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“If that’s what it takes to get my tree.” I shoot him a mischievous smirk.
“I suppose it’s a deal then.” He stretches out his hand, and I warily take it. His warm fingers wrap around mine, and his thumb slowly brushes across my palm. His eyes meet mine, and a storm brews just below the dark surface. Of all the dangerously tempting things this man has done to me, this right here is the worst. Because that soft touch, that piercing stare, doesn’t streak down to my lusty pussy, no, it surges right up to my vulnerable heart.
CHAPTER22
THE UGLIEST ONE
Rose
“Why do you have to get the ugliest one on the lot?” Dante side-eyes the sad little tree with a snarl of disgust.
We’re on the farthest edge of the lawn, barely beneath the huge white tent set up on the corner of Central Park West. The desolate remains of firs and evergreens surround us, tingeing the crisp air with the scents of Christmas. After today, all the remaining trees will likely end up in the woodchipper. For some reason, that makes me so sad. At least, I can save one.
“It’s not the ugliest.” I wrap my arms around the drooping branches and give it a hug. “It just needs some TLC.”
“It’s going to shed those pine needles everywhere, damn it, Rose!” He mutters a few curses in Italian under his breath. “It already looks like it’s half-dead.”
“All the more reason it shouldn’t die alone.” I hold it close, and Dante glares down at me like I’ve lost my mind. And probably I have because of that mind-blowing orgasm. I’m still tingling with aftershocks hours later. “Please, Dante. This is the one I want.” I flick the red tag hanging from the sagging limb. “And look, it’s on sale.”
“No shit, because no sane person would ever want the hideous thing in their home.”
“Well, I want it.” I release the tree and clap my hands on my hips, glaring up at the bossy mob boss. His eyes lock on mine, then narrow. I can almost see the instant he realizes he’s lost the battle. It’s extremely empowering and satisfying.
“You’re insufferable. Completely insufferable.” He huffs out a breath and stalks through the tangle of trees toward the check-out counter.
I stay with my prize, arranging the limbs so it doesn’t look quite so sad. The tree lot is practically a ghost town. We were lucky we found one open on Christmas Day with any supply at all. At least decorating it will give us something to do when we get home.
Decorations … crap, Dante probably doesn’t have any of those.
I search the forest of trees, weaving in between towering evergreens. I thought I’d seen some when we walked in. After a few circles, I finally find the display stand with a meager collection of ornaments remaining. I grab a few boxes of colorful bulbs, stars, a string of lights and a container of red bows. Dante’s right, the tree is pretty scrawny, and I doubt it’ll hold much more.
Hushed voices draw my attention behind a cluster of trees.
“I already told you, the Kings don’t run shit anymore in Lower Manhattan.”
The hair on the back of my neck prickles, and I drop down behind the ornament display.
“That’s not the word on the street.” A slight Italian accent hangs on the man’s words. “I heard the Red Dragons are being killed off one by one until you have the balls to show your face.”
“That’s just fucking Dante Valentino. This new power he’s inherited has gone to his head, but he won’t be trouble for long. Soon Luca will be forced to emerge from hiding and when he does—” The first man makes the sound of a gunshot. “—It’ll all be over. Trust me, it’s for both of our benefits to work together. When the Kings are gone, Gemini Corp will be poised to take over.”
A gasp almost sneaks through my clenched lips as alarm bells go off.
“My boss doesn’t want to work with you, Feng. He wants to obliterate you.”
Shit. I know that name. Feng is the asshole who put the hit out on Luca and Stella. He’s the reason they’re in hiding and Dante’s in charge. I may have done some snooping of my own. I fumble for my phone in my jacket pocket, but my gloves are too thick, and I drop it. I freeze as it sinks into the icy dirt.
I don’t breathe for a long minute.
Feng scoffs. “Oh, yeah? Well, I’ve got a message for your boss.”
The squelch of something sharp sinking into a soft and gooey mass hits my ears a second before a muffled grunt. A loud thud hits the frozen earth, and everything goes silent. I hold my breath, forcing my ragged heartbeats to slow.
The sound of footfalls crunching through fallen snow grow closer.
Shit. Shit. I reach for the fallen phone and rip my glove off with my teeth. I press my back to the stand, wishing I could disappear into the cheerful array of ornaments and jab the call button. Luckily, Dante was the last person I’d called.
A loud ring sends my heart catapulting against my ribs.
