Page 66 of Corrupt Vows

She smiles and rises onto tiptoe to give me a quick peck on the lips.

“Got it,” she says as she waves a block of saran wrapped clay. “You can go now.”

I huff, wrap my arm around her waist, and pull her flush against me.

“You think you can dismiss me just like that?” I mumble against her lips.

She smiles and tilts her chin to give me a chaste kiss.

“Yes, just this once.”

With a sassy twirl out of my arms, she smiles over her shoulder and walks down the center of the room. The joy shining from her eyes before she twirls off steals my breath.

Fucking hell, I’m whipped.

I consider chasing after her but can’t stomach the idea of her staring at me with pain in her big, expressive eyes. If I snuck any closer and glimpsed her sculpture, despite her obvious reluctance to show me, I’d break her heart, so I turn on my heel and stalk to my car alone.

Despite diving into work and settling several disputes and taking care of unsavory business, half my mind remains on Serenity.

She’s too brave, sweet, and sassy to lose. In six weeks, she’ll take my last name and become my wife. I’ll do anything to protect her. Anything.

“Hey, boss,” Ermanno says when I close my laptop and stand to end my workday.

“What?” I snarl.

“Your sister went to your lady’s studio already, so you don’t need to pick her up on the way.”

His lack of ribbing at my terseness shows he’s as agitated about our situation as I am. As we rule out potential masterminds behind the recent attacks, the more uncomfortable the list becomes. We’re down to the founding families in NYC and a few big fish in Chicago.

The situation becomes more dire as the list shrinks. We must calculate every move before we make it. A war with anyone on the current line up would cause catastrophe. Above all, protecting my family is most important.

I leave my office with the normal fanfare, but my mind remains with Serenity.

I want to watch her in her element. She must look stunning with her eyes sparkling and her dainty hands molding clay to her will. I know absolutely nothing about art, but she must be the most beautiful masterpiece in all of God’s creation, because just imagining her leaning over her work hardens my cock.

Traffic slows me, but I pull up to the curb outside her studio before my sister and Serenity leave the building, so I stalk inside and find them whispering back and forth at a table near the cafeteria. Three of Natalie’s guards and four of Serenity’s loiter nearby. I nod, giving them the signal to spread further out.

Natalie stops whispering and nudges Serenity into silence the moment she sees me. They rise with flustered expressions, and I decide not to embarrass us all by asking about their discussion.

I wrap my arms around Serenity and demand a kiss before I release her. Natalie smiles like the cat who ate the canary.

“My, my, what a difference a few weeks makes, yeah?” she mocks before fake gagging toward the floor.

“Aren’t you too old for the cooties thing?” I ask to hide my amusement.

“I’ll never be too old to razz my big brother. Onward! I can’t wait to make fun of your face when you see Serenity in her dress for the first time,” she says with an evil glint in her eyes.

I tuck Serenity against my side and rest my arm over her shoulders before heading to the car. Natalie complains about sitting in the back all alone, but I settle my fiancée in the passenger seat and firmly shut the door before helping Natalie into her spot in the back.

When I check the rearview mirror, her gaze meets mine. Her eyes widen when Serenity leans forward and changes the station.

“You listen to music in the car now?” Natalie asks.

Serenity pauses before twisting around to address my sister.

“He didn’t use to?”

“Nope. It was always tense silence. He’d even smack my hand if I reached for the AC controls.”

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