Page 94 of Forced Vows

"That's not what I asked."

"You want to know which I like better when we…you know?" How are our thoughts so in sync?

"Yes."

"Um, they're both good. When you lick and suck on my um…lips, when they're bare, it's..." I shiver under the hot streaming water. "But when you run your fingers over the tips of my hair…"

I'm getting wetter down there, aching for him again, still…whatever. "Which do you like better?"

"You taste better than anything I've put in my mouth either way."

Anything? "I read that people can be chemically compatible, so their taste and smell is really attractive to the other person."

He smiles. "I read that too."

"Um, so, yeah. It's probably chemicals."

"Good thing ours match."

I shrug and turn to face the wall, grabbing the loofah sponge. "I guess."

"Trust me, a lifetime with the same lover that smells wrong and tastes bitter is not what either of us wants."

"It's just science," I say more to myself than him.

"Biology," he agrees.

I lather the loofah and start washing my body.

He makes a strangled sound. "I'll get your clothes."

"Thank you."

Feelings pelt my insides while the water, at just the right temperature…no guy should be this perfect…pelts my skin. That was…it was…I shake my head.

Yeah. That.

Intense. Incredible. Not just science. Not by a long shot.

Imbued with trust. On both sides.

Dangerous.

That last one times a hundred.

When I first found out about this marriage deal, I was worried I couldn't love my Cosa Nostra husband. Now, I know that the really scary scenario is that I could.

Falling for the underboss would be a disaster. He'll never love me back. Not like my dad loved my mom.

Men like my dad are rare, in or out of the criminal underworld. I'm not risking vulnerability with a man programmed not to give into the tender emotions.

Miceli doesn't have to tell me that's how he was raised. I know it.

No matter how good he is in bed, or a chair…whatever. No matter how considerate and protective he can be, none of that equals love.

Not for a made man.

I find my clothes, such as they are, on the bench when I step out of the shower. There's a bathmat on the floor from the cupboard too.

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