Conquered by the Mafia Boss

“I’m sorry, madame, but it appears that your bank account was emptied today.”

“What? Who gave the authorization? I never-”

“It looks like you had a joint account with your father. I’m sorry, but he withdrew all the money about one hour ago.”

Years of work, gone in an instant. My hopes and dreams, completely fucked. Ruined. Turned to shit.

“But he can’t-” I sob into the receiver and the banker’s voice softens.

“Do you want me to contact the authorities?”

I shake my head as a ball of fury builds up behind my eyes. “No.”

The banker murmurs something else into the phone, but I pull away and tap the red circle, ending the call. The screen fades to darkness, unlike the pressure in my head, which is close to the breaking point.

“It was a joint fucking account. I basically just handed him the money.”

He winces in sympathy.

“I fucking hate him.”

Johnny covers my shaking hand with his. “I hated my dad, too.”

Is that supposed to make me feel better?

Suddenly the car grinds to a halt in front of Johnny’s high-rise, and my hands clench over my knees.

“You don’t have a choice.”

No, I never did. All the way back to my fucking birth, I never had a goddamn choice.

“I don’t see why we have to get married,” I say in a shaking voice.

“Number one: it’s the right thing to do. Two: it might just save this alliance of ours.”

The driver opens the door for us and Johnny gets out first, extending his hand to me. I ignore it and stand up, brushing the gesture aside. His hand finds mine as Chris drives away, and he pulls me against his chest, the grip biting.

“Don’t do that again.”

“What?”

Even though I know exactly what.

“Don’t be disrespectful toward me in front of others. I’m the boss.”

“You’re not my boss.”

Against his chest, I smell the fresh scent of his skin and that tantalizing male musk from his hair. His smile widens, reminding me of that predatory stare he gave me when we first met, when I knew he was the one I wanted to spend the night with.

“Why don’t you say that to me again when I get you upstairs?”

Energy shoots straight into my heart like a live wire. He grabs my elbow and leads me to the marble-floored foyer and into the elevator. All the while my heart hammers against my chest. As soon as the elevator doors close, he turns around, and I’m no match for his deadly smirk and the rippling muscles flexing his arms, which pin me against the wall. He’s so much stronger than he looks.

“The moment you step through that door into my apartment, you become my fiancée.”

A thrill runs through my heart as I look at the faint lines beside his eyes that wrinkle when he smiles. He’s so much older than me, and I don’t understand anything that’s going on in his head. He shouldn’t want this, but he does.

If I go in there, I’m never coming back out.

“I’m not ready.” I hate how high my voice sounds.Property of Nô)(velDr(a)ma.Org.

Johnny grasps my chin lightly and runs his thumb under my bottom lip.

“This isn’t about love, sweetheart. Love doesn’t exist for people like us.”

“Maybe not for you, but I intend to find it.”

“Not with me. Get those thoughts out of your head.”

Pitiless black eyes stare back at me. Just when I’m reeling from the sensations he gives me, he drives a spike through my heart.

“This is about what we both need to do.”

“You can’t want this.”

“I do.”

“You want to marry me?”

“If you’re going to have my kid, we need to be married.”

A growl of frustration rips from my throat. It’s like talking to a fucking robot. The elevator pings and the doors open, but Johnny doesn’t let me down from the wall.

“Time to make a choice.”

“C-can’t we wait for a few months?”

“No,” he snaps.

Just tell him yes. He can’t force you to do anything.

My head spinning, I give him a quick, affirmative jerk and he steps back, holding the door open with his arm. “Wise decision, Maya.”

“You forced me into this,” I spit as he brings me to his apartment.

There’s no remorse on his face. “I will do whatever it takes to keep this alliance from blowing up in my face.”

So it really has nothing to do with what’s best for the baby, does it? My insides seethe as he unlocks the door. I cross my arms and walk inside, heading straight for the living room as the door shuts.