She chose me instead of her papà.

And fuck, if that hadn’t filled me with a warm wave of satisfaction.

Her fingernails ran into the hair at my nape, and it sent a chill down my spine. “Nico, are our families going to kill each other at the wedding?”

Amusement rose in me. “Maybe.”

She tilted her head, and all of her silky hair slid across my hands. “I don’t think my papà likes you.”

I laughed. “I don’t think many Abellis do.”

“I do,” she whispered.

Fuck. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.”

Warmth flamed to life inside me. “You’ll be a Russo soon, so it doesn’t count.”

She trailed a finger down my neck. “Next weekend.”

Tomorrow. But she didn’t need to know that yet.

After her papà had threatened to change his mind, I’d decided I wasn’t risking waiting. Elena was mine, and tomorrow she’d take my name to prove it.

“I think we should have a couple more functions before then,” she said. “Somewhere our families have to interact.” She paused. “Like the casino.”

I chuckled. “Probably not the best idea, baby.”

“Oh,” she laughed, and the sound hit me in the chest. “I forgot you’re a bunch of cheats.”

“We’re,” I corrected.

“We,” she whispered, as though she was trying it out on her tongue. I wanted to know how it tasted.

She leaned back, and my dick began to harden from the sight of her tits in my face. I pulled my briefs over my growing erection and restrained from touching her. She was sore, and I felt bad enough about hurting her earlier. Though, I didn’t regret it now that her mouth was mine.

She smoothed my tie, running her fingers down my chest and stomach. I could sit here and let this woman touch me all day and I’d never grow bored. She lifted my hand, brushing my knuckles with a thumb. “Am I ever going to see these not busted up?”

I gave them a glance. “Probably not.”

She put her palm to mine, measuring the difference. “You hit Luca?”

“Yeah.” I’d hit him so hard I was surprised I didn’t break more than skin. Fucker had a hard face.

She smiled. “So honest.”

“Always.”

Her gaze came to mine, a little crease between her brows. Damn, she was too beautiful. It fucking hurt to look at her.

“Really? You’d answer honestly to anything I asked?”

I tucked a piece of hair behind her ear. “I’ll be honest, but some things you don’t need to know.”

Her hand faltered against mine, and I suddenly realized how that came off. She thought I meant women. Jesus, I didn’t think I’d fucked another woman since I’d met this girl. Truthfully, I was pretty sure I was obsessed, and I didn’t give a single fuck about it anymore. I just wanted to keep feeding it. Fucking her, kissing her, eating her out, over and over, until I was dead. The idea that I couldn’t made me feel sick, like I was catching a bad case of the flu or something.

“I’m talking about business, Elena.”

She focused on our hands, interlocking her fingers with mine. Resting her head on my shoulder, she quietly said, “I hear you’re a bad man.”

A smile tugged at my lips. “You believe everything you hear?”

“Just what I see. Why did you kill your cousin?”

My lips pressed against her ear. “He had a gun to your head.”

A shiver rolled through her. I’d known she was mine even then.

“Nico?”

“What?”

“Your come is running down my thigh,” she whispered.

Fuck. That was the hottest thing I’d ever heard. My dick throbbed.

I found the wetness dripping down her leg. Running a finger upward, I pushed it back inside her. She made that breathy mmm noise of hers that drove me crazy. Damn, I was turned on. If she didn’t get off me, I was going to fuck her again, and I’d already told myself I wouldn’t.

“I have to go to work for a while,” I told her. “I have a meeting with your brother.”

She tensed. “Please don’t kill him.”

A noise of sardonic amusement escaped me. I hated how that bastard had her loyalty. I wanted it all. It was irrational, I knew, but I didn’t know how to deal with how I felt about this girl. Everything was amplified. Burning hot. And impulsive.

“I’m not going to kill him. Your papà and I decided not to work with each other anymore. Tony will be an intermediary of sorts.”

“Oh.” She swallowed. “Try not to let him kill you either.”

“And if he did?”

She paused, like she hadn’t considered it and didn’t know. I realized she didn’t want to answer the question when she pressed her mouth to my throat and slowly kissed her way up. Her lips skimmed my jawline before settling on mine. Heat erupted in my groin. She deepened the kiss, sliding her tongue into my mouth, and my cock went hard as a rock. Shit. I grabbed a fistful of her hair and pulled her back.

Her eyes were dark as night, her mouth swollen and pink.

“And if he did?” I repeated.

She went silent for a moment, pulling her bottom lip between her teeth. “I’m sure when people find out I’ve lived here there won’t be one man who would want me.”

Irritation ignited in my chest. Not the answer I was looking for, and not even true. Any man would give up his life savings and left nut for Elena. My eyes narrowed.

“There is no other man for you.”

Her lips quirked. “You’d make sure of that even in death?”

“Yes,” I told her, though I didn’t know what the fuck I was saying.

“If anyone would go to those extremes, it would be you.”

My glare intensified, because I didn’t believe she meant that as a compliment. “Are you on the pill?”

Her cheeks flushed a pale pink. She sat on my lap with her tits in my face and my come running down her thighs, and still she blushed from a simple question.

“Yeah,” she answered, fingering the end of my tie.

“When are you going to stop taking it?”

She blinked, and then she laughed in disbelief. “You’re crazy,” she announced, before dropping my tie and getting to her feet.

“I asked a question, Elena.”

“And I chose not to answer, Nico,” she parried as she walked toward the bathroom completely fucking naked.

I internally groaned at the view. “You’re not going to stay on it forever.”

“No, but I think I’d like to be married first before I even consider it.”

I rubbed my jaw.

Fine. We’ll discuss it tomorrow then.

“Stupid move today, Ace.” Tony sat on my office couch with an arm resting on the back.

I flicked a glance toward him. “Did I ask for your opinion?”

He rubbed a hand across his smile. “Just assumed you’d want it, is all.”

“You assumed wrong,” I said dryly. “If we wrote down all the stupid shit you’ve done, that book would be thicker than the fucking Bible.”

He sank a little further into the couch. “Everything I do is premeditated. Just have a quicker thought process than most.”