Page 32 of The Mafia King's Stolen Fiancée

Sighing, I rolled onto my stomach and pressed my face into Rafa’s pillow. His woodsy scent filled my nose, and I dragged it deep into my lungs. A sly tendril of desire snaked through my system, which shouldn’t even have been possible with how I felt this morning.

The smell also gave me a sense of peace. And safety. Which made no sense at all, considering how conflicted I was.

I had no doubt that I’d already given my heart to Rafa, but I wasn’t sure I wanted to be a Mafia wife—not that he’d mentioned marriage. It was a world with which I was wholly unfamiliar. And a brutal one that I didn’t know if I could be a part of.

Was I cut out to stand by his side while he ruled the DeLuca’s southern territory? Or was that even something a Mafia wife did? And that was assuming Rafa evenwantedto marry me. Other than vowing not to let me go, the only time he’d reallymentioned the future was when we were having sex, but that could all have just been dirty talk. Especially because it really turned me on, something he couldn’t miss when his dick was deep inside me.

“Ugh,” I groaned into his pillow.

Even if it was the right decision, how was I ever supposed to walk away from Rafa? He was hot as heck and practically able to give me an orgasm with just one look. And more importantly, he treated me as though I was the most important person in the world. Nobody had ever given me that before.

I had believed that kind of devotion only happened in my romance novels until he swept me away from my world and into his…and made me fall in love with him.

Holy heck.

I was in love with a Mafia underboss.

The King of the South.

There was no more denying it. Or thinking that I was still in the process of falling for Rafa. He had well and truly stolen my heart. Utterly and completely.

I didn’t know if I could take it back and still be whole. Or if I truly wanted to.

If I made my decision based on pure logic, I would run from him. It was the smart thing to do. But the truth was, I was already in too deep, and the thought of running made me feel as if my heart was being ripped out of my chest.

The silence in the room settled over me like a thick blanket. He was always here when I woke up. Watching. Waiting. And smirking because he knew exactly what kind of effect he had on me.

But not today. The morning when he had even more of a reason not to leave me with time alone.

I couldn’t help but wonder if he was testing me. Waiting to see if all the orgasms he’d given me yesterday were enough tomake me set aside my doubts and never think about leaving him again.

With a Machiavellian sense of timing, Rafa strolled into the bedroom, his gaze instantly zeroing in on me. My stomach clenched at the hint of regret in his dark gaze, and I wondered if there was something else he still hadn’t shared with me. Although, I couldn’t imagine anything he could confess that would shock me even half as much as learning he was a Mafia underboss.

He strode to my side of the bed and brushed a brief kiss against my lips before murmuring, “I’m sorry,cara. Something urgent has come up, and I have to go. I hate the idea of leaving you, but I have no choice. This needs to be handled by me personally. Unfortunately, I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone.”

He was leaving?

That wasn’t at all what I’d expected him to say.

Sitting up and wrapping my arms around my knees with the sheet pressed against my chest, I muttered, “Fine, I guess I’ll go home to face my parents.”

It was the last thing I wanted to do, but I had to get the confrontation with them over with at some point. I figured it might as well be now while Rafa was gone.

Waiting for him here, on my own with whatever staff was around, sounded like a recipe for disaster. Being left alone with my thoughts and insecurities would surely bring back my doubts. I needed him here to remind me why I hadn’t already run as fast and as far away as I could get from him.

If I was going to be miserable anyway, I might as well accomplish something while I was at it.

“You will stay here.”

My brow furrowed. He was ordering me to remain in his house while he was gone? “Why?”

I was frustrated that he was leaving for who knew how long but expected me to stay behind and wait around for him. That was ridiculous. And I wasn’t a fan of him bossing me around like I was one of his men.

My lips flattened while I considered how to respond. I was fairly certain that I wouldn’t sway him with yelling and screaming, but I was too angry to speak calmly right now.

Rafa searched my expression, and his brutally masculine features softened. Perching on the side of the bed, he glided his palm up my shin and snagged one of my hands to lift it and kiss my knuckles.

“You need to stay here so I know you’re safe, angel.”

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