Initiate Me

Chapter One


Present Day...

ZANE

Fuck, I hated parties.

It meant I had to mingle¸ be polite and make conversations I didn’t want to engage in. It pissed me off. I was not the best company that night, or any other night for that matter.

I needed another stiff drink and I needed to get laid.

I watched as the caterers and wait-staff circulated through the reception area for Max and Jada’s wedding celebration. Trays were loaded with some of the best vintages in the Barossa. It was their night, and even though I was being a pessimistic prick, after what that couple had been through, they deserved to share their happiness with everyone. Jada was one good-looking woman and Max was a hell of a lucky bastard to snag her. Trying to avoid the crowd, I remained by the bar all night, drinking.

Everyone had cleared their schedules to be there, including me. Funny, I cleared it so well, I quit my job. After years on the force as a private investigator, I finally resigned. Max had been pestering me for years to work for him and Marco. As a silent partner, I’d be in charge of security for all the Brunetti Hotel and Spa Resorts across the country.

My thoughts were interrupted by the cute redheaded waitress with the perfect, tight arse she was deliberately swaying at me in her uniform. “Anything I can get you, sir?”

“Yeah, I’ll have another Johnny Walker Blue with a dash of coke, thanks.” Fuck, I was going to get hammered. It was my fourth scotch in a row, and I was feeling more relaxed. As best man, I had a speech to deliver, and there was no way I could do it if I was sober.

I downed my glass of scotch without even tasting it and ordered another from the young waitress before she could walk away. I never drank to excess. Getting drunk had never been my style and given that I was going into the wine business, a fondness for excessive alcohol would be more than a health issue; it could prove to be bad for business, too.

Right then, however, I didn’t give a shit about business or about remaining sober. Great fucking private investigator I was. I had no idea my girlfriend of two years was doing the dirty on me with one of my colleagues - my fucking partner on the force, of all people. Fuck, I’m an absolute jackass. I consumed the glass of scotch just as fast as the previous one, and I was reaching for another when I realised Max’s mum, Rosa, was walking toward me.

“Zane, there you are!” She smiled. “We are just about to open the dance floor so our cousin Luigi who only arrived from Italy a couple of days ago, can play the ‘Italian Tarantella’ on his piano accordion. Isn’t that wonderful?” she beamed, clasping her hands together with excitement. “Do you remember how to do it, Zane, because it is a tradition that the best man dances with the maid of honour.”

Fuck no! No way in hell was I going to dance the Tarantella with Mia!

No. Fucking. Way.

Mia was stunningly beautiful. She had sexy, pouty lips, high cheekbones; sultry, dark-brown eyes, and her raven hair was thick and glossy. Her tanned skin always looked smooth and silky, and the red dress she wore complimented her complexion. It was glued to her, and it sculpted every delicious curve and sumptuous crevice of her curvaceous shape. Mia had the body of a goddess. I liked my women with some meat on them, and Mia ticked all the right boxes in that department.

She was exotic.

She was a temptation.

A temptation I had tried to ignore for years. With a sexual appetite such as mine, I did not need an enticement like Mia, which was the reason I had not pursued her in the past. And also the fact that Mia was my best friend Max’s little sister. Fuck, Max would kill me if I ever went anywhere near her.

How can I ignore her voluptuous, sexy body if I have to dance with her?

“Look at them; aren’t they great together? Jada is just perfect for Max. I never thought I’d see Max settle down, and with someone I love like my own daughter, no less,” Rosa gushed. “Now that you are back and living in the Barossa, you need to find yourself a wife!” Rosa suggested.

“Ah...No, it’s fine, Rosa; I’m going to be too busy setting up the new security business. I won’t have any time for women.” Shit, just because her son’s married, she thinks she can marry me off now? I need another drink!

Rosa watched me as I gulped down my fifth glass, or was it my sixth? My alcohol tolerance was pretty high, but I never drank that high a volume of alcohol that fast. God, how many more hours of this do I have to endure? Well, a lot more, because I was being summoned by Marco to give my speech. Thank fuck I had a few drinks. The scotch sure helped create a heat in my stomach and calm my nerves, as I took hold of the microphone with sweaty palms.

“When Max asked me to be his best man, he told me he expected me to make a traditional speech. No problem, I thought. But he forgot to mention the other one hundred and fifty people who’d be present; otherwise, I wouldn’t have agreed to do it.” Everyone laughed. Taking another swig of my scotch, I kept the ball rolling. The laughter continued as I regaled the guests with stories of Max and our youth. There were even a few teary eyes when I described how perfect Max and Jada were for each other.