Page 40 of Savage Mafia King

I eye him for a moment before I take his hand. I'm not sure exactly what he's heard about me, but hey, if we're going to be working together as allies, I guess I need to make nice.

"You, too."

I shake his hand, and we settle down at the table. Soon, as the wine starts to flow, I begin to relax. I'm still getting used to working with these men, but I truly trust Isabella completely, and if she can put her faith in them, then the least I can do is offer them the same thing.

"How are your studies going?" Alex asks her as he lifts a glass of wine to his lips. There's something hard to read about him. I'm going to have to ask Isabella what he's doing back after all this time and where he's been while he's been out of town.

"I'm nearly finished," she gushes with a bright smile. "And so is Marcus. We're planning a trip away when the semester is done. Right, Marcus?"

"Somewhere warm," I reply, slipping my hand over the back of her seat. "Where no emails from professors can reach us."

Alex chuckles.

The rest of the evening passes by with ease. Because of the unexpected guest, we keep conversation away from work, and frankly, I'm glad for it. While I know there's still plenty for us to discuss when it comes to our still-nascent alliance, I'm still able to switch off for a while.

By the time the evening comes to a close, Blake insists on calling us a cab, and we head back to our place together. I'm still getting used to calling it that, our place. After all, for so long, I thought I would stay a bachelor. But now, with her at my side, it feels right to be able to share this place with her. Like we're building a life together here, a home.

We reach the penthouse, and she leans up against the window as I clean up, peering down over the city below. I make my way over to her, leaning my head on her shoulder and breathing in the scent of her.

"You looked so beautiful tonight," I murmur to her, and she laughs.

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure that's just the wine talking," she shoots back playfully, cocking an eyebrow.

"Oh, you want to find out?" I reply, and I reach down to scoop her up into my arms before she can come out with anything else. She shrieks and grabs hold of me for dear life, gripping tight to my shoulders.

"Don't you dare drop me!"

"Like I ever would."

I carry her toward the bedroom. It's amazing to me, how small and delicate she can feel in my arms when I know the strength she carries within her.

Once we reach the bed, she pulls me down on top of her, wrapping her arms around me and gazing into my eyes for a moment.

"I love you," she whispers to me.

I brush my lips across her cheek as I lower my mouth to her neck.

"I'm never going to get tired of hearing you say that. I love you, too, Isabella."

And with that, I sink my body into hers and let everything else fall away. It's just the two of us, and that's exactly how I like it.

Epilogue—Isabella

I press my fingertips into my temples and massage them lightly as I try to keep my focus. I feel like my eyes are beginning to cross with all the work I've been doing on this final project.

Right now, I'm in the midst of laying out the potential earnings and savings that could be implemented if my marketing strategy was applied to a new launch—all hypothetical, of course, but I have to pull from the numbers I have access to and prove my point to convince my professors that I really deserve to pass.

I can't believe how close I am to being done with all of this. It feels a little surreal, knowing that I'm going to be leaving so much of what has become my normal, day-to-day life behind me. I'm not going to be living at the sorority anymore, though, honestly, I've all but moved in to Marcus's penthouse anyway. And while my plans for post-college do involve working in the charity department for Termina to make a real difference in the world, it will be strange not to have to slouch from class to class, not to be on campus any longer.

But it's a change I'm well and truly ready for. With everything that has happened in the last year, I know I will thrive in the next new stage of my life. I feel like I've gone from being a girl to a woman in the time since Marcus came into my life, being faced with the enormity of everything that my family name carries with it but being able to make the moves and steps I have to make in order to keep them safe. Working with the Silvas might not have been what I expected, but they have shown themselves to be strong allies.

But I can't think about my family business right now. No, I have to stay focused on my studies. I'm at the desk that I've put up in his penthouse, the one that overlooks the city. It's a gorgeous view, though I've hardly lifted my head long enough to appreciate it in the last few hours.

The door to the elevator that leads to the penthouse opens, and in strolls Marcus. He's just come back from the gym, and his shirtless body is glistening with sweat, showing off the muscles beneath his skin. He makes his way over to me and drops a kiss on top of my head.

"How are you getting on?"

I groan. "Ugh, I feel like I'm going crazy. All I can think about are these numbers..." I gesture to the stacks of papers in front of me, and I feel a smile cross his lips where he's still leaning against my head.

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