Page 15 of Surprise Twins for the Mafia Prince
That must be why her fear bothers me. Nothing more.
“Of course not,” I scoff. “You’re coming back to Vegas with me.”
“I’m not moving out.” Her voice gets loud as her anger returns, and her landlord responds from the kitchen.
“Actually, you are,” he says. We go into the kitchen to find him standing on the island. He’s pulling down chunks of the ceiling, revealing mold beneath. “This is a mess. I’m going to have to replace this whole section of the ceiling. You can’t stay here while I’m working on it.”
“It’s been leaking for weeks,” Paige snaps. “It wouldn’t be so bad if you’d come before.”
“Yeah, well, we’ll never know,” he replies with a careless shrug, and I’m surprised that I find her heated glare sexy even when it’s directed at someone else. Her fury is a thing of beauty. “But it’s not safe for you to stay here, and it’s going to take a while for me to get to this, anyway. You gotta go, sweetheart.”
“You’re kicking me out?” she asks in disbelief. “You can’t do that.”
“You’re on a month-to-month lease. So, yes, I can.”
He’s being an asshole about this, but that works out well for me. I take Paige’s arm again, pulling her toward a short hallway off the living room.
“What are you doing?” She tries to pull away, but I’m too strong for her. Her resistance is like a butterfly fighting against a hurricane.
“Taking you somewhere we can talk in private.”
I open the first door I come to and find that it’s a bedroom. The bed is unmade, and there’s an overflowing hamper in the corner. She didn’t expect anyone to be in here, and my possessive side likes that. Maybe I really was the last man to get between those long legs. The thought sends a hot surge of satisfaction through me. Mine.
“There’s no need to talk privately,” she says stubbornly as I release her arm and shut the door behind us. “You’re out of your mind if you think I’m going anywhere with you.”
“I might be, but that’s not going to stop me.”
“What does that even mean?”
We’re standing so close to each other that I can smell that lavender scent again. Something about the way she has to look up at me through her eyelashes softens the glare she sends my way. She’s all fire and fury wrapped in a package so delicate I could break her with one hand.
“I’m not asking, Spitfire. I’m telling you that I’m taking you home with me until I can prove that the kid is mine. If it’s not, you’ll be out on your ass, but if it is, you’re staying.”
“You think you can just dictate my future like that?”
“Yes.”
My short answer makes her so angry that her face is flushed and her chest expands as she draws in a deep breath. The pink in her cheeks makes her look alive in a way that takes my breath away.
Maybe she’s right and I’m out of my mind, because I want to kiss her so badly right now. Want to claim that mouth and remind her body who it belongs to.
“No. I’m not going anywhere near Vegas again. I hate the Andrettis.”
“You’re going to have to get over that because if you’re to be believed, our child will be an Andretti.”
She winces like I’ve stabbed her. “Why don’t you just leave? Go back and forget this ever happened. I’ll raise the kid myself. You don’t have to be involved.”
I frown, rage coursing through me at her suggestion. It hits something primal and raw, something I didn’t know existed until this moment. “I might not be the most honorable man in the world, but I’d never abandon my child. Assuming that it even is my kid.”
“You’re so arrogant. As if I would lie about my baby being yours? You think I’m that desperate to tie myself to you? An Andretti?”
She says my last name like it’s a curse. Like we’re monsters from a fairy tale meant to frighten children. Maybe we are.
“The point is that I’m going to be around if the kid turns out to be mine.”
“Maybe I don’t want you around.”
My hands clench into fists at my sides, and it takes every ounce of self-control not to put my fist through the wall. “If you try to keep my kid from me, I’ll take them from you.”
