Page 48 of Christmas with the Mafia
As the moment passes, cool realization hits me like abullet train, and I push him away and gasp, “What just happened?”
He shrugs and, pulling back, says easily, “Phase one of your training.”
“What training?”
I’m mortified, and it must show in my expression because he surprises me by reaching out and smiling softly. “We are in love, Regina. I can’t keep my hands off you or from being inside you. You are the light in my day and the dreams when I sleep at night. When you speak, you hold my attention, and when you cry, I will burn down the world for you. You are my everything, and that is why we cannot keep our hands off one another.”
“What did you say?”
I must be dreaming and he cups my disbelieving face in his hands and whispers against my lips, “My family must believe that I can’t keep my hands off you and so it’s my responsibility to keep you in a permanent post orgasm after glow to convince them that we are in love.”
“Permanent?”
Why do I like the sound of that so much?
He runs his thumb against my cheek and whispers, “Two days, Regina, possibly three. When you gaze at me, I want the entire world to believe you love me more than life itself.”
His lips rest lightly on mine, and his kiss is soft, sweet and tender, and the butterflies inside me flutter in ecstasy as all of my dreams come true at once. Connor never once treated me like this. As if I am a rare object of incredible importance, and rather than be annoyed at what just happened, I can’t wait for the encore.
Twenty-Four
NICO
Regina fell asleep soonafter her first lesson, and I spent the rest of the journey on my phone. The fact that hers is tucked into my inner pocket is a fact I overlooked telling her. When I placed it on charge, there were several texts flashing up from her friend, begging her to call her. Trent cracked her password, and it amused me to read every one.
Call me honey. I have news about Prince Charming
Where are you Reggie, we need to talk?
Fuck, Reggie, I’m worried now. Pick up the phone.
Listen, honey, Aston discoveredsomething bad, call me.
Fuck, Reggie, are you even alive right now?
Okay, honey, I’m just giving it to you straight. Nicholas Ravera is the fucking mafia! Run like hell.
I deleted every single message and missed call, but I’m guessing there are several more already waiting.
Regina doesn’t need to know the true nature of my business, and keeping her phone from her is stage one in that. Three days with my family will be enough to let that particular cat out of the bag, but by then it will be impossible for her to leave. My little bird will be firmly shut in her cage and will only be released when I have no further need for her.
To be honest, as I glance at her sleeping, a small smile makes a rare appearance. She is slumped against the window, her mouth open and drool down one side, her breathing heavy and her hair wild and messy. She is wearing a cream skirt and jacket with a diamond choker, a gift to remind my family exactly who she is.
She’s mine, the woman I will mold into the perfect fiancée and, if I must, the perfect wife. She won’t question me, won’t answer back and will bend to my will, and what happened in the car was the first step in that. Fucking her with my fingers is nothing compared to what’s happening next because she sleeps with me from now on.
I won’t let her out of my sight because, knowing my father, he will attempt to change her mind, and I will not let that happen. Then there’s Desiree. She will be pissed that Regina is even here, and knowing she is in my bed will sendthat bitch feral. I wouldn’t put anything past her because she’s a conniving woman who majored in Machiavellian, and Regina would freak out if she realized exactly what she’s walking into.
I must control her, and I’m fast realizing that the key to controlling Regina is through kindness and desire. It’s obvious she wants me; hell, I’m even thinking along the same lines because despite the reason I chose her, she is probably the sexiest, most attractive woman I have ever met in my life, and that’s praise indeed.
She jerks awake the moment we turn onto the treelined drive that leads to my parent’s estate in the Hamptons. The gate was opened as soon as Trent called ahead, and as it closes behind the final car, I breathe a little easier. She is in the trap, and there is no way out of it.
“Are we there?”
Her voice is sleepy, and she looks adorable as she yawns loudly, her hand covering her mouth as she attempts to rearrange her disheveled clothing.
“Yes,” I state simply, and she gazes out of the window and gasps. “Oh my God, is that the ocean?”
On one side of us is the sparkling ocean, sweeping around the property from three sides. My family estate is almost an island, and as we turn the corner, the house rises majestically in front of us.
