Page 23 of Duty

A curiosity, too.

Andino liked that she didn’t know him at all. That she could only guess things about him, and he had the option to confirm, deny, or lie altogether. It wasn’t very often that someone didn’t recognize his face. That was just a byproduct of being a Marcello in New York.

But this woman …

Haven didn’t know him at all.

Not that he was a Marcello—a made man; a capo for the mafia, and now, a fucking Cosa Nostra boss in waiting all because someone decided he was the right fucker for the job. She didn’t know his family, or the crushing weight that currently sat on his shoulders.

She didn’t know anything.

He liked that.

Haven was still staring at him even as Andino inched a little closer in the doorway, asking, “By the way, just how many stars are on your body? I got to twenty.”

She wet her lips.

Smiled.

Gave him that fiery look.

It made his dick hard.

“You must have been looking terribly close to count that many,” she murmured.

“I think some might be covered … even with that outfit. So, how many? Care to let me count them sometime?”

He wasn’t even playing now.

Andino wanted to get to the fucking point.

Haven shook her head, and nipped on her bottom lip. How this woman could seem innocent wearing the ensemble she currently wore, he didn’t fucking know. But she made it work, and he liked it far too much for his own good.

“You are something else, Andino.”

“I’m glad you—”

The ringing phone on the desk stopped Andino from saying more. Haven gave him an apologetic look, and then left him standing in the doorway and she moved to pick up the call. She didn’t tell him to go, though, so he stayed right where he was.

“Yeah, Haven here.” A beat of silence passed before worry colored her next words, “Oh, no, really? I thought you said Maria was doing better?”

Andino tipped his head to the side, and let his gaze travel along the curves of Haven’s thighs, and how that robe fell just high enough on the swell of her ass to show off a bit. He had missed two stars—the points of the stars peeked out just beneath the straps of the black leather curving around the bottom of her ass.

Twenty-two, then.

So far.

“The fever has gotten that high?” Haven asked.

Andino’s attention went back to her in an instant.

“Okay, no … don’t panic, I’ll come help. It just needs to break … no, I know you can’t go into an emergency room without paperwork, and … yeah, I’ll be there. Try to relax, okay? Give me twenty or so. Bye”

Haven hung up the phone, and didn’t even pass Andino a glance as she grabbed the jeans and sweater that had been tossed on the chair next to the wall. She was dressed in a flash, and grabbing the messenger bag hanging from a hook next to the door before she finally spoke to Andino again.

And it was only to say, “Sorry, I have to run. Maybe I’ll see you around, Andino.”

Damn.