Page 15 of Claimed By the Possessive Mafia Prince
She turns to me. With the sea glistening behind her, a palm leaf blew loose in the wind and danced down the beach. When she stormed off, her cheeks were red, and she was pouting.
Now she’s hiding her expression. “How can I help you?”
“Don’t get all official with me now. The wind is picking up. I’m escorting you to the photoshoot spot.”
“Do I have a choice?”
I should tell her she does. But she might tell me to back off. I can’t. I won’t.
Being near her isn’t just what I want—it’s what I need. To make her smile. To make her laugh. To claim her as mine. “Nope,” I say.
She shrugs. “Okay then, Mr. Bianchi, then I guess we’re going together.”
“Lead the way.”
She looks down as she skirts the edge of the beach.
“I’m surprised you didn’t want to stay behind,” she mutters.
Is she jealous? She sounds jealous, but I don’t want to point that out. Or get my hopes up?
“They weren’t my type.”
She scoffs.
“I’m serious,” I tell her.
“What’s your type, then?”
“I like women who are around five-five, with honey-colored eyes and wavy hair, and the curvier the better. In fact, if their billowy dresses rest against their perfect bodies when the wind gets going, that’s even better. That drives me nuts.”
She looks up at me, stern-faced.
“Stop pretending you don’t want to smile.”
“I don’t,” she says.
“I don’t believe you.”
“Idon’t…”
She turns away. I gently touch her face and turn her gaze back to me. She’s got a smile on her lips, one she can’t fight.
“Just what I thought,” I tell her.
“I still don’t know what your game is.”
“My ‘game’ is making you smile, and so far, I’m winning, even if you don’t want me to.”
We stand like this for a long time, under the shadow of the palm trees, with no one around except us. She doesn’t move my hand from her face. I can feel her warmth radiating up my arm.
“I hear your family is very powerful.”
I lower my hand. Does she know we’re a mob family, or is she talking about our public persona, the Old Money lie?
“I suppose you could say that.”
“If I wanted to turn you down, it would be difficult for me,” she said.
