Page 37 of Rescued By the Mafia

“Yes, Boss.”

As the others turned to file from the room, Dante shifted his focus to Aurelio. “Tell the men who were here today that I’ll express my gratitude soon. In the meantime, this stays quiet.”

Aurelio nodded. “Understood.”

They left Aurelio in his office, then, and Dante guided Iris from the restaurant. There were men posted at both private entrances still, as well as another standing outside the security room. All of them had line-of-sight for at least a few seconds as they walked by, Dante’s arm around Iris’s waist holding her up to his side. Outside, Dante motioned for Ernesto to take the Lexus, rather than leave it in the parking lot, then maneuvered them over to Romeo’s accessorized Navigator.

Carlo pulled the back door open for them silently, averting his gaze as Dante helped Iris inside.

Dante waited only until the door was shut behind him to pull Iris back to his side. “I won’t tell you not to be shaken,” he said quietly. “But I am asking you to remember that you are strong, and you are no longer in this alone. Lean on me. Let me do what needs doing. It won’t make you weak.”

Iris nodded. “I know … or I think I’m learning, anyway.” She leaned into him as the SUV started moving. Dante opted to let her compose herself, or at least wait until they were home and had true privacy to push for conversation. But they were only halfway home when she spoke again, her voice soft but steady. “What will you do with him?”

Dante felt his lips dip into a frown. “The man who accosted you today?”

“Yes.”

Her curiosity piqued his own, but he didn’t ask about it. “I’ll let him sit in isolation for a few hours, maybe overnight. Then I’ll pay him a visit and we’ll have a long, one-sided conversation where he tells me everything I want to know because he thinks it’ll keep him alive. And then he’ll die.”

Iris curled her arms around his. “Isn’t that dangerous? Messing with a deputy?”

Dante stretched his fingers over her thigh, just above her knee. The fabric of her dress wrinkled beneath his palm, but he could still feel her warmth. “Snapdragon, most everything about my life is dangerous. I don’t give a crap about titles or badges or presumed authority—anyone who threatens you answers to me. Period.”

He felt her breath hitch, her fingers digging into his arm through his sleeve, and his dick twitched in response.

Iris seemed to pull his arm closer, pressing it against her tits, as she looked up at him. “I want to go with you.”

Dante dragged in a breath to settle himself and repeated her words in his mind. “Say that again.”

“When you go to have your conversation with Mark,” she said, “I want to be included.”

“Iris, that’s not going to be a pleasant chat.”

“I realize that. I’m not so naïve.” She rolled her lips between her teeth. “You said the other day that you wanted to marry me … and in my mind, marriage is a partnership. I’m not trying to ask for half of all your stuff or equal say in all the decision-making. I know I’ll be learning for a while. But I want to be included, I want to be with you, when I can. Especially if it’s a situation that’s about me.” Her voice softened. “And I … want to see you at work. Even if it’s unpleasant. I want to know the truth about the man I’m with.”

He had not expected that argument. In some ways not at all, but certainly not so soon. He’d underestimated her.

Dante pulled one of her hands from his arm and brought it to his lips. “If you’ve decided on your second safe word by morning, I’ll take you with me.”

“Desert.”

He lowered her arm and raised a brow at her. “Is there a story behind that choice, too?”

She shrugged faintly. “Only that I never really talk about them, and I don’t have any desire to spend time in them, so I can’t imagine myself using the word in conversation.”

She paid such wonderful attention to instruction; it brought a smirk to his lips. “Then we’re agreed.” He would keep his promise, even if he was less than thrilled about the prospect of taking her with him into such an ugly, messy environment. If that was what she wanted, he would make it happen. He certainly had to respect her reasoning.

Iris rested her hand on his chest and relaxed into him. “Will you be going back to work?”

Dante slid his palm halfway up her thigh, inwardly cursing her modest skirt, and settled for squeezing the flesh he couldn’t directly feel. “Not unless something catches fire.”

Iris had forgotten all about the discomfort she’d felt at the restaurant by the time they got back to the house. She’d forgotten about pretty much everything that existed in the world beyond Dante and his touch. The urge to pull her skirt up and help his hand make contact with her skin had been nearly irresistible, particularly when she remembered how capable those hands were. So she wasn’t too surprised that her legs were a little weak when she stepped out of the SUV.

Dante placed a hand at the small of her back, steadying her, and guided her inside. When Ernesto attempted to speak to him, Dante waved him off. He walked her toward the heart of the main floor, where she’d spent most of her day, and slipped her purse off her shoulder. As soon as it was free, he tossed the entire thing toward the sofa. They reached the next hallway split and he brought them to a stop, turning her to face him. “You have five seconds to choose the direction. When I catch you, where we land is where I fuck you.”

The heat she’d been fighting to ignore exploded inside her. She may have gasped. Without even thinking about it, Iris turned and bolted. Not out of fear, but because she wanted to play along. She wanted him to catch her, which first required her to make him. She had no delusions that she could outrun him in a real foot race. She’d seen his body. Dante was built for power. She was still getting hers back. But a short sprint? She could manage that.

The thought was barely through her head when a strong arm hooked around her waist and spun her until her back hit a solid surface with just enough force to knock the wind from her. She could tell she’d run down a hall, which meant she hadn’t aimed herself at the kitchen. She didn’t remember going up any stairs, either. So she was pretty sure she knew where they’d wound up, and she felt a momentary urge to laugh.

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