Raw want courses through me as I jerk my head toward the door. “Nowgo! Straight back to bed, Miss Rivers.”
She pops an eyebrow in challenge. “Make me, asshole.”
My hand snakes out between us to lightly grip her throat, and her eyes flare with a blend of fear and intrigue as I tip my head to one side, allowing a wicked grin to part my lips. “Don’t fucking tempt me.”
We watch one another for a long beat until I step back, putting much-needed distance between us.
“Now be a good girl and do as you’re told before I forget my manners and bend you over this fucking piano.”
Indecision wars on her face before she tugs her lip between her teeth. My eyes drop to follow the movement, my nostrils flaring dangerously as my self-restraint hangs by a motherfucking thread.
Whatever she sees on my face makes her stiffen, and she brushes past me, slipping from the music room without once glancing back.
With a heavy sigh, I drop onto the piano bench, willing the hard-on in my pants to fuck off and die.
I slip my cell from my pocket and scroll to Emiliano’s number. My thumb hovers over it as I debate what to do. He’s at Verità, our main brothel in Palermo, and the pussy there is known to be exceptional.
But, my mood sours at the thought of burying my cock inside any pussy aside from the one I can’t have.
Nothing new there, then.
I pocket my damn cell, swearing as I slam the fall board of the piano closed harshly. The sound echoes through the room as I rise and walk to the drinks cabinet.
Clearly, getting shitfaced is the only answer, knowing that although she’s currently under my roof, she’s as far away as ever.
And it’s best for all involved if she remains that way.
CHAPTER 8
RAFE
“I assure you, Benito,”I say with a slow nod, choosing my next words with care, “I am taking your offer under consideration as we speak.”
My companion, Don Benito Salvatore, arches a silvery eyebrow as he slowly continues to light his Gurkha cigar, his eyes never leaving mine.
He draws deeply before settling back in his seat.
“I know my Gabriela was to be Alessio’s wife, not yours. You don’t want to make this decision, butRafael…joining our families now will show the rest of the Cosa Nostra you’re more than capable of operating as head of this family,si?”
I keep my face neutral when he pauses for a moment to gauge my reaction.
“And obviously, alongside my daughter, you’d have access to mySoldatiin your fight against Conti. Not to mention, my considerable support,capisti?” He shrugs carelessly, even as his shrewd eyes watch me closely. “Domenico has turned even more feral since the passing of his father. It’s fair to say that you need me more than I need you,corretto?”
My jaw clenches as I nod my assent, just as there’s a light knock on the door. I bark out more harshly than required. “Enter.”
Enzo, head of compound security and one of my most trusted soldiers, pokes his head inside. “SenorinaGabriela is here, Don Rafael.”
I nod sharply as Benito rises from his chair, a proud smile plastered across his face as his daughter enters the library. She glides across the floor toward her father, sending me a shy smile as she reaches him.
“Gabriela,mio Tesoro.” Benito flourishes his cigar as though using it to display his daughter. “Rafael was just about to take a walk in the gardens, isn’t that right?”
I silently curse the man even though I have known for months that this union is inevitable. Getting my sister back and making Conti pay are theonlythings that matter now.
Salvatore twists about to regard me with a smug gaze before I shift my eyes to a blushing Gabriela.
Heaving an internal sigh, my voice is low when I ask, “Would you care to join me?”
Gabriela, to her credit, doesn’t miss a beat, angling herself to face me before dipping her chin. “Of course, Don Rafael. It would be my pleasure.”
