Page 53 of Sinfully Savage Mafia

It’s of the deadly variety.

One thing I’ve learned through my limited interactions with this woman is that her spark is always ready to ignite, and the flames singeing my ass will be the least of my concerns. It riles my baser instincts. Turns me on. And I almost smile.

“How long has this arrangement been a thing?” she asks with a sharp edge to her voice.

I cross the room and pull the cap from her head, fanning the soft, long red hair of her ponytail with my fingers. She doesn’t flinch. Just raises her chin, face impassive. Only the emerald fire in her eyes blazes with the fury that runs livewire hot through her.

“Does it matter,amore mio?” I’m not sure why I keep calling her my love, but I like the way it throws her off her game. She might not know what the words are, but she understands the meaning.

“Do not call me that.”

“I’ll call you whatever I fucking please,la mia bella ragazza.”

She licks her lips and my gaze falls to the small movement that makes my cock twitch. “It matters, asshole.”

“I prefer Matteo.”

“And I prefer not to see you again, but here we are.”

I smile, sliding my hand to her shoulder and up along her throat, the heat and silk of her beneath my fingertips almost an aphrodisiac.

“How long?” she asks again.

“Long enough.”

Her eyes narrow. “This is what the business meeting has always been about.”

“What do you think, Heaven?”

“That you’re a cocksucker.”

“Never tried, actually. Not my thing. Your pussy, on the other hand…”

She stiffens but doesn’t make a move, even as a muscle in her jaw tics. “There are other ways.”

“This suits my purposes. You suit my purposes.”

“And what happened today? Was that you?”

I don’t change my expression. “Why would I want to harm my bride-to-be?”

“To make me marry you.”

I lean in, placing my mouth to her ear. “I can think of more…pleasurable ways, Heaven, than having you beaten up.”

And it’s true. I didn’t want anyone harming her.

“Do you know what it’s like to have your life signed over to a fucking stranger?” Heaven suddenly launches at me, shoving me hard in the chest.

I could grab her and stop her easily. I could shove her back. But I don’t do either. “Your family fucked up. Your brother fucked up, and to keep everyone safe, you’re going to marry me.”

“Do you want a medal?” She shoves me again and I deliberately go backward, letting her advance.

“Your father knows what he stands to lose if you and your family are vulnerable and exposed. This morning was just a warning to let you know they’re coming in hot. And they will destroy everything, Heaven. Unless someone can ward them off. I’m that someone, like it or not.”

“And just like that, my father trusted you? He basically handed me over on a silver platter with no guarantee that you’d be able to deliver on your ‘job requirements’?”

“He’s a smart man. He knows the risks to his empire if he tries to battle the cartel on his own. They have large armies, not just here in Manhattan, but all over New York City and up and down the Eastern Seaboard. They will incinerate your livelihood. A bloody and terrible war will begin, and you’ll be lost in all of it.”

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