Page 31 of Merciless & Mated

El:

…

Yeah, I’ll get right the fuck on that

B would feed me to a bear

G:

Where’s your sense of adventure??

“You know he can’t do that without permission,” I pointed out.

“I can dream.”

El:

Locked in the basement

Self-preservation is running the ship

M:

Giving her a phone was a mistake

El:

I see that

G:

Just THINK about it

You know my vote if you meet any Italian cuties angling for a husband

“Okay, that’s enough phone for you.”

She pouted when I snatched the phone out of her hands. “Why can’t I befriend Elio? I thought you wanted me to be happy here?”

“Christ, woman. He’s killed more people than I have. You can’t forget the people here are dangerous.”

“I didn’t. I just wanted a friend here. If he’s your ally, then I want him to be my ally too.”

“He is,” I insisted. “Don’t mistake allies for friends, though. The only one here you can truly trust is me.”

Gianna sighed and drew my face closer to kiss me. “You’re no fun. Distract me, then, if I’m not allowed to talk to anyone else.”

I chuckled softly and squeezed the back of her thighs, delighting in the way her eyes glittered with defiance. “You know, I think I might.”

Her dilated pupils eclipsed the blue irises, and it was almost enough for me to throw caution into the wind and ruin her before she got anywhere near that restaurant, but Elio was right. I could be patient.

Gianna, as it turned out, could not.

She snuck me around the back and into the residential portion of the building. Her old bedroom was stripped of its personality now that all her things were at the compound, but the bed and furniture were still there, decorated with blues and whites, checked bedding so tidy it practically begged to be messed up.

She tore at my pants, wrestling the front open and pushing me back onto her bed.

“Take a breath. I’m not going anywhere.”

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