Page 85 of His Tesoro

I lifted her out of her wheelchair and onto the kitchen island. “I don’t have to do anything, tesoro. I’m the Don.” I wrapped my arms around her and gave her a gentle kiss. She was so soft and warm against me.

“No, you’re my husband. Which means you have to be nice to me.” She ran her hand through my hair. She did it every chance she could.

I chuckled against her skin, kissing a line down her neck. “I can think of plenty of ways I can be nice to you.”

“Umm hello, I’m still here,” Romeo said, waving a fork at us as he ate a mouthful of strawberry shortcake.

Sofiya slapped her hand over my mouth before I could snap at him. “Be nice,” she hissed, scowling. I nipped her hand and she pulled it away, lips fighting a smile.

“Do you like it?” she asked Romeo, nodding at the dessert.

“Fucking delicious. I think the chocolate cake is still my favorite, though. You know I have a birthday coming up soon. You might have to make me another one.”

“When’s your birthday?”

I snorted. “It’s in July. Three months away.”

Sofiya grinned. “I’ll make you another one before then. As long as you’re nice to me.”

“I’m always nice to you,” Romeo said in something that sounded suspiciously like a whine.

I tucked a piece of Sofiya’s hair behind her ear and kissed her forehead. “What did you get up to last night, tesoro?”

“I played poker with Angelo and his friends.”

My grip on her hips tightened. “You did what?”

She cupped my face. “Are you about to be grumpy?”

“I am never grumpy.”

“Ahh, sorry. I should have said, are you about to get all murderous and threaten to kill Angelo and his friends?”

I crossed my arms and she laughed. “I had fun. Angelo’s been teaching me how to play.”

Romeo snorted. “I would pay to see that. You have the most expressive face in the world. I’m not sure it’s your game.”

“No, I’m getting pretty good,” she insisted. “I can even remember which cards are best to have now.”

Something dawned on me. “What did you play with?”

She cocked her head. “What do you mean? We played with chips.”

I met Romeo’s gaze over her head, and he covered his mouth to stop himself from laughing. Angelo’s poker nights had a two grand buy-in, and the winning pot often reached ten grand. My innocent little wife obviously didn’t realize the chips represented real money.

I needed to ask Angelo how much she owed after I pummeled him for bringing her to poker night. I wouldn’t ruin her fun by telling her about her debt, even if I didn’t like the idea of her being around other men without me there. A muscle in my jaw ticked, and I tightened my hold on her.

“They were all gentlemen,” she said, reading me like a book.

I just grunted.

“I’m taking the rest of this,” Romeo said, holding up the pan of strawberry shortcake.

“I will fucking kill you,” I said. Except I would have to remove one of my hands from Sofiya to reach my gun.

“Enjoy it, Romeo,” she said, blowing him a kiss.

The bastard caught it and winked at her. “See you tomorrow night.” He ran out the door, dessert in hand, and Sofiya turned to me.

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