Page 25 of Claimed By the Werewolf Boss
“Versus what?”
“Versus being a guy who can’t speak a lick of the language, doesn’t know there’s more to our food culture than Sunday sauce, doesn’t know his family history.”
The way he says family history catches in my thoughts. He’s clearly got something going on deeper than what he’s shared with me so far. I guess the question is whether or not I’m okay with that. He looked ready to beat my attempted mugger to a pulp earlier. If I hadn’t said anything, I’m sure we’d be in a fucking jail cell right now for manslaughter, or whatever the Italian equivalent is. There wasn’t an ounce of care in his body about hurting someone who’d tried to rob me.
Valentino would have killed that guy if I hadn’t reminded him of the crowd.
The way I could feel his anger, his fury and disdain somehow palpable between us made me want him to do that too. I wanted Valentino to hurt that man irreparably for trying tosteal my bag.
And it turned me on. My pussy soaked my panties so fast I was barely holding it together while we ate our gelato. What does that say about me? I’ve always been able to draw the line between fantasy and reality. My parents, for as shit as they were, drilled into me what was good and bad behaviour in their eyes. It caused me to repress a lot of shit, but I know the way I felt shouldn’t be right.
It shouldn’t matter why he was doing it, Valentino has shown me he has a violent side. I should be running for the hills. Instead, I wanted to crawl into his lap and ride him into the sunset. No one has ever fought for me, especially physically. Junelle is accepting and supportive, but I would never ask for anything more. I wouldn’t have ever asked anyone to do what Valentino did for me, but I keep replaying the scene in my head.
The way my bag began to slide off my back, my phone in one hand and two ice creams in my other while I tried to find Valentino. The rough tug, the shocked reaction of throwing our ice cream, the frozen response when the guy raised his fist at me. Then the clap of knuckles meeting cheek. He stood over that total stranger, fire in his eyes, and I think that’s the moment I will tell people I knew Valentino was the guy for me.
Years from now, when people ask me how I knew I’d found the one, it will be this moment. My man was ready to commit murder in broad daylight for me.
And I only stopped him because of the crowd.
Chapter eleven
Valentino
I’m walking on the spiritual plane. Clearly, all my bad deeds haven’t landed me in hell, but in heaven. That’s the only way to explain how I’ve got so fucking lucky with Cheyenne. My passionate little homebody who likes it when I beat the shit out of a stranger. Who let me buy her things all day and do my fair share of rambling about spots I used to loiter around and cause trouble as a kid.
It’s been a day I never want to forget, even with our little hiccup.
This is like the sweetest cherry on top of a perfect day.
The bonfire crackles in front of us as we settle in for the night. The whole family lounges outside, feet up and staring at the sky. We don’t get this back inTolson. Between work and all the trappings of being an adult, we don’t get to take too many breaks. There is always someone who needs to talk to us, someone who needs something or wants something from us. This little destination wedding is the closest thing to a vacation I’ve had in years.
On my right, Andrea gazes at the stars, his fingers tapping on his thigh like he’s trying to count them. Cheyenne’s curled up on my other side, facing Junelle and whispering about some drama that I don’t really understand. They laugh and drink, and I bask in the pure, unadulterated joy coming off my mate.
It’s almost easy to forget there’s a rat, forget there is business that will need my attention soon. As much as I’m on vacation, I’m still the boss. I’ve still got a capo imprisoned who needs to be released. While our lawyer is working on it, I’ve got to make a call tonight to grease the wheels. I want my man out. It’s been months.
But a few more minutes won’t hurt.
“You’ve got to apply for this one. Their form just opened.” Junelle’s bright phone light blinds me as she turns in my direction.
“Cons are a lot of work. And what if I run into someone I know from school? People will want to take pictures with me and blegh,” Cheyenne says.
“What con?” Andrea asks.
Embarrassment coats her cheeks and my heart heats with it through the bond as Cheyenne looks over her shoulder. I can’t help but smile. I don’t remember the last time I’ve felt anything remotely close to this.
“You’ve got to trust people more.” Junelle passes her phone to Andrea. “This is a big deal book signing, you could meet readers who have been following you for years.”
“How many people would be there?” I ask. “What are the details?”
“It doesn’t ma—”
“Seduced in Tolson,” Andrea shouts over Cheyenne. “July next year, open to all romance genres, two days of signing, expected crowd of two thousand excited readers, at the Zarro Opera House Convention Center.”
“Please, Chey, give me something to look forward to,” Junelle whines.
Andrea gapes at his fiance’s antics, but my mate still doesn’t look sold on the event. I grab the phone and look at the basic sign-up form. It’s not overly revealing, the company that’s running the event is literally calledSeducing in…, and while I could have my guys back home do a full deep dive into them, I don’t want to force my girl to do something she isn’t ready for, or that could be dangerous.
She’s done an amazing job of protecting her privacy from the average citizen, why ruin that anonymity now?
