Page 113 of Dangerous Contract: Part 1

“I know you’re in love. I know you may trust this woman. But don’t ever show her who you truly are and what you really do. She may say she understands this life and she’s okay with it. But unless she’s seen it, unless she’s seen the bodies and the blood and then said she’s okay with it, there’s no way she truly understands who we are and what we do. When smart women get to know the real us, they run. If you don’t want her to run, only show her what she needs to see. Trust me on this, son. I’ll see you tomorrow. Get some rest.”

Raz remained seated even after his father had left the room. His dad’s words were on repeat in his mind. Raz leaned back on the couch and closed his eyes. If he showed his Rosa the monster behind the businessman, would she run, or would she stay by his side?

And if she tried to run, would he force her to stay, and would that eventually cause her to hate him?Fuck that!He wasn’t about to worry about that shit right now. Opening his eyes, he stood up and headed for the door.

Today, he and Rosa were going to enjoy some alone time. No brothers. No fathers. No friends. No guards. No Bethany. No thoughts of fucking Trevor. Only Raz and Monique. Today, he was going to spend every second showing his Rosa that he loved her.

He was going to show her his charming side. And in a couple of days, he was going to show Beth’s father and Trevor his monster. For his woman, he’d be Prince Charming. To his enemies, he’d be the villain.

***

When Monique woke up, Orazio told her he had a surprise for her. During their shower, she kept asking what the surprise was. It was hard to resist revealing it, but he managed. After the shower, they dressed in hotel robes, and he had a member of his staff go shopping for her, bringing her some clothing from a boutique one of his cousins owned.

While he went over some emails, Monique visited the store’s app on her phone and chose the items she wanted. To keep her friends happy and distracted, he’d given his guard a black card and told him to allow Meka and Toya to do whatever they wanted with it.

That should keep them from calling Monique and checking on her. As expected, Raz finished getting dressed before Monique did. But he didn’t complain. He enjoyed watching her dress.

What he enjoyed most was that she didn’t seem to be shy about being naked in front of him any longer. She strode from the bathroom to the bedroom in her birthday suit as she got ready. There was no method to her madness.

Raz always stayed in one room when he dressed. Monique fluttered back and forth, forgetting things as she went. He couldn’t tear his gaze from her. Once she finished dressing, he wanted to say forget the morning date and instead undress her so he could put his mouth on her.

But seeing her so excited for her surprise, he kept his wicked thoughts to himself and escorted her to the parking garage. Monique’s eyes widened in awe as she caught sight of Orazio’s prized possession: a sleek, black Maserati Quattroporte.

“This is your car?” she asked when they reached it.

“One of them.” He unlocked her door.

“Brag much?” she joked as she slid inside.

“You can have it if you want it,” he told her before shutting the door, leaving her with her mouth wide open.

His car wasn’t the only thing that impressed Monique. So did his beach house once they pulled into the driveway.

“Can I have this too?” she asked.

“Consider it yours,” he told her as they entered his home.

“Whatever,” she said.

“I’m serious. We can live here if you want.”

“What about during hurricane season?”

“We can go up north during hurricane season.”

“You’ve got an answer for everything, Mr. Cattaneo.”

“I’m just doing whatever it takes to get you to become Mrs. Cattaneo.”

A blush tinted her cheeks as he led her to his kitchen. Was he blushing too? No. There was no way he was blushing.

“I hope you didn’t bring me here to cook for you,” Monique told him, frowning as she stared around his kitchen. “I mean, I can cook. I’m the best crockpot cook there is. But, if it’s something that doesn’t go in the crockpot, you may stop liking me after you taste it.”

“I don’t like you. I love you. There’s a difference. And don’t worry. I’ll teach you how to cook.”

“You can cook?”

“These hands can do more than just make you cum, Rosa.” There was that fucking blush that he loved again. “Come here,” he told her. She sauntered over to him. Holding her close, he kissed her forehead. “You ready for your man to teach you how to cook?”

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