Total pages in book: 36
Estimated words: 35676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 35676 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 178(@200wpm)___ 143(@250wpm)___ 119(@300wpm)
“He told me a great deal.”
“You’re not my father.”
“Tessa, what I want to do to you is not fatherly. It’s the furthest thing from fucking fatherly I can think of.”
Her gaze went to his chest. “I … I don’t think I should work for you anymore.”
“You’re not leaving. That’s not even going to be an option.”
“Why are you being so difficult?”
“Why are you?”
“I’m not part of this world.”
“Your father was.”
“And he told me so much about it. You’re going to have to marry within the family. to further your connections. This, it can’t work. Please, don’t make me become something I don’t want.”
He reached out, stroking his fingers across her flesh. She really was so beautiful, so soft.
She was everything he wanted in a woman, but within his world, he could get her killed.
A good man would send her away.
Would allow her to live a life that made her happy.
He wasn’t a good man.
Nor a nice man.
He wanted her.
Plain and fucking simple.
There was no way he’d ever let her go, not without a fight.
Stroking his fingers through her hair, he tugged on the band that kept the long, brown locks in place.
It slid out with ease, and he cupped the back of her head, tilting it back so that he could stare into her eyes.
“I’ll never make you become something you don’t want, Tessa. I don’t get to be told what to do.”
“But you’re going to get married.”
“I’m still very much single. Unless you have something in mind. We could leave right now. Go to Vegas. You could be mine by the end of the day.”
She shook her head.
He leaned in close.
“No one else tells me what to do. If I want to marry you, I’ll marry you.” He pressed a kiss to her cheek.
He heard her indrawn breath and smiled. She really was so sweet and caring.
Watching her with Caesar, it had been next to impossible for him to not claim her.
He wanted to fuck her.
To take her.
To make her his.
In his world, he didn’t wait around for the right moment; he took. Moving to her lips, he stared into her eyes and then took her lips. Her hands left the chains and gripped his shoulders.
As he bit down on her lip, she let out a little cry, and her mouth opened. Unable to resist, he slid his tongue in, tracing across her teeth and meeting her.
She stroked him back, and he deepened the kiss, drawing her off the swing and into the warmth of his body. His cock stirred, and if they were back at home, he’d have taken that precious virginity of hers.
He wasn’t a good man or a kind man, but Tessa made him do crazy-as-fuck things.
“Sir, you have reservations at the restaurant,” Cole said.
Breaking from the kiss, he tucked Tessa’s head against his chest. He didn’t respond to Cole.
Tessa breathed deeply. One of her hands splayed across his chest.
“Reservations?”
“You’ve been out most of the day. I told Louise not to bother with making us food. Come on, let’s go and eat.”
She tugged on his hand. “I can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’m not dressed.”
He smiled. “You don’t have to worry about a thing.” He walked back to the car, still holding her hand. Opening the door, he helped her inside. Cole and Demetri both sat at the front.
He wouldn’t allow there to be any distance between himself and Tessa. Wrapping an arm around her shoulders, he pulled her close.
“I miss my dad,” she said, the moment the car started moving.
“I do as well.”
“Did you like him?” she asked.
“I adored your father. He was a good man. A strong man.”
“A bit of a joker as well,” Cole said.
He’d not put up the partition.
“Your father was well-liked, Tessa,” Demetri said. “We all lost a part of ourselves the day he was taken.”
She nodded, but she didn’t try to fight him.
They arrived at Louis’s restaurant, which had been repaired from its latest vandalism attempt.
As always, the place was thriving. Louis served the best Italian cuisine around at affordable prices. It’s one of the reasons Alonzo invested in the place when he first needed some startup capital to help. Cole and Demetri sat at the bar while he helped Tessa into his usual booth.
“I don’t mind if you want them to sit with us.”
“I want you all to myself.”
“I think at times you’re expecting something from me, and I don’t know what it is. I know you’ve been nice to me since my father’s passing, but how long is that going to last?”
“You think the only reason I want you is out of respect for your father?”
She shrugged. “Isn’t it?”
He chuckled. “You’ve got a lot to learn about men.”
“I have?” She tilted her head to the side.
“Yes. Men who just respect your father wouldn’t buy you a whole new wardrobe for you to look nice in.”