Page 61 of Niccolo (Mafia Kings #7)

Sofia

I decided to take a shower while I waited. Not just to freshen up but to distract myself from waiting around.

Truth be told, I was extremely anxious. After all, I’d never had sex before.

I’d also never been so powerfully attracted to anyone…

Much less a mafioso.

And the whole ‘swearing not to kill me’ part added a whole new layer of mixed feelings, both good and bad.

But once the hot water hit my skin, I started to calm down.

My shoulders relaxed, and the tension slowly left my neck.

The entire time the water poured over me, I wondered what it would be like…

What he would be like.

And it made me want him all the more.

When I got out of the shower, I considered getting dressed again – but my clothes had that ‘been worn for 36 hours’ feel to them, and I hadn’t brought a change.

I decided they were coming off anyway, so I put on a plush terrycloth robe instead.

I wiped the condensation off the mirror and looked at myself.

Good enough, I thought.

If it’s not, he can leave.

I killed time by watching a documentary on TV.

I was trying to distract myself, but I kept glancing at the clock by the bedside.

Then… almost exactly an hour after we’d parted…

I heard a knock on the door.

“Room service,” a playful voice said on the other side.

I jumped up from the bed, then forced myself to calm down as I walked across the room, my heart beating wildly.

Part of me thought, You idiot – you really think him swearing his stupid Cosa Nostra oath is going to keep you safe?!

But another part of me thought it was worth the risk.

I opened the door –

And there he stood, leaning sexily against the wall, an impish smile on his face.

“Ciao, bella,” he said with a grin –

And then looked down at the robe with raised eyebrows.

“Oh – you decided on easy access, I see,” he said in amusement.

I grabbed the lapel of his shirt and pulled him inside the room.

“Shut up and get in here,” I said.

“Yes ma’am,” he said, laughing –

And then took me in his arms and kissed me as he kicked the door shut behind us.

Actually, it was far more than that. He actually dipped me backwards with his arms supporting me.

I’d seen it done in the movies and always secretly wanted to know what it felt like –

But no one ever had.

Until now.

There was a giddy feeling of being out of control –

Mixed with the incredible feeling of his strong arms around me –

All while his lips pressed fervently against mine.

I opened my mouth to him –

But instead of French-kissing me, he stopped kissing me at all.

“Here… you won’t be needing these,” he said as he took off my glasses and laid them on the dresser.

I felt vulnerable without them. The world went from sharp focus into a blur.

“And you won’t be needing this, either,” he said as he pulled at the belt of my robe.

Suddenly, at the final moment, my nerves got the best of me.

“Wait!” I cried out nervously.

He stopped and grinned. “Playing hard to get, I see.”

“No, I just… I…”

“What?” he asked in concern.

“…I’ve… never done this before.”

“Slept with a fellow consigliere?” he joked. “To be honest, neither have I. But seeing as they’re normally fat, middle-aged men, thank God for that.”

“No, I mean… I’ve never…” I trailed off.

Niccolo froze.

“…really?!” he asked, stunned.

I shook my head ‘no’…

And he burst out laughing.

“What?!” I snapped, both angry and hurt.

“You’ve plotted the deaths of me and my brothers, and pulled the puppet strings on Turkish and Sicilian gangsters… but you’ve never had sex before,” he said with a disbelieving smile.

The corner of my mouth turned up. “Well… when you put it like that… ”

He put a single finger under my chin and gently tilted my head up.

The sensation was both erotic and tender.

“Well, I’m glad you told me, because now it means I have a much greater responsibility.”

“…what?” I whispered, afraid he was going to say he couldn’t go through with it.

“To make your first time absolutely wonderful,” he whispered, then leaned in to kiss me.