Page 48 of Mafia Don's Secret Baby

To my surprise, the armed officer there smiled back and shook Matteo’s hand. “Mr. Costello,” he greeted Matteo. “What a pleasure.”

“Hello, Frank,” Matteo said. “How is the wife?”

“Oh, she’s expecting another little clone. Another girl, if you can believe it.”

Matteo tipped his head back and chuckled. “That’s what? Number four?”

“Yes, sir, it is. I’m going to have to visit the casino soon. I need a big break after that news. Don’t know how I’m going to afford all these girls.”

Matteo nodded and bid the man farewell before guiding me through the entrance, gesturing all around us. “I am the legal owner of the casino, and these people know it. There’s always money that isn’t able to be laundered through legitimate resources, but donations aren’t tracked as carefully.”

“So, you donate dirty money?” I asked quietly.

Matteo nodded as he shook a woman’s hand. She wore a dress nearly as fine as mine and smiled at Matteo. Despite appearing to be twenty years his senior, she seemed interested in looking at him up and down as he turned away.

“Precisely.”

His arm wound around me, his hand resting on the small of my back. It lingered just above my ass, and I held my breath as his fingers worked circles there. He bent to my ear and whispered into it. “Sometimes, I get young men from the schools in the casino who want a job. Young men who hear of my success and have no other options. It helps me grow my numbers.”

“Smart.”

“Oh, that’s the least of the benefits, Lili.”

His breath on my ear sent tremors down my spine, and my lips parted. “Oh?”

I didn’t think I could say anything more. Not with him standing so close and breathing on my neck so sensually.

“The cops here like seeing my donations every quarter. They like me. They don’t suspect that the big businessman who donates to underprivileged kids would involve himself in something as scandalous as mafia life.” His tongue darted out across the top of my ear. “Not when the people being booked for mafia-related charges are thugs and underprivileged teens. Never successful businessmen.”

I leaned back into his firm chest, breath quickening as he wrapped both arms around me.

“We should take our seats,” he said, giving me a light push forward.

Unsurprisingly, a half dozen more men greeted him, and a few more women admired him, giving me unhappy looks. We finally reached our seats, and I sank into mine. Matteo’s hand moved from my back to my upper thigh, his thumb working in circles on my leg. The feeling of his thumb growing closer to the spot between my thighs sent pangs of lust through me.

Everything around me became muted as my blood rushed in my ears in response to his grazing touches. When everyone took their seats around the room, his hand trailed a little further, sending electric zings through my body.

“The auction tonight is comprised of a few different things. We have two cruise packages, a few paintings from up-and-coming artists around the city, and an all-inclusive stay at a five-star resort.” Applause erupted around the room, but I could only look at Matteo as he gave me a subtle smirk and ran a finger over the fabric of my dress a little higher than before. I jerked beneath his touch and held my breath. “The first piece is a painting entitled Green Death, painted by Ms. Penelope Franklin from the New York Institute of Art.”

The auction began, the number going up more with each bidder. Matteo didn’t even look at the piece before raising his hand. “Two and a half million,” he said.

The room went silent as he made a bid that was ten times the previous amount, and when the auctioneer marked it as sold, applause erupted through the room.

“I think,” he whispered in my ear, “that you need to take a trip to the ladies' room.”

“I don’t need to—” His look cut me off, and my breath caught in my throat.

He didn’t want me to go alone.

I found myself stumbling to my feet and walking toward the women’s bathroom quickly. My knees shook from the touches we had shared beneath the table. As I neared the bathroom, I looked over my shoulder and found Matteo stretched out in his chair, looking toward the auctioneer, who pointed to him in hopes of getting another large-scale donation. Matteo grinned with a self-assured smile.

That smile had the molten core between my legs aching.

He made me ache.

This was so unlike me, but I couldn’t stop myself from stepping into the ladies' room and going immediately to the sink. With shaking hands, I scooped up cool water and dabbed it on my cheeks before looking in the mirror.

I was flushed. My chest was red and splotchy, and my face resembled a tomato.

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