Page 53 of Reaper

“When we go out for this, I always want you in a skirt. Understand?”

“Why?” I ask while gazing at him, and he smirks.

“I need easy access to my sweet pussy, baby.”

“Is that why you do it? It gets you off?”

He laughs as he cuts the ignition off.

Reaching over, he tucks the hair in my face behind my ear.

“Whenever you’re around, it gets me hard. Watching you kill people, fuck yeah, it turns me on, baby. Me killing? No, it’s not a sexual thing. It’s more of a relief. When someone dies at my hands,it’s beautiful to watch, and physically feels like I’ve been in excruciating pain, and in an instant, it evaporates.”

I know there’s something in Nico’s past that hurts him, but I don’t know what it is, and right now is not the time to ask. If I ask when he’s planning to hurt people, he’s going to take it as a judgment, and it’s not. I just want to know him better. It’s like a craving that won’t go away. The desire to know him inside and out is powerful. Outside is easy, but inside, he keeps guarded. And I know, all his life he’s been told there’s something wrong with him, and I’m sure that’s why he keeps certain things to himself. He once told me that I was the one person he didn’t want to judge him, but to accept him as he is. I didn’t in the beginning, but I do now. In time, he’ll realize he has a safe space with me no matter what he says.

“Fuck, I love you. Let’s go get a drink and take a look around.”

I nod and move to open the door, and he growls at me.

“Fucking wait.”

Removing my hand from the door, he shakes his head at me, gets out of the car and walks around to my door, and opens it.

Tilting my head at him, I say, “Reaper Bonetti, the gentleman.”

“The gentleman,” he repeats and then grins, “I think I prefer, ‘The Pussy Killer’.”

I get out of the car, and he takes my hand and pulls me against his side.

“You are to stay close to me. If you need to use the restroom, you’ll tell me. I do not want you out of my sight, if at all possible. Understood?”

“Yes. Are you always so intense?”

We walk to the door and he answers me, “When it comes to you, yes, always.”

I could remind him that, if I can kill people, I should be able to take care of myself. I’ve been doing it for a while now, but I know that doesn’t make me invincible.

CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE

REAPER

Nobody will look at me and wonder why I’m not dead. My employees knew it was all a hoax. For the benefit of my girl. She needed to think I was gone. Once Bella thought I was dead, it was going to go one of two ways. I’d find her and take her again, or she’d realize, not only was she mine, but she wanted to be. I’m relieved it was the latter.

She stares at me with unasked questions, every time someone greets me with, ‘Good evening, Mr. Bonetti, it’s so good to see you.’

If Bella asks me, I’ll answer regardless of how uncomfortable it is, but I don’t think she has figured that out yet. We take a seat at a table with a chair on one side, and a booth on the other. Automatically, I take the booth, because I plan to keep my hands on her. I watch her as she glances around the club. First, she looks at the large black ‘U’ shaped bar, with no bar stools in front of it. My plan early on was to not have people congregating at the bar. Her gaze turns to the black round tables with silver chairs, and then the dance floor, where people are bumping and grinding relentlessly.

Originally, I thought this club would be used for money laundering in the family business, but I quickly found out it was part of my father’s retirement plan for me. When he told me I was too unhinged for the mafia, I laughed because I thought he was joking, but he wasn’t. He didn’t say anything for a long time, but I’ve always believed he decided Psycho would not become the head of the family during the same time period. He was sick for a long time before he clued us in, and everything was already in place before he had the conversation with the three of us. Bones wasn’t there, because he was the first to be notified. Bones is a pain in my ass, but it was probably the right decision. I think even Psycho knows thatnow. He isn’t a leader. Not because he isn’t strong enough, but because he’s too much like me. My oldest brother tends to do whatever he wants to, without considering consequences. In the mafia, that’s dangerous. It can wipe out entire families. Like a good boy scout, you need to always be prepared. While Psycho will set fires everywhere, regardless of who gets burned, Bones thinks more methodically, and has everything planned out, before he strikes.

The waitress brings over a whiskey and sets it in front of me, and asks Bella if she’d like to see the wine list. My girl crosses her arms over her chest, and narrows her gaze at Sheila, and says, “I’ll have a whiskey. Just because I’m a girl, doesn’t mean I can’t handle hard shit.”

The server looks from Bella to me with a concerned expression.

“Of course, I’m sorry.”

The waitress leaves, and Bella turns to me.

“I choose her. Can we do her?”

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