Page 30 of Ruthless Mafia Heir

"Join me for a drink this evening," he murmurs as he presses his finger underneath my jaw and tilts my face up, making me look into his eyes. "Out in the garden."

I know it’s not so much a suggestion as an order. But then, it’s not as though I have anywhere else to go. I nod, unable to do anything other than give in to him—whether I like it or not.

Chapter Eighteen—Blake

The sun is setting over the city when she steps into the garden to join me. Dressed in a pair of jeans and a tee, her feet bare on the perfectly manicured grass, she looks like a goddess. I rise to my feet to meet her, offering her a hand as she makes her way down the path toward the table.

A bottle of white wine is chilling in a bucket full of ice next to two crystal glasses, a perfect setup for a date night. Or, it would be, if it wasn’t for the fact that I was essentially holding the woman hostage. I eye her as she takes her seat, her expression impossible to read.

"Thank you," she murmurs as I push a glass of wine toward her. Her fingertips dance over the stem for a moment, like she’s not sure if she should take a sip.

"You can drink it," I tell her, my voice a little sharper than I’d intended. "I haven’t done anything to it."

She flicks her gaze up to meet mine. "Isn’t it telling that you knew I would be wondering that?"

I grit my teeth slightly. I don’t appreciate what she’s implying. I don’t have to drug women to get what I want. No, she gave it to me in the office, earlier today, when I caught her trying to sneak out. It’s not like I need to do anything else to make sure she gives herself to me.

She finally takes a sip of the wine, pushing aside any doubts that she has. I do the same. Out of the corner of my eye, I can feel her watching me, and I can’t help but wonder if this was a mistake. She could make a break for it at any moment, bolt for the wall and get as far from here as she possibly could.

But I doubt she’ll try.

"You’re not worried I’m going to try and escape again?" she asks me bluntly, like she can tell what’s on my mind. I cock my eyebrow at her.

"Is that what you’re intending to do?”

She’s quiet for a beat. "I tried earlier."

"But that doesn’t mean you’re going to try again."

"You can’t expect to keep me here forever," she protests, and I shrug.

"I don’t. I expect you to prove I can trust you, and then, you can go back to the life you knew before. A life that has nothing to do with me, if that’s what you prefer."

She bites on her lip, her eyes scanning mine. I know she’s looking for something in me, but I don’t know if I can give it to her.

"Is that what you want? Me gone?" she asks, suddenly.

Before I can stop myself, I reply. "No, of course not."

She sucks in a sharp breath.

"You couldn’t tell that from the way I fucked you earlier?" I demand. My words bring a flush to her cheeks, and she shifts in her seat, as though remembering just how good it felt to have me inside her like that. I can still remember the little moans and purrs of pleasure she let out as I was driving my cock deep inside of her. I want to draw them from her lips all over again.

"I figured you could have any woman you wanted, what with being... I don’t know, what with being the person you are."

"And what exactly is that supposed to mean?"

She shoots a look at me. "You don’t know?"

"Enlighten me."

She sighs. "I... I mean, you’re Blake Devereaux. You’re the head of the Devereaux family. You have access to all this money, all this power, all this... stuff that I don’t even know about. You own the restaurant and so many other places around the city. And you’re the head of Silencio, too."

"You don’t even know what that means," I snort.

She raises her eyebrows at me. "You could tell me, if you wanted."

"You don’t want to know."

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