Page 18 of The Mafioso’s Bride

“Good.” I turn the monitor toward her. “My men confirmed the pattern you found. The payments lead to an account we hadn’t connected to the loyalists.”

“Did I interfere with their work?”

“You advanced it.”

“They may be upset that I found what they missed.”

“They’ll survive.” I brace one palm on the desk. “Your mind is remarkable.”

Pink spreads across her cheeks. Her gaze drops to the seam of my tie.

“My family didn’t agree,” she says. “Papa said questions made me difficult. My brothers called me a freak when I covered my ears. They made noises beside me to punish me for it.”

I push away from the desk. “What else did they do?”

She keeps her attention on my tie. “They held my arms and forced me to eat things that made me gag. When I vomited, Mama made me clean the floor. She said a normal daughter wouldn’t humiliate her family over food. She said I was made wrong.”

Rage locks my jaw. Every new piece of her childhood gives me another reason to hunt down Antonio Rafinelli.

“They were wrong,” I say.

“About which part?”

“All of it. You’re intelligent, honest, and more interesting than anyone I’ve ever known. It’s not you that’s made wrong—it’s them.”

Her attention remains on my tie for several seconds. “Will you hug me again?”

I pull her against me, one hand between her shoulder blades and the other across her lower back. She places both palms on my shirt and settles into the pressure.

My cock hardens against her stomach.

Her body warms beneath my hands. She turns her face toward my neck and takes a long breath.

“I want to kiss you,” she says.

I cup her cheek. “Then kiss me.”

She rises onto her toes and presses her lips to mine. I take control before the kiss has lasted a second. My arm locks around her waist, and my hand closes around the back of her neck.

Her lips part. The invitation strips away the last of my restraint. I angle her face up and take her mouth harder. She makes a startled sound against me, then catches the front of my shirt in both fists and pulls me closer. Good.

I guide her toward the leather sofa along the office wall. The backs of her legs meet the cushion, but I keep her upright with one arm around her waist.

“I’m going to keep holding you this tightly.”

“Yes. Please.”

My arm locks around her. I press her against me from shoulder to thigh and kiss her again.

This time, she meets me with no hesitation. Her tongue touches mine. One careful stroke, then another. I answer with more force, and her fists loosen. Her palms flatten against my shirt.

She likes certainty, firm contact, and a clear next step. I can give her all three.

“Put your arms around my neck.”

She obeys. The movement brings her breasts against me, soft beneath her sweater. My cock hardens until every beat of my pulse becomes another demand.

Giada breaks the kiss. Her lips are wet and parted. “Is this how kissing usually is?”