Page 38 of Ruthless Mafia Heir

"We already talked," I remind him. "There’s nothing else for us to say, is there?"

He lets out a chuckle.

"There’s so much I want to say to you, Sophia. I don’t even know where to start."

I reach the door to the department and quickly stamp my essay with the date and time before I push it through the slot and make sure it arrives safely. Now that I think of it, it easily could have been Blake who was making sure my essays came in late. I don’t even want to imagine what kind of power he might have here, being the head of Silencio.

"Then say it," I reply as I turn to him, crossing my arms over my chest. I’m playing tough, but the truth is, it’s hard to control myself when I’m this close to him. I want to sink into his arms, feel myself against him, feel him around me, holding me, keeping me safe. Even in the midst of all this chaos, I know I can trust him to protect me, and there’s nothing I want more than to give in to it.

He flicks his tongue over his lips, pausing for a moment before he talks. God, the sight of his tongue. I can still remember how good it felt sinking into my mouth, starving for me, like he couldn’t get enough.

"I think I’d rather show you."

"Show me?" I furrow my brow. He nods toward his car, which is parked just a few dozen feet away. I don’t even want to know how he knew I was going to be here. Is he keeping track of my essay schedule or something?

"It’s just off campus. I think it would be easier to show you than tell you about it."

I almost laugh. "If you think I’m going anywhere with you, you’ve got another thing coming."

His lips quirk up into a smile, that devious, slightly cocky grin that sends a shiver down my spine.

"Come with me, Sophia. I need you to see this. Trust me."

He extends his hand to me, and I look down at it for a moment, hesitating. I don’t know if I should give in to him quite this easily. It feels dangerous, as though I might put myself at risk by leaving with him. God only knows. I’ve seen what he’s capable of. I’ve seen what darkness his world contains. What am I getting myself into if I agree?

But I’m so drawn to him—that's impossible to deny. I’m curious about what he’s doing here, curious about what he’s trying to pull off. And he’s not going to hurt me—right? The way he’s looking at me, I know it’s nothing like that. Whatever has happened between us, it’s not enough to break the spell, even if I wish it was.

I don’t take his hand. Touching him will push any last inch of logical thought from my mind. But, after a long pause, I nod.

"Okay. I’ll go with you. But no more than an hour, alright? I have things to do. Things to do on campus, not off."

"Of course," he replies, and he begins to lead me toward his car, his hand snaking around my hips with ease, guiding me across the quiet campus. I can feel the warm tingling at the base of my spine, my body responding to him even now. Will that ever change? He turns me on like nothing else in the world, and that’s dangerous.

But, when he pulls the car door open for me, I force myself to relax. I made my choice. I’m leaving with him. I don’t know what he’s going to show me, but I’m willing to see it through.

He climbs into the seat beside me, flashes me a grin, and pulls away.

Chapter Twenty-Four—Blake

As we drive, I steal a glance at her out of the corner of my eye. I can tell she’s curious, though she’s doing her level best to pretend that she isn’t.

And when she sees what I’ve got to show her—I'm hoping it’s going to change everything.

These last couple of weeks, I’ve been putting things in motion, crunching numbers, calling Realtors, trying to figure out exactly what it’s going to take for her to see that I’m willing to give her the freedom she craves so deeply.

I’ve had to accept that I can’t force her to be with me. I can’t twist the pieces into place so that she has no other choice but to give me what I want. No matter how tempting it is, no matter how easy I know it would be, I have to let her make her own decisions. I could lock her up in my family mansion, make sure nobody else ever laid eyes on her, but she would never truly trust me, never truly want me as long as I treated her that way.

And this is my way of showing her I understand that—a place of her own. A house. No buts, no ifs, no nothing. I have the keys in my pocket, and I’m going to give them to her as soon as we arrive.

And, as we round the corner and see the place at the end of the street, I grin. It’s perfect for her, a little town house under the bough of a large willow tree that has started to shed its leaves for the fall. Deep amber and gold pepper the ground next to the wrought iron gate that runs around the perimeter, and the large windows glow in the early morning light.

I pull the car to a halt outside the house, and she stares up at it, nonplussed.

"What’s this?"

I grin, letting myself enjoy the moment before I answer her.

"It’s your house."

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