Page 61 of Savage Vow (Mafia Marriages 3)

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Aurielo

Karina has no idea where we’re going, not that I expect her to guess correctly. I’ve given her no indication and no hints.

She’s squirming in the front seat, her fingers rubbing over her legs.

One glance, and I can feel her nervous energy seeping out of her.

“Mommy, I’m hungry,” Ashton whines from the backseat.

Shit.

I don’t have any snacks. I can take them both out to eat after I reveal the surprise.

I am assuming the kid doesn’t melt down and throw a fit from hunger first.

She digs into her purse and retrieves a plastic baggy with peanut butter crackers inside. It’s any miracle they’re not squished.

“Here you go,” she says, handing it to him in the backseat.

“Try not to leave crumbs,” I mutter. The car is still pristine and smells like a new car. It has less than ten thousand miles on the odometer.

“Oops,” Ashton says between bites of his snack, the rustling of plastic against his fingers.

“I will vacuum your car and clean out the mess,” Karina says. “Please don’t be mad at him.”

I glance up in the rearview mirror, and Ashton’s grin is wide, his face messy with cracker crumbs, but it doesn’t bother him. He’s so carefree and innocent.

I don’t ever remember life being that simple, not even when I was a child.

I pull off the main road and take a side street toward the intended destination. We’ve been driving for awhile, the city is no longer in the rearview mirror.

“Are we almost there?” Karina asks.

“Yes,” I say, not giving anything further away. My gaze slips from the road to her as she’s seated beside me.

Her hands are wrung together, and her tongue darts out and swipes her lips. I want to lean across the seat and press my mouth against hers, taste her, touch her, devour her.

But I can’t do that.

I won’t do that.

She’s a fantasy that I can’t indulge in.

At least I shouldn’t.

Karina is too sweet, too pure, too innocent.

I’ll destroy her, even without meaning to.

I refocus my attention back to the road, pull up to the one-story cottage, and park the vehicle.

“We’re here.” I open the door and step out, stretching my legs.

She climbs out of the car before opening the back door, letting Ashton out while I stalk up the porch steps.

The house is rustic and old. There are cobwebs on the porch, and I swat them away, digging out my key to unlock the front door.

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