Page 35 of Savage Claim

I reeled her in for a kiss, but there was no heat behind it. Instead, it was the steady comfort of her lips against mine, and when the kiss broke, she put her head back on my shoulder. I held her for a long time, surprised that I wasn’t throwing her down to get inside of her. It wasn’t as if I didn’t want to. I always wanted her.

But it was nice to feel her body against mine just like this.

“I’m going to hire a tutor for you.”

She hummed in question, but she didn’t move from where she was reclining. “A tutor for what?”

“You were in nursing school, right?”

Isabella jerked back now, suspicious. “You know that I was.”

“You lost a lot of ground leaving school,” I said. “If you plan to go back, you’re going to need someone to help you.”

Her eyes began to sparkle, jewel-like. “Are you serious?” I nodded, and she struggled to suck in a breath. “I don’t understand. I thought?—”

“There are alotof logistics to work out,” I told her, “and you’re not going anywhere without me or one of my men until after the baby is born, but eventually, you should go back to school.”

“I still don’t get it. Why would you?”

“You’re going to be my wife,” I told her. “I want you to be happy.”

“I am happy,” she asserted.

“For now,” I agreed. “But I don’t want you to look back at the end of our lives and feel that I’ve stolen something from you.” I tightened my grip on her. “I’m too selfish to let you go. You’re mine, and you always will be.” She shivered, and I grinned, wolfish. “So, I want you to find satisfaction in what you have, not mourn what you may have lost.”

Isabella’s smile was soft and fond. “Hire me a tutor,” she said with a little nod. “That’s a good way to start.”

CHAPTER 22

Isabella

“Did he really have to bringl’estraneawith him?” I could hear the murmurs behind me as I waited for Lorenzo. He was walking up and down, examining the contents of the boxes that surrounded us.

“La puttanashould have stayed at home,” another voice answered. It was safe to say that a good number of Lorenzo’s men didn’t care for me. That was fine. I couldn’t say that I liked most of them either. But Lorenzo wanted to show me more of the Cosa Nostra; he wanted me to understand the world that he operated in. He wanted me to be happy in this life, yes, but he also wanted me to understand what I had signed up for.

I thought I knew, but standing in a warehouse in New Jersey, staring at cases of weapons that were stolen from the actual US military, I began to realize that I had no clue.

“Least she’s pretty,” the first voice muttered. “If he’s going to be bringing her around.”

I could feel their eyes on me, as if they were running their greedy hands all over me, but I kept mine on Lorenzo, shoulderssquared and head held high. I wasn’t going to look weak in front of them.

“Nah,” the second man said. “She’s all fucked up under that little dress. I heard from my buddy who was at that meeting at the house.”

I closed my eyes and took a deep, steadying breath.Do not turn around and scream, I told myself. I knew that Lorenzo would come running, but I didn’t want blood on my hands today. “I think you should be thankful that it’s only my body that’s a little fucked up.” I glanced over my shoulder, and both men had frozen. Did they obviously think I couldn’t hear them? “Could you imagine how bad it would be if I was a vengeful bitch, too?”

“Ms. Rossi?—”

My lips stretched into a wide smile, delighted with the way both men went gray. Maybe Lorenzo and I were better suited for each other than I originally thought. “Don’t worry,” I told them. “I don’t mind if you don’t like me because do you know who does?”

The younger of the two men swallowed hard. “Don Vitali?”

I could feel my smile growing colder and crueler. “That’s right,” I said and turned back around. “Lorenzo,” I called.

He looked up. “Are you all right,dolcezza?”

I weaved around the boxes so that I could be by his side. I didn’t have to look back at the men to know that their eyes were on me. “I’m fine,” I said, and his hand came up to cup my baby bump. He had been doing that more and more.

“I’m almost done here,” he promised.

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