Page 32 of The Mafia King's Reign

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I know you curl up with a glass of wine and a book every evening.

I know you thought about me the night I left the library, wondered what my hands would feel like on your skin.

And I know that pretty little cunt of yours is soaking wet right now, aching for something you won't admit you want.

The way she looks at the screen tells me I’m right, but I don’t push. I think maybe she’ll set the phone down and retreat to bed. She doesn’t.

Instead, she texts me back.

What else?

Fuck. My cock throbs at the thought of how wet she must be.

I know you haven't let anyone close in two years, not since your ex crashed his car racing to beg for another chance.

Did you hurt him?

No, he’s a lousy driver. Besides, he survived.

Not that it mattered right?You were waiting to feel something again.

That spark you felt in the library when I looked at you. When I saw you, all of you.. Like you were worth studying. Worth claiming.

Pause.

You don’t know what I was waiting for.

We both know what you were waiting for… me.

On screen, she stands. Paces her room.

Then a new message flashes across the screen:

Remove the cameras!

For a moment, I consider it. Only a moment. Just as quickly, the answer is no.

Goodnight, Bella.

I watch as she tosses the phone onto the nightstand before burrowing beneath the covers, pulling the sheets up like armor.

I end the feed, but she doesn’t leave my mind.

Then I do something foolish… I go to her room.

The door barely creaks open before her voice cuts through the darkness.

“How did I know you’d be coming to harass me?”

She’s still hidden beneath the blankets, speaking from somewhere under the sheets. Sharp. Awake. Not afraid.

“Come here, Valentina.”

She doesn’t move.

I wait.

“That wasn’t a request.”

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