Page 44 of Possessive

"That question assumes they were in control to start with," I said dryly. "No, I don't. They have their moments, but I don't question their loyalty. No more than I question yours. Or Gianni's. They're outrageous sometimes, but they have the family interests at heart."

I'd never tell anyone how fond I was of Hunter and Parker. They probably wouldn't believe it anyway. I was, after all, the coldhearted prick who headed the family. Incapable of emotion, even anger.

I felt all of that and more, I just hid it better than most.

"Should I worry they might come after my job?" Damon asked, looking completely unworried.

"Without a doubt," I replied, with no inflection. "I didn't say they weren't ambitious. They're probably plotting how to take my job as well as yours."

"They better not," Damon growled. "Unless you plan to retire someday."

Before Mina, I would have scoffed at that suggestion. I wasn't even forty and the family business was my whole life.

Now, I found myself with different priorities. Priorities I never expected to have. The women I was involved with in the past were nothing but brief flings. A fuck or two to release tension. Usually, they worked for me and knew I wasn't looking for anything more. I always made that extremely clear.

Mina changed all of that. Around her, I could be someone more than Reuben Brantley, mob boss. I could admit I had feelings I'd put aside for so long I was surprised to find I still had them. They hadn't withered away and died from lack of use. No, they'd lain dormant until the moment I saw her face again.

In that second I understood I'd put them aside to wait for her. She was it for me. She had been for the longest time. I had no idea when I'd fallen for her, but I had and there was no going back.

That realisation made me even more determined to find Lasalle and fuck him up. He'd pay for all the years he kept me from her. He'd pay fucking dearly.

"Someday," I echoed. "Not any day soon, but eventually. I might retire to that nice cottage beside the forest where I can put my feet up in front of a fire and read a book."

"Three days," Damon said.

I frowned questioningly at him. "Three days?"

"Yes. That's my guess on how long it'd take before you got bored and wanted to get back to work." He actually looked slightly amused, which for him was the equivalent of hysterical laughter.

I smirked. "Give me some credit. It would be four and a half days minimum. Maybe four and three quarters." Then I'd be looking for gems to traffic, politicians to bribe and ways to make even more money. I was addicted to power almost to the extent as I was addicted to Mina.

No, I didn't want help to recover from either of those addictions.

"Maybe even five," Damon said. "I guess you won't be going anywhere anytime soon then."

"Probably not," I agreed. Realistically, men in my position rarely lived long enough to retire. There was always someone plotting my death. Someday they might even succeed.

As if he read my mind, Damon said, "I'll do my best to make sure you live long enough to change your mind. Reading in front of a fire sounds relaxing. Not as much fun as fucking in front of one."

"I can always do one, then the other," I said. "That would keep me from being bored."

Now I was thinking about Mina's pussy and the way it glistened with her juices as she touched herself. I wanted to slide my cock into her so much it hurt. I’d waited this long, I could be patient for a while longer. No matter how much it hurt. Having blue balls was better than losing her forever by forcing her to do something she wasn't ready for. That would be unforgivable.

"I'm sure you?—"

Whatever Damon was going to say, his phone ringing interrupted him. Not with an Abbie Hart song as his ringtone. Not Wolf Venom either, thank fuck.

He pulled his phone out of his pocket and pressed the screen before putting it to his ear. While he listened to the person on the other end, he frowned, deeper and deeper.

"Shit."

CHAPTER 18

MINA

"Shit."

I followed Gianni into the kitchen in time to hear Damon on the phone. He looked pissed off. The moment he noticed me standing near the door, his expression closed down tight. He ended the call and lowered the phone from his ear.