Page 21 of The Mafia King's Stolen Fiancée

“I appreciate it and will likely take you up on the offer. But I need a few days to get Vivienne settled first and some time to figure out the plan and how to set it in motion.”

“Understood. In the meantime, we’ll keep digging into him, his parents, and his connections.”

“Thanks.”

“Oh, and Rafa?”

“Sì?”

“Call your fucking cousin and tell him what’s going on.”

“I was planning on it, Fox,” I muttered. “It’s been less than two fucking days, and I’m just wrapping my head around this shit.”

He grunted in response, then hung up.

I sat in my chair for the next ten minutes, brooding in the silence, trying to sort through the overload of information in my brain.

Eventually, I was ready to pack it all up for a while to focus on Vivienne. In my line of work, compartmentalizing was an extremely valuable skill. And I was a fucking pro at it. I didn’t want her to worry or focus on anything besides us, so I filed everything away before going in search of my angel.

9

VIVIENNE

I’d stayed with Rafa for three days, and they’d been so amazing that I hadn’t spent any time worrying about the absolute mess that was my life. I knew I was only putting off the inevitable and would have to face my parents—and probably Chet too—eventually, but I was in no rush.

Instead, I had fully committed to my decision to just go with the flow for as long as he was willing to have me here, and he hadn’t given me a single reason to regret it. If anything, I had been so pampered that I never wanted to leave. But that might have had more to do with the fact that I was quickly falling head over heels for Rafa.

He’d spent much more time with me than I had expected, barely leaving my side. Except for the nights when he would kiss the hell out of me and then practically run away, leaving me disappointed and turned on. I considered sneaking into his bedroom more than once but hadn’t worked up the courage.

But his constant attention gave me hope that he felt our connection too since he was a busy man who’d practically erased his calendar for me. I was so happy to have the opportunity to get to know him better that I didn’t mind that we’d never leftthe house. Or that he insisted I stay inside the rare times he had to leave for an hour or so, which presented me with the perfect opportunities to explore his mother’s romance book collection more thoroughly.

I loved being in our little bubble. Rafa made me feel safe and cherished even with how he watched over me.

He tended to keep me close, like how we were now while watching a movie in the theater room. There were enough leather upholstered, reclining seats for a dozen people, but we were cuddled up next to each other in one of them. Rafa had his arm wrapped around my back, and I was nestled against his side with my head on his chest. There was barely any space between us, which was a sweet kind of sensual torture that I had quickly become addicted to. Along with his kisses.

I would’ve happily stayed like that for hours, but Rafa shifted away when his phone rang.

“Mi dispiace,cara. I need to take this.”

I puffed out my bottom lip in an exaggerated pout. “Fine.”

“I’ll try to be quick,” he promised before dropping a quick kiss against my lips.

I continued watching the movie while he was gone, but it wasn’t nearly as entertaining without him. Judging by the wrinkle in his brow and his flared nostrils when he returned, Rafa’s call was even less enjoyable.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

He gave me a terse nod. “It’s nothing.”

He wasn’t acting as if his call went well, but I had already learned that getting Rafa to open up about something he didn’t want to discuss was nearly impossible. So I didn’t press the issue. Instead, when he sat back down, I leaned forward to brush my lips against his and murmured, “I’m glad you’re back.”

It was the first time I had been the one who initiated a kiss, and he rewarded me by dragging me onto his lap and burying his face in my hair. “So damn sweet.”

“Only with you,” I confessed.

He smirked at me. “Damn straight. That’s how it’s supposed to be.”

When he said possessive stuff like that, it gave me a feminine thrill. I loved knowing that he was so affected by me, especially since I couldn’t resist him.

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