Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 82847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 82847 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 414(@200wpm)___ 331(@250wpm)___ 276(@300wpm)
“That I’m stubborn?” I asked incredulously.
“The most stubborn woman I’ve ever met.”
“I’m not that stubborn.”
“It’s okay. I like it,” he said. “I love a proud woman. Everything about you turns me the fuck on. The way you push me away one moment and then pull me hard into you when you’re about to come…I love it all.”
I couldn’t believe he said that in the middle of a restaurant, but I guessed I could believe it too. I felt a flush in my cheeks and took a drink of my wine to cover it.
“Not sure how I’m going to fuck you when we get home. Any ideas?”
God, he was so pompous and arrogant and full of himself…and I loved it. “Ass up and face down.”
He didn’t actually move, but his entire body stilled after a subtle clench. His eyes hardened too, like he was shocked, but then they relaxed once more. His surprise turned to something else, like he was enamored. “Whatever my baby wants.”
“I’m not your baby.”
“We’ll see.” He crossed his arms over his chest and looked at me with eyes full of unequivocal confidence. Cocked his head slightly as he looked at me, a ghost of a smile on his lips, like he wanted me to challenge him. Wanted a heated back-and-forth exchange that he wouldn’t lose.
“You don’t even know me.”
“Then tell me everything about you.” He cocked his head the other way. “I’m listening.”
“You still know more about me than I do you.”
“What do you want to know, Francesca?”
“The basics. How old are you? Where were you born? What got you into this business?”
“Thirty-three. Palermo. And I was born into it.”
“So your father was a crime boss?”
“No, that’s too generous a description. His brother got him into Cosa Nostra, so he was one of the fixers. Was with him since I could walk, so it’s literally all I know. Which is probably why I’m the best.”
“What about your mom?”
“She died before she had the opportunity to know me.”
“May I ask how?”
“She was murdered,” he said simply. “She was a prostitute.”
“Oh…I’m sorry.”
“For what?” he asked. “That she died or because she was a prostitute?”
“I’m just sorry about the whole thing.”
“There’s no shame in being a prostitute. The profession’s been around since the dawn of time. Most of the men who condemn it are paying customers. The problem is the assholes who think they can use them as punching bags or personal property just because they gave them a little bit of cash.”
It was obvious this was a touchy subject for him, so I decided not to say anything.
He grabbed his wineglass and took a drink. “Anything else?”
“Have you ever been married?”
“No.” He almost smirked as he answered.
“Any important relationships in your life?”
“No.” This time, he did smirk. “Interesting question from a woman who claims she doesn’t want to be mine.”
“I was just curious.”
“I sleep around a lot. That’s it.”
“Like flings?”
“No. I rarely do back-to-backs. Occasionally a weekend, depending on the circumstances, but that’s unusual.”
The waiter came to the table to take our order.
Wolfe ordered without looking at him. “I’ll take the Bistecca—medium. My woman will have the pistachio pesto pizza.” He handed over the menus and continued to look at me.
The waiter left, and we were back to the staring contest.
“Your woman?” I asked.
“Am I going to come inside you after this?”
I gave a slight shake of my head. “You’re really something else.”
“Am I wrong?”
“You’re a dick—”
“But you love it and you fucking know it.” He leaned over the table and lowered his voice. “Just the way I love all that attitude, all that sass, the stubbornness and the pride and the way you run that mouth without giving a damn about what anyone thinks.” He sat back against the chair. “I don’t fuck women bareback, so yeah, you’re my woman, whether you like it or not.”
I’d never encountered a man like this. So intense and so bossy and so…possessive and territorial. Never met a man who was obsessed with me at first glance, especially one who was hot as fuck. “A bit presumptuous.”
“Would you like me to drop you off at home and hit the whorehouse? Pick up a woman at a bar in Palermo and fuck her at my place?”
It was completely theoretical and just a way to prove his point, but I didn’t like it at all.
He must have seen my answer on my face because a little smirk moved over his lips. “That’s what I thought.” He had a triumphant authority in his stare as he crossed his arms once more. “And if any dogs come sniffing around my property, I’ll kill them—so make sure you don’t throw them a bone.”
Was he serious?
He stared me down like he sure was. “You’re crazy.”
“Oh, I know.”
“I mean that literally.”
“That was how I took it.”
I dealt with difficult and dangerous men every single day, but Wolfe was something else. If I were smart, I would tell my father to fire him and cut this off before it went any further and got complicated and messy. But I wasn’t smart.