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A little kingdos dwell;

And very hard the task I find of governing it well

—Louisa May Alcott

Prologue

Serena

“Shhhh,” Junior clapped a hand over my mouth as voices sounded around the corner

Our dads

Both of them

I grinned against his palainst the wall, ere blanketed in darkness, just us His scent wrapped around me in a way that felt like a fantasy He tasted like cinnamon; the heat between our bodies would sear a normal person alive

But eren’t normal

We were best friends

Who just happened to be sleeping together

At sixteen

And he was a few months older—the dads would flip if they knew—all of them

They wouldn’t approve It was one of their many rules And only they knew the real reason they didn’t want any of us together

But tellingme to do it, I snuck into Junior’s bedroom when I was fifteen

And the rest was history

We’d been inseparable ever since

“M skin as he tilted his head at a different angle The hushed voices co rooent They’d kill us for being together

I wasn’t even exaggerating

That was the price we paid for being born into mafia royalty

And yet, I didn’t care, ht now? All I wanted was him

With every kiss, I lied and said it orth a life, life is fleeting anyhy not spend it in someone’s arms? Better yet, why not spend it in his bed?

“We’re going to get caught” Junior pulled away and sighed, then pressed his forehead against mine, his eyes were an ocean blue al when he watchedand what he saw, he wanted—desperately