“That’s my good girl,” he murmured as I finished the sandwich, and I tried not to think too hard about the warmth that shot through me at his gentle praise.
“Are you going to be okay sleeping by yourself tonight?” he asked.
I cocked an eyebrow. “Because I haven’t been sleeping alone my entire adult life? I’ll be fine.”
Strangely enough, with three Irish gangsters down the hall, ready to burn down the city to protect me, and my gun beneath my pillow, I was.
15
GINEVRA
Cormac and I arrived ten minutes late for lunch. We’d decamped to my parents’ house, where we spent the morning going over all of my father’s companies, both illicit and straight.
Pietro seemed amused at my temerity when I asked questions. My father’s accountant, Luis, didn’t hesitate to share everything he knew, including the double sets of books that would send me to jail for tax evasion in a heartbeat.
In for a penny, in for a pound.
Rian picked the only Michelin starred restaurant in Yorkfield for lunch. I waved off the maitre d’ as Cormac followed me to the table where Rian and Liam waited for us, nestled in an alcove, half hidden by plants. When I leaned over to peck each of them on their cheeks, I got a whiff of their colognes and my knees went weak. Something about the sight of them, three dangerous men in suits, radiating violence, smelling like fucking lust and leather, got me hot and bothered, no matter how furious I was.
As if he could read my thoughts, Rian looked at me through his lashes and grinned as Cormac pushed my seat in. “You look lovely,” Rian said, reaching over to push a strand of hair behind my ear. Damn straight, I did. My olive skin glowed under the emerald of my dress, and the v-neck of a wrap showed more than a hint of cleavage, especially when I leaned over. I needed every weapon in my arsenal when it came to these men.
“Thank you,” I said, smiling, feeling his eyes track my chest as I bent to the side to set my briefcase on the ground.
“Is that what she wore to meet with the attorney and the accountant?” Rian asked Cormac.
Cormac pressed his lips into a thin line. “Yes,” he said, shortly.
Watching Cormac glare at the old men every time their eyes wandered from my face had added spice to an otherwise bland morning.
“Ginevra knows brats get punished in our household,” Cormac continued with a wicked smile.
Rian set his own briefcases on the table and pulled out a stack of well tabbed papers.Cute.I pulled out my tablet, quickly swiping to bring up the contract.
“I believe our attorneys have settled on almost everything,” I began, persuing the documents on my screen to be sure.
“Almost,” Cormac drawled.
“My current company is off-limits. Any other existing companies and property revert back to their original owners if we split, no matter what the reason. Anything new gets split equally among the four of us, unless someone cheats, in which case, they get nothing.”
I furrowed my brow. “You provide ten million dollars in cash to my father, who uses it to pay off his debt to the Bratva and infuse much needed cash into his businesses. And you get a twenty-five percent stake in everything that’s legitimate—the restaurants, the real estate, the shipping companies—everything.”
I smiled and leaned back in the chair. “And you get me.”
Rian nodded. “And we provide security for you and your family as long as you need it.”
Cormac narrowed his eyes. “The original contract specified clearly what Rian expected from his wife, in bed and in his household.”
I leaned forward, tracing my finger over the swells of my breasts, holding their attention exactly where I wanted it. “I’m not Sofia. I have my own company to run, on the West Coast. A permanent dom/sub relationship doesn’t interest me. And neither does being a perfect fucking Italian wife.”
Rian leaned over to loop a strand of my hair around his fingers before settling a hand on my shoulder, tracing circles on my neck as I struggled not to let his touch affect me.
Cormac leaned toward me. “Sex is a deal breaker, darling.”
I smiled like a Cheshire cat, the tips of my lips curling up with mischief. “Let’s negotiate sex separately. On an ad hoc basis.”
Rian’s eyebrows shot up. “Like we did a few nights ago?”
Would they accept this modification to the contract? I nodded, biting my lip before I realized just how much of my uncertainty it would reveal. “Just like that.”