Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Mafankulo. That's what this is about? A fucking vendetta over Dario Marchesi? My hand twitches with the desire to grab my phone to call Mattia and Luca to fill them in, but I resist the urge. I've had enough talk of Diego Butera tonight. So has Amalia.
This night shouldn't be shadowed by dark things. When she remembers this night, I want her to remember only how good it was, and how adored she felt. There will be no sadness, no worry. I won't allow it. She is mine to care for, and right now, I'm doing a terrible job of it. It's time to correct that.
I roll her to the side and slide out from beneath her, rising to my feet. Before she can ask what I'm doing, I scoop her up into my arms. "Enough of this, tesoro," I murmur, leaning down to press a hard kiss to her swollen lips. "No more talk of Diego in our bed."
"We're going to talk in the bathroom instead?" she asks, her nose scrunching as I carry her toward the en suite bathroom.
"No, smart ass," I say, chuckling. "We're not going to talk about him at all."
"What are we going to do then?" she asks, her eyes heating.
"I'm going to clean you up and take care of you," I murmur, striding toward the massive, jetted tub, looking forward to this part. To pampering her and caring for her. I find myself…eager to meet her every need, to be the one she trusts with this part of her. Intimacy with her is nearly as intoxicating as sex. "And if you're a very, very good queen, perhaps I'll get you all dirty again in the process."
She smiles at me, twining her arms around my neck. "What if I want to be a naughty queen, Rafe? What do I get then?"
"Show me how naughty you can be, tesoro," I growl, setting her on the vanity as my blood flashes to steam, "and I'll show you exactly what you get then."
"I need you to do something for me today, tesoro," I murmur, planting kisses all over the back of Amalia's neck early the next morning in the kitchen.
"What?" she moans, her fork tapping against her plate, her eggs long forgotten.
"I need you to stay inside. No trying to run away." Until we know who is trying to get their hands on her, I don't want her sticking a toe outside without me and Mattia by her side. And we have shit to do today. Like find whoever the fuck is after my girl, figure out what the fuck to do with Diego, stop a war. Typical Tuesday bullshit.
"Are Coda and Domani already tired of chasing me?" she asks, a smile in her voice.
"Tesoro, they were tired of chasing you on day two." I run my lips up the tendon on the side of her neck, growling when her body goes limp and pliant in my arms. Fuck everyone and everything responsible for making us leave the bed this morning. She should still be naked and riding my cock.
I didn't want to let her leave the bed at all. She fell asleep in my arms last night. For the first time in decades, my dreams weren't filled with horrors. It was if the ghosts of my past dared not come too close to her light. Instead, I dreamed of her, of a future I stopped hoping for long, long ago. New seeds sprout now, fragile shoots already reaching bravely toward the sun.
"Carmine will be helping Domani keep you in line today," I murmur.
Her body stiffens. "Where's Coda?"
"Busy."
She drops her fork, spinning to face me. "You said that last night. Where is he, Rafe?"
"Careful, mi reinita," I murmur, fighting an irrational surge of jealousy at the sight of the worry etched across her face. "Coda is…a friend. It would bother me a great deal to end his life for touching what doesn't belong to him."
Her face blanches. "Y-you think I'm sleeping with Coda?" she splutters.
"No," I admit, reaching for her. The thought never crossed my mind.
She bats my hand away, glaring daggers at me.
"You, I trust implicitly," I say, explaining quietly before she stabs me with her fork. "But I'm a possessive, jealous asshole when it comes to you, tesoro. Leaving another man to guard you makes me irrationally, murderously jealous. Knowing they get to spend their days watching over you, making you laugh, seeing that smile, hearing that smart mouth…" I reach for her again, reeling her in before she can dodge me. "Seeing the way your little nipples harden when you're cold and your hips sway when you walk…" I press my mouth to her ear. "I want to kill every man who even breathes near you, Amalia. That's what you do to me. That's how crazy you make me. That's how much I adore you."