Page 12 of The Mafia's Property

I wasn’t aware of that, but clearly Luke was trying to ruffle some feathers. The mischievous glint in his eye was all the proof I need. If only he knew he didn’t need to. I’m not Nico’s fiancée. Not even his girlfriend. “He told me he was in love once and almost married someone,” I said.

“In love. Maybe he loved her, but Maeve… that bitch used him and tossed him aside.” The venom in his voice took me back. “What?” he said defiantly. “Did I use a bad word?”

“It’s not the word that surprises me. It’s the sentiment behind it.”

Luke twirled me around the floor, drawing applause from an old couple sitting close to the floor and some attention from the rest of the room. “Let’s just say she was bad for him, and I’m glad he’s finally moved on.”

That turned out unexpectedly wholesome. But the idea of this mundane looking woman being the bad influence in a relationship were the other is a head of a criminal organization was a little funny. We dance some more and this time he adds a lift that catches me by surprise, causing me to squeal.

“If you continue the showmanship, we will have the entire room’s attention,” I said as my feet touch the floor. “And what must your wife think?”

“She’s too busy scrolling through social media to notice,” he said. “And anyway, the entire room already has their gaze on you. You’re easily the most beautiful woman here.”

“Wait, are you using me to make your wife jealous?”

Luke’s cheeks turned a light shade of red. “Maybe.”

I chuckled. Less at his attempts and more at the fact that he wasn’t the only man here trying to use me to make someone else jealous. The concept feels absurd, because while I know I am desirable, I’ve never viewed myself as such with clothes on. “Is it working?” I asked. Before he could respond, Nico interrupted us. He looked like he was barely in control of his anger. “Freya, can you please come with me for a second?” He barely gave me time to nod before he’s taking my hand and practically dragging me away from the dancefloor.

We marched out of the ballroom and into the corridor beyond, where there were a few doors. Disoriented and slowly getting angry at being dragged away so unceremoniously, I barely noticed where he’s taking me until he pushed me inside a room and closed the door. It took me a few seconds to make sense of where I was. It’s not a bathroom, but something close to a restroom. It was small and there was a washbasin on one end and a single bed on the other. A first aid kid was mounted on the left wall. It looked like some recuperating room of some sort. I swirled around to face him.

“What’s your problem?”

He frowned. “Me?” he said, pointing to his chest. “You have some nerve.”

“Says the guy who hauled me away from a wedding like a barbarian.”

He marched forward, stalking me like a predator. My heart beat a little faster as he closed the space between us, forcing me to crane my neck up to face him. All at once, I became aware of his cologne. How it smelled of sandalwood and mountain streams. Aware of the breadth of his chest and how hard it felt when he kissed me this morning.

All of this, combined with his piercing gaze, ignites a fire within me that shouldn’t be burning at all, considering how he treated me. He used me. Brought me here under false pretenses and forced me to play his game. Was that part of the contract? And now he’s yanked me from the fun I was having.

“What were you and Luke talking about?” he asked.

“This is what you dragged me all the way here for?”

He clenched his jaw. “I asked you a question.”

Unconsciously, I folded my arms across my chest. “Why do you care?”

He glared down at me. “I have a pretty good idea of the contract you signed and some of what was written in it might have escaped your notice, but let me make one thing clear. When I take you out. You do not entertain other men.”

“I wasn’t—”

“You don’t make silly jokes with them, you don’t make them laugh, you don’t serve them in any other way unless it’s to please me. Do you understand?” His voice dropped to a low register that was both frightening and arousing. It was a tone that brokered no argument. I nod. “Good,” he said. “I’ve been nice to you and it has made you come to the wrong conclusions regarding our relationship. It’s time I rectify that.”

Somewhere along the road, I had upset a hornets’ nest and I needed to get back in his good graces. “Niccolo, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean—”

He stalked forward. I stepped back. He moved a step forward, and I moved back until the heels of my feet hit an obstacle. The bed. My knees buckled and I drop to it while Nico stood over me like an imposing god. “You need to learn a lesson,” he said.

“Am I being punished?” My voice came out as a whisper. It was clear to anyone with a single brain cell that he was about to have sex with me. And if this is what my first time is going to be like, then holy shit, I was not prepared. Popping your cherry in some restroom isn’t a fantasy of mine. Truth be told, my fantasies were more degrading than this so, I couldn’t really complain.

“Take off your jacket.”

I looked up at him in plea, even though he didn’t look like he’s in the mood to be swayed by a play on emotions. It didn’t work. Silently, I did as he said and removed the jacket, placing it beside me.

“Now your blouse.”

I should tell him now, I thought. Scream that I am a virgin and call this whole thing to an end. Would he believe me? Or maybe he might not even notice, rendering my worry moot. I unbuttoned my blouse slowly and seductively, like I had done so many times in my profession, and pull the blouse apart to reveal the black lace bra underneath. He took a sharp intake of breath. At least I am doing something right if the tent in his pants was anything to go by. I watched as he unzipped his pants, mesmerized by his movements, unable to take my eyes off his crotch. His thick, angry cock popped out. It was my turn to gasp as I see how big it was. Will it fit? The stray thought only made me hotter as I pressed my legs together to assuage the ache at my center.

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