Free His Mafia Princess (Family First #1) by April Zyon

lose.”
    “Wait. What do you mean?” Alessandra pulled back and looked up at him. She was shocked and didn’t like it. The statement he made had her thinking her mother died by more than just an accident.
    “We will talk when we get inside.” He pulled into a driveway, stopped at a gate, and entered a code. Once they drove through, she noticed he watched the gate carefully as it closed behind them. When he was satisfied, he drove on and into a massive garage.
    Alessandra looked at all of the cars in the garage as well as the motorcycle. She noticed there was another motorcycle that looked as if it were in the process of being put back together. She didn’t question however. She would wait. She was too focused on his words right now. The uncertainty was there and it was killing her.
    “Don’t move, baby,” he said when she went to release her seatbelt. He walked around the vehicle and opened her door. She’d noticed in the last couple of days that he liked putting her in the vehicle and getting her out. Undoing her seatbelt, she wasn’t surprised when he held his hand out for her. “Come on. We will talk inside.”
    She put her hand into his as if it was the most natural thing in the whole world. She felt the calluses on his hands and knew he’d worked with his hands to gain those. She liked that about him. He wasn’t soft like her father. She noticed several things about him. He was hard. There was nothing soft about him except when he looked at her. She saw it now. She didn't know why she had been so blind before, but she had been. He was fierce, protective, and so sexy it made her crazy.
    She walked along at his side, viewing the home for the first time as he walked her through it. She had to keep from grinning when he showed her each and every one of the panic rooms before he showed her the other amenities such as a full sauna, hot tub, and pool in the basement. The pool she noticed went under a wall and when she looked outside she saw it went from an indoor to outdoor pool. Very freaking cool , she thought to herself.
    “I designed this house from the bottom to the top. I needed it to be perfect for you. I had to know you would be happy here. Did I hit the mark?”
    “I would say you did. It’s perfect.” Alessandra stopped him to look up at him. “I was twelve,” she said to him, “when I first saw you. You looked exceptionally angry to have been called to the house. That’s the first time I ever noticed a man. Since then, everyone has been compared to you, and no one came close to being you.”
    She heard him growl. Deep in the center of his chest, he let out a rumbling growl that honestly made her panties wet and had her wanting to arch into him even more. “You had better not notice any other men besides me.”
    That had her grinning. Awe, her big bad man was jealous. “You are the only one I’ve noticed for thirteen years, Gregorio. Don’t you think that’s telling?”
    “Just something about hearing you talk about another man has me seeing red. I’ve never been jealous or possessive of any woman, but I am with you. Do not test me, ever. I am not a nice man, Alessandra.”
    “You would never hurt me,” she said confidently. “I know that. You will always protect me, even at the risk of your own health.”
    “You are in my soul, Alessandra. I don’t know what else to tell you aside from that one singular fact. I know that for far too many years, I’ve watched you growing and thought things no man should ever think about someone as young as you were at that time.”
    “It’s because we were always destined to be together. I know it. I have full and complete confidence in that fact.”
    “I’m glad at least one of us has confidence. Don’t let me change you.” He stroked a finger over her cheek. “Never lose that confidence in me.”
    “You won’t change me. At least I don’t think you will.” She moved in a bit closer to him. “So tell me, how long until you show me where