Page 6 of Debt to the Mafia King
My smile grew until it was a wide grin across my face. Oh, she was so full of fire. It wasn’t just a spark. It was a god damn inferno, and it was hot as hell. In fact, it was more than hot.
Against my zipper, my cock throbbed into life. All that fire just needed the right man to tame it.
“I mean it. Get out or I’m phoning the cops.” The arm she was pointing with trembled, but she didn’t look away.
“You’re not going to do that, though, are you, Leah?” I said smoothly. “I mean, you could, but you never know who is going to turn up. I mean, you could see if the attending officer isn’t on my payroll, but I wouldn’t count on it.” Leaning forward, I lowered my voice. “I’m not the kind of man who can be played with, Leah. And I always,” I stood slowly. “Always get what I want. And I want the money your boyfriend owes me.”
“But I didn’t— it’s not my debt.” Her bottom lip wobbled, but she didn’t cry again. The only sign that she was upset at all was that damn quivering lip.
There was a soft center in that hard shell. She tried to hide it, but it was there under all the fire.
“I know.” I didn’t even think about it, after all of these years of men begging for their lives in tears. It was her damn quivering lip that undid me.
Pulling her into my arms, I smoothed a hand roughly down her back, all the way down to her round ass in those snug threadbare jeans and back up to the nape of her neck. I closed my hand around it and pulled her head back so she had no choice but to lookinto my eyes. “I know.” I said again, and this time my fingers squeezed. The movement drew a startled breath out of her, and she stiffened, and from her place crushed against my chest, I felt her heart stammer with fear.
“I don’t have any way of paying,” she murmured, her wide eyes turned saucer round with terror as she stared up at me.
Good, she realized the danger she was in now. That would make it easier.
I knew that. Even if I gave her longer to pay than I would usually allow, she wouldn’t be able to do it. She was already working every hour under the sun just to maintain this pathetic lifestyle.
“So maybe we could come to some other arrangement.”
The moment the words left my lips, she blinked rapidly.
“Something mutually beneficial—” I trailed off as she ripped her way out of my arms. Or at least she tried to. I kept my grip on her waist so even though she pulled away she only got a few inches before my hands tightened.
“What are you saying?”
Slowly, I let my eyes travel down the length of her body, the tight jeans with a god damn hole in the knee, threadbare sneakers, and the faded gray t-shirt with some band logo on the front. She was beautiful, ethereal, and sweet under the hard outer shell. And she was something else as well. Something she tried to keep hidden.
She was broken. And those were my favorite kind.
“You’re a beautiful woman,” my fingers flexed around her hip. “And we are attracted to each other.”
“I am not attracted to you,” she didn’t get to finish as I yanked her back into my arms. A small squeak left her lips as she tilted her head up to mine.
“Liar.”
“It could be a very beneficial arrangement, Leah. For both of us. I think you would find I am a very generous—”
Her slap took me by surprise. “How dare you?” She screeched and drew her arm back again. This time, I caught her wrist easily.
Cheek stinging, I glowered at her. “Now that isn’t what friends do to each other, is it? I was giving you an option to pay the debt before it got unmanageable,” my voice lowered to a hissing whisper. “Now I’ve started adding interest.”
She swallowed hard.
“Think about it, Leah, you have two choices.” My voice was hard, but not as hard as my hand in her hair. Fisting the long strands, I tugged her head back sharply. She let out a hissing breath. “You get me my money or,” I ducked my head into the crook of her throat and rubbed my nose against her pulse.
And there it was. That needy little tremble. She was full of fire and anger this one, but with a little redirection, I knew she would bring that fire to the bedroom, and god, I wanted to be burned.
“You give me you.”
“I’m not a whore. I am not for sale.”
Chuckling, I replaced the tip of my nose with my lips. It wasn’t the kind of kiss I wanted to pepper along her skin, but now wasn’t the time for that. Plus, she kind of smelled like gas and stale gas station pizza. It wasn’t the most seductive of smells.
When she agreed, that would change. She wouldn’t be working the graveyard shift, and she sure as hell wouldn’t be dressed in clothes with holes in them or smelling like day-old pizza.
