Total pages in book: 30
Estimated words: 28268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 28268 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 141(@200wpm)___ 113(@250wpm)___ 94(@300wpm)
“Do you think they purposely tossed her in your path?” Matteo asks me.
“No, at least I don’t believe so. I chased Patricia down, and she ran away from me twice. Well, I suppose this would make it three. Also, that fucking asshole detective was at McIntyre’s office building looking for her. He stopped us, claiming I kidnapped her. He tried to take her from me.”
“Let me go,” she hisses behind me.
“Don’t hurt her,” I growl. “Bring her to me.”
“You’re an asshole,” she hisses again, tugging at the zip tie on her wrists. I cuff her neck, tilt her head, and stare at my little firecracker.
“You weren’t saying that in the backseat when you were squirming in my lap.”
She tips her chin with a big fuck-you and glares. “That was to get away from the detective.”
I grab her chin and lean in, watching her eyes dilate and pulse pick up. “Liar. I don’t fucking like liars. Don’t make me punish you, Cupcake.”
Her face hardens, and the desire shifts to anger. “I’m already being punished for just accidentally crossing your path.”
“Excuse us.”
“Gio, I don’t think it’s safe for you to leave the compound with her. They’ll head to your condo to get her back.”
“Fuck. You’re right. They might not have a lot of power or men, but they have the cops.”
“There’s more, but the Moreno princess shouldn’t be privy to the conversation. You can take her to your room at our father’s for now, and then we need to talk,” Vivian says as she glares at Patty.
“I’m not sharing a room with you,” she hisses at me.
Fuck, I can see Matteo’s grip tighten on my sister. Vivian sneers. “Listen, you little…you can do that, or we can put you in a nice little cell. Don’t be a bitch to my brother, or I’ll forget my manners.”
“Viper, you don’t have any,” Matteo says, kissing her hand.
“Actually, Gio, it’s best if you stay here with her,” Matteo interjects.
I’ve already braced myself for the venom that will fly from my sister, and it’s not a breath later before it comes out. “What the hell? I don’t want that trash—”
“Amore.” He pops her on the ass. “Enough. You just heard your brother. He’s getting married, and that’s not how you treat family, so behave or you have a lot more of that coming.”
She rolls her eyes. “When is that ever going to get me to behave?”
“Okay, I’m going to be sick.”
“Shut up and take the guest up to your room here. Make sure it’s secure first before you leave.” I sneer at my sister and then grab my little troubled fiancée by her tied wrists, but Vivian has a point. Cupcake is still a Moreno and is dangerous.
“Come on, Cupcake. Let me lay you down so you can rest.”
“How about you just put me out of my misery already?” she grumbles.
“Oh, baby, all you had to do was ask.” She flinches, showing the fear she tries to hide. But what my future wife doesn’t understand is that I do not intend to kill her. No way in hell. I’m about to take away the ache between her thighs that I’m sure is bringing her so much discomfort.
My room is clean and almost bare compared to most guest rooms, leaving very little for my spicy cupcake to use against me. I have some clothes at my parents’ that I’m sure my father will bring over. I’ll shoot him a message, requesting them before he returns to Matteo’s.
She looks around the nearly barren room with its small writing desk and table. “So, you’re going to behave here while I have a meeting, and then we’re going to prepare for our wedding.”
“Wedding? We’re not really going to get married, are we?” she asks.
I nod. “Yes, we are.”
“We don’t have to get married.” I check the windows, and she isn’t jumping unless she wants to fall onto shrubs below, breaking some bones and getting caught anyway because security has tripled since the attack.
Turning my attention back to her, I answer without saying too much. She doesn’t need to know what effect she truly has on me. “Yes, we do. Don’t fucking argue about it because it’s not going to happen.”
She tips her chin like it’s going to intimidate me, staring into my eyes with a toughness that doesn’t hold up. Still, there’s a vulnerability in her face that is so damn easy to read. “Why?”
“Because it would serve a great purpose. Now sit your sweet-smelling ass down, and I’ll be back.” I wink and head toward the door.
“Take your time,” she adds for spite.
“Keep it up, Cupcake, and I’ll make sure I’m back in a flash.” I stride out of the room with a smirk on my face. Closing the door, I lock it and address my guards. “Don’t let her go, and don’t enter the room, either. She’s going to be my wife.”