Total pages in book: 92
Estimated words: 87704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 87704 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 439(@200wpm)___ 351(@250wpm)___ 292(@300wpm)
I raise an eyebrow. “Stockholm Syndrome can work both ways, you know.”
Antonio smirks, but Luca only studies me, his expression unreadable. “You don’t seem like someone who breaks easily.”
I set my fork down, choosing my words carefully. “Maybe I’m just smart enough to know when to bend.”
Silence lingers, thick with an unnamable tension. Then Alexis claps his hands together. “Well, in that case, I’m expecting lunch in exactly three hours.”
Antonio rolls his eyes, Luca shakes his head, and I just laugh. But beneath it all, something unspoken simmers between us, something shifting, changing, pulling us toward a line none of us are ready to cross. Yet.
22
ALEXIS
THE BEGGING TYPE
I stick around to wash the dishes, not because I like getting my hands wet because I don’t, but because I want to catch a moment with Aemelia alone. Antonio disappears into the shower, and Luca heads outside to take breakfast to the men stationed there. The two currently passed out upstairs will be up in time for lunch, but for now, it’s just the two of us.
She watches me soap the greasy pan, arms folded, head tilted, her dark eyes filled with amusement. “You know, I didn’t think big bad mafioso like Alexis Venturi washed his own dishes.”
“We don’t.” I pass her the rinsed dish, watching as she takes it from me, her fingers brushing mine for the briefest moment. I’m shirtless, and her eyes drift over my body like trailing fingers, lingering on the tattoos and scars that mark my skin like a history of sins. “Unless the circumstances demand it. A man has to be ready for anything—war, love, washing dishes.”
She snorts, shaking her head. “That’s an interesting combination of things to be ready for.”
“And I’m ready for all of them.”
Her lips twitch, but she fights a smile. “I can see it with the first and last, but love?”
I turn toward her and catch her biting her lip like she’s enjoying herself a little more than she’d like. “You don’t think I’m ready for love.”
“Your reputation precedes you.” Her eyes flick up to meet mine, dark and full of challenge. “I’ve heard about your body count, and I don’t mean the corpse kind.”
I smirk, drying my hands on a dishcloth, amused that even a girl from Maryland has somehow discovered my sexual prowess. “Sometimes they’re like corpses after I’ve fucked their brains out.”
She barks a laugh, shaking her head as she tucks a loose strand of hair behind her ear—a flirtatious move whether she’s conscious of it or not.
“So, I wanted to ask you something.”
She leans in a little closer, her scent wrapping around me, laced with something sweet and familiar. I let my gaze drop to her bare legs, exposed by the short hem of Antonio’s sweater. It should bother me, the fact that she’s wearing something of his, but strangely, it doesn’t.
“What?”
“What does a guy have to do around here to get a kiss?”
She blinks her dark eyes, her lips parting slightly in surprise. “What do you mean?”
“Well, I know you had a little something with Antonio,” I murmur, taking a slow step closer. “And last night, I saw you kiss Luca. And I’m over here feeling like a chump.”
“A chump?” She laughs, turning away as color paints the sweet apples of her cheeks, a perfect contrast to the cool confidence she usually wears like armor.
“What the hell did Luca do to get you all soft and needy?”
“I’m not soft and needy.”
“No?” I challenge, my smirk widening.
“Well…” She hesitates, then exhales. “Maybe sometimes.” Her reluctance to admit it makes it obvious she doesn’t like feeling that way.
“So…”
“I don’t know what to tell you, Alexis.” She tilts her head feigning innocence. “Maybe it’s just a right place, right time thing.”
I rake my hand through my messy hair, watching her carefully. Her gaze follows my actions, responsive and eager. “So good looks and a charming personality don’t matter? Because I’d have been first in line if they did.”
“I didn’t realize there was a line,” she teases, her lips curving.
“Oh, baby. There’s a line.” I step even closer, backing her against the counter. “And I want you to know I’m first in line right now.”
She licks her lips—subconsciously inviting—and I track the movement, my blood running hot. “What have you done, Alexis Venturi, to deserve to be first in line?”
I tilt my head, letting my voice drop lower. This close, the scent of her mixed with my brother's cologne invades my scenes. We’ve never shared a woman before, but then, we’ve never lived with a woman as sexy and intriguing as Aemelia. “It’s not what I’ve done,” I murmur, reaching out, brushing my fingers along her wrist, feeling the way her pulse jumps. “It’s what I could do that counts.”
Her breath catches, the flush on her cheeks deepening as she leans in, close enough that her breath warms my ear. “I thought I was your captive, Alexis. Do captives get a choice?”