Not only was the girl blessed by the fucking Victoria Secret god, she was blessed with a last name that came with a black credit card and a crown. Her father, Dante Caruso, was the boss of the Caruso empire and the current reigning king of Kansas City, Missouri. He owned everyone and everything that resided in the city limits, which allowed her a hundred or so pairs of red bottomed shoes, the Birkin on her arm, and the short, suede, mauve dress that was definitely too much for the current occasion, but she went absolutely everywhere like this. Hell, she would go to Trader Joe’s like this if she ever went to the grocery store herself.
The theoretical crown on her head made her the “Mafia princess.” That nickname made her skin crawl, even if it was true. You see, there were two fucking major problems in her perfect life, and the first one was her crown.
It will never be big enough.
The name Caruso came with a power that had skipped her at birth. It was a power she would never hold, because between her legs was a kitty, not a wolf. What the world didn’t know was that she wasn’t a kitten who needed a pretty little tiara and bodyguards who watched her every move. She was a fucking lioness, and she would take a fucking lioness’s side in killing a wolf any day.
However, the mafia’s traditions had been passed down for generations, and all this lioness was meant to be was a mob wife, unlike her three brothers ….
“Where’s Dad?”
Staring at her little brother with his arms crossed over his chest as he leaned against the concrete wall beside the classroom door, she hadn’t noticed how much older he had started looking lately until she saw him here in Legacy Prep’s halls. “He’s busy.”
“Lucca couldn’t come?” he asked next.
“No, he’s busy, too.” She narrowed her eyes down at him. “Leo, did you do something you don’t want me to know?”
He slightly shook his cute face, causing his dirty-blond hair to ruffle a little. “I didn’t think I did anything wrong. Usually, Mr. Evans’s is pretty cool—”
“Kayne Evans?” Maria’s heart thumped once in her chest, reminding her that she actually had one.
“Yeah …?” Leo stared up at her with his deep blue eyes. Only being a sophomore in high school, he still had a growth spurt or two left in him to reach his sister’s height in heels. However, he did already carry her wickedly good looks. So much so that he gave a young Leo DiCaprio a run for his older self’s money.
I knew he was my favorite brother.
Rubbing her pouty lips together, she made sure her lip gloss glistened. Having had men look at her since the age of thirteen, she knew where they couldn’t help looking first—if they looked at a woman’s face, that was.
Her little brother’s brow furrowed, confused at what exactly she was doing.
She raised her manicured hand to his silky, blond hair, ruffling it like she always did and putting his thoughts on pause.
“Do me a favor and wait here, and I promise not to tell Dad whatever it was you did,” she whispered to him so her bodyguard a few feet back couldn’t hear.
It took him a few seconds of wondering what the hell she was up to before deciding. “Deal.”
Putting her hand on the doorknob, she turned it after another thump of her cold heart. Quickly opening it she went inside, then closed the door sharply behind her as Leo went to stand in front of it, so her suit was stuck waiting outside.
With her heels clicking in the confines of the classroom, a pair of golden eyes looked up from his desk and to the tanned, shiny legs that didn’t belong to an underaged girl in this school.
Looking at the man she had dreamed of since meeting him, she could only form two words.
God damn.
Two
Exactly the Way You Dreamed of a Hot Teacher Doing It
“Ms. Caruso.” Kayne quickly cleared his throat before standing up from behind his desk. “I wasn’t expecting you.”
“Our father’s caught up at work,” she told him, barely noticing the slight change in his appearance upon seeing her. The stern marks that lightly etched his face suddenly disappeared, knowing she must have caught the way too-fucking-hot-for-a-high-school-English teacher off guard. Smiling, she was sure to remind him of their previous two meetings, letting him know they were on a first name basis. Truthfully, she was dying to hear her damn name pass his sexy lips again. “And just Maria.”
A hot as hell smile tilted his lips before he nodded in understanding. “Maria, then.”
Christ, that smile mixed with her name almost took her the fuck out.
“And your mother couldn’t make it?” he asked.
“No.” That was the second major problem that made her perfect life … imperfect. “She’s dead.”