Total pages in book: 153
Estimated words: 148962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 148962 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 745(@200wpm)___ 596(@250wpm)___ 497(@300wpm)
“I wouldn’t do that,” I warn him.
“You don’t get to tell me how to talk to my woman.”
He takes a single step in her direction.
I reach out, grab him by the throat, and throw him against the wall.
His head bounces on impact, and he slides to the floor, legs splayed as he glares up at me.
“Just so we’re clear, she’s never been yours.”
“Fuck you—"
Before he can finish that sentence, I raise my Beretta and fire a single shot between his eyes.
His body goes slack, and I stare at his bloody face, annoyed that it ended too quickly. But patience has never been one of my virtues, and he tested mine for far too long.
“Madonna Mia,” Nonna exclaims as she enters the room and takes in the scene. “On a Sunday, Romeo?”
“Yeah, Romeo.” Rafe smirks. “What were you thinking? You know we don’t commit murder on Sundays.”
“Sorry,” I answer dryly. “It couldn’t wait until Monday.”
A moment later, Angelo appears with a scowl on his face. “For fuck’s sake, Romeo. What did I tell you about family decisions?”
“It was a family decision.” I shrug. “We all thought about it at one point or another.”
“Did you have to do it in the living room?”
“I waited until Antonella wasn’t here.” I point out.
He scrubs a hand over his face and sighs. “If you’d just held off for one goddamned hour, you would have known she was calling off the engagement.”
My gaze drifts to Gabi, and the moment our eyes meet, everything falls into place for her.
She brings a trembling hand to her mouth, lets out a whimper, then bolts from the room.
I stalk after her, ignoring Angelo and Mariella as they call out for me.
“Rafe, take care of Beppe.”
“On it.”
Gabi flees without any clear direction, glancing over her shoulder with wide eyes as I close in on her.
“You can stop running, Gabriela. You should know by now you’re only activating my prey drive.”
She doesn’t stop, but it doesn’t matter. Two seconds later, I have her tossed over my shoulder as I shift directions and carry her to my wing.
The hallway lights illuminate my path until I get to the suite. Once I’m inside, I deposit Gabi on the bed and lower myself over her, caging her beneath me.
“Now, where were we?”
31
GABRIELA
My heart slams against my chest as thoughts scatter in every direction. But there’s really only one that matters.
“You’re…Eros.”
“I think you already knew that.” His pupils flare, drowning the amber of his eyes in darkness. “You just needed to come to terms with it.”
“But why?” My lip wobbles. “You’ve hated me for so long.”
He shifts his weight, settling between my thighs as he grinds his erection against me. “Does this feel like I hate you?”
The familiar press of his body on top of mine ejects a broken sound from my throat.
“Does it feel like I hate you when I’m in your bed, claiming every part of you?” He teases his lips against mine. “Or what about when I do this?”
“So…you like me?”
My communication skills have reverted to the most primitive settings, but at the moment, I don’t really care.
“I like you, Gabi.” He kisses his way down my neck, sucking and biting me just as Eros does. “I like you a whole fucking lot.”
A rush of warmth floods my veins as my body surrenders, and I melt into the bed, losing myself in the moment.
“You’ve been inside me,” I rasp, the thought tumbling out unfiltered.
“I’ve been inside every part of you.” His voice dips, letting me know how much he likes that.
“And you killed your cousin.” My fingers press into his back as his teeth scrape over my jaw.
“He was my least favorite cousin.”
“You said you had a girlfriend.” A whisper of pain bleeds through the words.
He pauses to look at me, regret softening his tone. “I said it because I was going to see you, and I didn’t think it through. It was a bad joke.”
A fist rattling the door startles me, but Romeo’s gaze doesn’t move from mine.
“Romeo,” Angelo clips out. “My wife would like a word.”
“I just want to make sure Gabi’s okay,” Abella says from the other side of the door.
A ripple of tension moves through Romeo’s body, and for the first time in as long as I can remember, vulnerability flashes in his eyes. I think he’s afraid I’ll ask to leave.
“Well?” he murmurs. “Are you okay being alone with the big, bad wolf, Gabriela?”
“I’m alright,” I call out, loud enough for Abella to hear me. “Please don’t worry about me.”
“Okay.” Relief slips through her voice. “We’ll leave you alone then.”
When everything falls quiet outside the door, Romeo’s thumb grazes my cheek.
“Tell me you want me inside you.”
I search his eyes—warm and so full of hunger, I can’t deny that this is real.
As a montage of the last five years crashes through my thoughts, I see everything through a new lens.