Page 39 of Mafia Men Need Love Too
“Let me get this fucking straight,” she began in a voice so soaked in fury it barely sounded like her own. “Over the past couple of days I’ve been blackmailed, kidnapped, and strong-armed into an arranged marriage against my will, not to mention the forced makeover montage.”
He frowned. “I think it’s actually more of a marriage of convenience.”
“And now you’re mansplaining arranged marriage to me while calling me immature!” she screeched.
“Look—”
She poked him in the chest with her index finger. “No, you look. I’m not immature because I don’t want to tell you every little thought that’s going through my mind. I’m entitled to my secrets, you asshole.”
His brows lowered along with his voice as he said, “I’m an asshole? For what? Saving you from the Russians? Letting you kidnap me instead of hurting you? Buying you nice clothes and a beautiful ring? Giving your cursing bird an aviary? Trying to talk to my fiancée? Tell me, fiorellino. How am I the asshole in this situation?”
Being reminded of all the nice things he’d done for her should’ve calmed her down. It didn’t.
She shoved him again as she shouted, “You’re an asshole for making me admit that seeing you beat the fuck out of that guy turned me on!”
He reared back as if she’d slapped him. “You were?—”
“Yes, OK? Yes. I was turned on. Wildly turned on. I considered throwing my panties away because they were so wet. I watched you beat a man like he was the asshole who killed John Wick’s dog and as it was happening, I was fantasizing about you fucking me right there on the hood of the SUV while the dude bled on the ground in front of us, OK? I should have been terrified by the violence, and instead, I wanted to see more violence. That can’t possibly say anything good about my character, and now I’m 100% certain that when I die, I’m going to hell.” She shrugged in a desperate what-the-hell gesture before adding, “Is that what you wanted to hear?”
She tried to shove him again, but he grabbed her wrist and yanked her up against his chest. “You want me?”
“Yes! I wanted you the moment I saw you, and somehow, now, I want you even more. I don’t care that you’ve killed people, I don’t care that you’re a career criminal, I don’t care about any of the bad stuff you’ve done that I should care about. Because, you know what? Turns out I’m not such a great person myself. That’s my secret, OK? I should be horrified by my circumstances—a good person, a normal person would be—and I’m not because I’m too turned on by you and excited by you. You think you’re a villain? Well, guess what, sweetheart? I’m a villain, too. You said one day I’d beg you to fuck me, and here I am, begging you to fuck me. Are you finally happy?”
She’d quickly learned that Nico’s reactions were rarely what she expected. And even as she prepared for any and all possible scenarios, she was somehow still surprised when he bent at the waist and neatly upended her over his shoulder. She let out a shocked yelp when he slapped her butt and said, “Not yet. But I will be.”
And with that, he stalked up the stairs, shocking her further by taking two steps at a time.
Toward his bedroom.
Something told her she’d be happy, too. If she survived the night, that is.
Chapter 22
Land-speed records were broken on the way up those stairs. River was sure of it.
Nico dumped her on his bed, tore off his shirt (literally…buttons were plinking all over the room), stripped her dress and thong off (without even pausing to see how sexy it was), and had his mouth fastened to her nipple before she’d even had time to bounce once against the firm mattress.
She groaned as his mouth slid up the column of her neck, and his teeth grazed her earlobe. “You’re stunning.”
The sincerity in his voice brought tears to her eyes. No one had ever called her stunning before. But Nico looked at her like she was the only woman he’d ever need in his life. It was…everything.
“Tell me to stop and I will.”
She would’ve laughed out loud if she wasn’t so turned on. She felt like they’d been dancing around their physical attraction forever, and now that they’d decided to give in to it, nothing short of a raging zombie apocalypse and the national guard was going to make her push him away. “Don’t ever stop.”
“Never,” he murmured against her lips.
She groaned in disappointment when he lifted his weight off her, then let out the loudest, most embarrassing moan she’d ever let out in her life when he slid down, pushed her thighs apart, and pressed a hot, wet kiss right on her…
Oh. Holy. God.
“Do you have any idea how long I’ve wanted to be right here,” he said, leaning in to tease her clit with the tip of his tongue.
She had no idea. But he could’ve asked her what color the sky was at that point, and she wouldn’t have known the answer.
Her eyes rolled back, her back arched off the bed, her thighs trembled. Lightning shot up and down her spine, tightening her entire body in its wake. Desperate, needy cries fell from her lips as his tongue tormented her, hitting a spot—yes, oh, God, right there—that made starbursts explode behind her eyes.
The satisfied hum he made in response vibrated along her nerve endings as he tasted her again and again, sucking and licking, his tongue more talented than any sex toy she’d ever had.
