Total pages in book: 18
Estimated words: 16246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 81(@200wpm)___ 65(@250wpm)___ 54(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 16246 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 81(@200wpm)___ 65(@250wpm)___ 54(@300wpm)
She nods, laying her free hand over mine and linking our fingers together. “I know. It’s just so complicated. I thought I was fine never seeing him again, but then I read his letter…and part of me missed him. Despite everything, he’s still my father.”
And he’s about to sign Moreau Dynamics over to you, which means my father’s company will finally be under the Marchetti umbrella once more.
I don’t tell her that, though. This is more than business for my wife. Her father was the center of her world at one time, and while that won’t ever be the case again, I know it will give her some peace to at least mend fences.
Surely I can avoid strangling Laurent Moreau for a few days…maybe. My biggest enemy is now my father-in-law. The universe has a strange sense of humor.
In Elena’s arms, Dina gurgles, and we both turn our attention towards our daughter as the plane comes in for a landing. The sweet blue-eyed baby takes my finger in her fist, and the thoughts of violence I have towards her grandfather fade into the background.
“You can do this,” I tell Elena, “I’ll be with you the entire time.”
“I know you will,” she sighs, and when she smiles at me again, the nerves are gone. “Just behave yourself.”
I laugh, “No promises, princess. No promises.”
EXTENDED EPILOGUE
ELENA
Ten Years Later
Even from across the room, I can feel Adrian’s eyes like two burning circles on my skin. He’s supposed to be talking and networking at the charity dinner, helping to label himself as a genuine businessman and not just a crime lord anymore. Still, apparently, I’m proving to be too much of a distraction.
Usually it would be flattering, but I’m already feeling self-conscious as hell tonight, so Adrian’s rapt attention makes me squirm even more.
Smoothing the fabric down, I’m starting to realize I shouldn’t have let him pick the dress for this dinner. It’s midnight blue and backless, something I would have adored a decade ago, but now makes me feel like I’m trying to be something I’m not.
After my father turned the family business over to me, Adrian and I have been doing everything we can to return it to its former glory. Along the way, we’ve had two more children, and my body has changed. I’m not as slim as I used to be, and my curves have stayed generous after my pregnancies.
I should have picked something looser to wear, something that covers more skin.
As if he can read my mind, Adrian is suddenly moving through the crowd to me. I finish the glass of champagne I’m holding, and he’s beside me in seconds, one large hand on the bare skin of my back as he pulls me close.
“You look troubled.”
I pull at the waist of my dress again. “I feel both overdressed and underdressed at the same time.”
He frowns. “What do you mean?”
“I mean this dress is gorgeous, but it’s for a younger, slimmer woman.”
Adrian’s eyes narrow, and he looks me over slowly. “Wrong. This dress is made for you. You look fucking incredible.”
I inhale sharply, “Adrian–”
His fingers glide down my spine, making me shiver. “If we were alone, I’d show you just how hot I find you, but that will have to wait. For now,” he lowers his head, kissing the corner of my mouth, not caring an ounce that we’re surrounded by people, “I don’t want to hear a single self deprecating word come out of your mouth. Your curves drive me wild. You’re more attractive to me now than you’ve ever been, princess.”
Even after eleven years together, he can still make me flush head to toe. “You promise?”
“I swear on my life. And do you want to know what I like best about your body?”
Swaying into him, unable to resist, I ask, “What?”
Adrian’s lips skim the shell of my ear, his breath hot. “How hard I can fuck you, and how much more you can take. And how all of this,” his hands ghost over my body, chest to hips, “Is mine and only mine. Forever.”
His words make my mouth go dry, bringing to mind dozens of filthy images that have me clenching my legs together to stop the pulsing in my core. “Still possessive after all these years, huh?”
Adrian is already pulling me towards the exit, and I have a feeling we’re calling the night early, “Fuck yes, I am.”
As soon as we’re out in the cool night air, his lips are on mine, just a tease of what is to come. When Adrian kisses me, my doubts all fade, just like they always do. My husband always knows just what I need, even when I don’t.
The End