Page 55 of Spice and Revenge

She is the only woman I’ve ever missed, apart from my mother, and in this scenario, she doesn’t count. Lorena’s absence leaves an ache in my chest, a longing that only she can ease.

The silence of the room is broken by the shrill ring of my phone. Startled, I reach for it, my mind reluctantly shifting gears from thoughts of her to the device in my hand. My spine stiffens slightly when I glance at the name on the screen.

Vito, my second in command. Vito never calls me, except to relay important information. These past days, I've been so preoccupied that I've neglected to keep tabs on the looming war that could erupt any moment now.

As I bring the phone to my ear, I take a deep breath, bracing myself for whatever news awaits.

“Don,” Vito’s gruff voice meets my right ear. “I have information you will be pleased to hear.”

“Then get straight to the point,” I say gruffly, grabbing the bottle of whiskey on my desk and pouring some of the liquid into a glass cup.

“I've had Pedro's whereabouts pinned down for weeks,” Vito reveals, his tone grave. “Been keeping a close watch on him. Turns out, Roman's been avoiding our arms shipment because he's cozying up with Pedro.”

The information hits me like a brick in the chest. It’s not regularly that my men betray me. But in the few times I’ve been betrayed, it sucked more than I like to admit.

“Pedro is also expecting a weapons shipment from him, and everything will go down in New York,” Vito says.

“I need the names, dates and location of everyone involved,” I growl.

“Sure thing, Don. I’m still working on it and trying to gather more information. When everything is finalized, I’ll let you know,” he assured me.

I take a sip of whiskey, letting the liquid burn my throat on its slow path down.

Vito speaks again, his voice a pitch deeper.

“This will be the best time to attack, Don.”

The reason why Vito and I work well together is because we think alike.

“I know.”

A stream of light filters through the door on the other side of the library. When I raise my head to look, I see Lorena closing the door behind her.

A sudden rush of arousal and electricity fills me.

“Let me know when you get any new info,” I tell Vito, watching in awe as Lorena sashays towards me.

“Will do, Don.”

The moment the call ends, I fling my phone across the desk and focus all my attention on her.

She walks towards me, her movements almost magical. The dim light touches her body, giving her an ethereal glow. Her long hair is pulled back into a ponytail, exposing her delicate jaw and pale, soft skin and her smooth face. When she fully steps into view, I’m struck again by how beautiful she looks. She looks like she just came from the pages of a fairy tale. Except, she isn’t an angel or a fairy. She’s a seductress, the force sent to bring me to my knees.

“You didn’t come out for dinner,” she says, coming to sit beside me on my desk.

Her smell hits me. The vanilla scent wafting from her feels like honey against a man’s tongue.

I lean back into my seat so that I can see her properly. Feeling the heat of my gaze against her skin, she crosses one leg over the other, the soft skin of her thighs peeking through the slit on her trench coat.

“Couldn’t stand seeing you around me and not being able to touch you,” I drawl.

I can tell my honesty shocks her because her green eyes flash with something sinful and dangerous.

“Mm. Well, I’m here now,” she purrs. “You can touch all you want.”

A deep chuckle escapes me as I catch sight of the seductive smirk on her lips. Without hesitation, I seize one of her knees, pulling her closer until she's directly facing me. Moving to part her legs, I'm met with a sharp slap against my hand.

“No touching, not until you kiss me.”

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