She pointedly sets her eyes on mine. “It is unfortunate, but it’s also a strategic union, so I focus on that part.”
“So pragmatic,” I grumble, my mood threatening to tip over.
“So full of yourself. I don’t think I like that.”
“Shit luck. I won you.”
Her mouth purses in clear outrage. “You stole me. That’s a huge difference. And you needed a whole fucking month.”
I hike a brow, jerking my chin at her. “So eager to become my wife?”
Her lips twist, and she huffs, palming her chest in mock distress. “I was losing my mind, wondering when my dark knight would show up and rescue me from a bleak existence.”
“Some wait a lifetime. I just needed a few weeks.” I grin.
She shakes her head, not impressed at all. “Your ego is out of control. No idea what intrigued me about you.”
My heart beats faster. Getting a grip on my emotions demands inhuman will.Don’t fucking lose her before you have her.
“So you satisfied your curiosity then? Unlucky for you, it doesn’t change the outcome.”
She walks to my side, slamming the glass on the nightstand. “How did you infiltrate my compound?”
I follow her with hawk eyes, reveling in not knowing what she’ll do next. “Distraction. The oldest trick in the book.”
It’s a valid point, and as she ponders, I continue, “No one can stop me once I covet something.”
“You want me so badly? Hmm, must have missed that.”
In a swift move, I snake my arm around her waist and drag her down to me. “Oh, Zara, maybe I planned this all along.”
She yelps, stiffening for a moment before a peal of laughter erupts from her mouth, and I breathe a sigh of relief.
Not even a full day in, and I slip.
4
ZARA
“You’re funny,” I say, ignoring the nagging feeling that he doesn’t seem like the joking type.
“Without even trying,” he says, his voice lacking sincerity.
I wonder about him yet again. Since the first time I saw him, he avoided me as if I were a hazard, I’ve needed to uncover the mystery. My heart pushed me in his direction while my brain blasted alarm bells. It only took me about three years.
In his bed, I am plastered to his naked chest, which ripples with vigor, a smirk dancing on his alluring face, warning me I am in trouble.
Whenever I wasn’t busy making gun deals, grieving my love, and trying to remember, I gathered information about him.
Twenty-eight, Vian Giancana is the Chicago Mafia boss and a reputable businessman who leads a mergers-and-acquisitions enterprise, amassing an enviable fortune. What drives him? Greed? Power? A bit of both, surely.
Eyes locked, silence envelops us, but for the first time, it’s not pressing down on me. It’s comfortable, which is truly disconcerting between strangers. Then I remember what he did.Instantly, anger coils around my limbs, and I would like nothing more than to end him.
He’s entirely too arrogant and cunning, and I stagger to my feet, glaring at him. I am unsure what pisses me off most: that he took his sweet time, slowly driving me insane; that he so easily took over my compound; or that he drugged me.
The list of his transgressions is so long, it makes me question who I am dealing with. Ignoring that, a reckless part of me enjoys this.
He stands, unfolding his exquisite physique, carved in planes of muscle that make me salivate, wanting to touch and explore every inch with my tongue, lips, and fingers. The need overpowers me, taking everything in me to stay put.
