Page 94 of Savage Vow (Mafia Marriages 3)

But being around Karina makes me do things that I wouldn’t ordinarily do. Like fuck a stranger.

I’ve had my share of one-night stands but never in the middle of a party, in the office, with a woman that I’d never met before. That was crazy, even by my standards.

I finish in the shower, step out, and dry off. After I get dressed, I open the bathroom door.

She’s back on the bed as if she hadn’t just come into the bathroom moments earlier.

“We need to talk,” I reiterate. I’m not sure now is the best time to reveal to her that the condom broke last night, but she needs to know at some point and probably before nine months pass.

Not that I anticipate a baby.

I don’t.

It’s probably fine, as long as she’s not ovulating.

“Talk? I swear, I won’t go down there again. I didn’t know what you were doing or where you were. Alessandro caught us outside in the garden and ordered Ashton and me to his bedroom.”

“You should have listened to him, Micetta.” I don’t like that she disobeyed a direct order from the boss.

She stares down at her hands in her lap. “I wish I would have. Can I stay with Ashton? He’s in his room all alone. He’s probably worried about me.”

Her concern is genuine, but Francesco isn’t going to let her see her son. And I’m sure it’s on Alessandro’s orders.

“He’ll be fine. How about I go in and check on him?” I say. “He’s probably getting hungry for dinner too.”

She chews on her bottom lip. Like she wants to say something but is holding back.

“What?” I ask. It’s hard to read a woman that I barely know.

I want to get to know her, every inch of her body and her mind, but she’s making it difficult for me. Not that she cares. She’s used to living in her perfect world with freedom and little consequence.

The mafia world isn’t like that.

You cross someone, and you end up dead.

Did she learn nothing from the hotel?

I want to protect her, but she needs to be vigilant and cautious. She can’t go traipsing through the compound. Although I’m sure from now on, a guard will be stationed outside her room when she’s home from work.

“It’s been a rough day,” she says.

I raise a curious eyebrow. Is she referring to the man she watched me assault in prison or something else? “Is everything all right with Ashton?” My stomach somersaults just thinking that he could have had a difficult first day at his new school.

I wanted to see how his day went if he made any new friends, but I’d been caught up with work that while I had picked him up, I’d been on the phone the entire time with Alessandro.

“Aside from hating the school uniforms, yeah, he’s fine,” Karina says.

I exhale a breath, relieved at least he’s still all right. The kid had been through an ordeal last night back at my house. I hadn’t expected any of it to go down as it had. I’d wanted to show Karina the life that we could have outside of the compound. I just needed time to convince Alessandro that I don’t need to live on site and that he can trust us.

But after the place was destroyed and our lives threatened, I don’t want us to live anywhere else. Karina and Ashton’s safety is my priority, and I can only ensure they’re protected inside the compound.

She presses her lips together. “We can talk later.” Karina gestures for the door. “Go check on my son, please.”

“Our son,” I correct her, heading for the bedroom door. “I’ll bring you dinner.”

I don’t imagine that Alessandro is going to allow her to leave the bedroom tonight. He might not for the next week except to leave for work.

His punishments may seem harsh, but he’s trying to protect her. And I agree with Alessandro. Karina should never have come down to the basement. The prison is entirely off-limits.

---