Page 20 of Twisted Temptation

If I need the touch of a woman, I usually find one in my casino or at one of the exclusive bars and clubs I belong to, and spend the night making us both moan.

But it’s been weeks. Hell, more likely months.

I remove the rest of my clothes and step into the shower. My cock is already hard, but I refuse to pay attention to it. I’m not about to make myself come while thinking about the woman who will soon be my wife, but who I have no intention of becoming attached to.

I’ve left her alone to think about what we’ve just discussed.

Am I worried she’ll run?

No, she knows what is at stake. Running will only make things worse for her and her father.

Which she despises me for.

But Sunny Meadows can hate me all she likes. She can fight me and insult me and call me every name she can think of.

She will wear my ring. She'll stand at my side. And when my capos look at us, they'll see exactly what I need them to see.

My wife.

SUNNY

Just like that, our conversation is over, and he’s gone, leaving me standing in the middle of his beautiful penthouse wondering how much life just flipped on its ass in the last two hours.

I turn in a slow circle to take in my surroundings without Dante's suffocating presence warping every molecule of air around him.

No photos on the walls. No books on the coffee table. No shoes by the door. No half-drunk mug of coffee left on the counter. No evidence whatsoever that a living, breathing human inhabits this space.

My gaze drifts to the glass of scotch he left sitting on the kitchen counter across the room.

I walk over and pick it up. There is still scotch left in the bottom of the tumbler.

I smell it, and my nose wrinkles. It smells like smoke and something sharp, with a darkly sweet undertone. Usually, I’m not a big drinker, but tonight seems like a good night to take it up.

I take a sip, and it hits my tongue like liquid fire, sliding down my throat in a trail of smoke and flames.

I cough, and my eyes water as my throat burns. But the moment it hits my chest, I feel the delicious warmth spread through me and my nerves start to loosen.