“I’ll get her to call you,” he adds, his eyes raking another path over Valentina’s body.
Dominic doesn’t call him out for it because there are clearly different rules for his don.
“I’ll talk to you later about that other matter,” Dominic says, nodding at his boss.
“Fiero. Rico.” Vitto gestures at us before wandering away to talk to other guests.
“What proposal?” Dominic asks the second his boss is out of earshot.
“Let’s take this somewhere more private,” I suggest, unwilling to discuss this in front of Valentina.
Dominic curls his arm around his wife, hauling her in close to his body, and another growl escapes my lips. “Anything you want to say can be said here.”
His smug grin rubs me the wrong way, and I want to riddle his body with bullets and remove the obstacle between me and heaven.
But I’m at a charity gala for victims of gun violence, surrounded by Miami’s finest made men—yes, it’s irony at its finest—and it would be distasteful, more than a little stupid, and an exaggeration to murder a man with an audience purely because I want to devour his young wife.
Besides, I don’t need to eliminate Ferraro forever. Just for one weekend. So I can get my fix of this stunning creature who has rendered my brain and body to mush. I just need to fuck Valentina everywhich way from Sunday to sate this unquenchable desire for her, and then I can give her back to the oaf and return to my happy bachelor ways.
“Fiero.” Rico attempts to halt whatever’s about to go down again, but I’m beyond the point of reason.
This is crazy and not how I do things. I’ve never paid for a woman before. Never had to. I could steal her away from him for a few nights, but if he got wind of it, it’d cause untold problems within The Commission, and I don’t want to cause issues for my buddy. It’s better to do it like this. Transparent and with the full knowledge and approval of her husband.
“Back down, Bianchi.” I slant Rico a look of caution so he knows to hold his tongue and remember his place.
A muscle clenches in his jaw, but he keeps his lips sealed, knowing me well enough to understand there is no talking me down when I set my sights on something.
“I don’t have all day,” Dominic adds, his smirk growing wider.
“Watch it.” I step right up to him and speak in a low tone so no one outside our little circle will hear. “You don’t hold any power in this situation. I hold all the cards. If you don’t want me to divulge all your little secrets to D’Onofrio, you’ll keep your mouth shut unless the word yes trips off your tongue.”
Panic flares in his eyes for a few beats before he gets it under control.
Like I said, dude has zero game.
He tugs his wife in closer, digging his nails into her waist, and I’m reconsidering eliminating him for eternity.
We glare at one another, and I clench my fists at my side while contemplating the chances of us making it out of here alive if we start whaling on this asshole. But he doesn’t matter. He’s as inconsequential as the dirt under my shoe, so I force myself to calm down and stick to the agenda.
I flick my eyes to Valentina, noting the wariness in her gaze mixing with a flicker of anger that was missing until now. I arch abrow, and she narrows her eyes at me. My mouth lifts in a grin as excitement trickles through my veins. She’s not as indifferent or coolly pleasant as she’d like everyone to believe, and all it does is ramp my intrigue, and my lust, to new heights.
“You’re drawing attention again,” Rico quietly states. “Get on with it.”
Dragging my gaze from wife to husband, I fix Dominic with a haughty glare and say, “My proposal is nonnegotiable. You take it or leave it.” My eyes dart to Valentina for a fleeting second. “I’ll pay you five million dollars for one weekend with your wife.”
2
VALENTINA
My eyes pop wide in shock as I stare at Don Maltese, struggling to believe someone like him would pay money for any woman when women must be crawling all over him to willingly share his bed. His bright blue eyes vibrate with possessiveness, entitlement, and anticipation, and it shouldn’t excite me, but it does. I should be outraged. Iamoutraged. I don’t care how powerful he is in our world, I’m not a commodity to be traded on a whim. How dare he do this! How dare he reduce me to the sum of my looks.
He's no better than my husband or any of the other men who frequent our house.
But…the difference is the scorching-hot attraction between us.
As much as I loathe him for proposing this, I can’t deny the frisson of excitement simmering under my veins at the thought of being with a man like him.
Which is a cruel dilemma, because I know my money-hungry husband will take the bait.
