Page 67 of Nico (Belles & Mobsters 2)

She threw her head and laughed. “Are you serious?”

Our first dance ended, but we continued on. I wanted to keep her in my arms.

“Yes.”

“I can’t just throw my kids at their grandparents,” she shook her head.

“How about we have Grace and Ella watch the girls?”

She shook her head. “No, not for that long. They are strangers.”

I nodded. I expected as much. “Would you feel comfortable if Grace and Luciano watched the girls for a night and a day?”

Her eyes traveled across the dance floor and found Hannah hugging Matteo by the swings.

“Now, that worries me,” she muttered, scrunching her eyebrows. “Hannah is the unfriendly one, and she is pretty much going all in with Matteo.”

I grinned. “He is very much like his father. A ladies’ man.”

“Seems to me he is a one lady man,” she retorted. “Yeah, maybe for a night.” A blush spread over her chest, crawling up her neck and climbing into her cheeks. Fuck, she was so sexy, I couldn’t wait to take her to bed.

Another song ended, but the greedy motherfucker I was, I refused to share her with our guests.

“One more song,” I said after our fourth dance. I was determined to make it last as long as I could. The people that mattered were part of our ceremony and witnesses to our marriage, but there would be other guests coming soon. Both, invited and not.

Luciano smiled, every so often searching out his wife. After the fiasco over the last few weeks, things have finally worked out for them. The wife everyone thought dead was back in his life and here to stay.

Vasili never looked away from his wife. A few years back Isabella and Tatiana, Vasili’s sister, attended the university in D.C. Vasili was constantly in this area, and I was sure he was poaching. Until I saw the two girls drunk, while underage and trying to gamble in one of my casinos. I thought the man was going to murder them both. But even then, he couldn’t peel his eyes off Isabella Taylor. They clearly worked it out, since she was quite a bit along in her pregnancy.

Cassio and Luca seemed content; although Cassio was working on his own marriage arrangement. Sasha kept throwing glances Bianca’s way, trying to stir shit. That motherfucker was the best sniper and the worst instigator. His life must be a bore since he constantly sought trouble. And Alexei Nikolaev stood stoic and unreadable as ever. I sensed he made Bianca nervous. When introductions were made between the two, she actually tucked her body into mine as if seeking my protection.

Have I brought Bianca and her girls among the wolves?

The commotion at the front of the house finally forced me to face reality.

“Bianca, I want you to meet someone.” I urged her to walk beside me.

“I thought you introduced me to everyone,” she complained, rolling her eyes again. “I don’t remember half the names.”

“These are my parents,” I told her, masking my face from all emotions. My father liked to exploit people. He wasn’t far off in cruelty from Benito, just weaker. “You’ll remember theirs.”

“Oh.”

Her step faltered and she remained in her spot.

“What?”

She nibbled on her lower lip. “I didn’t realize your parents were alive,” she whispered. “You’re older so I assumed-”

Jesus, she considered me old. I gently smacked her ass. “Be careful how you speak to your husband.”

We resumed walking.

A little giggle escaped her. “Or what? You’ll spank me?” If I wasn’t mistaken, there was a light challenge in her tone.

Game on, wife.

“I just might,” I purred.

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