Chapter 32: Chapter 32

“Dario,” Eden gasps, looking shocked out of her mind. “You call this meeting me in the middle?”

I point at the phone and laptop. “You need those. Your phone is from the Middle Ages.”

Tyrone lets out a chuckle, which earns him a scowl from Eden, then she gestures at the earrings and necklace set that I couldn’t resist getting for her.

“I suppose you’re going to tell me I need those too?” she asks.

I figured she’d be okay with them as long as she didn’t know they cost thirty-eight thousand dollars.

“No, I got them because they’ll look beautiful on you,” I explain.

“They sure are sparkly,” Tyrone adds his two cents. “Must’ve cost quite a bit.”

“You’re not helping,” I mutter at him.

“Hey, I’m on her side.” He points at Eden, who shakes her head while she waves a hand at the Louis Vuitton handbag.

I shrug. “It’s just a handbag.”

She waves her arm wildly over the Dolce & Gabanna wallet, the Cartier watch, and Dior perfume.

“I could’ve redone your entire wardrobe,” I say in my defense.

“Jesus, you just love digging at that grave she’s going to bury you in,” Tyrone chuckles, getting way too much pleasure out of the shit I find myself in.

Esmerelda comes closer and looks at everything I bought. “It’s not that much. I’m actually surprised there aren’t car keys.”

I wrap my arm around my housekeeper. “They’re putting a bulletproof coating on the car.”

“The what?” Eden gasps.

Letting go of Esmerelda, I walk closer to my woman and wrap my arms around her.

Locking eyes with her, I say, “It’s just a few gifts, Tesoro. It would make me incredibly happy if you accepted them.”

She lets out a sigh, and luckily for me, her features start relaxing as she whispers, “It’s a lot.”

I press a kiss to her left cheek. “No, it’s not.” I kiss her right cheek. “You deserve the world, and I want to give it to you.”

“I’m going to my apartment,” Esmerelda says. “Tyrone, care to join me for a cup of coffee?”

“We just had coffee,” he replies.

“Come with me so they can have some privacy,” she snaps at him, which has him shooting up from the couch.

“Yes, ma’am.”

Eden and I watch as they leave the penthouse, then I turn my attention back to my woman.

“Please accept the gifts.”

She glances at everything on the coffee table, then says, “Okay, but you don’t have to buy me stuff.”

“I do. It makes me feel good knowing I’m taking care of you. Let me spoil my girlfriend when and however I want.”

Wrapping her arms around my neck, she finally relents. “Okay.”

Excited, I let go of her and pick up the phone. “Want me to set it up for you?”

Eden lets out a chuckle as she sits down on the couch. “Please.”

I switch the device on, and it takes a few minutes for me to sign Eden into all her apps. When I’m done, I hand it to her.

“Thank you,” she whispers as she looks at the device in her hand before glancing at the other gifts.

When she’s quiet for too long, I ask, “Are you okay?”

She nods, and gently brushing her fingers over the screen of her phone, she admits, “I’ve never had nice things like this before.” She glances around the penthouse before looking at me. “It feels like I’ve been thrown into some kind of alternate universe. It’s like a fairy tale, and I’m scared if I get used to it, it will be taken away from me.”

“Never, Tesoro,” I assure her. “This is your life now, and nothing can take it away from you, because I’ll kill whoever dares to try.”

The corner of her mouth lifts. “I keep forgetting you’re in the mafia.”

Leaning forward, she picks up the earrings. “They look so expensive. I’m scared to wear them.”

“Put them on for me,” I murmur.

Her smile grows as she slips them into the tiny holes in her earlobes, then she lets me help her with the necklace.

Getting up, she walks to the restroom, and not wanting to miss her reaction, I follow her.

When she stops in front of the mirror, she sucks in a deep breath as she stares at her reflection. “Jesus, the black eye looks even worse today.”

“The bruises will heal.” I stand behind her and place my hands on her hips. “The diamonds look perfect on you.”

“Yesterday I thought it was game over for me, and today I’m wearing…” her voice cracks, and spinning around, she buries her face against my chest.

I hold my woman tightly as the trauma of her captivity hits, knowing this won’t be the last time she breaks down.

When she regains control over her emotions, she mutters, “Sorry, I’m ruining the evening.”

“You’re not ruining anything.” Pulling her out of the restroom, I lead her back to one of the couches. “Want me to make you some tea?”

“Please.”

Sitting down, she takes off the pieces of jewelry and places them carefully back in their boxes.

I hurry to the kitchen and make her a cup of camomile tea. While I’m busy, I think about her strong reaction to the gifts.

“Jesus!” I hear Eden shout.

Leaving the tea, I rush back to the living room, only to find her staring at her phone.

Standing in the doorway, I say, “What?”

Her eyes are wide, and she seems a little pale.

Hurrying closer, I take hold of her hand and turn the phone so I can see what she’s looking at.

Oh…Fuck.

Her bank balance.

“We had a deal,” I remind her. “You agreed to it.”

Then it registers that she only had twelve dollars before I transferred money into her bank account.

She grabs the phone and looks at her balance again before giving me a bewildered look.

“It’s just money,” I murmur.

Finally, she finds her voice. “It’s…Jesus.” She shows me the screen again. “Look closely. Did you make a mistake and type in too many zeroes? I can go to the bank tomorrow and send it back to you.”

My eyebrow lifts, and grabbing her wrist, I tug her against my chest.

“Don’t you fucking dare return any of it. That will piss me off.”

She gapes at me as if I’ve lost my mind, then mutters, “It’s way too much. It’s…It’s…”

“It’s yours. We had this conversation already. You needed security.”

“But…” Her eyebrows draw together. “It’s a million dollars, Dario. A. Million. Dollars.” Her eyes widen again. “Oh my God. One Million Dollars.” Lifting a hand to her forehead, she begins to look a little queasy.

Picking my woman up bridal style, I take a seat on the couch and position her on my lap. I frame her face with my hands, and press a kiss to her parted lips.

“It’s so much,” she whispers.

“And not nearly enough.” I give her a pleading look. “Let me give you the world, Tesoro.”

“But…” she shakes her head. “Don’t you need the money? I know you’re rich, but I thought you had…like a couple of million, and if you give me so much, what does that leave you with? And how do I…? What do I…?”

I force her to look at me. “Breathe, Tesoro.”

She inhales a deep breath, her gray eyes stormy with conflicting emotions.

“I have a hell of a lot more than a couple of million,” I say so she won’t worry about me. “To me, a million is like…” Remembering her balance before I sent her money, it’s actually hard to think of an amount to compare it to, and I end up muttering, “It’s nothing to me. I won’t miss it at all, so please take it.”

She stares at me for a long while before looking at her bank balance again.

I wait patiently until she murmurs, “What do I do with so much money?”

“Whatever you want.” Pulling the phone out of her hold, I set it down on the table beside the couch before focusing all my attention on Eden again. “You can invest some.”

“Yes. I have to get it out of my account before someone steals it.”

“No one will steal it.”

“You sure?”

“Yes. Besides, if someone is dumb enough to steal from you, I’ll track the fucker down and get it back before killing him.”

Her tongue darts out to wet her lips while her eyes search mine, then she asks, “Have you killed a lot?”

Lifting my hand, I brush a couple of strands behind her ear. “Do you really want to know?”

“The mafia is this whole other side of you that I don’t know.”

“As I’ve said before, I mostly take care of the hacking and tracking part of things. I’m also backup for the family, so if we have a meeting with another group, I’ll be on a roof with my sniper rifle to take out any threats.”

“Have you ever killed a regular person? You know, someone who isn’t a criminal.”

I shake my head.

She seems to relax a little, and it has me asking, “Feeling better?”

“Yeah.” Leaning her head against my shoulder, she lets out a heavy breath. “It’s just a lot to take in all at once.”

“I know. I’m trying to take it slow, but after I almost lost you, it’s difficult. I just want to love you in every way possible.”

She turns on my lap until she’s straddling me and meets my eyes. “I’m not going to lie, you’re a hell of a lot more intense since the shit went down, but I get why.” Leaning closer she presses a soft kiss to my mouth before giving me a beautiful smile. “Thank you, Dario.”

“You’re welcome, Tesoro.”