Page 67 of Carnal

I lean closer to her. "What does 'hmmm' mean?"

"Nothing."

"It must mean something. Do tell," I demand.

She places the magazine on her stomach and smirks. "I didn't know you would feel so threatened."

"Bullshit. You knew exactly what you were doing," I accuse, but to my surprise, my dick hardens. Pina's the smartest woman I've ever met. The fact she just played me, and I fell for it, turns me on. I doubt any other woman could get away with doing that to me. I'd hate them, for sure. Yet something about Pina doing it sends a rush of adrenaline through my bones.

She tilts her head, widening her golden-brown orbs. "Sorry."

I hold in my chuckle. "No, you aren't. And you just cost me twenty-five big ones."

"Glad to know you aren't cheap." She bats her eyelashes.

I trace her slit with my middle finger. She squirms. It's only an inch, but I notice it. That small action fires all the testosterone in my body. I ask, "Have I ever been cheap with you when I've asked you to do a job for me?"

Her face hardens. "No."

I push my thumb past her panties and make a circling motion, continuing to slide my middle finger over her slit. "Then why would I be anything less with my full-time employees?"

She sits up as if there's a fire, shoving my hand off her.

"What did I do now?"

"This is the precise reason we need to stop this," she claims, swinging her body around, so her feet are on the floor, and crossing her legs.

I groan. "Not this again. Can we get past this whole you-work-for-Dante issue?"

She furrows her eyebrows. "But I don't just work for Dante, do I? I also work for your other brothers and you."

I shake my head. "No, you don't."

"I don't?"

"No. You're on Dante's payroll," I justify, knowing it's not entirely true but wanting to get past her worries.

She scoots as close to the wall as possible. "How often have you hired me to do something for you?"

"It's not the same thing," I claim.

"Answer me."

I sigh. "A lot. Why?"

"And how much do you pay me?"

"What's your point, Pina?"

"My point is that I also work for you. And now we're doing things we shouldn't be," she frets.

I reach for her and tug her onto my lap.

"Tristano!" she exclaims, pushing my chest.

"Can you stop freaking out for a minute?" I ask.

She clenches her jaw. Red crawls up her cheeks.

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