Page 29 of Auctioned to the Mafia Don
“Cute. I thought you were going to say beneath you.”
His gaze doesn’t move from mine. “That could be arranged, if you’d like.”
Heat cuts through me, immediate and unwelcome. I reach for my water, contemplating throwing it in his face would be satisfying enough, but it would also be a mistake.
He leans forward then, gaining my full attention. “If I just wanted that from you, Maya, we would not be discussing dinner etiquette.”
I swallow hard.
“You are very committed to making this unpleasant, aren’t you?”
“I am committed to making it believable.” He leans back then, picking up his spoon. “And I, for one, am certainly not finding it particularly unpleasant. Yet.”
“You think I need practice pretending?”
“I think you need practice pretending to be comfortable with me. Soft. Posed. Obedient”
That word again. The distinction lands exactly where he intends. My grip tightens around the glass before I make myself release it.
He continues as if he hasn’t noticed. But I know he notices everything. “Leon will remain in Miami for a few more days. He has business to repair after the raid, buyers to reassure, and loose ends he believes he can still gather before returning to Boston.”
“His children being loose ends?”
“Among others.”
I hate how calmly he says it. “And we’re meeting him here?”
“Not here. In the city.”
“That was not reassuring.”
“They are safe,” he says, less amused now. “Fed. Guarded. Unharmed.”
“With men who call them leverage.”
“With men who will keep them alive.”
“That is a low bar.”
“It is also the only one that matters until Leon is no longer a threat.”
I look away because if I keep looking at him, I will either argue until I lose access to the twins or say something honest enough to be useful to him. Neither appeals.
The next course arrives.
He cuts into his food. “Leon believes I bought a woman from his auction before the FBI ruined the evening. He believes I left with my purchase and no love for federal interference. That gives me reason to approach him. It gives him reason to think I am angry for the same reasons he is.”
“You want him comfortable.”
“I want him comfortable enough to be careless. Yes.”
“That may take more than a pretty dress and your sunny personality.”
His mouth twitches. “That is where you come in.”
“Lucky me.”
“In public, you are to stay close. You do not flinch when I touch you. You do not look at the exits unless you can do it without being obvious. You listen. You watch. And you say very little unless spoken to.”
