Page 90 of Niccolo (Mafia Kings #7)

T he driver must have gotten the all-clear from a superior because he turned the car around and drove in the opposite direction.

An hour later, he dropped me off in Catania.

As soon as Vicari’s man was gone, I hailed a taxi and set off for Taormina.

The drive up the coast was picturesque, with the Mediterranean sparkling brightly off to my right. I glanced over at it occasionally, although most of my time was spent texting Dario the details of the meeting with Don Vicari.

Eventually we pulled off the highway onto a winding road. The city itself was built on a slope, and the taxi weaved back and forth – first down, then eventually up again as we approached the hotel.

The last leg of the trip was absolutely insane. The taxi had to inch forward through throngs of tourists choking the narrow streets of the medieval city. It was like trying to nudge a car through a herd of indifferent goats.

Finally, we reached a gorgeous lawn with a traffic gate across a small driveway.

“This is fine,” I said.

I paid the taxi driver and got out, then walked up the road alone.

The grounds of the hotel were beautiful – a series of park-like expanses filled with all sorts of ornamental trees and bushes.

I strolled along a walkway, past a whimsical stone wall inlaid with different colored bricks, and up a bunch of steps surrounded by flowering vines.

At the top of the steps, the hotel was a palace – several stories high and hundreds of feet long.

I passed a pool where parents lounged as their children played in the water. I entered a stairwell inside the hotel and exited next to a glass-enclosed bar decorated in an Art Deco style.

Once I passed through the bar, I found an expansive patio fenced in by wrought-iron railings. Plush couches sat underneath an awning while tables full of wealthy patrons ate and drank in the light of the setting sun.

A half a mile below, a crescent bay was dotted with sailboats – and over to the right was the breathtaking sight of Sicily’s most famous volcano. About 15 miles away, the towering slopes of Mt. Etna were wreathed in clouds, with a plume of smoke slowly drifting from its peak.

I was caught up in the majesty and opulence of it all when I heard a lovely voice call out my name.

“Niccolo!”

Sofia was at a table by the railing, a glass of white wine in front of her.

I grinned and walked over. “Would it be presumptuous of me to kiss you right away?”

“It would be insulting if you didn’t,” she said, tilting her face up to mine.

I leaned over and kissed her on the mouth.

The warmth and softness of her lips…

The sweetness of the wine on her breath…

It immediately made my blood sing in my veins.

I touched my hand tenderly to her face, and we kissed for another 20 seconds before she broke it off.

“Stop it, or they’ll start telling us to get a room,” she said with a grin.

I sat down opposite her. “That sounds like a great idea.”

“Soon,” she promised with a seductive smile –

And I had to cross my right ankle over my left knee to hide my growing erection.

“Imagine my surprise to find out you were here at the same time as me,” I said.

“Quite the happy coincidence,” she said blithely.

I thought about bringing up Lazaro –

But there was still a small chance she might not know her mole was compromised.

I decided to hold off on mentioning him until I could use the revelation to my advantage.

I also thought about bringing up the bankers Fausto had murdered –

The men and women who had drained our bank accounts, then committed ‘suicide’ under questionable circumstances –

But I loved looking at Sofia’s lovely face too much.

I loved even more the thought of what we might do back in her room.

And I really, really didn’t want confirmation that she was a soulless monster…

So I didn’t broach the topic.

She, however, was quite obviously fishing for information.

“What brings you to Sicily?” she asked.

“The weather. What about you?”

“A man I’ve been seeing.”

I chuckled. “Tell me about him.”

“He’s incredibly handsome.”

“Is that so.”

“And terribly smart.”

“Really.”

“And astounding in bed.”

“Oh,” I said, and reached for her hand. She let me take it, and I stroked the tips of her fingers sensually.

“Oh my God, stop,” she said as she jerked her hand away and hid it in her lap.

“You don’t like that?”

“I like it a little too much.”

“We can go on up to the room if you like.”

“Mm… not yet,” she said as she flagged down a waiter. When he walked over, she said, “I saw you have a chess set in the bar. Could I trouble you to bring it out here?”

“Of course, signorina,” he said, then looked at me. “Would the gentleman like a drink?”

“Your finest whiskey,” I replied. “Make it a double.”

“Si, signore,” the waiter said, then hurried off.

“A chess set, huh?” I asked. “Is trouncing me your idea of foreplay?”

She laughed. “I suppose it could be. We played your game of choice back in Macau; I figured we could play my game of choice here.”

“Uh-huh. And what are the stakes?”

She smiled. “If you win, you get to take me up to the room and do anything you want to me.”

“Oh-ho! Well, I’m going to have to play the best game of my entire life.”

Two waiters came over – one with my drink, which he set in front of me, and the other carrying a chess set, which he placed on the table between me and Sofia. It was a beautiful wooden board with ornate pieces made of pewter.

After I thanked them and they left, I turned back to Sofia. “What do you get if you win?”

She rubbed one of her legs seductively against mine under the table.

“I get to take you up to the room… and I get to do to you whatever I want.”

“That both turns me on and terrifies me at the same time.”

She laughed but didn’t say anything.

I narrowed my eyes. “Are you into something kinky I should know about?”

“Not particularly.”

“‘Not particularly?’ That leaves a LOT of room for interpretation.”

She laughed again. “Don’t be so nervous. I promise you’ll like it.”

“Well, since we both know you’re going to win, why even bother?”

She bit her lower lip, and my cock swelled even more.

“Like you said… consider it foreplay,” she purred.

I put up a valiant effort, but I lost quite decisively.

Considering what happened in the bedroom afterwards…

It was the best goddamn defeat I’d ever suffered.