Page 104 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

There’s something in his tone and I shift, looking up at him, our faces close. “You don’t think that at all.”

“Business. We have amazing sex. I like you. But don’t read into things beyond that. And trust me.”

“Time will tell. Won’t it? I guess we’ll see if you’re lying to me or not.”

His expression grows grim, but there’s a bleakness that inexplicably sets off a thrill of hope. “It won’t, and I’m not. You should know by now I’m not a good man. I care about myself and money and power.”

“There’s no way you’d hold me like you do if that were true.” I don’t know why I’m pushing this. A glutton for nothing but punishment. But I can’t stop.

“Heaven—”

“Matteo.” I take his face in mine and kiss him. His mouth opens for me and I kiss him with everything I am, everything I have, and he tastes like he always does, like something I can’t get enough of, but it isn’t right.

He’s letting me kiss him, he’s not kissing me back.

“Damn you.” I go to pull free of him when a wildness comes into his face and he pulls me back into him and kisses me.

It’s a storm of a kiss – savage and hot and desperate and full of a need that can bleach bones. And it’s over before it began.

“Trust me, Heaven,amore mio. Play the part. Please…”

It’s the ‘please’ that does it, and I know he’s right beyond that. I nod and turn and lean my back against him. “I guess it’s apropos that we start our adventure as husband and wife like this, with things twisted and full of games and lies.”

“Yes. I suppose it is. I’ll keep you safe.”

“You and I are married, Matteo. Business or not, it’s real.” I look at him again.

We head inside and my breath is knocked from me.

The restaurant is closed off to the public for this reception, and if I can’t have what I want, which is Matteo giving me some kind of solid hope for us, I can throw myself into the pretend. And the truth.

The pretend is a fairy tale.

The truth is he’s my husband and whatever else, the heat between us, that physical thing, is real.

And then there’s the other thing, something I don’t understand, something else that’s there. So, I shut that all down and just throw myself into my role.

And this place…it’s love. The vibe is my mother’s heart. The look is chic and sophisticated with creamy white walls and décor with carefully curated splashes of bold color that add life and exuberance to the space. It’s a lot like my mother. She was always so calming and even-tempered. God, I miss her.

For the past few years, I suffered the loss of two of the women in the world who mattered most to me—my mother and Molly.

I buried myself in my work, trying to compensate for everything I’d done wrong, and build up everything I could do right.

And being here, I wonder…can I fix us? This thing with Matteo? What if I dealt with the Dominguez thing? What would happen next? It’s something to think about. But not here. Not right now.

“Matty!” A loud voice bellows from the front entrance, and Matteo’s brothers barrel up to us as I turn.

Roman gathers me up in a bear hug, then steps aside so that an older man I take to be my new father-in-law can kiss me on both cheeks before giving me a tight hug. He pulls away, a smile on his aged face. “Bellisima,I am Matteo’s father, Paolo,”he says, squeezing my hands tight. “Congratulations.”

“Thank you,” I say. “It’s a pleasure to finally meet you.” I look up at his other brothers. “Allof you.”

“Matty, Romo sure was right when he said you were marrying up,” the tallest of the guys says with a movie-actor smile.

“Oh, did you,Matty?” I mimic, nudging Matteo. I hold out my hand to his brother. “Heaven.”

“Fuck yeah, you are,” he says, waving away my hand and pulling me in for a hug. “We’re family now. And this family doesn’t do handshakes. Got that?”

“Sure do…uh, who are you, again?” I ask.

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