Page 61 of Carnal

"You didn't tell me this was a weekend thing."

He purses his lips. "And your point is?"

The urge to slap him festers in my veins. I accuse, "Don't be an ass. You knew I'd be upset."

"You won't be. Trust me," he repeats.

"Stop telling me to trust you when you can't even be honest about what we're doing!" I hurl.

"It's a surprise. You're going to love it and never want to return home," he claims.

I groan, putting my hands over my face. This is the issue with doing anything with Tristano. He's a Marino. Whatever they want, they get. There's no asking for permission, either. They take what they want, don't apologize for anything, and figure they can manipulate their way through any scenario. "I'm not one of your ditzy women, Tristano!"

He scrunches his face, questioning, "Did I ever say you were?"

"You didn't have to. You thought you could steamroll over me to get what you want," I accuse.

He crosses his arms, seething. "You seem to have a lot of notions about me. I never knew you thought I was such a dick. Anything else you'd like to tell me?"

I unlatch my seat belt, jump off the couch, and the plane rolls to the right. I fly into Tristano's lap.

He slides his arms around me, reprimanding, "When the seat belt sign is on, you keep it on."

"Don't tell me what to do," I argue, pushing against his chest.

He holds me tighter. "Stop fighting me, Pina. My plane, my rules."

I roll my eyes. "You're just like your brothers."

His face hardens. "You seem to have numerous opinions about us. What else do you have to say?"

I glare at him.

"Go ahead. I'm listening," he goads.

"Let go of me," I order.

He holds me another moment then finally releases me, turning me so I'm back in the seat. He buckles my seat belt and demands, "Don't get up until the light is off."

"Didn't know you were such a rule follower," I mutter.

"It's for your safety. And good to know you think so highly of my brothers and me," he declares.

My gut drops.What am I doing?I quickly reply, "I don't think bad about any of you."

He snorts. "Could have fooled me."

I glance at the window across from me, trying to calm my racing heartbeat. The turbulence dies out, and the seat belt light dings.

Tristano unbuckles his seat belt then trudges toward the front of the plane.

Crap! What have I done?

No matter what my fears are, I shouldn't insult him or his brothers. They've been nothing but generous and fair to me over the years. Plus, one of the reasons I've succeeded so much is because of how they don't settle for anything less than agreement. If it were an ordinary day, I'd approve of everything they do to get what they want.

This is screwing with my head.

I release my seat belt then go to the front of the plane, taking a seat next to Tristano. I softly say, "Hey."

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