Total pages in book: 47
Estimated words: 46098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 46098 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 230(@200wpm)___ 184(@250wpm)___ 154(@300wpm)
“My old man wanted as much privacy with my mother as possible. None of the men would ever dare interrupt him, but he was a paranoid old bastard. Rightfully so, as it turned out.”
I sigh and she gives my hand a squeeze, smiling encouragement up at me.
“So he had it built so they could forget the rest of the world if they wanted. Nobody would be able to physically take him away from my mother. He used to joke about them living here together, and my mom would light up at that. It was like she didn’t even have cancer in those moments.”
I cough down a ball of emotion, shaking my head.
“Thank you so, so much for bringing me here, Luca,” my lady murmurs.
“Of course,” I snarl passionately. “You belong here. You’re the lady of the house now. Come on.”
She giggles, shaking her head. “Nah uh. I’ll fall.”
I chuckle and slide my hand around her hip, pulling her onto the platform with me. “Hold onto me,” I tell her. “I’ll never let you fall. Never, Lucy.”
I hope she knows I’m talking about more than this platform. I hope she knows I’m talking about our life together, where I’ll do anything to make sure we keep what we’re building, this beautiful ball of light buried within the darkness of the Mafia life.
She clutches onto me as the platform begins to move, heading toward the much larger rose-red one in the center. My princess hugs me tightly, pressing her face into my chest.
“What are you afraid of?” I ask her, stroking my fingers through her hair.
“Falling,” she says, with a gorgeous peal of laughter. “What else?”
“Look at me.” She does, staring with sudden intensity up at me. “I will never let you fall. I mean that. I don’t say things lightly.”
“I believe you,” she murmurs. “I promise I do. But I’m still scared.”
“Then hold me tighter,” I growl. “Hold me until you can feel how badly my body wants to protect you.”
She squeezes against me as the lights flicker around us, and then the platform comes to a stop.
“Wait.” She looks up at me again, her smile enticing. “That’s it? I feel like a big baby now.”
“I’m not complaining. You had that perfect body pushed up against me the whole time. I hope you stay scared.”
She giggles and slaps my chest, the sensation making me want to grab her wrist and turn her around, revealing that ass.
In that dress… every moment is a battlefield of me not allowing myself to consume her ass in that dress, her hips, those tits. Everything about her is perfect, the glimmering gemstones on her hem more gorgeous than the lights that dance all around us.
“I’m going to be brave on the way back. You’ll see.”
“Way back?” I smirk. “I’m keeping you here, Lucy.”
She smiles up at me with so much affection in her expression I almost roar fuck it and give her the L-word right here. But again that instinct rears up inside of me and roars at me to hold those words back, at least for now, at least until I’ve taken her precious virgin hole and flooded her eager womb with my offspring.
I lead her onto the platform, towards our table. The platform behind us detaches and disappears into the water, leaving us seemingly stranded out here. And that’s fine by me.
If I had to be stranded it would be with my woman.
Because I know I’d fight like a cornered animal to keep us safe and warm and together.
I pull out her seat for her and she slides into it, giggling as I shuffle her close to the table.
“This is so different from anything I’ve ever done… I’ve never been treated like this before.”
“That pains me,” I sigh, dropping into my seat and leaning across the table.
I take her hands in mine and look fiercely into her eyes. “You deserved to be treated like this every day of your life. You’re my princess. But I have to admit I’m relieved.”
“Relieved?”
“No other man saw how special you are, but now I get the pleasure of showing you.”
She tightens her hands in mine. “You know, for a big tough mafia guy you sure can be romantic.”
“I never knew that before I met you,” I tell her passionately. “And don’t tell anybody, okay? We can’t let word get out that I’m not as brutal as people think.”
“Do you have a reputation for being brutal?” she asks, my perceptive goddess.
I nod shortly. “It’s a reputation I’ve cultivated over the years. It’s good to have men fear you on the streets. It means they’ll think twice before they try anything. I’ve had several men relocated put into witness protection if you will… while spreading rumors of the vicious way I executed them.”
“Mafia guys can put people in witness protection?” she gasps.