Patrick: A Mafia Love Story by Kit Tunstall, R.E. Saxton Read Free Book Online Page B

shoulder in a half-shrug. “Get what?
    “I did give it to someone I love. I love you, Patrick, and I have since before I even turned eighteen. I wanted this, I wanted you, and I’m not sorry about any of it.”
    He exhaled regularly, his eyes dancing away from hers. “You can’t mean that. You’re so young—”
    “I’m not too young to know how I feel,” she said firmly, her tone brooking no argument. “I love you, Patrick. And too bad if it freaks you out, because I’m still going to say it.”
    Patrick stared at her for a moment as his brain struggled to catch up. Finally, he said, “You can’t be with me.”
    She let out a groan of exasperation. “Shouldn’t it be my choice?”
    He shook his head, grimly determined not to give in. “There’s a lot you don’t know, the kinds of things I can’t tell you. Just know you’re safer and better off without me.”
    She surprised him by laughing. It was more of a giggle really. “If you’re referring to your business,” She used finger quotes as she said business, “I already know. I figured out a long time ago you and my dad were in to shady things, and since you’re in charge, it stands to reason it’s not just some little crime ring. I always assumed you were in the mafia.”
    He stiffened and jerked with surprise, clearly not having expected her to fit together small pieces to form a picture that was at least mostly right. “Who told you?”
    She shook her head. “No one had to tell me. I lived with both of you guys long enough—first my dad and then you for a while—to realize what was going on. I know, and I don’t care.”
    Patrick scoffed. “Oh, you don’t care? It doesn’t bother you that I sell guns or kill people?”
    She hesitated, her eyes betraying her uncertainty even though her tone was the exact opposite. “I’ve accepted what you are, and I’m willing to live with it without any complaint if it means I can keep you.”
    His eyes narrowed, and he decided a demonstration was the only way to get through to her. “Get dressed, honey. You’re going to come along and see just what I do for a living. It’s take your lover to work day, though I don’t think you’ll last more than an hour.”
    With a mutinous set of her lips, she nodded and slid from the bed, making no effort to hide her nudity. She felt a little self-conscious with his eyes on her, but it wasn’t anything that made her feel uncomfortable. If anything, it sent her libido into overdrive, to know he could see every motion of her hips, every gentle sway of her breasts, and the way her taut buttocks flexed as she walked. “What should I wear?”
    “Anything you don’t mind getting blood on, sweetheart.” Without another word, he rolled from her bed and strode from her room, not even bothering to grab his clothes in the process.
    She bit back a giggle as she imagined him striding naked through the hallway, giving the staff something to discuss in discreet tones after dinner. Had he even realized he had fled without his underpants?
    That thought did make her giggle, and she indulged for a long moment before meeting her eyes in the mirror. Nerves brought a lump to her throat, and she swallowed thickly in an attempt to clear it. Whatever he had in mind for her, she didn’t think it would be pleasant. He was determined to drive her away, so he was likely to show her the worst side of him today. She had to keep that in mind, no matter what, and remember the best side of him too. No one was going to take him away from her, not even Patrick himself.

Chapter Six
    Lauren winced as Patrick’s fist struck the flesh of the man Jake and Isaac held between them. She tried not to show her reaction, but she still couldn’t help flinching at the impact. Her moderate reaction was nothing compared to the one on the receiving end of the punch, and the man groaned and pleaded for mercy.
    “Mercy? There is no mercy in our business, Franklin. You deliver what you say you’re going