Page 34

“You’re not going to hurt me.” I shrug a shoulder, and when we walk into the restaurant, Carson completely ignores the host and leads me to the hallway where the restroom is. He pushes into the women’s room, tugs me inside, closes and locks the door, and cages me against it, towering over me, his broad body so close, I can smell his woodsy, leathery scent and feel the heat of him.

He’s in a custom suit but no tie. The top few buttons of his shirt are undone, showing me the tattoos there.

“You have so much new ink,” I whisper and reach up to brush my fingertips over his warm skin. “Someday, I want a tour.”

“You can have literally anything you want,” he growls and presses his finger under my chin, making me look up at him. “I haven’t kissed you because once I get started, I won’t want to stop.”

I swallow hard, my eyes pinned to his lips. They’re full and surrounded by scruff that I know from experience will feel so damn good between my thighs.

“So, I’m not going to kiss you here, in a fucking restroom,” he adds. “But I swear to God, Rina, I can’t keep my hands to myself much longer. I thought I could be patient, but you’re too goddamn tempting.”

I grin and rub my hands up and down his chest, over strong pectorals that make me salivate.

“Remember that time we fucked in⁠—”

He covers my mouth with his whole hand, shutting me up.

“If you talk about where we fucked, I will be inside you in about three seconds. If I’m not going to kiss you here, I’m sure as fuck not going to fuck you here.”

“Mmp mumpf mp.”

I love you.

He takes his hand away. “What?”

“Nothing.”

His eyes narrow menacingly, and it makes me grin. “Still a fucking brat, I see.”

“Still into edging, I see.”

He laughs and leans in to press his forehead to mine. “I fucking missed the shit out of you.”

“Me too. Are you going to feed me or what?”

“Let’s go.”

There’s no seafood in sight. We each order steak, medium rare, and he tells me about his brothers’ girls. How young and fiery they are. How they make each of the guys better.

Lulu loves to cook for everyone.

Natasha is badass on the piano.

Violet is just badass, full stop.

He tells me about King of Spades and how well it’s doing. How he and Rome share clients.

“Is Loveland still working for Rome?” I ask him. Her real name was Sarah, and she’d had a crush on Rome forever. They were a couple for while, but that fell apart.

“She’s dead,” Carson says, and my mouth drops open. “She turned on Rome, tried to get Lulu killed. Trust me, she had it coming.”

She had it coming.

I’ve been away from the Mafia life for a long time, and I’m not used to conversations like this anymore. No one in the rest of the world talks about murder so casually.

It’s honestly one of my biggest hang-ups about moving Charlie to Vegas. I don’t know that I want him to grow up in an organized crime household. I did, and my father wasn’t the boss or even the number two. He was a high-ranking officer, and he was a fucking nightmare.

“I want to know about your pregnancy,” he says as he fills my wineglass. “Tell me everything.”