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Quinn smiles. “I told you that when I eat chocolate, I don’t stop talking…”
“I know.” I nod and give her a little smirk. “I’m counting on it.”
* * *
CHAPTERTWENTY-SEVEN
“COMING CLEAN”
Quinn
We talkour way through a chocolate trifle, a slice of chocolate cream pie, two chocolate candy bars, a tootsie roll, and two cups of coffee.
More accurately, Adriano’s talked more over the last hour than in all the time we’ve been together, and now it’s my turn.
Who needs sleep? We have work to do. Important work.Uswork. We have a marriage to save.
“And then I used the scissors,” I tell Adriano with pride. “Like, I remembered everything you taught me and itworked. Well, it mostly worked. He’s a lot bigger than I am. And while I didn’t exactly take him out, I sure as shit defended myself.”
“You did good, baby. I’m proud of you.” He reaches over to wipe a streak of chocolate sauce from my chin. I stick out my chin to get the rest while he finishes. “I’ll take that into account when you face what you’ve got coming.”
“Um. What?” My heart beats faster.
Do I want this?
Yes I do, yes I do, yes I do!
Goddamn my masochistic side.
Steel laces Adriano’s words, hellfire burning in his gaze. I quake a little.
“You left. You escaped your detail and came here without me. I know why you did it, but that doesn’t mean you don’t deserve the spanking of your life for putting yourself at risk like that.”
Behind him, our waitress drops a glass and it shatters into shards, her eyes bugging out of her face, jaw practically on the floor.
Tell me about it, sister.
I open my mouth to respond, then shut it. I try again, then give up and shut it again, because I don’t know what to say to that. He did saydeserve,so there’s hope for me yet.
“I—oh, alright. I suppose I did, didn’t I?”
Adriano’s eyes dance. I allow my own heart to open a bit more. Okay, so he’s looking forward to getting me alone. I’m looking forward to that, too.
I swirl my spoon around the remaining chocolate sauce and whipped cream melting in the dessert bowl. “I… those aren’t all the concerns I have.” I feel a little woozy at the thought of what I have to say next.
“Me neither. You go first.”
“You… I’m not okay with… I get nervous around…” I can’t find the right words. But instead of pushing me, he waits patiently. I can tell it costs him to give me this space, but I love that he does. I stare into the depths of his dark brown eyes, at his tousled hair and stern expression. They say Superman could burn walls down with his eyes. I get it now.
“You can be…violent. I don’t feel good about you going off half-cocked on someone who looks my way.”
Adriano clenches his jaw. “You’ve seen me kick the shit out of two men and end the life of a third,” he says in a low voice. “One who planned on dragging you back to his syndicate to torture, use, and hurt you. One who stalked you and had a similar plan. And the one who was told in no uncertain terms that you were off-limits at the club. He ignored that warning and walked knowingly into territory he shouldn’t have.
“Don’t you give me that look. We sent emails to all the male members of the club about you. He wasn’t ‘unaware’ where you were concerned. In fact, we have the ‘open’ receipt from the email we sent to him. He knew not to go near you a week before I kicked the shit out of him. In fact, that slimeball actually had the balls to send an email to Sergio complaining about it two days prior.”
Hoo boy.
“You’remine.No one touches you, and absolutelyno onewill have a session with you at the club. That’s ours. That’s sacred, I made that clear, and he was the one man on earth that thought he’d get away with taking advantage of you. I have zero regrets for what I did to him. So no, baby, I won’t walk around beating the shit out of anyone who steps in your path, butno onefucks around with my wife.”
