Mafia Kings: Roberto: Dark Mafia Romance Series #5

As I drove home after my meeting with Lau, I thought about his instructions – and the implied threat if I didn’t follow through.

Both made me seethe with anger.

What was I supposed to do for the Italian, exactly?

Go down on him if he demanded it?

Drop my panties and bend over without a word?

By the time I reached the Summit, my anger had become rage, and it overwhelmed my fear.

I wanted to kill Lau, Han, and the Italian.

Especially Han.

That fucking asshole… running and snitching to his boss…

As I made myself a microwave dinner and picked at it with a fork, I daydreamed unhappily for the thousandth time about how I could extricate myself from Lau’s control.

And for the thousandth time, I saw no way out.

Thinking about it made me lose my appetite, so I tossed my half-eaten meal in the trash and got ready for work.

I arrived at De Sade shortly after 5.

After checking in with Bowen so he could go home, I began to settle into my nightly routine –

And was immediately interrupted by Chun, the hostess on duty for the evening.

She looked pale as a ghost.

“Mr. Han said to meet him by the bar,” she whimpered.

I seethed inwardly but forced a smile. “Thank you, Chun.”

As I walked towards the lounge, I returned to my earlier daydreams about how I might dispatch Mr. Han.

Something slow and very, very painful…

But then my breath caught in my throat when I saw him:

The Italian.

He had his back to me and hadn’t seen me yet.

Lau’s words echoed in my ears:

If he returns to De Sade, you are to keep him happy. You are to acquiesce to ANYTHING he wants. Do you understand?

I understood all too well.

And now I was going to have to follow through.

Han’s dead eyes locked onto me, and he said something to the Italian I couldn’t hear.

Now I had no choice. I kept on walking.

The Italian turned around.

I expected to see a smirk of triumph on his face – the look of an entitled man who had put an uppity little bitch in her place –

And was surprised to see pure happiness instead.

Before I could speak, he said, “I came to apologize and make a peace offering.”

God, he was even more handsome than I’d remembered…

But I was still irritated that I had to do whatever he wanted.

“A peace offering, hm?”

“Yes. Have you had dinner yet?”

I remembered the half-eaten food I’d thrown in the trash. “No.”

“Then I’d like to invite you to dinner.”

Yay.

Wonderful.

He could ask me what my name meant again while he slid his hand up under my dress.

“I’m at work, Mr. Rosolini,” I said, attempting to brush him off – or at least delay the unpleasantness.

“I’ll have you back in plenty of time for when the club gets busy. If you go with me, I promise you one of the best meals of your life – not to mention one of the most interesting experiences you’ve ever had.”

I had to admit, his offer was more original than anything he’d said last night.

And the earnestness with which he said it…

And the kindness in his voice…

It annoyed me to realize he was slowly winning me over.

“I don’t know,” I said, trying not to give in to his boyish charm. “I’ve had lots of interesting experiences.”

“Then you’ll have the pleasure of mocking me over what I consider ‘interesting.’ Plus, you can exact any punishment you wish for my wasting your time.”

Hm.

Maybe he wasn’t quite as bland as I’d thought.

If I could follow Lau’s orders by only having to flog the crap out of him… that might not be so bad.

I arched one eyebrow. “Really.”

He grinned. “…within reason.”

Okay…

I’ll admit, his delivery was funny.

Though I still didn’t feel like I could trust anything he said.

“This strikes me as a very conservative step back from your offer last night.”

“My offer last night was based on what I assumed were the rules of your club,” he replied. “My offer now is what I really want: to spend time with you. To get to know you.”

Damn it…

There he went with that charming earnestness again.

“And what if I said no?” I asked.

“Then I would ask again.”

He sounded more confident – almost flirty.

So I flirted back the tiniest bit.

“And what if I said ‘no’ again?”

He took a small step forward. “Being told ‘no’ doesn’t bother me. In fact, I actually like being told ‘no.’ It heightens the pleasure when I get what I want.”

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The sudden shift intrigued me.

Before, he’d been a boy scout wanting to make amends.

Now there was a sultry note in his voice…

The tone of a man who knew what he wanted and wasn’t afraid to go after it.

I gazed at him steadily, trying to take his measure –

And realized that I saw no malice or viciousness in his eyes.

I thought of my little Thai salesman saying Ten baht over and over again, and couldn’t help but smile.

Alright.

I’d play along.

“Ask me again,” I said.

“Say yes,” he replied with a mischievous smile.

“No.”

“Say yes,” he said, his voice suddenly deeper… more commanding.

“No.”

Suddenly, he surprised me.

He stepped forward right in front of me, so close that he could have kissed me.

My heart skipped a beat as I saw up close just how handsome he was.

And whatever cologne he was wearing, he smelled damn good.

“Say yes,” he murmured in a deep, seductive voice.

…oh my.

Maybe, just maybe, it wouldn’t be a chore to have dinner with him.

“Alright,” I agreed.