Page 46 of Wicked Rivals

“Why didn't you tell me? I would have been there for him. And for you.”

I had known this conversation would have to happen, but that didn’t mean I was looking forward to it. With a frustrated sigh, I tilted my head.

“You know why. Same reason I couldn't be with you.”

That was mostly true. He just didn't know why those reasons were so important to me, and I wasn't about to volunteer that information.

His eyes darkened even more if that was possible. I could see his anger seething within the tight grip of his composure.

“It didn't work, did it? Keeping my son away from me did not keep him safe.”

“No, it didn’t,” I admitted. “Now you know about him. You’ve met him. Talked to him. So tell me, Stefano. Tell me what you're prepared to do to keep my son safe. Because I will burn this entire city to the ground if it means even a single hair on his head is never harmed. Do you understand me?”

I expected him to fight me. I expected him to belittle my conviction or scoff at the whole idea.

What I did not expect was his startling lunge at me, or his hands wrapped around my throat as he shoved me against the wall. He squeezed hard enough that I knew he could hurt me if he wanted to. But he didn’t.

“Our son,” he snarled. “Ours.”

The next thing I knew, Stefano’s lips slammed against mine, his kiss pinning me against the wall as his hands left my throat to run down my body and inside the robe.

I should have fought him. My mind screamed for me to shove him away, to tell him no. But my body was a traitor and melted into his hands.

Stefano was the first man I had been with. The only man.

I’d already known from our first night together that no one could ever compare to what I felt when I was with him, so I never bothered with anyone else. I’d considered a few men, gone on a handful of dates, for Enzo's sake, but no one ever seemed good enough.

No one had ever been strong enough, fiery enough, perfect enough. And now I remembered why.

Because they weren’t Stefano.

The instant chemistry between us overpowered my self-preservation the same way this man overpowered me and held me against the wall.

It wasn’t normal.

No average man could make me feel that way. Then it occurred to me, maybe not for the first time, that my reaction to Stefano had everything to do with who he was.

What he really was.

God help me because the fact that he was a powerful mafia boss attracted me to him.

Mentally, I recognized his intelligence, his strength, his loyalty, and even his arrogance. Physically, instinctually, I recognized his power.

In my heart, I understood this man’s ability to save me from my demons… or to sacrifice me to them if he so chose.

Either way, he could do whatever he wanted with me, take whatever he wanted.

To feel this again, to see it, taste it, and exist in it, melted away my resistance and turned my soul inside out.

No ordinary man, no matter how sweet or loving, could ever truly meet my needs. Not the way Stefano Vignali did.

He made my heart race.

Only he could send heat rushing through my blood and make me forget everything else.

With one kiss, he reignited a hunger inside me.

The passion I thought had died the day I left him.

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