Page 97 of The Rise of an Heiress

We stopped by when we first got back to the city to grab some of her things, and thinking about how many times Matteo had probably been over before we met, I about lost my shit. Maybe I’ll buy the building and demolish it.

“Don’t think I don’t know your real reason for not wanting to live in my penthouse,” she sasses back.

I love that she can see right through me. She rolls her eyes, knowing exactly what I’m thinking, giving me thoughts on how I’d like to punish her later. I adjust my position. My pants are getting tight.

“Well, your place is only a two bedroom. We’ll have to move anyway, as soon as I start knockin’ you up.” I wink at her, and she glares.

“I have a lot of stuff.”Was this really her argument?

“We have plenty of space here,” I retort.

“It’s a lot to pack.”

“We’ll hire people.”

“We should do it ourselves so we can bond more as a couple.” She looks at me seriously.

I can’t help but chuckle. “I think we bond enough.” I wiggle my eyebrows and pull her into a kiss.

She pulls away too soon. “We can’t always pay people to do things for us. Manual labor will do us some good.”

“Are you trying to tell me what we did last night in the shower or this morning in your closet and this afternoon in my office wasn’t manual labor?” I kiss her neck, inhaling the intoxicating scent I’m addicted to.

She gives me that smirk that tells me she’s ready for a repeat. Thank God. My cock was so hard it was about to rip through my pants. I climb on top of her so fast she lets out a yelp.

“Fuck, did I hurt you?”

“No. Don’t stop.” She wraps her legs around my waist.

Who am I to deny my wife? I tried to resist her so she could heal, but by the second day, she’s pummeled through my resolve.

Chapter Thirty-Four

Anya

After a couple weeks of rest, I was feeling so much better. Ming had called and asked to come over so we could talk. I’m sitting in the library, pretending to read, when there’s a knock at the door. Gabriella, our housekeeper, walks in smiling, as usual.

“Mrs. Delucci.” I try not to roll my eyes. I’ve asked her a million times to just call me Anya. “Bo Xiao is here to see you.”

Before I could question it, the buff man I’ve always known as Ming walks in and sits on the couch opposite of me.

“Bo,” I say, testing the name out.

Then I remember the man Cesare was arguing with right before I moved to New York.

He nods as if he could hear my thoughts. “Yes,Anya.” He says my name like he used to say Natalie, only this time, there’s a different meaning. “I didn’t tell you before because I wanted to have this conversation in person.”

“Of course.” I nod and gesture for him to take the seat across from me.

“I grew up with both your parents. We were all very close. I was Peter’s best friend and”—he pauses—“your godfather.”

I tilt my head in surprise. “Godfather? So, all this time, you knew who I was?”

He nods again. “When your father was murdered, I had to go into hiding. I was able to keep in touch with your mother, but when she died, I made Cesare promise to allow me to still see you. So, I moved to New York after you were relocated, and every Thursday, I’d pretend to run the restaurant you always came to, so I could keep an eye on you. Your uncle never bothered coming after me. He didn’t think I was worth it.”

“My adoptive parents were in on it, too? And you moved your whole life to New York to be close to me?”

I am stunned. I knew I felt a deeper connection to this man, but it was all making sense now. He was family. He nods. I straighten, it’s like the light bulb went off.

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