Page 40 of Married to the Mafia

He eased back slowly, riding the wave with her until it was almost too much. She could hardly breathe, her heart hammering wildly, and when she dragged her eyes back to his she thought she might explode all over again. She’d never seen a hunger so palpable.

Mikey licked his lips. “Fucking delicious.” He held two glistening fingers in front of her lips. “Open those pretty lips and taste yourself on me. Tease me with what I can’t have just yet.”

Brandi complied immediately. Her mouth opened and she leaned forward, taking his fingers into her mouth to lick her own essence off. She didn’t question it, didn’t question how his words could have her body suggesting she was ready to go again so soon. She just did what he asked, unable to break his stare, and whimpered when he growled low and leaned closer.

“Fuck, you’re so tempting,” he murmured, yanking his fingers from her mouth. He crashed his lips to hers in a rough, fiery kiss that assured her she wasn’t the only one who wanted more.

His phone buzzed once on the side table.

Mikey broke the kiss with another curse. “They’re here. We better wash up.”

twelve

Long Time Coming

Brandi knew, intellectually, that Mikey came from a family of oversized men. She’d seen pictures of Dante and Romeo, online and on the walls of Mikey’s home. There was even a head-and-shoulders portrait of all three brothers along with their cousin, Cristiano, in the formal sitting room.

None of that prepared her for seeing two men that towered over her fiancé at the side curve of the drive. Their relation was obvious with the dark hair, blue eyes, and the one she knew to be Dante’s subtly similar facial structure. And she was glad they were related, glad Mikey had such a good relationship with his family, because she didn’t want to make enemies of these muscle-bound giants.

Dante—not quite as tall or as broad as his companion—held out his hand after Mikey provided formal introductions. “It’s unfortunate that we’re meeting under these circumstances, Brandi.”

Brandi took one more steadying breath and accepted the handshake, for a split-second surprised when he didn’t crush her hand, before saying, “It is.”

Cristiano held out his hand when Dante’s fell away. “Welcome to the family.”

“Thank you,” she said, hoping her voice didn’t sound as small as she felt. She was not a small woman by societal standards, but the man stood basically a foot over her. It was daunting.

Mikey lifted a hand to her shoulder. “You can still wait in the house if you’d rather.”

“I don’t want to wait in the house,” she said. “Maybe you could just give me a signal or something, so I can slip outside before…” She held no delusions about being able to stop the train wreck that had become her father’s fate. If she were honest with herself, she wasn’t sure she wanted to. Neither of those things meant she wanted to stand in the room and watch it happen, regardless of what he’d put her through.

Mikey lowered his hand to the small of her back.

“We won’t kill him here,” Dante said. “Here we’ll talk. But he isn’t long for this world, and that’s something you will need to make peace with.”

“About that,” Mikey said as they started walking, “I want in.”

Dante, who had taken the lead, craned his head back as if Mikey had said something unusual. “You want what?”

“I want to be the one who kills the bastard.”

Only because he was so much taller did Brandi notice when Cristiano came to a stop. “Since when?” Cristiano asked. “I can’t even remember the last time you got your hands dirty.”

Brandi’s eyes widened and she looked up at Mikey. She knew why he was angry. It was inappropriately flattering, though she was afraid to admit it, that he’d gotten so angry for her. But she didn’t want to be the reason he put himself in a position he might regret.

Mikey met her stare and his arm slid the rest of the way around her. “Not my story to tell. Just trust me when I say you’d understand.” He started forward again, prompting the other two to do so as well.

Brandi dropped her gaze to the ground as the asphalt gave way to stone path. “Mikey, if—”

“I already told you this was happening.”

The guest house was barely a dozen yards ahead now, but she planted her feet and faced him, needing to say the words before their audience expanded. “Yes, but I don’t want you doing something you’d regret just because of my childhood trauma. Okay?” She pointedly ignored the other two men, having no clue what opinion they might have of her backtalk.

Mikey grinned and caught her chin with the hand she’d dislodged from her back. “Claws away, kitten,” he teased. “I’m nowhere near a saint. Never claimed to be. I would lose more sleep over not doing this.”

She flushed and fought the instinct to argue. He certainly looked like he meant what he was saying.

“Cute,” Cristiano said, stepping around them, “but flirt later. It’s time to work.”

---