Dark Ties (Made Men 9)

* * *

Dante watched as the fierce woman cut what was left of the pie in two.

She wouldn’t.

His gut instinct was telling him that she wasn’t going to do what she was about to do, but when he watched her place another piece on Leo’s already empty dessert plate, his jaw began to set, because his suspicion, he was sure, was about to come true.

He did not mind the pieces that were going to his son. He found it sweet, actually, and it tugged at what he thought was his dead heart. However, when the last piece hit Amo’s plate, his eyes turned into beady little slits at his soldier.

She would.

Why he fucking cared, Dante didn’t fucking know. But what he did know was that he didn’t fucking like it. Not one bit. And the fact that Amo seemed to enjoy being spoiled wasn’t helping.

His hand itched to pick up his fork … and wipe that fucking smirk right off his—

“Mmm …” Nadia groaned, finally able to take a bite of her pie. “The chef might be better at baking than cooking.”

Swallowing the bite of pie he had in his mouth was proving difficult. That small sound of satisfaction, along with the bit of cream she had just licked off her lips, made him have to adjust in his seat.

Dante took an inner deep breath and got himself under control. It had been a while since he had been with a woman. Every now and then, when he felt like he needed a release, he would take an out-of-towner up on their seductive attempts. But with his family, the family, and One-Shot being a constant problem in his life lately, the urge to fuck hadn’t even entered his mind. He was sure if he had taken that blonde who had given him a wink at the bar in his casino hotel yesterday, he wouldn’t find Nadia attractive in the least.

Not his dick, nor his brain, let himself believe that lie.

“I’ll say,” Amo agreed with her that he was a much better baker. “Do you cook, Nadia?”

What the fuck? His soldier had been trying his best to get on her nerves, and now he was easily being won by her cutting him a piece of fucking pie.

Suddenly, Dante’s hand itched to pick up his fork again …

* * *

Nadia tried her best not to laugh. “If you count microwaving and ordering takeout as being a cook, then I’m a pro.” Unfortunately for her, there were no passed-down recipes, let alone a hot meal prepared by a parent. Of course, it was no excuse, since she was now an adult and there were plenty of delicious recipes plastered all over the Internet, but her life pretty much revolved around her work, and she always thought her time would be much better spent on other things than learning to cook. “How about you?”

Amo shrugged. “Nah, I pretty much get all my food from the restaurants at the casino hotel.”

Nadia looked at Leo now. Any chance she was going to get to learn about Leo, she would take it. “And who’s the cook at your house? You or your father?” She highly doubted the latter.

“Neither,” Leo said without a thought. “My older brother, Lucca, usually cooks, if he’s home. He’s a really good cook.”

“He sounds lovely.” She liked Lucca already.

All three stared blankly at her, making her feel like she was missing something.

Amo was the one to break the silence, but she wasn’t sure if his words were serious or sarcastic. “He sure is.”

Again, the awkward silence had Nadia moving on. “So, do you live at the casino hotel or something, to eat all your meals there?”

Surprisingly, it was Dante who answered. “A lot of my soldiers have an apartment on the top floor.”

Huh? Is he beginning to trust me?

Nadia was sure that information wasn’t publicly known, yet he had trusted her enough to tell her. Why?

“That’s generous,” she commented. “And how long have you been living there?”

“Ever since I graduated high school and he gave me a job.”

Even the way he said the word job told her what kind of work he did for Dante Caruso.

“And you?” Nadia asked, her eyes piercing the mob boss’ young son. It might’ve been too late for Amo, but Leo was probably only halfway through high school. He still had a chance to not follow his father’s footsteps. “Do you plan on working for your father?”

She could tell Dante was waiting on bated breath to know what was going to come out of Leo’s mouth.

There was complete silence while Leo thought about his answer. Then he said, “I used to think so.”

Only Nadia asked the one thing everyone else wanted to know. “And now?”

Leo drifted his one eye to the table. “And now I don’t know.”

Instantly, Nadia’s heart sank, taking her stomach along with it. She knew his mind had only changed because of his eye. She desperately wanted to get to the bottom of his feelings, but with his father sitting on the other side of him, it wasn’t the time nor her place.