“Thank you,” I whisper over the unexpected lump in my throat.
We stare at one another as that frisson of desire continues to charge the air around us. He opens and closes his mouth a few times before speaking. “Hang out with me for a while.”
I’m surprised to see a slightly vulnerable look on his face. “I need to get home.” Dom keeps me on a tight leash, and he’s not going to be happy to discover I was with Fiero. It’s not part of the deal. Plus, he’ll be expecting his dinner on the table. His mother always had a formal dinner on Sunday evenings and it’s a tradition he’s forced me to continue.
“Hmm.” He scrubs a hand over his prickly jawline. “Maybe I will kidnap you after all.” His flirtatious grin is doing wild things to my insides, and I really need to get the hell out of here before I do something I’ll regret.
“I don’t recommend it. Not unless you want to earn the wrath of every made man in Miami. The men are very loyal to Dominic.” I plant the seed and wait.
He tips his head to one side as he carefully puts my shoes back on. “Loyal to Dominic, not Vitto?”
“Don’t put words in my mouth. Of course, the men are loyal to Vitto. He’s their don.”
He stares at me for a few charged beats before standing. “I’m grabbing a quick shower. Make yourself at home. There are drinks in the refrigerator if you want one.” He sets my feet on the ground and gets up fast, quickly leaving the room.
I flop back down on the couch, sucking in huge lungsful of air.What on Earth is happening?I hate I’m attracted to the man who thinks I’m a commodity he can buy on a whim. I hate my brain is being hijacked by my body. I hate my body is in full insta-lust mode and craving a man who is old enough to be my father.
My cell vibrates in my purse, and I sit bolt upright, cursing under my breath when I take it out and see the caller. I briefly close my eyes before answering because not answering isn’t an option. I still remember the punishment he delivered last night, and I’m not in the mood for a repeat tonight. “Dom,” I say in my most pleasant tone as I hit the speaker button, holding the phone up in front of my face.
“Where are you?” he roars.
I’d lie if he didn’t have a stupid tracker embedded in my arm. “I’m at Don Maltese’s house,” I say, frantically spinning plausible stories in my head.
“It’s been almost two hours since lunch ended, and you were supposed to go straight home with Diana.” That cunt must have ratted me out. I swear, someday, soon if I have my way, Diana D’Onofrio is getting what’s coming to her.
“I left early not realizing Bruno wasn’t outside. I was making my way back inside the restaurant when I tripped and hurt my foot.” My words rush out as I concoct a believable story on the spot. “Don Maltese had been out running, and he happened to be going to his car at the same moment. He saw I was injured and insisted on driving me. He stopped at a pharmacy to get supplies for my foot.”
“That doesn’t explain what you’re doing at his house!”
“He was supposed to take me home, but he drove me here. I couldn’t exactly do anything, Dom. He sits on the board of The Commission, and he’s one of The Five. I can’t disrespect him. That’s what you’ve always drilled into me about our world.”
I hold my breath, hoping he accepts this version of the truth.
“Did he fuck you?”
“What? No!”
“You’re telling me the man who paid five million to fuck you took you to his house and didn’t lay a finger on you? What kind of moron do you take me for, Valentina!” I hold the phone away from my face as bile swims up my throat.
“A moron who doesn’t understand the workings of a deal,” Fiero says, stalking into the room with a look of thunder on his face. He’s wearing ripped jean shorts and a fitted black T-shirt with black and white sneakers on his feet. Dragging a hand through his damp hair, he grabs the cell from my hand. “Do you always speak to your wife like this, Dominic, because I’ve got to say I’m not much liking it.”
“With all due respect, my marriage is none of your business, Don Maltese. Valentina was very wild when she first arrived, and I had to teach her some manners. We have an understanding, and I reign her in when her rebellious side rears its ugly head.”
Heat creeps up my neck and onto my cheeks.
“She needs a firm hand to keep her in line, and she likes it, don’t you, darling? You like obeying your daddy, don’t you, baby girl?”
I want the ground to open and swallow me.
“Valentina.” The warning is clear in my husband’s tone.
“I do, Daddy,” I say, my voice breaking. “I do,” I repeat in a more confident tone.
“See,” Dom says. “My baby girl is naturally submissive. She just needed me to coax it from her.”
Inside, I’m laughing bitterly. I don’t think there’s a submissive bone in my body. Dominic just trampled all over my fiery personality and forced me to play it his way. I’ve done what was necessary to survive, but Fiero brings out a side of me I’ve kept hidden, and it’s one of the main reasons this deal is so dangerous for me. I might not live to see twenty-five if I can’t leash my true temperament around my controlling husband.
A mix of emotions is playing out on Fiero’s face, and I don’t like any of them. I look down at my hands, closing my eyes and wishing for that genie again.
