"Breathe... Breathe Christian... Breathe...You can do this."

My life is about to change. What I do next will determine the Mafia Boss that I will become. Now I am a determined man, and there shall be nothing and no one that will come in my way in my pursuit to claim what is mine.

Though if you look at it, what I wish to claim is truly not mine. Therefore one can say, I wish to take something that does not belong to me. But I believe in all of my destiny that I have a right to it. I do not want to share; Christian Caine is not a man that does. I want to be alone at the top; I want it all to be mine. Yes, I have grown somewhat ruthless and a bit power-hungry.

Now, in the next few seconds, I will face the man whom I will take down; he is the one that possesses the last piece; with that piece, I will have all of the power of the state in my hands. Yes, this is my desire, and no man or woman will tell me any way otherwise.

I am about to set the wheels in motion, make that ripple in the pond, and start a whole new war all over again. This time it won’t be so easy; this time, my princess won't be the one that sweeps in and saves the day. I want to be the only one that stares this man down in the face. And here is how we will start it; I am here to survey his grounds and have a silly dinner party while doing it.

So as I set one foot out of the car, there is a rush of adrenaline that races through my veins. It feels as if I am floating on top of the world, with the world at my feet. Christian Caine lives for this feeling, I sit at the top, and the only one that shares my side, is my princess.

But just as I am about to put my other foot outside, I have Cassandra pulling me back. With her long locks of hair that dance over her shoulders and her body cover in red silk, she leans into me; this woman still has the ability to render me out of control; she truly has been my undoing. Do I miss my playboy days? Every morning I wake up next to her, I know that I made the right decision, the day I stepped into that shower and took what I knew would be mine one day.

And now she has my face cupped in her hands, “Mr. Caine, are you sure you want to do this?”

“Princess, have I ever been a man that messes about such things?”

She does not approve of what I am set to do; yet though she still remains by my side. Without any hesitation, this woman loves me with all her heart. She, in her own right, owns my heart, this body that is carved to perfection, and every flicker of my soul. This all belongs to Cassandra.

And it is this Cassandra that only but leans in closer against my sculpted chest, breath by a breath, she moves her deep cherry lips, closer and closer, with only one wink...our lips touch. She tastes like cotton candy and feels smoother than that silk dress that hugs her body around her perfect curves.

It takes me back to our first kiss; it is freshly carved in my memory; it only feels like it was only yesterday. With my eyes wide open, I admire the beauty that lies in her; with those brown eyes, she looks straight into my soul. She knows more than anybody else who Christian Caine really is, and for parts, she is the one that turned him whom he has become

Every time that she is close to me, it still sets my heart racing. The sweet smell of her perfume is the only scent that brings pleasure to my senses. With those deep cherry lips, she can drive a man beyond crazy.

She runs her hand through my hair and pulls me even closer; the world around us has completely faded away; she is my only focus. I place my hand at the small of her back, and she splays her hand against my chest.

“Christian, we can’t…not here.”

“Ssshhh, princess.” I place my finger around her cherry lips, preventing her from saying yet another word. “I am only going to kiss you…well, perhaps for only now.”

But still, she protests, “You…we…can’t…”

“Princess, you know that you cannot stop me.”

We lean in a little closer, inch by inch, we move until our foreheads are gently touching. I stare deep into her brown eyes; I cannot fight against the thoughts that she has running through my mind. I totally come undone as she floods all my senses. My heart is beating so loud; it feels like I am going to explode. With hands that are slightly trembling, I whisper in her ear.

“I will kiss my fiancé anywhere that I want. Now, if the man wants to stare, then let him do all that he wants, but let him know that I will break his jaw, just for doing so.”

My hand drifts to her hips and settles there for a minute before I pull her closer into me. She inhales sharply and gasps as I lift her onto my lap. She locks her arms around my neck and runs her fingers through my hair. I begin to nuzzle her neck with soft kisses, so soft they felt like whispers. Her lips come closer to mine, and our breaths mingle. My heart flutter inside my chest.

For what seems like an eternity, we just stare into each other’s eyes.

She looks down at my slightly parted lips. We both lean into each other in slow motion, never breaking eye contact once. Then we begin to close the gap even more than before.

With a slight pull of her hair, I bend her head backward, giving me easy access to her lips. My warm breath lingers just for a second; I feel that I cannot breathe, I cannot move, my entire body stiffening.

Then she kisses me.

When she kisses me, my brain lights on fire, and the warmth spread throughout my entire body. I am addicted to her, I cannot bear being without her, and I can barely breathe when she is around. These kisses are my salvation and my torment. I live for them, and I would die with the memory of them on my lips. I dedicate my life to being with her, for I know that if I lose her, I will lose myself. She is the half that made me whole.

I never set out to fall in love; to me, love was a small fickle thing. Love made a man weak, and in my line of business, weak is the worst kind of place you can find yourself in. Love was a thing for dreamers, a thing that is chased by people with their heads in the clouds and not their feet on the ground.

Love found me when I was not looking. I was not paying attention. It drew me in and kept me captive. It made me feel and experience so many feelings all at once. It took me on a journey that I know is not even close to ending. I know that it won't be easy and that I am going to get broken sometimes, but I know for a fact that it is going to be worth every second of my life.

After what seems like being away for hours, we part and put our foreheads together.

I softly whisper under small rapid breaths, “I love you, princess.”

“And so do I, Mr. Caine. Now let’s get this thing over with.”

With a quick glance in the rearview mirror, I fix my tie, this is a first one for Christian Caine, but if I am to get what I want, I need to play along and not cause any alarm.

And this is where we find ourselves, Cassandra, and me at some fancy dinner. Tonight some of the most well-known Bosses from out of state, well put aside their difference and enjoy an evening of food and dance. Now my elimination of Sloane caused quite a stir, I can only imagine that I shall not be welcomed by most of them, yet I need to remind them that Christian Caine shall do whatever he wants. And right now, I want something that only the host of this party can give. But tonight, I shall not claim it so soon; I will wait for just the right minute.

So as we move elegantly up the stairs, we find him standing at the very top, greeting guests as they pass. Now there is one thing that I forgot to mention, and as we come up to him, I can see those irises blacken his eyes, and as completely expected…

“What are you doing here, Caine?”