Page 32 of Brutal Power

“You fucking tempting me right now?” I lean in closer, voice pitched low, feeling like my body might vibrate into dust. My cock’s hard and I’m not shy about pushing myself against her. Yeah, she notices, and her breath comes in quicker. “You think that’s a good idea?”

“I think you won’t do it,” she whispers, tilting her chin up in challenge. “I think you talk a big game, but when the time comes to actually put up or shut up, you won’t come through.”

My teeth feel like they’re going to break. My fingers dig into the glass. Fucking hell, I want to slam her around and fuck her here and now, rip into her beautiful body, make her moan and saymy name, but she’s right. I hate it, but she’s right, because every time I get within an inch of going too far, I remember why I haven’t crossed the line yet.

“Go ahead,” she says, voice still low. “You can back off now. I know you want to.”

“That’s not what I want,” I say, but I take a step away.

She looks disappointed. I figured she’d be smug, but that’s not it at all. She only shakes her head and walks around to the passenger side, and I have to take a second to get myself together before climbing in. The drive back to my place is uncomfortable.

Chapter 17

Elena

Brody decorated, but I feel like it doesn’t count.

The place looks like it’s straight out of a magazine. Honestly, it’s beautiful, but it’s beautiful like a museum. There’s a freaking ceramic duck in his kitchen, and I can’t imagine he’d ever want something like that around while he cooks. I even tell him that, which only makes him laugh. Everything’s stale, too new, too stiff. Even the couch feels like it’s not meant for a human. There are no personal touches, no indications that there’s a man inside that shell he wears.

But the more I’m around him, the more I catch glimpses. He’s repressing himself, holding himself back, and I haven’t fully figured out why yet. I get he’s worried that if we start going hard on each other and fucking like we very obviously want to that he’s going to get distracted and bad stuff might happen. Fine, I can understand it. But he’s also hidinghimselffrom me, and I don’t like that.

We’re supposed to be partners. Except I feel like I don’t know him at all.

I make it my mission to get to know him, even though it becomes very clear that he’s not interested.

“Come on, you have to like a movie,” I say as he sits behind the desk in his home office, looking annoyed. I pace back and forth across the room, picking up books that have clearly never been read, putting them back down, flopping onto his reading chair, throwing myself back to my feet, and starting the process over again.

“I likeTrainspotting,” he says reluctantly.

“Wow, the man has an opinion.” I put my hand to my chest. “It’s incredible. Someone call the papers.”

“You’re absolutely impossible,” he grumbles, looking annoyed as he pretends to work. “Maybe living together is a bad idea.”

“No, no, this was what you wanted, and now you have me all to yourself.” I bat my eyelashes at him and sit on the edge of his desk. “What’s your favorite cold dessert?”

He buries his face in his hands and groans. “Ice cream. Vanilla ice cream.”

I snort. “Vanilla. Yeah, that sounds right.” I lean toward him. “I’m more of a chocolate girl myself.”

“I’ll buy you an entire ice cream parlor right now if you’ll let me get some work done.”

“I’m rich, remember?” I hop down and go back to pacing. “I didn’t marry you for your money.”

“You do know that I’m an actual lawyer, right?” He leans back in his chair.

“Hey, there’s something I haven’t asked about. What sort of law do you practice?”

“If I tell you, will you promise to give me a half hour to myself?”

I put my hands on my hips and prepare to give him a very snarky response, but it dies on my lips.

The truth is, I don’t want to be alone right now.

I know about the big operation going down. I talked with Stefania and she heard all about it from Davide, so even though Simon tried to hide it from me, I still got all the gory details. It’s not a small thing, and I hate it when the guys go out to do dangerous shit like break into Santoro safe houses and kill everyone inside.

I understand this is how the mafia works. I’ve been around violence my whole life. I don’t even begrudge them a little murder, Santoro sure as hell deserves it.

It’s just that I don’t want anyone to get hurt.

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