Total pages in book: 130
Estimated words: 125243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 125243 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 626(@200wpm)___ 501(@250wpm)___ 417(@300wpm)
He’s a fucking coward, and it instantly loses him the respect his earlier stance earned.
The fierce glare the brunette directs at Don Adami’s back as she wipes at the droplet of blood under her delicate nose shifts my thoughts from murderous to intrigued. She’s got a lot of gall rarely seen around these parts. It doubles my interest to learn why she’s here and how I can use her visit as leverage against the Adamis.
Her steely glare vanishes when Don Adami’s eyes meet hers, replaced with an innocent gleam so convincing it could fool Satan into thinking he’s a saint.
After a brief dip of her head and a quick flick of gratitude directed my way, she leaves the room. I follow her stalk until she slips into the hallway, the chiffon of her gown trailing behind her in silent promise of the best lay of my life for the meager privilege of defending her.
Desperate to regain control of the room, Don Adami clears his throat, drawing my attention back to him. “My sons are good boys, Matteo, and I’m willing to do whatever it takes to show good faith to the Carusos. Anything you want, you may have.” The desperation in his eyes reveals he’s close to falling to his knees and begging. “But please, signor, do not order me to send my sons to their deaths.” He gestures vaguely toward the outer rooms of his office. “My youngest daughter is almost of age and already has great breeding hips.” His chest puffs out with pride as though he’s offering us a prized horse and not his flesh and blood. “She’ll make an honorable Cosa Nostra bride.”
The disgust that rolls through me is immediate and visceral. Nico calls him a pedophile under his breath, and Elio grabs the edge of the table between us, seconds away from flipping it.
Before either Nico or Elio can start a war I’m not ready to participate in just yet, I speak on behalf of my cock before I can tell it to sit the fuck down.
“I’ll take her.”
The don balks, thrown off by my unusual show of leniency.
“Which one?” He gestures for a man at the side to gather someone. “I have many daughters.”
I stray my eyes toward where the woman in white disappeared, smirking when I realize the aftershow is starting earlier than expected.
Antonio, the eldest of the Adami children, stands in the doorway of his father’s office. His face pales when our eyes collide, and his tattooed fingers dig into the woman in question’s arm.
“Her,” I say, unconcerned that I’m bartering for a man’s fiancée while standing across from her weaponed-up future father-in-law.
Her meeting with a wedding planner on this property announces she’s the wife-to-be of one of Don Adami’s sons. The Adamis’s are cheap. They wouldn’t even give you the shirt off their back if yours was blown off protecting them, so there’s no way they’d fund a wedding for someone else.
Their stinginess also announces that the brunette isn’t one of Don Adami’s daughters. He has his female offspring in a Rolodex, ready to be sold after only the slightest whiff of interest. He’d never let one age higher than the interest of seventy percent of the men he sells to.
This unnamed brunette is so striking that she would have fetched top dollar years ago.
Furthermore, the possessiveness that sparks in Antonio’s eyes the exact moment my hooded gaze lands on the brunette places his name at the top of the list.
Don Adami’s brows shoot up high, proving my intuition is on point. “Azra? She’s promised to my eldest. Antonio would be devastated.”
“Even more reason for me to take her.” I wink at Antonio, who’s now clutching Azra like she’s a possession more than a person, before I shift on my feet to face Don Adami. “Unless you’d prefer I teach your sons a lesson with my fists… and my knife?”
I tell myself that I’m doing this to spite Don Adami, who opens and closes his mouth, fighting not to choke on his tongue, that it’s a strategy to make the Adami family experience a fraction of the humiliation they deserve, but the truth is far more dangerous.
The fire the brunette tried to hide as she endeavored to burn Don Adami at the stake with nothing but her eyes has sparked my interest. Enough to grant her future in-laws a plethora of leniencies? Not even close, but I sure as fuck would like to learn what little hellion comes out when she’s no longer forced to pretend.
Just the daggers she shoots at me when she realizes what I’m negotiating hardens my dick to a painful extent.
I can’t give up the opportunity to see what other tricks she has up her sleeve.
Negotiations drag on. They’re filled with thinly veiled threats they’ll pay for dearly the instant Antonio’s fingers are no longer marking Azra’s arm.