Page 26 of The Boss

The fact she’d turned into such a beauty nearly stripped me of the very humanity I was thinking of. I had never been this attracted to anyone and it was forcing me to think differently.

To handle her differently.

She could be nothing more than a black widow, although I continued denying it. As I approached, I could tell she was leaving a message, likely for her friend from the club. As soon as she saw me, she jerked up. At this point, there was nowhere to run.

I held out my hand as I closed the distance, providing her with the opportunity to hand over the phone herself.

Her defiance remained.

“There’s nowhere to run, Willow. I’m certain you’ve noticed that. Hand me your phone or I’ll need to take it from you.”

She smiled, but I sensed her duplicity. She didn’t try to run, but I caught her the second before she smashed the phone on the stone walkway. As soon as I thwarted her action, she reared back and punched me under the jaw. “You damn bastard.”

I shoved the phone into my pocket with one hand, grabbing her arm with the other. “That wasn’t something you should have done, Willow.”

“Yeah, well, I don’t follow your rules and in fact, I don’t follow anyone’s.”

“As I told you before. You’re wrong. I think providing you with a lesson in who’s keeping you alive is in order at this point.”

“Keeping me alive?” she countered. “You mean keeping me prisoner. Don’t you?”

“In this case, little dove, they are one and the same.” I didn’t want to hurt her, but the incessant bickering needed to stop at least for now. Hating me was one thing. Attempting to escape was costing valuable time; that wasn’t acceptable.

“Let go of me.”

“I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

“I contacted my friend. She will come and get me.”

As I dragged her close to the fountain, she almost freed herself. “Your friend won’t be effective in freeing you.”

“Yes, she will.”

“Were they the ones with you at the club last night?”

She seemed shocked. “What did you do to them?”

“Nothing, Willow. I don’t hurt women. No matter what you think of me, that’s not going to happen unless I am pushed past the point of no return. I’m certain they told you who I was.”

“They mentioned you were mafia. That means you kill people for a living.”

The girl could make me smile with her spunk and the kind of verve I’d missed in my life, which suddenly seemed like drudgery. As I pulled her as close to my body as possible, her eyes opened wide. Her scent was as lovely as she was, fresh and clean.

“You’ve been watching too much television, my little dove.”

“Let me guess. You’re nothing but a businessman.”

I laughed. “Exactly.” Her closeness was difficult, the lure of her feminine wiles far too captivating. It would be easy to lose control with her, but that wasn’t going to do either one of us any justice. She knew me as the man she’d once thought kind, not as the one she feared would hurt her brother.

“It doesn’t matter. I know what you are deep inside. I can read your soul like a book. And it’s all black.” Her voice was suddenly nothing more than a sweet whisper.

But not of innocence or vulnerability.

She would do everything in her power to crucify me.

Willow

“Be careful,peristeráki. As you said, I have no soul, which means I won’t hesitate to do what’s necessary to keep my family safe and alive.”

---