Page 44 of All’s Fair In Love & War (The Bulgari Cartel #2)

“Wouldn’t that be something?” I said playfully, but she didn’t crack a grin.

“You’ve got five seconds to explain why you're in my home.”

“Relax,” I said, flashing a flirtatious smile. “I brought wine.”

That only pissed her off more, and I could tell by the way her jaw tightened.

“All right,” I added quickly, “I came to talk.”

She raised an eyebrow. “Talk?”

I nodded. “Yeah. You. Me. Dinner. Wine. Very grown-up shit.”

Sophia cocked the gun. “Put your dick away and start explaining before I redecorate my kitchen with your brains.”

I gestured toward the cutting board. “At least let me plate the food first. The conversation will go smoother with a little pilaf on the side.”

She didn’t say yes, and she didn’t lower the weapon either, but she didn’t pull the trigger. So, I grabbed two plates from the cabinet and started plating the food, careful to drizzle the sauce just right.

“You still haven’t answered the question,” Sophia said, her voice colder now. “You're standing butt naked inside my kitchen with your dick swinging near my stove. What exactly did you think to accomplish by coming here, doing—” she waved her hand over me, “all that?"

I placed the plates on the island, still calm, still naked, and still breathing. “I wanted to see you.”

“Wrong answer.” She placed the barrel of the gun on my forehead. “What is wrong with you? Do you think this is a game?” she asked.

"Not at all," I replied, sitting my naked ass on one of the bar stools at the island before picking up my fork. “You should really taste the food. This is some A-1 shit right here.”

“No! You seem to think because we fucked we’re friends. I told you nothing’s changed. I still hate you.”

“And if I remember correctly, I told you, ‘Bitch, this changed everything .’”

She scoffed but didn’t move the gun. “You’ve lost your fucking mind.”

“Probably,” I said, cutting into the salmon like she wasn’t one twitch away from blowing my brains across her kitchen. “But I made peace with that a long time ago.”

She circled the island slowly, gun still trained on me. “You’re in my house, eating my food, and running your mouth like I won’t shoot you and eat the plate over your corpse.”

I nodded as I chewed. “Wouldn’t blame you. That’s how good it is.”

Her eyes narrowed. “You think because you showed me a good time, I’m supposed to let you slide?”

“No,” I said, setting my fork down. “I think because I showed you a real time, you can’t decide whether to shoot me or sit down and enjoy this meal.”

“You’re arrogant,” she spat with annoyance.

“And you’re still standing here,” I replied as I yanked on her arm, forcing her into the seat beside me. “Here, take a bite of this.” I forked a nice piece of salmon and rice, then held it up to her mouth.

She stared at it like I’d lost every inch of sense I had left. The gun was still in her hand, but her finger had eased off the trigger.

“Dallas, I swear to God—”

“Swear later. Eat now.”

Her eyes cut toward me, then back to the fork, and I didn’t move an inch. Instead, I held it steady as if feeding a pissed-off queen was part of my daily routine.

Finally, she rolled her eyes, opened her mouth, and took the bite.

I grinned. “Good, right?”

She chewed like she wanted to hate it, but couldn’t. “It’s decent.”

“Decent?” I grabbed my chest. “That’s disrespectful to the salmon, and honestly, to me.”

“You broke into my home,” she said, finally setting the gun on the counter. “And cooked my food without asking.”

“You make that sound like a bad thing.”

“It is when you’re naked, uninvited, and acting like this is your house.”

I poured her a glass of wine. “Who said it’s not?”

She grabbed the glass, but didn’t drink it right away. Her eyes stayed on me, cold but curious, like she was trying to figure out whether to kiss me or kill me after dessert.

And I’d be good with either.

She finally took a sip, watching me over the rim of the glass. “You’ve got some fucking nerve,” she said, setting the glass down with a soft clink. “You really think you can walk into my life like this and not face consequences?”

I leaned back on the stool, still butt-ass naked, still unbothered. “I considered the consequences, and still showed up.”

“Are you always this persistent?”

“Only when the reward’s worth it.”

She cut her eyes at me, but the heat behind them had shifted. She was still annoyed, but underneath it, I could tell she was more than intrigued.

“You’re playing with fire,” she said.

I smirked. “Good thing I brought wine to put it out.”

She let out a soft breath, not quite a laugh, not quite a sigh, then reached for her fork and started eating off her plate like she hadn’t had a gun to my forehead five minutes ago.

We ate in silence for a moment, then she looked over at me again. “I have to give it to you. This food is delicious, but this still doesn’t change anything.”

I nodded, chewing. “So you say.”

“I don’t trust you.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to.”

“And I still hate you.”

I smiled. “That’s a lie. If you did, I wouldn’t be eating your food, drinking your wine, and you wouldn’t be letting me sit here naked, so…”

Her fork froze mid-air. “Finish that sentence,” she said. “I dare you.”

I took a sip of wine, then grinned. “Nah. I’m good. Just hurry up and finish your food. I got something I want to show you.”

She narrowed her eyes but didn’t say a word, continuing to chew her food. Feeling entirely at ease with her, I observed her eating, allowing the tension to linger between each mouthful. Once she placed her fork down and nudged her plate away, I leaned so close she could feel my breath on her ear.

“Now that we’ve got dinner out of the way. I’m ready for dessert,” I whispered flirtatiously.

Before she could hit me with a slick remark, I stood and grabbed her by the hips before lifting her onto the island.

“Dallas—wait,” she said, hands pushing at my shoulders, but her voice didn’t have any real weight behind it.

“Nah. I’ve waited long enough,” I replied as I peeled fabric from skin as if I were unwrapping a gift.

“You can’t just—”

“I can. And I will.”

Her pants hit the floor, followed by her top, and she was still trying to front like she didn’t want this as much as I did.

“I knew you wanted this,” I whispered, eyeing her soaked panties before snatching them off.

Without waiting for her approval, I lifted her legs over my shoulders and dove in with the eagerness of a starving man. Sophia let out something between a moan and a curse, hands grabbing my head to smash my face into her pussy.

“I still hate you,” she gasped.

I looked up with a grin. “Then it’s time to make you like me.”

And I went back to work, tongue, mouth, teeth, and all.

By the end of that night, I’d convinced Sophia to keep the next day open for me. Then, I left her sleeping soundly with her limbs splayed across the bed, and her gun tucked under the pillow. After I redressed, I padded back to my place, taking the private elevator down one flight.

I checked my phone once I got back to my place and saw a new text from Khalil sitting at the top of my screen.

Engagement dinner tomorrow. Be there at 7.

I locked my phone without responding.