Total pages in book: 20
Estimated words: 18349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 18349 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 92(@200wpm)___ 73(@250wpm)___ 61(@300wpm)
Donnie stops in front of us, his eyes as cold as the snow outside, his black hair slicked back and wet looking. It may be his party, but I never would have expected to run into the man himself, especially so casually in a one-on-one situation like this.
“Merry Christmas, sir—” I start to say but am quickly cut off.
“What did you bring me for a present?”
His question catches me so off guard that for a second I’m completely lost for words.
“A present? I-I wasn’t aware that I was supposed to…no one told me to bring a gift, sir.”
“Oh, no? Well, I see you brought me one anyway.” Donnie smiles, his eyes fixed on Leia. It takes me a moment to understand.
He’s not saying what I think he’s saying, is he?
Like a predator, he reaches out and takes Leia’s free hand and begins to caress it, delicately stroking her palm as though he was her lost lover from long ago and they had just been reunited.
Every muscle in my body instantly goes tight. My right hand, the one I hit with, balls up into a fist, and it takes everything I have not to instantly blast Donnie right in the face. And I would if this man wasn’t the Godfather of the Esposito family. Hitting him would be an instant death sentence for me and for Leia, especially here in front all his men.
“With all due respect, sir,” I say through clenched teeth, “Leia wasn’t brought here as a gift for you. She was brought here as my date. She and I sort of have a thing going—”
“Is that right?” he asks, finally bringing his eyes to me. I see the danger there—the viciousness. This man may be a boss now, with other men doing his dirt for him, but he got there by working his way up over stacks of bodies he created. “And how did that happen, Sterling? Who made that possible?”
I clench my fist harder as he focuses on me, emotion choking my throat and causing my heartrate to skyrocket.
“You did, sir,” I mutter.
I can practically feel the pain in every nerve of my body as I admit what he wants me to admit. He knows he has me cornered. He has power over both Leia and me right now—has us right where he wants us, and there’s nothing either of us can do about it.
And that enrages me.
“That’s right.” He nods, a cruel smile pursing his lips. “Rick owes us, and that’s the only reason she’s here with you now.”
“I’ll pay off his debt then,” I tell him as the flash of insight bursts through my mind. “I’ll pay it off, and she’ll belong fully to me—”
But Donnie simply shakes his head. “Noble,” he says. “But I don’t think so. She’s gorgeous, Sterling, and I’m going to have a run at her. Now I’m going to go up to my room. You bring her up in fifteen, understand?”
I glance around at the men, at the band on the stage, I turn and look at Leia, who is beginning to tremble, and a realization hits me.
I look back at Donnie and slowly nod. “All right. Fifteen minutes.”
He flicks his pocket watch around his forefinger and smiles. “Good. Good boy.”
9
Sterling
My blood is boiling as I watch Donnie walk away from us, twirling his pocket watch casually as though he were simply taking a stroll on vacation. Once he’s out of hearing range, Leia turns and smacks me hard on the shoulder.
“All right!?” she hisses. “What the hell are you thinking? You’re seriously going to let that man fuck me? So what if he’s the Godfather—?”
“Of course I’m not.” I stop her, taking both of her hands in mine. “There’s absolutely no way I’d let any man touch you, Leia. Godfather or not.”
“Then why did you just say that to him!?”
“Because confronting the Godfather here at his party in front of a bunch of men all loyal to him didn’t seem like the best of ideas,” I reply with a smile, doing my best to comfort her. “Wouldn’t you agree?”
Her head droops, and her shoulders rise as she sucks in a deep breath. Donnie scared the shit out of her, and I completely understand why. And that has the rage inside me just growing and growing. All I can think about is putting my fist through his face, but that’s not going to get either of us out of this situation.
No, I need something more drastic and more final.
I thread my fingers through the back of Leia’s hair and raise her eyes to mine. Gazing into them, it’s like gazing into my future. When I first saw her at Rick’s, all I saw was a gorgeous woman standing in front of me. But now I see a woman who makes me laugh, who challenges me, who fills a part of my soul I didn’t even know was missing. A woman who I know I cannot live without.