Page 26 of Mafia Don's Twisted Proposal
Her chin lifts in that stubborn way I’m learning to recognize. “He deserved it. He threw me over his shoulder and carried me out of work! Do you know how embarrassing that was? I’m glad I hurt him.”
The defiance in her voice should annoy me. Instead, it makes me want to press her against the nearest wall and show her exactly what her determination does to me.
“I don’t care about that,” I say, working the last of the rope free. “You could have caused an accident and gotten hurt.”
She stares at me like I’ve grown a second head, and I realize my words probably surprised her. She expected me to be angry about Declan getting scratched, not worried about her safety. When the rope falls away and I see the red marks circling her wrists where it bit into her skin, something dark and violent shifts behind my ribs.
The temperature in the room drops ten degrees.
I trace the marks with the tip of one finger, and my voice comes out deadly quiet. “Your money will be wired to you within the hour.”
I don’t look up, but I hear Declan’s sharp intake of breath. Smart man recognizes a threat when he hears one, regardless of the delivery. His footsteps retreat toward the door. Quick, but not running. He knows better than to run.
The front door clicks shut with unusual haste, and I pull Mia’s wedding rings out of my pocket.
“Now,” I say, slipping them back onto her finger. She doesn’t resist this time, which I choose to take as progress. “I thought I made it clear before that I don’t like you taking off your rings.”
The diamonds catch the light as I settle them into place. They look right on her hand. They look like they belong there.
“These rings mark you as mine,” I continue, “they tell the whole world that you’re a taken woman. If you remove them again, I’ll give you a ring tattoo instead.”
She gasps, yanking her hands out of my hold. “You wouldn’t dare!”
I slip an arm around her waist and pull her against me. Her breasts press into my chest, and my cock hardens instantly. It’s embarrassing how quickly my body responds to her, like I’m some teenager who can’t control himself.
“Baby,” I murmur, tucking a strand of her dark hair behind her ear, “you have no idea what I’d dare to do.”
The feel of her hair between my fingers is like silk. Everything about her is soft where I’m hard, yielding where I’m unyielding.
“Besides, I kind of like the idea of marking you in some way.”
Anger flashes in her brown eyes, but I don’t give her a chance to unleash whatever verbal assault she’s preparing. I slam my mouth onto hers, pouring all of my pent-up desire and frustration and possessiveness into the kiss.
She resists for two heartbeats, her body tense and her lips unmoving. Then I grab her ass and squeeze, and she gasps. I take ruthless advantage, slipping my tongue into her mouth and tasting her properly for the first time in twenty-four hours.
God, I missed this. Missed her.
Her resistance dissolves instantly. Her tongue wrestles with mine as she tries to take control of the kiss, and I swallow the moan that escapes her throat. She melts into me, all soft curves and pliant heat, and I’m just starting to trail my hands up over her hips when Luca clears his throat.
Loudly.
I pull away from Mia, enjoying the dazed look in her eyes more than I should. Luca is making a face like he just witnessed something deeply traumatic.
“I didn’t expect to meet your new wife like that,” he says, his nose wrinkled in disgust.
Mia looks embarrassed, but I just laugh. Can’t say I’m sorry he had to witness his old man’s prowess.
“Mia,” I release her and walk over to thump Luca on the back, “this is my son, Luca.”
Luca’s eyes go wide. “Hang on, how old are you?”
“I’m twenty-six.”
He looks at me with something approaching horror. “Whoa, Dad. Robbing the cradle?”
This time, I slap the back of his head. Hard. “Show some respect.”
I haven’t given much thought to our age difference until this moment. Twenty-two years is significant, I’ll admit, but what Mia and I have transcends something as arbitrary as the number of years we’ve been alive. Initially, I told myself the age gap didn’t matter because I needed to marry her. I needed this alliance with her family to crush the Bratva once and for all.
