Page 13 of Taming Nikki

Morelli’s son let me in, showing me upstairs to Morelli’s office. Morelli senior was in a three-piece suit, like it wasn’t ninety fucking degrees outside. I saw the sweat along his temples. I assumed he needed the suit to support his image, because it looked like a strong wind could knock him on his ass. No way he could intimidate someone without a little help.

“Vitale. You left in a hurry last night.”

“Had a problem I had to deal with.”

He nodded, taking the manila envelope I handed him. I leaned back in my chair, keeping up with the casual façade while he went over the proposal. His eyebrows flew up a second later, and I knew he came across who the deal was about.

For the second time, he seemed at a loss for words. He pressed his lips into a thin line before handing it back to me.

“You don’t want to do that.”

I raised an eyebrow, suspicious.

“Why not?”

A muscle twitched in his jaw. “She’s not… fit for marriage.”

I waited. Just last night, he told me it was her responsibility, and she’d have to deal with it. There had to be a reason he was rebuffing me now, especially since he seemed so irritated with her acting out against it.

He sighed. “This deal is important, Vitale. I don’t want it riding on Nikki. She’s a wild card and she won’t go down easy. Besides, she purposely gave up her purity because she thought it would keep me from using her in a deal. She’s not what you’re looking for.”

I fought back a grin. Fucking brat. I didn’t really give a shit about whether she was a virgin or not, though. And the fact that she won’t go down easy was the whole fucking point. “Anything else?”

He grimaced. It took him a minute before he finally offered the real reason he didn’t want to pin this deal on Nicole. “She’s not full-blooded. I had an affair with her mother. She was Mexican, I think. I planned on using Nikki for a deal with the Cartel.”

Well, fuck. That might pose an issue with my family. I remembered her saying she was the last person someone would want to make a deal for. This must be why. I scrubbed at my jaw as irritation burned through me.

“Her sister is a better option. If you’re looking for a match, Bianca is of age and full Italian,” he offered, sifting through the paperwork on his desk. I almost made a face. No way in hell was I tying myself to that mafia diva.

I honestly couldn’t figure out why I was obsessing so hard about Nicole, but I’ve trusted my gut so far and it’s taken my family a long way. Besides, if I tie her to me, her little business comes with her. I still didn’t know what the fuck she was selling, but it was obviously important enough that she would put herself in danger to protect it.

“I stand by the deal, Morelli. Take it or leave it.”

His head jerked up, staring at me incredulously. The man seriously needed to work on not freezing every time he was taken off guard. I raised an eyebrow, and he blinked rapidly.

“And if she refuses?”

A slow grin spread across my face. “You let me worry about that.”

ChapterSeven

NIKKI

After returning home without incident,I disabled the virus and called it a night. Stripping down to just my underwear, I crawled into bed, ignoring the irritating pulse between my legs. I was still hot and bothered and facing down Leo Vitale hadn’t helped in the slightest. He’s hot, and he looked like he wanted to eat me more than once. Probably wouldn’t have taken much for me to agree at the time.

I had to sleep with my arms above my head to keep my hands to myself. Or off myself. I was not touching myself to the image of Leo Vitale. It didn’t stop the dreams, though. Instead of letting me walk away, I dreamed he threw me across his desk and had his way with me. I woke up on the edge of release and ended up dealing with it anyway.

By the time I felt awake enough to function, it was well past breakfast, and I was starving. I didn’t even bother to shower, tossing on a pair of shorts and an old concert t-shirt before heading out of my room. I scrubbed my face, stretching as I moved past my papa’s office. I heard voices inside, but paid little attention to it. I liked to sleep in and Papa rose with the sun to start on his criminal activities early.

A warm chuckle made me pause at the top of the stairs. “Good morning, Princess.”

I jerked my head over my shoulder. Leo was coming out of my papa’s office, a large manilla envelope in his hand. It was still too damn early for me to function though, so I just made a face at him and trudged down the stairs. Coffee. I need coffee. And food.

I could hear him behind me, but I figured he’d head to the front door. I didn’t expect him to follow me, leaning casually against the kitchen island as I made myself a drink. I ignored him. I was only witty after my second cup of coffee and he was here too damn early, even though it was technically lunch time. He didn’t speak until I had my coffee and cereal and perched myself on top of the counter. There was plenty of seating in the kitchen, but it pissed off my step mother so it was where I always ate.

“Who sleeps in this late?”

I squinted at him. How the fuck did he have that kind of energy? He was probably up later than I was.

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