Page 9 of Mafia Boss

Someone yanked the door open.

“Wh—” Cristian paused mid-sentence, his harsh voice coming to a complete stop as he looked at me, lips turning into a smirk. “Principessa,not the woman I was expecting to see this early.” He opened the door wider and gestured for me to come into the room even though there was a couple seated in front of his desk.

I swallowed hard and stared between them, realizing that they had the same look as Cristian—the same ritzy, rough Mafia look. As soon as the woman smirked at me, I turned my ass right around to get the hell out of there.

Cristian caught my arm. “Stay,” he demanded. It wasn’t a question, but a cold and hard order. “I’m finishing up business, but I can attend to you in a few moments.”

After walking hesitantly into the room, I took a seat on a couch in the back of the room and gnawed on the inside of my lips.

Cristian walked behind his desk and nodded to another one of his guards. “Get her something to drink. White wine, Afterglow Elixir—her favorite,” he said, remembering my drink from the other night.

The man at the desk cleared his throat. “I don’t think—” he started in a thick Italian accent.

“It’s fine, Alessandro.” Cristian turned to the woman and sat down, his gaze on me as I anxiously sat on the couch and wondered why I was here again. “As you were saying, Chiara?”

“I’ve been cleaning my family up after my father fucked us all and found ties to the Ricci family.” She paused and tensed. “Child trafficking up north, probably some of your family from Upstate New York or even in Boston or Providence.”

Cristian blew an angry, quiet breath from his nose and cursed under his breath. “I’ll look into it.” He balled his hands into fists. “Keep me updated with any new information that you learn.”

Chiara and Alessandro stood, Alessandro wrapping his arm around Chiara’s waist, fingers curling into her side so possessively. Cristian walked them to the door and saw them off, turning to me when they were gone.

He walked over to me, and I stood and stepped back, wanting to keep as much space between us as possible, especially after last night.

“We need to talk,” I said.

“About last night?” he asked. Sunlight flooded in through the windows. He shut the blinds and turned back to me with a smirk. “Those pretty little moans of yours had me thinking about you all morning.”

I pressed my legs together.Don’t think about it, Roxie.

“No, not about last night,” I got out.

He walked around me, staring me down like he was a fucking hawk and I was the prey he’d scoop up and feast on for dinner tonight. “You look tired. Did you stay up all night, waiting for Ben to come home?” He stopped behind me and leaned in. “Or were you up all night, thinking about me?”

I closed my eyes, taking a shaky breath. “Cristian.”

“Roxie,” he whispered, lips brushing against my ear, sending a wave of heat through my entire body to my core.

His hands … I could feel them. They were so close to my waist, so close to wrapping around it, dragging me back to his desk, showing me what kind of maniac this man truly was.

This kind and cute act he was giving me was just that—an act. Cristian Ricci wasn’t nice. He was cruel. He took what he wanted. He didn’t give a fuck about anyone else. And this man would destroy me the same way in bed.

My eyes widened, cheeks flushing.Oh Lord, I didn’t just think that.

Someone knocked on the door, and the same guard from earlier—the one with the strong grip and cruel smirk—walked into the room. “Mr. Cradle is here to see you about business.”

I fixed my purse tighter on my shoulder. “I should go. You’re busy.”

He snatched me by the upper arm and pulled me back to him. “You’re not going anywhere.” He looked toward the guard. “Tell him that he has to wait.”

I shook my head. “Really, it’s fine. I—”

“I make time for people who are important to me,” Cristian said as the guard left.

“I’m not important to you,” I said.

He moved closer to me and curled a finger around a strand of my hair. “Not yet,principessa, but you will be one day.” He took my earlobe between his teeth and tugged on it lightly. “One day soon, you’ll be mine.”

My breathing hitched. “I’m marrying Ben,” I gritted out.

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