Total pages in book: 41
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 37733 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 189(@200wpm)___ 151(@250wpm)___ 126(@300wpm)
"How are listening devices supposed to handle my uncle for the Italian mafia?" I ask instead.
"He's dirty," he says, his hand still around my throat. I don't really mind. It's kind of…nice, actually.
He's comforting to me, like the smell of aged whiskey and cigars. My father's office always smelled of both. I used to curl up under his desk and read until I passed out, completely content in the knowledge that I was safe. I feel that way now. It's madness, of course. This man just kidnapped me. He wants to own me. But he tells me I'm safe, and every fiber of my being believes him.
Like I said, I'm my own worst enemy.
"We can't kill him without starting a war. We intend to let his people take out the trash for us."
I laugh abruptly. "You're a fool if you think they'll do your dirty work for you, Domani. You think they don't know that he's a snake? They've always known. Cillian and his family come before anyone and anything else to him. He'll always put himself and his sons above everything else, including his oaths. They knew this when they sent him here. They sent him anyway."
"Why?"
"Why did you take me?"
"Because you're mine," he growls. "Why did they send him here?"
"Because they wanted a piece of Chicago, and he was the only one with the power to pry it from the Valentino family's grip. If you think they care that he's skimming from the top, you're wrong. If you think they care that he's doing deals behind their backs, you're wrong. He's exactly where they want him." I eye him sideways. "And even if they did take him out, Cian is every bit as vicious and ambitious as he is. He'd take his place and bring war to your doorstep anyway."
"Cian is his son?"
"His oldest, yes. Why did you take me?" It's the only answer I really want. Why did he take me? Why did he pluck me from my bed in the dead of night and bring me here? My mind won't rest until I have an answer…a real answer, something tangible I can understand.
"Because you belong to me," he says again. "How many people work for him?"
"Hundreds? Thousands? I don't know. I wasn't a trusted confidant, Domani. I was a pretty little bird in a glass cage who heard things she wasn't supposed to hear. Why did you take me?"
"Because you were the only fucking thing I saw when I climbed through your window," he growls, his hand tightening on my throat. He doesn't cut off my air supply. He holds me captive, pinning me in place with his intensity more than his hand. "Because I saw you, and I knew I'd go to fucking war to keep you. You're mine, mio sole." His lips brush mine, his kiss hard and unyielding but somehow full of fervent devotion, too, as if he's staking a claim and making a vow at the same time. "Mine."
His words rip through me. I feel them striking chords in my soul, each note shaking loose a profound sense of belonging that makes me ache. For the first time since I woke up in his room and heard his voice, I know terror.
This man will be my savior or my destruction. He'll lead me to heaven…or send me straight to hell. I don't know which it will be. And I'm petrified of how much I ache to find out.
Chapter Three
Domani
"You should get dressed," I say, dragging myself away from Finley before I do something I know I'll live long enough to regret. I'm burning for her, the fires growing hotter every minute I spend touching any part of her perfect body. It's exquisite torture.
Forcing her to hand over what I want isn't an option. Her willing submission is part of what I crave. I want her to yield. I want her to cede her soul, handing it over to me without reservation. Only then will I take what I want.
But I won't play fair along the way. If her uncle taught her survival, this is what my father taught me. He was an unscrupulous bastard, rotten to the core. He lied, cheated, and manipulated his way into beds all across this city. And when that didn't work, he simply took what he wanted. I'll never do that. But seducing this girl? That I will do. With a fucking smile on my face.
"I won't be your obedient little toy, Domani," she says, watching me as if she's trying to figure me out. As if she knows exactly what I'm thinking. "You can send me back to my uncle or kill me. I don't care. But I won't be your little plaything."
"Who says I want a toy, Finley?" I ask, scooping her bag from the floor. "I already told you what I want. My ring. Your finger." I place the bag on the bed beside her. "Get dressed. We're leaving in ten minutes."