Dom's Absolution

J A D E

"Daddy!" my shrill voice rang out from the second floor. I was currently arguing with Quintin, my best friend, who was basically like a brother to me. Even though he was two years older, I still bossed him around, because well, that was just how things worked between us for as long as I could remember.

Right now, we needed an important issue settled immediately, so I called the one person who could provide a resolution.

That person was Dominic Giano Calvetti.

Just saying his name sent shivers down my spine. The Italian man was the biggest mafia boss in Aelbank City, and we had met him when I was just six years old.

You see, Quintin and I had been kidnapped and taken to a crime boss called Enzo. At the time, Dominic had just moved from New York City, branching out to form his own mafia.

What better way to make a name for yourself than to take out the biggest crime bosses in the area?

Anyway, seeing the tall, pale-skinned, silvery white-haired man as he entered the room had been like seeing an angel. Only this angel did not come with wings and a harp, but rather with a purple pinstripe suit and a purple Desert Eagle. Suffice to say, when he had blown Enzo's head clean off in front of us, it had been love at first sight. Not love love, but you know, the grateful kind. Although, I would be lying if I did not openly admit that lately, I had been curious about what it would be like to kiss him.

When the thought had first popped into my head, the spring semester for my university was slowly coming to an end, with exams looming around the corner. I was sitting in my Accounting Analytics class and had ended up gasping out loud, disturbing Professor Mitchell.

Needless to say, I had been shocked as well as embarrassed, as I had no idea why I would even consider something like that. Perhaps it was the new adult hormones as I liked to call them, or just the excitement of kissing a man as dangerous as him.

Of course, due to the rare skin condition he had, Dominic did not look like a traditional Italian mafia man. Hell, his appearance I can admit, was appalling to most people when they first saw him. My best friend Blaire had given him the nickname Jack Frost the first time she had met Dominic.

However, in my eyes, his unnaturally pale features made him all the more special.

I blamed this newfound interest on all those erotic mafia romance stories that Blaire had me reading throughout the semester. It was part of her own personal extra-curricular activities to help improve her prose writing, since she was studying for a degree in Literature.

For as long as I could remember, I had always wanted to be a part of Dominic's mafia organisation, but he had made it clear that he would only consider my request after I graduated from university. And so, that is why I had been studying at a private institution for the past year, working towards my degree in Forensic Accounting.

What can I say, I was not about to let Dominic get caught on tax evasion.

My newfound emotional state had left me very confused, and it was something that I had been thinking about for the past six weeks, since my summer break had started.

With my nineteenth birthday fast approaching, I hoped that I could satisfy this sudden and weird curiosity that I had for him. I felt like kissing him would help me process these strange new feelings that I was developing.

Dominic had not really been a father figure per se. At least not to me, especially as I was a girl and the man had no clue about raising children.

Sure, he had taken Quintin and myself in and provided a roof over our heads. But he had a mafia to run, so it had been up to the maids and tutors to take care of us, and as children, we barely saw much of him.

To me, Dominic had always been more like that annoying, overprotective older brother. Even though he aggravated the hell out of you, you still respected and cared about him.

Quintin and I were the only two children ever allowed to live at the Calvetti residence, and needless to say, we grew up not wanting for anything.

The lavish property had been built against the curve of the hills, and the elevation allowed for us to enjoy the beautiful city views. Particularly the sight of the boardwalk, next to the East Dock in Canary Wharf that stood in the distance, was one of my favourite things to look at.

The Calvetti residence was a beautiful piece of architecture, with multiple floors above and below the earth. There were two main entrances, one to the west and the other facing the east. The residence's inside, as well as the outside of the compound, were patrolled by a number of heavily armed bodyguards. Rising above any other structure of the property, a guard tower, staffed by two men at all times, provided maximum security.

I loved living here, and while I could have stayed on campus, I chose not to.

If I had it my way, I would never leave, for the people in this building were my family.

Plus, harassing them was just too much fun!

Leaving Quintin to grumble, I walked to my open bedroom door and stuck my head out in the hallway and shouted once again.

"Daaaaaddyyyyy!" I screeched with a smirk, knowing how much Dominic hated when I called him that.

I could just picture him now as he no doubt heard my annoying yells while sitting in the large living room with Vincent, just below us on the first floor.

Dominic was probably growling and gritting his teeth as he cursed my name to hell, but I liked to think that he had a soft spot for me.

Vincent was a man of few emotions, and his dark, smouldering eyes were like bottomless pools of ice-cold liquid. He was feared and respected by many, having rightfully earned his place as Dominic's second in command. I could just imagine his dark eyebrows arching as my yells reached his ears also.

My attention was pulled back into my room as Quintin shouted at me.

"I will ask you again, Jade, what the hell did you do to your hair?" he exclaimed, his 5ft 10in frame rigid.

"Can you just relax, Quin?" I replied, using my nickname for him, trying to calm him down.

"I can't! Have you seen your head?" Quintin gestured, his voice getting louder, "Why would you think that this would be a good look?"

"What does it matter? It's my hair and I can do whatever I want!" I screamed back.

In that moment, Dominic barged into the bedroom, "Children, children, enough with the fighting..." his words died down as his gaze settled upon us.

Upon his entry, my green eyes lit up, "Daddy! Do you like it?"

"Jade! What the hell did you do to your hair?" Dominic's question mirrored Quintin's as he stood there, his pale face contorted in confusion.

My once long, caramel-brown hair was now a vibrant purple.

The glossy strands framed my delicate face, while the rest of the thick tresses cascaded down my back. It had been hard to find the exact shade of purple that I wanted, but after months of searching, I had found a salon that carried it.

"I dyed it, obviously! I did it for my birthday party later. I will be nineteen in a few hours and you told me a few years ago that I could colour my hair purple once I turned eighteen. I figured a year late wasn't too bad," my smile was wide.

Dominic's blue eyes bulged, clearly surprised that I had even remembered that conversation.

"I was obviously joking! I didn't think you were serious; that was over a decade ago for crying out loud," he sputtered.

"Aaaand with that, I take my exit!" Quintin said before quickly adding, "I'm going to go over some of the preparations for the party with Jee-min. Try not to kill each other too much," his laughter could be heard as he began to make his way out.

"Send Jee-min in here for a minute before you leave," Dominic commanded before Quintin left.

Poking his shoulder gently, "Well..." I said while twirling around playfully,

"Do you like it, daddy?"

He took a sharp breath as his eyes narrowed, "Jade, how many times have I told you not to call me that? You know how much it irritates me!"

"Exactly..." a soft snicker escaped me as I continued, "Besides, using the names Dominic or Mr. Calvetti just isn't as much fun and well, I wanted to have something else to call you besides plain old Dom..." I paused and pouted before adding, "Be grateful I didn't decide to call you Daddy Dom instead. Although, I have been thinking about Dom the Dom, kind of has a nice ring to it no?"

Dom the Dom.

Just saying it out loud caused me to giggle some more. I had come up with it based on the preference of his sexual appetite, well at least based on the rumors I had heard.

Certainly, Dom the Dom was much better than Daddy Dom Dick, and as I compared the two, the thought caused me to snort as I tried to stifle my laughter.

At the mention of Dom the Dom, Dominic growled softly, "Jade..." I loved it when he said my name.

My real name was Martha Miller, but I hated it, for it reminded me of my past, and it just sounded too boring. So, in the end, I had it changed.

Dominic had recommended the name Jade, stating that the intensity of my green eyes reminded him of Jadeite. I had immediately fell in love with the designation.

Smiling, I moved even closer to him and hugged his left arm.

With a sigh, I rested my head against his shoulder, his 6ft 4in stature towered over my 5ft 7in frame. Like always, he smelled so good, and I could not help but inhale the scent of his cologne.

Pouting my lips, I looked up at him, "So, do you like the colour, Dom? It matches your favourite shade of purple."

As he was about to answer, someone knocked on the door.