KINSLEY

His jaw tightens aswe stop at a door. "Open it."

My eyes dart from him to the door, then back at him. "No. I don't want to know that part of your life."

He pulls my body until I'm flush against his muscled frame. I wonder if his body is still a work of art under his suit.

"You will learn every aspect of my business once we're married." He twists the doorknob.

"You'll become the Donna of our mafia family."

What is a donna?

"Kinsley, I'm serious."

My heart slams against my ribcage. Shit, he's not playing. I visibly swallow as I stand there.

"I don't have to be hands on," I say.

"Move down the steps."

"No, Nick. You can't make me go down there."

He leans over and hoists me over his shoulder.

I screech. "Nick, put me down."

How many dead bodies are down here, I wonder. Will I have to kill someone before we're married?

I slap his back. "Take me upstairs."

Nick reaches the last step, then places me on my feet.

Squeezing my eyes shut, I stand there. Placing my hands out in front of me. I inch forward, hoping my stilettos will hit the last step.

He spins me around. "Open your eyes."

"No."

"Fine, I'll leave you down here with the dead bodies," he says casually.

"Nick, don't leave me," I chirp.

He pulls my back against his body and I feel his lips on my cheek. "I won't ever leave you again."

My shoulders relax. A sense of calm washes over me. So much has happened since we went our separate ways. I'm not sure what he knows.

"There are no dead bodies down here," he admits.

My eyes slowly open. I gasp. "What is this?"

"Your research lab," he says.

Tears well in my eyes. He did this for me?

"It's beautiful." My fingers glide across one of the stainless-steel counters.

The yellow walls make me feel happy. Had that been his plan?

There are two refrigerators, an area for all my supplies. Test tubes and beakers line the counter against the wall on my left. There's an exam area on the right. Toward the back of the large space is an office.

Tears slip down my cheeks. "When? How?"

"After I saw your file, I asked Gail to give me a couple of days before she called you into the office for us to meet." He sounds like he's still standing near the stairs.

I don't turn around. If I do, he'll see how his kind gesture has affected me.

"My guys worked around the clock. I oversaw every detail. There are thick rubber mats for you to stand on." His voice is getting closer.

"I want you to be as comfortable as you can be." His large hands rest on the table, caging me in.

"Thank you, Nick."

He inhales my neck. "I've been a madman since that day."

"I don't have sex anymore. But I understand I signed the contract to do whatever you want."

His fists curl on the table.

"I'm still not sure why you wanted me back," I whisper.

"Kinsley, you know I never planned to give you up. My obsession." His lips press against my flesh.

And for a minute, I close my eyes and think back to happier times.

As I shove my books into my backpack, a special knock hits my dorm door.

"What is he doing here?" I mutter.

I open the door and step back. "Nick, I have class in fifteen minutes."

He walks inside. "I have some business to handle later, so I won't be able to see you. Kinsley, I need to feel your pussy squeeze my dick."

His lips take mine ferociously. My fingers curl in his hair as he pulls me into his arms.

"I see you timed this just right. My roommate already left for class," I chuckle.

He breaks our kiss as my back touches my mattress.

I remember I can't have sex because I didn't take my pills for two days. Doubling up sucks. So I prefer to start a new pack. My heart races.

"I'll have to be quick. Good thing we're going to the cabin this weekend. I can take my time," he says.

"Nick, then we can wait till this weekend to have sex."

His green eyes light up with mischief. "I'd wait if I didn't have to have you right now. Your pussy's so addictive."

His hand is already in my panties. Fuck, he knows just how to stroke my clit.

"I want to ride," I purr.

That way, I can be in control.

I strip off my bottoms, then press my lips to his. I bring him closer and push him onto his back.

Not wasting time, I unleash his cock and slide down his shaft.

"Oh, Nick," I moan.

He grips my hips, controlling my movements.

It seems like he's stressed about something. He's usually relaxed.

He pounds into my pussy until my toes curl.

"Oh, fuck," I cry as I come.

I go to lift off his dick and Nick fucks me harder, pushing for a second orgasm in ten minutes. Shit, shit, no.

He circles his cock inside my quivering walls, then slams into me a final time. "Kinsley," he calls out as he comes hard. His dick is pulsing as ropes of cum unleash inside me.

Shit, after class I'd have to run to the drug store and get a morning-after pill.

I feel my pussy squeeze as I blink away the memory. Nick sucks my neck like he knows just how to please me. Because he does.

"I'm not here for love, Nick," I pant.

"I'd like to get started on my research today."

He chuckles against my skin. Great, he just ruined my panties with that delicious laugh. How will I survive five years with this man?

You mean a lifetime. You'll have to share custody of the kids.

"No need to wait until we're married to start our family."

My body shudders against his. He laughs again.

"Tonight, you'll ride my dick. I'll watch you fall apart on my cock like you've done so many times."

"Please Nick, don't make me face you during sex."

"Why? Because deep down in that cold heart, the love you've always felt for me will reveal itself."

I dart to the left, trying to break away.

"Come on, I'll show you to our bedroom. You can change out of those wet panties. Make sure you leave them on my nightstand."

***P***

My second glass of wine dangles in my hand as I listen to Nick and his family discuss business.

Guess I'm really a part of the family.

"Nico, make sure that shipment of missiles goes through without a problem. The other bosses are depending on us." Nick shoves a fork full of leafy green lettuce into his mouth.

Gosh, I wonder how big the mafia is in New Jersey.

"You work with other mafia families?" I ask.

"Yes," he replies.

"There are the Magarellis, Espositos, the Romanos and the Pituccos," Nick says.

"How long have you lived in New Jersey?" Nico asks.

"All my life. I'm from Cherry Hill." I smile.

Natalia's long dark tresses bounces as she laughs. "That makes sense. You wouldn't know anything about the mafia unless you were paying attention."

My brows pinch. "Are you saying I'm na?ve because I didn't want to learn that New Jersey has mafia families?"

She pours a glass of red wine down her throat. "I'm saying it makes sense now how you dated my brother and didn't know he was a mafia boss."

My heated gaze moves to Nick. "What is she talking about?"

"Ma che cazzo, Natalia? What the fuck?" he says in Italian. I know Italian because he taught me.

"Was she not supposed to say anything? It's not like I didn't find out you were in the mafia."

"Do you remember what Axe called me?" Nick asks.

I sink my back into the plush high-back chair. "No, I just remember he said he handled something for you."

Rubbing my brow, I think back on that moment.

I have to go to the bathroom. Can't hold it anymore. Nick wore me out. I didn't want to wake up. I could probably sleep until noon. I sit up and throw my legs over the side of the bed. We come to the cabin almost every weekend, so I basically know how to find the bathroom in the dark.

After I relieve myself, I exit the bathroom. I hear people talking. My eyes dart to the bed. It's empty. Is Nick on the phone? I remember it rang several times throughout the night. In my haste, I yank on Nick's t-shirt, then scurry toward the living room.

"You asked me to get it done. And I did," a man says.

Nick stalks toward the man and wraps his hand around his neck. "Axe, I told you not to come here. She isn't to see you. She can't know about this part of my life."

"You're the mafia. You can't hide it," he chokes out.

My heart plummets to my feet. "The mafia," I whisper.

I run my hand through my hair nervously. "He"s been keeping me hidden this whole time.I'm so engrossed in my course work I overlook that we don't hold hands on campus. But maybe he"s just trying to protect me?

His words from before echo in my mind, filling me with dread.

"I"ll kill them," he had said with such casualness. I had always suspected that he was a dangerous man, and now Axe has confirmed my fears to be true.

I step out of the shadows. "Nick?" I call out.

He releases Axe's meaty neck. Axe staggers back, clutching his neck.

"Goodbye, boss," Axe says in a hoarse tone.

"Have a good night, Kinsley." He staggers out the patio door.

Nick's nostrils flare and his chest rises and falls. I don't give a fuck how upset he is.

"You're in the mafia, Nick? Or you are the mafia?" I don't know how to process what I heard.

"I could never be with a man in the mafia. You knew I wouldn't have dated you. That"s why you left that part out."

"I'm trying to get out. That way we can be together," he says.

"That's why you want to run away together." I pace the floor.

"Nick, as much as I love you, there's just no way we can be together. I'm an upstanding citizen. I don't break the law."

He palms my cheek. "My little do- gooder."

I shove at his chest. "Fuck you, Nick. Yes, I'm a good girl. I won't apologize for that. I won't let you corrupt me."

My anger courses through my veins. "You tricked me. Made me fall in love with a version of you that wasn't real."

"Just because I'm in the mafia doesn't mean I'm a bad guy."

My eyes widen. "No? You didn't just have your muscle handle something for you?"

Laughter vibrates my body. "We are over."

Nick pulls me into his arms.

"Let me go," I growl.

"I love you, Kinsley."

My body is vibrating with anger.

He pulls me onto the sofa next to him. "I'm supposed to take over as the boss for my family when I turn twenty-five."

My body is shaking with uncontrollable rage.

"My father is dying," he says.

I meet his gaze. "What?"

"Yes, my father has cancer. He doesn't have long."

I squeeze his hand because I understand what it's like to lose a parent. "I'm so sorry, Nick."

He blows out a breath. "My father was hell bent on making a deal with another mafia family for a lucrative connection. I told my father we didn't need it. He insisted that the deal be done. The mafia boss of the Delaware crime family will only approve of the deal if I agree to marry his daughter when I take my position in two years."

I yank my hand from his. Listening to this mob story play out.

"But in the meantime, I"m bound by the engagement promise."

I shoot to my feet. "You're engaged?"

"No, I convinced her father to agree to a promise of marriage. I don't want to marry her; I want to be with you. My brother's technically too young to take over. Instead of marrying her, he'd go to war with the Delaware mafia. That would be a costly mistake." He slips his fingers through his hair.

"If you never met me, what would you do?"

"Be married to that vile woman. No way would she ever have my children." He sinks back on the sofa.

I sigh. "This is the reason you didn't want to have sex. You wouldn't be able to let me go."

"Kinsley, I couldn't let you go either way. The second I saw your face and encountered that smart mouth, I was in awe of you. Had to have you in some capacity."

"You're only making it hard on yourself. You should've let me and my smart mouth go."

He grips my hand and gingerly pulls me close. "Neither of us wanted to walk away."

A tear slips down my cheek. "If you really love me, you'll let me go."

I feel his head nod against mine. "Kinsley, I need you to do me one favor."

Silence.

"Peek up from your books and enjoy life. I'm happy we were able to enjoy nature and love together."

"Kinsley, are you ok?" Natalia asks.

All eyes at the table are on me.

I place that painful memory back in the vault and smile at Nick's sister. "Being back in Nick's life brings back a lot of memories."

She frowns and sucks down a new glass of wine.

Does my being here bother everyone or just Natalia?

"Kinsley, we look forward to your wedding reception next weekend," Azzura says.

I smile and stand.

"It was a pleasure meeting everyone. I have to order items for my research lab. After all, I"m marrying Nick to save my mother's life."

Their mouths drop open. I'm not sure what my fiancé told his family. And I don't care. I'm on a mission to help my mother.