Todos los capítulos de The Mafia Kings' Deadliest Temptation : Capítulo 11 - Capítulo 20

I ignore the text.By the time I reach Daniel's apartment, the smell hits me before the door even fully opens, garlic, butter, something sweet baking underneath it, the exact combination of scents that means he's been in the kitchen for hours.I let myself in with my key, quiet, and find him at the stove, back to me, hips moving slightly off-rhythm to something playing low from his phone, humming a tune he clearly doesn't know all the words to."You're going to burn that," I say.He startles, spins, and instead of apologizing for the mess he just grins and pulls me straight into a spin of my own, twirling me once under his arm like we're anywhere but a kitchen that smells like it's on fire."Dinner's not ready yet," he says, breathless, still holding me close. "But I figured you needed this first.""I'm not that hungry," I admit."I know." His smile turns softer. "That's exactly why I planned something else first."He switches off the stove before leading me to the bathroom, and I sto

Rafael walks me through the mansion himself, hand never far from mine."You'll have your own room," he says. "I felt how uncomfortable you were with me last night. I don't want that happening again.""I'm fine there," I say, and mean it more strategically than I let my voice show. I need him falling for me, not politely keeping his distance in a guest room three doors down.The tenderness lands harder than I expect, because this isn't a man entertaining a stranger anymore. This is a man making room for me in his actual life.He shows me the rest of the mansion at his own pace, unhurried, like he has nowhere else he'd rather be. A library, floor-to-ceiling shelves, the smell of old leather and dust that hasn't been disturbed in years."My mother used to read in here," he says, running his fingers along a spine without pulling it free. "Every night, whether she was tired or not. Said it was the only hour of the day that belonged to her.""Where is she now?""Gone." He says it simply, no

I wake before Rafael does, his arm heavy across my waist, and lie there a long moment turning over everything Adriano said last night like a stone I can't stop pressing my thumb against."I'd rather understand what you are before I decide what to do about it."He hasn't decided. Which means there's still time to make the decision for him, or at least make sure that whatever he tells his brother, if he tells him anything at all, lands against a wall too solid to crack.Somewhere underneath the calculation, Daniel's face surfaces anyway, uninvited, the way it always does right before I do something I know he'd never forgive.I push it down the way I've learned to push down everything that doesn't serve the mission, and hate myself only a little for how easily it goes.I turn into Rafael instead of away from him, and this time there's no small, deniable retreat.He stirs, a low sound rumbling in his chest, and for a moment he's all drowsy warmth, surprise giving way to something softer w

The thought follows me into the shower, and I stand under water too hot for comfort, trying to scald the admission out of my own skin. It doesn't work. It never does.This was supposed to be simple. Get close to Rafael, use the access, walk away clean when it's over. Somewhere between the office and that galley and tonight's table, the lines I built this mission on have gone soft in ways I don't know how to fix.I towel off slow, delaying the moment I have to face myself in the mirror, and when I finally do, I don't recognize the woman looking back at me. Not Elena. Not quite Selene either.Rafael finds me sitting on the edge of the bed when he comes up, still in his dinner clothes, concern written plain across his face."You left in a hurry, Carino," he says, sitting beside me, close but careful, like he's not sure what version of comfort I need. "Everything okay?""Just tired." The lie comes easier than it should. "Long flight. Long week already.""You sure that's all it is?" His ha

"What is this?"Rafael's voice doesn't rise. It never does, and somehow that's worse than if it had. He stands in the doorway with the kind of stillness that used to feel protective and now just feels like the eye of something about to move.I step back from Adriano fast, putting air between us that should have existed minutes ago. "I couldn't sleep. I came out here for air." My voice comes out steadier than I feel. "Adriano was already out here. That's all this is.""That's all this is," Adriano echoes, flat, controlled, backing the story though his jaw is tight enough to crack. "Coincidence. Nothing more."Rafael studies us both for a long moment, his eyes moving between his brother's face and mine like he's watching every inch of distance, or lack of it, that exists between our bodies. The silence stretches long enough that I start counting my own heartbeat."You two have always had a habit of finding each other," he says finally, something careful in his tone, like he's testing th