"I believe we established that last night."
His lips pressed together in a fine, angry-looking line as his hands reached for the pot and pulled.
I didn't let go.
He jerked harder.
I smiled.
"Let go."
I gritted my teeth. "You first."
His smile was pure evil as he slapped my forearms down. The pot made a loud clang as it slammed against the Spanish tile floor.
Sergio tilted his head and leaned in, his lips brushing against my ear. "I could break you in half by sneezing, Russia. Don't."
I opened my mouth, but he slammed his hand across it and shook his head. "I said. Don't." He removed his hand. "Don't speak, don't scream, don't yell, don't hum. Silence. I have a hell of a headache, I haven't had any coffee, and I'm pretty sure a train ran over my face last night. The least you could do is get the hell out of my way before I make good on my promise."
"Promise?"
"To put you down."
I rolled my eyes. "I'm not an animal."
His eyebrows shot up. "Banging a pot with a baseball bat at seven in the damn morning? I'll believe it when I see it. Now step aside before I physically remove you."
"I'd like to see you try." I poked him in the chest.
"Fine." He smiled. I wasn't sure if I liked that smile; it threw me off course, made my stomach get little butterflies, while at the same time telling me that he was dangerous.
The next minute I was in his arms, getting carried down the stairs toward the kitchen.
I was saved by the ringing doorbell, but instead of setting me down, he simply hefted me higher over his shoulder and opened the door.
His brother Ax stood on the other side. His amused grin made me want to go back and search for the bat. "Carrying the wife over the threshold already, huh, bro?"
"Eat shit."
I waved at Ax. "He always this cheerful in the morning?"
Tex, the Cappo suddenly appeared behind Ax and smiled. "Having never been one of Serg's one-night stands, I can't actually say yes or no, but if I was a betting man, I'd say many a woman leaves unsatisfied."
Sergio growled.
I giggled at Tex's wink. I'd liked him the minute I'd met him.
Heck, I liked all the mob bosses. The five families were like royalty in the mafia world and ever since they'd been taken over by the younger, better-looking sons, they'd basically thrown organized crime into a tailspin.
My own biological father was even singing their praises — which basically meant he just wanted to be the one taking credit for killing them all.
The mob world was weird.
Sadly, it was the only thing that made sense to me. So maybe I was just as off-kilter.
"Put her down, Sergio..." Ax shoved past us. "…before you hurt her."
"You heard him." I slapped Sergio on the ass. "Put me down. Wouldn't want to hurt me."
Sergio slowly, methodically hoisted me forward and slid my body down his. I felt every hard plane of muscle and noticed the fiery need burning in his eyes — to throttle my ass.
"Thanks…" I licked my lips then rose up on my tiptoes, grabbing his face at the same time and kissing his cheek. "You'll be such a good husband."
He paled.
Tex burst out laughing.
All in all, it was a typical mob morning… a little bit of violence, some sexual tension, some laughter, and a loud wakeup call.
"Andi…" Tex cleared his throat. "…before everyone gets here I—"
"Everyone?" Sergio repeated, his voice laced with dread. "What do you mean everyone?"
"It's a wedding," Ax answered for Tex and slapped Sergio on the back. "Come on. I'll make coffee."
I followed the guys into the kitchen. Tex shot me curious glances while Sergio avoided all eye contact, making sure we were very aware that he was all but molesting the kitchen counter with his eyes. Well, to each his own.
"Everyone," Sergio said again, while Ax sighed aloud and passed me a hot cup of coffee.
"The girls." Tex reached for a mug while Ax poured the dark liquid into it. "The women, I should say."
"And why are they coming?" Sergio tapped his fingers against the counter, the sound causing my nerves to leap into action.
Most men I could figure out — Sergio, on the other hand, was too cool, calculated. He rarely showed his emotions, and when he did, you realized you were wrong about wanting to see them in the first place. He was scary, too controlled, too everything, and the minute he let you see that, you wanted to nail Pandora's box to the bottom of the ocean and put a giant ass whale in charge of guarding it.
Tex eyed me carefully. Ah, I knew that look. With a sigh, I brought the coffee to my lips and blew. "Just say it, boss man."
He cursed. "I suck at this."
"Me thinks you suck at many things." I winked.
"Russians." His grin was teasing, friendly. "Serg, she's dying."
"Elephant!" I coughed and then raised my hand for a high five.
Tex met it with a weak slap of his oversized hand. "Hey, if you can't joke about it…"
"Don't." Sergio's voice was chilling. "Never joke about death."
"Says the man who offered to put me down this morning." I winked.