Page 50 of Mafia Sins

“I’ve hated you since you got in the shower the first night we had sex years ago. I hated when you whistled to yourself like I was some work you’d finished doing. I hated that you remembered me when I walked into the interview room. I hated that I got stuck with you ... I hated that I stopped...” I swallow.

His eyes darken. “Go on.”

My throat tightens. I almost tell him to make me, but beneath his gruff voice, I hear the need.

I run my palm over his chest, slow, deliberate. “I hate that I stopped.”

His fingers flex against my waist. “Finish the thought.”

I lick my lips. “I hate that I stopped hating you when you argued with me.”

Angelo doesn’t blink.

“I hate that I felt safe.”

His jaw clenches.

“I hate that when you kissed me… I felt powerful.”

His grip tightens.

“And I hate that…” I pout, voice just above a whisper. “I don’t think I can hate you anymore.”

Angelo’s mouth descends on mine in a sweet kiss. When he pulls back, his voice is a rasp against my lips. “Then you better get used to my family, vita mia. Because I’m going to make you a part of it.”

I snort. “My head isn’t that rattled.”

He grins, brushing his nose against mine. “Have I told you how competitive I am, Luisa?”

“Hard to keep up when you jump thoughts like a psychopath.”

His smirk is lethal. “Eric asked my permission to propose to Emilia when he dropped us off.”

My breath catches. His lips brush my ear. “I bet I can get you to say yes first.”

He draws back and arches an eyebrow. I pull back, narrowing my eyes. “I don’t think you hate me at all.” Angelo winks. And just like that, I melt into him again.

He nudges my side, coaxing a giggle out of me, but my eyes catch on something.

A black jewelry box. Sitting on thebedside table. Silent. Certain. A promise waiting. I swallow hard, my chest tightening.

Love. Hate. The lines have blurred until I don’t know where one ends and the other begins.

Angelo watches me like he already knows what I’m going to say.

Like he’s already won.

I flick the ring box open, staring at the massive diamond inside. It’s big, like everything about this man. Over the top. Arrogant. Infuriating.

“You think I’m just going to say yes?”

He shrugs, that smirk playing at his lips. “You will.”

I close the box with a snap and slide it off the bedside table. “Guess you’ll have to stick around and find out.”

His grin turns sharp, like he loves the chase. Like he’s willing to wait.

“I’m not going anywhere, Vita Mia.”

And neither am I.