Total pages in book: 85
Estimated words: 84756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 84756 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 424(@200wpm)___ 339(@250wpm)___ 283(@300wpm)
His voice is deceptively soft when he answers, “Yes.”
Silence falls heavy between us, and I struggle not to fidget.
“Relax, Gabriella,” he mutters.
Yeah, that’s not going to happen.
I scoot backward in the seat and force my muscles to loosen.
When I glance at Damiano, I see he’s watching me, and I wonder if he can make out my facial expressions.
“You don’t want to return to your parents.”
The statement catches me off guard.
I wet my lips before I say, “No, I don’t.”
“Tell me about your childhood,” he demands.
I shrug, and unable to hold his intense gaze, I glance at the doorway.
“There’s not much to tell.”
“I doubt that,” he mutters. “Have they always abused you?”
His question has my eyes flying back to his.
I don’t know why he’s asking the questions, and not wanting to give him anything he can use against me, I keep quiet.
He stares at me for a moment, then nods. “It must’ve been bad if you’re not willing to talk about it.”
I fold my arms around me, then say, “It was nothing I couldn’t survive.”
He tilts his head, and it feels like he’s trying to pry my darkest secrets from me.
“You don’t fear dying.”
A frown forms on my forehead.
“Last night, you were more worried about being sent back to your parents than the possibility that I might kill you.”
That’s because I’ll suffer worse things than death at my parents’ hands.
Remembering my concern about being forced to marry Stefano, I ask, “If you send me back to Sicily, will you give your permission for Stefano to marry me?”
“No.” He shakes his head. “I never change my mind once I’ve made a decision.”
Intense relief washes through me, and I whisper, “Grazie a Dio.”
“You should be thanking me and not the heavens.”
My gaze darts to Damiano’s. “Thank you.”
He lets out a sigh. “You don’t want to return to Sicily, and I won’t allow you to leave the mafia.” His tone drops low, the timbre ghosting over my skin and leaving goosebumps in its wake. “What am I going to do with you?”
Instead of fearing for my future, the spicy book I was reading pops into my mind.
Now is not the time to think of erotic scenes.
The air grows even more tense, and it begins to feel like I’m in danger.
Of what, I don’t know.
When Damiano moves his hand from the sofa and his fingers wrap around the back of my neck, my eyes widen.
My heartbeat instantly speeds up, and I fist my hands on my lap.
He tugs me closer to him, and I have to brace a hand between us so I don’t fall against him.
He tilts his head, his dark gaze burning over my face. When he speaks, his voice sends another wave of goosebumps over my body.
“Do you like living in my mansion?”
I swallow hard but hold his gaze. “Yes.”
“Do you enjoy my mother’s company?”
“Very much.”
He leans a little closer, and when I feel his breath warm my mouth, my heart beats even faster.
“Can you have children?”
Shit. I think I know where this is going.
I look at Damiano, not as the Capo dei Capi, but as a man I might marry. He’s dangerously good-looking, so attraction won’t be a problem.
At least not on my part.
I feel my cheeks heat as I answer, “My father had a doctor inspect me. He said there was nothing wrong with me, and I should be able to have children.”
“Good,” he murmurs, the word almost a growl
My abdomen clenches so freaking hard I slap a hand over it.
Damiano’s eyes flick down before taking mine prisoner again.
He leans a little closer, then pauses. His features tighten until he looks downright predatory, and I suck in a desperate breath of air.
Before I can exhale, he closes the distance between us, and his mouth presses against mine.
I blink once before my eyes fall shut, an overwhelmingly intense emotion exploding in my chest.
I don’t have any time to take in the feel of his lips on mine before he pulls back.
I open my eyes, and when I see the dark expression on his face, a tremble wracks my body.
His fingers tighten around my neck, then he moves fast. When his mouth slams into mine, I instinctively press my free hand against his chest. Whether it’s to push him away or pull him closer, I don’t know.
I’m too inexperienced to know what to do, and when his tongue sweeps into my mouth, all common sense vanishes from my mind.
Having a man like Damiano be my first kiss is the last thing I expected, and it’s too overwhelming to process anything.
His tongue massages mine in a way that makes tingles engulf my entire body.
His lips nip at mine, leaving me completely breathless.
Just as quickly as he initiated the kiss, he pulls away from me.
My mind is a frazzled mess, my heart pounding against my ribs.