Page 69 of Mafia Obsession

“I will not touch you unless you give me permission.” With Lourdes in my bed, I’ll have to show restraint like I’ve never known.

“I work for you. Won’t that…complicate things?”

I look her in the eye. “You might be the biggest complication I’ve ever purposely tangled myself up in. I find that intoxicating. I don’t do easy. I don’t want a woman kneeling. I’d rather you runso I can chase you.”

Her brows furrow. “And the rope?”

I smile, my blood heating. “That’s for after I catch you.”

Swallowing thickly, she says, “Ifyou catch me.”

If, my ass…

“One more thing.” I look down at her hand. “You will remove your wedding ring before you get into my bedwith me.”

Nodding, she slides it off and looks around.

“May I?” I hold out my palm.

When she hands it to me, I want to toss it into the trash can. Instead, I drop it into my duffle. I will forge it into a bullet and use it to kill David Sinclair myself when I get back to New York once we locate him.

“Where is your phone?” I ask.

“My purse.” She picks it up from the chaise. “I haven’t touched it. Haven’t wanted to see any messages. Or reminders.”

“May I see it?”

She reaches inside and hands it to me. “There’s no code. David wouldn’t allow me to lock it.”

Not responding to that insane lack of security from a hitman, I take her phone and sure enough, there are messages and missed calls.

Glancing up at her, I say, “He’s looking for you. I’m blocking his number and any numbers not in your contacts. Don’t worry. He’ll never get near you again.”

She takes this in and nods. “Can I use the bathroom for a while? To freshen up and get ready for bed?”

“Of course.” I step aside and let her pass.

I undress, and while I prefer to sleep in the nude, to be polite, I choose a thin, loose pair of sleep pants.

From the workbag I brought with me, I slide out my laptop and sit on a leather chair near the closet. I send messages to Daria and Atlas that David has left unhinged messages on Lourdes’s phone and must be finished. Immediately.

Atlas suggests tagging him, and Daria sets that up.

When Lourdes comes out of the bathroom, she’s wearing a gauzy white cotton nightgown. Standing in the doorway with the bathroom light behind her, I can see all of her naked curves underneath.

There will be no more work tonight. I close the laptop and drop it into my bag. This woman is all I want to think about right now.

I step toward the bed and lift the covers on the side closest to the bathroom. “Get in.”

After she slides beneath the sheets, I remain standing a moment longer, watching the outline of her body molded into the white linen.

I inhale and mentally reset. I need this day to end, the day I stay polite. The day I’m the good guy.

The man Lourdes will spend the rest of this trip with is a man who will turn the world upside down to get what I want.

And I want her.

I turn off the lights and get in bed beside her, careful to leave space between us. She lies on her back, her head tilted toward me, her features bathed in the moonlight.