Merger: A Just Business Mafia Romance

by Kiera Silver

  She nibbled on her lower lip. “Actually, he didn’t send me. I pieced together what he told me and figured out that you must be here. I was hoping to work out a payment arrangement or something with you.”

  He started. “You expect me to let your brother pay me back a hundred thousand dollars? It would be one thing if the Lithuanians had stolen it from him, but the little fucker handed over the crate and stole from me. A hundred grand is small change, but the lack of respect is what he has to pay for. This was his audition, and he blew it in a big way. I can’t let that go unaddressed. You might not understand our ways, but surely you understand that I’m in charge of this operation, and I can’t appear weak to anyone. Your brother undermined me.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I think I understand that. I’ve watched those mob movies.”

  Dante laughed at her, and his flashing white grin made his already devastating good looks even more charming. Her heart fluttered in her chest, and she hated that she was attracted to the mafia man that was threatening her brother’s life.

  “Sweet Lily, those are movies, and my life is a lot different. I guess they did get the respect thing right though. Your brother fucked up, and he’s going to have to die.”

  She licked her lips again, freezing when she remembered how much he seemed to appreciate the gesture. After a second, she finished the motion, but moved slower. “If you take something of greater value, won’t that settle the debt?”

  He snorted. “It would have to be exceptionally valuable for me to risk appearing to be going easy on a little shit who stole from me. I highly doubt Shawn Thompson has anything that valuable.”

  She gathered her courage, swallowing the lump in her throat. “He has me.”

  He arched a brow. “Unless you’re an heiress, Lily Thompson, I don’t think you’ll be able to cover his debt.”

  She’d hoped that he would be able to gather her meaning, but apparently she was going to have to be blunt instead of subtle. “If everyone thinks you’re taking his sister to repay the debt, that will satisfy the revenge aspect, won’t it? Then there’s just the matter of paying you back the hundred thousand dollars? He said it was just a small shipment, and he didn’t think you would notice it had gone missing.”

  “I notice everything, but especially when it’s the first time I entrust something to a new associate.” His gaze seemed to bore through her. “So you’re offering to whore yourself out to me in exchange for your brother being given leniency?”

  Her eyes widened. “No, of course not. I just thought that if you were seen with me in public a few times, and people thought you had taken me to satisfy his debt, that would be the end of it. I don’t have a whole lot of money, but I can sell the jewelry that my grandmother left me and cash out my retirement savings. I could probably scrape together at least seventy thousand now, and then work out an arrangement for the other thirty thousand…”

  He turned slightly, pressing his knee against hers as he looked directly into her eyes with his hypnotic stare. “What do you do, Lily?”

  She cleared her throat. “I’m a nurse.”

  He chuckled. “Of course you are. Let me get this straight, just to make sure I understand what you’re offering. You want to… what? Pretend to be my mistress in public while you pay me back privately for your brother’s crime? In return, I let the little shit continue to breathe. Is that what you want?”

  She nodded, hoping there was some decency in him. “I know it’s a lot to ask, Mr. Moretti, but you appear to have a generous side. I researched a bit before I came here tonight, and I know you donated a wing to the hospital, and you also provided a grant to the Head Start program.”

  He shook his head “No, that was the Moretti Foundation, which was founded by my mother. I support their work, but my brother Armo is in charge of that. I had nothing to do with it.”

  Her heart sank a little in her chest, but she forced her expression not to betray her disappointment. “Even still, you support the deeds, so you must be a good person deep down.”

  He chuckled starkly. “Very deep down, Lily. Would you like to hear my counteroffer?”

  She licked her lips again nervously, bracing herself to hear something outrageous, like a hundred thousand dollar-interest charge on top of the hundred thousand her brother already owed him. “Yes, Mr. Moretti.”

  “If I’m prepared to indulge this insanity, and I haven’t committed to the idea yet, there will be nothing pretend about it. You would be my mistress, which is an old-fashioned word, but applies perfectly well to our arrangement.”

  She gasped, opening her mouth to protest, but he pressed on before she could speak.

  “I’m not going to take your 401(k) or your grandmother’s jewelry, but if we negotiate an arrangement, what I will take is every inch of your body at my bidding. You do what I say when I say, and for how long I say.”

  Her eyes widened. “You want me to be your sex slave for an indeterminate amount of time in exchange for letting my brother off the hook?”

  He scowled. “Shawn isn’t off the hook. There’s nothing you can negotiate with me to make that happen. What I’ll do is send the little shit far away. He’ll get another shot with a different branch of the family, which is more than he deserves, and they’ll watch him like a hawk. If he fucks that up, he’s dead. You’d better emphasize that to him.”

  She clutched the strap of her purse tightly in her hand. “What will you do to me if I agree to this, Mr. Moretti?”

  He stared at her in that appraising fashion, but now there was a predatory gleam in his eye. “You have this whole innocent sweetness vibe going on. I have to admit, it’s pretty damn sexy. I especially love the idea of ruining it, wrecking you, and leaving you looking like a wanton slut instead of this virginal nurse sitting in front of me.”

  She took a gulp of her wine, uncertain if admitting it wasn’t a persona would be beneficial to the situation or not. Perhaps it was though, since he seemed to like the whole idea of ruining her. If she revealed he would be completely ruining her, it might be incentive to get him to capitulate and stick to the agreement, or perhaps even set a timeline.

  If she could go through with the agreement. In the back of her mind, she had considered the idea that the gangster whom her brother was in trouble with might want more than just a pretend arrangement, and she tried to brace herself for the possibility, though uncertain that she could really go through with it.

  Now, sitting so close to Dante Moretti, with her nipples pressing against her sturdy white bra, and her panties damp at the idea of having the dark and dangerous man beside her stripping all vestiges of innocence from her, she was utterly convinced that she could do it. That part scared her far more than actually making the agreement, but she was still troubled by his word that he would do anything to her.

  “I’m sorry, but there would have to be some balance. A contract or safe word or something. You can’t just expect me to completely surrender to you without knowing what you might do to me. I don’t know what your tastes are. I mean, you could be into really kinky things like…” She trailed off, having a difficult time trying to think of something really kinky. She wasn’t completely naïve, but she was mostly uneducated about the strange things that people did to each other behind closed doors.

  “I don’t think I’m into anything too unusual. Whips, chains, and the occasional donkey just about covers it.”

  Her eyes widened, and fear bubbled up in her. “I hope the donkey’s for you?” she said, sputtering in shock.

  He laughed, a genuine laugh this time, and not one burdened with any trace of bitterness. “I have a feeling I’m going to like you, Lily Thompson. I’m just kidding about the donkey.”

  She drank the last of her wine, wishing the glass had magically refilled itself, because she was still parched and nervous. “But the whips and chains?”

  He reached forward to take the empty glass of her hand, his fingers tracing hers in a gentle pattern as he did so. His touch was a marke
d contrast to his words. “Not kidding. I like a little rough play, and the idea of leaving some marks on your flesh gives me the hard-on from hell. It wouldn’t be all candles and sweetness if you make this agreement.”

  “And I have to do everything you say?” Her anxiety bled through, but she couldn’t deny she was also intrigued by the prospect.

  “Yes, but I’ll make some concessions. The first is, I’ll never share you with anyone else. That includes other women, just in case you were wondering about that.”

  She exhaled a sigh of relief. “You don’t like girl-on-girl?” Had she really just asked that? She had to blame it on the wine and nerves.

  Dante smirked at her. “I’m a red-blooded man. Of course I like it, but I also like the idea of owning you exclusively. I don’t want anyone else touching you, and that means other women too. If we negotiate a deal, you belong only to me for the duration, and if there’s already a sucker in your life, he’s history as of right now. Got it?”

  The darkly possessive way he spoke sent shivers down her spine, but they weren’t all fear-inspired. “There’s currently no sucker in my life.”

  “Except me.” He laughed with a hint of darkness. “I can’t believe I’m prepared to overlook your brother’s blatant disrespect just to have you in my bed.”

  She couldn’t believe it either, and she was uncertain whether to be hopeful or fearful. “Does that mean you’re considering the proposition, Mr. Moretti?”

  His hand went to her thigh, squeezing lightly. “Indeed it does, but I think I might need a sample before I can make up my mind completely.”

  She took a deep breath and swallowed the lump in her throat. “No. No free samples. You don’t touch me until we have an agreement in place.”

  His hand inched higher up her thigh, and soon his thumb brushed the crotch of her slacks. Thankfully, the woolen fabric hid the secret of just how wet she was from his light touch. “You drive a hard bargain. How do I know you’re worth that?”

  She used her last bargaining chip, tilting her chin. “Do you like virgins, Mr. Moretti? You said you wanted to ruin my innocence, but the truth is, it’s not a façade. I’ve been too busy with school and trying to keep Shawn out of trouble to have time for relationships, so I’m actually a virgin. If you agree to our deal, you’re acquiring completely pure stock.” She hated referring to herself in such a way, like a piece of meat, but she figured it would appeal to him.

  Instead, he frowned, the first hint of uncertainty showing. “You’re a virgin?”

  She swallowed the lump in her throat, suddenly frightened that her bargaining chip had turned into a stumbling block instead. “Yes, but if that’s a problem, I could take care of it before our arrangement starts.”

  His mouth tightened, and he looked angrily. “What do you mean, take care of it? You said there was no loser in the picture.”

  She wasn’t sure if she was trying to entice him or just make a straightforward proposal to eliminate an obstacle when she said, “I’m certain I could buy a vibrator and deal with the physical unpleasantness of removing my virginity myself.”

  His hand tightened on her thigh and she could see the anger plainly on his face. “Don’t even think about doing something like that. I’ll be the only one claiming that prize, Lily.”

  Her heart pounded as she faced the reality of what she was doing. They were on the cusp of making an agreement, and though her physical body was certainly far more than she had planned to give, at least now she could ensure her brother was safe.

  If he agreed, it would allow her to experience what it would be like to be fucked by a man like Dante Moretti, a facet of the deal that appealed to her dark side, the one that everyone had, even virginal twenty-three-year-old nurses. “Yes, sir.”

  His eyes were dark with passion, and his mouth crept closer to hers, but he didn’t kiss her. “Since we’re going to be so intimately acquainted, you can call me Dante.”

  “Yes, once we have an agreement. In writing,” she added.

  Dante’s eyes widened. “You really want to put this kind of arrangement in writing, where it could fall into the wrong hands?”

  She nodded. “Let’s just say I’d feel better about the whole thing if I have the security of knowing there’s proof somewhere documenting our deal.”

  “Fine. Give me your address, and I’ll come to you tomorrow with paperwork in hand. After your name is on the line beside mine, our deal is in effect. There’ll be no backing out once the pen hits that paper, Lily,” he said with a hint of warning.

  She licked her lips and nodded. “As long as Shawn is safe, you have my word. If this is what’s required to do that, then I’ll sign whatever you bring me.”

  “You can’t safeguard your brother from his own stupidity, but in this instance, you’re right. I’m willing to accept something far more valuable in exchange for leniency.”

  Suddenly, despite her words about no samples, Dante’s mouth was on hers in a hungry, possessive kiss. His tongue surged into her mouth before she could even think of protesting, and he seemed to be both tasting and branding her at the same time. When he lifted his head a moment later, fire burned through her, and her pussy throbbed. She had the unseemly urge to finger herself right there, certain he would appreciate the show, but also knowing it would lead to far more intimate actions. Events she couldn’t allow to happen until they had an agreement in place, and her brother was far away and safe.

  “Definitely far more valuable. You have no idea how much I’m looking forward to ruining your chastity.”

  She shivered, temporarily overwhelmed with fear by the intensity in his gaze. She had no doubt that Dante would strip every vestige of innocence and naïveté from her, and she had no idea what kind of person he would leave in his wake. She was frightened to find out, but also oddly fascinated by him and whatever he planned to do to her.

  Buy NEGOTIATION here, or read it for free on Kindle Unlimited

  Sneak Peek: ACQUISITION

  Katie fell hard for Armo when he literally swept her off her feet and is happy with him until she learns the truth. Her boyfriend is a mob boss. After witnessing him commit a murder, she runs to protect herself and the tiny life inside her. When Armo finds her a year later, he acquires her again with ease, with plans to make her pay for her betrayal and for stealing his son from him.

  She can’t accept his lifestyle no matter how much her heart yearns for him, and she vows not to give in to Armo’s seduction this time—but resisting Armo isn’t as easy as that, especially since she still loves him. When the most vulnerable Moretti becomes the target of someone bent on revenge, she has to put her trust in Armo and embrace the darkness in which he lives to save everyone she loves.

  CHAPTER 1

  “Happy anniversary, Katie,” Armo as he reached into his pocket.

  She watched from across an intimate table in the high-end restaurant where they were celebrating their sixth-month anniversary of the day Armo had literally swept her off her feet. She’d been running late for class and had jaywalked right into the front of his car. Of course he’d tried to stop, but had ended up bumping her lightly and sending her flying.

  When he had come to her aid, he’d lifted her into his arms as though she weighed nothing and placed her in the back of his car, insisting on taking her to the emergency room himself. Nothing had been broken, but by the time the doctor had cleared her to go, with Armo at her side the entire time, she’d fallen for her rescuer.

  Now, she tensed with anticipation as his long fingers drew out a velvet box. Disappointment surged in her chest a moment later when she realized it couldn’t possibly be the right size to hold an engagement ring. She managed to hide any sense of disappointment, knowing it was silly to feel that way. After all, it had only been six months, and while she was absolutely certain she was head-over-heels in love with Armo, and was pretty certain he felt the same way although they’d both avoided using the “L” word yet.

  She had held back for fear of sp
ooking him, and she hoped that he had held back simply because he didn’t want to rush things. She would prefer he know his own feelings before she verbalized anything of the sort, and perhaps he knew that about her. He seemed to know her really well.

  “What do you really know about him?” Her sister’s words of concern flooded back to her suddenly, and she had to forcibly push away the memory of the conversation she’d had with Haley a few weeks ago as her elder sister had grilled her once again about Armo. For whatever reason, Haley had developed an instant dislike for him, and she was suspicious of everything he did. She found it irksome, but Haley was often a detail focused person, while Katie was more easygoing.

  When he set the box in front of her, she forced aside all thoughts that weren’t positive or happy as she opened the lid to reveal a gold and diamond-encrusted Cartier watch. She gasped slightly and ran her finger over the intricate design. “My gosh, it’s beautiful. Thank you, Armo.” Her fingers trembled slightly when she slid it from the box and wrapped it around her wrist, fastened the clasp with his help.

  He winked at her. “Now you have no excuse for being late.”

  She flushed slightly, though she knew that he was just teasing her. No matter how hard she tried, she seemed to be late everywhere she went.

  Something teased the back of her mind, and it brought a sharp spike of anxiety along with it, but before she could hold on to the idea germinating, it was gone. The waiter returned with their desserts, and Katie lost herself in the sensual pleasure of exquisite chocolate crème brûlée and the sexy man seated across the table from her.

  Later that night, after an evening at the theater, they returned to Armo’s condo. Technically, Katie still had a room at the college dorms, but she hadn’t been there in two months except for quick trips to drop off books or pick up other articles of clothing. Unofficially, she lived with Armo, though he hadn’t invited her explicitly to move in. He had simply started keeping her overnight, and then he’d given her a key and the code to his apartment complex’s entrance.