Brutal Vows (Queens & Monsters #4)(20)

“Like how many of you are there?”

“It’s just me, Mamma, Lili, and Gianni.”

“No grandparents?”

“All dead.”

“Cousins?”

“There’s no one. Just us.”

“I thought all Italian families were big.”

“I thought all Irishmen were drunks.”

He chuckles. “You have a smart comeback for everything, don’t you?”

“It’s easy to win a war of words when your opponent is a donkey.”

Surprised by how viciously that came out, I look up at Quinn. “I’m sorry. That was rude.”

But he doesn’t seem offended at all. He’s chuckling again, shaking his head.

“Why are you laughing?”

“I’ve been called a lot of things, but a donkey’s a first.”

I’m taken aback by his reaction. If Enzo were sitting in his place, my jaw would already be broken.

“Well…it’s not that it’s untrue. I just shouldn’t have said it.”

He laughs harder.

Despite my utter hatred for him, I smile.

My smile fades when he rises from his chair, crosses to the wine fridge, and removes another bottle.

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like I’m doing?”

“Like you’re going to open another bottle of wine.”

“Aye. And here I thought you were nothing but a pretty face and a forked tongue. You can actually make correct assumptions, too.”

Something about the familiar way he’s teasing me, the way he’s smiling at me from under his lashes and especially the thing about my pretty face, sets my teeth on edge all over again.

“How about my assumption that you’re going to make my niece’s life hell? Is that correct?”

He pauses before saying softly, “Not every marriage is awful, lass.”

I scoff. “Really? What fairy tales have you been reading?”

He grabs the corkscrew from the counter, peels off the top of the label from the bottle, and opens it with swift efficiency. Then he crosses to the table and refills my glass.

Standing over me, he’s all heat and muscle, a powerfully potent male presence in a black Armani suit.

“Don’t know how many times I’ll have to repeat this, but I’m not your dead husband.”

I glance up at him. His expression is serious. His hazel eyes are soft and warm.

My mouth goes dry. My mind goes blank. I can’t think of a single thing to say to him.

He picks up the wine and hands it to me. “Here. Drink this. It’ll give you something to do with your mouth other than spit venom at me.”

He glances at my mouth and licks his lips.

This is when I realize I’m at eye level with his crotch.

And that enormous bulge straining the seam of his trousers.

Dear God. I’m going to have to let Lili borrow my Greedy Girl XL dildo. That pool boy she’s been fooling around with is no match for this monster.

Breaking out in a sweat, I grab the wine from him and drink the entire glass in one go.

He drawls, “Do I make you nervous, wee viper?”

I cough violently, my eyes watering. “You make me wish for a stroke.”

“Why do you dislike me so much?”

“Because you have the personality of a festering wound.”

His lashes lower. He considers me in blistering silence for a moment, then leans down and murmurs into my ear, “Liar.”

He inhales deeply against my neck, raising goose bumps all along my arms.

I stiffen. He exhales, making a low sound of pleasure deep in his throat.

Then he straightens and stares down at me.

“Tell Lili I’ll be back tomorrow at five o’clock. Or would you like me to go up to her bedroom and tell her myself?”

Startled, I glance up at him to find his smirk back in place and his hazel eyes mocking.

He knows she’s here. He’s known the entire time.

Without another word, he turns on his heel and walks out of the kitchen, leaving me sitting alone at the table with my heartbeat throbbing and a million questions swimming in my head.

The most important one being that if he knew Lili was in the house all along, why did he stay and eat supper with me?

“Oh my God,” I say aloud, horrified. “Does that son of a bitch think he’s getting a two-for-one special?”





7





Spider





She’s smart, she’s sexy, and she’s got an arse on her I’d like to bite, spank, and fuck.

Even worse, every time I look at her too long, my dick gets hard as a rock and my mouth starts watering.

That settles it.

I’m never speaking to Reyna fucking Caruso again.





8





Rey





I wait until morning to tell Lili the bad news that her lecherous pig of a fiancé will be paying her a visit.

She takes it like any rational female should and starts crying.

“Zia, please!” she wails, clinging to my arm. “Can’t you do something? Can’t you get Papa to call it off?”