14 Days With The Mafia Lord

~ The Man Behind The Mask 2 ~

"Nothing much. I'm trying to be there for you just like you've been there for me."

I'd been through a lot of dangerous shit and stared death down numerous times, but never in my life had one single sentence unnerved the hell out of me.

My indecision and shock caused me to freeze as Elaine's arms remained firmly wrapped around me.

I looked at the smooth, creamy skin of her arms. For a second, I was tempted by the idea of accepting what she freely offered—to give into the vulnerability I was feeling deep down.

But it was only for a second before I snapped out of it.

Laughing, I drank some more whiskey.

"Don't be stupid, Elaine," I told her as I tried to free myself from her hold.

It was futile. She only tightened her arms. "I'm not letting go."

I let out a hiss at how unwaveringly stubborn she could be, but otherwise, I stopped trying to remove her.

Silence descended between us, only our breaths punctuating the air.

I took this quiet time to make some plans. I needed to contact Stone to find out how he'd done getting rid of those bodies. I needed to schedule a visit to one of the gambling houses I owned. They'd been consistently sending in less money than they were supposed to be making. I needed to find out if the manager was pulling a fast one on me.

"I'm sorry," Elaine's silvery voice cut through the silence. "About the woman you were talking about earlier. She sounded like she was important to you. Was she a lover? Or a close friend?"

"Shut the fuck up. I don't want to talk about it."My hand tightened around the neck of the bottle.

"No," Elaine said plainly, removing her arms from around me. "No, I'm not going to shut up because this is what you always do. Shutting people out when you very clearly need someone to talk to. I don't know if you  realize this, but no one can exist on their own, so this solitary act of yours is complete and utter bullshit, Giovanni."

I scoffed at her words. "Don't act all high and mighty, baby girl. You barely know me."

"Yeah, you're right. I don't fucking know you. Or maybe I do. I'm familiar with your harsh side—the Giovanni who fucks me at night. Apart from that, I have no idea who you are. I'm not gonna argue that —"

Whatever else she was going to say never made it out of her mouth because, in one swift motion, I turned to face her, letting go of the bottle of alcohol.

I didn't care that it shattered on the floor on impact. The only thing that captured my attention was Elaine as I faced her, smashing my lips against hers.

She finally stopped talking.

"Go to bed, Elaine," I told her when I eventually tore my lips away. "Or else . . ."

"Or else what?" Elaine countered, that familiar stubborn glint in her blue eyes.

I didn't have time to answer before she pulled me in for a rough, bruising kiss that almost had our teeth clanging.

Pulling out of the kiss, I looked down at her. "Don't let's start tonight, Elaine. You're not strong enough to take what I have to give you right now."

"I don't care," she huffed. "Try me."

She stood before me, tiny and bandaged up. I decided not to take the bait.

"You're injured. You should take some time to recuperate."

Her brows dipped into a furious frown. "You don't think I'm strong enough? I'm sick and tired of you underestimating me, Giovanni."

She proceeded to surprise me by taking off her bra, exposing her pink nipples that hardened as the night air touched her skin.