Page 88 of Bellini Born

A grunt sounded as Dario moved to stand at my side. “Eighteen mil once a quarter is peanuts.”

“Are you forgetting this isn’t our only business? We have several legitimate enterprises that will remain untouched by the changing legislation regarding online gambling.”

Ice clinked against his crystal glass as he swirled the liquor inside. “Can you honestly tell me those ‘legitimate’ income streams hold a candle to the ones that require doing business in the shadows?”

I clenched my jaw, unwilling to verbally admit he had a point. Though we made a killing in real estate, I wasn’t blind to the fact that there were far more profitable illegal pursuits.

“Where would you have us shift our focus?” The minute the question left my mouth, I knew I wouldn’t like the answer.

“There’s a certain appeal to pharmaceuticals.” That was code for drugs. He was suggesting we venture into distribution.

Even if I weren’t already opposed to the idea, the threat that Gemma laid down the day of my father’s funeral would be enough to shut it down. She’d told us in no uncertain terms that if she ever caught a hint of us dealing, she would turn us into the feds. Since I wasn’t interested in watching my daughters grow up through bulletproof glass, that was going to be a hard pass for me.

“Not interested.” Two words slammed the door shut on that suggestion.

Dario hummed. “The skin trade is another option.”

That had my head whipping around. “Are you out of your fucking mind?” I roared, my blood pressure spiking.

“It was just a suggestion.” He casually brushed off my rising rage.

“Just a suggestion,” I huffed. “In what world do you think I would agree to selling girls into sexual slavery when I have two of my own at home?” My stomach lurched at the mere idea of Bianca or Serafina being held captive, drugged up, and forced into prostitution against their will.

A haze of red clouded my vision.

“Get the fuck out of my office.” The command was uttered in a low, lethal tone.

That’s when Dario’s cool façade slipped away, and the ugliness of the man beneath surfaced.

“You need to stop playing with your new piece of pussy and do what’s right for the future of this family!” Saliva hit me in the face with the force of his words.

One second, my uncle was standing opposite me; the next, he was on the floor, and my right hand screamed in agony.

Crouching down, I grabbed a fistful of his shirt. “If I so much as hear you whisper Summer’s name ever again, I will cut out your fucking tongue and shove it so far down your throat you choke on it. Now get the hell out of my office before I change my mind and kill you on the spot.”

I let him go with a shove, relishing the sound of his head cracking against the floor.

Glaring up at me with murder in his eyes, Dario turned his head and spat blood on my expensive Persian rug, muttering under his breath something about men being weakened by women. Then he rose to his feet and hobbled out the door.

Vibrating with fury, I poured my own glass of scotch with trembling hands. I needed a minute to calm down before I rejoined the woman waiting for me downstairs.

Summer was blissfully unaware that I wouldn’t hesitate to kill in her name. And I would do everything in my power to keep it that way.

“Strip.”

Instantly, I obeyed Summer’s command, shucking my tuxedo jacket and letting it fall to the bedroom floor. It would get wrinkled as all hell, but that was the dry cleaner’s problem. My focus remained firmly fixed on the goddess in red silk standing before me.

My shirt was discarded next, then went my pants and boxer briefs. Before long, I was standing naked, my cock standing proud, pointing toward the object of its obsession.

A wicked gleam entered her brilliant blue eyes as she shoved the straps of the gown off her shoulder, allowing the fabric to pool at her feet like a puddle of blood.

It was symbolic in a way, representing the blood I would spill if someone so much as breathed wrong in her direction.

She was mine now. And I would stop at nothing to protect her.

The dim lighting cast shadows over the peaks and valleys of her mouthwatering curves as she stepped closer. When she stopped so close that I could feel the ghost of her skin pressed to mine, my fingers twitched, desperate to dig into that soft flesh so hard there would be marks left behind come morning.

It took everything in me to hold back, but I was a man of my word, and tonight, I’d given her complete control. She’d do well to use this free pass wisely, because I was almost certain she wouldn’t be granted another.