don’t wake up to her obnoxiously early good morning texts before she does yoga or her goodnight texts that only come after hours of us talking.

“Still. Come on, it’s getting late. I have a meeting that I can’t be late to,” I say as I push off the tree behind me and go to stand just under her.

Seraphina’s legs are dangling from the tree branch, but the tree is so tall that I can’t reach her, even at my full height of 6’3.

“Okay, okay. Just, give me one more minute,” she says shakily as she closes her eyes and begins breathing rapidly.

My amused smile quickly slides off my face as I watch her begin to dive head first into a full blown panic attack.

“Hey,” I call out softly. She doesn’t open her eyes, choosing to squeeze them almost tighter instead. “Look at me, Bella” I say a little louder, using the nickname I only reserve for special times. Still, she doesn’t open her eyes as her chest begins to heave wildly with short breaths.

“Bella!” I bark harshly.

Her eyes fly open, no doubt from shock at my tone. I have rarely ever raised my voice towards her. Hell, I have beat the shit out of punks for less before, but I am not sure anything else would have gotten her attention.

“Do you trust me?” I ask, softening my tone.

She doesn’t hesitate, nodding quickly. I can’t help but let my mouth pull up into a soft smile at her overwhelming trust in me. She has always looked at me like I hung the moon and I have always done my best to live up to that honor. Iwouldhang the moon for her if it was possible, I would do anything for her.

“Then jump. I will never let you fall, Bella.”

She takes a deep breath before launching herself from the tree and straight into my arms. I catch her easily and I don’t miss the heavy sigh of relief that escapes her when she realizes that she is safe. She will always be safe with me.

Normally, I would set her down now and we would go about our day, maybe with me throwing a few jokes at her expense along the way, but for some reason I am not ready for that. Instead, I choose to keep her close to me, adjusting my hold underneath her knees and upper back to make sure she won’t move until I am good and ready to let go. Though right now I can’t imagine when that will ever be.

My eyes trace over her slowly, admiring just how gorgeous she has become. Like I said, Seraphina has been pretty since the day she was born, and she was hands down the most beautiful girl growing up. With her long blonde hair, the same golden color as her mothers, and her bright blue eyes, she is effortlessly stunning. It doesn’t hurt that she commits countless hours every day to yoga and running, two things that have heightened her beauty to make her a total stunner.

I have always noticed her, how could I not? She has always held a special place in my heart, but I didn’t always know what it really meant. By the time that I figured it out, it seemed like we were just in two different places in our life. A 4-year age difference may not be much in the grand scheme of things but when you are a kid it might as well be 14.

Tomorrow is Seraphina’s birthday though, her18thbirthday. I have thought about this day a lot over the last few years, and I have finally decided that it is time. I am going to go for it, lay it all on the line and hope to God that I can make the woman of my dreams, mine.

My eyes flick down to her full ruby red lips despite knowing that I should look away. It is physically painful just to try to keep my lips away from them. For longer than I care to admit, all I have wanted is to taste them. With tomorrow so close, it is far too tempting to take what I want now. But I want to do things right, she deserves only the best and I am going to be that for her, always.

Slowly, I set her back on the ground, not letting go until her feet are firmly planted. I see a shadow of something pass across her face, almost like disappointment. Maybe she doesn’t want me to let go of her either. Or maybe I am just a little too hopeful.

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