Gian (Trassato Crime Family #1)(51)

“Sweetheart, you taste so good.”

“Mmm,” I hummed, rubbing my hand down his hard length.

With a sharp grunt, he thrust his hips against me. His hardness rubbed against my lower stomach. On fire and burning for him, I yanked on his belt buckle.

“Evie, we need to stop. We’re going to be late.” He dropped his hands to my hips and forced a few inches of space between us. “You matter to me. I meant it when I said it last night, and I mean it now. We’re in this together, so stop throwing shit in my face and questioning everything. Take a deep breath and enjoy the ride.”

“For how long?”

“For as long as we want. There aren’t any rules.”

“I like that.” Somewhere deep inside of my heart, the bitterness eating me up for the last month or so withered and died. “Do you mind giving me a ride to the studio?”

He brushed a kiss across my lips then knitted our fingers together. “C’mon. Let’s get going.”





CHAPTER





TWENTY-SEVEN


Gian



I opened the door to Kevin’s art studio, not bothering to knock. The dumb f*cker needed to keep his doors locked, but it worked to my advantage, so I didn’t give a shit. My black leather loafers clacked over the gray polished concrete floors. I spun in a circle, taking in the floor to ceiling canvases that dotted the white walls.

I definitely wasn’t a fan of his work. The paintings looked like the bacteria I studied under a microscope in high school biology with a few arteries bisecting the blobs.

“Evangeline, come on back. I’m setting up our lunch.” He sounded chipper. Hopeful even, and it made my temper run hotter than before.

I paused at the entrance to the back room of Kevin’s studio. It resembled a small single-room apartment with a mini kitchen on the right side and a futon on the left side. A long rectangular table that could seat six to eight people divided the room in half.

“I ordered your favorites,” Kevin said, his back to me.

I leaned against the doorframe and jammed my hands in my pockets. Every cell inside of me buzzed with the urge to slam his face into the food on the table. “How thoughtful of you. I didn’t realize you knew what I liked to eat.”

Kevin whirled around. “What the hell are you doing here? Where’s Evie?”

I closed the door and flipped the lock, not wanting any interruptions. “Evie sends her regards.” I strode forward until I stood within punching distance of him. “She won’t be meeting you today or any other day.”

“So you’re the infamous Gianluca Trassato.” His eyes narrowed, raking up and down me. “I recognize you from the club a month or so ago. She wanted to get back at me, so she left with you, only I didn’t think it’d go anywhere.”

“I guess you were wrong, but it’s probably not the first time…or the last.”

He folded his arms across his chest. “Say what you came here to say, and leave.”

“Stop contacting my girl.”

“She’s not your girl. She’s mine. She’s going to marry me.” He raised his eyebrows, a smirk on his pretty boy face. “It might not happen tomorrow, but it will happen.”

I grabbed the collar of his pansy-ass tight t-shirt and jerked him within a few inches of my face. I inhaled deeply, trying to calm the feral pounding of bloodlust inside of me. “Listen, jackass, if I hear you tried to contact my fiancée again, I’ll cut your dick off and shove it down your throat. She’s mine, and I’m not the kind of man to turn the other cheek when another man comes sniffing around his property. Got it?”

“Get your f*cking hands off me, you lunatic. You’re not the only one with connections. I know people who’d be happy to make you disappear.”

Rage coiled inside of me, and I smashed my fist into his nose. A sickening crack echoed through the room. He dropped to his knees, cupping his face. Blood oozed between his fingers, and he howled like a f*cking baby.

“Get up.” I flashed the gun strapped to the holster inside of my suit jacket. “Get the f*ck up before I end you.”

He crab-walked backward, stopping only when his head hit the wall. He scrambled to his feet. “Get out of here, or I’ll call the cops.”

I pulled a chair to the center of the room. “Sit. You’re not calling anyone until we’re finished talking, and I have a hunch you won’t be so keyed up to contact the police when we’re done here.”

His eyes darted around the room, finally landing on the exit door. I ripped my gun from my holster and aimed it at him and then at the chair. “Sit.”

“No f*cking way.”

I pulled a silencer from my pocket and screwed it on the end of my gun. “We can do this the easy way or—” I pulled the trigger, and the drywall exploded, showering his sissy man bun with white powder “—the hard way. It’s up to you. Keep in mind that I’m not opposed to carving a few parting gifts into your face.”

His eyes widened, and he shook his head. I wouldn’t be surprised if this guy pissed his pants. I stomped forward, grabbing his hair.

“What the hell?” he screamed.

I dragged his ass across the room and practically threw him in the chair, pulled a plastic cable tie out of my pocket, and secured it around his wrists. “Are you ready to talk?”